Chapter 3943 Smoldering
Compared to Venerable Vincent Ricklin, Venerable Isobel Kotin was a much more sensible expert pilot.
Ves had not met her too many times, but in the few times he talked to her in the past, he gained the impression that she was a sensible and rational mech pilot. To him, her personality was similar to Commander Casella Ingvar.
The biggest difference was that Venerable Isobel did not invest her time in learning how to lead and command mech troops. Instead, Isobel fully committed herself to excelling in individual combat.
From the battle footage that Ves had studied, Venerable Isobel's fighting style and approach towards combat shared a lot of resemblances to how Venerable Brutus fought his enemies. Both of them were rifleman mechs that were capable of dueling strong opponents and fared best at mid-range combat.
However, no expert pilot was a carbon copy of another one. Each of them were unique.
Shaped by his upbringing and largely peaceful time in service, Venerable Brutus dedicated his life towards protecting his younger sister Gloriana and his closest family and friends.
This caused him to develop a fighting style that was not as sharp or aggressive as others. In combat, Venerable Brutus placed a high emphasis on evasion and mobility.
Although he was capable of hitting hard when necessary, compared to other rifleman mech specialists, it was clear that he had taken a more defensive and supportive approach towards combat.
Venerable Isobel took a different approach. Shaped by the infrequent but highly consequential battles against astral beasts and alien warships, she strengthened her determination to do whatever it took to slay these difficult enemies!
The pressure she was in and the circumstances she was operating under eventually led her to a powerful answer.
Fire.
When Ves entered her recovery room in the Dragon's Den, he could clearly sense the unstable but smoldering flames of her will.
The presence she exuded was quite restrained at the moment, but he had the feeling that Isobel could easily flip a switch and increase her temperature at any time!
"Patriarch."
"Good day, Venerable Isobel. Congratulations for your breakthrough. You advanced at just the right time. Not only did you help take down a lot of Phaser fish-whales, your addition to the Hall of Heroes also plugs a gap in our expert pilot roster."
The female expert pilot's condition was not as good as that of Venerable Vincent, but she was still sober enough to talk.
"I am happy to be of service. I worked hard to advance because of that. To be honest, I don't think I deserve much of the credit. The Quint has been guiding me in person for months. Together with whatever the Everchanger had done to me, the fire that I had been trying to kindle suddenly exploded while I was trying my hardest to kill those fat-bodied fish-whales."
Ves waved his hand. "Don't cheapen your achievements. There are many mech pilots who wouldn't have made any progress if they were placed in the same position as you. The help and assistance that we have provided to you may have given you a clearer path towards apotheosis, but in the end it is up to you to do the climbing. Your success proves you possess both the talent and the willingness to work hard to attain power beyond the reach of mortals. That is commendable regardless of the extenuating factors at play."
His words successfully settled Venerable Isobel's inner turbulence. Just because she was an expert pilot did not mean she was immune to doubts and uncertainty.
Ordinary sources of pressure no longer fazed those with stronger willpower, but any problems that exceeded their strengthened tolerance often hit their mentalities especially hard!
This was not his first time dealing with expert pilots, so Ves accurately diagnosed Venerable Isobel's lack of self-accomplishment and spoke the right words to restore her pride.
He truly meant what he said. Expert pilots were all exceptional people without doubt. Ves might not always look up to them as the common folk, but he respected their ability to persevere when others admitted weakness.
Venerable Isobel Kotin might not look that impressive at the moment, but the smoldering fire of her will possessed a core of strength that made it seem as if her flame could never be extinguished!
Ves and Isobel chatted for a bit about various topics. The discussion started from her personal experiences of the Battle of Purgatory and soon strayed to the role the Quint had played in her formative period as an expert candidate.
"The Quint is… not an easy living mech to handle." The slim, dark-haired woman chose her words carefully. "It possesses an irreverent attitude towards everybody. It doesn't respect you or Casella or myself at all. It also likes to poke and challenge me all the time. There are days where I dread my live practice sessions because I know I will have to endure a lot of snarky remarks and uncomfortable questions."
Ves leaned forward. This was interesting information. "Do you get the feeling that the Quint is doing it for your own good? I can never tell whether it is doing its best or if the darned mech is merely using its mission as an excuse to have fun at other people's expense."
The expert pilot's mouth twitched into a curl. She had spent a decent amount of time interfacing with the Quint, so she knew its personality quite well.
"I think that both of what you said is true, sir. I don't know why the Quint has grown so cranky. Maybe all of those hours standing still inside hangar bays has caused it to seek entertainment wherever possible."
"Ah. I understand."
It was Ves' fault. The Quint already shared a huge list of complaints to Ves, and many of them were symptoms of boredom.
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