The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

Though the duel had ended and the Fortunate Devil already started to turn around to wade out of the flames, the arena still remained hot.

If not for the various protective measures provided by the MTA, the observers wouldn't have been able to observe the clash between two striker mechs in peace. All of the smoke and heat would have forced them to leave the dueling arena just a few minutes after the fight commenced!

The air filtration systems and other measures were doing their best to calm the raging fires and remove all of the dangerous elements from the arena grounds. It would take some time for the grounds to become safe enough to allow for the entry of mech technicians who were tasked with rescuing Joshua from his unmoving machine.

Ordinarily, the mech pilot of a disabled mech should calmly wait for the mech technicians to safely pull him out of his cockpit.

If the mech was at risk of threatening the life of the mech pilot, then it was advisable to eject the cockpit.

If that was not possible, then there were other, riskier means of evacuating from a dangerous mech.

However, these measures weren't necessary at the moment. The Purgatory Envoy was not at risk of exploding or threatening the life of the mech pilot. It was for all intents and purposes unmoving as if it had been frozen in time.

At this time, almost everyone in the arena believed that Ves had lost the design duel.

He already accepted the outcome declared by Master Willix and already started to cast his thoughts to the future.

The design duel had ended, but many other matters required his attention. Ves was already thinking about exploring the potential of spiritual constructs, researching the mechanics behind triggered abilities and preparing for his upcoming jaunt to the Nyxian Gap.

Yet even as the mech designer of the Purgatory Envoy had already written off the mech, the mech pilot who was trapped in the cockpit still thought differently!

"I haven't lost.."

"I haven't lost.."

"I haven't lost.."

At some point in time, Joshua's mindset changed. He refused to accept his loss.

His victory had been robbed from his hands.

The match was rigged.

How could he have known that the mech of his opponent was such a massive cheater?

Instead of beating his Purgatory Envoy fair and square, the Fortunate Devil instead relied on its formidable defensive capabilities and simply played the waiting game!

Despite being piloted by an incredibly elite MTA mech pilot, the Fortunate Devil hardly showcased anything exceptional.

It made Joshua feel as if his effort had been for nothing. It was as if he poured his entire heart into the fight, only for the enemy mech to remain on the same spot and simply rely on its armor to win over time.

While such an approach was a valid method of winning a battle, it was a dishonorable tactic!

Many more mech pilots than Joshua would feel indignant in this situation, but the huge amount of opportunities he missed made his loss even worse.

Joshua was not resigned to his loss!

He began to draw himself inward and tried to immerse his mind in the bond he shared with his mech.

Even though the mech had almost entirely shut down, the cockpit contained its own power supply, though it was barely enough to do anything.

In his bond, Joshua felt as if his thoughts went nowhere. The cockpit was like the brain of a paralyzed human. Even if the mind was sound, the body had turned into an abyss!

This gave him the illusion that he had ended in a pit of darkness.

This was true purgatory.

There was nothing around him. He could shout, scream or plead all he wanted, but the mech that was supposed to be beyond had fallen silent.

Yet Joshua knew that an LMC mech was not like an average mech.

Unlike mechs designed by other mech designers, every mech designed by the clan patriarch possessed a bit of vitality.

Living Mechs, Partners for Life.

The motto of the LMC had been carved into Joshua's heart. He understood deeper than any other mech pilot he knew that every mech was truly alive.

Right now, he did not believe the Purgatory Envoy had died.

Its power reactor may have failed, but the fault did not lie in the mech!

The mech was still alive!

The Superior Mother would not succumb so easily!

Joshua began to reach out to his own mech. He surrendered his entire being in order to convince that it was still alive!

"I haven't lost!"

"I haven't lost!

"WE haven't lost!"

"WE can still fight!"

"WAKE UP!"

"WAKE UP!"

"WAKE UP!"

"HELP ME, MOTHER!"

Deep within the mech, in some other realm, the spiritual entity known as the Superior Mother sensed the pleas.

Though she was still dormant and in the process of undergoing large and profound changes, something within the recently-born ancestral spirit stirred.

Like a mother reaching out to her son, the Superior Mother became more active, if just a bit. A tiny amount of energy channeled from the spiritual entity and entered the mech.

Something profound took place.

A trigger had been pulled.

A stronger bond began to form between Joshua, the Superior Mother and the Purgatory Envoy.

Just as the group on the balcony were starting to leave, Master Willix stopped floating towards the exit and frowned.

She turned around and stared back at the arena. Her sudden behavior caused the rest to halt as well.

"What is the matter?"

"I'm not sure."

Even Ves began to look down at his own mech. Now that he was paying attention to it, he began to frown as well.

There was something strange taking place.

Inside the cockpit, Joshua paid no attention to the behavior of the people outside.

In his mind, he only had thoughts for his mech and the Superior Mother!

"We can still fight!"

"We can still bring glory to the Larkinson Clan!"

"We can still help the clan patriarch become stronger!"

"Let us fight for victory! Let us fight for Ves!"

The moment Joshua uttered the name of the clan patriarch, the resonance that had emerged between himself and the Superior Mother had peaked!

"Purgatory Envoy, there is still a lot of fight left in you. Come back to life and take back the victory that belongs to us! Do not let your birth be in vain!"

The disabled striker mech began to show activity.

Its power reactor, which should have stopped working, started to rouse!

If anyone looked inside of its internal structure, then they would have noticed that some of its subcomponents started to glow.

The malfunctioning part that had been the primary cause for shutting down the mech attracted most of the glow!

The resonance that had emerged began to work on the component, physically affecting it until the part inexplicably became whole again!

This was impossible! Parts that weren't designed with self-repair capabilities in mind did not just spontaneously put itself back together.

Yet this impossibility had become possible with the emergence of the strange form of resonance that Joshua had summoned.

Right now, his mind and will grew unprecedentedly strong and active. His willpower, which had always been strong, somehow broke a barrier.

Joshua's spiritual potential, which had always rested in his mind without showing much sign of activity, suddenly started to merge with his willpower.

The young adopted Larkinson mech pilot began to form a nascent force of will!

As the power reactor gradually fixed itself, its systems started to kick back into gear. The power reactor thrummed before beginning to supply some power to the rest of the mech.

The Purgatory Envoy was coming back to life!

The darkness and desolation of its near-dead state had not caused the mech to remain in purgatory.

Instead, with the help of Joshua's extraordinarily strong willpower, he managed to will his mech to claw its way out of the darkness and embrace the light that was life!

At this instance, Joshua obtained the answers to all of the doubts and questions that had plagued him for some time.

He found his reason to pilot a mech.

"I am fighting for life."

Life was precious. Life was wonderful. Life was his source of strength!

For a single instance, Joshua embodied life, and resonated with the life instilled within the Purgatory Envoy and the Superior Mother!

All three elements shared a common strength, and the alignment of all three resulted in a miracle that astounded the mech designers on the balcony.

The Purgatory Envoy started to exhibit a flickering glow despite not containing any parts that could evoke such an effect. Jovy and Gloriana couldn't help but drop their jaws!

"This.. this is forced resonance!" The MTA mech designer uttered in shock! "I've never witnessed this with my eyes, but the signs are unmistakable!"

Gloriana whipped out a multiscanner and pointed it at the increasingly more active Purgatory Envoy. "The resonance sensor is detecting signs of activity. The mech is outputting 0.05 laveres and growing. Joshua is breaking through!"

Though Jovy and Gloriana both reacted with shock, it was Ves who truly felt astonished.

This was because he felt something very familiar from the resonance outputted by Joshua and the mech he designed.

That resonance bore the flavor of life!

His eyes widened as he realized the implications. If his guess was correct, then Joshua's had dedicated his will towards life!

This meant that when Joshua succeeded in his breakthrough, he would become an expert candidate who possessed a primary spiritual attribute that was identical to Ves' domain.

Both mech pilot and mech designer shared the same obsession, the same domain and the same spiritual attributes.

This was an incredibly remarkable development and one that was absolutely more profound than Jannzi's promotion!

Only half a minute passed before the Purgatory Envoy's power reactor had returned to full power!

That should have been impossible.

A mech that had just suffered an emergency shutdown should have taken at least two to three minutes to regain full functionality. This was because the power reactor had likely sustained some damage due to its emergency shutdown and slowly needed to test its various subsystems to determine whether they could tolerate the strain.

The forced resonance ignored these realities and forcibly revived the power reactor without issue!

Not only that, the mech's other systems began to show some signs of restoration. Various internal components that had been damaged due to exposure to excessive heat started to function as if they were brand new and fully functional.

This was impossible!

There was no way to explain these changes with conventional theory.

What was taking place right now had exceeded the boundaries of normality and crossed into a territory that was ordinarily reserved for gods!

Joshua had taken his first step towards ascension. From this day onwards, he was no longer purely mortal. He had narrowed the distance to his girlfriend and become a bona-fide expert candidate!

He was the first to do so since the founding of the Larkinson Clan!

All of the activity did not escape the Fortunate Devil. Even though the match had formally ended, its mech pilot was a true warrior and soldier.

Whenever someone challenged him, he was obliged to respond. This was what the MTA stood for. The fight was not yet over until a mech could no longer move!

"Come, young mech pilot! If you want another round, then I shall oblige!"

Even if the MTA mech pilot was facing a brand-new expert candidate who had managed to evoke forced resonance, his fighting spirit had not diminished.

He represented the MTA. Expert candidate or not, he had his own pride!

The Purgatory Envoy began to step towards the Fortunate Devil at greater speed than before! The unstable forced resonance that wrapped around the mech had elevated its performance beyond its technical parameters!

Furious hot flames began to spew from the Purgatory Envoys arms. They washed towards the Fortunate Devil's feet and melted the remaining armor within seconds.

The Fortunate Devil collapsed!

The revived clash had been decided in an instant!

Every mech designer couldn't believe what had taken place. The mech designed by Jovy stood no chance!