The Mech Touch

These two hatreds defined his life.

He hated that he was born into the Age of Mechs. He hated that he lived in a time where the Big Two kept people like him locked into cages. He hated that he was born in the galactic rim where people like him received the fewest chances to grow stronger. He hated that the MTA and CFA forbade anyone from possessing real power by depriving them of the right to employ warships and weapons of mass destruction.

Without ultimate power, how could Otrus ever fight and rise above every rival that sought the same goal as him? How could he ever grasp the opportunities he needed to build a dominion that rivaled the New Rubarth Empire in its heyday?

Ever since he was young and formed these great ambitions, he became frustrated by all of the reasons that held him back!

Otrus Magrin learned early on that the competition was rigged from the start. The mechers, fleeters and other first-raters practically hoarded all of the best power and resources for themselves, giving no chance for anyone else to get a seat at the table.

"There is no equality in human society."

After a lot of research, Otrus found out that the only way for him to break the shackles of his birth and break out of the cage built by the Big Two was to become a part of their club!

The man had not been born into one of those powerful but elusive spaceborn clans, so he had no hope of entering the ranks of the Common Fleet Alliance.

The Mech Trade Association recruited more openly, but their standards were either random or exceedingly demanding. Only a fraction of people ever got to be lucky enough to become a peripheral member of this mighty organization!

Thus, the only remaining viable way he could ever rule over humanity was to become a god pilot.

"No matter how humble they were in their early lives, as long as they break through enough times, even the mechers and the first-raters will bow in front of a mech pilot that has become a god!"

Over 250 years ago, god pilots were much less common. Each was incomparably precious and powerful, and the Association had no qualms about publicizing their great might in order to keep the CFA on its toes.

Young Otrus had become fascinated by the impressive heroes who wielded powers that went far beyond the confines of technology!

Ever since Otrus learned of their might as well as how influential they became, his eyes burned with desire and passion.

He needed to become a god pilot! Every fiber of his being had united as one around this goal. By doing his utmost to advance up the ranks of the mech piloting profession, he would be able to traverse the path of godhood.

Otrus had no doubt that he would be able to reach the end of this mythical path! Even though he was still young and rather ignorant back then, he possessed an unrelenting conviction that he would be able to succeed where many other mech pilots failed!

He held onto this belief throughout his youth and did his utmost to prepare for his future studies at a mech academy.

It all came down crashing when he reached his tenth birthday.

[Genetic aptitude: F]

The projected readout from the examination machine cruelly cut off his dreams and ended his plan before he could even start.

His entire world collapsed as he struggled to accept the reality of his own inadequacy.

"This can't be… I was supposed to become a mech pilot…"

The fact that he was a part of the 96.5 percent of people who lacked the genetic aptitude to pilot a mech had devastated him. The news not only crushed his mood, but also his dreams and ambitions.

Many other children quickly adjusted themselves after a week. The odds of developing the right genetic aptitude to become a mech pilot was slim to begin with, so they had already been taught by their parents to treat it as a lottery.

The kids around Otrus soon returned to their normal lives and became occupied with attending a normal school instead of a mech academy.

Many children experienced this important test after their tenth birthday. To the vast majority of people, it was a transformative experience that brutally taught them that reality did not care about their wishes.

These individuals took these lessons to heart and seriously devoted themselves to what they could accomplish as normal humans. There were still plenty of ways for them to excel in a galaxy that still provided a lot of other opportunities.

Otrus was different. He recognized that his quest for ultimate power would always be impossible to fulfill because the only viable ways to do so became closed to him, yet he was unwilling to resign himself to this reality.

It was then that he figured out a loophole of sorts.

Perhaps he might never be able to become a god pilot and use his enormous might to take over the MTA, but who said anything needing to wield great strength to get his way?

"I shall be like the kings and sovereigns of old. There shall be no need for me to leave my throne in order to defeat my enemies. I merely have to wave my hand and send out my champions!"

​ In any case, Otrus Magrin only wanted to rule over humanity. The means in which he used to put himself in that position didn't matter.

Just because he couldn't become a god pilot himself didn't mean he could build an army of god pilots around him that unflinchingly executed his orders!

As he settled on this new strategy, he devoted himself to business as he recognized that only money would allow him to develop his own organization from scratch.

By learning how to start and manage a business, Otrus continually expanded and refined his new master plan.

He quickly encountered a problem when he realized how difficult it was to maintain the loyalties of a high-ranking mech pilot.

It was well known that they were uncommonly stubborn and principled. The more powerful they became, the more pushy they became. There had been many people who once held similar ambitions as Otrus but got burned when their own expert pilots and ace pilots left them due to fundamental disagreements.

He soon learned that there was only one way to truly maintain the loyalties of a warrior that was more powerful than himself.

Only the bonds of family could ensure their loyalty!

Love and family were some of the strongest binding forces in existence. As soon as Otrus learned what he needed to do, he quickly sought to produce as many children as possible.

"My flesh and blood shall pave the way for my ascension."

He did not bother with the rituals of marriage as the power of love could not trump his desire for power. Women were mere tools to him as they were only useful for providing him with offspring.

After fathering more illegitimate children than he could count, he put all of his growing brats through a strict regime. Whether they had the potential to become mech pilots or not, none of them should ever grow up without developing absolute loyalty to their father and their 'family'!

Though the vast majority of his children failed to live up to his high expectations, Otrus always remained patient and kept fathering more children.

If he could win the lottery with one ticket, then he would get two. If two tickets weren't enough, then he would obtain four!

He created so many 'lottery tickets' over the years that he eventually managed to win the jackpot!

Though he wasn't as promiscuous as the Star Emperor, he easily fathered over a thousand children himself.

He would have wanted to raise even more children, but wouldn't be able to provide them with the training and growth resources needed to turn them into excellent mech pilots.

Still, out of the small number of brats who ended up developing the right genetic aptitude, one of them managed to excel and display great talent.

His son Neville was everything Otrus was not. The mech pilot was handsome, courageous, talented, disciplined and utterly filial due to his lifelong indoctrination.

As Otrus recognized that he had managed to pick up a diamond from the rough, he constantly polished and cherished his new jewel until it began to turn into an increasingly more lustrous gem.

"My genius son…"

With Otrus' constant help and training, Neville Magrin not only broke through all of the bottlenecks that stumped many other hopeful mech pilots, but also strengthened his unreserved trust and devotion towards his own father!

Nowadays, Saint Neville Magrin was already well on his way to helping his father fulfill his great ambition!

Otrus truly needed the strength of his most powerful son. As he worked to build his own company, he initially thought that he could rely on his intelligence and business acumen to conquer greater market share and displace the competition.

He thought too simply.

The more his business grew, the more he encountered barriers that were increasingly hard to defeat.

It turned out that the markets didn't offer a level playing field at all. Insiders and powerful trans-galactic enterprises had carved up most of the good stuff for themselves, leaving only scraps for grassroots players such as Otrus Magrin.

The more Otrus tried to enter into the upper ranks, the more he became rebuffed by all of the conspirators that sought to maintain their oligopoly over wealth and power.

After experiencing one failure after another, Otrus eventually snapped.

"I HATE THIS GALAXY!"

There was no way to defeat the established powers when he wasn't one himself.

This was why he let go of his scruples. He realized at the time that the only way to climb on top of his competitors was to climb over their bodies.

Not only would he be able to remove the obstacles that stopped his rise, but he would also be able to use their nutrients to fuel the growth of his empire.

"So what if I am called a vulture? At least I can fly higher while the rest of you remain stuck in the dirt."

As his son Neville and his mech forces became stronger, Otrus Magrin steadily tackled increasingly stronger opponents.

It was too bad that he acted too hastily in the end!

Back in the old galaxy, he gained too much notoriety. Though his son and his forces grew fast enough to match his expectations, everyone else became increasingly more hostile towards him. He ended up creating more obstacles than he removed!

This was why the opening of the Red Ocean was such a crucial chance for him. Though Otrus was never able to clean up his stinky reputation that made it difficult for him to partner up with others, becoming a pioneer in the new frontier allowed him to operate more freely than before.

Not only were the rules of the new frontier a lot looser, but the brand-new environment provided a lot of fantastic opportunities that would never be available in the old galaxy!

It was here that Otrus Magrin knew that he would be able to feed upon his rivals and competitors with much less restraint than before!

So many pioneers and their fleets disappeared all of the time that no one really cared about their passing.

Everyone was so busy with trying to climb on top of everyone else that Otrus Magrin actually looked no worse than them.

The Red Ocean seemed to unlock everyone's inhibitions, causing them to make bolder and riskier decisions that they would have never made when they were still residing back in the Milky Way!

This was Otrus Magrin's new sanctuary and homeland.

This was where Otrus Magrin intended to train his most talented son into a powerful god pilot.

This was where Otrus Magrin would build his empire atop the bones of his adversaries!

Right now, there was only one enemy that he wanted to crush beyond everyone else in the Red Ocean.

"Golden Skull…" He spoke with hatred flowing through his veins. "I will not rest until I have crushed each and everyone of your bones!"