The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1141

Ves paid a visit to the base of the Avatars of Myth. Few mech pilots were lounging about. Instead, they disappeared into their mechs or simulator pods and poured their hearts and souls into training!

How could they continue to take it easy when Jannzi Larkinson, a young mech pilot fresh out of the mech academy, underwent a highly improbable breakthrough to expert candidate!

One of their own ascended from the ranks of mortals and took her first step onto godhood! Jannzi had only been an Avatar for a scant few months, but already she shed her role of emulating a mythical being into becoming one herself!

How could this incredibly fortunate example not inspire the remainder of the Avatars into a frenzy?!

Aside from that, everyone heard about Jannzi’s close connection to the Shield of Samar. Melkor told Ves all the details when all the Larkinsons on Cloudy Curtain met in the Avatar Commander’s office.

"The men and women of the Avatars of Myth have developed the belief that your mechs can help them turn into expert candidates. Even though there is only a sample size of one so far, Jannzi’s circumstances during her breakthrough are very remarkable. Aside from being a Larkinson and paired with a mech that is practically tailored for her use, the rest of her background made a quick advancement extremely unlikely."

Mech pilots fresh out of the academy just don’t advance to expert candidate after a single show match." Rhode Larkinson added with a hint of incredulity. "You need to accumulate at least some battle experience to get a realistic chance of becoming an expert candidate."

All the other Larkinson expert pilots that popped up over the years all broke through under arduous combat. Each of them faced tough opponents and put their lives on the line, forcing them to sum up every scrap of ability before they ultimately broke through an invisible barrier in order to achieve even greater performance!

Having heard from both Melkor and Rhode, Ves turned to Chette. "What about you? What do you think?"

Chette was the oldest Larkinson mech pilot among the three little chicks. Well, Ves supposed he should call them two little chicks now. One of their own had suddenly evolved from a plain juvenile chicken into a majestic young phoenix!

"A lot of us Larkinsons dream of becoming expert pilots. You know that, Ves. Yet even though the family boasts hundreds of active mech pilots, less than ten have managed to take the next step. The odds that we can follow in Jannzi’s footsteps aren’t all that big. If it happens to me one day, I’d be ecstatic, but if not I’ll just live my life as a normal Larkinson."

"That’s a very sober outlook to take." Ves nodded to Chette in appreciation. "While there’s nothing wrong with harboring some ambitions, don’t put too much stock in my abilities. I’m not a sorcerer who can simply wave my hand and turn you all into expert candidates. Jannzi’s example is a very clear outlier that likely won’t be repeated."

He was being a little disingenuous here. Ves knew more than anyone how expert candidates emerged! Not only that, but he also possessed the tools to replicate the feat!

However, for a second expert candidate to emerge from the ranks of the Avatars of Myth was too conspicuous. Once may be coincidence, but to have something incredible like that happen again in a short time would definitely attract a lot of attention from some very high places!

Nonetheless, was it really so bad if people began to associate his mechs with an increased chance of advancing to a higher form of life?

Even if Ves did nothing to encourage this phenomenon, the remarkable X-Factor of his mechs would do the job for him. As long as the mech pilots became aligned with the X-Factor of their machines and earned the favor of their design spirits, their chances of breaking through would definitely increase!

This effect should be most pronounced when the mechs they piloted came from designs with A-grade X-Factor or higher!

For now, Ves did not think he could reproduce an A-grade X-Factor without resorting to extraordinary means. Without the aid of something as powerful and benevolent as Qilanxo’s spiritual fragment, his customers shouldn’t transform into expert candidates anytime soon.

Still, considering he was facing family, Ves decided to throw them a bone to chew on for a while.

"I don’t want to dash your hopes. Maybe you’ll achieve something similar one day." Ves said to his cousins. "I will share some of the same advice to you that I gave Jannzi just before she deployed on that fateful day. What do my company and my mechs stand for? What is most remarkable about each of my products?"

"Living Mechs. Partners for Life."

"You’re just parroting the company motto, Melkor."

"I know the meaning, Ves. I haven’t attended all of those company events for nothing." Melkor frowned. "Your mechs are supposed to be valued partners to mech pilots. Treat them right, and they will treat you better. That’s the idea behind your mechs, right?"

"Correct. However, few people truly embody that ideal. You all have a tendency to regard your mechs as cold machines or lifeless tools, right? What if I tell you that Jannzi firmly rejected that stance. What if I tell you that Jannzi put her faith in my ideology and earnestly tried to bond with her mech?"

That put the three Larkinson mech pilots in Melkor’s office into deep thought. Staying at the Mech Nursery for a few months taught them all about the LMC’s beliefs. Yet that did not necessarily mean they took them literally.

Perhaps only now that Ves directly connected Jannzi’s lucky break with the company’s ideals did Melkor, Chette and Rhode begin to take them seriously.

Maybe Ves was really on to something here!

"I’ll let you guys figure out the rest yourself." Ves shrugged. He only wanted to give them a push in the right direction but not much more. "I can only promise you that as long as you stay in the Avatars of Myth, you will be in the best possible place to follow in Jannzi’s footsteps. Melkor, what is the founding principle of the Avatars of Myth?"