The Mech Touch

Chapter 6128  Joshua the Loser

Ves did not neglect the importance of inspecting the Ebony Everchanger. He decided to take a look as soon as Venerable Joshua started his guard shift.

As soon as Ves managed to establish a connection, his physical projection appeared in an underground vault.

The Larkinsons placed the Ebony Everchanger in the center. Compared to when it was just captured, the powerful wooden construct was no longer wrapped by a thick layer of hardened slime.

In order to keep the ebony mech contained, the vault not only deployed an array of azure energy shields, but also kept the captured wooden construct immobilized by putting it under a powerful status field.

A stasis field generator that was large and powerful enough to immobilize the Ebony Everchanger was not cheap!

The generator also consumed an enormous amount of energy in order to maintain the field.

It was all worth it, though. The Ebony Everchanger in its current condition had no chance of breaking the stasis effect!

The wooden construct remained completely secure as far as most people were concerned. If not for the fear that the Emperor Tree somehow shifted itself over to this ebony mech and sought to make a comeback, it wasn't even necessary for Venerable Joshua to be on guard duty.

In any case, Ves tried to examine the Ebony Everchanger as best as possible. It was difficult for him to detect anything subtle, but he was still able to ascertain that the full spirituality of the Emperor Tree was not secretly hiding inside this wooden construct.

Ves strongly suspected that the Emperor Tree, or at least its main incarnation, had truly died upon the moment Saint Isobel burned its tree heart.

He found it regretful that Saint Isobel did not hold back in killing the Emperor Tree. If she hadn't conjured up such a powerful purple sun that reacted violently to any spiritual intrusions, Ves could have possibly made an attempt to salvage the Emperor Tree's spirituality through the Everchanger!

Oh well.

Ves was not too dissatisfied with the current results. He would gladly trade away the Emperor Tree's spirit in exchange for the ascension of a new Larkinson ace pilot!

Now that Ves grew assured that the Ebony Everchanger was not a trap that the calamity plant deliberately shoved in the hands of the Larkinson Clan, he shifted his attention towards the expert mech that was currently on guard.

The real Everchanger looked close to pristine even though a short time had passed after the operation. The living mech and its battle partner remained physically unharmed, but Ves was not so sure they were fine on a mental level.

"Hello Joshua, Everchanger."

"Hello, sir."

"GREETINGS."

"So… you sound a little glum. Are you bothered by your performance during the last mission? You don't need to blame yourself, Joshua. It is normal to fail in a breakthrough attempt. It is not so easy to become an ace pilot. Your accumulation is much smaller. You just need more time to figure out your stuff."

The expert pilot let out a sigh. "My wife already told me that, but I cannot shake off how I almost managed to overcome my bottleneck. I felt it loosening. I only needed to go one step further in order to become a real ace pilot. If the Everchanger did not pull me back at the last second…"

"YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD." The living mech ruthlessly admonished his own battle partner. "DON'T BE AN IDIOT, JOSHUA. THE EMPEROR TREE HYPNOTIZED YOU SO THOROUGHLY THAT YOU WERE ABOUT TO SHOOT YOURSELF. THERE IS NO GOING BACK FROM DEATH, JOSHUA. THE LEAST YOU COULD HAVE DONE IS AIM YOUR LASER PISTOL ON A LIMB RATHER THAN YOUR BRAIN."

"It wouldn't have been enough! I had to bring myself as close to death as I could! Sir, I know it looks bad, but I really think I had a chance of coming back from blowing a hole in my head. As long as I broke through and mastered the power of life and death, I was confident that I could have recovered my body somehow!"

"THAT IS PURE SPECULATION ON YOUR PART! THE MOST LIKELY OUTCOME OF BLOWING OUT YOUR BRAIN IS THAT YOUR HEADLESS CORPSE WOULD COLLAPSE AND LOSE ALL ACTIVITY, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY. I WILL NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR STOPPING YOU FROM COMMITTING SUICIDE."

It sounded as if Joshua's most recent stunt had caused a rift in his relationship with the Everchanger. This was bad as the two would not be able to cooperate as well as before if they continued to mistrust and resent each other.

Ves decided to voice his own opinion.

"Joshua, your theory is not entirely implausible. Saint Isobel made a similar attempt and managed to succeed, though she was a lot more careful about it by expressly protecting her brain. Her courage and cleverness is commendable. She deserves to become an ace pilot as far as I am concerned. I don't think the same can be said for you. Another reason why Isobel did better was because she managed to gain the support of her own battle partner. The Promethea went against her orders and supported Isobel all the way. In contrast, you completely neglect the feelings of your battle partner and failed to win his approval."

"..."

The high-tier expert pilot could not defend against this remark. It was painful to be reminded that he had failed where another pilot succeeded.

Saint Isobel's breakthrough should have been a reason to celebrate, but all it did was to remind Joshua of his inferiority.

The reason why he felt this way was because his seniority was higher than Isobel. He broke through earlier and received his expert mech a lot sooner.

He also felt that his Everchanger was objectively better than the Promethea. The former was not only a masterwork mech, but also the machine that best embodied Ves' design philosophy.

Despite all of these advantages, Joshua ultimately fell short, while a pilot he had always regarded as his junior managed to transcend to a higher rank!

He would be lying if he denied he felt jealous towards Isobel.

However, he was also genuinely happy for her. The rise of any Saint among the Larkinsons should be a positive development. The addition of one more powerful protector meant that the clan became a little more secure. Joshua would not have to shoulder all the weight and responsibility for protecting his friends and family.

"You are still young, Joshua. The path to godhood is not a sprint. It is a marathon, one where it is normal to bump into obstacles every now and then. You at least managed to learn valuable lessons from this attempt. In my opinion, your idea of trying to harness the power of both life and death is ambitious, but I don't think it fits you well enough."

"I AGREE. LISTEN TO YOUR PATRIARCH, JOSHUA. YOU ARE TOO SOFT HEARTED TO BECOME AN EMBODIMENT OF DEATH. I LIKED YOUR EARLIER INTENTION TO IMITATE THE POWERS OF OTHER POWERFUL BEINGS A LOT BETTER. WHY WERE YOU IN SO MUCH OF A HURRY TO THROW IT AWAY?"

"I don't know…" Joshua said. "Maybe the Emperor Tree steered me wrong, but… is it truly that bad? I mean, Isobel probably listened to the advice from the calamity tree as well, and now she has become an ace pilot at a young age."

"Isobel has also been reduced to a brain and a piece of spine. Her extreme conditions also produced a range of other sequelae that has probably warped her cognition, just like Venerable Taon and Venerable Lanie."

"I do not see how that matters, sir. She has become unquestionably more powerful."

Ves shook his head. "You can't treat her as a role model, Joshua. I respect her choices and admire her willingness to take an extreme risk, but do not treat this as the only acceptable way for expert pilots to break through to ace pilots. The regular process is nowhere near as dangerous. Sure, it will take longer for you to break through, but you still have plenty of time."

It was important for Joshua to settle down. The expert pilot would have a better chance of breaking through after he resolved his doubts, figured out a more acceptable approach to overcome his bottleneck and waited for the Everchanger to receive his long-awaited upgrade.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER. I ALREADY PULLED YOU BACK. THERE IS NO USE CRYING OVER SPILT MILK."

"Maybe the two of you are right, but my heart feels otherwise." Joshua tiredly said. "I can't stop feeling upset about how close I came to breaking through. I know I could have killed myself for real, but in my opinion it was worth the risk. I won't be able to shake this belief of mine."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER. I ALREADY PULLED YOU BACK. THERE IS NO USE CRYING OVER SPILT MILK."

"The Everchanger is right. You need to come to terms with what has happened and move on. It is never too soon to prepare for your next attempt."

Though his previous attempt was still raw to Joshua, the expert pilot knew that it was not productive for him to obsess over his recent failure.

"Alright, sir. I will do my best to move on. I think my battle partner is right about my previous idea. I shouldn't have forgotten about it when I got caught up in the transcendence glow."

Ves smiled. "Your progress is too quick, just like every other expert pilot that made use of 'supplements'. It is normal for you to require more time to figure out how you want to fight when you have obtained the power of an ace pilot. I highly suggest you wait until I have upgraded your Everchanger. I have already come up with a few ambitious plans that will change how you fight with your battle partner."

That certainly caught Joshua and the Everchanger's attention.

"Can you give me a preview?"

Ves gestured towards the Ebony Everchanger in the distance. "It has to do with that powerful wooden construct over there. What do you think about incorporating its aspects in your own machine?"

A trill of revulsion emanated from the Everchanger.

"NO THANKS. I DO NOT WANT TO TURN INTO WOOD, THANK YOU VERY MUCH."

"It is not as bad as it sounds! You are my favorite expert mech! I would never mistreat you. I am not asking you to convert to a wooden mech frame. I just think it would be useful if I augment you with wooden parts. You will turn into a milder version of the Elegant Rage."

"IT IS TOO UNNATURAL. THE EBONY MECHS WERE ONLY STRONG AND DIFFICULT TO DEFEAT BECAUSE THE EMPEROR TREE CONTINUALLY SUPPLIED THEM WITH WOOD ENERGY. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ENJOY THE SAME BENEFIT."

23:24

Ves nodded. "I know, but you don't need the Emperor Tree. You have Venerable Joshua. As long as he breaks through and forms a Saint Kingdom, you will have access to a huge amount of life energy, which is related to wood energy. Your ability to regenerate from getting hit will skyrocket. Aside from that, you can also choose Gaia or the Superior Mother as your design spirit if you want to gain access to another source of compatible energies. You might not be the most powerful mech by then, but you will definitely be the most unkillable!"

Unless an enemy was able to smash apart the Everchanger in a single overwhelming attack, the powerful mech would always be able to bounce back and return to peak condition in a matter of seconds.

Such a hardy mech could be useful in many different situations, from completing risky scout assignments to locking powerful enemies into a stalemate.

Joshua was not too sure about this, though. The Ebony Everchanger may share a close resemblance to his battle partner, but it was completely different from the real thing.

"I don't know, sir. You are the expert on this, but… shouldn't there be stronger materials out there?"

"You are probably right, but don't discount the value of this ebony wood. It may be possible for the Everchanger to replicate the abilities of the Emperor Tree. This should at least turn your machine into a genuine beastmaster that can command an entire exobeast army. Doesn't that sound exciting, Joshua?"