The Mech Touch

Ves belatedly understood that this was his first real mech battle. Although it was just an elaborate simulation, the duel was so lifelike that Ves actually felt it was real!

The slugging match that ensued between his frontline mech and his opponentʼs rifleman mech could only proceed in a single way. Both of the machines stood in place and traded potshots with each other.

The duel turned into a battle of attrition from the start! The mech that ran out of energy or sustained too much damage first would lose!

In a normal setting where both mechs were under the control of trained mech pilots, the rifleman mech possessed a much greater advantage. The mech possessed a considerable advantage in mobility and could easily close in and circle around the inflexible frontline mech, never presenting a fixed target for the cheaper mech to land a solid hit!

While the frontline mech possessed the edge in firepower and durability, its extreme lack of flexibility meant that even a weak rifleman mech could best it by wrestling it down in melee range!

Yet all of that did not come to pass right now. Neither mech designers were confident about their ability to move and fire their weapons at the same time, so they both opted to stand still!

In such a circumstance, the frontline mech fared better against the rifleman mech because the former did not rely so much on mobility!

Perhaps the female mech designer hoped that her marksmanship with her mech was better than that of Ves with his own machine.

”Sorry to disappoint you, but Iʼm not so feeble.”

Ves concentrated on firing one laser cannon at a time, thereby maximizing whatever accuracy he could muster. He calmly alternated his fire, allowing the laser cannons adequate time to accumulate a new charge and shunt away the heat.

Laser beams occasionally marred the frontline mechʼs exterior, but its frontal armor held like a champ. It might be a different story if his opponent struck the rear armor, but she didnʼt have the confidence to move her mech during a fight!

For this reason, the battle turned into a slow death for the rifleman mech as it continued to accumulate more damage. Ves was just as poor if not poorer with his aim as the female mech designer, but his laser cannons packed a greater punch than the rifle wielded by his opponent.

Even though the laser rifle possessed a faster firing rate, Vesʼ frontline mech possessed two laser cannons. Even if they required a longer time to cycle another charge, Ves could just alternate between the two of them to keep up with the firing rate of his opponent!

The outcome was becoming increasingly more certain. If the woman piloting the other mech did not switch things up, her defeat would become assured!

”Sheʼs moving!”

Ves expected her to resort to this option. There was no point entering into a static exchange of fire against a mech that excelled in this mode of battle. The only way the female mech designer could turn the tide was to take some risks! The only gambit available to her was to take advantage of her mechʼs mobility!

”Itʼs a decent attempt, but your control is too awful!”

A rifleman mech could run quite fast when it got going. None of that happened in this duel. The rifleman mech ran as anemically as a shambling wreck. To Ves, trying to compensate for the movement took very little effort.

[Alright, itʼs about time your pathetic duel has ended. Victory goes to Ves Larkinson!]

Apparently, the duel between Tristan and Goz had finished a while ago. Melee mechs did tend to be more lethal than a battle of attrition between two laser-armed mechs.

As soon as Ves secured his first victory, the mech he piloted instantly refreshed itself. All of its energy cells were replenished and all of the battle damage disappeared.

”Thatʼs convenient.”

A couple of more movements occurred as the Rim Guardians forcibly manipulated the physically projected reality in the Pit.

[Next duel, start!]

Ves came face-to-face with a lithic light skirmisher armed with a single knife. His second opponent was the Hexer, Goz Zoza!

”Letʼs see if youʼve been holding back.”

He had always grown a bit suspicious about Zoza. They were similar in some ways, and that meant the facade they adopted did not necessarily represent their true ability.

Goz indeed managed to surprise Ves once the duel had started! He piloted his mech forward at a clipped walk, which was a lot faster than Ves initially expected!