The Mech Touch - Chapter 6

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The Mech Touch - Chapter 6

The Mech Touch

When Ves uploaded the new Seraphim design on the market, he
quickly bought the required. Unlike the 2R-E, the Seraphim boasted a
much more complex integration of disparate components. A working
model demanded that Ves take much better care of the fabrication and
assembly of parts. His increased proficiency in working with the 3D
printer helped him in printing out parts with less deviation than
normal, which further assisted him in making the assembly occur
without many problems.
Ves received a nasty fright once he saw the final bill for the frame.
"I already have to spend 4400 gold on the raw materials alone. If I let
Iron Spirit automate its production, then the final price will at least be
doubled."
A 1-Star mech that cost 8800 gold to buy was an absolute luxury in the
game. It took an average player months to build up such a fortune.
Ves decided to add a credit price to his model. "Since it's a high
performing model, I can at least feel justified if I charge real money for
the Seraphim."
He set a modest price of 3300 bright credits per model, which was
already at the floor of what the game asked of him. If he sold his
mechs with bright credits, the cost of materials and manufacturing
would also be deducted from the same currency, so in essence Ves
earned no profits at this price. 3300 bright credits still put the
Seraphim well into the premium bracket. Ves felt a little nervous of
competing against more well-designed models that mech pilots could
acquire at this price.
"I don't believe my Fantasia will do too badly. It's one of the few flight-
capable mechs in this tier after all. That's got to be worth something."

Ves refused to sit on his laurels after he finished putting the Seraphim
on sale. There were thousands of customized Fantasia models and
millions of other 1-Star variants in the market. Hundreds of new
creations popped up every day so Ves had to go the extra mile in order
to make his product stand out from the competition.
First he visited all the major mech enthusiast board on the galactic net
and shamelessly made some posts exaggerating the Seraphim's
performance. He then visited Cloudy Curtain's virtual mech pilot
community and exhorted the Seraphim as a patriotic purchase, as it
integrated the planet's famed Festive Cloud Generator.
Though his online postings might generate a minor amount of
attention, there was really too much crap on the net these days. His
pathetic attempts at advertisement might as well be a drop in the
ocean. After considering the issue for a few minutes, Ves decided to
take the plunge and enlisted a short-term advertising service from the
game.
Iron Spirit featured a sprawling market, and the developers recognized
that some designers wanted their own creations to stand out. So Iron
Spirit's market place offered several methods in which to make a
model stand out, such as putting them on top of search results, or
putting them on display in the virtual environment.
The cheapest option started at a thousand bright credits a day, and Ves
bought a package deal of 9,000 credits for ten days of sporadic
advertisement. This only left Ves with 11,000 credits in his accounts,
which almost turned him into a pauper.
"Making money comes later. Right now, it's best for me to complete
the System's mission. I'll earn much more once I receive a real
production license. Peddling thousands of digital mechs in a game just
can't compare to making a single sale in the real universe."

After finishing his publication, Ves had plenty of time left so he got
back to the designer to come up with cheaper variants. His experience
with modifying the Fantasia model helped him figure the areas that
could be improved.
"Hm, let's start with up-armoring the chassis."
As Ves tinkered with his designs, someone else on Cloudy Curtain
logged into Iron Spirit and checked out Ves' profile as a habit.
"Oh?" Triceratopssss widened his eyes. "Chasing Clouds finally
uploaded a new mech. Let's see if it looks stupider than his first
creation.
The teenager figured the new Fantasia might sport an exaggerated
chest or something. What he encountered instead was a marvelous
visage. The highly customized mech looked like a Fantasia on steroids.
Its wide, stretching wings occasionally poked out of the celestial clouds
that emitted from the rear. The rainbow coloration offered little utility
in combat, but it made the Fantasia look as if it stepped out of heaven.
Only the custom mech's menacing red eye and lengthy marksman rifle
gave the model some teeth. Triceratopssss quickly figured out the
mech had been made for sniping in the air. Aerial sniping was one of
the most difficult specializations a pilot could focus on, but at least this
mech included a built-in aim assist module.
"So it's called a Seraphim, huh. It sure turned the Fantasia into
something incredible."
The mech excelled in both looks and performance. Though
Triceratopssss intended to specialize in piloting medium weight
mechs, he nonetheless grew interested in buying the Seraphim and

adding it to his mech stables. His eyes scrolled down the specifications
sheet in admiration before ending up at the prices.
"PFFF! What! 3300 credits! That's a ripoff! At least the gold price
looks more reasonable."
Unfortunately, 4400 gold was out of his price range. He hadn't
outgrown his Groenig-Halman mech yet. Triceratopssss calmed down
and stopped his impulsive urge to purchase the Seraphim.
If he knew that the gold price of the Seraphim doubled once the hand-
crafted model was sold, he'd likely spit his lunch.
As for paying in credits? A kid like him only had 50 credits in pocket
money, far too insufficient to splurge on an in-game item. His parents
would scold him for wasting so much money.
"This mech is out of my price range. There's no way I can buy this
luxury model. But... I think I know someone who can. Lemme check
my friend list."
[Triceratopssss: Yo buddy, are you available?]
[TheSeventhSnake: Whaddup?]
[Triceratopssss: I found a new mech variant on the market. I think
you'll be interested.]
[TheSeventhSnake: It must be something weird if you're taking the
time to tell me about it. Give me a name, I'll check it out.]
[Triceratopssss: Fantasia 2R Seraphim.]

[TheSeventhSnake: Damn, you're right. This is the best Fantasia I've
seen up till now. But what is up with the price. I could buy a top
performing flight mech with all that gold and still have some left for
some bling.]
[Triceratopssss: All of those mechs look like birds or underfed men.
This is one of the few Fantasia's with a decently integrated flight
system. You can even do some cool tricks with the cloud generator.
Just give it a spin, man.]
[TheSeventhSnake: Why are you trying to push me this mech anyway?
Do you know Chasing Clouds?]
[Triceratopssss: Nah. I lost an arena match against another custom
Fantasia by the same designer. I've been keeping my eye on him since
then since he managed to come up with something stupid.]
[TheSeventhSnake: Ok, let me see his profile... the Fantasia 2R-E,
right? It's the only other model on his account. Oh...]
[Triceratopssss: ...]
[TheSeventhSnake: HAHAHAHA XD]
[Triceratopssss: Yeah, I know.]
[TheSeventhSnake: You've GOT to send me the replay footage of that
match!]
[Triceratopssss: Forget about it.]
[TheSeventhSnake: Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase?]

[Triceratopssss: I'll send it to you if you'll buy the Seraphim.]
[TheSeventhSnake: Sure. Done.]
Triceratopssss checked his friend's public profile and indeed, the
angelic mech had just been added to his mech stable. He was sure
TheSeventhSnake bought the mech with credits. Earning gold in the
Bronze League was hard. The snake could afford to waste a couple of
thousand credits away with a rich daddy.
Having no other choice, Triceratopssss sent the replay file to his
friend. A few minutes went by.
[TheSeventhSnake: XD XD XD XD No wonder you're so obsessed! You
got pounded by someone's ass! That last moment is literally gold!]
[Triceratopssss: Please don't laugh too much. I'm going to have to live
with it for the rest of my life.]
[TheSeventhSnake: You should show this replay in class, everyone will
love it.]
[Triceratopssss: Ugh, not anytime soon. Are you entering a queue
already or what? I want to see your Seraphim in action.]
[TheSeventhSnake: Alright alright.]
As a bonafide second-generation rich kid, TheSeventhSnake lived a
comfortable life. He possessed decent looks, a wide circle of friends
and did well in school. Other than the frequent absence of his
overworked parents, he lacked nothing in his life.

Being a potentate was just the icing on the cake. His parents hired
retired mech pilots to tutor him in piloting ever since the government
revealed he was one of the 3.5%. Naturally, they didn't hope he make a
career out of it. Just the status of reservist was enough to make the
both of them crazy, since it offered many generous benefits in daily
life, which included subsidies and priority access to universities. His
parents even bought him a personalized mech simulator so he could
play Iron Spirit at home.
Right now, the matchmaking finished finding an opponent for
TheSeventhSnake. Curious, he checked his opponent's profile while
the game loaded the battlefield.
[Player Profile]
Nickname: CassieTheFox
League: Bronze
Wins / Losses / Draws: 307 / 276 / 0
Equipped Mech: Orion Inc. Excelsior EE-26 (Stock)
Weight Classification: Heavy
"A girl, eh? The Excelsior is a tough nut to crack."
Many players ranked the Excelsior as one of the top 50 1-Star stock
mechs in Iron Spirit. Its four heavy legs provided remarkable stability
while its centaur-like torso boasted 20% more armor than a bipedal
equivalent. What made the mech so infamous was that it had been
crammed with energy weapons. It boasted enough lasers to tear

anything in the air to shreds. Only the mech's slow speed, average
target acquisition and terrible heat venting issues stopped it from
reaching the top 10.
Lucky enough, the map selected by the game featured lots of canyons
amid a desert environment. The Excelsior wouldn't be able to find a
pool of water to assist it in venting any excessive heat.
Once the match started, TheSeventhSnake instantly engaged his
Astoria wings and ascended the canyon, finally landing on top of a
plateau with a commanding view. Though his flight had followed a
jerky and unstable trajectory, it was nonetheless impressive that he
maintained control of his mech despite flying the mech for the first
time.
"Hm, the Astoria is a lot rougher than the flight systems I trained with.
There's no stabilization."
Regular reservists only learned how to control a flying mech in their
last years in class. TheSeventhSnake had a head start due receiving
plenty of tutoring. Otherwise he wouldn't have been confident in
purchasing and using the Seraphim in battle while his friend
Triceratopssss spectated this match.
"You must be watching me, right? Let me give you a show then!"
The Fantasia 2R Seraphim extended its hair sensors in every direction
as it engaged in active scanning. This revealed its position, but
TheSeventhSnake didn't mind it as he knew the Excelsior couldn't
reach this high up. After a few seconds, his radar displayed a new blip.
"So she's not even hiding. Good, saves me the trouble of combing the
valleys."

CassieTheFox chose to make her stand in an open field with only a few
cliffs and canyons nearby. Her choice reflected a desire to keep all
angles clear so her lasers would have a clear line of fire. Her
Excelsior's quadruple legs had already dug into the soil, increasing the
mech's stability. CassieTheFox wanted to slug it out.
"I'm not afraid of you!" TheSeventhSnake roared as he lifted off and
flew towards his opponent, toggling on the cloud generator in order to
announce his passage.
The Excelsior had been caught off-guard by the majestic entrance. The
Seraphim immediately opened fire, its DMR spitting out compressed
energy bolts at a telling frequency. Some of them even landed glancing
blows on the Excelsior despite the Seraphim's speedy flight.
The enemy pilot regained her composure upon getting his. She raised
her Excelsior's arms and released a cascade of laser fire from its built-
in barrels. The Seraphim's ECM helped muzzle the accuracy of the
lasers, but the barrage of fire overwhelmed his awkward dodging.
"You annoying fly!" CassieTheFox screeched in the public channel. "It
doesn't matter how many gimmicks you use, I'll still swat you down!"
"Try hitting me more than a couple times before you boast!"
The girl realized she was overreacting and calmed down, slowing her
fire rate. Though it meant her chances of hitting the Seraphim went
down, it also delayed the time when her mech grew too hot to continue
firing lasers.
The battle between the two mechs progressed into a battle of attrition.
The heavier mech relied on its prodigious armor to tank the DMR's
punishing blows, while the Seraphim relied on its aerial superiority

and ECM to avoid most of the lasers shot in its way. The Excelsior
would be at a disadvantage once its heat had built up too much, but
the Seraphim would also fall into trouble once its energy reserves ran
out. Flying wasted a lot of energy.
The Seraphim constantly ejected energy packs from its chassis as
TheSeventhSnake kept dodging in the air. The mech had painted half
the sky with streaks of rainbow clouds, as if it was transforming the
battlefield into a piece of heaven. All of that would stop once the
Seraphim exhausted its energy. Without flight and a working rifle, the
light mech was a sitting duck.
"It's so unfair to let heavy mechs fight against light ones. This really is
the Seraphim's worst matchup."
Heavier mechs offered more space for armor, energy, cooling and
weapons. They always won battles of attrition due to their higher
overall capacity. The Seraphim would run out of energy long before
the Excelsior could no longer handle the heat.
Something had to change.
He stopped firing his DMR and detached the energy feed before letting
it drop. Instead, he retrieved the combat knife from its holster and
held it with both hands. The Seraphim flipped in the air and
proceeded to accelerate downward, knife slicing the air as it thrust the
weapon forward.
"Are you crazy?!" CassieTheFox asked in surprise, though she was
whooping in joy as she narrowed her firing angle.
Now that the Seraphim dove towards her Excelsior, it became a lot
easier to hit. Several beams of superheated light landed upon the

slimmer mech's head, ruining both the ECM and aim assist. This made
it easier for her to land her shots. However, most of the lasers hitting
the torso seemed to burn only redundant armor. Only the hits against
the wings of the flight system achieved some real damage.
Fortunately, the Seraphim pretty much relied on momentum to dive
downwards, so the loss in downward thrust hardly affected the mech
by now. Its cloud generator kept pumping out a colorful stream of
vapor, making it seem as if the falling Seraphim was the embodiment
of God's punishment.
The distance between the two mechs closed rapidly, and just before
the two mechs collided, both pilots moved.
The Excelsior wasn't stupid to just stand there and take the hit.
CassieTheFox redirected her emergency power towards the Excelsiors
legs, allowing it to jump to the side with a surprising spring.
The Seraphim already anticipated such a move. With only a hundred
meters to go, the feminine mech made another aerial flip, adjusting its
fall along the enemy's trajectory while pointing the mech's heels
downwards.
The two collided in a massive crash with an impact that echoed across
the canyon walls. Triceratopsss, who had been spectating to the side
with rapt attention, could not even distinguish whether the Seraphim's
suicide bombing had succeeded. Smoke, flame and colorful smoke
engulfed the crash site, making it unclear if anything was still left
intact.
"Damnit, who won?"