The moment that many people had already been waiting for had finally arrived. The first masterwork expert mech that the Larkinson Clan had ever produced was about to step out into the field for its inaugural deployment.
While expert mechs were always game changers to organizations, the ones developed by the Larkinson Clan were much more significant than usual.
Whether it was the unique mix of mech designers who developed them, the remarkable advantages that allowed them to stand out from the crowd or their great significance in the Larkinson Army, every expert mech designed by the Larkinsons in-house was definitely worthy to be put into a mech museum!
When the Sentry Project activated for the first time, those who were more sensitive than others were able to sense elevated activity from the hangar bay.
A bright source of light appeared to shine through every physical barrier and blind anyone sensitive enough to perceive this phenomenon!
Of course, much of it was an illusion. The Sentry Project did not literally release any strong flashes of light, though people like Ves were still able to figure out that something remarkable took place.
A strange thought entered his mind. “The Sentry Project is already remarkable in that it is both an expert mech and a prime mech. That latter part actually matters this time because the Illustrious One is a lot stronger and more developed than Arnold and Trisk. How much stronger will it become now that it is also a masterwork?”
Though the Dark Zephyr already showed some promising signs in how it was able to leverage its prime mech attributes, for now it largely revolved around true resonance.
The Sentry Project had the potential to present a more balanced package. Though Venerable Davia Stark was a much more developed expert pilot than any of her peers in the Larkinson Clan, the Illustrious One possessed a rich background as well.
Combining these factors with the fact that they were put together in a masterwork, then the expected power level of the Sentry Project should definitely surpass the Dark Zephyr by a significant margin!
Out of everyone involved with the expert mech, no one else possessed a better inkling of how much power it had at its disposal than its pilot!
Venerable Stark almost controls herself. One of the reasons why the Sentry Project exuded so much power at the beginning was because she did not expect to get swamped by the overwhelming amount of power she was able to harness.
She gritted her teeth and imposed her will on her overactive machine. “Calm down!”
Both Stark and her expert mech had trouble getting along at first. Gloriana had done a great job at making the physical mech fit her nature, but there were other influences that did not quite get along with a pilot like her. The design spirit of the Sentry Project was out of alignment with the mech pilot!
Venerable Stark and the Illustrious One had little in common with each other. While this was not a critical flaw, it nonetheless produced several compatibility issues that caused the pilot to experience greater difficulties in taming her unruly expert mech.
Yet she never gave up in trying to master her new machine. Even though the mech was standing inside the hangar bay for several minutes now, she steadfastly concentrated her will and tried to find a way to get along with the Sentry Project.
It was absurd for her to be unable to tame her own expert mech at the first try! Even though she did not care too much about her pride, her self-image as a soldier would surely take a hit if she was unable to succeed in showing off the strength of her new machine on the very first attempt!
“You’re powerful and aggressive. I like that.” She whispered to her mech as sweat began to pour from her brow. “Yet there is a time and place for you to show off your might. You’re being too feisty right now! Calm down and control yourself before you harm our own allies!”
Compared to the Bright Beam Prime which had been disassembled in order to reuse some of its parts, the Sentry Project was much more alive. This was normally a happy occasion, but Stark had the impression that she was tasked with taming a new and overeager dog!
She was pretty certain that this was not how it was supposed to go. Venerable Tusa never exhibited so many difficulties from the start. Then again, his expert mech was not as strong at the start.
Despite the difficulties she was facing, she tried her best not to impose her will too harshly on the mech. This was her battle partner going forward and it was essential for them to trust each other to the greatest degree.
In order to further their mutual understanding, she did not hesitate to open up her mind and expose her will and intention to the powerful machine.
Eventually, the first presence to accept her was not the expert mech itself, but the design spirit that watched over it. When the Illustrious One was able to learn more about what kind of person Venerable Stark was like, he managed to find common ground with her past.
Though the Illustrious One was not a direct survivor of the downfall of the ancient luminar race, he was derived from at least two of them. He was the successor of both the crystal golem along with the Blinding One, two very different luminars who took up radically different paths as their race had begun to fall many eons past.
Nowadays, the Illustrious One was probably the only surviving member of this nearly forgotten race. Perhaps he wasn’t technically a luminar, but in spirit he fully considered himself to be a part of the extinct race’s legacy.
“So… you are carrying the dead of an entire nation on your back as well…” Stark realized as she began to deepen her bond with this mysterious alien entity.
She was reluctant to associate with the alien at first, but as she deepened her exchange with the Illustrious One, she realized that he was not an evil villain. As long as he did not have innocent human blood on his hands, she was willing to further her contact with this lonely spirit.
Though their race, backgrounds and nature were radically different, the few things that they had in common allowed them to resonate with each other on an emotional level.
Venerable Stark spontaneously decided to swear a pact.
“I vow that I will destroy the killers of your people if they still exist. In return, I hope to receive your help if I ever need to borrow your help in wiping out the ones responsible for letting the Vindmar Republic and its people die!”
The moment the Illustrious One agreed with the pact in his own way, the Sentry Project lit up again as its rifle began to exert a powerful influence that dampened the excessive activity emanating from the masterwork mech.
It was remarkable how easy the Illustrious One managed to calm down the expert mech. It was as if it was made to act as a mediator between the mech and the mech pilot from the start.
Once the expert mech no longer rioted due to its excessive strength, Venerable Stark was finally able to forge a proper understanding with her machine.
The two came to an accord, in large part because the Illustrious One supported the expert pilot. It was only then that Venerable Stark began to feel that the Sentry Project was truly made for her. The will she projected no longer encountered any resistance and seamlessly merged with the physical frame of her expert mech. The resonance between the rapidly grew as Venerable Stark was finally able to leverage her sizable resonance strength!
A soft corona swelled around the mech.
“It’s stepping out!”
The Sentry Project no longer glowed as brightly as before. It gave off a calmer and more controlled impression, but it was not weak by any means. It was unnecessary for it to display its might and waste its power when it wasn’t firing its gun.
The mech slowly moved to the hangar bay hatch before launching out at moderate speed.
From the moment the Sentry Project appeared in space, a lot of gasps were being uttered.
“Have I gone blind?!”
“That’s a masterwork mech!”
“How is this possible?! Only Masters should be able to create such machines!”
The reactions from those who possessed the technical acumen to judge the quality of mech were just as exaggerated has Ves had predicted.
He switched through the feeds of the monitoring system throughout the fleet and observed plenty of looks of astonishment. Those who studied to become a mech designer were the most shocked of all. The assistant mech designers of the Design Department had no idea that their bosses succeeded in accomplishing the impossible!
Both old and newer assistants had become more fervent about working in the Design Department than ever. Compared to many other mech designers at their level, they were extremely fortunate for being able to work and study under the auspices of young but extremely talented masterwork mech designers.
“My friend who stayed behind in Talulah Silver will probably regret his decision to work for another company after he hears of this. He missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime!”
“Do you know what it means to make a masterwork expert mech? It’s practically a certainty that Patriarch Ves and his wife will become Master Mech Designers.”
“I need to work harder and break through so that I too can make a masterwork mech design alongside the patriarch. I bet that Miss Ketis got a free ride this time!”
Ves chuckled as he overheard the speculations from the cute little assistants. At the very least, this accomplishment had certainly lit a fire under their butts.
However, the strongest reaction did not come from the Larkinsons. Instead, the reaction was much greater from the allies of the Larkinson Clan!
“So this is why we were able to feel closer to the Superior Mother in the last few days. She has personally blessed this great mech!” A devout Glory Seeker speculated.
Marshal Ariadne Wodin was not so certain about this theory. As the head of the Glory Seekers, it was important for her to maintain her composure at all times.
Inwardly, her mind was already buzzing with thoughts. It seemed that the relationship between the Glory Seekers and the Larkinson Clan had to be adjusted once again.
She threw a brief glance over at the projection that displayed the flagship of the Cross Clan. “I bet the reaction over there is stronger.”
She wasn’t wrong.
The Cross Clan placed a high importance on mech pilots. This also caused them to possess a lot more appreciation for good mechs than normal.
Now, thousands of Crosser mech pilots were looking at the Sentry Project with stars in their eyes. Even if they weren’t able to appreciate the true splendor of a masterwork, just being told that this machine was the pinnacle of what a design could be was enough for them to worship the expert rifleman mech for a long time!
Though Patriarch Reginald and Professor Benedict did not explode in excitement, the implications of what they were seeing had absolutely come as a bombshell to the two Crosser leaders.
“The Larkinsons have exceeded my expectations once again.” Professor Benedict mildly said, though he wasn’t able to hide his jealousy. “I was already aware that common sense doesn’t seem to apply to these kids, but this is something else! Even I have never been able to make a masterwork expert mech!”
His desire to collaborate with Ves increased even more. It was as if he saw the hope of breaking through to Master Mech Designer in front of his eyes!
As for Patriarch Reginald, his body was completely still but his will was roiling like an earthquake.
If his next expert mech could become a masterwork as well… then he had a strong hunch that there was no way that he could fail to become an ace pilot!
“What.. a waste.” Reginald painfully squeezed from his lips. “That should have been my expert mech…”
