When the tests involving the two prior fully saturated mechs ended in failure, Imon stood with the other Avatar mech pilots.
Each of them reacted with horror at what had taken place. When they saw the pained mech pilots being moved to the infirmary, a cloud had cast over the heads of the remaining Avatars.
Evidently, the last batch of modified Bright Warrior mechs were much harder to pilot. Something about them turned them into hazards to their own mech pilots.
“You shouldn’t go, brother.” Casella Ingvar spoke softly to Imon. “It’s clear now why the clan patriarch hesitated to conduct the tests. Not every new invention is safe, particularly when they are too extreme, as is the case right now. I think Mr. Ves should just stop and settle what he has managed to accomplish with the mechs that performed better previously.”
Casella already had her turn. She piloted one of the mechs with 50 percent saturation. Though the strain of piloting her machine had increased, it was well within her tolerance. It also helped that her own mech cooperated much more closely with her than before.
In her opinion, every other mech pilot should be pleased at piloting such a responsive and comfortable mech. Casella never experienced any instance of discomfort when she was running her improved mech to her paces.
What she didn’t know was that Ves had some good reasons to put the Ingvar siblings in different groups.
He didn’t have many Avatar mech pilots with spiritual potential in the First and Second Spaceborn Mech Companies, so he needed to spread them out in order to gather sufficient data.
Ves also valued Casella Ingvar more. As the Mech Captain of the Second Company, Ves couldn’t afford to take her out of action.
In comparison, Imon Ingvar’s absence was much less consequential. If he ever suffered an accident, then the rest of his unit would still be capable of chugging along as if hardly anything had changed.
Imon was ignorant of these reasons. He just thought that Ves believed in his strength. Why else would the clan patriarch call him in person to put him ahead of the line?
He couldn’t wait to prove his piloting ability to the Avatars and the leader of the clan!
Some time later, he settled down in the familiar piloting seat of his mech. The arrangement of its cushioning, support and dimensions had already been precisely tailored to his suited form.
“Please proceed to activate your mech.”
“Yes, sir.”
A piloting helmet extended from the ceiling and settled over his head. The mech began to come alive seconds later.
“Whoah!”
Imon immediately understood what his sister meant when she felt as if her mech had become ‘heavier’.
Compared to his previous piloting sessions, his assigned Bright Warrior mech immediately felt as if it possessed more presence. It was as if Imon previously swam in a shallow pool, but unexpectedly plunged into a deep ocean this time.
Not only that, but the ocean was filled with much more life and activity than before! As the initial systems came online, Imon sensed the heavy presence becoming significantly more active than before.
The mech did not just mechanically go through the checklist without doing anything else. It bloomed to life like a budding flower. A sense of indescribable closeness caused Imon to feel rapturous.
“Remain focused!” Ves barked through the command channel. “The worst is yet to come! Brace yourself instead of opening yourself up. A heavy blow is coming and I need you to endure it in order to make this test a success!”
Though the sudden words caused Imon to pull out of his blissful state, he didn’t dare to voice any complaints and did as he was told.
It was difficult. His mech was like a welcoming home that beckoned him to head inside. He felt so tempted to open up his mind and embrace the mech that had become a lot more powerful in some way.
Then, the intensity of their bond abruptly increased.
“Ah!”
Though he had prepared himself for some kind of bump, when it actually happened, he was still caught off-guard!
“It’s like someone punched my head!”
Despite the sudden strain, Imon tried his best to stay sober. He couldn’t allow himself to fail like the previous two mech pilots. He was better than them! There was no way he was going to shame himself by letting his own mech overpower his senses!
“Please… work with me…”
Imon tried his best to find some way to make his connection with his mech more bearable. His mind churned as he tried several different ways to ease the burden.
Though none of his methods worked, he felt as if his own mech was beginning to bond considerably deeper with him in a way. Though the process stretched on for several minutes, Imon discovered to his surprise that the pressure no longer felt as overwhelming!
His expression gradually relaxed as the strain of piloting his Bright Warrior mech had lessened.
In its place, a very strong bond had formed between him and his mech.
“Imon. Are you okay?”
“I.. I feel great! It’s still a bit more difficult to control my mech, but I can still do it! Please send me out! I’m so much more in tune with my mech that I can’t wait to see the difference!”
“Very well. You are cleared to deploy.”
When Imon’s mech launched into space, it quickly began to follow the same standardized routine of the other mechs.
Since the mech was in its swordsman mech configuration, the machine soon began to spar against another sword-wielding mech.
When Ves studied Imon’s performance and compared the data to the previous instances where he had piloted his mechs in battle, the difference was very obvious.
“He’s performing a lot better than usual! Some of his parameters have grown by as much as 20 percent!”
Though the overall performance boost only averaged at around 10 percent or so, that was still a massive boost. This was just the first time that Imon interfaced with his enhanced mech. How much better would Imon’s performance be if he had a month to get accustomed to piloting his growing machine?
Ves glanced at the projections of Imon’s life signs. After the early spike into the red zones, the various figures had dropped to tolerable levels. While Ves felt that they were still rather high, it at least indicated that a mech pilot with strong spiritual skills such as Imon did indeed possess the capital to pilot a fully saturated mech.
This was the result he wanted to see!
“Alright, let’s end the session.”
“Awwww.” Imon whined. “I have just begun to get used to my changed mech. Can you let me stay out longer?”
“No. While we haven’t detected any signs that you are under severe strain, we still need to perform an extensive examination of your state. We also have to inspect your mech and make sure that it hasn’t changed for the worse. Besides, there is one more Avatar mech pilot who is awaiting his turn.”
The Bright Warrior mech reluctantly returned to the Redfeather. Once it returned to its place in the mech hangar, the mech smoothly shut off. Imon eagerly left his cockpit and began to share his unique experiences with his fellow Avatars.
Many mech pilots tried to listen to Imon. The Avatars all wanted to learn what made the altered mechs so differencent.
In the meantime, Joshua, who had suited up in his customary piloting attire, quietly entered the cockpit of his Quint.
Even before it came active, Joshua already felt the difference. As an expert candidate, his senses and his perspective were different from norms. He also bonded very intimately with each of the mechs he had the pleasure to pilot.
The Quint was one of the most unique and stellar mechs he ever laid his hands on. The young Avatar mech pilot may not know much of the technical details of this exquisite masterwork mech, but Joshua bet that no one could beat his feel for it. He had become deeply familiar with every single nuance of his powerful mech!
This time, Joshua felt a lot of expectation for his mech.
“Please proceed with activating your mech.”
When Joshua did as instructed, the Quint slowly came to life.
Unlike the gradual bond that Imon had formed with his mech, the bond that formed between Joshua and the mech was seemingly greater!
Not only that, but the mech already welcomed Joshua as if he was a husband returning to his wife after a long day of work.
Nothing was unfamiliar to him. The Quint was still the same Quint. It was just that the masterwork mech was somehow able to express its strength and appreciation towards its mech pilot to a much greater degree than before!
As time began to pass, Joshua began to feel the strain that others had warned about. Yet unlike the previous mech pilots, he did not experience much discomfort.
He was an expert candidate! He was much stronger than anyone else in certain aspects!
The mech, noting that its own mech pilot was fully capable of bearing its strength, began to do something different.
Instead of minimizing the depth and fidelity of its bond with its mech pilot, the Quint sought to leverage more out of it. The pressure rapidly rose and the observers began to notice some concerning signs.
Ves, who had been watching carefully, immediately noticed that some of the parameters were rising without cause.
He immediately became vigilant. “The Quint isn’t supposed to do this. Why have some of its systems become more active? The mech is still at rest!”
Joshua did not notice anything outside of his bond with his mech. As his connection between his mech grew more vigorous, a part of him started to feel as if he had gone heaven.
This is what mech piloting should be like!
“Quint.. You’re a fantastic mech. I never realized you were so marvelous.”
Ves began to look a bit strange as Joshua seemed to melt into his mech. Though none of the data spiked, a lot of life signs began to rise in a calm and steady fashion.
It was as if some kind of tsunami was forming. The momentum emanating from the Quint began to rise. The mech gave everyone an illusion that a slumbering dragon was about to wake!
“My mech.. is truly alive now.” Joshua whispered with genuine wonder. “I always knew that LMC mechs were alive, but this is different. I’m not piloting my mech, I’m working together with the Quint! We are equals now!”
As the momentum from the mech continued to surge, Ves suddenly noted that another important parameter started to rise.
The resonance meter began to bump!
Ves immediately slapped the shutdown button.
The bootup sequence abruptly stopped before it had completely run its course. Joshua went from experiencing a transcendent high only to get ripped away from the mech he melded with the next second!
The sudden transition immediately induced a jarring headache to Joshua!
“Agh! Why did you stop it?! I was almost there!”
“That’s why I can’t allow this test to proceed, Mr. Joshua. Your time has not yet come. I need the Quint and you to shine in our upcoming battle against the Allidus Alliance. It’s a waste for you to take the next step when there is no one around to fight.”
Joshua was devastated. He truly felt as if he was about to grasp a better way to connect and bond with mechs that reached out to him. The Quint had become so much stronger and more suitable to him that he didn’t want to go back to the old style of piloting mechs!
It was too bad that Ves had different intentions in mind. He already had the data he wanted. He had no intentions of getting anything more out of this experiment.
“The session is over. Joshua, please exit the cockpit. All of the Bright Warrior mechs must be locked down and secured. I will be inspecting each of them in person. Thank you for your cooperation.”
