The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1552

Chapter 1552 Cherish These Times

Melkor coughed. "Joshua here is a recent graduate I picked up from Meirling."

"The famed advanced mech academy in Bentheim?" Ves briefly glanced away from the pathetic kneeling mech pilot.

What an odd display!

"He just joined us a few weeks ago, so he's still an unpolished gem. Don't let your first impressions fool you, though. Joshua is a top graduate from that mech academy who received many favorable offers from various mech regiments. He could have accepted a fast-track career at the Mech Corps, but he set his sights on the Avatars."

This young mech pilot became more and more interesting to Ves.

"Sit up, Joshua. You're an Avatar, not a groveler. Have some pride."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Why did you choose the Avatars?"

"I'm your biggest fan, sir! Perhaps you don't remember me, but I piloted one of your first virtual designs back when you were publishing mechs under the name of Chasing Clouds. I grew up piloting the Seraphim, the Young Blood, the Old Soul and both Marc Antony versions! I even piloted the virtual versions of your original mech models! I've piloted them all!"

Ves looked a bit astonished. "You piloted my earliest works?"

"I was born and raised on Cloudy Curtain, just like you, sir." Joshua smiled. "Maybe you don't remember me, but you even interviewed me a long time ago."

No wonder Joshua showed so much enthusiasm at meeting Ves. As a fellow Cloudy Curtainer, the young mech pilot probably grew up admiring Ves after he elevated the LMC from a small mech workshop into a large mech manufacturer!

This explained why Joshua was eager to become an Avatar!

The more Ves studied Joshua, the more he became satisfied. Joshua not only possessed an excellent academic record, but also carried spiritual potential with unusual attributes.

"What's his genetic aptitude?" Ves whispered to Melkor.

Genetic aptitude was a very sensitive topic to mech pilots. It wasn't polite of him to ask Joshua directly.

"C+, which is about the same as many Larkinson mech pilots."

A genetic aptitude of C+ was merely regarded as higher-than-average in the mech community. Nonetheless, genetic aptitude was not the sole factor in determining whether a mech pilot could advance to expert pilot or higher. It merely described the maximum load a mech pilot could sustain when interfacing with a mech.

A grade of C+ was more than sufficient to pilot most standard mechs. Once a mech pilot advanced to expert, their minds were capable of doing so much more. At that time, genetic aptitude mostly determined how easily they would be able to advance to the next step.

A monster like Venerable Foster faced much fewer hurdles in advancing to ace pilot than someone with a lower aptitude!

While it sounded unfair, this was simply the way the galaxy worked!

"Satisfactory." Ves softly nodded. "I'm very satisfied with him. Take good care of him, Melkor."

Melkor nodded in acknowledgement.

What pleased Ves the most about Joshua wasn't necessarily his academic pedigree. His spiritual potential, spiritual attributes and genetic aptitude did not warrant too much attention either.

No, the true reason Ves regarded this young mech pilot with favor was the latter's unquestioning devotion!

Biggest fan or not, Ves confidently judged that Joshua was sincere in his admiration!

As far as Ves was concerned, Joshua didn't even have to risk his life against the sandmen to prove his loyalty.

This fanboy and fellow Cloudy Curtainer had already completed his indoctrination ahead of time!

"Maybe we should put more effort into recruiting other locals." Ves remarked to Melkor.

"Joshua is an exception. Most mech pilots from this planet aren't even good enough to join the Sentinels. It isn't until recently our family took over the basic mech academy of Freslin and improved its training standards."

"I see." _{frёeweɓηovel.coɱ}

Ves spent a few more minutes of his time directing his attention to the remaining young Avatars. It was enough for them to meet their employer in person. The impression he made would be seared in their minds as they matured to become the backbone of the Avatars for many decades.

He ended his visit shortly afterwards. As Ves left the Avatar's base of operation, Gloriana linked her arm with his and walked alongside him with a gentle smile.

"I didn't think much of your 'Avatars of Myth' when I first heard of them, but you've surprised me, Ves."

"Oh?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "What has caught your attention?"

"The quality and potential of some of those young mech pilots are very high. Since I specialize in fitting mechs to mech pilots, I'm very good at judging their quality. Most of them have what it takes to become elites. If their upbringing and augmentations were a little bit better, then they could have enjoyed storied careers in the Hex Army."

That was high praise from someone like Gloriana. "Are my Avatars really that good in your eyes?"

She nodded. "Most of the Larkinson mech pilots I've seen so far are also pretty decent. Whether it's their mindsets or their physical conditioning, they're good material."

While his girlfriend spoke highly of the Larkinsons, Ves believed that part of it was because they were his relatives. She wouldn't speak so highly of them if he wasn't a Larkinson!

Even so, Gloriana never lied when it came to expressing her likes and dislikes. Since this topic was related to her design philosophy, she would never lie to Ves just to make him feel better.