Chapter 1696: Test of Faith

How could Joshua King possibly mesh so well with the Deliverer?

It didn't make any sense!

His two fellow Avatars failed to bring out even a fraction of the Deliverer's potential! Their instinctive aversion towards the mech and the Deliverer's rejection towards nonbelievers resulted in a great degree of incompatibility.

Ves assumed that only Ylvainans would be able to make full use of the Deliverer.

He only threw in some Brighters at the mech in order to gather more data and verify some of his assumptions.

He never expected to encounter an anomaly!

What kind of freak was he for accomplishing the impossible? The neural telemetry the mech transmitted to the carrier was so smooth that Ves would have thought that Joshua was an Ylvainan!

Did he convert to the faith or something?

Ves decided to get his answers directly from the source. He opened up a direct communication channel to the prototype.

"Joshua, your performance so far has astounded us. Can you tell me how you managed to increase your compatibility with the Deliverer?"

"Mr. Larkinson! It's an honor for me to speak to you again! As a fan of your mechs, I've developed a common method to bind with them more closely. In accordance with your company's principles, each of your mechs are alive and deserve to be treated as such! Once I understood this point, I always approach every mech you've designed with nothing but the utmost respect and sincerity! Treat a living mech right, and they'll repay the favor!"

This.. was exactly what Ves wanted to convey to mech pilots. He had spent so long in trying to impress the meaning of living mechs to the public, yet everyone still regarded his mechs as tools.

Joshua's mindset towards his mechs was like music to his ears. Ves couldn't help but raise his appreciation towards the young Avatar.

This mech pilot was different! Joshua understood the true essence of his mechs!

Only a few other mech pilots that Ves had encountered came close. Certainly, mech pilots such as Jannzi Larkinson developed an extremely intimate bond with her Shield of Samar, but this dedication only applied to a single mech design.

Joshua was obviously different. This was definitely his first time piloting a Deliverer. No other Deliverer mech existed considering that the design was still incomplete until very recently!

For the native Cloudy Curtainer to develop an immediate rapport with a distinctly Ylvainan mech defied his expectations!

Ves began to pepper Joshua with questions.

"How would you describe your current bond with the prototype?"

"It's like I'm being welcomed in Prophet Ylvaine's house as a guest, sir."

"Do you feel you are getting closer to the mech?"

"No, sir. I think this is as close as I can get. I'm not an Ylvainan, sadly."

"Do you feel the urge to become one?"

"I.. not truly. Not at this point. I'm developing a greater appreciation towards the faith the longer I pilot this mech, though."

The questions went on and on, either verifying or disproving the assumptions that Ves had formed.

Once he exhausted Joshua's ability to explain his situation, Ves ended the questioning and allowed the testing session to resume.

Gloriana, who heard about what happened, returned to the control room a short moment ago. She wordlessly approached the terminal and inspected the readings related to the mech pilot closely.

"This is.. odd." She admitted. "Mr. King here is genuinely comfortable with piloting the Deliverer. This is in stark contrast to the previous two test pilots."

"It's not so odd when you hear Joshua's approach." Ves smiled. "He's the first mech pilot I've met who wholeheartedly treats my products as living entities."

"If I recall, he's an early fan of yours, right? I'm sure that more mech pilots will follow in his footsteps. He's just the first to comprehend your mechs to this degree."

The testing session proceeded as normal once the immediate excitement had passed. The testing personnel diligently observed and recorded the prototype's parameters as it began to perform acrobatics.

What interested everyone the most was when the Deliverer finally started to fire at the target bots.

"Well, the Deliverer is finally working properly in the hands of a proper mech pilots." Gloriana noted with pleasure.

Unlike the previous disgraceful performances that aroused her disgust, Joshua's proficient piloting made the Deliverer look harmonious in action!

The mech's accuracy against stationary targets at close and medium range was excellent. Ves recognized that Joshua's slow and deliberate firing rate was reminiscent of the Old Soul, the virtual training mech that he once designed for students to improve their marksmanship.

Still, the Deliverer shouldn't be firing so slowly in actual battles against the sandmen. Time was of the essence and the mech should have plenty of ammunition and energy to spare.

"Please speed up your firing rate, Joshua." He instructed. "Imagine facing a sandman fleet in battle. If you aren't able to snipe the sandman admiral hiding among the drones, an entire planet will perish!"

"I-I understand, sir!"

The Deliverer soon increased its vigor in Joshua's hands. The massive Executor rifle barked out powerful rounds with such force that its flight systems had to spike in order to negate its considerable recoil.

The hit rate deteriorated as Joshua no longer enjoyed enough time to line up his aim. It dropped even further when the target bots started moving and dodging.

This was as much of a test of the Deliverer as the mech pilot's individual accuracy. This was also why Ves wanted to record the performance of the prototype with several mech pilots. In this way, he could compensate for their individual marksmanship and develop a general overview of his mech.

Gloriana continued to look pleased. "Joshua is doing quite decently. He's doing a bit worse than if he's piloting the Desolate Soldier. He's only doing a bit better when the range grows longer, but that is a given considering his current weapon."

The Desolate Soldier actually possessed an advantage at close-to-medium range. A ballistic rifle like the Sandbreaker rifle was extremely simple and fairly easy to handle. It was also a lot lighter and easier to adjust.

At longer ranges, the Deliverer's Executor rifle actually gained an advantage. As a higher-tech gauss rifle, its muzzle velocity was incomparably better. This gave the targets less time to move and dodge incoming fire.

As the Deliverer started to run out of ammunition, the target bots were really making Joshua sweat!

Not only had the distance stretched to the limits of the effective range of the Executor rifle, the final test also simulated the conditions of its intended use.

Around a hundred targets bots buzzed and flew in a facsimile of a sandman swarm. Ves had secretly installed a colored bomb inside one of the bots. Once the bot was hit, the bomb would explode in scarlet fury.

Ves installed this bomb extremely well, taking out a couple of superfluous components to keep its mass and sensor signature the same.

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To be honest, he didn't even know which of the bots in the swarm carried the bomb. This would ensure absolute fairness in the test, as not even Ylvaine's spiritual fragment would be able to cheat by accessing his mind!

"It seems like Joshua's compatibility with the Deliverer is not good enough." He whispered.

Joshua managed to hit three drones in the distant swarm. This was an amazing feat of accuracy considering that the bots were much smaller than the typical sandman drone.

Unfortunately, none of the three unlucky drones contained the priority target that the Deliverer was meant to destroy.

"Alright, let's end the testing session here. Joshua, come back to the carrier."

"Yes, sir."

The mech pilot obviously sounded glum due to his failure in hitting his assigned target.

In fact, Ves actually didn't expect Joshua to be able to accomplish another impossible feat.

Once the Deliverer returned, a crew of mech technicians refilled its energy and ammunition reserves. They also inspected the mech for any obvious faults.

The prototype was still in close to optimal state. The next tests could proceed without any major issue. In fact, continuous testing was not a bad idea as they could test whether the mech could cope with back-to-back sorties.

Finally, a real Ylvainan mech pilot entered the Deliverer's cockpit for the first time.

Lieutenant Dominic Kronon had the pleasure of piloting the mech after Joshua's turn. The experienced marksman mech pilot quickly got the hang of the prototype's basic operation and flew it out into space.

As the Deliverer started to make the same basic movements at the start of each deployment, Ves and Gloriana closely observed the telemetry related to the mech pilot's integration with the mech.

"It's better than with Joshua, that's for sure." Gloriana concluded.

"If Joshua is a guest in Ylvaine's home, then Dominic Kronon must be a resident!"

Just looking at the feed displaying the interior of the cockpit hinted at this difference. The mech lieutenant's face was practically rapturous as he came closer to the source of his faith than ever!

Ves actually underestimated the impact on Ylvainan mech pilots when they came in touch with Ylvaine's spiritual fragment!

Dominic's entire body and mind resonated powerfully with his closest beliefs! A vast, supreme existence touched his entire being.

This being tested his faith and found nothing wanting!

As soon as Dominic passed this test of faith, the mech beckoned him deeper, encouraging him to immerse himself further until he practically embodied the machine!

For a time, Dominic was the Deliverer, and the Deliverer was Dominic!

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This sublime moment changed his entire life, but only happened for a relatively short period. Once he got back to the testing session, his fluency in piloting the prototype constantly increased!

He had long passed Joshua's scores and went a step further!

As a devout Ylvainan, he already possessed a high degree of compatibility with the Deliver.

As a marksman mech specialist, he easily became accustomed to the Deliverer's operation.

Many marksman mechs were slow and lightly armored, but this was the first time the mech lieutenant piloted a mech so deficient in these aspects.

Nonetheless, his close connection with his mech did not allow him to show any doubt towards the Deliverer's configuration.

If the Great Prophet himself had blessed this mech, then who was he to doubt its viability in combat?

At the very least, the offensive might of the mech was not in question!

As soon as the testing session proceeded to shooting down target bots, Dominic finally showcased his considerable skill in marksmanship!

Despite firing as fast as the gauss rifle could cycle, he managed to sustain a near-perfect hit rate at close to medium range!

He even managed to hit slow-moving targets at longer ranges with a high degree of accuracy!

It was only when the target bots started to whizz and accelerate as fast as actual sandman drones that the lieutenant encountered difficulties.

It was simply too difficult to hit the tiny bots when they moved so fast. His impeccable aim and prediction ability could no longer keep up with the situation.

When a hundred target bots simulated a sandman swarm, Dominic only managed to hit a couple of mundane targets.

He failed to take out the primary objective!

"This won't do." Ves frowned.

Was Ylvaine's spiritual fragment being lazy or something? Where was the Guided Aim ability that Ves placed his entire hopes upon?!

He gritted his teeth. Just as he was starting concentrate his mind in order to get in touch with the inscrutable fragment, the situation suddenly changed!

A distinctly red explosion enveloped one of the target bots!

In the backdrop of space, the explosion was like a bloody flower that bloomed amidst the starry seas!

The sight astounded Ves and Gloriana. Both of them knew what it represented.

"The lieutenant already took out three ordinary drones. That means that there was a one-in-ninety-seven chance for him to take out the primary objective!"

Those were miniscule odds! For the prototype to hit the correct target should hardly be a coincidence!

Nonetheless, Ves couldn't rule out this possibility. He needed to repeat the same scenario again and again in order to verify that the Deliverer actually received assistance!

"This test is not conclusive yet! Let's do it again!"

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