Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

The mecha restarted from the base of the cliff.

In a way, the simulation pod displayed a training field that was also a semi-open map. Even after falling to the bottom of the cliff, there were other routes and challenges waiting ahead...

The speed had unconsciously reached the fifth gear.

Rotating, jumping.

Bang, bang, bang! The heavy footsteps quaked the earth; the mounts on the simulation pod somewhat simulated the vibrations felt when actually piloting.

Actions that humans could normally perform could be replicated on a mecha. This was the outcome that basic training hoped the soldiers would eventually achieve.

And now... this was already the result achieved.

Brandon felt something peculiar.

Their cooperation was like that of old partners who had worked together seamlessly for years; it was as if the other knew every intention of his, and even the occasionally unorthodox moves he made were timely followed by the other without a hitch.

Although the chief mech pilot was mainly responsible for guiding decisions, when options were too limited and the complexity of actions too low, there was no difficulty for him.

At most, he would deliberately make some unconventional decisions to give Bai E a challenge.

On the other hand, as a combat mech pilot, Bai E had to pay full attention to follow his choices. Miraculously, from the first mistake to the present, Bai E had not made a single mistake in their cooperation.

He felt a long-lost enjoyment in the control and coordination.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But something wasn't quite right...

"If someone can keep up with all your actions, it might not be a sign that the two of you have a tacit understanding. It's more likely that the other person's level is far above your own..."

Dammit! Could I have become the noob that gets carried by a superior player?

Brandon was performing the controls mechanically and furrowed his brow in distraction, then suddenly remembered something else—wait a second, weren't we just teaching a newcomer the first-time operation of a mecha? What's with this level of coordinated operation?

And how can he keep up with my rhythm?

Hmm... How is the mecha moving so fast? Fifth gear... Fifth gear!? When did we reach fifth gear?!

Shit!

"Tss tss tss~"

The mecha's steel feet braked sharply on the ground, and the rest of the mecha's limbs balanced the body even with the sudden braking.

The metal creature halted its strides, and Bai E's puzzled gaze came through.

Everything was going well in the training, so why stop?

All knowledge requires a combination of practice and theory.

The instructor's words laid the foundation for him, and in the simulation pod, he felt the kind of... rhythm truly necessary for piloting a mecha.

The rhythm of Mechanical Rhythm.

Mecha had a human shape, but it was not a human body.

Command transmission required time; the enormous body of the mecha relayed commands from the cockpit to the extremities. The electronic system needed time to respond, and the mechanical structure required time to rotate and mesh.

It was like some massive multi-limbed creature, where commands issued from the central intelligence core took an immense amount of time to reach the farthest tentacle segments.

To operate a mecha, one must become familiar not only with the system's set delay times but also with the essential delays inherent to the mecha's structure itself.

Every action's actual effective moment required a certain degree of anticipation, and the anticipation needed for different parts varied. This was something that could not be taught or passed down through an instructor's experience but had to be figured out through one's repeated use.

Fortunately, progress was still acceptable...

[You are learning "Knowledge—Specificity Vehicle (Armed Mecha) Piloting," progress 89%.]

"..." The instructor didn't make a sound for a long while, simply digesting the fact that he had encountered a monster.

"You did very well."

Brandon unbuckled his safety harness with a trace of melancholy, unaccustomed to encountering a talent of this caliber for the first time.

"Do you have any other questions?" he asked casually, though Brandon was just going through the motions.

"Yes," Bai E said with utmost sincerity in his eyes, "I find it exhausting to follow your maneuvers…"

He honestly expressed his feelings.

Feeling tired was to be expected, of course.

A secondary Mech Pilot must completely follow the lead Mech Pilot's decisions, having no initiative and needing to constantly concentrate to guess the intentions of the lead Mech Pilot.

But it shouldn't be this tiring since they were only doing basic movement following, which hadn't yet involved more complex combat.

Even so, he had almost entirely devoted himself to following the instructor's desired maneuvers, and it was hard to imagine how much mental effort a regular soldier would need to cope with the demands of an intense combat environment.

The key issue was that this level of focus had to be maintained for a very long time... unimaginable.

"Tired?" Brandon smiled, "Being tired is normal. That's why we need to train for understanding and coordination. Every Mech Pilot has their own control habits. If we practice together over a long time, the secondary Mech Pilot will learn the lead Mech Pilot's habits, and much of the coordination will become instinctive, naturally saving a lot of energy.

Plus, you can also pay attention to the display screen in front of you."

In front of the secondary Mech Pilot is a screen that only they can see clearly.

It doesn't show the scenery outside, but the current status of the Mecha and its external actions.

It's not in real time.

It's predictive.

Whenever the lead Mech Pilot issues a command, the Mecha's main core chip will simulate the actions the Mecha is about to execute in the first instance. Maybe it doesn't carry them out as quickly, but it can simulate the state after the command is executed in advance.

The secondary Mech Pilot can rely on this display to better understand the lead Mech Pilot's intentions, of course… the speed of response remains the core element in measuring how smoothly a driver operates a Mecha.

[You are learning "Knowledge—Special Vehicles (Armed Mechas) Driving," progress 90%.]

"Oh~" Bai E nodded, having observed a bit earlier, but now with the instructor's clear explanation, he understood its function even more clearly.

"Additionally, there's this..."

Brandon patted the iron plate supporting him at his back, "The simulator doesn't have a real installation, but in a normal Mecha here, there is an emergency Stimulant that can be injected, which can help you improve your reaction speed very quickly. The side effects are quite significant though... you need to finish the combat quickly and get treatment from a doctor."

"Oh~" Enjoy new adventures from empire

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Not for now..." Bai E shook his head. After the instructor had explained each module's function, he knew he needed to familiarize himself with them through practice.

"Then let's leave it at that for now." The instructor headed for the exit of the simulation pod, looking back and waving his hand, "You go ahead and familiarize yourself with the modules in the simulator, I'll check on the learning progress of the other students."

Bai E was not the only soldier who had just started training or had not been training for long, and the instructor needed to cleanse his eyes with other people.

In fact, according to his plan, he was only going to teach Bai E some basic knowledge, and then he could go busy himself with other matters, letting Bai E familiarize himself with the various functional modules, which constituted the entirety of the first lesson.

Normally, that's how most soldiers got through their first lesson, and often the second one as well.

Just memorizing the intricate module functions already required all the soldiers' mental focus, and managing to stumble along with a little jog or jump was considered exceptional performance.

But Bai E...

"Alright, Instructor!" Bai E responded readily.

Being left to explore on his own was fantastic!