[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 119: Hoplite

While the legs still appeared humanoid, the designers massively strengthened the artificial muscles. No one knew how they did it, but they introduced an original muscle scheme that allowed mechs to push off the ground in an extremely powerful burst. Extendable claws embedded in the feet helped maximize the Hoplite's grip, which prevented it from slipping.

Overall, Ves admired the original developers of the Hoplite. They were not afraid to implement their own vision onto the staid old knight archetype. The work done on the spear, shield and legs all complemented each other's strength, amplifying their effects when combined together. The designers succeeded in turning their outlandish vision into a practical product.

"The Hoplite is a masterpiece."

In design terms, the model was difficult to improve but easy to ruin. Many mech designers tried and failed to develop variants that significantly improved upon its performance.

Ves did not fear a challenge. He wanted to prove he could handle a difficult model like the Hoplite. The way to to that was to succeed in creating a new variant that was not some minor rehash of the base model.

[Lindholm Armament Company Hoplite HPL-100P]: 1.2 million bright credits

He winced at the price. While he still possessed a substantial amount of savings, he hadn't been earning any money lately.

"I still need to make another purchase."

Ves had a very simple plan in mind. He wanted to design that took advantage of the current trend. Many teenage potentates were currently flocking to Iron Spirit in order to polish their piloting skills.

Mastering a knight was one of the basic classes offered by mech academies and mech institutions. It was the simplest mech type and one that offered beginners an excellent starting point in piloting mechs.

One reason the base model only enjoyed a limited amount of popularity was that it was built around the spear. Trainee pilots only practiced with sword-wielding knights.

He intended to meet their needs by designing a sword-wielding Hoplite variant. While several such variants could already be found in the catalog, Ves thought he could put his own spin on the concept. After browsing the catalog, Ves found an appropriate weapon and added it to his shopping cart.

[J.J.V. Limited Imperial Sword ISX34]: 250.000 bright credits

The so-called Imperial Sword sounded fancy, but shared the same shape as the weapons used by trainees. The one-handed sword was not too long, not too short, not too heavy, not too light and so on. It had no distinguishing features due to the need to accommodate every possible mech pilot, at least at the start of their training.

Ves chose the Imperial Sword because it was a well-designed upgrade from the cheap and sub-standard training swords. J.J.V Limited poured a lot of research into improving the simplistic sword design, from changing its composition to adjusting its shape and center of mass. It led to a weapon that many recruits loved to use at the start of their careers.

"It's not a very exciting sword, but it is a time-tested design. It's sharp, tough and not too expensive. That's good enough for most mech pilots."

After confirming his purchase, his savings shrank. He now owned two 3-star licenses, enough to design a decent variant. Sat back in his chair and thought about what kind of vision he wanted to imprint onto his design.

As always, he tried to seek an example from ancient history. "A gladiator? No, I don't want to create a showboater. A viking? Too aggressive and undisciplined. A medieval knight? That might work, but I still feel it comes up short."