The Mech Touch

hs patrolled the perimeter.
”Leemar sure takes a lot of effort to secure a simple housing area. ”

”I ’m glad they take our security seriously.
I ’ve already offended one bastard from the Coalition.
There ’s no telling what he ’ll do behind my back. ”

As Dietrich lacked any understanding of mech design, he wasn ’t really able to follow the mech duel in the second round.
When Ves explained how he triumphed over his opponent, he snorted.

”Bah, what a git.
This guy refuses to admit his loss because he ’s not as good as you.
That should be the end of the matter. ”

Ves truly hoped he had no more encounters with Floyd, but he vaguely suspected he might not be so forgiving.

After an uneventful night, the contestants returned to the fields.
Out of the fifty thousand participants, only five thousand remained.
The final round of the qualifiers aimed to cut down their numbers to a measly five hundred.
The attrition was horrible but necessary in order to make the main event presentable.

Just like last time, Professor Marshall addressed the crowd.
”Today is the day where we will decide the final 500.
Who among you will be lucky enough to perform in front of a crowd of the most eminent figures in the mech industry? Who among you will be projected in the homes of every household in the Komodo Star Sector? The chance to gain fame and make your name known to trillions of people is in your grasp.
Are you not excited? ”

Every mech designer cheered.
They all fought hard to make themselves more prominent.
Even if they failed to catch the interest of a master, the trip was still worth it if they became a household name.
Fame was a precious resource that accelerated any mech designer ’s career.

”Now, let me begin with the third round.
This time, the format revolves around teamwork.
As you all know, mech designers often work together with other designers when involved in a major project.
The best and most widely used designs are always a collection of each designer ’s best results.
No mech designer in existence claims to be the best at everything, though the Polymath comes awfully close. ”

Everyone laughed a little.
Clair Gramza was an absolute genius with a terrifying level of intelligence.
The amount of fields she specialized in could fill a whole data chip.
Ves secretly wondered if the Star Designer bathed in intelligence gene boosts since birth.

”This time, we wish to see some cooperation among you.
Everyone will be grouped into teams of ten.
Your task is to collectively design a single mech, which will be matched against every mech your rival groups have come up with once.
This time the AI pilots will not remember their previous results, so all the matches are absolutely consistent.
The top fifty groups with the most wins will collectively qualify for the main competition tomorrow! ”

Everyone gaped at the competition format.
Working together wasn ’t unheard of.
Usually, small groups of mech designers often came together to produce designs intended for mass production.

The problem was that when the number of people surpassed five, these groups often became unwieldy.
There were too many cooks in the kitchen.
Everyone had their own ideas.
If some people shared the same specialties, they could easily clash.
It was a nightmare trying to corral everybody even if their thoughts aligned.

”Now you may be wondering how you can control so many designers in a single group.
Well, that ’s for you to solve.
You can have one designer do the work while the other nine do nothing.
You can have each designer spend one hour with the design interface before letting another take over when their time is up.
You can partner with someone strong and beat up those you disagree with.
As long as no one requires medical attention, we will not intervene. ”

”That ’s barbaric! ”

”Hah! I ’m the captain of the boxing club! If you don ’t want a bruise, you better acknowledge who ’s boss! ”

Ves had never heard of such an absurd ruleset for a group contest.
Even physical intimidation wasn ’t ruled out.

”Remember! The only design our simulations will accept is the one submitted by the group ’s designated terminal.
We won ’t care if others block you from accessing the terminal, or if your entire group has argued so much that your design is incomplete.
What ’s on the terminal will be the only thing that ’s approved.
Now, find your group mates and make some new friends! ”

A complex series of projections guided everyone together in groups of ten.
Ves quickly met an eclectic group of designers.
Seven of them were fliers, indicating their deep backgrounds.
Four of them even wore the LIT ’s alumni uniform.
Ves was only one of three who came from a less affluent background.
He quickly stared at the young man and woman who remained on the ground.

”Hi.
I ’m Ves Larkinson, from the Bright Republic. ”

The woman glowered at him.
”Missy Phillips.
Vesia Kingdom. ”

His smile dropped a little when he heard that.
Of all the possible teammates, the organizers grouped him with a girl from an enemy state.

Sensing the tension between the two, the remaining guy tried to break the tension.
”Hello everyone.
The name ’s Clark McCullum, and I ’m born and raised in the Coalition. ”

Both of them shook their hands with Clark.
Neither Ves nor Missy wanted to mess up their chances by having a fruitless argument over their national pride.

”If you plebs could kindly shut up, us real designers are about to work. ” A bossy woman called from above.

Neither of the three walkers appreciated her tone, though they dared not raise their voices.
The woman was one of the graduates from Leemar.
She also sported the most symbols on her uniform, which meant she earned plenty of achievements during her time as a student.

Still, Ves did not want to be crowded out by the elites.
He summed up his courage and asked, ”Who are you? ”

”You have the pleasure of addressing Cynthia Barakovski.
Perhaps you have heard of B&F Integrated? ”

B&F Integrated was one of the Coalition ’s heavy industry manufacturers.
They also dipped their toes into mech production.
The sales from their mech division easily surpassed a trillion cols.

After a few seconds, Missy ’s eyes widened.
She recognized her name.
”You ’re that Cynthia Barakovski who reached the top hundred in the last iteration of the Junior Rimward Games! ”

While Ves still didn ’t recognize her name, the mere mention of the Junior Rimward Games was sufficient to overawe everyone present.
The Junior Rimward Games was the most prestigious sports competition in the galaxy for everyone under twenty-five.
They expanded into non-physical sports such as mech design a long time ago.

Cynthia soaked up the attention with a smile.
”You can rest that we will easily qualify with my presence.
As long as you don ’t disturb me, I can easily design a killer mech. ”

Both Clark and Missy practically had stars in their eyes.
Ves bewilderingly stared at their worshipping gazes.
He never really paid much attention to the massive Rimward Games, let alone the smaller Junior edition.
He could only stand in place and witness Cynthia bewitching everyone into giving her space to design their group ’s mech.

While Ves did not doubt Cynthia ’s accomplishments, it did not change that they were supposed to work as a group.
Those that survived so far all had their strengths.
As someone aiming to reach the finals, Ves believed even his own input should be valuable.
He was not content to risk his chances by leaving it up to a stranger.