The entire clan had fallen into a tournant fever.
Although the clansn also showed plenty of interest in taking part in the parties and other fun events over the course of the founding festival, nothing got them more excited than competing against the best that Davute had to offer!
Their combat experiences, their training and their rapidly improving circumstances had given the Larkinson Clan's ch pilots boundless confidence in their fighting ability.
Sure, they only fought a relatively small amount of major battles.
Sure, their training was not as thorough and systematic as the elites who had been born and raised under a strong regi.
Sure, most of them lacked competitive experience and were not accustod to fighting under the many cumberso rules imposed by ch tournants.
Nonetheless, after facing off against so many powerful and horrible enemies within a single year, the Larkinsons had completely lost their fear and apprehension at the thought of fighting against other strong ch pilots.
The death of fear was one of the most important prerequisites to doing well in tournants!
Besides, it was not as if most Larkinson ch pilots lacked confidence in their own technical piloting ability.
Compared to many other ch forces, the Larkinson Army invested an unreasonably high amount of resources into training and enhancing its ch pilots.
From providing them with expensive genetic treatnts to allowing them to challenge their limits within the highly realistic battle scenarios of the MSTS, hardly any other forces in Davute could match the effectiveness of this unique training regi!
The only true stumbling blocks the Larkinson ch pilots had to deal with were the overly limiting rules that severely limited their ans.
"What?! We can't fight with our own chs in any of the ch tournants? That's unfair! chs have rights as well!"
Competitions such as the Davute Star Tournant and the Rising Prodigy Tournant completely had to be fought by using the chs provided by the organizers themselves.
Most of them were pretty much generic machines that possessed balanced properties. No matter the ch type, every tournant model was devoid of any gimmicks or distinguishing properties.
In public, the colonial governnt stated that it wanted the ch tournants to put the emphasis on the skills and fighting acun of the ch pilots.
Davute already organized a sufficient number of ch design tournants to showcase the kind of ch designs that the new colonial state could expect to field.
In actuality, the tournant organizers didn't want to deal with the burden of trying to regulate the sheer variety and destructiveness of many of the chs fielded by so many different ch forces.
It was extrely difficult to guarantee the safety of the audience once weird and dangerous chs entered the ch arena.
For example, a ch ard with a transphasic gauss rifle might miss a shot, only for the slug in question to phase right through the energy shields encompassing the arena and crush dozens of spectators into mush!
Another example was the phenonon of glows. What if a bunch of Ferocious Piranhas flew alongside the edge of the ch arena? Hundreds of thousands of people in the stands would beco subjected to awful ntal torture!
A few Larkinsons even suspected that the existence of living chs had been one of the driving reasons why the tournant organizers prohibited the use of third party chs entirely.
Still, living chs or not, the combative Larkinson ch pilots did not let this little restriction affect their confidence.
The colonial governnt at least gave the registered participants to purchase copies of all of the tournant ch models. Davute also released their virtual designs in a standard ch simulation format so that any ch force could plug them into their own simulation programs and train to their heart's content.
It took a bit of ti and effort for the Design Departnt to convert and upload the tournant ch models to the MSTS, but once they beca available, a lot of ch pilots eagerly hopped into the cockpit of their living chs so that they could begin to master the completely different machines as best as possible!
Naturally, the living chs were not pleased at all that their pilots had decided to 'cheat' on them. What was worse was that the Larkinson chs had to facilitate the infidelity of their partners by acting as the interface that connected the ch pilots to the MSTS!
"YOU NEED TO TEACH THESE FELLOW HUMANS OF YOURS A GOOD LESSON ABOUT FIDELITY."
A strong hand touched the front console of the irate expert ch. "Our ch pilots aren't being unfaithful. They still love their living chs as much as before. They are only forced to pilot the tournant chs by necessity. You know our pilots would have loved to bring their own machines into the ch arena, but Davute is far too stingy for that. This place isn't as rich as Vulit."
The C-Man that Venerable Vincent Ricklin piloted at the mont showed a bit of irritation by vibrating his cockpit.
"WE SHOULD HEAD TO WHEREVER THE RULERS OF THIS PLANET ARE HOLED UP AND CONVINCE THEM TO CHANGE THE RULES. I SWEAR THE DAVUTANS ARE OUT TO GET US. THEY ALL KNOW THAT NO ONE CAN STAND A CHANCE AGAINST US WHEN OUR CH PILOTS JOIN FORCES WITH THEIR ASSIGNED LIVING CHS."
Vincent sighed. He was more familiar with ch competitions than almost everyone else in the clan.
"Enough about this, C. We aren't the ones funding or taking responsibility for all of these tournants. It is up to Davute to set the rules of its own gas. We can at least be assured that our opponents won't be able to bring any unfair advantages into the ch arena either. It will be a completely level playing field for everyone."
As the C-Man started to stretch its legs across the expansive training ground. The clan-owned site was located in one of the remote grassy plains situated far away from any urban settlents.
Many other chs stretched their legs as well. The difference this ti was that most of them weren't living chs, but rather brand-new copies of the infamous tournant ch models!
The Larkinson Clan had bought a substantial batch of tournant chs that were sold at inflated prices in order to give its ch pilots plenty of chances to obtain real physical experience with piloting the machines.
As both Vincent and the C-Man observed the dull tallic gray chs in combat, they could see that the Larkinson ch pilots did not need much ti to acclimate to the machines.
"These chs are simple and easy to pick up." Vincent remarked. "It will be difficult for them to outfight others, I think. These machines are so basic and limited that the ch pilots need to be clever in order to outthink their opponents."
"THE TOURNANT CHS ARE AS SOULLESS AS A BAG OF SPOONS. WHOEVER DESIGNED THEM SHOULD BE ASHAD OF THEMSELVES."
"Those ch designers were rely doing their jobs. It doesn't matter whether our patriarch or a Master ch Designer is put in charge of designing the tournant chs. It's the people in charge that set the rules, and they insisted on using the most boring chs imaginable."
The gap between these tournant chs and any Larkinson ch was enormous. This beca especially clear on the training ground as plenty of machines from both categories started to exercise their capabilities.
Vibrant living chs such as the Lucid Rages, the Second Swords and the Ferocious Piranhas moved nimbly and as fluently across the obstacles as they could. Anyone could see that their ch pilots were so in tune with their battle partners that they didn't even have to put any conscious thought into their movents.
The dull gray tournant chs on the other hand exhibited much less fluency in the hands of the Larkinson ch pilots.
This was after the n and won in question had already trialed the virtual versions in the MSTS!
Although the pilots managed to master the basic movents and operations of the lower-performing machines, they still suffered from the complete absence of live feedback from their own machines.
"They're doing worse than I expected." Vincent noted with disappointnt. "Have we beco so used to living chs that we have lost the ability to pilot normal chs?"
"YOU SAY THAT LIKE IT IS A BAD THING."
"I am not saying that. I think it is great that we have specialized in making the most out of living chs. It is just that these ch tournants have nothing to do with our boss' work. All of the clansn who have signed up for them will have to fight under a handicap that only applies to them. It's not fair, but that is the way these things go. Living chs still have a long way to go before they beco common enough to beco standard issue in ch competitions."
The C-Man rumbled again. "I HOPE THAT DAY COS SOON ENOUGH. SO OF MY FELLOW LIVING CHS ARE ALREADY GROWING TIRED OF PLAYING STUPID AND HIDING OUR TRUE SELVES IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHER HUMANS."
"Then you should give your blessing to the ch pilots that are hoping to do well in the upcoming tournants. The more they excel in front of a massive crowd, the more people will admire what we have. I bet you that the LMC will be able to sell a lot more living chs after this. Our pilots just have to win a few tournants first."
Though Vincent had beco less involved in the ch gas scene after becoming an expert pilot, he hadn't completely lost touch with his forr passion.
His wife still ran the various Larkinson-exclusive ch leagues that often attracted a large audience of fans, both inside and outside of the clan!
Lately, Raella Larkinson even started to share plans to expand the scope of the leagues to encompass the entire Golden Skull Alliance. This would enable the Larkinsons to match their skills against their fellow allies a lot more often and in a much more systematic fashion than the periodic joint training exercises.
Aside from that, Vincent's beloved also sought to work out a way to broadcast matches fought completely within the MSTS.
It was technically feasible to do so as Ves, the inventor of the MSTS, was able to project any fight that took place within its simulated environnt.
The problem was that the footage imdiately lost their thrill and sense of realism once they were broadcasted over conventional channels.
The matches looked no different from any other ch matches that took place in normal virtual reality environnts.
That ant that there was no point in going through all of the extra effort into utilizing the MSTS.
If Raella wanted to turn this around, then she needed a way to broadcast matches held within the MSTS while retaining the full experience. This was a difficult technical problem that could only be solved by Ves, who didn't exactly have a lot of ti on hand to waste on a relatively fringe matter.
As Vincent continued to observe the Larkinson ch pilots struggling to master their lifeless machines, a part of him wished he was one of them. He missed the competitions where he could forget about every distraction and focus solely on the fight.
"I really hate the fact that Davute hasn't organized any ch tournants for expert candidates and expert pilots."
The C-Man's eyes flashed at that. "I CAN'T BLA THEM, FOR ONCE. WE ARE TOO POWERFUL TO BE CONTAINED. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE SIGHT OF THE AMARANTO FIRING HER INSTRUNT OF DOOM AT FULL POWER? THE ENERGY BEAM WOULD DRILL STRAIGHT THROUGH MULTIPLE ENERGY SHIELDS, THE STANDS, THE WALLS BEHIND THEM AND FINALLY PUNCH THROUGH A COUPLE OF OFFICE BUILDINGS IN THE DISTANCE BEFORE IT HAS EXHAUSTED ALL OF ITS DESTRUCTIVE POWER."
"...Well, now that you ntion that, maybe it is for the better."
Vincent and the C-Man were still itching to punch a strong ch, though!
User Comments
0 comments from readers