The Mech Touch

None of them came away from this experience lightly. A few had been harder hit than others, so much so that it took half an hour for them to regain their wits.

Even now, Zimro Belson was still groaning as he rubbed his head in pain.

"Those elixirs... how can they bring so much terror? The experience of death in that illusion felt realer than the ones I've suffered within the MSTS."

"I think it is mainly because nothing we did in those illusions mattered in the slightest." Venerable Disc spoke in a resentful tone. "When the Swordmaidens fell in front me one by one, the First Sword and I could do nothing to prevent the red star from burning them into a crisp. My mech and sword threatened to melt whenever I tried to come close."

Commander Casella Ingvar grimaced as she recalled her own nightmare. "At least a star is lifeless. What 1 had to fight against was a corrupted version of the Trampier of Stars. The alien had come back to take revenge against our expeditionary fleet. Nothing could stop him. Our ace mechs crumbled in from of his collisions and the remainder of our forces shattered as soon as he began to shake the fabric of space. The entire star system seemed to tear apart due to how extensively the phase lord destabilized the entire area. No amount of Commandeering and empowering on my parr made any difference. I had no solutions."

As the expert pilots continued to swap their stories with each other, they discovered that each of them experienced different nightmares that shook them to their cores.

Although each of them experienced so much emotional distress that their resonance strengths had spiked to new heights, none of them had been able to come away without bearing additional mental scars.

"Nyaaaaaa..."

This was why the Golden Cat saw the need to make an appearance. The cat showed up unannounced and even managed to alarm the security systems of the Tarrasque for a moment!

Fortunately, Jovy Armalon acted quickly enough. He disabled the alarms and ensured the security personnel did not step in to subdue the cat that wasn't supposed lo be present aboard the heavy cruiser.

The presence of the Golden Cat clearly benefited the expert pilots. Each of them had become so shaken by their extraordinary nightmares that they had entered a rare moment of vulnerability.

The gentle warmth and love radiating from Goldie took off the edge of those raw and bleeding emotions. The cute spiritual cat infused an element of joy and positivity in the resting compartment, encouraging the Larkinson and Glory Seeker expert pilots to relax and take their mind off their harrowing experiences.

Ves and Jovy observed the expert pilots as they socialized and slowly picked themselves up after they had exited the hallucinations induced by the elixirs.

"You are surprising us all yet again, Ves." The RA Senior Mech Designer spoke. "According to the files I have access to, the majority of expert pilots aren't in a state to talk or share their feelings with each other after they have ingested an elixir. Your pilots are supposed to be in a considerably more brittle state, but they are already starting to get up and about. It is as if their recovery process has been fast-forwarded by several days."

That did not particularly sound surprising lo Ves.

"Our expert pilots have been tested plenty of times." He smirked. "Not only have they fought their fair share of challenging battles, they have also experienced plenty of defeats within our priority Mental Simulation Training System. Aside from that, 1 think our other advantages are helping them out as well. Their companion spirits appear to have escaped much of the negative impact, which provides every pilot with an oasis of peace in their minds. Finally, the Golden Cat excels under these circumstances. Her presence infuses the pilots with resilience in adversity. Her warmth and light dispels much of the darkness brought by their nightmares."

There were plenty of RA researchers that were eagerly working to record new data and form new conclusions.

The Larkinson Clan had unexpectedly introduced various new variables that could help the mechers figure out targeted methods that could reduce the negative consequences of the general cultivation elixirs in the future!

As Ves continued to stare through the one-way window, he grew reassured that none of the expert pilots appeared to have suffered any unacceptable sequelae.

"I never expected your elixirs to work in this fashion." He said.

"Oh? What did yon expect?"

"well, I thought they would work much more like modern medicine or stimulants." Ves spoke. "You swallow them, they rake effect and the recipient receives a straightforward boost of strength at the cost of stability."

"That does not sound much different from what actually occurred." jovy pointed out. "The A7-KEI formula may have taken a number of additional steps, but what is important is that it has produced the desired result in all 11 cases. That is the purpose for these elixirs. Their value is unimaginable. Have you guessed why that is the case?"

Many doubts still swirled through Ves' minds, but as he continued to go over the clues, he found it difficult to resist the most likely conclusion.

The reason why he struggled to accept it was because it not only blew up his expectations, but also sounded far too extravagant!

His expression grew complex. "I still can't believe you mechers resorted to such a measure. I kind of understand why the Mace of Retaliation claimed that the initial value ascribed to a single vial of this elixir can reach ashighaszoo million MTA merits. A part of me thinks that yon guys have actually undersold the vials to me. They were never supposed to circulate outside of the Association, am I correct?"

Jovy smiled back at his friend. "You are still talking as if you are an outsider. You are no mere associate anymore, Ves. You are an honorary member of the Red Association, which automatically means that you have become a nearly full-fledged member of the Survivalist Faction. There is nothing stopping you from gaining access to exclusive benefits like these."

"Is the A7-KE1 General Purpose Pilot Cultivation Elixir a product of the Survivalist Faction or the Transhumanist Faction?"

"Both. We worked on this together, though I cannot tell you which side contributed more. What is Important is that the A7-KE1 formula in particular is an exclusive variation of the Survivalist Faction. We are the only ones who can synthesize this elixir and distribute it through private trades and high-level exchanges. In fact, out of every Survivalist, it is only fitting that the Mace of Retaliation was the one that offered the elixirs to you. He was the only leader present that possessed the authorization to extend them beyond a select group of priority candidates."

The clues provided by Jovy cemented the conclusion in Ves' mind.

From the moment the mechers opened the locked container and unveiled all ft vials of glowing elixirs, Ves already developed a suspicion of what he managed to gaze upon.

There was no longer any doubt about the reason why the A7-KEI formula produced so many powerful effects on his expert pilots.

"The general cultivation elixir... is made out of the blood of a god pilot."

Jovy solemnly nodded. "You have a good eye, Ves. Few if any people who first came into contact with an elixir have been able to draw this conclusion."

"I have more exposure to this kind of stuff. Besides, as the developer of the Carmine System, I have developed a greater fascination and understanding of the properties of blood. Even though rhe amount of blood drawn from an exceptional source hardly takes up any volume inside those vials, the extraordinary power diffused throughout the liquid is massive. Il is surprising how well those containers are able lo block my perception of their might. It was only when they became exposed that 1 and many other sensitive entities noticed how much power is contained in those elixirs."

The Tarrasque must have turned into a spiritual beacon that quietly lit up the entire Bortele System!

This was how power a miniscule fraction of blood taken from one of humanity's most powerful warriors retained after being separated from its source!

"The current series of elixirs are not properly made according to the formulas of ancient times." jovy began to explain to Ves. "By their very nature, elixirs are meant to produce targeted effects by combining the properties of different reagents. The issue we have is that the Age of Dawn has only begun a relatively short time ago. Exotic radiation has already managed to produce an ample quantity of weaker reagents, but none of them are powerful enough to produce elixirs that can take effect on expert pilots."

Ves understood the underlying logic of this situation. "So you resorted to another source of extraordinary power. Rather than wait for years for more powerful reagents to emerge, you cheated by drawing the blood of an existing god pilot."

"Exactly. The power of our first generation cultivation elixirs predominantly come from the god pilot blood that we have processed. The remaining reagents that make up the mixture are mostly added to regulate and control this powerful ingredient. I do not need to tell you that ingesting blood in its rawest form is lethal to any lesser organism. Profound expertise is still required to tame this powerful substance to the point where it can generate predictable and stable outcomes."

Only an enormous organization like the Red Association was able to do this. The T Institute could never develop a product as sophisticated as these first generation elixirs!

"From what you've told me, the blood donor for this batch of elixirs ought to be the Fist of Defiance, right?"

Jovy smiled. "That is correct. The entire A7-KE1 formula is based around this key ingredient. Each vial contains 0.001 milliliter of the Fist of Defiance's lifeblood. The other factions have developed their own formulas that are precisely adjusted to regulate the blood of other god pilots."

That explained why the mechers look so many steps to guard and secure the 500 vials of elixirs. It was no wonder that Ves could not just lake one out and study the contents in his own research lab!

Ves suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Wait, do you guys intend to keep using all of your god pilots as blood dispensers?"

"Of course not. Who do you think we are? This is only a stopgap solution. Our current circumstances demand that we accelerate the progression of as many high-ranking mech pilots as possible. Our god pilots are in agreement about this and have graciously donated unknown quantities of their most potent life fluids for this purpose. I cannot tell you whether the drawing of blood is harmful to them or not. 1 also camlot tell you the exact quantities they are willing to provide for this purpose, what I can tell you is that once we are able to produce higher quality reagents, we should be able to develop new formulas that are able to produce comparable effects without relying on such an overpowering ingredient."

That might take a few years at the very least. In the meantime, formulas such as A7-KE1 were the only ones available for the time being.

Ves no longer regretted the decision to forgo an insane amount of MTA merits in exchange for 500 vials of general cultivation elixirs.

Given that each of them contained a tiny essence of a True God, he managed to obtain a bargain as far as he was concerned!

Each use of a general cultivation elixir amounted to absorbing a fraction of the power of the Fist of Defiance!