Half an hour later, Ves had concluded a bunch of health examinations. After he shrunk his body to his most comfortable human state, he cleaned himself up and donned his uniform again.
He found it a bit regrettable that he had to return the nanosuit, but he did not mind it too much.
He vastly preferred it if he could design and fabricate a suit of his own that could keep up with his growth in scale.
He already had a number of interesting ideas in mind on how to design a suit that could significantly improve the combat capabilities of his true body.
However, all of that sounded rather superfluous to Ves. The quick and overwhelming defeat against a single first-class multipurpose mech thoroughly disabused him of the notion that he could actually fight alongside his own mechs.
He was not his father. He was not his mother. He was not his uncle. He was not his grandfather. He was not Ketis. He was not Venerable Joshua.
Each of these aforementioned people were trained fighters, soldiers and killers. They dedicated their lives to improving their ability to fight and kill.
That was not all. They not only dedicated at least decades worth of training into honing their craft, they actually managed to win against a lot of powerful opponents!
Each of them could be regarded as highly capable and competent combatants in a fight. They were the first fighters that people would turn to if they sought protection. They could handle themselves on many different battlefields.
What about Ves? Phase lord or not, he was still a mech designer in essence!
Neither him nor his incarnations were true warriors. None of them dedicated themselves towards combat, especially in the odd combination of purely physical combat and extensive spatial manipulation.
Ves hoped that his mysterious transformation into a phase lord also came with instinctual combat skills, but it turned out that he was wishing for too much.
The lack of combat training was a serious flaw that caused him to utilize only a fraction of his potential as a phase lord.
Ves could see it, and so could the mechers.
When he finally met up with Jovy in a meeting room, they both took a look at the battle footage.
Ves felt more embarrassed than ever when he saw how much his rapid increase in power had caused him to lose his rationality.
"As we expected, you are not exempt from the rapid shift in mentality that comes with acquiring an oversized physical form." Jovy remarked. "This is a known phenomenon among the native aliens, but hardly any of them complain about it because they think this is only natural. How do you feel now that you are able to reflect on what has happened?"
It took a few seconds for Ves to formulate his words. "It's difficult to take people seriously when they look so much smaller and weaker. It's like looking at a bunch of small critters such as mice or ants. It is irrational for me to think this way, but there is some sort of biological instinct that forces me to think that I have little reason to fear tiny organisms. I can squash them at will, and it is also difficult for me to regard their intellect at the same level of my own. I know that these thoughts are wrong, but it is surprisingly difficult for me to get rid of these delusions."
Jovy nodded with understanding. "We are afraid that may be the case. While we do not have enough human phase lords to form a definite conclusion of what is happening, we think this is not an inherent fault of phase lords. It is more likely that we are being subjected to the faults of our own biological instincts. It is in our nature to dismiss the threat of creatures as small as ants and to fear the danger of coming close to larger animals such as elephants and whales."
That sounded logical. "I guess the same is true for alien species as well. The phase whales have always been regarded as the most arrogant ones in the Red Ocean, and that is not a big surprise considering how they are by far the largest sentient beings of this dwarf galaxy."
In other words, no matter whether they were humans or aliens, each of them would inevitably feel that they were stronger and superior than everyone else as they grew larger!
It was a literal god complex in action!
"As the most recent battles against the phase whales have shown, being bigger does not always translate into victory." Jovy remarked. "It is important for us to counteract this development when we are ready to train our own batch of human phase lords."
Ves raised his eyebrow. "How close are you to turning humans into phase lords?"
"I am not completely certain, to be honest." Jovy shrugged. "You will have to ask the Transhumanists for details. However, my responsibilities as a liaison between you and the various institutions of the Red Association has put me in touch with their researchers. The direction of their requests and inquiries makes me think that they have made a large amount of advancements in recent months."
Both Ves and Jovy exchanged meaningful glances with each other.
"Is it because they have received the guidance of the Evolution Witch?"
"I cannot say anything in relation to the activities of one of our honored god pilots."
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