145 A Corrupting Influence

Marissa looked at Altair with a raised brow as she noticed the subtle trembling coming up from her arm. She then leaned in and asked, "Does their power scare you?" The smirk on her face grew slightly more as Altair didn't reply. She then stated, "Mecha are very dangerous weapons. However, they are strictly controlled and regulated when they are not used within the military. Furthermore, everyone has the potential to pilot them, even you. Just because they look threatening now doesn't mean that it won't be your greatest shield later."

Altair turned her head towards Marissa as the idea started to sink into her head. 'I could use one of them?' The thought never crossed her mind. She only saw them as existential threats to her life. Even though she thought that she would probably die soon due to the curse, she still didn't want to die to something like what she had just witnessed.

However, the thought of that power being within her hands caused a slice of anticipation and excitement to shake to heart.

She turned her head back to the screen as the terror within her withdrew and merged with her other feelings. 'How would it feel to have all that power at my fingertips?'

If she had this kind of weapon in the past then her entire life could have been different. Probably nothing in the entire Rebanon Kingdom would have been a threat. Even God's Hero wouldn't be able to survive an attack from the rail cannon. Everything would have become trivial in the face of that absolute power. She wouldn't have lost anywhere near as much as she had in her life so far.

Marissa had seen a flash of excitement in Altair's eyes when she looked back at the screen and her smirk turned into a smile of joy. She knew that Altair was starting to change her mind on Mecha. She also started to get excited at being able to corrupt Altair into being a Mecha enthusiast like herself.

Marissa hugged Altair closer to herself as she said, "The match isn't over yet. You'll be able to see at least another two rounds between these two combatants. I doubt that they will be able to change their fate though… Still, it will be good for you to see what they are capable of."

Just because Death_Sun_OMEGA won a single round did not mean the match was over. Due to both Thunderspark and Death_Sun_OMEGA being civilian practitioners, that meant that they had, very likely, adopted some bad habits in their control and strategies. In order for the judges to determine if they met all of the criteria to be allowed access to large category Mechas they had to be absolutely sure that they didn't lack in any aspect.

After all, giving civilians access to such a dangerous class of weapons was something that had to be considered carefully in order to avoid tragedies.

As a result, they needed to battle at least three times in total in a best of five matchup. The first to three wins would win overall, but it didn't mean that either of them would advance to the next tier.

Marissa was already sure that neither of them would advance anyway. They didn't seem to even have the proper aura that an Ace pilot had to her. She figured it was likely due to them not having a whole lot of actual combat experience and having mostly been taught through simulations. There was only so much you could learn from simulations versus live combat and it was obvious to her that they were both lacking.

Altair was slightly confused. She didn't know how they could have a rematch when one of them had been completely destroyed. Still, she knew about AR rooms so she figured it was something similar to it.

Altair was actually less interested in the battle between the two Mechas and more interested in how they worked. She was interested in that because she couldn't help picturing herself creating her own Mecha through her Shadow Magic, despite knowing that she would probably never have enough Mana to be able to accomplish such a feat. If she ever had that much Mana then she would probably never run out.

Altair turned her attention back to Marissa and asked, "Do you know how they work?"

Marissa's smile grew broader at that question, "Of course I do." She puffed up her chest and confidently explained, "Thunderspark is a medium sized Mecha that stands at 53 meters. Due to its modifications it is classified as a super heavyweight Mecha that weighs almost as much as the standard large size Mecha that is available, at a stupid 413 tons. This is over twice the weight of the opposing Mecha, Death_Sun_OMEGA which only weighs 190 tons."

She took a deep breath, which Altair was going to interrupt her on because this information was useless to her, but Marissa continued before she could while talking twice as fast. "Both Thunderspark and Death_Sun_OMEGA are, in my opinion, poorly designed. They are both effectively useless against any Mecha that is capable of flight. This is because Death_Sun_OMEGA is a short range skirmisher Mecha while Thunderspark is too heavy to take to the air. Even if Thunderspark used its rail cannon against an airborne Mecha it would probably miss. Furthermore, if the airborne Mecha chose a ranged fight with either of them then it would just be embarrassing as to how badly they would lose. In my honest opinion, I believe that the standard medium sized Mecha is superior to both. They were likely designed the way they were because of personal taste but they should really take into consideration actual performance when coming to a match like this. After all, it's not every day that you can even earn the right to judged by a panel to determine if you are actually worthy of the large class license, especially when you are a civilian operator."

When Marissa stopped speaking she breathed heavily for several moments to catch her breath.

After the assault of information she just received, Altair gave her a frown as she asked, "I meant how to all Mechas work, not theirs." She pointed at the screen that had just started the second battle while continuing, "I don't care about their customized versions. I want to know how they work in general."

Before Marissa could reply, Serius had come back into the room with a tray that had several glass cups turned upside down and a large pitcher of some red liquid with ice in it while saying, "I have returned."

Altair attempted to ignore his intrusion, but Marissa quickly jumped up from her chair and said, "Oh, about time. I was getting thirsty." She then unceremoniously took a cup and filled it with the pitcher before she took a drink all in one motion.

Altair gave her a complaining look as Serius took his seat, the tray being placed on the table next to the entrance. Serius then turned his attention to the Holodisplay before turning back to Altair and asking, "What did I miss?"

Marissa grinned at him as she sat back down, "Why don't you explain to the little darling how Mechas work?"

Serius's brow rose slightly before he cautiously asked, "You didn't do that thing did you?" He knew firsthand how Marissa could corrupt someone. While it took her a little while to corrupt himself, that was mostly because he had already known somewhat what she was up to. He also knew that a child like Altair would probably be extremely easy to corrupt for her if she put her mind to. He just thought she wouldn't actually want to since she should have a general idea as to what happened with her thanks to his hints.

Marissa gave him a look that seemed to scream innocence as she stated, "I have no idea what you're talking about. She's interested in it on her own!" She then looked at Altair and said, "If you want to know, ask him. He can explain it better than me."

Altair promptly turned her head towards Serius and repeated her question, "Do you know how Mechas work?"

Serius sighed wearily as he ran a palm down his face. He looked Marissa in the eyes and the later diverted her attention back to the Holodisplay. It was obvious she was guilty and, even worse, she had done it during a live broadcast. He frowned heavily at her before saying, "You can't keep doing that, Marianne. Especially when we're in a sponsored broadcast."

Marissa didn't even turn her head towards him. Nor did she answer him either as she seemed to stare intently to the battle that was happening on the Holodisplay.

Serius shook his head then turned his attention to Altair, who was looking at him with eyes full of expectation and ready to learn. He sighed again before asking, "You know how Mecha ranks alter a person's Spiritual Self at least, right?"

Altair stared at him blankly in response.

This caused Serius to look at the ceiling and cover his eyes. He then asked, "You know how a person's Spiritual Self progresses at least, right?" Right after he asked that he looked down at Altair again only to be greeted with a blank look of clear ignorance. This caused him to glare at Marissa for a long moment before he crossed his arms and sat back in his seat. He then said, "It will take too long to explain it right now, so wait until the results of the match are announced. Then I will have the time to tell you all about it."

He caught Marissa chuckling from the corner of eyes at his excuse and his frown deepened. It was supposed to be a fun day for him to be able to analyze two civilian Mecha pilot's combat styles and how they differed from military ones. Now he suddenly had a bunch of work to do thanks to his older sister.

Altair was disappointed with this result. Still, she didn't mind it too much as it was only a temporary delay in learning what she wanted to learn. Thus, she sat back in her chair and continued to watch the battle between the two Ace civilian Mecha pilots.