The Mech Touch - Chapter 7310
Chapter 7310: A Healthy Mindset
Saint Rosa Orfan finally became fully awake in full.
She not only regained consciousness, but also entered a state where she was able to inspect her own condition.
It became clear that she belatedly discovered that her original human body had fallen out of reach to her current self.
She had fulfilled one of her biggest dreams by successfully breaching the barrier that held her back from attaining sainthood, but the price she paid was much more severe than expected.
Several minutes passed after the mech designers exposed Rosa Orfan’s actual physical state to herself.
Instead of possessing a normal human body like any other saint, Orfan could no longer consciously feel or control her own flesh and blood!
No matter how hard she tried, she could no longer do it anymore. Even though she knew for a fact that her original was still present for the most part, not a single shred of her own mind, spirit or willpower granted her the possibility of moving a single limb or uttering a single word from her lips.
A profoundly scary realization struck the ace pilot at that time. Her mech frame briefly shuddered as it reflected her unraveling mental condition.
It was only because Rosa Orfan had indeed become an ace pilot of sorts that she managed to stabilize herself before she suffered any further negative consequences.
No matter what, the current outcome was far better than dying!
“I… DO NOT KNOW WHAT I HAVE BECOME AT THE MOMENT, BUT WHAT MATTERS IS THAT I HAVE GAINED THE POWER OF AN ACE PILOT AND RETAINED CONTROL OVER THE RIOT MARK III. THAT… IS ENOUGH TO MAKE ME SATISFIED, I SUPPOSE.”
“Are you sure you are happy, Rosa?” Gloriana asked with concern. “Compared to the likes of Saint Tusa and Saint Dise, you…”
The Riot Mark III transmitted a snorting sound, even though it did not have nostrils.
“I WAS LUCKY TO BREAK THROUGH IN THE FIRST PLACE. I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN YOUR WARNINGS. I WENT INTO THIS KNOWING THAT I WOULD DIE IF I FAILED TO TAME THIS MECH. WHILE THE OUTCOME IS FAR FROM IDEAL, I DO NOT HAVE MUCH GROUNDS FOR COMPLAINT. I AM STILL MYSELF AS FAR AS I KNOW, AND I AM CONFIDENT THAT I CAN CONTROL THE RIOT MARK III TO THE FULLEST.”
“What about the Prophet’s Bane?” Ves asked with a slight amount of concern. “According to my own observation of your intangible condition, your spirit has merged with the spirit of your living mech. The boundary between you and your machine has blurred. This is already concerning enough, but you should know much better than anyone else what I have done to make your Riot more powerful at the cost of stability. That darkness has become a separate part of yourself. If your willpower ever slips…”
Her earlier words already betrayed the continued existence of the Prophet’s Bane. This was both good and bad as far as Ves was concerned.
The Middle Demon not only maintained its existence as an unequivocally malicious entity.
Though it clearly lost its dominance for the time being, getting rid of it was out of the question.
This meant that as long as it managed to wrest control over the Riot Mark III, the Prophet’s Bane would no doubt convert the powerful mech from an asset into a liability!
What was good was that Saint Orfan should have obtained at least partial control over the strength and abilities of the Prophet’s Bane.
Since the two had merged to such a powerful extent, the Middle Demon did not possess the capital to withhold its power.
The willpower of an ace pilot, even a fresh one, was domineering enough to force the Prophet’s Bane into compliance.
“THE DEMON IS… UNDER CONTROL.” Saint Orfan truthfully transmitted from the speakers of her mech. “THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO WORRY SO LONG AS I AM IN CONTROL. IF MY THAT IS NO LONGER THE CASE… THEN I WILL DO MY BEST TO ISSUE A WARNING. I DON’T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT I HAVE BECOME, BUT ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT MY WILLPOWER IS THE REAL DEAL. THAT IS WHAT MATTERS THE MOST. THE FACT THAT I CANNOT FEEL MY ORIGINAL BODY AT THIS TIME IS… NOT GOOD, BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE.”
Ves relaxed a bit after hearing this. Saint Orfan sounded remarkably stable at this time. She understood her current condition well enough, and did not succumb to the negativity that had tainted much of her soul.
While the possibility of losing control always hung in the background, the latest ace pilot of the Larkinson Clan maintained a surprisingly healthy mindset. She did not blame herself or Ves for ending up in such a weird condition.
Of course, Ves knew better than to take this outcome for granted. Rosa Orfan had only just woken up. She became too enamoured by her newfound strength as an ace pilot to fully understand the ramifications of losing control over her old organic body.
She no longer had access to the simple joys and comforts of a human.
From consuming delicious meals to speaking to others as fellow humans, Rosa Orfan could no longer enjoy these experiences anymore.
The longer these basic pleasures remained out of her reach, the more humanity she lost over time.
She was not a machine, but she threatened to become one if she ever forgot how to live like a human.
The source of her willpower and conviction was not endless. All of it was derived from her drive and ambition as a human.
If this side of her grew weaker over time, then her willpower would not only stagnate, but also regress!
Without any corrective measures, Ves predicted that the dark side of her soul may one day overpower her dominant will!
Though all of this remained conjecture at this time, he was pretty sure about his theory. Ves did not dare to bet on her continued stability.
The only way she could retain control over herself was to continue her climb.
So long as she progressed, she was keeping her demonic side at bay.
When Ves looked at the Riot Mark III, he knew that Saint Orfan understood this truth as well, if not as precise.
The good thing was that her breakthrough had rejuvenated her fighting spirit. Her willpower felt strong and vigorous. Ves believed that she should be fine even if she suffered a few setbacks.
As the mech designers continued to talk with Saint Orfan, they all began to relax as they no longer believed that the Riot Mark III would go out of control anytime soon.
“Ever since you woke up, the volatile activity generated by your Chaos Armor has diminished by at least 90 percent.” Gloriana remarked with clear interest. “Are you able to exert your Saint Kingdom to suppress the remaining activity of your mech frame?”
A brief pause ensued as Saint Orfan strengthened her willpower exertion.
The data reflected her new condition. The Riot Mark III’s inherent chaos and volatility became even more suppressed than before!
Though the ace pilot failed to silence her machine entirely, it was already remarkable that she was able to stabilize it to this extent.
“I CAN DO SO… FOR A TIME.” Rosa Orfan said. “MAINTAINING THIS STATE… IS EXHAUSTING ME. I WON’T BE ABLE TO CHANNEL MY WILLPOWER LIKE THIS FOR TOO LONG.”
“Estimate?”
“A COUPLE OF HOURS. A LOT SHORTER IF I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT. THIS IS MUCH HARDER FOR ME TO DO IF I AM DISTRACTED.”
Ves exchanged glances with his wife.
“It is very important for you to be able to maintain your present level of control over your mech.” Gloriana explained. “Now that we have confirmed that you have regained consciousness and retail effective control over the Riot Mark III, it is time for us to complete your metamorphosis. The final step to obtaining the power of an ace pilot is to upgrade the Riot Mark III into a genuine first-class ace mech. In order to accomplish this, we need to integrate ace mech-grade resonating materials into your machine. With the help of Master Laila Rebecca Devos, I have prepared two separate refit plans.”
“TELL ME MORE.” Rosa Orfan immediately sounded intrigued.
She knew that the selection of upgrades would have a massive impact on her subsequent career as an ace pilot.
In the past, the Miracle Couple presented Saint Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson with options that suited them best.
Now it was her turn to decide upon the emphasis of her ace mech.
Although her ‘battle partner’ was already loaded with lots of technological features, an ace mech was ultimately defined by its potent resonating materials. It was the lodestone that shaped the development of the ace pilot.
A careless choice could easily stall her career and ruin her future!
Seeing that she was ready to make this life-changing decision, Gloriana did not hold back.
“Plan A is to select Kaminsky Alloy. This is a brand-new ‘superdimensional resonating alloy’ developed by the Resonating Smith. It is a blend between traditional resonating exotics, hyper materials and most importantly a small proportion of mid-grade superdimensional alloy. It operates along the same principles as Sydney Particle Weapon Technology, but without the need for advanced tech and circuitry. To put it in very simple terms, as long as you resonate with Kaminsky Alloy, you can open up restricted one-way portals to higher dimensions. This will allow you to channel very exotic energies with very unusual properties for various purposes.”
“…WHAT CAN I DO WITH THIS?” Saint Orfan sounded bewildered.
“Theoretically, anything.” Gloriana smiled. “Red humanity has only begun to investigate the properties of every higher dimension in depth, but we already know that there are a number of them that contain highly potent and useful energy and matter. While Kaminsky Alloy cannot draw upon the strength of matter in the higher dimensions, energy is a different story. It will take a long period of exploration and experimentation, but as long as you have managed to identify a handful of dimension with useful energies, you should be able to channel them in battle to produce specific effects such as hardening your mech, enhancing the destructive power of your attacks or slowing down your opponent.”
This did not give Saint Orfan as much clarity as she wished. While she comprehended the explanation, she found it difficult to imagine how much stronger she could become.
“THIS SOUNDS… PROMISING… BUT ALSO TROUBLESOME. ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT I HAVE TO EXPLORE THE HIGHER DIMENSIONS ONE BY ONE AND RANDOMLY FIND ENERGY THAT IS USEFUL IN ONLY A FEW SITUATIONS?”
“…Basically.” Ves said. “It is difficult for us to guarantee the power and effectiveness of Kaminsky Alloy. As my wife has mentioned, it is a very new invention, thus it is difficult to prove for certain that it is a worthwhile upgrade choice. You will essentially be test-driving it for the Resonating Smith. That said, I do not believe that the work of a Star Designer can ever be subpar. If he is confident enough in the development of Kaminsky Alloy that he is willing to let ace pilots make use of it, then its performance should at least be satisfactory. The only point of uncertainty is how much time it takes to realize the greater potential of this resonating alloy. It may take years or even decades for you to build up a catalog of useful higher-dimensional energies and become strong enough to channel them in sufficient quantities.”
In other words, Kaminsky Alloy was a typical resonating material that would probably be underwhelming at the start, but promised incredible benefits at the later stages of Saint Orfan’s career.
Its versatility was its strongest advantage. Saint Orfan would not limit herself to an offensive or defensive specialist if she selected this upgrade path.
After all, the higher dimensions were so diverse and numerous that she could potentially gain access to everything!
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