The Mech Touch

Chapter 6115  The Level Up Process

From the moment the Larkinsons planned to make use of the transcendence glow to 'encourage' the breakthrough of several ace pilot candidates, Isobel remained skeptical.

As a long-standing member of the Larkinson Clan, there was no way she was ignorant about glows.

She, along with many other veteran Larkinsons, eventually figured out that glows were nothing more than an instinctual response of a weak individual towards a stronger individual.

Isobel knew that several expert pilots owed their breakthroughs to Lufa's altered glow. She did not understand the mechanics behind it all, but the results were very clear to every clansman.

However, just because she acknowledged its results did not mean she possessed a lot of faith in the transcendence glow.

High-tier expert pilots such as Isobel had reached the limits of their resonance growths with the help of those mysterious elixirs. Her current measurement may fall short of reaching the absolute limit of 67 laveres, but whatever improvement she could eke out barely moved the needle any further.

While she was unable to unleash her growth unless she managed to overcome her bottleneck, she was already a powerhouse in her own right. All of those burned and ruined warships floating in space served as a physical record of her current destructive potential.

How could Lufa possibly affect her to the same degree as an ordinary pilot or expert candidate?

The difference in power between herself and a typical design spirit was not that exaggerated anymore!

Barring a few exceptions such as the Superior Mother, Venerable Isobel did not really think that the design spirits were immeasurable to her. She even believed she had a fighting chance against them, though she did not have a single clue how to fight against an invisible and intangible entity.

Whatever the case, Venerable Isobel went into this mission with the belief that she would give the transcendence glow a try and see where it took her. If her suspicions were correct about its lacking efficacy, then she would simply shrug her shoulders and declare this attempt a failure.

Now that she was actually lowering her mental defenses as best as possible in order to welcome Lufa's influence, she immediately noticed that she underestimated its utility.

Although the transcendence glow was not strong enough to force her to become susceptible to its influence, she could still follow it on her own accord.

The best way for her to describe the effect was as if Lufa turned into a particularly intimate advisor.

Isobel could choose to listen or ignore the suggestions provided by Lufa. The fact that she had the ability to refuse anything she disagreed with reassured her. She decided to trust the design spirit and indulge in the nudges that were trying to steer her thoughts.

Under the guidance of the transcendence glow, she couldn't help but recall a past conversation with an official of the Mech Trade Association.

Shortly after breaking through to expert pilot, Venerable Isobel went on a mandatory pilgrimage to a sector headquarters of the MTA, just like anyone else who experienced similar breakthroughs.

She became amazed by the immense wealth and advanced tech of the MTA.

However, what stuck inside her head the most during the visit was not the display of wealth and power, but the precious words of guidance provided by an official of the Association.

"Cases such as yours are uncommon, but not too rare." The uniformed man spoke as they stood in a hall that displayed the busts and statues of famous mech pilots and their battle machines. "Being able to master the power of fire in a spontaneous manner is not a curse. It is a gift. We theorize that every person possesses different natural talents. These invisible traits were not genetic, or acquired. They simply appear in random people in random patterns. The most we can confirm is that the environment has a modest influence on what kind of talents can be produced, but you can mostly think of it as winning different prizes of a lottery for all intents and purposes."

"If that is the case, did I win the lottery?" A younger Isobel asked.

"That remains to be seen. Our sector headquarters does not possess the tech to quantify your talent. No matter whether it is strong and weak, having it does not mean you are guaranteed to become the next First Flame. Every high-ranking mech pilot must put in the hard work to exercise their skills and temper their willpower in actual combat. Talent can best be regarded as a shortcut to a specific application of power. It is up to you whether you wish to make use of this shortcut."

Venerable Isobel blinked after hearing that. "Does that mean I can ignore my newly gained proclivity in fire and focus on something else?"

"Everything is possible. Demigods such as yourself are unreasonable individuals to begin with. Never forget that your true foundation of strength is your willpower and your mech. Talent is a convenient bonus, but you should never become its slave. Master your power. Control your urges. Dominate the battlefield. These are the tenets that esteemed expert pilots should strive for. You are one of the few humans who have mastered power beyond the reach of pure technology alone. This is a great privilege, but also one you must wield carefully."

Isobel nodded. The mechers had thoroughly instilled the need to restrain her power and not cause too much collateral damage that could end up destroying entire cities.

This warning was especially necessary for expert pilots that possessed particularly volatile and dangerous talents!

"I am not a soldier who looks at a gift horse in the mouth." The female Larkinson spoke. "Since the cosmos has gifted me with a talent of fire, I might as well master this power."

"Good choice. As long as you can maintain enough control over your damage output, we encourage you to explore it in your own way. We cannot offer too much specific advice on how you should develop your fire power. Every pilot is unique. Willpower is inherently personal to everyone. Your understanding and attitude of fire may be completely different from another expert pilot with a similar talent. It is not common to produce purple flames, which has become a signature of your willpower manifestation. How you choose to develop your flames is part of your personal journey."

That sounded vague to Isobel. She did not have a clue where to begin.

"Can you give me more general advice?"

The official smiled. "We can, Venerable. One general piece of advice that we share to every expert pilot is that they should start with exploring what they can already do. Keep your power expressions as simple as possible. Adding too many variables in a short amount of time will cause you to lose focus. Only once you have sufficiently mastered your control over your flames are you ready to evolve it to the next level."

"You make it sound as if I have become a virtual reality game character."

"The analogy is simple and easy to understand to pilots such as yourself." The man explained. "We find that as expert pilots have developed their current potential to a limit, one of the methods they can use to break past this limit and expand their future is to evolve their power in a single forceful sequence. This is the so-called level up process that can transform you into a much more powerful soldier."

Isobel looked thoughtful. "How do I level up, exactly?"

"There are many different ways to do so, but for a pilot with a talent for fire such as yourself, it is best if you expand the definition of your flames. No high-ranking mech pilot with this talent remains fixated on fire alone. It is too… simple and broad. You need to narrow and deepen your personal conception of your strength. Take the First Flame for example. His Divinity has far exceeded the most basic definition of fire long ago. He has chosen to develop his strength into the embodiment of the fire of human civilization. By realizing the metaphorical first flame that first enabled the human race to build the vestiges of a society, he has strengthened his fire and imbued it with so many powerful conceptual properties that it has become strong beyond your imagination."

It was well-known that the First Flame's strength was directly proportional to the size and prosperity of human civilization.

Now that humanity was at its height in the Milky Way, the First Flame became just as powerful!

Of course, if humanity ever started to crumble, then the old god pilot would also lose much of the amplification that he relied upon to elevate him to the upper reaches of the power ranking.

The example of the First Flame enlightened Venerable Isobel and gave her a much more solid idea on what she should work towards.

"You are not ready yet to evolve your flame." The official carefully reminded her. "You must learn how to crawl before you can walk. You must learn how to walk before you can run. The path to godhood can never be traversed in a single leap. You must walk up the path step by step. Once you are ready, that is the time when you should think about leveling up by expanding the definition of your flames."

"So I need to reframe my fire so that it embodies a specific thought or object?"

"Yes. We refer to it as visualization. Simply put, choose an image related to fire that resonates with you and try to run with that. Concentrate on it as much as possible and do your best to transform into it. If you succeed, your flames should successfully morph into the shape of the image that you have fixated upon. Take note that this is not a harmless process. Any distractions or interference can easily cause your image to change outside of your intentions. It could get fused with another unrelated image. It can get associated with feelings such as anger or fear."

"That does sound dangerous."

"There are other processes that can help expert pilots such as yourself become stronger." The official said. "Many of them are safer, but take much more time, effort and luck to succeed. You do not have to improve your power by upgrading your flames to embody a specific image, but we find that it is particularly useful to expert pilots with talents such as yourself. Take your simple purple flame and evolve it into a conflagration that can burn your enemies in the ways that you prefer."

Though Isobel had a much better idea on what she should be working towards, she did not know what sort of images she should fixate upon when she became stronger.

"Are there differences in strength between imagines?"

"Most certainly. You must take this life-changing process seriously. It is impossible for you to revert your evolution once you have embarked upon it. Here at the Association, we do not necessarily believe that there are weak or useless images. You do not need to be as extravagant as the First Flame by trying to become the fire that birthed human civilization. What is important is that the image is to your liking. As long as you can resonate with it, then you can be assured that it is a valid choice. Whether it is the best choice you can make is subjective and conditional. No one can make this judgment except for you. Remember that, Venerable."

Isobel felt a lot better about her newly attained control of fire. Even if she did not like it, she could work towards evolving it to suit her own goals and preferences. All she had to do was to find an image related to flames that she could agree with. If the First Flame was able to do it, then so could others!

"Thank you for your advice."

"You are welcome." The official gave her a warm and caring grin. "That is what the Mech Trade Association is here for. We are the best friends of every expert pilot. Do not hesitate to come to us if you are ever lost or confused."