Chapter 1851 Exploitation
After Lieutenant Ferct finished her introduction of the services available to associates, she soon bid him goodbye.
"Let me reiterate. It is a great privilege to become our associate. Some of the best and brightest people of the galactic rim are connected to us. In addition, there are many associates who have proven themselves to be exceptional enough to meet our high standards. We never waste our time with useless bums who are only able to get far by spending. You are in good company, Ves. Remember, MTA merits are everything to us. Be sure to work hard and make the most out of your remaining youth!"
With that, her projection disappeared in a blink, leaving Ves alone with Lucky and the Larkinson Mandate.
He turned to his cat. "What do you think. Was she sincere?"
"Meow."
"I agree." He turned to the Larkinson Mandate. "What about you? What is your judgement?"
The Golden Cat tilted her head, making her big eyes look even more adorable!
Nyaaaaaa.
"You have a point. Lieutenant Ferct doesn't care about me. To the Rim Guardians, associates like me are just a bunch cheap labor. As long as they throw enough MTA merits at us, we won't hesitate to bark on command!"
On the surface, the relation between the Rim Guardians and its associates was one of equal exchange. The Rim Guardians did not force the associates to do anything. As long as Ves remained useful and did not act directly against their interests, they wouldn't revoke his associate status!
Just like Leemar's Clifford Society, the Rim Exchange ostensibly served as an elaborate portal where associates could gain a lot of benefits in exchange for trading something valuable such as a rare good or their valuable expertise. Each transaction was completely voluntary, allowing the associates to pick and choose the deals at their leisure.
However, underneath the surface, the game was rigged from the start.
Throughout her introduction, Lieutenant Ferct emphasized the value and importance of MTA merits multiple times. She plainly said that he wouldn't be able to do anything without any merits under his belt!
Furthermore, she also dismissed the utility of transferable currencies such as mech credits, hex credits or coalition credits.
Money was still valuable. That was no doubt. It was just that many of the most valued goods and services provided by the Rim Exchange and the MTA were priced in merits!
The crucial difference between mech credits and MTA merits was that the latter couldn't be transferred, inherited, exchanged or obtained in any way or than to earn them directly from the MTA!
As the sole provider of MTA merits, the MTA and its underlying organizations held a stranglehold on both sides of a transaction!
For Ves to buy something from the Rim Exchange, he needed merits.
How could he obtain merits? By completing missions issued by the Rim Exchange!
"It's like a circle!" He uttered. "All of the merits issued by the Rim Guardians eventually end up back in their hands!"
Of course, Ves got something in return, but he had no doubt the Rim Exchange charged huge premiums for their goods and services! There was no reason for them to be generous and lower their prices out of the good of their hearts. Ves bet that the Rim Guardians earned a profit every step of the way!
"It's too bad that I have no choice but to play along." He sighed.
Just because the Rim Guardians wanted to exploit him didn't mean he should turn away. The MTA's monopoly on MTA merits meant that Ves couldn't go anywhere else!
Well, if Ves was really desperate, he could approach the CFA instead and try to earn CFA merits, but that was a complete non-starter.
There was no way the CFA would treat mech designers like Ves well! He might as well commit suicide right away if he wanted to get screwed even harder!
In short, Ves should never hold the illusion that the Rim Guardians were looking out for their associates. Their own interests always came first!
That said, it wasn't all that bad to build up a relationship with the Rim Guardians. Exploitative they might be, they were light on commitments. They did not demand his allegiance like states and neither did they impose any further obligations.
This sounded great to someone who pursued independence such as him. Since he sought to turn the Larkinson Clan into a sovereign entity, he could dearly use the services and backing that a powerful organization like the Rim Guardians could provide!
He just had to pay the right price.
"In terms of value, I can provide a lot of unique services!" He realized.
He could design mechs that possessed glows. As far as he knew, not a single mech designer in human space could do the same!
He could turn ordinary mech pilots into expert candidates. This was just a wanted transition that the 'market price' for this service was priceless!
"It's too bad I can't do it again."
It would be too suspicious if Ves kept accepting missions that required him to turn average mech pilots into expert candidates. Even a six-year old kid could tell that he mastered some kind of hidden method to promote mech pilots!
Ves felt a bit constrained by his situation. Using his specialty and his spiritual expertise, he could perform all kinds of feats considered impossible. Yet if he used too much, then he would inevitably get exposed, thereby drawing the interests of the MTA and other immensely powerful entities!
Once he landed in their crosshairs, he could kiss his ambitions and freedom goodbye!
Therefore, he needed to hold something back. The risk was that if he constrained himself too much, he probably wouldn't be able to earn 100 million MTA merits in time for the planned launch of his grand expedition!
"Damnit! This is an impossible dilemma!"
He would have to visit the Rim Exchange and browse the missions at the merit hall to be sure, but he already suspected that none of them were easy.
The Rim Guardians only recruited a select amount of excellent people from the galactic rim. None of them were incapable or incompetent! The missions issued to them should definitely give them all a challenge, as MTA merits should never be obtained with ease!
Though Ves was tempted to input the address of the Rim Exchange into his comm in order to visit the virtual portal, he held himself back.
Right now, he had enough on his plate as it is. His most important priority right now was to design his upcoming Larkinson mech.
Since he intended to treat it was a passion project, he had to ignore as many distractions as possible. Anything that pulled him away from his design project would inevitably affect the quality of the end product!
Since the Larkinson mech was of supreme importance to the clan and his ambitions, this would have huge implications for his future!
When Ves returned to the main lab, Gloriana immediately moved to his side.
"How is it? Did you get in? Are they satisfied?"
"It went fine." He smiled. "The Rim Guardians accepted me in the ranks of their associates. I can now enter something called the Rim Exchange."
"I see. You're very fortunate you managed to get in. In the years I've spent at Centerpoint, I only encountered a few mech designers who managed to do the same. Most mech designers who linger at Centerpoint can only dream of becoming an associate like you! I'm so proud of you, Ves!"
She leaned close and pecked him on the cheek with a giggle.
Though Ves enjoyed her affection, he found her reaction to be a little off. "What about you, Gloriana. Are you envious?"
She lightly shook her head. "Hexers don't have a habit of interacting with the MTA anymore than is necessary. It's fine if the Rim Guardians passed me over. They don't really like Hexers in general."
"Oh."
"In addition, I don't necessarily need their support. From what a professor once told me, the Rim Guardians mostly target talented individuals with weak or moderate backing. They want to build up relationships with those who are most prone to work hard to achieve something by themselves."
In other words, the Rim Guardians vastly preferred patsies like Ves as opposed to someone spoiled like Gloriana!
"How do you Hexer manage to earn MTA merits then?"
"Oh, we don't need to befriend the Rim Guardians to earn merits." She answered with a smile. "The main MTA organization also provides missions. Working with the MTA is something every Hexer mech designer has to learn."
"And they're not repelled by you people's... Hexer-ness?"
She giggled. "It's not as difficult as you think. We just have to stick to written communication as much as possible. That way, we can control what we say. In any case, the MTA is supposed to be neutral. The moment they pick and choose which states can enjoy their service, they'll definitely make everyone else suspicious that they're aiming to lead human civilization directly! That will spark countless rebellions!"
Though she was right to an extent, it did not preclude subtler actions.
"Well, I'm glad you're fine with my entry into the Rim Guardians. I think I can truly begin to earn a lot of merits soon. The Larkinson mech comes first, though."
She nodded in agreement. "Our project comes first, yes. By the way, have you thought of a more suitable name for your mech design? Calling it the Larkinson mech isn't good enough."
"I'm still mulling over it. To be honest, I don't have any good ideas now, but that's not a big deal. I have plenty of time to think while I'm fleshing the design."
They looked over the central projection which displayed the current state of the design.
Around a third of the base platform and the four configurations had already been defined. This provided the mech designers with a good impression of how the final versions would look like. This was because Ves and Gloriana tackled the biggest issues first and worked their way down to the smallest of details.
So far, Ves was pretty pleased with how the design was turning out. Though they had to overcome countless technical challenges, the estimated performance of his incomplete mech was already dazzling for a third-class mech!
At the very least, in terms of defense, his Larkinson mech all surpassed anything that was common to mass-produced third-class mechs!
Providing such luxurious protection to his mech pilots ensured that they wouldn't die so easily! Even if an enemy managed to pierce through the Larkinson mech's prodigious armor, the cockpit itself was a veritable bunker!
"There's one thing that's bothering me more and more, though." She told him. "The defensive power of the configurations of the modular mech platform is amazing, but their offensive parameters are rather weak."
"It's not all that bad. At the very least, we can employ a variation of the standard Breyer alloy to form extremely powerful swords and spears. We can also use it to clad the exterior of the laser or ballistic rifle, thereby making them less prone to break when hit by enemy fire."
"You know those are only marginal benefits. The mechs simply lack punch."
Ves shrugged. "We can't have everything. It's too expensive to upgrade the weapon systems, musculature systems and other aspects needed to strengthen the offensive power of our design. Our mech pilots won't be able to keep up, thereby wasting much of its potential."
Both of them were aware of this argument. Ves was able to accept it without a fuss, but Gloriana still took issue with the lack of effort in improving the Larkinson mech's offensive performance.
Unlike Ves who regarded their current project as an improved third-class mech design, Gloriana viewed it as a crippled second-class mech design!
Still, she didn't let her annoyance get in the way of doing her best. She was always as invested in this project as Ves!
Chapter 1852 The Mech With Clothes
After hearing back from the Rim Guardians, Ves soon put the new development aside and went back to designing his mech.
Progress on the Larkinson mech design barely kept up with the schedule they set. With only three months in total to design a mech that actually consisted of four mechs, Ves could only devote a couple of weeks on each of the configurations!
This was a very brutal pace, now that Ves thought about it. Even with his enhanced productivity upon reaching Journeyman, Ves still required at least two months to design a good mech!
The only reason why their short timetable worked was because of how many aspects the configurations shared in common.
Rather than see it as designing four mechs as one, Ves was truly just designing a single mech with four light variants.
Of course, 'light' being relative here.
It was as if they were designing a naked mech with four different outfits. Each set of clothes altered the properties of the mech in a drastic fashion.
This was anything but usual in mech design. Ves and Gloriana had to overcome so many problems relating to balance, implementation and integration.
Making the clothes 'fit' to the frame was one of the biggest difficulties they faced. If the fit was too tight, then the clothes became a burden to the underlying frame. A tight fit also increased the difficulty of repairing the mech and switching to another configuration.
The other extreme was no better. Making the fit too loose or small weakened the 'clothes'. If they were too light and flimsy, then it wouldn't take much effort for an enemy to render the mechs harmless!
Designing a mech with accompanying clothes was difficult. The unique problems that emerged from designing a modular mech platform presented Ves and Gloriana with plenty of headaches. They never encountered these issues before, and trying to work out solutions for the very first time was a huge burden.
Even as Ves became immersed in the design process, he always made sure to keep an eye on the passage of time. He always had to push his subordinate mech designers to work harder while expecting more from himself. The moment any of them slacked off, the project would definitely fall behind schedule!
Despite the constant worries, Ves never lost confidence. Instead, his passion burned even hotter as the pressure piled up on his shoulders. The deadline that he had set became a goal and an obsession to him. It was not in his nature to break his promises, especially when it came to mech design!
Even though he wouldn't suffer any actual penalties if he exceeded his self-imposed deadline, his mentality would definitely suffer a severe blow if he was late!
With a potential masterwork mech at stake, Ves could only push himself to toil harder and make the most of his design sessions!
Currently, Ves preoccupied himself with the space knight configuration. Though much of its planned design elements had been set in stone, Ves still hesitated over its secondary features.
In spaceborn battles, space battles mostly served as punching bags. They blocked damage so that more vulnerable mechs and assets didn't have to get hit.
This was something the Larkinson mech's space knight configuration already excelled at by virtue of the Breyer alloy integrated in its armor system and internal support structure!
The extra armor cladding affixed to the base platform at many points vastly increased the damage resistance of the resulting mech. The ease of attaching and detaching these modular sections of external armor also resulted in further advantages in battle.
As long as the base layer of armor belonging to the base platform wasn't affected, a space knight could continuously rotate in and out of the battlefield and replace its consumed external armor section!
While it required a lot of training and planning to set up such a rotation, it would definitely extend the space knight configuration's role in battle during extended engagements!
They would just have to fabricate a lot of spare external armor plating and keep them in reserve until it was time to draw upon them. This was something that Ves could easily sustain. Even if his supply of Breyer alloy was cut off, he could always resort to other materials to form different sets of external armor cladding.
This kind of adaptability was very important to forces that might have a reason to head to a place where there weren't any opportunities to resupply like the deep frontier!
Only someone who personally experienced the difficulties of repairing or maintaining mechs under extreme conditions would even think of such a benefit!
Among all of the mech designers, only Ves and Merrill Truman lived through such times. That gave them a shared camaraderie that they didn't have with other mech designers.
Merrill was an interesting mech designer to Ves. Despite her unwilling stay in the frontier, she quickly adjusted back to life as a proper, orthodox mech designer.
With the Komodo Star Sector in great chaos, it hadn't been difficult to arrange a new identity for her. She now went by Merrill O'Brian and underwent a moderate amount of cosmetic surgery to alter her face and adjust her body profile.
This was enough for her to say goodbye to her previous identity!
Ever since she turned back into a proper mech designer, she became completely at ease with her new arrangements. Despite the invisible shackles that bound her to the LMC, she didn't mind working for Ves at all! She recognized what a great opportunity she received and never showed any intention to regain her full freedom.
For his part, Ves stopped regarding her as a pirate designer after a while. She didn't fit the stereotype of a pirate designer anyway.
In fact, her inclusion in the second design team was a major benefit to the project. Her specialty dealt with leveraging imbalances to achieve specific advantages in a mech design.
This was a very vague description, but it essentially meant that she could find ingenious ways to increase the performance of a mech! The larger and more complicated the mech, the more she was able to increase the force of a sword swing or the thrust of a lance!
"Mechs are composed of a large amount of interconnected components." She described to Ves one day. "The mech engine provides the motive power to manipulate the artificial musculature system, which in itself is a huge collection of parts in the form of flexible strands."
"What does that have to do with your specialty?"
"Newton's third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Any force acting from a mech puts stress on a component due to the opposite force acting on it when it makes an exertion. Multiply that a thousand times and you have a mech that is constantly beating itself up on the inside due to all of the recoil it has to endure inside its frame."
Though Ves possessed a deep understanding of Mechanics in relation to mech design, he never viewed mechs from this perspective! It sounded very novel to him even though it was based on a very basic premise!
"So.. does that mean you are trying to find some way to utilize the reactions acting within a mech?"
The young woman nodded. "It's more complicated than that, but in essence you are correct. Trying to get some use out of these reactions and attempting to recycle these forces for other uses has always been of great interest to me. It's a way of achieving greater efficiency that few mech designers have thought of. As long as I'm able to expand upon my ideas and applications, I can make a significant difference in any mechanical design!"
Though her design philosophy sounded promising, her idea sounded very difficult to realize!
"Well, good luck on your advancement. I suggest you keep studying and accumulating more knowledge in the free time you can spare. My virtual library is largely open to you as long as you remain productive. Don't hesitate to browse my textbooks."
Technically, the library belonged to Lady Curver, but Ves claimed it as his spoils of war! It didn't matter to him if he didn't have the right to read or peddle in the exclusive textbooks of Clarion University. It wasn't as if the Friday Coalition would send a raiding force after him to punish his illegal access to its intellectual property!
The conversation soon turned away from her specialty. Merrill didn't know Ves very well, and Ves only possessed a shallow understanding of what she went through.
"How did you survive in the frontier for so long? How did you manage to regain your freedom?"
"I had help." She smiled. "Not every pirate gang in the frontier are brutes. I managed to reach out to Omen of Misfortune who assisted me in parting from my old outfit and set me up as an independent!"
The Omen of Misfortune! Now that was a name that Ves hadn't heard in a while!
"I've had... dealings with the Omen of Misfortune in the past." He said. "I don't know much about them other than that they're friendly with Lydia's Swordmaidens."
Her eyes grew wistful. "I always wanted to join the Swordmaidens. They were everything a woman in the frontier aspired to join! Sadly, I never intersected with their fleet during my stay in the frontier. I wouldn't have been able to join anyway. I heard they only pick up teenage girls and train them up into powerful Swordmaidens. I was too old to be worthy of their notice."
Ves blinked. It seemed like the reputation of the Swordmaidens was a lot more resounding than he thought!
"Do you know what happened to the Omen of Misfortune?"
She shrugged. "I think the Omen was caught off-guard by the sandman invasion like anyone else. They like to act mysterious and claim they can divine the future, but I'm sure they were blindsided. Last I heard, they fled into civilized space like every other outfit with ships. I don't know where to find them. No one bothers to maintain their existing contact methods after entering civilized space. Here, the old alliances and customs of the frontier don't matter anymore. Everyone has received a new start!"
That was true. There was little left of the Dragon Alliance and the Ravienne Alliance that terrorized the Faris Star Region for so many years. They might have been powerful enough to throw their weight around in the desolate regions of the frontier, but they were just easy fodder to the established powers of the Komodo Star Sector!
There was no reason to maintain existing pirate bonds and connections in civilized space. Just like the Swordmaidens had done, many pirate organizations took advantage of the chaos to abandon their tainted identities and start anew as mercenaries!
Ves was sure that the MTA and everyone else knew quite well what was going on. The fact that they didn't do much to plug such an obvious hole was rather curious. Perhaps they didn't think the scattered pirates posed a threat to the established order of the Komodo Star Sector. Perhaps they were too preoccupied with the Sand War and the Komodo War to chase after some trivial pirates.
Whatever the case, their complacency was good for Merrill and the Swordmaidens! Soon enough, everyone would take their new identities for granted!
Before they returned to work, Merrill made an odd remark.
"I miss the frontier, sometimes. It was dangerous, but it was also liberating. There is no MTA watching over your head, no states who wanted to dominate the territories, no rules to tell you what you can and cannot do. There are so few mech designers in the frontier that competition is much more relaxed. If not for how difficult it was to procure materials, I might prefer the freedom of the frontier over the order of civilized space."
"Me too." Ves idly said. "Me too."
Chapter 1853 External Stimuli
The days continued to pass one after another as Ves and Gloriana kept the project going. The pair invested an increasing amount of attention to the project, to the point where they began to lose track of what was happening in the rest of the galaxy!
Even though the two liked to pretend they put the galaxy on pause, current events were still progressing at their own pace.
The sandmen fleets that halted their mindless charge into human-occupied planets still converged to a location within the territory of the former Coman Federation. It was difficult for the Bright Republic and other forces to know for sure because the density of sandmen constantly increased the closer they tried to sneak their scout ships into this exceedingly perilous space!
Due to the extensive amount of time needed for the sandmen to complete their mass convergence, the MTA had plenty of time to form a response.
The MTA's Compliance Department finally dispatched a small warfleet to Bentheim. There, the fleet would either wait for the sandman planet to arrive at the port system, or move out to intercept the cataclysmically powerful sandman amalgamation before it came any close to crowded population centers!
The arrival of the warfleet finally pressed down much of the panic that had formed in the Bright Republic in recent weeks. If not for their presence, Bentheim would have probably been engulfed by chaos and rioting!
The only issue of concern was that the Compliance Department dispatched less assets than everyone thought.
Unlike the CFA's formidable Archangel Battle Group, the small fleet anchored in the Bentheim System mostly consisted of a couple of warships and carriers.
In the space warfare doctrine adopted by the Compliance Department, mechs played a much greater role. Even though deploying spaceborn mechs in a battle between warships was like taking a knife to a gunfight, the MTA never gave up the practice. Its mech designers worked hard to turn mechs into a serious contender against warships!
In any case, the mechs fielded by the MTA were a far cry from the Desolate Soldiers and Dawnbreakers that flooded the Bentheim System. The MTA utilized the same kind of first-class multipurpose mechs adopted by the first-rate states!
Naturally, their mechs were even better! Designed to pose a serious threat to warships and the worst weapons employed by the most advanced alien empires known to humanity, the mechs of the MTA were true engines of destruction!
Many of them were able to output so much damage that they could devastate several major cities on Bentheim! Some could even unleash ordnance that could wipe out a small continent!
With so many powerful mechs brought by the Compliance Department, many optimism began to believe the Sand War was as good as over! As long as the sandmen bumped into the impressive mechs of the MTA, even an entire planet couldn't stand a chance!
The movements of the MTA also provided some reassurance to the Larkinsons residing in the Bright Republic. The evacuation of Larkinson family members slowed down. Those who were bound by duty never contemplated leaving in the first place. They only sent out some of their spouses and children to the Larkinson Clan as a precaution.
The influx of Larkinsons just started to arrive. Some of the groups of evacuees even turned around and traveled back to their homes! The prospect of living in the Ylvaine Protectorate was too scary or fraught with uncertainty.
In addition, residing with the Larkinson Clan as guests rather than clan members was rather awkward. Those who never had any intentions of joining the clan weren't interested in spending time with those they regarded as traitors in their hearts.
Fortunately, those who arrived and settled down in the Friedhold Estate soon began to fall under the charm of the upbeat clan. The Larkinson Clan, despite being only a month old, already exhibited the cohesion of a tight-knight family organization!
In fact, compared to the old family, the clan featured so many new opportunities and improvements that it was hard for anyone to resist the allure!
Unlike the old family that strongly emphasized the collective over the individual, the Larkinson Clan explicitly directed some care to individual Larkinsons!
Those who wanted an easy, well-paying job could accept one of the many cozy job offers from the LMC.
The Larkinsons who wanted to have a say in how the clan was being run could apply to join the Larkinson Assembly or the Executive Council.
The Larkinson mech pilots who wanted to put their skills to use could apply to join several different forces.
Those with ambition and wanted to become the best opted to apply for the Avatars of Myth. This was an especially attractive choice for those who missed the military life and wanted to be part of an elite outfit. They always felt right at home with the strict regime of the Avatars!
The ones who wanted to take a step back and spend more time with their families opted to join the Living Sentinels. Though they weren't as prestigious as the Avatars, the Sentinels weren't weak or complacent by any means.
Each of these organizations provided favorable employment terms to Larkinson clansmen. They not only received much more pay, but also a bit more consideration for promotions and other opportunities.
Though Ves disliked nepotism, he didn't really have a choice. The Larkinson clan members expected better treatment compared to retainers and ordinary employees. Since all of those organizations belonged to the Larkinson Clan, why shouldn't they serve its interests?
In addition, in the perspective of Ves, nepotism was not universally bad. The family members placed into important positions due to their bloodline rather than their competence might not do a good job, but at least their loyalty was not in question!
To someone who was tired of getting betrayed, Ves gladly sacrificed efficiency and productivity in order to secure his control over his enterprise. The Larkinson Clan was highly unlikely to betray him! Not only were they dependent on his ability as a mech designer, they had also formed a bond with the Larkinson Mandate!
Though Ves wasn't sure of what these spiritual connections actually did, he had a vague idea that it was already acting as a pseudo-spiritual network.
While the network did not facilitate peer-to-peer connections and two-way communication, it already served as a subliminal broadcast and feedback network.
Each Larkinson connected to the network fed their thoughts and emotions to the Golden Cat. This made the young ancestral spirit embody the collective will of the Larkinson Clan even more!
In return, the Golden Cat fed back her impression of what it meant to be a Larkinson to the clansmen who formed a bond with her. Each of the Larkinsons, including the members of the old family to a lesser degree, all became exposed to the influence of their ancestral spirit!
Someone people might consider this influencing cycle to be nefarious. Some people might accuse Ves for creating a means to brainwash the Larkinsons.
"That's not true at all!" Ves yelled at Lucky while he held his cat with his hands.
"Meow?"
"I'm not evil! I only have good intentions in mind!"
"Meow meow!"
"Just think about it! With the Larkinson Mandate, our clan will become more united in will and purpose! The chance of betrayal decreases as those who are thinking about acting against the interests of the clan will certainly suffer!"
"Meow meow meow!"
"Not only that, the Golden Cat will definitely warn me if a Larkinson is up to no good! With my control over the Larkinson Mandate, I can track down each and every traitor who thought they could get away and make an example out of them. Treachery will be a thing of the past in my clan!"
"MEEEOW!"
A gem suddenly shot against his forehead!
"Ouch! Lucky! What the hell was that?! Did you just relieve yourself?!"
"Meeeeeooow!"
Lucky took advantage of his owner's distraction and turned intangible before diving headfirst through the floor!
Ves nursed his forehead and wiped it with the sleeve of his business suit. He then bent down in order to pick up a purple gem that looked very familiar to him for some reason.
[Mother's Love]
The love of a mother towards her offspring resides within this royal gem. Increases the allure of a mech by 100 percent to females.
"..."
What the heck? After gorging on exotics for months and eating enough Breyer alloy to fabricate the toughest shuttle in his possession, all his cat managed to produce was a gem with a property that was just as useless as the one he received before?
Even though the Mother's Love was stronger than the Maiden's Affection, both of them were completely useless in battle!
"LUUUCKKKKYYYY!'
His cat was nowhere to be found, of course. Lucky knew better than to be around Ves at this time!
Ves grumbled a bit more before tossing the purple gem in his pouch of other gems. No matter how useless it seemed, each of them could still be used as a cheat by elevating a high-quality mech to the level of a masterwork.
In that regard, receiving one gem was better than receiving no gem!
"Why did Lucky develop this weak and pointless attribute anyway?" Ves frowned.
He thought the properties of Lucky's gems were determined by the nature of his diet sprinkled with a dose of random chance.
Perhaps that was the case for Lucky's earlier gems, but now Ves started to develop another suspicion.
"Could it be.. that the properties are determined by another variable?"
According to this theory in his mind, the quality of the gems was still related to the quality of the materials that Lucky ingested.
More potent exotics resulted in more powerful gems!
Ves was already familiar with this rule. This was the main reason why he never seriously stopped Lucky from eating a fortune's worth of exotics.
"There's a second rule maybe."
The properties of a gem might not be set by the distinctive attributes of the exotics eaten by Lucky. Instead, the deciding factor might be external stimuli!
For example, if Lucky had to sneak around all the time, he would probably create a gem that decreased a mech's energy signature or increased the effectiveness of active stealth systems.
If Lucky got kicked around by Ves all the time, he would probably produce gems that increased the damage resistance of a mech or amplified the strength of its armor.
If Lucky killed a lot of people with his claws, then he might develop some sort of gem that made bladed weapons sharper or increased the output of a laser rifle!
"Then.. if Lucky is getting pampered by Hexers every day, does that mean he'll keep producing gems like the Maiden's Affection and the Mother's Love?"
An awkward silence ensued.
"LUCKYYYY! STOP HANGING OUT WITH WOMEN!"
Elsewhere at the Austen Estate, Lucky appeared in Gloriana's room. He leisurely passed by the guards of the Glory Battalion and booped his nose against Clixie.
"Miaow."
"Meow!"
"Miaow~"
"Lucky? Why are you here again?" Gloriana asked as she turned from a mirror projection.
A beauty bot was brushing her hair and applying makeup on her face.
"Meow~"
The mechanical cat floated in front of her. Gloriana couldn't resist and held Lucky as if she was holding a baby.
"You poor boy. Is Ves treating you wrong? I'll tell him to be nicer to you. I really don't understand why he bullies you sometimes. You're too cute!"
"Meow..."
Lucky squinted his eyes and started to purr as Gloriana scratched his head and stroked his back. His tail swished left and right in complete relaxation.
"Are you hungry?"
"Meow!"
Gloriana giggled and approached a table where she stashed some raw exotic minerals. She always kept a stash at hand to feed one of her favorite cats!
"Here you go!"
Lucky nibbled on the exotic while radiating pure bliss. Now this was how a cat ought to live!
Chapter 1854 Bad Timing
Over the course of designing the Larkinson mech, Ves pushed every possible distraction from his mind. He continued to invest his heart and soul into his work, trying his best to make the modular mech platform and its four configurations viable against as many threats as possible!
Though difficult, Ves and Gloriana both rose to the challenge. They did not let a setback stop them for long. They frequently exchanged with each other and came up with ideas that neither of them were able to conceive on their own. Their synergy reached a higher level as they became more in tune with the design and their fellow partner.
The cooperation between the pair had already been built up over the course of previous projects. Ves felt as if all of those prior collaborations were practice runs for the current project.
Every possible issue had been explored and all of the problems resulting from lack of familiarity and mistaken assumptions had been dealt with! Both of them became intimately familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses and automatically divided work to the mech designer who was best suited to tackle the specific issue.
In general, Gloriana did better with detail work and complicated technical puzzles. Her design philosophy lent herself well to spotting faults as they showed up. She also excelled in optimizing a rough implementation so that they did not cause any further issues down the line.
That did not mean that Ves was completely useless on this front. His breadth and wealth of theoretical and practical knowledge exceeded that of his girlfriend. The only downside of accumulating all of his System-granted knowledge was that his utilization couldn't keep up. For every problem, he could come up with dozens of solutions, but he wasn't able to make the most out of them in the more difficult cases.
Mech design was both an art and a science.
Ever since he embarked on his career, Ves always thought he would lean towards the latter. Science and engineering was the foundation of his craft. How could a mech designer ever design something complicated with up to millions of different parts all working in unison?
Yet it was only when Ves started working with Gloriana that he became aware of his true passion and strength.
Ves preferred to see himself as an artist.
He was an artist of mechs and spirits!
He was a sketcher of mechs and a weaver of life. A mech design served as the canvas of his creative energies, both figuratively and literally!
Technology was just a means to an end to Ves. He never developed the insane passion that other mech designers possessed with regards to technology.
Whereas most mech designers devoted their passion towards flight systems, light mechs, laser rifles, energy efficiency and so on, Ves chose a completely different direction!
There was a reason why the MTA threw his so-called 'metaphysical man-machine symbiosis' specialization in the Class IX design philosophy bucket.
His focus towards mechs was completely out of the conventional norms of his profession. Neither the MTA nor his colleagues were able to wrap their heads around his logic and his approach.
Mechs were alive? Nonsense! They were simply machines! Everyone who wasn't steeped with superstition could tell you that! There is not a single aspect about mechs that proved that they were alive!
Even though Ves increasingly proved the validity of his odd framework by developing his characteristic glows, most high-ranking mech designers simply passed it off as an unknown psionic phenomenon. Like a blind cat bumping into a mouse, they believed that Ves was just flailing around randomly and just managed to hit the jackpot by discovering a strange psionic interaction!
To make a mech designer truly believe that mechs had the potential to come alive was incredibly hard. Ves tried over and over to convince his subordinates that it was best to treat mechs as if they were alive and needed to be treated as such.
Few people actually became convinced. Even if they paid lip service to him because he was the owner of the LMC and the clan patriarch, in their hearts they were still bound to their limited view on reality.
Still, there were some people who got it. Joshua King was a fantastic example of a mech pilot who truly understood the essence of his mechs.
Yet people like Joshua were very rare, especially among the highly secularist Brighters and Larkinsons who made up the core of his enterprise.
To his frustration, the people who were actually prone to accepting his eccentric views on mechs were always those who he considered to be deficient in critical thinking.
This description was a common euphemism in the Bright Republic. It was a polite way of describing people enthralled by superstition.
In other words, religious nuts!
Gloriana believed in all of his claims without ever questioning whether he was spouting nonsense. She simply believed in him at such a whole-hearted degree that Ves felt kind of guilty for treating her as a gullible idiot.
The same went for the Ylvainans in the second design team. Ves noted that the work submitted by Oscar DiMartin, Renee Zelin, Erica Sprint and Pascal Curin all carried a sense of harmony that allowed them to mesh well with the ongoing design.
From a spiritual level, their sincere respect and worshipful attitude towards the incomplete mech design was much more beneficial than a neutral attitude!
This meant that the other assistant mech designers such as the Tovars left much bigger spiritual messes behind.
The difference was so stark and obvious that Ves felt somewhat conflicted over Gloriana and the Ylvainans.
He always seemed to do better with people of faith and belief. Whether he collaborated with them on a mech design or tried to get his mechs accepted by them, religious people always seemed to resonate with him more.
The irony of this situation was that he didn't consider his own views to be superstition at all! In his eyes, he was simply exploring an obscure and controversial field of science.
For some reason, the MTA limited its research on psionic power and kept it buried in their vaults. As for the CFA, their fetish for big guns, big ships and superior technology somehow led them to pretend that psionic power didn't exist!
"Is it really so difficult to believe in both science and something that sounds a little odd like the premise of my design philosophy?"
Having been raised as a Brighter, Ves simply solved the dilemma by keeping an open mind.
He did not keep his mind closed to unnatural phenomena like most secularists, but neither did he blindly take outlandish assumptions and claims for granted like the Ylvainans.
"Why can't other people take this approach towards the unknowable?" He puzzled.
He felt as if he was the only sane person in a galaxy filled with mad people. Everyone was biased except him as far as he was concerned!
The sad reality of his situation was that he would encounter much less hindrance if he continued to interact with people who were 'deficient in critical thinking'.
The Ylvainans basically treated all of his words like gospel, while Gloriana was so devoted to him that she didn't hesitate to alter her design philosophy to incorporate his views on spirituality!
What Gloriana had done was very exceptional and very rare. The main reason why Ves had so much difficulty in getting other mech designers to accept his viewpoints was because they already formed their own framework on mechs.
The more a mech designer developed their own framework, the more guarded they became against other influences.
Novices and Apprentices learned that it was often a bad idea to get too enamoured in someone else's design philosophy.
Journeymen and higher solidified their perspectives on mech design by forming their design seeds.
Once this occurred, it took superhuman effort to accept something drastic that conflicted with their existing views!
"What are you thinking about?" Gloriana asked as she glanced at Ves sitting besides her. "You've been staring at the same projection for over ten minutes."
Ves sighed and swiped the projection away. "I need a break."
"Oh. Is that all?"
"To be honest, no. I have a lot of thoughts on my mind. Some of them aren't very helpful to the project."
"Do you want to talk about it, Ves?"
He looked in her affectionate eyes. "Forget it. I'm just being melodramatic."
"Okay. Do you want to eat lunch or something?"
"Alright."
It was during their lunch break that they received an important message. Dr. Lupo Guernica called Ves directly.
"Good news, Mr. Larkinson!" He said with an enthused grin. "Dr. Ranya and I have finally completed our preparations for your implant surgery! We have thoroughly inspected and updated your bioimplant from top to bottom. We have modernized its bioprogramming and we have added several more security precautions as per your request. We have also prepared the surgery procedure to account for your abnormal physical and brain structure. The chances of complications should be minimal!"
That sounded like very good news to Ves! If it was any other time, he would immediately drop all of his work and head to the treatment center as soon as possible!
As it was.. he was almost halfway through his current design project. With all of the momentum he accumulated, Ves couldn't afford to stop or pause midway!
The passion he built up and the mentality he shaped over the weeks since he started working on the modular mech platform were exceedingly precious. It was difficult to describe the concrete benefits of these intangible moods.
All Ves knew was that as long as he stopped providing them with fuel, they would eventually deflate and disappear!
Once lost, it was practically impossible to regain these moods!
Ves would have to scrap the entire project and start anew if he wanted to experience the unique build-up that led to the formation of those distinctive moods. That was a massive waste of time!
Of course, an ordinary mech designer wouldn't fuss about this issue all that much. To them, a mech design was simply a technical schematic. They didn't put much stock in the role of meaning and emotions of their work.
A conflicting expression appeared in his face. "Tell me your projections on how much time the surgery and recovery process will take. How much time will I be under, and how long will I be able to go back to work?"
"The surgery won't take long, sir. The actual procedure is not that time-consuming as long as complications don't arise. It is the recovery period that is a bit more complex. Cranial implants are different from other implants in that they need to integrate with the brain of the recipient. I believe you are well aware of how sensitive such a process can be. Inserting a foreign object in the brain is easy. Making that foreign object blend in with someone's mind is vastly more intricate."
"How long, Lupo?"
"It varies, sir. For baseline humans, it typically takes a week to a month. Outliers can take years to adjust, and if any incompatibility occurs, we may need to pull out your implant lest your entire head burns up. This is substantially more likely to occur with humans who have augmented and altered their genes and body extensively."
In other words, the chance that something could go wrong was vastly higher due to his freakish physical state! There was a good reason why it took several months for the pair of exobiologists to prepare for the upcoming operation! Ordinary humans didn't require so much attention and effort!
Being delayed by a week was intolerable. Being delayed by more than a month was unacceptable!
"Right now is not a good time to perform the implantation procedure." He ordered. "Please postpone it by a month or two. I need to finish my current design project first before I can afford to go under the knife."
It pained him to delay something he was looking forward to for years, but the timing was too inconvenient.
Dr. Lupo looked disappointed as well. "Very well. I shall inform Dr. Ranya of the change in plans. She won't be happy."
"Look on the bright side. I've granted you a lot more time to tweak and optimize the bioimplant even further. Try and see if you can add some advanced functionality to the Archimedes Rubal, particularly on the security front."
"We will try our best, though we have already done as much as we could."
The call eventually ended. Ves soon decided to put this issue off his mind and turn his attention back to his project. He needed to complete the Larkinson mech design as soon as possible if he wanted to boost his memory and upgrade his cognitive functions! Hearing Gloriana espouse some of the features of her Erestal-015 implant made him jealous!
Chapter 1855 The Lancer Problem
As the Larkinson mech project continued to draw closer to its final form, Ves and Gloriana currently turned their focus towards the lancer mech configuration.
Lancer mechs were basically spearman mechs specialized for assault.
Spears in mech combat played a curious role. Their longer reach and ease in penetrating armor turned them into excellent weapons against armored mechs.
Mechs rarely attacked with the haft of their spears. On land, it was practically impossible for a spearman mech to trip an enemy machine by sweeping its legs, for example! The sturdiness of its legs and the immense weight pressed upon them made them very resistant against outside applications of force.
Using the spear like a staff was also ineffective in most cases. Slamming the haft or the flat end of a spear against an enemy mech would only hammer its armor plating. The stricken mech would always be able to absorb much of the shock and force of such attacks!
There was a reason why staff-wielding mechs weren't even a thing. Mace-wielding mechs were a bit more common, but even then their numbers paled in comparison to mechs wielding sharper weapons.
For this reason, most spearman mechs resorted to stabbing to defeat their opponents.
Mech pilots who excelled in spearmanship could even take their utilization of this seemingly simple weapon even further. Their control over their weapon became so good that they could precisely target all of the weak points of an opposing mech!
Lancer mechs could technically fight like a spearman mech, but they were a bit worse in brawls and dogfighting. This was because their structure and configuration was heavily adapted to charging attacks!
Charging attacks were just as simple and brutish as they sounded. They were employed in situations where the lancer mechs needed to run down fleeing ranged mechs or punch through a formation of sturdy and beefy mechs.
Though it took a lot of effort to build up a charge, once a lancer mech got going, a successful impact against a relatively slower target resulted in a huge amount of damage right off the bat!
Strong, overwhelming attacks that were strong enough to destroy or cripple entire mechs were fairly rare. The nature of mechs was that their defensive or evasive capabilities were always reasonably on par with the offensive capabilities of their opposition.
What this basically meant was that it always took at least several minutes for a mech to defeat another mech!
Only after overcoming another mech's defense would the clash finally conclude!
In many cases, the amount of time it took to take out a mech, especially a defensive one, was unacceptable. People started demanding solutions that could take out key mechs faster before they could inflict too much damage, and the mech industry obliged.
Marksman mechs armed with powerful, single-shot weapons were designed to assassinate key targets from afar.
Light skirmishers became more ubiquitous due to their ability to run circles around their larger and more sluggish counterparts. As long as they managed to reach the rear of an enemy mech, the softer armor was no match against their surgical strikes!
Compared to marksman mechs which sought to take out key targets at range and light skirmishers that were extremely fragile and relied entirely on superior mobility, lancer mechs solved the problem in a simpler fashion.
Not much skill was required to make effective use of a lancer mech. The mech pilot simply had to pick a target and fly or run his mech forward until it built up a scary amount of momentum.
After that, they simply had to maintain control of their course and make sure their lance hit the target upon the moment of impact!
Of course, this crucial moment took a lot of skill to pull off correctly. The mech pilot had to keep the lance and the trajectory of his mech on target while his enemy tried his best to evade or defend. This became increasingly harder as the distance narrowed. A single last-second jump to the side was often the reason for charges to miss their mark!
Even if the lancer mech managed to hit the mark, that was not the end of the story. A collision between one multi-ton war machine against another multi-ton war machine was incredibly violent! The sheer impact would definitely devastate the target for certain.
The problem was that the lancer mech itself also came under a huge amount of stress!
Just as Merrill Truman, now O'Brian, stated a few days ago, for every action there was an equal and opposite reaction!
The tighter a lancer mech gripped its weapon and the more the mech transferred its momentum to its opposition, the greater the reaction force exerted onto its frame!
The stresses were unimaginably huge. It was said that pretty much every standard lancer mech accumulated at least some stress and internal damage for every charge they performed. Their wear and tear was some of the worst out of all of the mech types.
Not even defensive knights endured so many forceful shocks on a frequent basis!
This led to the central problem that Ves and Gloriana faced with the lancer mech configuration.
Ves let out a sigh and scratched his head after studying the projection over and over.
"It isn't difficult to turn this configuration into a hard-hitting machine that can crack open a heavy space knight. The downside of that is that our mech will almost certainly suffer almost just as much!"
If they designed an specialized lancer mech, then they would have been able to resort to many of the solutions developed by the mech industry over several centuries.
The simplest way to mitigate the damage to the lancer mech was by designing its structure and internal architecture in a way that best dispersed the force throughout the entire frame.
Whereas the target got hit at one concentrated point, the lancer mech was able to mitigate the reaction force by spreading it around. This was how most interaction between physical weapons and mechs worked, but lancer mechs took this one step further by excelling at force dispersion.
A lancer mech could also resort to various technological solutions such as shock absorbers and components made to defend a mech against the impacts of their own attacks.
"They take up way too much space, though. It's not something you can casually tack onto a design. The internal architecture has to be designed to accommodate these systems from the ground up! It's too difficult to implement them in a modular mech platform!"
Not even Gloriana could conceive of a way to solve this dilemma. She scratched her head just as often as Ves when faced with this seemingly insurmountable issue!
"How do other modular mech platforms solve this problem?" Ves asked.
"They do the best they can stuff inside their lancer mech configurations, which isn't all that much." Gloriana answered. "Then, they put soft limits on the lancer mech and recommend the mech pilots of their products to hold back."
In effect, the mech pilots were told to treat their mechs like fragile porcelain. This was detrimental to the mentality of lancer mech pilots. Ves could almost foresee the deep dissatisfaction from the lancer mech specialists from the Larkinson Clan!
Though Ves never gained a Mastery in lancer mechs, he still knew enough about them that every lancer mech enthusiast was a fanatic about charges!
The faster, the better! The greater the impact, the better! Only by building up a formidable amount of momentum did these mech pilots feel alive!
Anything that caused them to dim their enthusiasm and constrain their charge would severely affect their mindset. This was something that Ves always wanted to avoid. Aside from glows, his mechs were also famous for their high degree of accommodation towards their mech pilots.
He did not wish to break this feature. It was against his nature to spoil the piloting experience of his customers!
"These half-baked solutions are essentially admissions of defeat." Ves told her. "Telling our mech pilots to charge less violently because their mechs are prone to breaking is the last thing I want to hear. We need a real solution!"
Gloriana frowned. "Well, I don't see a way we can achieve what we want. Strengthening the shell of our mech by cladding it with Breyer alloy only ensures the solid parts remain intact. It won't protect the internals from all of the shock without a huge amount of inertial dampeners and other adjustments."
All of those solutions required a lot of space, which wasn't possible with their current design. The point of a modular mech platform was that it shared as much as possible with all of its configurations.
Optimizing the base platform for charge attacks and shock absorption would take away its other strengths.
What Ves needed was a way to mitigate the reaction force without taking too much space.
What exacerbated this problem was the fact that the Larkinson mech was designed to straddle the line between third-class and second-class mechs. This meant that some aspects were on par with superior mechs while other aspects remained inferior.
To describe the situation in a simple way, it was as if Ves mounted an extremely strong suit of armor on a human being. He then instructed the armor-clad human to run straight at a wall!
Anyone would easily be able to imagine that the suit of armor survived the collision unscathed. It didn't even suffer a single dent!
It was different for the fragile human residing inside the suit! The individual's flesh and bone took full brunt of the reaction force. The consequences ranged from bruises, broken bones and damaged internal organs. The armored human could barely participate in a battle after enduring so much suffering!
After half an hour of exchanging fruitless ideas, Gloriana eventually drew back and noted something important.
"Doesn't Breyer alloy contain a trace of Amris? If I recall, this high-grade exotic is used to dampen the shock acting on the alloy!"
"That's true." Ves uttered in surprise. "Yet.. it's not an ideal solution. Amris is very rare and expensive. While it's possible for me to obtain a supply of it, it's extremely costly."
Obtaining Amris was not very difficult for Ves. He just had to take some Breyer alloy and break it down into its constituent materials. He could take away the separated Amris that was still salvageable while dumping the other exotics elsewhere.
The downside of this course of action was that Ves had to waste a lot of Breyer alloy if he wished to recoup a significant amount of Amris! He could have built another mech to extract enough Amris to fabricate another mech!
Ves recalled his study on the materials. "The full name of the formula of the materials we obtain is 235-C Breyer Alloy. This is the standard, low-cost version of a large family of alloy formulas. I think there are several other variations which are much stronger in the shock-absorbing aspect by increasing the proportion of Amris in the alloy formula."
"That sounds great! Why don't we adopt this solution?"
"It's not so simple, Gloriana. Increasing the proportion of Amris does make the resulting Breyer alloy more capable of absorbing strong forces, but that comes at the cost of the toughness of the material."
It was like turning something hard and rigid into something softer and bouncier. This was rather bad analogy, but it succinctly described the tradeoff.
"In other words, we can strengthen our lancer mech's offensive power in exchange for weakening its defensive capabilities." She summarized. "I think we should go for it. Didn't you complain earlier that our Larkinson mech lacks a punch? This is exactly what we need to threaten enemy second-class mechs!"
"It comes at a hefty cost. Amris doesn't fall down from trees!"
"Isn't this your passion project? Why are you letting cost get in the way of your design? Just go for it! This is the only viable solution to turn the lancer configuration into something we can be proud of. Who cares about weaker defense? Breyer alloy is still tough no matter how its formula has been tweaked!"
She had a point. Cost efficiency didn't matter when Ves only planned to build a few hundred lancer mech configurations. He didn't have to pay any money to obtain Breyer alloy and Amris either. He would just have to push back his other uses for those valuable materials!
Chapter 1856 Design Challenges
Just like several other problems Ves encountered, he eventually solved the Lancer problem by resorting to superior materials.
After deciding on this approach, Ves and Gloriana worked for days to plan this solution out. They explored countless proportions and settled for one that tripled the proportion of Amris in the alloy formula.
They then applied this modified Breyer alloy in various places in both the base platform and the internal and external structural braces that was specific to the lancer configuration.
The most drastic implementation of modified Breyer alloy lay in the arms of the mech. Meant to hold the lance, they incorporated a bunch of elements that beefed them up and secured an effective grip on the weapon.
The lance itself was not just a very sharp and long metal stick. Its shape became more complex as its design was tailored to maximize the grip and transfer of momentum.
All of these adjustments coincided in a lancer configuration that was able to match or exceed the offensive power of a traditional lancer mech!
The defense of the lancer configuration was weaker than that of the other melee configurations. Capacity that could have been utilized to bulk up the mech was instead allocated to modified Breyer alloy that mainly served to bleed away the recoil of a collision.
Fortunately, it worked. The rudimentary simulations that Ves performed all indicated that the lancer configuration could indeed shrug off the impact of a powerful collision!
The mech did not fare as well as the other configurations in terms of absorbing hits, though. It was still substantially better than the rifleman mech configuration on this front, but it fell far short of the swordsman mech and space knight configurations.
The amount of work needed to make the lancer configuration viable and effective was incredible. Ves had to revise the time table for the project several times to accommodate for the sheer design burden the lancer configuration presented.
Fortunately, the other configurations did not present them with so many insurmountable challenges.
The space knight configuration needed to gain at least some shock-absorbing protection, but not as much as the lancer mech. Designing it was a simple manner of finding every possible opportunity to pile more armor onto the base platform.
The swordsman mech configuration was a bit more delicate. While it still needed a decent amount of protection, it also had to retain a sufficient amount of mobility.
The most important aspect of a swordsman mech was its ability to apply force and its range motion. More advanced swordsman mechs featured an incredibly exaggerated range of motion of all of its limbs. Even their torsos were able to rotate 180 or even 360 degrees in order to make the mech launch attacks at surprising angles!
This was not an option this time due to all of the compromises imposed by the modular mech platform approach. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway since only the most skilled and dedicated swordsman mech pilots made effective use of those advanced features.
What Ves aimed for was not a mech that won its duels and battles through skill, finesse and technique. Instead, he wanted to take full advantage of the high defense afforded by the use of Breyer alloy to turn the swordsman mech configuration into brawler!
Its mech pilots had to muster as much courage as possible and dive their mechs head-first into an enemy!
No matter how many hits they absorbed, the best way of winning battle was by trading blows!
Instead of trying to parry and block enemy attacks, the swordsman mech configuration should just take the hits and seek to launch as many blows as possible!
Certainly, his swordsman mech configuration to fight in a more conservative fashion if the mech pilot was skilled enough. Ves just wanted to lower the skill ceiling of this configuration in order to accommodate less focused or skilled mech pilots.
"That said, the skill floor of this configuration should still be fairly high."
Swordsman mechs were regarded as offensive powerhouses that had the potential to reverse any disadvantageous situations! As long as a skilled and talented mech pilot drew out the full potential of a sword-wielding mech, it was not impossible for it to defeat an entire mech company!
Ves wanted to preserve this capacity for his swordsman mech configuration, so he made sure to leave as much room as possible for skill expression without compromising its primary properties.
Compared to the melee configurations, the ranged configuration was an entirely separate beast.
Every mech designer had to switch their mindsets before they began working on the rifleman mech configuration.
To be honest, it wasn't very difficult to design a decent rifleman mech. Ves designed several ranged mechs over the course of his short career, and he exchanged a large amount of skills related to laser and ballistic rifles.
He possessed an extensive theoretical grasp towards both types of weapons. He managed to make use of this advantage to design the broad strokes of a rifleman mech that could wield either weapon when the situation called for a specific choice.
The problematic aspect about this configuration was that ballistic rifles and laser rifles imposed different demands on a mech.
It wasn't particularly problematic to throw a rifle with a self-contained magazine or battery to random humanoid mech.
As long as that mech possessed articulating hands that could grip the rifle, it could easily fire the weapon until it ran dry.
Yet why didn't mech forces deploy spare rifles to their melee mechs?
There were several reasons behind this pattern of behavior.
First, it wasn't worth it for third-class mechs. The capacity of the rifles wasn't much if the mech didn't allocate any capacity towards replenishing their energy or ammunition.
Second, melee mechs were built differently from ranged mechs. Just like how humans undergoing archery training developed different physiques from humans undergoing swordsmanship training, a melee mech would have to weaken its primary function in order to strengthen its secondary function.
Since specialization was the established doctrine in third-class mech design, most mech designers simply opted to leave it out entirely. At best, they would just pair their swordsman mechs and knight mechs with backup pistols that hardly burdened their frames.
Ranged mechs needed extensive accommodations to strengthen their functions to a competitive level. From designing their arms and upper structure to increase their accuracy and precision as much as possible, to devoting a substantial amount of capacity towards stuffing as much ammunition, energy cells of heatsinks as a mech designer could get away with, pretty much the entire frame had to be dedicated towards ranged combat!
This was also the reason why most ranged mechs didn't bother carrying anything more than a pitiful knife as a final resort. A typical melee mech could just overpower a ranged mech wielding a sword by leveraging their abundant amount of physical strength!
In any case, Ves didn't attempt to address this weakness this time. What he wanted to do instead wanted to do was to make his rifleman mech compatible with both physical and energy rifles.
This was very troublesome.
Ballistic rifleman mechs didn't consume a lot of energy. Most of it was spent on keeping the core systems active and to power the propulsion or locomotion system.
Instead, their burden was much more simple. The rounds they fired took up space. A lot of space.
Mechs were pretty tough. Aside from light mechs, most mechs featured at least some armor.
As a consequence, ranged mechs needed to pack a formidable punch in order to punch through their armor and inflict serious internal damage.
This was not easy!
In the early days of the Age of Mechs, rifles and cannons came in all shapes and sizes. Only after several generations of refinement did the mech industry manage to settle for a set of universal standards.
A ballistic rifle was quite big. They were often bigger than laser rifles, in fact. Much of this had to do with the caliber of the rounds they fired. They had to be big enough to pack enough of a punch or payload to crack the armor of a sturdy mech!
A ballistic rifleman mech had to carry enough rounds to last a while on the battlefield. Whether they stored their ammunition internally, externally or both, the sad reality was that ballistic rifleman mechs could never carry enough rounds to satisfy the needs of their mech pilots.
The mechs had to ration their ammunition and make their shots count in order to maximize their effectiveness on the battlefield!
"This problem is ever greater for my rifleman mech configuration." Ves sighed.
Due to revolving his rifleman mech configuration around a base platform that wasn't optimized for ranged combat, he had less capacity to work with than he wanted.
In order to expand the capacity of this configuration, he had to add a modular storage module that fit right under the flight system of the mech.
This only just extended the ammunition capacity of his rifleman mech to an adequate level. It wasn't as bad as Ves feared, but his Desolate Soldier and Deliverer mechs handedly beat the Larkinson mech on this front!
"My new mech will have to resupply frequently in order to remain relevant in long-duration engagements."
As for arming his rifleman mech configuration with a laser weapon, Ves had to tackle different challenges.
Energy cells generally took up much less space than physical ammunition for the amount of damage they could offer.
The more energy cells, the longer it took for the laser rifleman mech to drain its energy reserves.
Yet that did not mean that laser rifleman mechs made ballistic rifleman mechs obsolete!
One of the most persistent limitations of mechs wielding energy weapons was the incredible amount of heat they generated. All of this heat did not escape from the mech quickly and continued to build up inside.
If a mech was not designed with heat management in mind, then it was highly possible to cook the delicate internal components of the mech until it became completely inoperable!
This happened often in overheated mechs. While these machines usually came with integrated safeguards that automatically shut down the energy weapons when the internal temperature of the mechs reached critical levels, mech technicians sometimes deactivated this safety function on the request of their mech pilots!
To prevent such a catastrophe and lengthen the deployment time of a mech, heat management became a priority. This was especially important in space where vacuum hampered the transfer of heat!
Neither conduction nor convection could cool down a mech in space. The only way it could dump its heat to the environment was through radiation, which was obviously a very slow and inefficient process!
Therefore, every spaceborn mech needed to be able to deal with the heat buildup internally. The solutions ranged from adding heatsinks to the mech to increasing its overall tolerance towards extreme heat.
More advanced solutions existed. His Amastendira for example came with a dimensional heatsink that dumped the heat into another dimension.
This was obviously not possible here. Ves relied primarily on detachable heatsinks to manage the heat buildup of his rifleman mech configuration.
They took up a lot of space. While effective in absorbing and containing heat, they substantially cut the energy reserves of his rifleman mech configuration!
"Still, at least it's still strong." He sighed in relief.
There was one variable that affected the strength of laser weapons in relation to ballistic weapons.
The new mech generation was characterized with lots of innovation with regards to laser weapons. They hit harder, generated less waste heat and occupied less space than before!
For this reason, a Larkinson mech armed with a laser weapon could inflict substantially more damage than a Larkinson mech armed with a ballistic rifle!
Of course, that did not make the latter irrelevant. The advantage of laser weapons could only be felt in drawn-out engagements. In short-duration battles, physical weapons were still better because their damage delivery was a lot more front-loaded!
All in all, as Ves and Gloriana refined the rifleman mech configuration, they ended up with something that was lesser to a specialized rifleman mech in every aspect aside from defense.
There was no way around it. Both of them had already anticipated this result, so it didn't damage their passion all that much. They still felt they could do something more with this important configuration.
In many mech forces, at least half of their rosters consisted of ranged mechs! This proportion was even higher for spaceborn units!
Therefore, increasing the strength of the rifleman mech configuration would have huge implications down the line. The more he could do at this stage, the more his efforts would pay off when he was confronted by a formidable enemy in space!
"How can we give this configuration some extra oomph?"
Chapter 1857 Growing Influences
The Larkinson Clan thrived.
Even though only a short time had passed since its founding, the clan already started off on a strong footing.
With all of its clan members coming from the former Larkinson Family, the cohesion of the clan was high and the degree of organization was fantastic.
In fact, the clan already exceeded the old family in terms of wealth, influence and military power!
The clan was growing every day. Due to the latest developments of the Sand War, a continuous flow of family members from the Bright Republic trickled into the Ylvaine Protectorate. They proceeded all the way to the Kesseling System in order to link up with the clan.
Some of these family members remained outsiders to the clan. They still believed in the old family and did not wish to get involved in the adventures of their bolder and more ambitious relatives.
Others became attracted to the benefits and dynamism of the clan. Compared to the mood at the old family, the latest offshoot of the Larkinsons was much more proactive!
The member rolls of the Larkinson Clan continued to rise, especially when a number of Larkinsons started arriving that weren't formally a part of the family!
One of the more clever recruitment policies of the clan was that it unflinchingly opened the door to exiles and non-members.
As long as they had a reasonable relation to the Larkinson bloodline, they were allowed to become a full clansman without any further questions!
Each generation, many Larkinsons chose to leave the ranks of the old family for one reason or another. Raella Larkinson was a typical example. Though they gave up their affiliation to the family, thereby becoming ineligible for its protection, they no longer had to uphold its reputation.
These exiles numbered surprisingly a lot. This was because they not only consisted of members who left the family, but also their offspring and descendants!
Most of them weren't mech pilots, but their blood and genes still possessed the mark of the Larkinson line.
The former Larkinson Family always pursued several policies to limit their numbers and keep their size at a certain range. This not only improved their cohesion due to kicking out all of the dissidents, it also prevented their finances and training resources from becoming too strained.
The clan did not follow the same path. Instead, the Larkinson Assembly and the Executive Council both agreed to pursue growth through several means. Snapping up these exiles and descendants of exiles was an easy way to expand their ranks!
Right now, a couple of hundred Larkinsons was not enough to form a strong and sustainable clan! It needed to accumulate at least a thousand members to achieve sustainability.
This was especially important because of the many risks the Larkinsons were about to undertake. This did not just encompass the mech pilots of the clan, but also the other military specialists who used to serve in the Mech Corps!
As the Avatars of Myth and the Living Sentinels sought to expand their numbers, the inclusion of the Larkinsons were vital. They not only possessed a military background, but were also loyal and more reliable. Each additional Larkinson in the ranks ensured that the units remained committed to Ves and the Larkinson Clan!
Perhaps more vital to the development of the Avatars and Sentinels was the recruitment of command officers, logistical officers, staff officers and many kinds of specialists.
Back when the Avatars only numbered a couple of mech companies, it was fine for the troop to be run by Melkor and a handful of staff.
This was obviously inefficient now that the Avatars sought to expand their ranks to 500 mechs.
With the rapid pace of recruitment, managing the units became increasingly more burdensome. The administrative overhead grew ahead of the rate of expansion as more and more complicated problems occurred.
Commander Melkor had to form a general staff and reorganize the hierarchy of the Avatars to reflect all of the departments and layers of command.
The Living Sentinels already had a robust hierarchy in place due to their larger numbers. Commander Magdalena already planned ahead so her mech force didn't have to make too many changes to process the huge influx of recruits.
Though all of these moves drained the coffers of Ves, the LMC and the clan, no one bothered with the expenditures. The LMC, though not as prominent as before, still sold lots of mechs in both the Protectorate and dozens of other foreign markets!
With this generous and fairly stable cash flow, there was no worry that they would run out of money anytime soon.
With the Komodo Star Sector in turmoil, sitting on an increasing mountain of depreciating currency was incredibly useless.
Only when their money was being spent would they be able to strengthen themselves! Converting numbers in bank accounts to physical mechs and starships was the best course of action to increase their chance of survival!
At the base leased to by the Avatars of Myth, a private meeting took place. Melkor, Jannzi and Tusa both sat in the Avatar Commander's office by the windows.
Each of them possessed an overarching view of the base grounds, where various mechs, vehicles and people moved around.
The bustling sight had become even more vigorous in the last couple of weeks. The new recruits in the form of Larkinsons, Brighters and most notably Ylvainains enthusiastically took part in boot camps meant to bring them up to speed in the Avatar way of life.
"The Avatars have changed." Melkor sighed as he adjusted the visor on his face. "We spent years as a small unit. I still remember the days when we consisted of just a single mech company. It's different now. I can no longer remember every name and face. I have officers and subordinates to do that for me. Maybe this is what it feels like to be Ves. It's no wonder that he's becoming increasingly more detached from everyone."
Jannzi tilted her head at her cousin. "People change. Organizations change. This is a good thing. It means that our efforts are paying off. As long as we remain persistent and work towards our goals, we won't go astray."
"If you can't handle your leadership position, then you should make way for a better Larkinson." Tusa added bluntly as he crossed his arms.
Of the two expert candidates, Tusa was a lot less polite and patient!
Melkor didn't take offense at Tusa's rudeness.
As the Avatar Commander who had led the mech force from the moment of its founding, he deserved to be treated with respect. This was something that his growing inner circle of officers increasingly emphasized in order to strengthen the increasingly-more formal hierarchy of the Avatars!
Yet Melkor did not even think about throwing his weight around when he was in the presence of two future expert pilots!
Even though expert pilots didn't always become officers, they were never treated as grunts! Expert candidates and above were always regarded as the champions of their respective units.
They weren't treated like royalty without reason!
The benefits they brought were numerous and immeasurable.
Their presence served as a huge morale booster to the rank-and-file.
They challenged the most powerful enemies to prevent their ordinary mech pilots from getting butchered.
Their inhuman skill and judgement turned them into excellent training instructors.
Getting tutored by a mech pilot who broke through the extraordinary threshold was the best way to improve!
All in all, Melkor thanked his lucky stars that Ves managed to poach both Jannzi and Tusa from the Bright Republic's Mech Corps. Securing their support was immensely vital to his future prospects. If either expert candidate spoke against him, then his position became untenable!
Of the two, Melkor knew that he couldn't afford to lose Jannzi's trust and confidence. Ves possessed a prior bond with her, and even spent precious time and resources to upgrade her Shield of Samar!
That said, Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson also had to be appeased. Though he wasn't one for politics, his grandfather was Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson, who many clansmen considered to be the second or third-most influential member of the clan!
This meeting was as much about securing their support as it was about addressing an increasingly more pressing problem.
"Alright, let me get to the point." The Avatar Commander spoke as he turned his head away from the windows. "The reason why I brought up the changes is because the Avatars might be developing in an unwanted direction due the recruitment of so many newcomers. There are too few Larkinsons and Brighters among the new recruits."
"What does that have to do with us? Isn't this your problem?" Tusa dismissively asked.
"The Avatars exist to strengthen Ves, and by extension the Larkinson Clan. We are all members of the clan now. The development of the Avatars not only affects us directly, but also the clan that we are apart of! Do you wish your children or grandchildren to join a mech troop that is steeped with the Ylvainan Faith?"
Jannzi seemed to understand what Melkor was getting at. "You're worried about foreign influences. More specifically, you're concerned about the encroachment of Ylvainan beliefs."
"The new Ylvainans are already pushing their faith onto the other Avatars. I've ordered them to keep their beliefs to themselves, but the promulgation of their faith will proceed regardless."
"What do you want to do, then?"
"Neither Ves nor I want to see the Ylvainan Faith prosper in our ranks." Melkor stated. "The Larkinson Clan may have parted ways with the Bright Republic, but we are still rooted in its culture."
"That sounds great, but you can't regulate people's beliefs." Tusa scoffed. "Let the Avatars believe in what they want. As long as it doesn't stop them from fighting, there's no reason for me to care!"
Melkor frowned. The expert candidates of the clan were more detached than he liked!
"Please don't misunderstand. Any changes to the Avatars will inevitably influence our clan. Almost every Larkinson looks up to us! We are rightfully setting an example and serving as an object of admiration to the younger generation of our clan. What will they think when we become increasingly more devoted to the Ylvainan Faith?"
That finally caused Jannzi and Tusa to look concerned.
"What do you want?"
"I'd like you to take a more proactive attitude towards the rest of the Avatars. Look at Venerable Brutus Wodin. He's been visiting us every day to instruct and tutor our mech pilots. All of them have seen significant improvements in performance, which I'm grateful for. The problem is that he is also rehabilitating the image of Hexers!"
"So you want us to act like politicians?"
"Ah, please don't misunderstand, Tusa. I'm not asking you to demean yourself. I am just asking you to contribute some of your wisdom to the other Avatars like Brutus is doing. Not only will you be able to develop an accord with the men and women you will be fighting alongside, you'll also ensure that our Larkinson Clan will remain the top influence in the Avatars."
Though Jannzi looked amenable to the request, Tusa remained disinterested. His nature was very different from his fellow expert candidate.
Melkor decided to introduce his next plan.
"To facilitate your influence in the Avatars, I would like to facilitate the formation of elite squads. My intention is that they will be led and shaped by you. As your direct subordinates, they will also accompany you in battle as your attendants and trusted comrades! What do you think?"
The idea finally intrigued Tusa. "That sounds interesting. I'm not that big of a fan in commanding troops, though."
"You can assign a lieutenant or deputy to handle all of the tedious administrative and command responsibilities. You can focus on your own development while at the same time training a small number of highly-skilled Avatars into useful assistants, on and off the battlefield. Does that sound attractive to you? You can raise them in any way you like. For example, Jannzi could form a squad called the Shieldmaidens, while you could lead a unit called the Speed Demons. Both can facilitate your actions on the battlefield and take care of matters that don't require your attention."
Both Jannzi and Tusa looked thoughtful. What would it be like to stride into battle with a squad of attendants following in their wake?
Chapter 1858 The Missing Link
Back at the design labs, the Larkinson mech took shape. The rifleman mech, space knight, lancer mech and swordsman mech configurations all became increasingly more real as Ves, Gloriana and their design teams continually added to the overall design.
Yet as the design project was about to reach an advanced stage where no more major additions took place, Ves hesitated.
When he took a step back and evaluated their current progress, he felt there was something missing from the mech design.
This was a feeling borne from his instinct as a mech designer. He didn't quite know the reason why he felt his mech design was lacking, but he trusted in it enough to pause and reflect on his work.
"What's missing?" He asked.
Gloriana, who was seated at his side, leaned into his arm and viewed the projections of the design schematics with interest.
"All four configurations are fairly good if I may say so. None of the individual configurations perform as well as their specialized counterparts, but the versatility we've gained more than makes up for that. From a logistical perspective, it is considerably easier to meet the upkeep of a single modular mech platform than four separate designs."
This was because the latter often entailed vastly different parts, materials, systems, expertise and quirks. Unless the mech designs all came from the same product group and mech designer, it was highly unlikely for all of these elements to be interchangeable!
Ves knew how troublesome it was to keep an eclectic mech roster supplied with the appropriate parts and materials. Mech technicians also had to go through a lot of effort to develop a passing familiarity of each new mech model introduced in the ranks.
The advantages provided by the Larkinson mech significantly eased this burden. This was very important as Ves and the Larkinson Clan weren't as robust as the Mech Corps in terms of supporting large mech forces!
Currently, the Avatars and Sentinels were both lean in terms of headcount and complexity. While they were expanding every day, it was a mistake to think that they would be able to match a formal mech military in many aspects.
From this angle, the Larkinson mech wonderfully fit their purposes. Its mix of versatility, high defensive prowess and economies of scale were all boons in the times to come.
Yet Ves still felt dissatisfied for some reason.
He frowned and continued to scrutinize each aspect of his incomplete design. From a technical standpoint, they managed to solve many of the seemingly-intractable technical problems that emerged. Now that the direction of the design was almost fixed, he expected the remainder of the design work to be smooth sailing from this point onwards.
Yet why did he still feel ill at ease?
"The design works." He murmured. "There is nothing wrong with the implementation of the design. That means the problem is more fundamental. There is an issue with the design choices I've made."
As the silence stretched on for minutes, Gloriana eventually poked his side with her slender, manicured finger.
"You know, we haven't dressed up the exterior of our mechs yet. Maybe it will help if we add our signature looks to the design."
Ves shrugged. "We might as well."
Adding their signature look was very simple.
Ves merely added the crystal third eye on the forehead of the modular mech platform from his previous design. He tweaked its size and placement to make sure it fit with the aesthetic of the head of the mech.
Meanwhile, Gloriana meticulously drew out a crystal hexagon around the third eye from scratch. Its placement on the forehead enhanced the mysterious aspect of both the third eye and the rest of the mech.
Their addition instantly changed the overall impression of the mech. This was the goal that Ves had been aiming for when he initially conceived of the third eye. Its odd appearance and its ability to adjust its luminosity in accordance with the bond between the mech pilot and the design spirit had perplexed countless mech pilots and mech designers.
Even Ves sometimes had the illusion that he was creating something more than just a new mech design.
The impressions he gained and the mood that swept over his mind put in him into a different mentality, one that was much more familiar when the project was in its conception stage.
He suddenly realized he spent too much time on solving the technical challenges of his project. This was necessary as designing a modular mech platform in a short amount of time was anything but easy. A mech design never arose if mech designers didn't put in the hard work to implement their ideas in a fashion that worked.
However, was this what a mech design was all about? Where was the creative aspect? Where was the design aspect? Technology was not the only part about mech designs that mattered!
"I get it now!" He uttered in realization. "I've been so involved in solving technical problems that I can't see the forest from the trees."
"What do you mean by that?"
He waved his hand in front of the schematics. "When I compare my mech to my latest works, this mech doesn't excite me as much. The Desolate Soldier and the Deliverer designs were frankly much more impactful than this mech! While our Larkinson mech already possessed numerous notable advantages, they're largely mundane in nature. In essence, any mech designer who is as good as us can design something similar!"
Gloriana angrily pinched his skin, only to fail because it was too resistant against her feeble fingers!
"I object to that description! Our design is plenty unique already! Not only did you impart it with its own divine nature, it will also gain the support of the Golden Cat! As for me, I made sure that there is nothing to complain about the quality of the design! Don't think that my role can be replaced by some kind of automated design program!"
While she had a point, Ves still believed that there was something lacking about their contributions. Her words finally allowed him to identify what he thought was wrong!
"Our mech is not distinctive enough." He told her. "By that, I mean that it is a bit too generic compared to what we can do. It needs an additional ingredient. Something which can truly set our mech apart from the other mech designs in my library!"
"Are you talking about the lack of offense in our rifleman mech configuration?"
"Not that. I mean that our mech should be able to do more than we have already added to the list of capabilities. Remember the special features I added to the Deliverer design?"
"I do." She said. "If I recall, you only managed to add them to the Deliverer with the support of its proto-god. We're not working with the Great Prophet now, though. Instead, we're designing this mech to fit the Golden Cat!"
"That's true, but only partially. We designed this mech to fit the Avatars, Sentinels and most importantly the Larkinsons. The Golden Cat has mainly played the role of a mascot up to now. Her importance to the mech is still rather marginal. Her glow, though useful in reinforcing the identity of our mech as a Larkinson Clan asset, is not particularly potent in battle. At the very least, compared to the implementation of my specialization on the Deliverer, it still falls short!"
The Larkinson mech and its four configurations were already good. Yet a good mech design was not what Ves was going for. He wanted to design a great mech, something which had the potential to produce a masterwork mech like the Devil Tiger design!
In order to meet this exceedingly high standard, Ves needed to pour his heart and soul into the design. Not only that, he needed to innovate and add something truly ingenious to the design!
So far, many of the additions to the mechs were derived from their existing works. All four configurations bore the traces of their previous works.
For example, Ves heavily borrowed from the Crystal Lord, Desolate Soldier and Deliverer designs to shape the rifleman mech configuration.
There was nothing wrong with this. There was no need to reinvent the wheel when time was of the essence.
Yet all of his copying and recycling also indicated that much of the Larkinson mech did not stand out enough. Its unique identity was too weak and reliant on familiar aspects that did not necessarily represent innovation.
Just designing a modular mech platform in itself was not anything innovative. Just because it was difficult to put into practice didn't mean that Ves and Gloriana would win a prize if they succeeded.
The outcome still mattered. Ves still needed to pay attention to the value proposition of his mech despite the fact that he never intended to bring it to market. The mech had to excel in something that no other product on the market could match.
Otherwise, he might as well buy some ready-made mechs from the markets or develop a variant of an existing mech!
"If the Golden Cat was like Prophet Ylvaine, what would her special ability be?" Gloriana suddenly asked. "What is she good at? Each proto-god has a domain, I think. All we have to do is figure that out and work from there."
"That's the missing link! The Golden Cat might be young and immature, but she is the ancestral spirit of the Larkinson Clan. She is inseparable from mechs due to her bonds and the conditions of her birth. She should definitely be able to empower a mech beyond her glow!"
The question was what powers she possessed and what 'domain' she was inclined towards.
The pair of mech designers both drew their attention away from the schematics and turned to a work table.
Their cats were currently lounging on the table while sitting on top of the Larkinson Mandate. The Golden Cat playfully popped her head in and out of the heavy tome. Each time her cute and pointy ears emerged, Lucky attempted to make a move and give the juvenile spiritual product another lick!
"Meow."
Nyaaaaa.
"Miaow."
Ves had the mistaken impression as if he was seeing a mom, dad and their child!
"Sorry, but I need my book."
He snapped his fingers, causing the antigrav bracers he mounted on the heavy book to activate and propel in his direction.
Lucky and Clixie both panicked as their perch suddenly started moving. They jumped back onto the table and yowled at Ves in complaint!
Once the book hovered in front of his body, Ves reverently took hold of it and studied the Golden Cat peering curiously towards her creator.
Nyaaaa?
Ves couldn't help but melt and smile. "You're so adorable."
Nyaaa.
He began to flip through the pages of the Larkinson Mandate and interact with the Golden Cat. Over the past month, she improved considerably, both in spirituality and in other ways.
Yet to Ves, she still remained in a state between a kitten and an adult cat. The Golden Cat had a lot more to go before she lived up to her identity as the spiritual guardian and the ancestral spirit of the Larkinson clan.
Even so, the Golden Cat should still possess at least one intrinsic strength of ability. The question was what she was capable of and how Ves could leverage her advantages in his mech designs.
"What is your domain, Golden Cat?"
Nyaaa?
Not every spiritual entity appeared to have a special ability or talent, but the most notable ones always did. Whether human, alien or artificial, all of them were similar in this regard!
Prophet Ylvaine appeared to be able to see the future.
Qilanxo possessed incredible defensive prowess.
The Solemn Guardian was the embodiment of duty.
Zeigra was a ferocious Crown Cat in life and in death.
Compared to all of these strong spiritual entities, what did the Golden Cat excel at? What was the Larkinson Clan good at? Ves looked down and sensed the spiritual product in question looking up at him with trusting eyes.
Nyaaaa~
Chapter 1859 Predator Instincts
Progress on the Larkinson mech stalled as Ves sought to explore the Golden Cat's properties and strengths.
He wasted half a day in examining and interacting with his latest spiritual product.
Compared to her predecessors, the Golden Cat was a lot more vigorous and lively. Vescas, the Solemn Guardian and Bravo had all been created with a very narrow purpose in mind.
Not so for the Golden Cat. Not only did Ves invest more effort and resources in her creation, he also broadened her scope and purpose to live up to her role as the totem spirit of the Larkinson Clan.
All of this sounded great, but what kind of benefits did she actually provide? How could Ves leverage her distinctive properties to empower the Larkinson mech and other future mech designs?
As Ves continued to examine the Golden Cat without much result, he began to scratch his head.
Though he disliked Gloriana's habit of distorting his specialty in the lens of the hexism belief system, he had to admit that sometimes her analogy became handy.
If the Golden Cat was a god in the making, then what godly powers did she possess? What was she trying to develop and what would she excel at in the future?
When Ves attempted to ask the Golden Cat these questions, she merely replied with a senseless 'nyaaaa' before pawing at Ves to scratch her head!
Though she was adorably cute, Ves still had a mech to design! He couldn't afford to divert too much time on this exploration!
Ves sighed and closed the book. "Maybe I should change my approach. Further examination won't bear any fruit."
The Golden Cat didn't even know what she was good at. How could she possibly answer his questions?
Unlike his prior spiritual products, Ves merged many properties and influences in her spiritual makeup. The result was an amalgamation of values, thought, emotions and ideals that made up for a very complex entity.
This complexity was a boon in some ways as the Golden Cat could adapt to many different circumstances.
However, there was a distinct lack of focus. Aside from her affection and sentiment towards the Larkinson Clan, there wasn't anything about her that stood out in the way his more narrowly-defined design spirits conveyed.
The Solemn Guardian was all about the ideal of duty.
Bravo revolved around both false bravado and immaturity.
Even though the former was stronger and far more prominent than the latter, that did not mean that Bravo was weak!
His long-term bond with the Adonis Colossus and Vincent Ricklin seemed to make him take on their traits. Each time Ves periodically inspected his design spirits, Bravo reminded him more and more of the codpiece enthusiast!
Ves was actually quite interested to see this experiment develop. What was the long-term influence of a bond between a design spirit and its sole mech pilot? How much would the design spirit influence the mech pilot and vice versa?
Was there a possibility that they would eventually grow to become identical to each other? Ves had no idea what was possible, but it sounded crazy enough for him to look forward to the result of this experiment!
In any case, the Golden Cat was different from Bravo in that she was bound to the entire Larkinson lineage rather than a single individual.
While she favored specific individuals such as Ves, no one would ever be able to gain sole 'ownership' of her. Her core identity did not allow her to neglect the clan in order to devote herself to a single clansman! Ves had hardwired her to prioritize the needs of the collective over the individual!
"Maybe I'm going at this the wrong way."
The Golden Cat couldn't answer his questions and his examinations yielded no results due to her complex spiritual makeup.
In order to figure out her domain, Ves had to take a different approach, and he knew just the way to tease out her strengths!
"Lucky! Come over here!"
"Meow?"
Lucky jumped from the work table and floated over to Ves. His tail swished curiously as he looked at both Ves and the Golden Cat residing in the book.
"The Golden Cat could use some.. exercise. Why don't you play with her and teach her the ways of a cat? Don't hold back. Push her to her limits."
"Meow?"
Did Ves think that Lucky was the same as him? Unlike his owner, the gem cat did not have a habit of bullying cats!
"Just do it, Lucky! The Golden Cat needs to learn how to defend herself. You don't want her to grow up as a weak and defenseless kitty, do you? You're a tomcat. Now go do what dads like you are supposed to teach to your litter!"
Even though male cats didn't make for great fathers, that was only the case for the lowest breeds.
The smarter, sentient and genetically-modified breeds of cats were always designed to take parenthood seriously. Though Lucky was a gem cat, he was not an uncaring dad considering how much attention he paid to the Golden Cat!
Though the Golden Cat wasn't technically his offspring, it made little difference to Lucky and Clixie!
Once Ves managed to convince Lucky to 'teach' the Golden Cat how to protect herself, his cat went about his job with gusto!
"Meow!"
Nyaa? Nyaaaa!
Lucky pounced on the Larkinson Mandate and used his intangibility to his advantage! Not only was the mechanical cat able to grip the Golden Cat's intangible body, he also ignored any physical obstacles in the process!
This basically meant that the Golden Cat had nowhere to hide!
Nyaaaa! Nyaaaa!
Spiritual cries of distress escaped from the book as Lucky started to roughhouse with the Golden Cat!
Ves quietly observed Lucky teasing the ancestral spirit. Though they were two completely different entities, Lucky still possessed the upper hand due to various reasons.
He found it interesting that Lucky's intangibility powers allowed him to interact 'physically' with other spiritual entities.
This was something that Ves hadn't fully explored. This basically meant that Lucky could not only defend himself against physical threats, but also spiritual ones!
"If that is so, why didn't he defend me against Cassandra?" He whispered.
His cat was very unreliable. Ves would be better off if he learned how to defend his mind on his own. He never gave up on his intention to develop spiritual mechs. He was only forced to postpone it because he didn't install his bioimplant yet and he still had his current design project to take care of. Once he was done, he would definitely explore this avenue further!
Nyaa! Nyaaaaa!"
"Meow meow!"
"Miaow?"
For now, his focus lay on the Golden Cat, who became increasingly more panicked at her inability to fend off the seasoned killer!
Clixie looked concerned, but not too much. She knew what Lucky was doing and tentatively approved.
Every cat had to learn how to fight and how to hunt! No matter how many generations humans spent to tame their species, cats were still predators at heart!
The Golden Cat spent far too much time in the comfort of her book to learn how to fight. Right now, she was forced to get a crash course in how to defend herself and how cats fought as Lucky showed little mercy!
Though Lucky's attacks seemed cruel, Ves knew it was all a facade. A sense of playfulness emanated from him and he never showed off his claws.
Regardless, he was so much stronger than the Golden Cat that the pressure he exerted was too much for the innocent ancestral spirit!
Nyaaa!
A shift in mentality eventually took place. The Golden Cat grew angry at the indignity of being subjected to such treatment. She was a noble creature! As the spirit who watched over a clan of valiant warriors and honorable mech pilots, how could she be worthy of her august position if she couldn't even fight?
The Golden Cat started to counter-attack. Though her diminutive size, her lack of strength and her gap in experience posed no threat to Lucky, her effort was admirable!
She was a fast learner. Through some means unknown to Ves, he somehow managed to impart her with the full range of instincts and traits of a cat. Now that she was being pushed for the first time, she slowly discovered her feral roots!
Though that was still not enough to defeat Lucky, he gave her some space and granted her several openings to launch her attacks!
The two cats tumbled off the work surfaces and began to float around midair as they asserted their superiority over each other!
Lucky, though maintaining the upper hand, began to feel increasingly more pressured. The Golden Cat was becoming more proficient in beating him back!
Though Ves was rather pleased that Lucky managed to draw out the fighting spirit of the Golden Cat, he failed to notice anything different.
"You're going too easy on her, Lucky. Fight harder! Push her to her limits! She can take it! She can do more!"
His cat seemed to agree with his instruction as the intensity of his attacks increased. He became even more shameless at leveraging his superior size and strength and he also started to bite the Golden Cat's fur here and there!
The sudden barrage of attacks caused the poor victim to feel much more frightened! An instinctual panic started to build up as the Golden Cat became more and more desperate to dislodge her attacker!
Eventually, something drastic happened! The Golden Cat seemed to glow even brighter and stronger than ever before!
Ves tuned his spiritual senses even higher as he observed her panic reaction.
As her spiritual intensity increased, the Golden Cat began to draw additional strength from somewhere!
To Ves' utter surprise, he felt a minute amount of his spiritual energy being drawn from his connection with the ancestral spirit!
He wasn't the only one to donate a portion of the strength! Others who formed a bond with the Golden Cat experienced the same!
Ves looked at Clixie and Gloriana to observe a tiny hint of their spiritual strength separating seamlessly from their spiritual presences and zipping all the way towards the Golden Cat!
What Ves found curious was that he and Gloriana contributed much more spiritual energy than Clixie. This caused him to feel relieved as this showed that the Golden Cat wasn't overdrawing from the entities connected to her in spirit.
The strength she gathered did not just come from the couple of people and cats in the design lab. Tiny motes of spirituality emerged from other directions as more and more Larkinsons paused as a strange sensation came over their minds.
"What was that?"
"Did you feel that?"
"I need more coffee."
Instead of drawing hundreds of motes, thousands of them rapidly converged to the increasingly more energetic spiritual cat!
The Golden Cat did not just draw strength from the members of the Larkinson Clan, but also every other Larkinson such as those who were still a part of the old family!
Ves even noticed two particularly strong motes of spirituality that he unmistakably identified as belonging to Venerable Ark Larkinson and Venerable Ghanso Larkinson!
With the infusion of this power, the Golden Cat seemed to reach a critical stage!
She radiated so much power right now that Lucky became scared. He floated back and attempted to escape, but before he could do so, the energized cat made her move!
NYAAAAAAAAAAAA!
A golden beam of concentrated spiritual energy escaped from her throat, striking Lucky with significant spiritual force!
"MEOW!"
Lucky practically acted as if he had been punched in the gut! All of his formidable physical defenses didn't avail him much as he was much less proficient in defending himself against spiritual attacks!
The gem cat collapsed on the floor. Ves paid no attention to his abused pet and instead focused all of his attention on the ancestral spirit.
The Golden Cat deflated now that she had unleashed her ultimate attack.
"Nyaaa..."
The Golden Cat tiredly dove back into the Larkinson Mandate and turned dormant.
All the while, Ves continued to recall the sensation he felt from her as she mustered up all of her strength.
"I see now.." He muttered in fascination. "So this is her domain! This is the true strength of our Larkinson Clan!"
Chapter 1860 The Larkinson Hear
Ves initially conceived of the idea of the Golden Cat through learning about Lady Curver's neural network.
To pool the minds of the mech pilots together in order to achieve greater coordination was a difficult but rewarding way to increase the battle effectiveness of a unit.
Yet humans were individuals before they were part of a collective.
Even with all of the technology available to humanity in modern times, it was too difficult and dangerous to meld the minds of mech pilots together!
Neural interface technology existed long before the Age of Mechs. Due to the risks of experimenting with this technology, successful innovation rarely took place.
Too many people when an experiment went wrong!
The MTA restricted research and adaptation of neural interfaces for a very good reason. Too many mech designers wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of messing with these sensitive components, thereby leading to a lot of unnecessary injuries and death!
This was bad not only for the offending mech designer in question, but other mech designers as well. The reputation of the mech industry and by extension the MTA would all take a very severe hit if everyone believed that piloting a mech was considered dangerous!
Right now, Ves felt as if he was messing around with something similarly dangerous.
Though spirituality was a fundamentally different field, it shared much in common with neural interface technology.
For one, any manipulation of spirituality involving human being put their lives at risk.
Seeing the Golden Cat drawing thousands of minute motes of spirituality, only to compress them all and use it as some sort of overwhelming spiritual beam attack was astonishing!
Ves had never programmed this function to the Golden Cat. The ancestral spirit seemed to perform it completely by instinct, which was strange as Ves didn't even know where it came from! It seemed the creation of life was a lot deeper and more obtuse than he initially thought!
As Lucky pitifully whined on the floor after getting hit by a strong spiritual attack, Ves continued to stare at the Larkinson Mandate as if it was the den of a sleeping dragon.
The Golden Cat was a lot more ferocious than he thought!
Though the spiritual attack she unleashed was not all that strong, its potential was pretty high. Perhaps the next time she unleashed the same attack, she might be able to kill Lucky's spirit entirely!
Naturally, she would never do so. At most, she would hold back, because Lucky was family!
"Family, huh.." He muttered.
The spiritual attack the Golden Cat unleashed at the end was not just an outburst of power. It was also an outburst of conviction. The ancestral spirit drew strength from the essence of her existing, deriving power from its meaning!
This meaning was fairly obvious now that he thought about it. Though it turned out to be somewhat boring, Ves nonetheless appreciated the Golden Cat's domain because it truly represented the heart of the Larkinson Clan!
He picked up the heavy book with appreciation and brushed his hand over the surface of the cover. The metal detail and the thick medallion depicting the head of the Golden Cat all dressed up its value.
To be frank, Ves felt as if he hadn't done enough. The Larkinson Mandate and the Golden Cat were much more valuable than he initially thought!
"So did you get an answer to your question?" Gloriana asked.
Ves continued to caress the book in his hands. "I did. The answer is rather simple. So simple in fact that I'm not even sure if it's a benefit!"
"Oh? Why is that?"
"I used to think the original Larkinson Family was all about duty, or honor, courage. We developed an obsession with service. We continued to send our mech pilots to the Mech Corps because that was expected of a Larkinson."
"So those values aren't as vital to your family?"
"Oh, they are. Hardly any Larkinson is lacking in the values I've mentioned earlier. It is just that they are not the primary motivators that make us who we are. There are deeper motivations behind the norms and values that we've adopted."
Gloriana scowled and patted Ves' arm. "Well, out with it then. Don't hold out on me, Ves. What is the Golden Cat good at? What does she embody? What is her godly domain?"
"I'm not sure how to define it." Ves hesitated. "Brotherhood. Camaraderie. Companionship. Solidarity. Esprit de corps. Fellowship. Yes, that's the word I'm looking for. It's fellowship!"
"Do you mean the fellowship of being part of the same family or bloodline?"
"Exactly!" Ves grinned. "This is the true essence of the Larkinson Family all along! Venerable Ghanso was wrong! The Larkinsons were never about doing our duty for duty's sake. It was always about advancing the interests of the family as a whole. We served in the military because it protected our family members and ensured their welfare over many generations. Fighting for family is the primary reason why so many Larkinsons are so eager to serve!"
The Larkinsons emphasized the importance of maintaining family relations to every offspring. The shenanigans and backstabbing that took place in other family organizations never happened in their ranks.
This was because each and every Larkinson constantly worked to deepen the harmony and lessen the internal tension between family members. Through various methods, the Larkinson Family always through the worst of times due to the strong commitment that the Larkinsons held towards each other!
To fight for the family was not an empty platitude to a Larkinson. It was a true expression of belief and conviction. If a Larkinson stated that he would fight for the family, then he would definitely follow his words to the letter!
Ves grinned and spontaneously leaned into Gloriana to exchange a short kiss.
Though Gloriana enjoyed the impromptu kiss, she was a bit confused as well. "Where did that come from? You're such a bandit all of a sudden!"
"Hehe. I couldn't resist. I'm just so happy I finally figured out the essence and the direction of the Larkinson bloodline! The key to strengthening our clan is to keep ourselves together and continually reinforce our fellowship to each other. A true Larkinson always sticks up to his fellow Larkinsons!"
While Ves looked excited, Gloriana began to look rather skeptical.
"You're right. It does sound rather simplistic. I can see why you are both pleased and ambivalent about this core value. It's not something that inspires strength or dread."
He sighed and brushed his palm across his face. "You're right. It doesn't seem to grant any substantial advantages, but in fact it's extremely useful under the right circumstances. Aside from making sure our clan remains united, the Golden Cat has already demonstrated a possible application! It's the spiritual network?"
"The divine network?"
"The spiritual network." Ves glowered at her for a brief moment. "What the Golden Cat had done can be split up in two phases. The second phase is rather mysterious but also direct. I don't really care about it at the moment. It's the first phase that's important!"
"How so?"
"The attack she unleashed was much more powerful than she was capable of launching. Her spiritual strength wouldn't have been able to support such a considerable beam attack. That energy has to come from somewhere, and that happens to be everyone who shares the Larkinson bloodline!"
"I see!" Her eyes lit up! "So the divine network is really useful after all! In crucial moments, it can allow the Golden Cat to gather a large amount of divine energy from many Larkinsons. It doesn't necessarily have to be employed in this beam attack you've described. It could also be utilized for different purposes!"
This was the engineer mindset towards this kind of phenomenon. Ves and Gloriana's first thoughts about the Golden Cat's attack was not to figure out how it worked, but how they could best replicate it and turn it into a concrete advantage!
However, nothing came without a price. Ves abruptly subsided a bit as he realized the price the Larkinson Clan paved to empower the Golden Cat.
What the Golden Cat just did to knock Lucky out had a lot of energy behind it. Only a tiny portion of it came from herself. She derived the bulk of the power of her outburst from other Larkinsons!
The spiritual network running through the Larkinson Mandate was not a communication network.
At this stage, it functioned more as a power network!
Connected to thousands of Larkinsons, the Golden Cat could draw upon a huge amount of reserve spiritual energy if needed. Though the Larkinsons connected to the Larkinson Mandate were unaware of what they had given up, they probably would have agreed to the Golden Cat's request anyway as long as it was used for the good of the family!
Ves became more energized after this discovery. Having a solid direction was crucial. With the insights he gained today, he would definitely be able to conceive of a way of applying this strength to his Larkinson mech!
He just needed to flesh out a lot of details.
Hours later, Ves kept doodling on a crowded design interface. He tried to come up with hundreds of possible implementations.
They ranged from forming a spiritual weapon to activating some sort of augmentation installed in the Larkinson mech.
Ves had to think over the exact implementation, but if he managed to succeed, then every mech pilot of his modular mech platform would be able to overcome insurmountable odds!
To be able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and to fell a challenging foe would certainly be able to make the clan safer!
"So how exactly do you plan to put this all to use in our mech design?" Gloriana asked the necessary question.
"I'm not sure. I can only say I'll try my best to find some mechanism that can do what you asked."
To be honest, the Larkinson Heart was not some amazing property. This was especially the case for a small clan that numbered less than a thousand clansmen at the moment.
The effectiveness of the spiritual network depended heavily on the amount of people connected to it. It might not be much when the Larkinson Clan was this small, but what about the future?
What if the number of Larkinson descendants ballooned? If the Golden Cat was able to demand tribute from over a million Larkinsons, then accumulating so much spiritual energy would definitely lead to an attack that might be able to fell the crew of a starship!
To be honest, Ves wasn't even sure if that was possible. He also hadn't figured out the mechanisms behind this method of attack.
All of these problems could come later. What Ves feared was that all of his creativity failed to generate good ideas.
"We should get back to working on our design. I no longer have any qualms about its missing link. We have just found a possible way to make our Larkinson mech stand out."
No matter how Ves chose to empower the Larkinson mech, it was undeniable that it relied on the spiritual network!
With the Golden Cat at the helm, Ves wasn't afraid that someone would abuse this connection for their own gains. Her primary priority was to make sure the clan became strong. The way to do so was to ration the power of the spiritual network carefully.
Her ability shouldn't be squandered!
If the Golden Cat failed to do her job, then a Larkinson might be able to abuse the spiritual network to drain the spiritual energy reserves of others!
This was a grossly severe violation of other people's rights. Not only that, it went against everything the Golden Cat stood for! The ancestral spirit would never support a Larkinson who was being reckless with borrowing from this power.
Ves found his direction. To make the best use of this phenomenon, Ves aimed to create a trump card for his Larkinson mech.
"A trump card is the best way to describe this kind of ability. Hopefully, it will only be used when it is truly necessary."
Ves had so many possible ideas. Which one should he choose?
Chapter 1861 Empowering Mechs
Ever since Ves discovered the Golden Cat's domain and her ability to gather the spiritual energy of every Larkinson, he began to think how to employ them to his advantage.
This was harder than it sounded.
The value of the Golden Cat as an ancestral spirit was very evident. As a design spirit, Ves was not so sure.
A spiritual beam attack might be devastating against an individual, but did it even work in mech combat?
Would a spiritual attack even be effective against a mech pilot who joined his mind with a mech? From his own experiences, Ves learned that the man-machine connection caused mech pilots to become extraordinarily resilient against spiritual attacks.
"This may even be one of the driving reasons why mechs were popularized!"
From the scattered information he learned of the Five Scrolls Compact and the rebellion that caused it to lose most of its Holy Scrolls, mechs probably played an essential role!
It was clear that the Five Scrolls Compact possessed a deep grasp of spirituality. They developed many mysterious applications of it. All of the examples of spiritual engineering that Ves had witnessed might have originated from this very obscure but enormous cult!
Yet somehow, mech pilots became very resilient against direct spiritual manipulation when they interfaced with a mech.
With the man-machine connection, the often small and weak spiritualities of the mech pilots became part of a greater hole, a cog in a great machine that served as the most impervious spiritual armor that Ves had ever witnessed!
Was this why the Five Scrolls Compact faltered against the Big Two? Was mechs the key to defeating the Holy Sons and Daughters and all of their spiritual sorcerers?
Ves couldn't tell. He could only make some informed guesses from unreliable information. Regardless, he believed he was on the right track!
If his speculation was right, mechs and spirituality were intertwined after all. It was just for a very different reason! Rather than seeking to exploit spirituality like the Compact, the Association instead sought to defeat it! The MTA's hidden but very much ongoing research on 'psionic power' probably took this direction, hence why the organization kept it secret!
The MTA's promulgation of very distinctly supernatural progression trajectories for mech pilots and mech designers was another aspect which showed they were interested in spirituality.
Rather than allowing people with spiritual potential to become members of test subjects of the Five Scrolls Compact, turning them into mech pilots or mech designers would instead turn them into the archenemies of the cultists!
It all made sense.
Mechs existed to defeat the Compact. The MTA was the foremost defender against this defeated but not extinct organization!
This conclusion neatly explained the reason why mechs and the MTA turned into a force to be reckoned with. The rise of mechs as a weapon platform was very much an artificial process.
While most people believed that mechs became popularized throughout human space in order to give them something to play with after their warships were taken away, this was a rather weak explanation.
If mechs turned out to play a greater role than toys, then the current order of the galaxy all made sense!
Right now, the Age of Mechs was ascendant, and the Five Scrolls Compact could only scurry in the darkness.
This was because mechs were practically everywhere! No matter how sophisticated or impressive a spiritual sorcerer could fight, Ves doubted anyone of them could defeat an entire mech regiment!
"Mechs have a greater purpose than what is evident on the surface. The MTA's mandate doesn't solely extend to guarding and governing human space. Their actual goal is to suppress the previous overlords of humanity as much as possible!"
Though it seemed a bit random for Ves to contemplate the current galactic order, it put all of his research and applications into context.
Obviously, Ves was right to obscure most of what he could do with regards to spirituality. By focusing mostly on mechs, he had an alternate explanation why he managed to come up with glows and other esoteric phenomena.
"I'll have to act even more eccentric in public to reinforce my disguise!"
Perhaps the key takeaway from this train of thought was that direct spiritual manipulation wasn't as useful against mechs than he hoped. It was a pipedream for the Golden Cat to be able to fell a mech by knocking out the mech pilot.
Even if spirituality seemed to pass through physical matter like air, the man-machine connection was like another layer of armor that completely protected the mech pilot!
Therefore, Ves shrugged off all ideas to add a spiritual beam attack to the Larkinson mech. It was a fantasy to believe that it could disable a powerful mech by bypassing its physical armor to strike directly at the mech pilot!
If that was the case, the Five Scrolls Compact would have regained control of human civilization by now!
However, that did not mean that spirituality was useless in the context of large-scale battles.
Weren't his glows the best example? They didn't affect people and mech pilots directly, but rather influenced their minds through boosting the confidence of friendlies while suppressing the morale of their foes.
These kinds of indirect effects may not be strong enough to single-handedly win a battle, but they were definitely influential on the battlefield!
To Ves, the difference between a spiritual sorcerer and a mech designer was very clear. The former always aimed to empower himself, while the latter always sought to empower others!
While it wasn't impossible for spiritual adepts to find ways to boost others, it probably wasn't ubiquitous.
Mech designers like Ves were different. The proper ones always sought to meet the needs of their customers.
"Mech designers exist to serve mech pilots."
This service mentality was the guiding principle of his profession. Ves should constantly exercise his abilities along this principle.
When he extended it to his current situation, Ves began to develop some modest and workable ideas surrounding the Golden Cat.
He scrapped his plan to empower the Larkinson mech by finding a way to excite forced resonance.
Ves planned to do so by 'crowdfunding' the required spiritual energy to a single mech pilot. There was a lot of promise with this method. Even if it was only temporary, giving mech pilots a taste of what it was like to wield the strength of an expert pilot would be very beneficial to their future progression!
It was too bad that it was way too eye-catching. Ves also doubted that regular mech pilots could handle all of that heterogenic spiritual energy on their own. He would have to find some way to turn the Golden Cat into an active medium of spiritual energy, allowing mechs and mech pilots to draw upon its strength without getting consumed by it. This was way too complicated and also way too attention-grabbing!
He also dropped his idea to find some way to supercharge the attacks of a mech with spiritual energy. Though somewhat related to the previous idea, it was a more narrow application of spirituality. It was essentially forced resonance on a very short timeframe.
Dumping all of that spiritual energy into a single blow could empower it to the point that it matched the full-strength of an authentic expert mech!
Ves had witnessed several instances of true resonance boosting the power of attacks by an insane margin! Both lance charges and projectile fire turned into mighty attacks that had the power to threaten an expert mech!
Granting this power to the mech pilots of his Larkinson mech would definitely have a drastic effect on the battlefield!
Unfortunately, it suffered from the same problems of his last idea, causing Ves to put it away as well.
He formed some other ideas that sounded a bit more realistic.
One of them was to find some way to supercharge the spiritual network. If the Golden Cat could increase the potency and depth of her connections to the mech pilots in battle, she might be able to bring them closer together!
The intended goal was to form an active spiritual network that could truly increase the coordination and mutual understanding between the mech pilots in battle! In essence, it would function as an actual neural network without requiring any tampering to the neural interfaces!
"This falls in line with all of my conditions."
It empowered mechs in a manner that didn't catch too much attention. It wasn't as blatant as the previous ideas, which should hopefully keep the MTA off his back, especially when this was strictly supposed to be a trump card and option of last resort.
This method also sought to make the most out of the mech pilots. This method put full agency in the hands of the mech pilots themselves. Whether they sought to use their augmented prowess to save their lives, kill an overpowering opponent or block pursuit, the power was completely in their hands!
"This is true fellowship." He rubbed his smooth-shaven chin.
Ves quite liked the idea. He believed it was possible as long as there was enough spiritual energy to maintain this state among so many Larkinsons. It didn't even have to apply to mech pilots. It could also be employed to empower a group of Larkinsons on foot!
Best of all, it didn't require any special adjustments to the Larkinson mech design. The mech should already be connected to the Golden Cat. This meant that any mech pilot that made use of one of the four configurations of the Larkinson mech could all become part of the same active spiritual network!
Though Ves definitely intended to explore whether the Golden Cat could form such a network, that was for later.
"This domain ability should be made global to every Larkinson."
He believed the Larkinson mech should have something more specific. It had to fit with the ideals of the Larkinson Clan and become something iconic to this line of mechs.
"The Larkinson mech is a mech with four different configurations." He hummed and continued to rub his smooth-shaven chin. "Its versatility is great, but its overall identity is lacking."
This was partially his fault. He had become too preoccupied with solving the technical problems of each individual configuration to take the bigger picture into account.
Right now, he could rectify this shortcoming. The Larkinson mech already embodied the Larkinson Clan in many ways, but that was not enough to make it stand out as a distinctive product.
"What can give my Larkinson mech some punch?"
Out of all of the half-baked ideas he formed in his mind, he eventually focused on the other purpose of the Larkinson mech design.
"How could I neglect this?! It's also a training mech!"
Ves explicitly designed the Larkinson mech to facilitate the promotion of third-class mech pilots to second-class mech pilots.
This meant that Ves had to set the performance and shape various aspects of his modular mech platform to be sensitive towards piloting skill.
"Skill. The mech is all about polishing and refining the skills of its mech pilot!"
What if Ves could emphasize this aspect with the Golden Cat?
One of the properties that made the Golden Cat distinct from other design spirits was her direct and permanent connections to the Larkinsons.
This meant that she maintained access to all of their minds! This included the expert pilots of the old family such as his uncle Ark and his cousin Ghanso!
What if Ves could leverage the Golden Cat's spiritual network to borrow their skill?
If Ves found some way to make the Larkinson mech borrow the accumulated piloting skills and experience of an expert pilot, wouldn't that be astonishing?
An average mech pilot would instantly be able to outfight a stronger opponent if he truly gained the skill of an expert pilot!
Not only that, but some of that skill might stick even if the Golden Cat retracted this ability. This way, this method would be useful in times of peace as well as war! It was as if Ves gave the mech pilots the opportunity to have their very own pseudo-Mastery experiences!
"This is it! This is the ability that I've been looking for! It might not be as direct or deadly as the other choices, but it is an ability that truly fits with the identity of the Larkinson mech!"
Now Ves had to figure out a way to implement it. He scratched his head.
"This.. is going to be a problem."
Chapter 1862 High Capacity Model
Ever since Ves came across the concept of the neural network, he became obsessed with it. His attempts to develop a spiritual version of it for the Larkinson Clan had partially succeeded.
While the spiritual network based around the Larkinson Mandate and the Golden Cat fell short of his expectations, it still had the potential to become more.
"It's like it's constantly running on minimum power. If I want to get a good use out of it, the Golden Cat has to charge it up with spiritual energy!"
This was something the Golden Cat was definitely capable of. Wasting all of that energy on a direct, wasteful and simplistic spiritual beam attack was not very practical. Ves could achieve much better results by firing his Amastendira!
The true value of the spiritual network lay in its potential to facilitate transfers between the Larkinsons connected to it. Spiritual energy was only one possible medium.
What Ves sought was a way to transfer something different through the network! What if it was possible to pass the knowledge and skill of piloting a mech to someone else? What if the Larkinson mech could impart the piloting skill of an excellent mech pilot to a lesser mech pilot?
The combat and training potential of such a phenomenon was huge!
The moment he came up with the idea, he instantly felt as if it was meant for the Larkinson mech.
Compared to his more direct ideas, this method would have a drastic effect on his mech pilots without attracting too much attention. It was also a method that benefited the mech pilot rather than the mech.
Improving the mech was only useful for a single battle, while improving the mech pilot bestowed much longer-term benefits!
"Mech pilots are the foundation of any mech force. Their overall skill level determines the maximum prowess of mechs I can field!"
It was pointless to replace all of the current mechs fielded by the Avatars and Sentinels with second-class mechs. They could barely even make good use out of the four second-class training mechs!
The overarching reason why such an action would fail was because the skill gap was too large. While it was possible to design an excellent second-class mech with a low skill floor, it would still be neutered in many ways.
No. If Ves wanted to strengthen the Larkinson Clan, then he shouldn't prioritize the development of mechs. Instead, he should seek to prioritize the growth of mech pilots!
"Right now, Venerable Brutus is regularly tutoring the Avatars and Sentinels on how to pilot a higher class of mechs. What would it be like if I can borrow his formidable piloting skill and directly insert it in the head of another mech pilot?"
While this sounded very risky, Ves hoped to limit any potentially catastrophic outcomes by relying on the Golden Cat.
She seemed to possess an inherent and instinctual understanding of spirituality. By making her an active participant and supervisor of this skill transfer process, Ves hoped to avoid many of the pitfalls in his way!
The moment he brought this idea to Gloriana, she looked intrigued.
"I have to admit, your ideas sound outlandish, but I'm interested in them nonetheless. I'm not sure how it is possible to transfer such a thing through the divine network. Knowledge is contained within the brain. At least it is to most people. If the transfer of knowledge can only be done through the man-machine connection, then our mech's neural interface needs to be adapted in order to accommodate this data transfer."
Ves scowled. "I've been trying my best to avoid tampering with the neural interface. Messing with it would be a huge breach of trust and an enormous danger to boot! Besides, what you say might not be necessary."
He knew that spiritual entities possessed their own memories and knowledge. Qilanxo didn't need to be in her huge physical body to be able to retain all of her personality and memories. So did his mother for that matter.
Yet strong spiritual entities like his mother and Qilanxo were the exception rather than the rule. The majority of mech pilots in the Larkinson Clan did not possess spiritual potential. Of those that did, some of their potential would never be activated!
Ves wasn't sure whether it was wise to impart lots of knowledge through the spiritual medium if the recipient was too weak to accept this gift.
What Gloriana suggested was a way to solve this problem. Rather than rely on the spiritual network as the sole means of transferring skills, it was much better to rely on a neural interface as well to convey lots of data!
Ves would have to test these assumptions further at a later date. He was depending far too much on unsubstantiated guesses to underpin his latest theories!
Still, he believed he was on the mark with most of his guesses. His intuition already gave some hints that his theories weren't fantasies.
"Assuming that this skill and knowledge transfer ability requires a neural interface, then how should we adjust our mech design? Is a normal neural interface enough to enable this transfer?"
Gloriana pressed a finger against her lips as she fell into thought. "If the data is as much as I fear, then it might not be enough."
"Well, we can't tweak the neural interface. Neither of us has the right permits from the MTA to dabble in this sensitive field."
"I don't think we have to tinker with the neural interfaces ourselves. We can just grab another off-the-shelf model from the MTA's component library."
"That.. is a good idea."
Both of them logged in to the MTA's virtual portal for mech designers and browsed the components available for licensing.
As expected, the section which offered countless varieties of neural interface models were heavily restricted. Many of them weren't even available for licensing unless Ves or Gloriana met some very stringent standards!
That said, there were still enough neural interface models to satisfy the needs of a typical mech designer.
The pair sought out a specific neural interface model that excelled in data transfer, and they found a couple of high-capacity ones that came with all sorts of warnings.
"This doesn't seem like a good idea." Gloriana hesitated.
Neither of them knew why this subset of models hadn't been locked behind restrictions like all of the other neural interface models.
It was clear that this anomalous collection of components posed a considerable danger to meh pilots!
That said, Ves wasn't afraid. "From what I've learned about neural interfaces, the risks inherent in these high-capacity models are mostly relevant in extreme cases. The chances of suffering permanent brain damage is higher when the mech incurs critical damage."
"Don't you care about your mech pilots, Ves? Many of them are your fellow clan members! Each of them put their trust in your products!"
This was the Devil Tiger all over again. Ves used the same arguments he used to justify all of the illegal modifications to the tiger mech's neural interface.
"We Larkinsons aren't afraid of taking risks." He proudly stated. "Even if we cherish each other's lives, we also accept the need to brave dangers in order to protect our family!"
Gloriana blinked and looked at Ves as if he said something weird. "Okay...?"
"Look. We know far too little about this potentially useful method. We'll have to perform some experiments to figure out what we need. It might be that these risky high-capacity neural interface models are essential. It might also be that our assumptions are wrong and that the spiritual network and a regular neural interface are enough to handle the data transfer. We don't know the answer!"
His intuition said otherwise, though. It practically lit up with excitement as soon as Ves browsed the high-capacity models from the MTA. There was something about them that was very essential to the Larkinson mech!
"These neural interface models are very suspicious, though. It says here that they're developed by an internal MTA mech designer, but it doesn't mention the name nor any other details. There are lesser high-capacity models that are locked behind some hefty restrictions! Why did these models escape this treatment?"
"Maybe the MTA dropped the ball." Ves shrugged. "Even if the MTA made a mistake, it shouldn't be a severe one seeing that they still made it available for licensing."
In fact, Ves had another theory. From his past exchanges with neural interface specialists such as Old Man Terrence, the MTA tweaked the availability of neural interface models and standard from region to region. They did this to regulate the amount of high-ranking mech pilots that emerged in a star sector and to gather lots of data on the performance of abnormal models.
To assume that the MTA was strictly putting safety first in regulating the mech industry was a mistake!
Even though these abnormal high-capacity models were probably part of some scheme from the MTA, Ves still viewed them with promise. The main benefits of high-capacity models was not just their high scaling factor, but also their potential for facilitating deeper immersion!
This was something that Ves had always advocated for. He successfully implemented it in the Devil Tiger, but never dared to do so with his other mech designs. Most of the neural interface models he browsed back then weren't nearly as potent and dangerous as the ones before him! It was truly odd how the MTA loosened its reins for this particular instance!
It was also a stroke of luck for Ves. He wasn't allowed to modify the safety restrictions of existing neural interface designs to be less strict. Yet if he licensed an 'approved' neural interface model which just happened to have weaker safety restrictions baked in, then Ves Wouldn't be breaking any rules!
He couldn't resist any longer. He moved without consulting Gloriana any further and licensed one of the models as quickly as possible! By the time Ves transferred the licensing fees to the MTA from the LMC's cash reserves, Gloriana just recovered from her shock!
"Ves! I can't believe you did it! This license is dangerous!"
"I know." He spoke with a serious expression. "I made a calculated choice. First, as I've said before, we Larkinsons aren't afraid of danger. The increased risk of injury is worth it as long as the mech pilot gets enough benefits in return! The deeper connection is vital because one of the strengths of my mechs is the bond that every mech pilot is able to form with a design spirit! Second, if my guesses are right, this high capacity model will also be essential to activating the Ancestral Possession ability!"
He needed to find a more succinct way to refer to the skill and knowledge transfer. He eventually settled for calling it Ancestral Possession. Anyone who heard it would understand what it was about, and the word 'ancestral' had a double meaning in this context.
It was a pretty clever name. Ves mentally patted himself on the back for coming with this moniker!
Unfortunately, Gloriana did not share in his optimism. Usually, she went along his plans and crazy ideas as if she was his accomplice, but there were limits even to her! Experimenting with neural interfaces was taboo even in the Hexadric Hegemony!
"Urgh." She grunted in disgust. She rose from her seat and picked up Clixie. "I need a break. We should both think through this decision some more. I really prefer you drop this entire idea. Ancestral Possession sounds like a powerful ability, but it is not essential to the Larkinson mech. It isn't necessary to make all of your mech designs special! Sometimes, the only result we need is a mech that does the job!"
With those words, she left the design lab in protest of his latest decision.
Ves watched her go, confused why Gloriana kicked up such a fuss. Sure, he made a reckless decision, but it wasn't that bad! After all, the MTA still allowed it for sale, which meant it wasn't a defective product!
"What's her problem?"
Chapter 1863 Siren Song
Disagreements frequently occurred between two different mech designers. Unless they were raised and educated the same way, it was inevitable for 'creative differences' to occur.
One of the more important challenges of a designer pair was how well they managed to resolve these differences.
When neither side wanted to give ground, it was difficult to come up to a solution that satisfied both.
In this case, Ves deeply desired to incorporate the high-capacity neural interface model into his Larkinson mech.
Actually, he wanted to adopt it for every mech if possible! Compared to more standard neural interfaces, the oddly-legal high-capacity models did not err on the side of safety!
From what he learned from fellow mech designers such as Old Man Terrence and books like the ones in Lady Curver's library, neural interfaces were capable of so much more.
Research in neural interface technology might be heavily curtailed these days, but enough studies had shown that deeper and more immerse connections often led to better performance.
The synchronization and responsiveness between the mech and mech pilot increased. In effect, a deeper connection allowed the mech pilot to embody the mech to a finer degree.
This meant that decisions that normally required conscious thought and manipulation became unconscious instinct. This freed up valuable mental processing power that the mech pilot could utilize on other, more important issues!
Naturally, the downside of a deeper connection was that the damage feedback between the mech and mech pilot also increased.
Despite all of the safeguards developed over the centuries since the popularization of mechs, brain damage was still a significant threat to every mech pilot!
Though Ves was aware of the risks, he already set his stance on this matter when he designed the Devil Tiger.
"Per angusta, ad augusta."
He set this phrase as the Larkinson Clan's motto for a very good reason. Deeper immersion and more extensive man-machine connections stimulated mech pilots to a greater degree, thereby increasing the chance that they would find the chance to advance to expert candidate!
Giving every Larkinson mech pilot a greater chance to transform their lives was worth the risks they incurred if they used a high-capacity model!
The day after Gloriana stormed off, Ves met her again at breakfast at the Austen Estate. When they quietly finished their individualized meals, Ves approached his girlfriend, who huffed and turned her head away.
"Let's talk about our problem."
"Why? I already made my opinion clear." She spoke.
"I don't understand why you object so strongly to this choice."
"Because it's wrong!" She shouted. "Look, you're a brilliant mech designer, and many of your choices are amazing, but sometimes you lose perspective and go too far! Just because you have dangerous proclivities doesn't mean you should pass that on to your clan and subordinates! Are you not a leader? Where is your sense of responsibility?"
Ves sat next to her and enjoyed her rosy scent for a moment. His voice grew softer as he issued his reply.
"I am always thinking about the good of others. I'm no longer a lone ranger, I get that. Hundreds of Larkinsons and thousands of subordinates rely on me, and I take that very seriously. This doesn't mean I want to bury my head in the sand or just sit back and relax while taking no risks at all. The galaxy is dangerous and our situation is very precarious. We also have to make a huge effort in order to form and launch our grand expedition in time."
Gloriana brushed aside her black hair and eyed her boyfriend with an impassive expression.
"I'm sympathetic to that, but your latest choice is needlessly excessive. You are experimenting with an innovation that you haven't even worked out yet! There is no proof that it could work, but already you're resorting to the most extreme option without considering safer alternatives!"
"I have a good feeling about my choice."
She let out a frustrated grunt. "Your feelings have been wrong before. Your intuition is not omnipotent. You're a far cry from Prophet Ylvaine in predicting the future!"
"My intuition is an expression of my inner mech designer. The same goes for you. Trusting in your intuition is not a bad idea."
"Sometimes, I think you are a slave to your intuition." She muttered. "You make choices that no one who is normal would take. Even you can't really explain why you went for a specific choice."
"Is that wrong? You're the same as me, you know. You make many choices that look weird to me but are completely normal to you. As mech designers, each of us pursue separate passions. It's not odd for you to question me, but you should be aware that I stand by every choice I made."
Gloriana scowled deeper. "You think I don't know that? I've let many disagreements slide because it's not worth bringing up. This decision goes too far though. High-capacity neural interfaces are rightfully shunned for very good reasons. I care a lot about the mech pilots who use my mechs. I can't accept the idea of using them as your lab rats!"
The two of them possessed many similarities, but also many differences. The treatment of mech pilots was a rather contentious subject for them. Gloriana's design philosophy caused her to view mech pilots with great importance. She sought to develop products that served their uses as best as possible.
Ves did not necessarily disagree with his stance, but his views on the matter were a little more... flexible.
He decided to be a little more drastic. He leaned into her and grasped both her shoulders. He pressed his face up against her own and stared directly into her eyes.
"Ves!" She gasped.
"I need your support, Gloriana. The Larkinson mech has the potential to be a fantastic mech for both us and the clan. The risk borne by my mech pilots is admittedly large, but it's not as bad as you think. Did you forget about the Breyer alloy? Against third-class mechs, our Larkinson mech is invincible! Hardly any opponent outside the Friday Coalition will be able to crack through such thick and resilient armor! The risk that a mech suffered heavy damage and proceeds to feed its trauma back to the mech pilot is significantly less!"
He had a point, but that was only the case when their Larkinson mech fought against ordinary opponents.
With the enemies that Ves had been attracting in recent times, this was not necessarily the case anymore!
"It's still a suboptimal choice."
"I don't agree." Ves whispered to her. "From the start, I've always tried to cultivate my own forces. I spent years to fund and grow my Avatars and Sentinels until they became as formidable as they are today, but even then it's not enough! My men aren't as good as their counterparts in the Glory Battalion. They need every help they can get in order to promote to second-class mech pilots, and our Larkinson mech is a great means to make this possible!"
Both mech pilots still stood their ground. Gloriana was sympathetic to his viewpoint, but that wasn't enough to shake her conviction!
"There are ways to train your forces. Isn't my brother already helping your mech pilots out?"
Ves grimaced a bit. "I'm thankful for that, but I don't like to rely on others. Besides, your brother is only a single person. It's impossible for him to guide the development of over 1,500 mech pilots! The expansion of my forces doesn't end there either. I want to have a robust training regime in place that allows us to train our own second-class mech pilots, and our Larkinson mech is a vital piece of the puzzle!"
His ambition for their current design project was enormous! He wanted this mech to perform multiple roles and fulfill multiple objectives at the same time! He not only wanted it to come in four different configurations, but also employ it as the mainstay of his forces while at the same time functioning as a training mech!
All of these goals complicated the project enormously, but Ves never doubted his ability to succeed!
Gloriana started to look swayed. His close proximity started to make her feel dizzy. "Ves.. I..."
"Mech pilots learn faster when they pilot real mechs as opposed to virtual mechs." He said. "Mech pilots learn even faster in actual combat as opposed to live training sessions. Excessively trying to coddle them won't do them any good down the line. Sure, their chances of survival increases, but what of their dreams? What of their aspirations? To chase after greatness is the ambition of every mech pilot! No matter how much they try to suppress this urge, in their hearts they all long for glory!"
"Glory is—"
"Glory is in your name!" Ves interrupted her! "Haven't you taken some risks to be with me and collaborate with me? You are no different from me and my mech pilots! Since you're so willing to spend so much time outside your state to work with me, why are you depriving my mech pilots of their own opportunities? Let them choose! They can pilot my Larkinson mech if they want or opt for a safer mech if they think it's too dangerous!"
Gloriana tried to press Ves away, but he was simply too strong! Her feeble, baseline human strength was no match to his half-alien physique!
"That's a false choice and you know it." She hissed. "Others may see you as the Devil Tongue for your ability to deceive others, but I see it as a reflection of your ability to make your mechs desirable! From the Transcendent Messenger onwards, almost all of your mechs possess an irresistible charm to them. Their glows and their intrinsic divinities are like siren songs to mortals! I have no doubt you'd be able to make people jump into the abyss by droves if you design an attractive sign in front of its entrance!"
That.. was a strange remark. Ves felt a bit flattered actually. She wasn't wrong. This was definitely something he banked on to make his Larkinson mech a wanted product by his mech pilots!
Seeing that Gloriana managed to expose him, Ves decided to resort to plan B.
He kissed her on the lips.
"Mppphff! Ves! This isn't the time! I—"
He kissed her again, deeper this time!
"Ves! You scoundrel! If you think you can—"
"—I've already made my choice, Gloriana. I'm not one of your Hexer boys who rolls over for you whenever you make a demand. The Larkinson mech is MY design project. I'm in charge here. Not only that, I'm also the client! As the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan and the owner of the Avatars of Myth and the Living Sentinels, I have the right to set my own requirements!"
"Just because you—"
He kissed her again. And again. And again.
He kissed her so many times that he began to embrace her closer to his chest. For her part, Gloriana eventually forgot what she wanted to say and simply melted in his arms.
They shared so much body warmth and affection that the intimate moment eventually grew too hot for the Glory Battalion!
Melody, who had always been hanging in the background, eventually stepped forward to separate their lips and bodies!
"That's enough for one day!"
As Ves and Gloriana maintained a proper distance to each other, their moods had changed a lot from before!
Whereas Ves radiated confidence and satisfaction, Gloriana looked a little muddled. Her thoughts were in disarray and the emotions rampaging inside her didn't make her situation any better!
"Will you let me have my way now, Gloriana."
"Uhm... I'll give you a chance... I'll shut your attempts down if they turn out to be unacceptable... is that okay...?"
Ves grinned. "That's all I'm asking for. Thanks, love."
"You're welcome."
With this issue resolved, they proceeded to travel to the LMC's headquarters to resume their design work. Adding the Ancestral Possession ability to the Larkinson mech required a lot of research and exploration!
Chapter 1864 Godly Experience
Though Ves managed to drop Gloriana's objections, that didn't necessarily equate to obtaining her support.
An enthusiasm gap became evident as Ves had to take the lead over his latest initiative. Gloriana on the other hand went on to address the other aspects of the mech.
While this was not an ideal way to handle this situation, Ves was fine with it. He was fully convinced his abundance of passion would make up for any shortcomings resulting from Gloriana's absence.
"Now, let me think." He murmured. "How can I get Ancestral Possession to work?"
One of the problems he faced was that he didn't know what was possible. He needed to perform a lot of experiments in order to define what he could do, but Ves did not plan to go through all of that trouble.
His time frame was too tight. He couldn't afford to spend precious weeks to perform the necessary experiments.
"I'm also lacking in test subjects."
Mech pilots were valuable commodities. He would never subject his own Larkinsons and subordinates to his dangerous experiments.
It would be easier if he could get a batch of disposable mech pilots, but those were rather difficult to get ahold of in the Ylvaine Protectorate.
For various reasons, it was impractical for Ves to get his hands on qualified test subjects.
"I'll have to make do with educated guesswork and hope for the best." He muttered.
Fortunately for Ves, he happened to be very experienced in relying on his predictions. His combination of knowledge, judgement, intuition and a healthy dose of confidence always seem to pull him through.
This was a bit more difficult than he was used to, though. Ves was trying to accomplish something that was heavily reliant on spirituality. Ves would have to find some way of wrangling it and turn it into something that was both possible and safe.
His first steps towards making his latest vision into reality was not to tweak the current design.
Instead, he directed his attention towards the Golden Cat.
After her huge outburst yesterday, the adorable Golden Cat hid inside the Larkinson Mandate and gave in to her exhaustion.
She still hadn't finished her recovery yet, but that didn't stop Ves from attempting to wake her. He needed to obtain her cooperation in order to go any further!
"Wake up, kitty."
He concentrated his mind and gently massaged the ancestral spirit residing inside the book with his spiritual projections.
Nyaa..?
Though Ves and the Golden Cat were two separate entities, the latter consisted largely of his own spiritual energy. This gave them an inseparable bond and made them compatible with each other!
After a bit of nudging, the Golden Cat eventually bit the projection. Pure life flooded into his incorporeal existence! Though the infusion of spiritual energy was exhilarating, it also made her uncomfortable!
Ever since she turned into a living, independent entity, she could no longer accept other sources of spiritual energy without repercussions!
Ves only dared to feed her enough of his spiritual energy to hasten her recovery.
Nyaaaaa.
He succeeded! The Golden Cat soon regained her prior vigor and popped her head out of the Larkinson Mandate!
As Ves started stroking the Golden Cat's adorable head with a hand infused with spiritual energy, a pair of cats watched on from another work table.
"Miaow."
"Meow..."
While Clixie appeared as impeccable as before, Lucky was a different matter!
Though his mechanical body seemed as spotless as ever, his spirit was still at a low point. Suffering the brunt of the Golden Cat's beam attack put him in no mood to eat exotics or do anything else for the foreseeable time!
Ves didn't bother with Lucky. He only had eyes for the Golden Cat this time. After coaxing her out of the Larkinson Mandate, he began to outline his intentions.
"Can you do that, Goldie? Is it possible for you to draw out one mech pilot's knowledge, memories and experiences and impart them to another mech pilot?"
The Golden Cat tilted her head.
Nyaa?
Ves palmed his face. "You don't understand, do you? This is too complicated for a kitten like you. The spiritual network is also strange to you. Even though you have been born with all of the connections, you hardly know what you are capable of. Is that right?"
Nyaaa.
The Golden Cat rolled over on her back and exposed her belly to him. He tentatively rubbed her adorable belly, only to be batted away by her playful paws.
"Well then, let's explore what we can do, shall we? We have to start somewhere. As the guardian of our clan, you ought to be more than a passive observer."
As Ves proceeded to encourage the Golden Cat to explore the spiritual network, frustration quickly mounted.
The Golden Cat much preferred to play and fool around than to listen to his instructions!
Progress was hampered by the fact that neither of them were familiar with the spiritual network. Ves wasn't able to instruct the Golden Cat because he didn't know what he was talking about.
As for the Golden Cat, while she had been born with instincts on how to use her powers, that was still a far cry from conscious manipulation. Mentally and spirituality, she was still an infant, causing her to know little else besides what little she explored!
"Urgh.. this isn't working." He sighed.
He set the Larkinson Mandate back onto the table while the Golden Cat rolled around as if she was having fun!
Perhaps his decision to base the ancestral spirit of the Larkinson Clan on a cat was a mistake!
"That's just an excuse. The real problem is that I can't instruct her because I don't know how to achieve the desired effects."
His knowledge on spirituality was too one-sided. He was only proficient in the few methods and techniques he came up on his own. With regards to other other applications, he was still a neophyte as far as he was concerned.
Seeing that at least some guidance was necessary to educate the Golden Cat, Ves began to consider other options.
"Why not let someone else take over from me? I'm clearly not the best teacher here! There are others who can do better!"
Of the possible candidates, his mother and Cassandra Breyer immediately stood out. Ves barely thought of their names before instantly dumping them out of his mind.
Both of them were terrible witches! One of them wasn't even friendly towards him and continued to harass him from time to time!
That caused Ves to turn his attention to his design spirits.
He ruled out the artificial spiritual products because they weren't any better in this regard. As for his natural design spirits, that was when the selection became more interesting.
Two of the most notable spiritual entities were Prophet Ylvaine and Qilanxo.
The former was a bit weaker, but he was the most human out of all the design spirits. He was also friendly and easy to get along with. Imparting some human wisdom in the Golden Cat would definitely be a boon!
Yet.. Qilanxo was the better choice. She was centuries old and developed a formidable understanding of spirituality and how to mold it to her will.
What was even better was that this former lizard used to be in the same position as the Golden Cat! As the Sacred God of the ancient city of Samar, she enjoyed the worship of thousands of Blessed People and somehow managed to derive strength from these bonds!
"Besides, didn't Qilanxo impart some of her strength to the Golden Cat? They're related by spirit!"
After recalling these important facets, Ves no longer hesitated. He concentrated his mind and made contact with Qilanxo.
Her means of communicating was different from other entities. She conveyed her opinions in the form of emotional impressions.
As Ves conveyed his request, it didn't take long for Qilanxo to reply.
A wave of curiosity, interest and affection greeted Ves. The Sacred God was more than willing to teach the Golden Cat her ways!
Ves was surprised by her quick assent. Then again, Qilanxo was clearly being affected by her motherly urges. Her emotions radiated more than a bit of love and care towards the infant spiritual entity.
The fact that the Golden Cat was so young and innocent simply hit all of the right buttons!
Qilanxo didn't wait for Ves to convey any further thoughts. She readily reached out to the Golden Cat, causing the latter to stop and look up in surprise!
Nyaa?
A huge spiritual weight suddenly descended in the vicinity! Though everyone else in the design lab felt nothing, Ves and to a lesser extent Gloriana sensed something significant had approached!
"What's happening, Ves?!" His girlfriend asked from the other side of the lab.
"I don't know!"
Before they could talk aunty further, the Golden Cat disappeared!
Ves looked at the Larkinson Mandate in shock! Ever since he empowered it, the Golden Cat became inseparable to the book! It was her nest and abode and she couldn't leave it because her spiritual existence was too weak to survive in the open!
"Qilanxo! What did you do?!"
The Sacred God soon passed on another wave of emotion to him. Through the mix of affection, love, hope and determination, Ves managed to interpret it, causing his panic to subside.
Qilanxo somehow summoned to Golden Cat to her side! She also offered her protection to the younger spiritual entity and supported her existence away from the book.
Seeing that Qilanxo had no intention to harm the Golden Cat, Ves reluctantly let the matter be. He didn't know why Qilanxo went through all of that trouble, but hopefully it would help the spiritual cat grow into her power faster.
With that out of the way, Ves turned to the other aspect of his plan, the high-capacity neural interface.
Its parameters were significantly better than comparable neural interface models. It was the big boy version of the skinnier and more restrained devices on the market.
Developed internally by the MTA and dumped onto its catalog at random, the component hadn't gone through marketing at all. Its accompanying documents were filled with complicated jargon that Ves barely understood while its name was simply a string of codes.
By all accounts, the high-capacity neural interface was never meant for widespread use. Just the warnings posted on its description was enough to scare away most mech designers!
To other mech designers, the taboo of tampering with neural interfaces was inviolable. They were so intimidated by abnormal neural interfaces that they chose to skip them without ever giving them a chance!
Ves was different. He broke taboos like he was drinking water. While abnormal neural interfaces always caused him to adopt a more careful posture, that didn't mean he shied away from them entirely!
"This high-capacity neural interface is just what I need!" He celebrated. "If I had you earlier, I would have put you in my Desolate Soldier and Deliverer designs!"
With greater immersion, came better performance. The bond between mech and design spirit also grew stronger, allowing for greater interaction between the two! This meant that the high-capacity neural interface model became even more useful! Its benefits didn't end with the Larkinson mech! Ves already reserved this interface model with the other mechs that Ves had in mind!
Of course, before he did that, he needed to see this specific model in action. He also needed to verify its performance and see whether the risks and rewards were still in proportion.
Ves approached the 3D printer and fabricated a single copy of the high-capacity neural interface. After that, he proceeded to put it on a lifter platform before ordering it to be transported to the Avatars!
After leaving the design lab, boarded the same shuttle that carried the newly-fabricated component.
A short flight later, the shuttle touched down at the Avatar base. With many Avatars noticing his arrival, Ves moved to the mech stables where a number of mechs were stashed. He stepped forward with his bodyguards and the lifter platform in tow until he reached a certain mech.
Its mech pilot already stood by at the foot of his assigned mech. The man saluted Ves with vigor!
"Mr. Larkinson! It's an honor to meet you, sir!"
"Joshua. I need to upgrade your mech. Would you like to try out my new neural interface?"
Chapter 1865 Two Requests
The new high-capacity neural interface was powerful. In the right hands, employed in the right mech, this single change could result in far-reaching effects!
The difference was as clear as day as the Deliverer zipped in space with much more gusto than before!
Though its performance parameters hadn't changed, its third eye glowed brighter than ever before! This signified that the bond between the mech, mech pilot and design spirit had reached a greater degree of integration than before!
Joshua, though not a believer, managed to take advantage of the new high-capacity neural interface to take his control to the next level!
"I thought he was already good. It turns out he's even better!" Commander Melkor uttered.
Ves grinned. "A single component can make all the difference."
As Joshua was one of the most promising mech pilots of the Avatars, how could Melkor not be present?
After hearing what Ves was up to, Melkor demanded to accompany Ves to the space station in orbit. He wanted to see the results for himself!
Though the Avatar Commander expected some changes, he never heard of a situation where switching out a neural interface led to such a drastic boost in performance!
"Mr. King has already reached the upper limits of standard neural interfaces." Ves explained to his cousin. "He sits in the awkward position of sitting between regular mech pilots and expert candidates. While he's not as skilled as Jannzi and Tusa, Joshua is clearly a cut above the rest."
"So the old interface in his mech acted like a bottleneck that constrained any further improvement?"
"Not exactly." Ves shook his head. "I'm sure that Joshua continued to improve as a mech pilot. It was just that his mech remained stagnant. With the same neural interface, Joshua eventually hit a ceiling where any further improvement could no longer be expressed through the neural interface."
"And you raised his ceiling with your fancy new gizmo, is that right?"
"In a nutshell, yes. It's a bit more complicated than that. Swapping out neural interfaces is a delicate matter. I could have screwed up. This isn't necessary since most mech pilots are able to do fine with standard neural interfaces."
In other words, as long as the other mech pilots failed to approach the ceiling, the argument to swap out neural interfaces became weaker.
That said, even if the high-capacity models weren't particularly better, they still insured a stronger bond between the mech pilot and the design spirit. Regardless of the skill of the mech pilot, everyone who interfaced with an LMC mech had a chance of developing a relationship with a design spirit!
Though the distance between the testing station and the testing ground was rather great, Ves could still perceive how vivid the man-machine connection between Joshua and the Deliverer had grown.
Relief, exhilaration and excitement suffused their bond as they continued to snipe target dummy after target dummy with the Executor rifle! Joshua wasn't even drawing on the support of Prophet Ylvaine to hit targets that his fellow Avatars would miss seven out of ten times!
"It's a shame Joshua hasn't managed to become an expert candidate yet." Melkor sighed. As a rifleman mech specialist, he felt a bit ashamed that someone else managed to outperform him on his own turf! "Joshua trains harder than everyone else. His commitment to you and the Avatars is insane. He's a good kid."
Ves chuckled. "You say that like you have a couple of decades on him. Heh. It seems you have adapted well to your role."
"I have to. We continue to expand, and I have to keep up if I want to remain in charge. I work just as hard as Joshua in the aspect of command and management."
"Well, you are a bit young and inexperienced for your position. I didn't expect to expand my Avatars so quickly. My ambitions have grown, and so have my intentions for my Avatars."
"Do you regret putting me in charge of the Avatars?" Melkor asked.
Ves glanced at his visored cousin. This was a rather loaded question.
"I don't regret it, at least for now. From what I see and hear, the Avatars are doing well. Discipline is good and cohesion is high. There is no doubt that the Avatars will follow my orders to the letter. If there is one issue that is of concern, it's your ability to lead so many men in a crisis."
"I've survived the sandman. I'm confident I can handle the pressure. I have a general staff and many experienced Larkinsons backing me up. I'm never alone."
Ves smiled. "Confidence is good. Just make sure you have the competence to back it up. I hope to see you in charge for many decades to come."
There were times when Ves considered the idea of replacing Melkor with another, more qualified Larkinson. There were several mech pilots with command experience in his clan. Magdalena Larkinson was just one of the more notable ones.
Some of the reasons that caused Ves to elevate Melkor over other Larkinsons were moot now that he had reached this point.
He was not a young and junior Larkinson anymore. He was a Journeyman, a galactic citizen and the effective leader of the Larkinson Clan! Many of the Larkinsons who joined his clan became his loyalists by default! With the Larkinson Mandate binding them to a spiritual accord, Ves obtained even greater guarantees of their commitment to him and the clan!
Yet... Ves did not do so in the end. Some of the Larkinsons qualified to command the Avatars were geezers in the same generation as his grandfather. They were too old and stuck in their ways to adapt to the rapidly-changing circumstances of his life.
More than that, all of their experience bore the strong imprint of the Mech Corps. Ves had no doubt that if these veterans got to be in charge, they would shape the Avatars in the image of the Mech Corps!
Something like that had already happened to the Living Sentinels. Under Commander Magdalena's leadership, the Sentinels developed into a more casual imitation of her former service!
Was that bad? Not necessarily. The Mech Corps was a well-run mech military and Ves had few problems in how they set their rules.
However, Ves wanted to diverge from the Bright Republic. If he adopted the laws and the customs of his home state to the letter, then his grand expedition might as well be a Brighter colonization fleet!
As the tests eventually wrapped up and the Deliverer flew back to its berth, Ves and Melkor stepped away from the control center.
The small Ylvainan space station they walked through was suffused with religious symbols and iconography. Prophet Ylvaine's likeness in the form of statues, paintings and projections were practically everywhere!
The sight of so much religion made the both of them feel ill at ease.
"How long will we stay in the Ylvaine Protectorate?" Melkor softly asked. "Some of us have grown.. restless at our continued stay in this state."
"What's the matter? Are you in a hurry to leave?"
"The Ylvainans aren't awful hosts by any means, but.. you know."
Ves ruefully smiled. "I understand what you mean. I already told you that our stay here isn't permanent. I haven't set my next destination yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I'm ready. Right now, I still need to complete my current design project and wait for some other matters to come to a conclusion."
The refit of the Scarlet Rose and the long-awaited implantation surgery weighed heavily on his mind.
The two cousins continued to chat as they boarded a shuttle that brought them back to the Avatar base on the surface of the planet.
As they stepped out, they encountered a surprising sight.
Two mech pilots waited for Ves to come back. While that wasn't necessarily noteworthy, it was their identities that caused him to pay attention!
"Venerable Brutus Wodin. How lovely to see you this day." Ves composed his face into a polite expression. "I see you have brought one of my.. guests with you as well."
Standing next to the resplendently uniformed Brutus was a mech pilot that Ves frankly forgot when he became consumed by his current design project.
Davia Stark stood next to the expert pilot with lifeless eyes and a demeanor that screamed that she wanted to be left alone!
How Brutus managed to convince such a depressed mech pilot to follow him to the Avatar base was a mystery!
Suspicious at their appearance, Ves subtly concentrated his mind and activated his spiritual vision.
A remarkable sight came into view. Brutus' spiritual manifestation had always been abnormal. Compared to other expert pilots, he was much more proactive in its use, preferring to wrap his force of will around his loved ones like a protective shell!
Right now, something else was going on. Brutus attempted to wrap Davia Stark with his comforting and protective spiritual blanket, only to be rebuffed by the sheer nihility of the void in her mentality!
She rejected Brutus' kindness because she felt she was unworthy to receive his care!
Even though Brutus failed to get through Davia's despair, his force of will never gave up. It continued its attempts without getting discouraged by its continuous failures!
Ves found this interaction to be endlessly fascinating. Despite Davia's lack of active spirituality, her mindscape nonetheless turned into an impregnable fortress! Brutus had no way of breaching its walls!
"What do the two of you want?"
Brutus coughed a bit. "I've been speaking to Miss Davia here. Well, I've attempted to, anyway. It's clear that she's hurt, Ves. She's broken into pieces, and she hasn't even begun to pick up the pieces."
"I know that. I put her in the care of my clan members in order to slowly bring her back to life."
"It won't work." Brutus stated. "Davia's trauma is much more serious than you can imagine. As a warrior and a mech pilot, she experienced the greatest disaster that she could imagine. You don't get over that, especially since she was in the position to save her Vindmars."
"I know that as well." Ves nodded impatiently. "I need to be somewhere. Could you please get to the point?"
"Very well. Davia is a wonderful woman who possessed a bright future. We can still restore this all if we give her the opportunity to obtain closure and move on from her painful past."
"And how do we do that, Venerable Brutus?"
"From what I've figured out about Davia's past, she possesses an intense hatred against the sandmen and an enormous regret for the fall of her home state. We can rectify these traumas by allowing her to confront them in person."
This caused Ves to pay more attention to this conversation.
"Do you mean...?"
"My proposals are two-fold. First, we should seek to give Davia an opportunity to strike a blow against the sandmen."
"That.. might be a problem. The sandmen have retreated from their conquered holdings and are converging on a single location. When they finally go on the offensive, their power is not something a single mech can contend against!"
"She enjoys my protection." Brutus declared. "This is my promise!"
"Okay... Well, if things go according to plan, which isn't likely due to all of the uncertainties involved, what next?"
"Then, we travel to the former capital of the Vindmar Republic. I believe it will do Miss Davia a lot of good if we install a memorial on the scoured surface of the capital planet of her former state. The Vindmars deserve to be remembered. Regardless of which power or state will occupy this territory in the future, Davia can rest easy knowing that her people will still live on in memory!"
For a moment, both Ves and Melkor looked gobsmacked. Flying all the way to the border of civilized space in order to appease a single mech pilot sounded crazy! Who knew what kind of shenanigans went on in the star systems swept by the sandmen. Even if the aliens themselves had abandoned their conquests, others would quickly fill in the void!
To go through all of that trouble wasn't worth it, but... Davia was an expert pilot. A broken one, but a genuine one. Would she really be able to recover if he performed these favors for her? Her lack of emotion and interest didn't inspire Ves with much confidence.
Chapter 1866 Easy Manpower
In the end, Ves gave a noncommittal answer to Venerable Brutus. He needed to think about it and consider whether it was worth it to go through all of that trouble.
As Ves returned to the LMC's headquarters, he began to weigh the costs and benefits of such a decision.
The value of an expert pilot was evident. Obtaining the service of an expert pilot would be a massive boon for his enterprise. Few private organizations secured the services of such august and powerful talents.
They were incomparable to expert candidates. They possessed a will and charisma that was greater than anything comparable to mortals, and their battle prowess was enough to elevate themselves to a higher class!
Their value on the battlefield was just as great as off the battlefield. Venerable Brutus already showed how much of a boost he provided to the Avatars and Sentinels. Many mech pilots benefited from his sage advice and personal instruction. As an excellent mech pilot in terms of skill, Brutus was able to pinpoint all of the flaws in another pilot's fighting style and suggest ways to remedy these shortcomings.
This was one of the greatest benefits of securing an expert pilot! This was also the main reason why the Larkinson Family kept pumping out mech pilots of a very high standard. Each young Larkinson mech pilot received periodic instruction from either current or former expert pilots.
Regrettably, the newly-founded Larkinson Clan lacked an expert pilot to perform this function. The Larkinsons who joined the clan would have been forced to receive instructions from ordinary Larkinson mech pilots.
While there wasn't anything wrong with that, only expert pilots were astute and skilled enough to provide the best advice!
This was why the presence and generosity of Venerable Brutus was so important to Ves. In this crucial early period of the clan, receiving the support of an expert pilot was extremely vital to keep up everyone's morale!
"He'll be gone, though." He murmured.
By all accounts, the Hexadric Hegemony would eventually recall Brutus in order to deploy him on the front lines against the Friday Coalition. The time for his departure was fairly fuzzy, but Ves suspected that it was getting close.
Once Venerable Brutus left, the Larkinson Clan lost the protection of an expert pilot.
Without the presence of an expert pilot, Ves and the Larkinson Clan would look a lot more vulnerable! It didn't matter if he was trying to build up his forces to the level of a mech regiment! Expert pilots were so feared and worshipped in the Age of Mechs that the presence or absence of one could sway entire battles!
Their deterrence value was already more than worth all of the effort to secure their allegiance! It was so rare for independent organizations to possess their own expert pilots that just having one was enough to double everyone's evaluation of the Larkinson Clan's strength!
Naturally, that was assuming Davia Stark would be able to recover her former will and regain the strength and mentality of an expert pilot!
"Will that really happen?"
Davia did not possess any personal loyalty to Ves. In fact, she should resent him a bit for his heavy-handed attempt to bring her along. Brutus probably owed more of her affection.
If Ves risked his forces to participate in the final battle against the sandmen, if Ves sent a fleet to the former Vindmar Republic so that she could find some closure, would she even recover?
Even if she did, would she be thankful?
Both of the questions were shrouded with uncertainty. Ves did not wish to go through all of that effort, only to give the Hegemony another expert pilot!
"I need some guarantees." He concluded as he rubbed his smooth-shaven skin.
Despite her broken state, Davia was still a brighter prospect than the other alternatives.
In the short term, Jannzi Larkinson and Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson weren't turning into expert pilots anytime soon. They were close, but not enough. They needed more precipitation as well as a catalyst to trigger apotheosis.
Perhaps their time might come in the next five to ten years, but now that the Larkinson Clan was at its weakest and most vulnerable state, Ves couldn't wait that long!
"I've been setting so many long-term plans that it will take decades or even centuries for them to come to fruition! I've been neglecting our short-term needs!"
He didn't rule out this option for this reason. As long as neither requests were unreasonably dangerous, Ves didn't mind meeting them in order to give Davia a chance to move on from her trauma.
When Ves returned to his office at the headquarters, he voiced his thoughts on the matter to Gavin.
"I've been studying the conditions of the Sand War for a while now." His assistant said. "From what I know so far, the sandmen are halfway into converging all of their fleets into a planet-sized deathball. The window of opportunity isn't big. If you want to take part in this so-called 'decisive battle', then you need to make a choice within a month, maybe two at most."
Ves grimaced. "I see. Where will the battle be fought, Benny?"
"It depends entirely on what the MTA war fleet will do. They haven't revealed any of their plans so far, but the most probable guess is that they'll let the sandmen come to them in the Bentheim System."
The Bright Republic probably didn't appreciate that choice. Too bad the MTA wasn't inclined to listen to a tiny state's complaints.
"What about the situation in the former Vindmar Republic? If I recall, this border state is a bit far away."
"Vindmar is situated in the Hexer half of the star sector, which means we'll have to cross a fair distance to reach its former territory. The good news is that there shouldn't be any sandman left. The stupid aliens completely abandoned their conquered territories and dismantled all of their colonies to form as many fleets as possible."
"Which means that the scavengers and bottom feeders have already swooped in, right?"
Gavin smiled ruefully. "Reports have already come in of pirates, scavengers and mercenaries swooping into the abandoned star systems in order to scavenge as much valuables as they can! The sandmen may have consumed a lot of valuable exotics and minerals, but they have ignored plenty of valuables!"
"The Sand War isn't even over yet! Damn these greedy bastards!"
From high-grade exotic deposits to neglected holdings, there was plenty of treasure to pick off the ground if the scavengers moved in fast enough!
"They shouldn't pose a threat, though. There are so many ruined planets to loot that the opportunities will mostly be focused on picking up as many scraps as they can. The last thing the scavengers want to do is to confront a neutral party, especially a strong one!"
"You're right. Another factor is that most of the scavengers will move to the planets. There is nothing for them to gain if they remain at the edge of a star system."
If Ves wished to meet Davia's request, he likely wouldn't dispatch his entire fleet to Vindwar. As long as the danger level did not exceed a certain standard, it was enough for Ves to hand over this responsibility to the Battle Criers! This was exactly the kind of mission they were supposed to fulfill!
The only issue was that his Battle Criers still hadn't been reinforced with Kinners from their tribe. Commander Cinnabar already told Ves that this would take a while due to the Komodo War getting in the way.
As Ves continued to discuss this matter with Gavin, he gained some confidence that he'd be able to meet the two requests. He didn't want to make a choice immediately, though. None of his forces were in a state to move right now. Ves still wanted to grant them enough time to reinforce their numbers and procure more carriers. The latter was especially important!
"How are we on the starship end? Do we have enough ships to transport all of our mechs on short notice?"
Gavin looked at his data pad and browsed a status report.
"Right now, the Avatars and the Battle Criers are doing okay, but the Sentinels received the short end of the stick. They can only field a third of their mechs from a carrier, though they have enough transport capacity to bring along more mechs. They'll just have to empty the cargo bays of every ship in their possession and squeeze in as many mechs as possible in their packed and partially-disassembled state."
That meant that any mech put into the cargo bay would not be ready to deploy if a battle broke out.
It took far too much time and effort to unpack a mech and restore it to a functional state! Most battles would be over by then!
This was the reason why everyone valued carriers. They were specifically designed to accommodate mechs and facilitate their deployment no matter the circumstances!
Right now, the only reason Ves managed to gain a lot of carriers was due to his friendly relations with the Ylvaine Protectorate. If not for his identity as the Bright Martyr, the Curin Dynasty would have never allowed Ves to place so many orders for light carriers!
As it was, the Avatars and Sentinels still had to slow down or curtail their recruitment entirely in order to allow their starship departments to catch up with the growth of their mech contingents!
"How is the manpower situation, Benny?"
"I can't say much about your mech forces as my access to their systems are limited. The LMC has changed a lot, though.
"Oh? How so?"
"For one, we are slowly drawing down our Manufacturing Department. We have way too many mech technicians and other production personnel on our payroll. Though we own some manufacturing complexes, we are mostly relying on external manufacturers to produce and supply our mechs throughout the Komodo Star Sector. Since we are increasingly becoming more dependent on outsourcing production to foreign partners, it doesn't make much sense to have all of these mech technicians hanging around."
Ves furrowed his brows. "Only fire the useless ones. Try to retain the more talented and loyal individuals. Don't fire any people with crucial skillsets, and don't get rid off too many workers. Remember, we still need a lot of technical personnel on hand to man a factory ship as well as all of the smaller production facilities in our future expeditionary fleet!"
Skilled manpower was hard to come by. Though the population base of the Komodo Star Sector was enormous, a lot of organizations competed over their employment!
"How is the staffing of our new ships proceeding along?"
This was one of his most persistent worries. Spacers were extremely hard to come by these days as the Sand War practically skyrocketed their value! States could produce as many starships as their shipyards could handle, but training qualified spacers to man all of these vessels was not as straightforward!
"Surprisingly, it's going well. In fact, staffing is one of the few issues that aren't of concern to us anymore!"
"Oh?" Ves sat up straighter in his office seat. "What's going on?"
"The Curin Dynasty passed some preferential policies that made it easier for us to recruit Ylvainans. The desire and enthusiasm to work for you has always been strong. It's just that the most valuable professionals such as starship captains and chief engineers are already committed to their current employers. Poaching them is very difficult for most people."
"Then how did you solve this problem?"
"We didn't." Gavin shrugged. "Lately, a lot of Ylvainan professionals have decided to escape their current employment contracts to work for us. They come from all around the Protectorate."
"How have they been able to get away with ending their contracts early?"
"That's the strange part. Their employers all agreed to release the professionals without much fuss. We think the Curin Dynasty might have pressured the bosses to acquiesce, but we don't know for sure. In any case, ever since change, we've been recruiting starship personnel left and right! As long as you don't mind Ylvainans manning most of your ships, we won't have any problems on this end!"
Ves grimaced with distaste. If this went on, the Ylvainans would probably outnumber the Brighters in his employ!
Chapter 1867 Ylvainan Navy
Ves actually became so concerned at all the Ylvainans joining the fleets of the Avatars and Sentinels that he decided to take a look in person.
Together with Nitaa, Lucky and his bodyguards, he took another shuttle trip to orbit where he stopped by some of the ships.
The brand-new light carriers weren't very impressive to Ves. They possessed the same level of performance as the Greenfeather and Redfeather. In fact, in some areas, they were even worse!
His forces didn't have any choice, though. With the supply of materials curtailed and prices ballooning by as much as an order of magnitude, shipyards were only able to supply their customers with their cheaper offerings!
The persistent lack of combat carriers within his fleets had always been a sore point for Ves. The only way for him to make up for this shortcoming was to leave the war-stricken regions and head to a more stable and prosperous region.
The greater the chaos, the greater the demand for ships!
No one wanted to be stuck on a planet when doom approached the star system. The Sand War already showed how fatal it could be for people to lack an escape route!
When Ves met up with some of the captains and key crew of his new ships, he came across a lot of very enthusiastic Ylvainans!
"It's an honor to work for you, Bright Martyr."
"I have dreamt of serving a Martyr Follower for all my life. It is a great pleasure to captain one of your ships with the Great Prophet's blessing!"
"Sir! I have made a vow to devote my entire service to you! Prophet Ylvaine himself has willed us to be at your disposal!"
The reactions of every Ylvainan he met sounded similar. No matter where he walked, the spacers around him paused and bowed with utmost sincerity towards him. They literally believed that he was one of Prophet Ylvaine's agents in the mortal realm!
Ves tried his best to maintain a pleasant facade. Inwardly, he either groaned or cringed. There had been no attempts at all to curtail the Ylvainan's expressions of faith within his fleet.
Perhaps the only compromise the new Ylvainan ship crews had made was to keep the interior of the ships neutral. Unlike other Ylvainan ships, there weren't any shrines or religious artwork dedicated to their faith in the corridors or public compartments!
In order to coordinate the growing number of carriers and support ships across all of the mech forces, the position of fleet coordinator came into being.
Not quite an admiral, but more than a fleet commander, a fleet coordinator essentially oversaw the fleets and kept them organized at the higher level without exercising direct command.
No Larkinson could fulfill that position. It was difficult to hire Brighters with this level of knowledge, training and experience.
The only choice to fill this position was to resort to an Ylvainan!
By some strange reason that seemed more deliberate than accidental, a very senior ship officer of the Kronon Dynasty just happened to be available.
Fleet Coordinator Ophelia Kronon possessed a long and storied record. She was an 80-year old matron who had commanded military ships and fleets for many decades with distinction. Due to her long service, she had plenty of time to develop her management and administrative skills.
What this meant was that she was exactly the sort of person his enterprise needed to organize the higher-level command and control structure of his fleet assets.
Working with both the Avatars, Battle Criers and Sentinels, Fleet Coordinator Ophelia already achieved a lot of results since she came into power.
Most notably, she shuffled around spacers so that the distribution of critical personnel became more even. No ship was lacking in chief engineers and senior officers!
The old but driven fleet coordinator also leaned on logistics to hasten the delivery of essential supplies! Without these necessities, the combined fleet would only be able to subside in space for a month before encountering critical shortages. This was a very precarious situation to be in, so Ves was very thankful that Ophelia took care of these issues!
When Ves met with Ophelia aboard one of the new Ylvainan-produced light carriers, he already developed some expectations of what he heard.
From most accounts, Ves figured that Ophelia was similar to Colonel Lowenfield. Both were women who were appointed to clean up a mess. Both of them excelled in this aspect, though their battle experiences and crisis leadership were not as solid.
Ophelia was a Kronon however, and every Kronon was a soldier. Despite her age, the old woman exuded a sense of command and experience that couldn't be faked!
"Madame Kronon. I am pleased to meet you. I appreciate what you have done so far in wrangling my growing fleet. Keeping my ships and spacers from running into each other must be an exhausting chore."
"The worst will pass, sir." Ophelia replied with respect. "Within a single month, our fleets should be ready to embark on a lengthy journey."
The two discussed the state of the organizing fleets before Ves was satisfied with what he heard. Even though the new personnel still had to settle into their jobs and the ships still showed a lot of teething issues, most of these problems could be dealt with during the journey.
If some sort of crisis occurred that compelled them to evacuate, then they could still flee the star system as long as they left some assets behind. The new carriers and other ships would still remain liabilities though.
All of that was important but not really interesting to Ves. As a mech designer, fleets and naval vessels never held his interest for long. He much preferred to talk about mechs!
That said, Ves was also interested in Ophelia as a person. As long as she remained hale and healthy, she would probably be his most senior fleet officer for the foreseeable future! Developing an accord and understanding with her was essential!
"You don't seem as.. zealous as the other Ylvainans about your new employer."
The woman nodded. "I am a Kronon. My faith is my duty. My duty is faith."
"What does that mean?" Ves scratched his head in puzzlement.
"It means that it is not helpful for me to act as your worshipper. I applied to work for you because the Great Prophet has shown me that you lack a fleet coordinator. Since I have been brought on to manage your growing fleets, then that is what I should address. Anything else is secondary and unneeded."
"That sounds very logical."
He didn't expect that from an Ylvainan. Then again, Ophelia appeared to be a trueblood Kronon, which meant she was like a religious version of a Larkinson!
If the Kronon Dynasty was filled with brainless zealots, then how could the Kronons get anything done?
"We Kronons have learned it was best to separate our faith from our responsibilities. While I am an Ylvainan and allow my faith to guide my choices, I should never let that get in the way of my duty. The Protectors of the Faith must protect before they can exercise their faith."
"I see. Well, I'm very glad to hear that." Ves nodded while stroking Lucky's back. "Please keep in mind that my enterprise, which includes the LMC and all of my mech forces, will not adhere to any single faith or culture in its entirety. My enterprise will continue to grow, and that will bring people from other parts of the galaxy. I would like my organizations to be as inclusive as possible. The goal is to increase cooperation and reduce friction as much as possible among different foreigners. Will you be able to do that, Madame Ophelia?"
The message implicit in his words was clearly directed towards the Ylvainans. He didn't want their culture and beliefs to contaminate the Larkinsons and Brighters under his employ!
"I understand." The old but active woman nodded. "I will endeavor to encourage my fellow Ylvainans to rein themselves in. Mind you, this is not an easy task. None of us have spent much time with foreigners. Many of us are still getting used to working alongside foreigners who doesn't necessarily appreciate what we have to say about our faith."
Ves grimaced. "Does that mean the problem will persist?"
"It.. will, sir." The fleet coordinator looked regretful. "Virtually every Ylvainan in your fleets will not hesitate to follow your orders. However, it is one thing to have the intention, it is another thing to have the ability. We Ylvainans are not trained to rein in our expressions of faith. It is something that is common and expected in our state. From a behavioral perspective, your new Ylvainan spacers will have to learn something that goes against every fiber of their being. Issuing a direct order for them to stop will likely backfire for that reason."
Damnit. Ves wanted to palm his face. He fully understood Ophelia's point.
"Do the best you can, madame. I'm not expecting any miracles, but you should at least endeavor to make every ship welcome to Brighters and other people. Due to our current circumstances, we are hiring a lot of Ylvainans, but in a year we might be forced to recruit a lot of foreigners from another state. I don't want the latter to feel unwelcome."
After finishing his questioning and passing on some more instructions, Ves finally ended his meeting with the fleet coordinator.
All in all, Ves was very glad he had someone like her. Her disciplined mind and lifelong service to the Kronon Dynasty imparted her with a high degree of professionalism.
She still sounded a bit devout in some parts, but she hid that side of her as much as possible.
Ves could sense the devotion within her. His other senses tingled the same way as when he encountered zealots!
"Well, it probably doesn't matter." He shook his head. "At least I don't have to worry about her loyalties."
Once he settled his concerns about his naval assets, he turned his attention back to his design projects.
He began to analyze the logs generated by Joshua's mech.
Ever since Ves upgraded the Deliverer with a high-capacity neural interface, a lot of piloting-related parameters changed.
Many of them rose, reflecting Joshua's increasing control over his assigned mech!
Not only that, but his bond with Prophet Ylvaine had definitely grown!
This was amazing for someone who still admitted that he did not believe in the Ylvainan Faith!
In any case, the logs provided Ves with a wealth of data, though much of it was filled with gibberish as far as he was concerned.
From what little he could figure out, Joshua's performance had clearly improved. This definitely proved that high-capacity neural interfaces had potential!
Ves just had to make sure that the neural interface did not fry Joshua's brain anytime soon!
"Not every mech pilot warrants this neural interface." He mused. "Some are simply not good enough to reach the bottleneck of a standard neural interface."
The neural interface models that the mech industry considered standard was designed around an 'average' mech pilot. This was someone who wasn't too strong or weak.
In most cases, this worked fine, as many mech pilots were close enough to the average to fit with every standard solution.
It was the extreme case that always suffered in these cases. Joshua King would have been a promising asset to any mech regiment. Ves would be remiss if he did not make sure that Joshua had a good mech in his hands."
Ves found it peculiar that Joshua hadn't advanced yet despite possessing strong spiritual potential.
He briefly contemplated the option to perform spiritual surgery on the young mech pilot.
"What an awful idea!"
There was no way that would end well! Cracking Joshua's spirituality apart, only to piece them together with a lot of junk would inevitably kill the initial personality!
"Even if it takes some time, it's better if Joshua can overcome his problem by himself! Otherwise, he's not worthy to become an expert candidate!"
Chapter 1868 Expensive Payload
Slowly but surely, a clear line of division emerged within Ves' enterprise.
The 'old guard' consisting of the original Brighters and Larkinsons mostly concerned themselves with the mechs.
The newcomers in the form of Ylvainans disproportionately consisted of spacers. They were crawling all over his ships!
Did Ves like his division? No. Was Ves forced to accept it? Yes.
It was not as if complete segregation had occurred. There were still enough Brighters in the fleet to add some diversity to the crews.
Ves had no interest in managing this situation any further. He passed on his instructions to the fleet coordinator and other people and left them to address his concerns.
In the meantime, he completed his analysis of the test results. The new Deliverer performed admirably with the new neural interface. Though the test only showed the positive sides of the high-capacity model, it was enough to show that there was definitely a reason for its existence!
When Ves went back to Gloriana and showed her the benefits of the new model, she glanced at him with an expression of distaste.
"This only shows the potential of a high-capacity model. All you have shown me is that there is some merit to employing it to our top mech pilots. Most of your mech pilots are not up to that standard yet. They won't be able to derive enough benefits to compensate for the higher likelihood of suffering permanent brain damage."
Ves sighed. "I already told you, Gloriana, it's not just that. A less restricted neural interface will always increase the bond between mech and design spirit."
The two already discussed this topic, so they didn't bother to rehash it any further. Suffice to say, Gloriana remained skeptical, while Ves insisted on doubling down on this new neural interface.
At the very least, it didn't appear to be some sort of trap from the MTA! Ves had already used his exalted status in the Ylvaine Protectorate to his advantage by consulting some of the local neural interface specialists.
The ones who answered back in time had all studied the high-capacity model in detail and judged it to be exactly what it said on the tin. Just like any other neural interface license offered by the MTA, it was devoid of backdoors and secret programming!
With that reassurance, Ves felt completely at ease with its use. He even wanted to make it a standard addition to all of his future mechs! This included both commercial designs, commissioned designs and private designs!
"I doubt the mech markets will appreciate a mech that incorporates such a dangerous neural interface."
Ves grinned. "I don't mind. I'm always pursuing quality over quantity. Even if my products become less attractive, it is still worthwhile to impart them with high-capacity neural interfaces unless I absolutely have to make a lot of sales!"
That shouldn't be necessary, he believed.
"I suspect that many of your customers will rip out its stock neural interface and install a safer version in its place." Gloriana retorted. "You might as well develop a 'safe' variant and a 'performance' variant or something. You can derive most of your sales from the safe variant while satisfying your need for accomplishment with the performance variant!"
"That.. sounds interesting. I'll think about it, though I don't favor it. I don't want any product confusion to occur."
He didn't want to deal with all of the whining and buyer's remorse that would inevitably take place when customers ordered the wrong edition of his designs.
At a certain level, Ves wanted to keep his sales volume low. The Desolate Soldier attracted way too much attention, and not always for the right reasons. Even now, a lot of Soldier mechs were being sold in various parts of the Komodo Star Sector. Most customers sought to abuse their glows to their own ends!
Wary of attracting too much MTA attention, Ves wanted to limit the application of his mechs. Focusing on the high-end market and targeting skilled and elite mech pilots would allow him to continue his passion while at the same time prevent his mechs from proliferating out of his control.
When Ves went back to trying to empower his Larkinson mech, he worked the high-capacity neural interface into the design.
After that, he attempted to explore how he could facilitate the spiritual aspect of the man-machine connection.
This was a rather nebulous area as Ves didn't have an actual mech to output telemetry.
"This data can't be simulated."
In truth, a lot of models existed that could simulate the performance of a neural interface, but only specialists were able to make the most of them! Laymen in this field like Ves would probably do more harm than good.
The results weren't accurate enough. Human brains were simply too complex to model completely. Aside from the conventional reasons that skewed the results, the models didn't include anything related to spirituality!
With such an influential variable missing, how could Ves put his faith in any of these models?
If Ves wanted to make headway into integrating Ancestral Possession into his Larkinson mech, then he needed to wait for two events.
First, he needed the cooperation of the Golden Cat. Ves glanced at the Larkinson Mandate, which appeared a lot more hollow than before.
Everyone felt the Golden Cat's absence. Clixie and Lucky yowled mournfully at the book.
Ever since Ves introduced the Golden Cat to Qilanxo, the Sacred God took the newborn spiritual product under her wing!
Ves had no idea how the teachings proceeded, but everytime the Golden Cat returned to the book to take a nap, she seemed more and more aware and confident of herself.
It was as if the Golden Cat was rapidly growing wiser every day!
The second condition he needed to wait for was the fabrication of a prototype. Only with an actual, physical mech would Ves be able to finetune the integration and cooperation between the Golden Cat, the mech and the mech pilot.
Ves predicted that he would have to depend heavily on intuition in order to make everything work. He didn't really have a solid idea on how he could add the desired capabilities to his design, but he was determined to try!
In the meantime, Ves rejoined Gloriana in refining the more mundane aspects of the mechs.
Though their disagreement caused the mood between them to become awkward, that did not affect their passion and enthusiasm in the project.
The more they worked, the more they fell back into tune with each other. Ves and Gloriana had become very adept at preventing their differences from affecting their cooperation!
At this time, the primary structure of the four configurations had already been set. The pair and their design teams were beginning to work on the finer parts of the modular mech platform.
However, one set of decisions in particular was a bit more significant!
Gloriana brought up her suggestion. "All four configurations are powerful enough that they have some capacity left to spare. Why don't we augment the mechs with secondary armaments? You've always been complaining about the lack of punch. This is your chance to rectify the imbalances!"
"I've already put a lot of thought on this option." Ves replied while pressing his fingers against his forehead. "While there is sufficient capacity to diversify our mech's arsenal, there isn't enough room to add a killer weapon to their loadout."
"Then let's focus on diversity, then. The Larkinson mech are very expensive by your standards. Don't you think it should have the power to fight back?
The lancer mech, the swordsman mech and the knight mech all possessed a lot of prowess in melee combat, but their ranged countermeasures left much to be desired!
Therefore, both mech designers had been thinking about giving the melee configurations some self-protection ability.
"Adding a secondary rifle is a poor idea." Gloriana said as she crossed this item from the projected list. "The limbs of our melee mechs aren't designed to wield ranged weapons. Accuracy will be poor. We might as well give the configurations a pistol as they are easier to handle."
They quickly moved on to considering integrated weapons. There were many possible options here, though most were a bit too demanding on the design.
After browsing a lot of alternatives, Gloriana eventually paused her browsing on a page that displayed a missile launcher!
"Missiles! That's it!" She grinned and clapped her hand in happiness. "This is perfect for our mechs! Missiles and missile launchers come in all shapes and sizes, so we can easily fit one on all four configurations."
Ves was no stranger to missile launchers, especially the ones mounted on the shoulders of a mech. His old Caesar Augustus and Marc Antony models both used them to decent effect!
The last time he incorporated a missile launcher in a mech was when he designed the Adonis Colossus. Inspired by the aforementioned hybrid mechs, Vicent Ricklin's mech harkened back to his early days as a mech designer!
That said, Ves never went very deep in the study and applications of missiles and missile launching systems.
Every missile included more than just the exploding part. The ECM, targeting and propulsion systems occupied most of the body of a mech, leaving just a modest amount of space for the payload.
"Missiles won't necessarily solve the lack of offensive punch to our design, Gloriana. Only our lancer configuration stands a chance of posing a threat against a highly-armored target."
She shook his head. "You're still thinking in terms of the small and weak missiles used for enormous mass attacks. Don't forget that there is a lot of variety in missile payloads. If you want to deploy your mechs on a routine patrol, then it's sufficient to fill up their launchers with conventional missiles. If we are facing a tough opponent, then we can load the missile launchers up with a hugely potent missile!"
Ves had many problems with this suggestion. The Larkinson mech was not a true missileer mech. None of its four variants included this specialization.
"The targeting system will suck. With so little internal volume devoted to establishing locks and defeating ECM, those missiles launchers will look very unwieldy!"
"If they bother you too much, then we can fit the mechs with a smaller and lesser pair of missile launchers. Their capacity is smaller, but as long as our Larkinson mech can make each missile worth it, then I was fine with this decision!"
Eventually, they settled for a small and slimmer model that could be shaped to match the curved contours of the Larkinson mech.
Each missile launcher was so low profile that they could only launch four standard-sized missiles per salvo!
These missiles were fairly small in proportion to the mech. They usually didn't possess the power to fell a mech with a single hit, so they were often launched en masse to achieve a greater result.
While the size of mech-based missiles was always rather small, their payloads vastly differed in damage type and potency. Some unleashed plasma upon impact. Others released an EMP effect.
Most missiles simply sought to inflict as much damage as possible with a focused explosion.
As Ves began to explore Gloriana's suggestion, he realized that it was yet another decision that relied on superior funding and resources to raise the performance of their Larkinson mech.
There were many missiles laced with exotics that could pose a serious threat to any mech! All of them were expensive, and many cost as much as a mech!
This was an extravagant price, but not an insurmountable one to Ves! Since the Larkinson mech was an outlet of his passion, he didn't hesitate very long before assenting to this addition!
Providing the four configurations with miniature missile launchers was a hugely beneficial change.
The rifleman mech configuration could finally deliver a stronger punch to its opponents. The melee mechs each gained some retaliation capabilities against ranged mechs.
While the mechs wouldn't be able to carry a lot of missiles into battle, as long as their payloads were powerful enough, they didn't need to bring any more firepower!
Chapter 1869 Brutal Pace
The Larkinson mech was probably one of the most cost-inefficient mechs he ever designed.
Ves felt ashamed at how he let himself go. When presented with difficult design choices, he became more and more inclined to pick the lazy option and rely on his financial superiority rather than his ingenuity in mech design.
"It's as if I was previously rationing my meals because I couldn't afford any better, but then start to gorge myself once I can buy all the food I want!"
From this analogy, Ves was practically binging himself right now! The Larkinson mech became more and more stuffed with wonderful but extremely expensive features!
Fortunately, Ves did not set out to design a commercial mech from the start. Cost efficiency was one of the lowest priorities of a private mech, a mech developed for his own use!
If he was tasked with designing a commissioned mech, then he at least needed to abide by the budget of the client.
"I'm my own client right now." He grinned.
Being able to answer to no one to himself was a liberating experience. Neither the mech market nor the whimsical desires of a capricious client interfered with his demands. He had no need to take the expected product margin into account, nor did he have to add a codpiece onto his mech against his will!
Well, a small part of him wanted to add a subtle 'belt' onto the base platform of the Larkinson mech.
He quickly squashed down that impulse. He was not Vincent Ricklin! He did not need to emphasize his masculinity every second of the day!
Besides, he wasn't designing this mech alone. Gloriana also had a say, though her voice mattered less this time because it was mainly his pet project.
He never lost sight of his goal.
The Larkinson mech was meant to provide as much added value as possible to the Larkinson Clan. The mech had to provide his mech forces with benefits beyond what the market could provide!
This was why he didn't mind that the production cost of the mech rose to astronomic levels. Even with the cost of the Breyer alloy taken out of the equation, the unit price of a single copy might very well exceed the price of an Aurora Titan!
The culprits responsible for ballooning the cost of the mech was the various expensive components and materials Ves had added. While essential components such as the power reactor, flight system and the cockpit failed to attract much attention, they were very expensive compared to other components on the market!
"They're worth it. I don't regret licensing any of these overpriced components!"
All of these goodies served to elevate the Larkinson mech to the limits of third-class mechs or beyond. Ves fully embraced the notion of treating the Larkinson mech as his passion project.
Ves not only wanted to incorporate all of the features and nuances in the Larkinson mech that he refrained from adding to his other designs. He also wanted to take this opportunity a step further and push through some 'spicy' innovations!
In many subtle ways, the Larkinson mech design departed from his previous products by a significant margin. Not even the Deliverer, which was already extreme for a mech design, contained as many radical elements as his current project!
One of the subtler innovations he pushed through was adding various ways for the design spirit to 'nudge' the mech to move or act in a certain direction.
He did so during a design session when he became particularly inspired. He didn't quite know what he was doing, but he was adding several optional control methods to the various components that seemed redundant.
The neural interface was the key. As long as the neural interface outputted a signal from a second source, the mech would obey as long as the first source did not object!
Ordinarily, there was no reason to add these tweaks to the mech design. It added a vulnerability to the mech as the second source could very well take the form of tampering or outside interference!
Nonetheless, Ves believed the chances of that happening were low. The benefits were well worth the risk in his eyes. This was essentially incorporating an innovation that he already applied to the Devil Tiger.
Back then, Ves gave Zeigra, its design spirit, full control over the movements of its tail!
"This time, the control goes beyond just a balancing component."
The tail of a tiger mech only played a marginal role in its functioning. This contrasted sharply with how extensively Ves embedded backdoors throughout the base platform and individual configurations.
He did all of this to provide the Golden Cat with agency on the battlefield!
As the progenitor of the Golden Cat, he believed in his own product. He had faith that the ancestral spirit was completely dedicated to the Larkinson Clan and would never abuse her access to the systems of the Larkinson mech!
That said, Ves made sure the Golden Cat only had enough authority to 'nudge' the mech. Taking over outright control was a step too far even to Ves.
As a principle, the mech pilot should always be in control of the mech. No one else. Not the mech designer, not the mech, not the design spirit should ever interfere with the primacy of the mech pilot!
"A mech is not a mech if the mech pilot is not in control anymore." He muttered.
He dubbed this new feature Ancestral Assistance to reflect that the Golden Cat should only ever play an assisting role. There should never be a case where she would have to take control directly!
"I don't even know if that's even possible." He mused. "It's an interesting experiment, though."
Once he was done with these novel adjustments, he showed off his work to Gloriana as if he was a kid running to his mother.
"Well? What do you think?"
The female mech designer studied the altered schematic with a thoughtful expression. Her face soon turned pensive.
"You're very... bold. I give you that. Don't you care about the potential the mech might get hijacked?"
Ves shook his head. "The mech pilot remains in control. He can override any command from any other source. I made sure to hardwire that into the hardware and software of our mech. I spent extra time to add some redundant programming to the operating system in order to make sure that third parties can't wrest control!"
"I admit that your precautions are adequate, but.. it's the principle of the matter. This is yet another worrying sign of your deviances, Ves. You're getting weirder and weirder in your mech design. While I understand where you are coming from, just because we are working on a private project doesn't mean you have to abandon each and every requirement set by the market!"
"I'm not adding stuff willy-nilly to my mech! Every addition improves my mech in some way!"
"You're indulging in yourself too much!" She hit back! "Your restraint is getting less and less. Our mech is already overloaded with your 'innovations'. I don't think it will benefit it if you continue to add any more unplanned features to its design!"
Though Ves disagreed with his girlfriend, he was still affected by her rebuke. He stopped looking for opportunities to add further innovations to the design.
Instead, Ves and Gloriana transitioned into the refinement and optimization phase of the design project. Days passed by as they began to tighten the overall design and squeeze out more performance out of the rough implementations.
They weren't able to devote enough time to each of the four configurations. Many refinements required a lot of time, and Ves was forced to skip sleep for multiple days at a time in order to meet his increasingly brutal schedule.
Physically, his body could go on an extended period without sleep. Mentally, his mood began to be affected by his continuous obsession over his work.
This was not a bad thing! The pressure and urgency drove him to work even harder and commit himself more to his project. Even as his mind was starting to become a little bit frayed, he continued to persist by borrowing from the strength of his strong Spirituality!
He grew even less aware of his outside circumstances. He stopped showing up at his daily meetings with Gavin and others because he didn't even want to leave his design lab!
He fabricated his own bed and turned one of the private offices into his bedroom in order to skip the travel time between the Austen Estate and his headquarters!
The only person who could pull him back from his design fugues was Gloriana.
"You're very intense lately." She said mildly. "I'm concerned about your health. I love designing mechs as much as anyone, but I don't skip my sleep every day!"
Ves embraced her in a brief hug. "I'm not asking you to. I can afford to go without sleep because of my augmentations. Your limits are lower than mine, so you should never try to imitate me. What you have contributed to the project is already sufficient!"
"Really?"
"Really." He smiled and kissed her on the lips. "I love you, Gloriana. Designing this mech with you is one of the most important reasons I can persist in my work!"
She looked adoringly into his eyes. "Oh Ves..."
Small moments like these invigorated Ves whenever he began to approach a mental limit. Sharing his passion with someone he loved was one of the greatest pleasures of his life. It was such a far cry from his days where he designed all alone!
Even the design teams that assisted their work from the side played considerable roles in making his marathon sessions more tolerable. He could offload all of the tedious and time-consuming tasks to his assistants. As long as the assignments didn't require too much knowledge or skill, Ves could pass them off to others without any further worries!
This was a very considerable luxury that Ves had neglected for too long. He even felt that he needed to expand his design teams in order to ease his burdens even more!
All of these factors played a role in sustaining his drive to design the Larkinson mech. No matter what kind of hindrances he encountered, he always managed to overcome them in some way!
As the first iteration of the design neared completion, Ves began to feel as if he had made a great accomplishment. He felt very good about his work so far. As long as the first prototype performed within expectations, then all of his efforts weren't in vain!
"I poured my very heart and soul in this design!" Ves clenched his fist and thumped it against his heart. "This mech design must succeed! My passion and my vision are on the line!"
The Larkinson mech design was a high-stakes bet in his eyes. He incorporated many major and minor innovations that he hadn't adequately tested before.
Though Gloriana questioned his weird design choices many times, in the end she had chosen to believe in his vision.
Ves appreciated her support. He could have never designed the Larkinson mech up to this point without her indispensable help!
Though it was a pity that her reluctance dampened some of her passion in the project, Ves hoped that his overpowering drive more than compensated for the shortfall!
"It's finished!"
After another day of refinement, both Ves and Gloriana agreed to set the current state of the design as the first iteration of their mech!
The Tovars, the Ylvainans and the other assistant mech designers practically collapsed in their chairs. With Ves setting such a frantic example, his design teams sought to keep up as much as possible!
Even Gloriana looked tired beyond belief as she had to cope with the rapid pace of design work. Ves was like a monster in the last month! He almost never tired and constantly progressed the mech design whenever she wasn't paying attention!
Reaching this important checkpoint was a massive relief to her. Now that the design had reached this stage, the upcoming design work would continue to focus on optimization as opposed to innovation.
Her ordeal was over!
Chapter 1870 Acquired Loyalty
Though it sounded paradoxical, Ves believed the best course of action after completing the first iteration was to take a break.
Ves had always been aware that he had become consumed in his work. The Larkinson mech was so important to his future and the future of the Larkinson Clan that he never allowed himself a break during the core phases of the project!
Yet now that project moved on to testing the earliest incarnation of the modular mech platform, Ves and Gloriana deliberately withdrew from the stage.
Instead, they tasked the two design teams to fabricate and test the prototype in all four configurations in the next week.
"That's not enough time!" Miles Tovar protested. "We won't be able to test every significant aspect of the prototype in a couple of days. Don't forget that we have to test the prototype three more times in order to measure the performance of the other three configurations."
"Then fabricate four prototypes, then." Gloriana suggested. "We have the production capacity and we should have enough test pilots to put the four prototypes through their paces at the same time. The only question is whether our material stockpile is adequate enough to fabricate so many expensive mechs."
Ves grinned. "I already prepared the materials in advance. I've already imported a considerable amount of auxiliary materials and lesser exotics. It's a bit more difficult to secure a lot of Breyer alloy at once, but my Battle Criers have continued to procure enough of this vital material to fabricate enough mechs. Be sure to recycle the materials once we are done with the prototype!"
Several months had gone by since he started this design project. This was enough time for the production loop aboard the Scarlet Rose to yield a huge pile of Breyer alloy!
In fact, the only outside factor he cared about when he was in his most driven mood was the supply of Breyer alloy. His Larkinson mech practically hinged the availability of this strong and valuable material. Whether he wanted to make use of its default formula or the one geared towards shock absorption, it was incredibly difficult to fabricate his mech without the essential contribution from 'Cassandra Breyer'!
Ves felt very thankful that his captive spiritual sorceress continued to supply him with 'free' materials. Though the witch had harassed him from time to time, Ves figured that as long as he kept burning her body and escape pod at a rapid pace, she wouldn't have that much energy left to haunt him at inconvenient times.
"So far, she hasn't been bothering me. Am I supposed to feel relieved or apprehensive?"
Her lack of intervention might be a signal that she expended her available reserve of energy. On the other hand, it might also be a sign that she was saving up her spiritual energy for a big move!
Whatever the case, Ves couldn't do anything about it. Cassandra Breyer's mummified body was encased in a runic shell of spiritual energy that seemed impervious to all of his investigations.
Without deepening his understanding of spiritual engineering, Ves had no hope of cracking her existence anytime soon!
"Well, it's not as if I'm curious in the first place." He shrugged. "I'm better off staying as far away from her origin as possible!"
So far, the Battle Criers hadn't reported anything unusual taking place in Compartment G-13, so Ves did not worry about Cassandra any further.
Right now, Ves should take full advantage of his temporary break. As his subordinate mech designers proceeded to band together with a number of mech technicians in order to form four separate fabrication teams, he left the design labs in order to catch up with what he missed.
So far, nothing important enough to disturb him from his work had taken place. Neither Gavin nor Raymond informed him of any major developments.
While the LMC and the other organizations experienced many changes lately, none of it was too far outside their expectations. Most importantly, his fleets continued to grow in size as more and more Ylvainan light carriers continued to be delivered to their doorsteps.
Of course, more ships meant more crew. Practically all of them consisted of Ylvainans, which continued to weigh heavily on Ves. Right now, he had significantly more Ylvainans than Brighters in his employ!
Such a vast shift resulted in shifts in how his enterprise was being run. Aside from the Larkinson Clan which had nothing to do with the Ylvainans, his other organizations were starting to take on a different character!
"The change in culture and mood is a lot more noticeable at the bottom than at the top." Gavin reported. "The top positions still haven't changed, but a lot of Ylvainans have been added to the middle and lower layers of our hierarchy."
"Do the Ylvainans expect representation at the top?" Ves frowned.
"No. Not yet at least. I'm never really sure what the Ylvainans want. They're.. they're so fanatical about working for you that it sometimes sounds as if they're willing to become your slaves!"
Ves scoffed. "That's religion for you. The more people believe in something, the more they lose their common sense! Fanatics are some of the worst people in the galaxy?"
"Well, compared to other Ylvainans, the ones we recruit turn out to be a lot more pious than the average in the Protectorate. They're all well-meaning, though. Most of them are nice and they have received strict orders not to push their beliefs in our faces. It's just..."
"It's difficult to avoid their influence when they're so ubiquitous. I'm aware of the consequences, Benny, but we don't have a choice. Our ships won't run well without competent crews. It would be a severe dereliction of duty if I throw them into battle while they're being run by amateurs!"
The original Larkinson Family had never been geared towards independence. The old family mainly concerned itself with training mech pilots.
All of their other needs were met, so the Larkinsons only concerned themselves with sustaining and adding to the glorious heritage of their predecessors. Hardly any Larkinson pursued a career in ship command!
This shortcoming hit Ves and the Larkinson Clan like a shuttle now that they attempted to become an independent existence. Trying to become their own state meant they had to address all of the areas that they previously neglected or took for granted!
Considering the importance of ships to his future plans, it hurt Ves a lot that he didn't have any good options at his disposal.
The Bright Republic would never be as generous as the Protectorate. As the suspected target of the sandmen's final attack, there was no way the Brighters would allocate their precious shipyard capacity to Ves! As for recruiting valuable spacers, forget about it! Not a single Brighter spacer had signed up his fleets in the last couple of months!
In contrast, the Ylvainans were very eager. Too eager perhaps. Ves just felt very sour that all of the applicants consisted of the devoted believers of the Ylvainan Faith. They all seemed to convince themselves that the Great Prophet had passed a holy mission onto them to assist the Bright Martyr in any capacity possible!
This was a very precarious reason to work for him! Ves was deeply aware that such a one-dimensional reason could easily backfire on him if the Ylvainan Faith turned against him! As long as he was stripped of his status as the Bright Martyr, why would any Ylvainan in his employ continue to remain loyal?
"They aren't loyal to me." Ves made an important realization. "They're loyal to the idea of the Bright Martyr. They believe that I'm blessed or anointed by the Great Prophet!"
There was a difference between imparted and acquired loyalty. Ves believed he developed the former with his core followers, the Avatars and the Larkinson Clan. This was a kind of loyalty that was difficult to shake once formed. Because Ves painstakingly built it up through his own efforts, he was confident he could keep hold of it in the worst of times!
It was a bit different with acquired loyalty. Ves gained the loyalty of so many Ylvainans by depending on his prior accomplishments. He hadn't done anything in specific to secure the loyalty of these workers.
"Easy come, easy go. It's never difficult to lose what I've gained without expending any effort!"
Right now, Ves could only bank on his strong connection to 'Prophet Ylvaine' to keep these fanatics in line.
He was quite aware that this was not a long-term solution. Ylvaine's spiritual fragment was an ally and a partner to him. Allies and partners weren't permanent. His previous relations with Master Olson, Marcella Bollinger and the Bright Republic were prime examples of cases where his relationships changed!
While Ves believed that he would always be able to remain on the good side of Ylvaine's spiritual fragment, he couldn't afford to bet his entire future on this sole assumption.
"I have to prepare some contingency plans if the worst comes true." He decided. "In the meantime, I should also find some ways to convert their acquired loyalty into imparted loyalty!"
He wanted to turn every employee into his man or woman! Regardless of their origins and backgrounds, he wanted to turn his future grand expedition into an existence that transcended the local cultures and beliefs!
"I can do so by forming my own culture!"
This was a very huge endeavor and couldn't be done in a single day. He had already taken the first steps with the establishment of the Larkinson Clan and the empowerment of the Larkinson Mandate.
With the Golden Cat as the spiritual heart, Ves hoped that the norms and values of the Larkinson Clan would slowly propagate to the LMC and his other organizations.
Ves was not deluded to think he could supplant the Ylvainan Faith in its entirety within his enterprise. He just wanted to decrease its prominence until it became a background entity.
As Ves shared some of his ideas with Gavin and Raymond, the two mostly agreed with his sentiment.
"The Ylvainans aren't problems per se, but they will definitely take over your organizations if we don't restrict their behavior." Raymond said. "Most of our clansmen don't really know what to make of the Ylvainans. They're so obviously superstitious, but they're also some of the friendliest foreigners we have met. It's very difficult to hate your fans."
"I think we need to adopt more drastic measures to integrate them into our way of life, boss. We should make it clear that the Ylvainans are supposed to adapt to us instead of the opposite."
"How do you suggest we do that, Benny?"
"You already told us how. The Larkinson Clan should become the model that everyone aspires to become. Don't you have a retainer structure in place? And didn't your clan open up a road for adoption for retainers?"
Ves and Raymond both looked at Gavin in shock!
"You're suggesting that we give the Ylvainans a chance to become like us!" Raymond exploded. "Do you know how controversial that sounds? Their foreign beliefs will weaken our clan and dilute our core values. What do you think, Ves?"
Once he got over his shock, Ves seriously considered the possibility.
"I'm not sure it will work out the way you think, Benny." He eventually spoke. "I'm leaning towards Raymond's opinion. I don't think the Ylvainans want to turn into Larkinsons. They're still committed to their own identities. There is nothing we can offer to them that can lure them away from their faith. In my opinion, it's pointless to try. That's why I emphasize the need to integrate them while respecting their beliefs."
In other words, Ves was stuck with the Ylvainan Faith as long as he continued to employ its believers. As long as they had no reason to abandon him, they would probably be a part of his enterprise for generations to come!
Chapter 1871 The Sane Wodin
Dr. Ranya Wodin was a conflicted woman.
She spent months preparing for an implantation surgery. This was not necessarily unusual in her profession, but she was doing all of this work for a boy!
A boy!
How could she ever imagine that she would labor so much in order to please a boy, and a foreigner at that? Her entire being recoiled at the thought of serving a boy!
Her Hexer friends and colleagues back in the Hegemony would definitely laugh at her if they could see her now!
"Damn you, Gloriana!" She angrily hissed. "Damn you and your stupid boyfriend!"
She had nothing against Ves Larkinson. He was just a foreign boy who tried to make the most out of his relationship with Gloriana. Though the gulf between their respective stations was as vast as the gap between the Milky Way and Andromeda, Gloriana paid no mind to it at all! She would willingly marry a pig if the beast was capable of boosting her design philosophy!
As resentful as she was with Gloriana, a part of Ranya also felt a little jealous.
Despite the mismatch, Gloriana genuinely got along with Ves. Not only that, but their work-related specialties also seemed to fit like a puzzle!
It was difficult to find such a great professional match. It was even more difficult for Hexers as females like her usually developed an uneven relationship with boys.
Their male counterparts were hardly able to contribute to any collaborative projects with women! The latter always took over all of the reins!
This was why collaborations in the Hexadric Hegemony mostly centered around women. Many female professionals even sought to marry other female professionals in order to gain an edge in their careers.
"I should find a woman myself." She idly murmured. "I'm getting sick of feeling jealous at Gloriana."
Unfortunately, she wouldn't be returning to the Ylvaine Protectorate anytime soon. Not only would she lose most of her income, she also wouldn't be able to pursue any of her research interests!
For better or worse, Gloriana was the best employer that she could get at this stage. Ranya already tried to find better employment opportunities in the Hegemony, but pretty no one offered her as much remuneration or autonomy as her own cousin!
Since her early accomplishments defined the rest of her career, it was vital for Ranya to make the most out of her early years as an exobiologist!
Though Ranya devoted far more than she wished on the Archimedes Rubal, she still found some opportunities to hand over some of her responsibilities to Dr. Lupo Guernica.
It was too easy for Ranya to direct a boy like Lupo. Prominent female Hexers like her took master classes in manipulating boys. Gloriana used what she learned to good effect on Ves! Ranya could hardly afford to fail in her manipulation!
Sadly, it hardly mattered whether she managed to gain control over Lupo. Her fellow exobiologist possessed a much worse foundation due to his inferior background.
Perhaps his only redeeming quality was that he was fairly bright. Ranya found to her astonishment that the speed in which he absorbed knowledge was not much worse than her own!
How could he be so smart?! She surreptitiously analyzed his genes and his implants and nothing indicated that he should be so quick learning new knowledge!
Regardless of this mystery, Ranya still looked down on the boy. At most, she was willing to admit that he was qualified to be her assistant.
In the moments she freed up time for herself, she spent most of her time checking up on her long-running experiments aboard the Frozen Leaf.
"Grow well, my plants." She smiled as she leaned over and tapped the transparent surface of her cultivation chambers.
Aside from spending time on her studies and keeping track of her experiments, she didn't have a lot to do. Kesseling VIII utterly bored her. While the planet offered more activities than Cloudy Curtain, that didn't mean she liked any of them. The Ylvainans were utterly heretical in their beliefs!
"Disgusting alien sympathisers." She scowled.
The lesser states were lesser for a reason. Their prosperity and cultural development was equivalent to a backwoods village in the standards of the Hegemony! The splendor she enjoyed back home was completely absent in this podunk little state!
The only ones who could lift her boredom were Gloriana and Brutus.
Of the two, Ranya felt more and more ambivalent about Gloriana. Her cousin had always been.. intense in her youth.
Ranya thought that Gloriana would have matured over time and grow into her responsibilities.
Instead, she deviated from everyone's expectations by spending lots of time outside the Hegemony. Her relationship with Ves practically made everything worse as Gloriana continued to adjust her demeanor to please her boy!
"Urgh. What is it about Ves that warrants so much care from us? Is he really as impressive as Gloriana claims all the time?"
There were plenty of anomalous surrounding Ves. His rapid and unusual ascension as well as his colorful track record were the subject of much study from Ranya and the Glory Battalion.
They found many points of suspicion. Though there were a lot of holes in the information they found, it was enough to hint at some great and unspeakable secret behind his success!
Gloriana's outlandish claims didn't sound as ridiculous in this light.
As Ranya finished her inspection, she sat down behind her desk and prepared to jot down some notes.
Before she could do so, she paused.
She suddenly noticed that someone was sitting on the opposite side of the desk!
"You! Who are you! How did you get here! Guards, Guards!"
She pressed the panic buttons built into the underside of her desktop as well as to the foot of her chair!
Nothing happened!
"Don't bother, Dr. Ranya." A smooth female voice uttered. "This compartment is completely isolated from the rest of your ship. Every security system in this lab is under my control."
"Your accent.. You're the former Vraken that has partnered with Ves!"
The intruder dressed in an infiltrator suit grinned and crossed her legs. "Correct. You can call me Calabast. In formal terms, I'm Ves Larkinson's strategic partner. In practice, I act as his babysitter. He's an amazing mech designer, but he's such a boy sometimes. He completely neglected the possibility that his lovely girlfriend of his would spill his secrets to her relatives. Well, I've come to clean up his mess as always."
The woman sitting in front of Ranya immediately intimidated her. The Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty was one of the most powerful influences in the Hegemony. Aside from that, there were a lot of rumors and mystery surrounding DIVA. For a Hexer to leave both of these organizations in order to bet all of her chips on Ves was a testament to her decisiveness!
"Calabast." Ranya uttered the name with a hint of apprehension. She tried her best to maintain her composure! "If you want to talk about Ves, then you've approached the wrong woman. Gloriana isn't on my ship."
"I'm not looking for Gloriana." Calabast grimaced. "Your cousin is so obsessed with Ves that it's impossible to talk normally with her. If anything related to her boy comes up in a conversation, well... I'm sure you've witnessed her changes plenty of times."
"You could have approached her brother instead. Brutus can't speak for Gloriana or our dynasty, but he is still an expert pilot worthy of respect."
The former spy sneered. "Expert pilots. I hate them. They are so resolute and principled that it's impossible to persuade them to go against their nature. While that makes them easy to exploit, it's a mistake to underestimate them. I would much prefer to talk to someone sane. Out of the three of you Wodins, only you fit the bill!"
"Am I supposed to feel flattered by this compliment?"
"Nah." Calabast shook her head. "Just think of it as desperation on my end."
"Well, you wanted to talk to me. Here I am. What did you want to talk about?"
Calabast leaned close. "I already mentioned my problem. Gloriana, in her desperation to stay with Ves, resorted to sharing some of his secrets with you and Brutus. This is dangerous. Very dangerous. The secrets you are bandying about is enough to throw our entire star sector in disarray if the public believes they are credible."
"They're.. They're all true?"
So far, Ranya tried her best to withhold her judgement. Whether Ves was able to create gods or whether he came up with a method to turn mech pilots into expert candidates, Ranya wasn't sure whether Gloriana was lying!
Ranya half-expected the claims to be groundless, yet that was before Silent William departed from Ves! Outside most people's expectation, this strange and foreign mech pilot had advanced to expert candidate!
If Gloriana didn't tell her what Ves was capable of, Ranya would have dismissed this development as a coincidence.
Yet because of that conversation, Ranya couldn't help but ascribe Silent William's promotion to Ves!
This wasn't the first time that a mech pilot around him advanced to expert candidate. Jannzi Larkinson managed to promote as well after participating in a high-profile reveal event where she piloted one of his own mechs!
All of these observations were starting to win Ranya over to Gloriana's claims. The unexpected visit of Calabast practically pushed her over into her cousin's camp!
Ves was definitely special if he merited so much attention from the likes of Gloriana and Calabast!
Though Calabast hadn't answered Ranya's question, the silence and the uncomfortable eye contact were more than enough to form an answer.
Ranya released a weary sigh. "I get it. Ves is not just a simple mech designer. What do you want me to do? What do you want us to do?"
"My demands aren?t much." The spy said mildly. "I simply want you Wodins to keep what you've learned under wraps. Don't share Ves' secrets to the Glory Battalion and don't pass them to Constance Wodin."
Ranya crossed her arms. "Why should I listen to you? From what Gloriana told me, you're no longer a Vraken and no longer a DIVA agent."
"Just because I set out on my own doesn't mean I'm powerless. I still have connections, and I'm more than capable enough to infiltrate your ship. Do you believe I'm incapable of repeating this feat? I might not come for a friendly visit next time."
The edge in the voice was absent, but Ranya nonetheless began to sweat. Calabast's threat was very blatant in her ears!
"I'm not looking for trouble." Ranya hastily replied. "Regardless of what Ves is capable of, I'm just a exobiologist. My main research interests are plants."
She brushed her fingers across her leafy green hair to emphasize her point.
"I know. You aren't invested in Ves. This is both good and bad. I prefer it if you focus on the benefits that you can gain. Ves is already a very successful mech designer. He is continuing to improve as we speak. Even if he isn't chasing after profits, he is still a great earner! So far, Gloriana has subsidized your research, correct? Do you realize that she is actually in debt? All of the money you've received has actually come from the boy!"
"What?!"
"And this is just the start." Calabast grinned. "Ves will continue to reach greater heights. I'm sure of it. In a couple of decades, he will probably reach a height that you can never imagine! While the future is never set in stone, it's very worthwhile to continue to work with him. Do you think you can gain any better opportunities in the Hegemony?"
"No..."
The Komodo War truly came at a bad time for someone in her profession. Most funding was diverted to war-related expenses.
Even if the war came to an end, the money wouldn't be coming back. Instead, Ranya could already tell that the Hegemony would definitely pour most of its resources into reconstruction!
With that in mind, maybe seeking to work with Ves on a more permanent basis didn't sound like a bad idea...
Chapter 1872 The Clever Dynasty
The fabrication of the prototypes proceeded less than smooth. The design was one of the most complex one that Ves had designed yet. Not only did it contain countless nuances, it also incorporated a lot of Breyer alloy and its derivative materials.
Trying to rework it into armor plating, structural supports and other shapes took a lot of effort. The materials weren't easy to work with and neither the mech designers nor mech technicians ever worked with such high-end materials before!
Suffice to say, a lot of fumbling and spillage occurred before the fabrication teams managed to complete the prototypes.
Ves and Gloriana deliberately kept their distance from them until they were finished. They wanted to save their 'first time' when they finally completed the final iteration of the Larkinson mech. Fabricating it early would diminish this magical moment.
Letting their subordinates take the lead in the next phases was beneficial for other reasons as well. Vess received detailed reports that outlined all of the problems encountered during the fabrication stage. Learning about all of the pitfalls of this stage ahead of time would definitely help prepare for his own attempt at the end of the project.
As for the design teams themselves, they received some much-needed practice in the more hands-on side of mech design. The Larkinson mech definitely pushed each of them to their limits and beyond. The more inexperienced mech designers such as Mayer Torto soaked up lessons like a sponge!
Even if the younger members of his design teams failed to contribute, just witnessing how a mech was being put together would definitely enrich their future design activities!
All in all, Ves expected more from his design teams next time. The Tovar Design Team was in a pretty good spot as far as teamwork was concerned, but the high uniformity and lack of diversity came at the cost of ingenuity and differences of opinion. Every Tovar mech designer pretty much possessed the same starting point.
This was different for the Ylvaine Design Team. With Merrill O'Brian and Mayer Torto breaking up the Ylvainan uniformity, the mech designers argued a lot more with each other than usual. Merrill definitely had a lot of strong words to say on how to deal with many issues.
The situation was exacerbated when the teams had to split up in order to fabricate four prototypes at the same time. With a smaller amount of mech designer in each fabrication team, the weaknesses of any single individual became very evident.
Some of the mech designers definitely needed remedial lessons as far as Ves was concerned!
However, that was for later. Ves only had eyes for the Larkinson mech project at the moment.
When he finally received a message that all four prototypes were complete, Ves instantly headed to the enclosed warehouse where the mechs awaited transportation to orbit.
"Do the mechs match your expectations?" Gloriana asked when she arrived.
Ves silently gazed up at the four similar but different-looking mechs. The tall machines each exuded a slightly different impression of power and might.
Just as with the minor revision of the Shield of Samar, Ves applied a standard visual scheme to the exterior of his design.
Though the fabrication teams left much of the prototypes bare, the appearance of all-encompassing high-quality Breyer alloy already made it clear that these weren't average mechs!
The only significant markings on the mechs consisted of the Larkinson Clan Emblem on the upper right of the chest portions and the third eye affixed to the foreheads of the mechs.
The latter would mostly remain dormant while the design remained unfinished. Without the Golden Cat assuming her function as the Larkinson mech's design spirit, the luminosity of the crystal embedded in the forehead wouldn't be able to rise.
Even without instilling a design spirit, Ves could already sense the X-Factor of the mech. Even though his eclectic group of subordinates messed it up, the spiritual foundation of the prototypes still hinted that there was a little life hiding inside their frames.
Overall, Ves was fairly satisfied with how the prototypes turned out. Each of them had already been outfitted in four different configurations.
The slimmer rifleman mech, the beefy space knight, the momentous lancer mech and the balanced swordsman mech each accentuated the common base platform in significantly different directions!
"It's kind of strange." He muttered as he continued to experience the mechs with his senses. "The four mechs both fulfill radically different roles, but it's obvious that all of them share the same DNA. I've never designed a mech like this before. It's certainly a novel experience."
"Novel is a good way to describe our work." Gloriana remarked. "Whether the revolutionary additions you've integrated into our design will actually work is still in question."
"They will work." Ves spoke with conviction. "Though we're not able to test its special features during the upcoming tests, I'm sure the mech will work fine."
Ves hesitated whether he should instill the Golden Cat as the Larkinson mech's design spirit at this point. The problem was that Qilanxo was still monopolizing much of the Golden Cat's time.
From his previous experiences, instilling the design spirit at the end of the design process was for the best. Something fascinating always occurred during this time. If Ves rode the waves of this spiritually-impactful moment, then he would definitely gain a boost when he fabricated the first production model immediately afterwards!
Besides, of the two spiritual abilities imparted to the design, Ancestral Possession was a very burdensome ability. Not only did it take a lot out of the Golden Cat, but it also diminished the spiritual energy of every Larkinson connected to the spiritual network!
Performing Ancestral Possession too often would weaken the Larkinson Clan as a whole. Not only would the Larkinson mech pilots lose some of their battle vigor, their potential advancement to the next rank might also be delayed!
As for Ancestral Assistance, this was something that Ves already implemented in the Devil Tiger in a lesser form. He already knew it worked, though not at this scale. Testing this ability would definitely be useful, but it wasn't a necessity.
Instead, Ves was much more interested in the general performance of the mechs.
The main function of the Larkinson mech was to be a competitive or even superior mech on the battlefield.
It had to be able to fight!
Therefore, gathering data on the performance of the configurations in general usage was essential! Every gimmick was meaningless if the basic foundation of the Larkinson mech was terrible!
Though Ves and Gloriana both expected their mech to do fairly well in the upcoming tests, it was best to be sure.
As Ves finally signalled for the impressive prototypes to be sent to space in order to put them through their paces, he left the site together with Gloriana.
His girlfriend smiled with contentment as she walked alongside him. Their two cats trailed after them like dutiful attendants.
"Now that you've seen your mech in the flesh, have you thought about a proper name for current design?" She asked and bumped his side with her elbow. "Calling it the Larkinson mech might be accurate, but it will lead to a lot of confusion on the battlefield. Using the same name for both the mech and the mech pilot will definitely lead to misunderstandings in the heat of the moment. This can be fatal!"
"You're right. Calling it the Larkinson mech is just a placeholder for a proper name. I just needed some time to form my thoughts on this matter. I wanted to progress the design project further in order to gain more inspiration."
"Well, have you made up your mind yet, or do you need to wait until you finalize the design."
Ves smirked. "I have some ideas in mind, but I'll leave this decision for later. I think that naming our designs upon the moment of completion will maximize the significance of that moment."
"Okay." Gloriana blinked. "Now that we have passed the harder phases of our design project, shouldn't we begin to talk about our next project? The commission from the Penitent Sisters is still open. There's a mech waiting to be designed!"
He snorted. "No one else picked up this commission while we were working on the Larkinson mech?"
"It's a bit.. difficult to find a boy who is willing to design this mech." Gloriana sheepishly replied. "We can't get one of our own male mech designers to lead the design project. They're conditioned to let women take the lead."
"Hahahaha!"
His amusement didn't sit well with Gloriana. She scowled and pinched his arm. "This isn't funny, Ves! The Temple of Hexism hasn't managed to find a good solution at this time. While we've managed to find some male foreigners who are willing to accept this commission, there are many rules that make it difficult for them to be assigned to the project."
"None of them were willing to undergo a gender change operation?"
"That's not the only option available, you know."
"Every other option sounds equally as bad to me. Well, I still find it hard to believe that none of those other men accepted the temple's stringent conditions. Haven't you Hexers found at least one chump who is willing to bark on command?"
"It's.. complicated."
Gloriana didn't actually know much more than that. Ves would have to get in touch with Calabast in order to hear more details.
The spy remained as elusive as ever. Ves knew that she was near, but his recent preoccupation with his design caused him to lose track of what his strategic partner was up to these days.
"Are you getting along with Calabast?" Ves curiously asked.
This time, it was Gloriana's turn to grimace!
"We have an understanding. That's all I want to say. We aren't friends, so don't entertain any unrealistic fantasies. Just because we're both women who come from the same state doesn't mean we're automatically comrades. It's not as if you instantly become friendly with a random Brighter."
"She comes from a different faction from the Hegemony, right?"
"Yup. The six matriarchal dynasties are jointly in charge of the Hegemony. None of them have primacy over the other. A balance exists where each matriarchal dynasty keeps the other in check. At least, that is what is supposed to happen in theory."
"Oh? Are some of them weaker than they ought to? How are the Vrakens and the Everns faring these days?"
"They're both fairly strong. They represent the polar opposites of Hexer society. Vrakens like Calabast think they're better than everyone else because they like to think a lot."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"No." She shook her head. "They plot and scheme a lot. They like to meddle with the other dynasties as well as other states. They're heavily represented in the Hegemony's intelligence agencies. They're also present in many major institutions."
"Do they have a weakness?"
"The Vrakens are not as enthusiastic in other areas. They're indecisive in battle and they don't do well in creative pursuits. Not every Vraken is like this, but their standardized upbringing makes them much more inclined to become spies than warriors.."
"I see. There should be Vrakens that break the mold, right?"
"Of course. There are so many of them that there ought to be at least some who become excellent mech pilots. The vassal dynasties that serve under them also provide a lot of assistance in this regard. Overall, the Vrakens have always been leading the Hegemony a little more than the other matriarchal dynasties. It's in their nature to be smug."
"That sounds just like Calabast."
"Now you know why I don't like her. Whenever I met with her, I always felt she withheld too much information from me. She never shows her true self to anyone. I can't trust a Hexer who tries to treat me like a fool. I'm a mech designer! I can be smart as well!"
Ves wasn't too sure about that. He encountered plenty of mech designers who turned out to be absolute morons in person.
Chapter 1873 Presumptuous Gloriana
While Ves did not observe the prototype testing in person, he kept tabs of the entire process.
Each test pilot reported several unusual sensations when they piloted one of the four prototypes. Regardless if they piloted the rifleman mech configuration, the space knight configuration or the other two configurations, they all experienced a vague feeling that reminded them a lot of a glow!
He smiled at this response. His mech pilots were already becoming more sensitive to the X-Factor. After piloting his LMC mechs for such a long time, his men became more attuned to the intangible properties of his products.
This was an evolution that was long in coming. Even if his mech pilots didn't believe that his mechs were alive, unconsciously they were moving in this direction.
One day, more mech pilots like Joshua King would show up! Once his Avatars truly embodied this truth, their strength would likely reach a greater height!
Of course, it would probably take years for Ves to see a qualitative difference. Right now, the Avatars still awaited their promised mech.
As the prototypes started to deploy in space for the first time, Ves keenly paid attention to the responses of the test pilots.
Due to various reasons, none of them were familiar with the properties of the first iteration of the Larkinson mech. They hadn't even practiced with a virtual version of the mech!
As expected, the pilots all experienced difficulties in trying to control their respective prototypes.
The test pilot assigned to the space knight configuration had it easiest. Its relative simplicity combined with its plodding mobility meant that there wasn't much for its pilot to screw up. In fact, piloting a second-class space knight was not that much different from piloting a third-class version of the same mech type!
Of course, second-class often incorporated secondary armaments or auxiliary modules that increased their complexity.
To the Larkinson mech, that happened to come in the form of the low-profile shoulder-mounted missile launchers.
Their addition to the mech did not increase the complexity of the Larkinson mech all that much. Much of their workings were automated, so the mech pilot only had to designate a target and pull the trigger before turning his attention back to the primary capabilities of his mech!
Therefore, the main burden in piloting his Larkinson mech came in the form of trying to control its basic properties.
Many of the components such as the power reactor and the flight system were far more powerful than the mech pilots were used to. They incorporated many more options with the assumption that the mech pilots were able to cope with the added complexity.
Cheap components were often paired with weaker mech pilots!
Stronger mech pilots always demanded more out of their mechs!
Component developers therefore segregated the market in terms of budget and skill level. The two almost always went hand in hand because expensive mechs would just be a waste in the hands of awful mech pilots!
This made the piloting experience rather difficult for the test pilots. Aside from the space knight, all of the other mechs showed obvious signs of lack of control. From overcompensating the thrust of their flight systems, to an inability to coordinate their limbs when performing standard maneuvers, there was much to complain about!
It took time for the test pilots to get accustomed to the expanded power and functionality of the prototypes.
Fortunately, each of them already possessed prior experience in piloting the four second-class practice mechs. Lady Curver's mechs were far more powerful. The mech pilots could forget about controlling those mechs without a firm foundation in high-performance mechs!
Though no one, not even Joshua, managed to exert sufficient control over the practice mechs, the practice runs had already prepared the test pilots for what they had to deal with. This practice showed as the test pilots soon began to correct their mistakes.
It took a couple of days for their familiarity with the prototypes to reach a level that was good enough to put them through the actual tests!
Suffice to say, all four prototypes showed mismatches between their theoretical performance and their actual performance.
As Ves continued to observe the tests in the comfort of his design lab, he began to frown.
"The prototype testing isn't going well." Gloriana flatly noted. "Your mech pilots require far more time to draw out the potential of their mechs."
"This is actually by design." Ves calmly replied. "We designed the Larkinson mech to be more difficult to pilot than regular third-class mechs. The fact that our test pilots have failed to master their mechs in such a short time is proof that we succeeded in creating a bridge between third-class mechs and their second-class counterparts."
"You're right, but that only satisfies one of our goals. We still need to gather lots of data on how the configurations perform at their limits. Your mech pilots are simply too awful."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Replace your mech pilots with my mech pilots. I've already asked the Glory Battalion to dispatch some pilots to the testing ground in order to take over from your inadequate test pilots."
"What?!"
"Don't give me that look, Ves. This is the best course of action and you know it. If you continue to stick to your own mech pilots, then we'll definitely miss our deadline!"
She was right. Though Ves felt a bit annoyed that she took action before she explained herself to him, he agreed with her choice.
"Don't do that."
"Do what, Ves?"
"Making a move before discussing your choice with me! This is my project as well as yours! We agreed that you should follow my lead with regards to our current project. At the very least, we should make a joint decision before we move any further!"
"You would have agreed anyway." Gloriana huffed and petted Clixie's fur. "Rather than waste time to get your agreement, I decided to skip this needless step. Don't you think that's more efficient?"
Her cat luxuriated in the attention. She directed a smug glance at Lucky, whose back was being utterly ignored by his owner!
"Miaow."
"Meow."
"Miaow miaow."
"Meow!"
Lucky began to bat his paws at Ves until he finally got his head scratches!
"Meow~"
While their cats were up to their usual antics, Ves grumbled underneath his breath. This was not the first time Gloriana acted presumptuously on his behalf.
Though he didn't actually mind her decisions most of the time, it was her attitude that annoyed him. She was treating him in the same way a Hexer treated a boy.
Of course, he didn't blame her too much for her behavior. She grew up in an environment where women always took charge. It was hard for her to shake this ingrained habit!
That didn't mean that Ves was pleased with her though. If this pattern of behavior continued, who knew how far she would go next time!
He raised his hand and bonked her on the head with his fist.
"Ouch!" Gloriana dramatically held the top of her head in pain. "What was that for, Ves?!"
"New rule, Gloriana. I'll tap you again whenever you do something that concerns us both without my say. Each time you transgress, I'll punish you again!"
To be honest, Ves wanted to do something worse, but her guards would definitely intervene! Tapping her on the head like she was a naughty kid was the most he could get away with! Any further and he would probably get dogpiled by Melody and some very angry Hexer guards!
Fortunately, Gloriana really didn't like to be rebuked. The humiliation of getting punished was a bigger blow to her than the sting of his tap!
"I'll keep your wishes in mind, I promise!"
"Good. Don't pull off this kind of stunt again, or else!"
As Ves turned away to analyse the data gathered so far, Gloriana raised her fist to her mouth and tried her best to stifle her giggle.
Ves was too cute!
Once the mech pilots from the Glory Battalion arrived at the testing ground in space, the difference immediately became clear.
The prototypes performed much smoother once they came under control of genuine second-class mech pilots!
To the Glory Battalion, the Larkinson mech was like a simplified second-class mechs. They were barely better than the trash that third-class mech pilots piloted on a daily basis. It was too easy for the well-trained Hexer mech pilots to become accustomed to lesser mechs!
The disparity between the different classes of mech pilots was very discouraging to both the previous test pilots and Ves. The gulf was too wide!
Perhaps the only quality the Glory Battalion lost out on was the fit between the mech and mech pilot.
Ves paid a lot of attention to the telemetry related to the mech pilot and the man-machine connection.
Though the control exerted by the Glory pilots surpassed that of their predecessors, their immersion was actually lower!
None of the arrogant mech pilots respected the Larkinson mech! They didn't consider it alive. They also had no direct relation to Ves or the Larkinson Clan, so the mech didn't resonate with their hearts.
Ves already expected this response. It was similar to the rejection his Deliverer model exhibited against any mech pilot who didn't believe in the Ylvainan Faith!
Naturally, this feeling of rejection was very weak as it was only based on the spiritual foundation inherent in the unfinished design. Once Ves invested the Golden Cat as the Larkinson mech's design spirit, the feeling of rejection would probably become an actual hindrance to outsiders!
"Hehehe. This will become my very own brand of security restriction! Hardly any mech pilot can circumvent this feeling of rejection!"
Only expert pilots and strong-willed mech pilots could overcome the pervasive sensation of rejection from their own mechs!
There wasn't anything Ves could do about them except to lean even harder on the Golden Cat.
"Well, it's not like an expert pilot is bored enough to pilot a standard mech." He muttered before he dismissed this concern.
If an expert pilot designed to pilot the Larkinson mech, then Ves should feel flattered! It was an honor for any mech designer to receive the endorsement of a role model in the piloting community!
When the actual tests started to record some useful data, every mech designer soon started their analyses.
After a few days of observation and analyses, some results soon became evident.
On the whole, all four configurations were sound in design. Their actual performance largely matched their theoretical performance. There weren't many deviances, and most of them resulted from flaws that emerged during the fabrication of the prototypes.
Of all of the configurations, the space knight and the lancer mech stood out as the overall best performers.
Ves already expected the space knight configuration to do well. It was by far the simplest configuration, and it was also the most robust one as well due to all of the armor and structural reinforcements incorporated in this version of the Larkinson mech!
As for the lancer mech, even the Glory pilot became impressed by its surprisingly powerful charge!
In truth, it wasn't difficult for third-class lancer mechs to reach the kinds of speed and momentum the lancer configuration had reached.
It was what happened afterwards that often went awry.
If the lancer mech wasn't sturdy enough, the mech would get crushed upon impact like an egg hitting a wall!
If the lancer mech was resilient enough but wasn't able to absorb the forces released by the immense collision, then the mech pilot's body would probably get squished!
These limitations restrained the power of every regular third-class lancer mech!
Now that Ves overcame these inherent problems by relying on various versions of Breyer alloy, the lancer configuration performed no worse than genuine second-class mechs in terms of punch!
This was a really impressive achievement!
"It's too bad that this lancer configuration is several times more expensive than the other configurations!" Ves lamented.
There was always a price! Even Ves couldn't bear to produce more than a handful of this configuration at this time!
Chapter 1874 Weakest Configuration
Once the first round of testing came to a close, Ves and Gloriana gathered the design teams to discuss their impressions.
"Each of you have analysed at least some aspects of the Larkinson mech and its configurations." Ves spoke when everyone gathered in a conference room at the design labs. "While I'm aware that we haven't processed all of the data, we should have learned enough to form an informed opinion about our work. Let's take turns. Miles Tovar, you are up first."
Miles looked a bit nonplussed when he was put on the spot. His training and upbringing quickly kicked into gear. He soon regained his composure and gathered his thoughts.
"As an aerial mech specialist, I have mainly focused on the flight performance of the Larkinson mech." He began. "From a mobility standpoint, the four configurations are all average in terms of acceleration and agility. Obviously, the space knight configuration is the slowest due to all of the armor weighing it down."
"Do you believe the mobility of the four configurations are adequate?"
Miles hesitated for a moment. "For a regular third-class mech, they're quite mobile. They can all move around in space and reach their destinations in a reasonable amount of time. It's just.."
"They're not exceptional on this front." Gloriana filled in the silence. "There is no qualitative difference between the mobility of the Larkinson mech and a premier third-class mech. It's better than average, but nothing boundary breaking."
"This is a deliberate design choice." Ves explained. "Increasing the mobility of a mech is one of the most surefire ways to increase the difficulty of piloting it. In addition, increasing the mobility of our current design any further will drastically increase the production cost of our mech. I've already incorporated plenty of expensive materials and components in the Larkinson mech design. Adding even more will strain our finances!"
Even though the LMC was making a lot of money these days, Ves was already spending those earnings on other investments.
Most notably, Ves had to pay a hefty price for every light carrier! Ever since he decided to order a considerable batch of light carriers, Ves had to spend the bulk of his savings!
He reserved his remaining money for other necessities, which included the need to produce the first batches of the finished product. Ves wanted to field at least some Larkinson mechs in the near future!
"Let's move on." He said and turned to Cherie Tovar. "You're mobility-focused as well, right?"
The female Tovar nodded. "My specialty concerns the flexibility and range of motion of mechs. Due to the way that modular mech platforms work, the Larkinson mech doesn't score well. The swordsman mech configuration will never be able to match a genuine swordsman mech in a contest of finesse."
Ves and Gloriana showed no surprise to this answer. They already made a conscious choice to sacrifice this aspect in order to boost the other attributes of the mech.
"We already know this." Ves said. "What we want to know is whether you found something new or formed a strong opinion that is worth sharing."
"Well... I don't think I have anything to add that isn't already known." Cherie replied.
"That's okay. What about you, Vela?"
"I've been diving in the performance of the rifleman mech." The ranged mech specialist replied. "I have plenty to say about its performance. Overall, it's a decent mech, though it's very unbalanced in nature. The primary role of a rifleman mech is to output damage at a distance. The Larkinson mech doesn't do a good job at that. The rifleman mech configuration is far more powerful in terms of defense than offense!"
This was upside down. While a strong defense was a boon to the survival of the mech and mech pilot, its relatively weak offense meant that it wouldn't be able to punch through second-class mech armor at all!
The only way to do so was to rely on the shoulder-mounted missile launchers, but they could only fire a couple of salvos before they ran out of reloads!
"The rifleman mech configuration doesn't pose much of a threat against second-class mechs. That is true." Ves conceded. "However, we won't be putting our hopes on this configuration to punch through the armor of second-class mechs. Pascal, what's your feedback on the lancer mechs?"
"I would much prefer to talk about the fantastic armor system." Pascal Curin from the second design team replied.
"We're all familiar with how well the Breyer alloy protects our mechs. I'd like to hear your input on whether our lancer mech configuration is capable of defeating superior mechs with comparable armor systems."
"Well.. as long as the lancer mech configuration can build up its maximum allowable charge, then it is more than possible for it to be able to punch a hole through the space knight configuration. It depends on whether the space knight has its shield. Without a shield, it's possible for the lancer mech configuration to knock out the space knight with a well-aimed charge. This requires a lot of skill as well as knowledge of the space knight's weak points."
"Understandable. How well do you score the lancer mech's lethality against second-class mechs?"
"As long as they aren't interrupted in some way? Quite good. The lancer configuration is perhaps the closest to a second-class mech than we can get. Aside from its average mobility, its offense and defense are both impressive."
That didn't mean that the lancer configuration was a genuine second-class mech. The average mobility meant that it took a lot more time for the lancer configuration to build up a lethal charge.
Other aspects also left a lot to be desired. The endurance, energy efficiency, redundancy and other criteria could not keep up with the strengths of the lancer mech configuration.
Regardless, Ves was pretty happy with what they managed to design. They couldn't have everything with all of the limitations they were working with. Getting to this point was already an accomplishment!
The feedback session continued. Every junior mech designer had their say. If they weren't willing to speak up, Ves would simply force them with a question.
He wanted to gauge everyone's opinion of the Larkinson mech. While the design teams only played an auxiliary role in the design process, their sense of belonging in the design was real.
This was good. If his subordinate mech designers took pride in the results of the projects they participated in, then they would be much more committed to the LMC!
This was particularly pertinent to the Tovar mech designers. Though they were officially a part of the Tovar Family, Ves noticed that they had become increasingly more content with their current assignments.
Ves hadn't made up his mind yet whether he wished to retain the Tovar mech designer on a long-term basis. Currently, they were all on loan, but this could change at any moment in the future.
"The swordsman mech configuration is the weakest version of the Larkinson mech." Pachtold Tovar explained. "Aside from lancer mechs, melee mechs are a lot less useful in space combat due to the distances involved. Our swordsman mech configuration may have the defensive strength of a second-class mech, but the force it can bring to bear against its opponent isn't impressive."
"The lancer mech configuration is in the same boat." Gloriana nodded in agreement. "When an opponent forces it into a dogfight, its inferior flexibility, acceleration and mechanical strength will severely hamper its close combat capabilities."
Her point was clear to Ves.
"The redeeming factor of lancer mechs is that they can amplify their mediocre offense by preparing a charge. That is not an option for swordsman mechs."
Unlike the lancer configuration, the swordsman mech configuration wasn't able to absorb the shock of a charge. Therefore, any mech pilot who tried would definitely regret it for the short moment they remained alive!
The weakness of the swordsman mech configuration weighed heavily on Ves. Every other role had a redeeming factor that proved their worth.
The rifleman mech configuration provided valuable ranged support. When massed, they posed a serious threat against superior mechs!
The lancer mech was their only answer against superior mechs.
The knight mech was the defensive bulwark that defended more vulnerable mechs and assets against enemy firepower.
In the face of all of these vital functions, what was the raison d'ĂŞtre of the swordsman configuration?
"This configuration is not as useless as you think." Ves declared to the other mech designers. "First, let's consider the overall use of swordsman mechs. Why do they exist? What makes them popular?"
A short pause ensued before Pachtold spoke again.
"Swordsman mechs are designed to defeat other mechs through a combination of power and technique. In space, their advantages are not as great, but they're decent all-rounders. They're resilient enough to act as budget space knights, they're fast enough to chase down ranged mechs and their ability to outduel superior opponents is amazing as long as the mech pilot is skilled enough."
"Good summary, Pachtold." Ves nodded to the Tovar in appreciation. "If we don't have the swordsman configuration, we would miss an all-round option. It's our best duelist option by far and it can plug many of the gaps in our lineup. That said, there is one important reason why I insist on including this configuration."
No one managed to guess his answer, which disappointed Ves.
"They're needed to counter light skirmishers." He said.
Realization appeared in some of the mech designer's faces.
Unfortunately, some of the mech designers didn't take this revelation seriously.
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE LIGHT MECHS!" He shouted, startling his audience. "Look, I almost failed to escape the clutches of the Friday Coalition due to the power of light skirmishers. Sure, their armor is as thin as a data pad and their weapons are usually just a pair of daggers, but their edge in mobility is enough to turn battles around!"
Ves personally lived through several battles where light mechs played a decisive role!
"Can't our rifleman mech configuration shoot them down?" Someone suggested. "Even if they are too fast, we can coordinate the fire of our rifleman mechs to form a cage of fire. Regardless where the light mech tries to evade, it will never be able to escape getting hit."
"That requires a lot of coordination and training, which isn't guaranteed right now." Ves shook his head.
"What about our lancer mech configuration?"
"It's only fast in a straight line, and it needs a lot of time to build up to this point. This is a stupid question."
Merrill O'Brian finally spoke up. "Swordsman mechs aren't ideal against light mechs. I've seen plenty of light skirmishers outmaneuvering swordsman mechs in battle. At best, it's a skill-based matchup, but swordsman mechs are at a definite disadvantage due to their inferior mobility."
Ves grunted in agreement. "You have a point. A better option would be to field our own light skirmishers, but that's not a realistic option at this point. A more defensive option would be to field striker mechs. Their shotguns and other wide-area weapons are excellent in area denial."
"Can't we swap out the sword and shield of the swordsman configuration for a shotgun?"
"We can.. If we want the resulting mech to run out of ammunition after five minutes of combat."
In short, better options existed, but they weren't very viable right now! Depending on the swordsman mech configuration to hinder enemy light mechs was a compromise solution.
Sometimes, a mech didn't have to excel in any single area, though that was often the norm in the mech market. Adding an all-rounder to a mech roster significantly increased the versatility of a mech force.
More importantly, many mech pilots initially started learning swordsmanship in the mech academies. It was one of the foundational skills of mech combat, which meant that any mech pilot that wasn't suitable to pilot the other configurations could still fall back on the swordsman mech configuration!
Chapter 1875 Optimistic Outlook
Everything was starting to come together.
The Larkinson mech design project reached closer to completion. After testing the first iteration of the mech, Ves and Gloriana gathered a wealth of data which they used to refine the design even further.
Overall, they found plenty of small issues in the base platform and the four configurations. Due to the nature of modular mech platforms, most of the problems they ascertained originated from the mounting mechanisms of the configuration parts.
Due to the necessity of allowing the parts to be swapped by mech technicians during active engagements, Ves and Gloriana had to make a lot of compromises in terms of integrity.
If they wanted to make a more solid mech, then they had to sacrifice the modularity of the system.
If they wanted to make the mech even easier to switch configurations, then they would have to introduce even more vulnerabilities!
"In practice, hot-swapping the configuration of a modular mech platform almost never takes place." Gloriana remarked. "In the overwhelming number of cases, an outfit simply assigns a single mech pilot to a platform and chooses the most appropriate configuration that fits her skillset. If there is some need to swap configurations, then it will usually take place in the preparation stage of engagement, which can stretch for hours, days or even weeks!"
In short, there was no need to make the Larkinson mech be able to switch configurations within 5 minutes if it made the mech more susceptible to targeted attacks.
As it was, Ves and Gloriana decided to set 30 minutes as their target. This meant it would take a typical crew of mech technicians on a busy hangar deck to take half an hour to swap configurations.
This practically made the modularity of the mech irrelevant during short skirmishes and sudden battles. It did allow for interesting swapping or accelerated repairs during running engagements.
In general, space battles lasted much shorter than battles on land. There was nowhere to hide in space and very little room to retreat once the two sides converged on each other.
Perhaps a mech designer who never stepped onto the battlefield in his life would choose to emphasize the modularity of this design.
Not Ves!
In his own experiences, space battles lasted anywhere from ten minutes to an hour. Furthermore, battles were so chaotic and heated that the participants didn't care about finicky technical details! They just wanted to smash the other side as hard as possible!
"Have you ever been in an actual mech battle?" He asked.
Gloriana shook her head. "No. I'm not like you. My life isn't as exciting as yours. I really admire you for surviving so many incidents that would scar a mech designer for life."
"Oh, I didn't come away from all of those crises without accumulating some scars." Ves smiled sardonically at her. "They're not entirely bad, though. Each scar bears a lesson. My design style and my design approach are shaped from the lessons I've drawn from all of those battles. When mechs are getting blown up by the second and when the ship I'm in is in the crosshairs of the enemy, you tend to realize that a lot of fancy features added to mechs are just useless distractions! They're only good for getting in the way of winning a battle!"
"Your experiences are certainly very valuable, but don't discount the contributions that other mech designers can make. We are all good at something. Combining your practical experience with my higher education results in the best of both worlds! This is yet another indicator that we are made for each other!"
"Enough patting ourselves on the back. Let's get back to work in addressing all of these suboptimal implementations. We can still squeeze some more performance out of our design!"
At the same time the project came close to completion, everything else progressed nicely as well.
The LMC just completed a huge reorganization that fundamentally reshaped the main company and its subsidiaries. The main goal of the changes was to make the company leaner and less dependent on a single location.
Even if the physical headquarters of the company disappeared for whatever reason, the LMC would still exist! Its 'virtual headquarters' along with all of the far-flung branches founded in nearly every state where the company had a significant presence ensured that the company could survive during nearly any conceivable calamity!
The mech troops were growing apace as well. The Avatars of Myth and the Living Sentinels both ballooned in strength as they hired on a huge number of mech pilots, spacers and support personnel. All of these new hires were needed to take charge of the new mechs and light carriers the two troops procured!
The only downside of this rapid expansion was the overrepresentation of Ylvainan employees and products. Though many people initially worried that the new Ylvainan hires would force their religion down the throats of the Brighters and other foreigners, their worries were laid to rest.
The Ylvainans, while unquestionably devout, all exhibited a fanatical degree of respect towards the so-called Bright Martyr. That made them unusually obedient to instructions, though they weren't bots who could go against their nature for too long.
While Ves had plenty of concerns about the Ylvainans, he vastly preferred to hire them over any other people aside from his fellow Brighters.
He valued their loyalty.
Even though it came in the form of imparted loyalty, which Ves equated to a double-edged sword, he would rather have a weapon in his hands than none at all!
With the homeless and dispersed state of his organizations, it was difficult to hire sound and loyal employees.
Not everyone wished to abandon their existing way of life in order to lead a life on a starship!
Not everyone applied to work for one of the foreign subsidiaries of the LMC in good faith!
Ves harbored a fundamental lack of trust towards these workers. Sure, the Larkinson Clan, the LMC and his mech forces all paid well, but who could tell whether any of these people were Fridayman plants?
The Ylvainans, for all their faults, had two things going for them. First, the Ylvainans didn't like the Friday Coalition and Ves could easily take advantage of their beliefs as long as he was in good standing of the Ylvainan Faith.
Along with progress on other fronts such as the gradual absorption of family members to the Larkinson Clan, Ves was quite content with his current state.
Not only did he recover from his hasty evacuation from Cloudy Curtain, but he also grew much further!
The vast increase in strength boosted his confidence. With the number of mechs under his command about to reach a thousand operational units, Ves no longer had anything to fear from casual rabble-rousers! He could travel far and wide and even enter the frontier with little fear of encountering a major threat.
Of course, his combat assets were still a far cry from the old Verle Task Force he used to be a part of. Even if they fielded the same amount of mechs, there was a clear qualitative difference between their mechs, ships, training, technology and most importantly esprit de corps!
Ves was unsure now how well the Avatars and Sentinels would fare in battle. Though the Ylvainans exhibited a lot of fervor at their new jobs, who knew how much of their enthusiasm remained after they took part in a serious battle?
Regardless, their hearts were in the right place, and Ves was willing to work with that. He could slowly mold them into a different shape as long as he had enough time.
A bright new future was within reach. Once he finished the Larkinson mech project, Ves planned to accept a mission from the Rim Guardians in order to earn some merits. With how much he needed to earn, he couldn't afford to delay this matter much further!
"I also can't forget about the implant I'm about to receive."
Ves had high expectations for the Archimedes Rubal, especially after Ranya and Lupo upgraded nearly every aspect.
"I can finally start my research on imaginary mechs once I've integrated this implant."
The positive trends had a wonderful effect on his mood. His concerns grew less and he began to look forward to the future.
His good mood subsequently affected his design work. All of the exhaustion and mania of the previous months faded away as Ves slowly entered into a calmer, more sublime state. Once the second iteration was complete, he patiently awaited the results from the second round of tests.
The next batch of prototypes performed better than the initial batch. A lot of rough spots had been addressed, and while there was plenty left to nitpick over, the three-month deadline loomed close.
Ves had to make an important decision. Should he delay the completion of the project in order to iterate it further or should he call it day and settle with the current after applying a few tweaks?
"If we want to create a masterwork mech, then logically we have to make the mech as flawless as possible." Gloriana argued. "I'm not entirely pleased with the current state of our design. While it is a functional product that does the job we want it to do, there is clearly room for refinement."
Her logic was sound, but Ves felt there was more to the story.
"I have a different perspective on the matter." He said. "When I designed the Devil Tiger, I was working on my own and under similar time constraints. Yet somehow, I created a masterwork mech without even thinking about it. I can tell you now that my Devil Tiger design was definitely rougher than any of my subsequent mech designs. I didn't have you by my side, so I've probably overlooked countless tiny flaws and inefficient implementations."
"That.. is hard to explain." She conceded. "How did you manage to overcome the odds?"
"I entered into a special state. I don't know how or why I entered into this state, but it was as if my mood transcended its boundaries. Certain problems were no longer problems. Due to my special state, my instinctive understanding of my own design had reached a level that I can scarcely describe. I spotted many flaws back then, but I always tweaked my mech on the fly as I was fabricating it. While I addressed many questionable points, I ignored most of them as they weren't really material to the overall quality of the mech."
"That.. doesn't fit with the common definition of a masterwork mech. They're supposed to be the most perfect and flawless incarnation of any given mech design!"
He paused in thought. "I don't think you're wrong. There are always flaws in a design. They can't be avoided because many flaws are actually necessary tradeoffs. If you fix one flaw, you introduce another one. It is still possible to make a masterwork mech out of a flawed design. I proved it. To me, it's the meaning and significance of a mech that can truly elevate it into a masterwork. I entered that special state because of my emotional investment in my passion project. I've been chasing after it ever since."
The meaning mattered more than the nitty gritty details. That was his overall message. It also happened to encapsulate his approach towards mech design.
Gloriana frowned. As a technical and detail-oriented mech designer, she found it difficult to accept his message.
"I understand what you are saying, and I don't mean to neglect the meaning of our mech design. It's just.. sloppy if we finalize the mech design this week. I'll always feel as if I could do more to perfect it. It will be like an itch that I can never get rid of no matter how many times I scratch!"
Ves placed his hands on her shoulders. "I get it, Gloriana, but please work with me. I did it once, and I can do it again. Besides, I don't think you'll be complaining for long."
"Oh?"
"You'll see."
Chapter 1876 Neglected Option
After tweaking the second iteration of the design, the project reached the end of its three-month deadline.
Ves was unwilling to iterate the design once more. The clock continued to tick and Ves had better things to do than optimize a mech that was already in a pretty good shape.
Certainly, there was much to complain about. Gloriana certainly had a lot to say. She continually pecked him with rants on how he was unwilling to address the obvious imperfections of the latest iteration of their design!
He didn't take her complaints to heart. He was already familiar with her whining when they completed their previous collaborative projects.
The fact of the matter was that Gloriana would always find something to argue about! Not a single mech design was perfect, which meant that Gloriana could never be sated!
Ves really didn't know how she completed her solo projects. He imagined her clients forced her to deliver her projects regardless of how much she wanted to continue to tinker with her designs.
This meant that Ves shouldn't let her have her way this time. He stood his ground and forced Gloriana to quit her ceaseless design work.
Though she hurled many complaints at him, Ves paid no mind, knowing that she was just venting her frustration.
Some part of her recognized that Ves was right. Due to the law of diminishing returns, the performance improvements became less and less significant.
When a single tweak only resulted in a 0.05 percent improvement, then it wasn't worth the time to invest in this result!
Certainly, there were situations where such performance boosts were worthwhile, but this wasn't the time!
If perfection was attainable, then it was probably unaffordable!
Ves lived in a reality where time was a scarce and precious resource. More than money, more than Breyer alloy, more than expert pilots and more than MTA merits, time was the one resource that he could never replenish!
Once spent, he could never get a refund. The most he could do was to extend his lifetime so that he could accomplish more.
Yet eventually, time ran out. No matter how long someone was able to extend their life, true immortality didn't exist. At least that was what Ves believed.
Due to the preciousness of time, Ves constantly thought on how to extract the maximum possible value out of his time.
While he didn't always succeed in optimizing the way he spent his time, at the very least he was accomplishing more than most mech designers.
He credited some of his success due to his fast pace of mech design and his conscious budgeting of his time. As a resource that was far more precious than money, Ves always sought to minimize its expenditure whenever possible!
This was strongly related to the project he was involved in. Unlike situations where Ves worked for an external employer or client, he had full control over his work.
This was both a blessing and a curse.
Without a client setting a hard deadline, it was very tempting for Ves to loosen his boundaries and delay the completion of the Larkinson mech design project.
This was a temptation that Ves had to resist.
He believed that the emotional energy he invested in the design would diminish if he removed his sense of urgency.
He also kept Patricia's advice in mind. Mech designers ought to stick to the principles and promises. If he broke his own rule, how could he ever enter into a good state of mind?
Ves explained all of her thoughts to Gloriana. Though she understood his points, she was still inclined to stick to her own guns regardless of whether they were right or wrong!
When a mech designer advanced to Journeyman, many of their principles and outlook on life and their profession had been set. Just like expert pilots, it was extremely important for them to conform to their values and beliefs.
If they didn't, then a mismatch would occur between their minds and their design seeds. Such a situation was untenable in the long term. Either the mind gave ground, or the design seed gave ground!
Ves only witnessed the latter happening once. Gloriana shifted her core design philosophy to accommodate spiritual components. That was a very special moment and one that Ves had never witnessed again.
Though Ves would have liked for Gloriana to make another fundamental adjustment, that would be cruel to her as a person and disrespectful to her as a professional colleague.
In short, he had no choice but to bear with her nagging.
"Ves!" She slapped her palm against his arm. "This isn't over yet! We can still iterate once more! Just think of the improvements we can make! The Larkinson clansmen you care so much about will definitely have a greater chance of survival if I can reduce the vulnerabilities of our design!"
Bonk!
"Ouch! Vessssss~! Why did you hit me again?" She whined and nursed her forehead.
"As the client of this project, I decide when the project is finished. Right now, I'm ready to finalize it. I won't allow you to waste anymore time."
"DON'T CALL MY WORK A WASTE OF TIME!"
"I didn't mean it that way. Don't misinterpret my words." Ves crossed his arms. "I'm just stating that the costs outweigh the benefits if we delay the completion of the project any further. This should be a concept that you should understand. Besides, just because your involvement has ended doesn't mean our design can't be improved any further."
Gloriana threw a suspicious look at him. "What are you talking about?"
He smirked. "Wait until tomorrow. I'll guarantee you that you'll be pleased!"
He managed to get rid of her soon afterwards. What he was about to do was something he was very reluctant to share with his girlfriend.
For this reason, Ves sought a quiet, locked and enclosed chamber underneath the design labs and dismissed all of his bodyguards except for Nitaa.
"Stand guard in front of this door and make sure no one barges inside." He instructed.
The tall and heavily armed and armored woman nodded. "Understood. What should I do if you don't appear for a long time?"
"I won't take too long. If I haven't left in three hours, then you have my permission to go inside and check."
He said this mostly to ease her concerns and prevent her from barging in early.
After satisfying his bodyguard, Ves entered the chamber and locked the only entrance.
As usual, both Lucky and the Larkinson Mandate followed him inside.
The Golden Cat had just returned to the book after yet another session with Qilanxo. Whatever she was doing with the older Sacred God, it seemed to take a lot out of her. Each time she returned, she practically fell into a slumber that lasted anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days!
Ves caressed the surface of his book. Now that the Larkinson mech project had reached this stage, it was time to bestow it with a name and instill it with a design spirit.
Yet unlike his other mech designs, he wanted to add one additional step to the design process.
He extended his hand and materialized his System comm. It had been a long time since he last held it. He didn't mind it at all as his dependence on the System had decreased these days.
Still, even though he no longer spent half of his thoughts on the System every day, he still valued its utility.
After activating the Privacy Shield, he activated it and browsed the menu until it highlighted a single, long-neglected option.
Superpublish
[The Designer module has unlocked the Superpublish ability. When completing any designs, you are able to Superpublish them. In exchange for forfeiting all your current and future rewards, the Designer will automatically enhance your design by a factor of ten percent. You are only able to Superpublish a design once every standard year.]
"I almost forgot about this." He muttered.
Previously, Ves valued his personal integrity too much to use this option. He also wanted to earn a lot of Design Points and keep this option in reserve in case of emergencies.
Another reason for avoiding this option was because Ves feared that his ownership and his emotional investment in the mech design would take a hit. Superpublishing a mech design was essentially a cheat in how it improved the quality of his mech design regardless of his actual merits.
This was the main reason why he refrained from applying it to the Transcendent Messenger. He wanted to prove something when he designed that revolutionary mech. Boosting its performance and removing some of its imperfections were not very important considering that the mechs half-functioned as ceremonial symbols.
"It's different now." He muttered. "Performance matters in my current mech design. The success of my plans truly hinges on the quality of this design!"
He didn't entirely dismiss Gloriana's arguments. Quality did matter. The main point of contention between them was the price they needed to pay to achieve any further quality improvements.
While Ves rejected his girlfriend's suggestion to extend the deadline of the project, he did not refuse the option to Superpublish his design!
Though it was a precious opportunity that didn't come very often, Ves was just wasting it if he continued to keep it in reserve for years. Since he didn't need it before, there shouldn't be any harm in expending its yearly usage this time.
There was still a price, though. Depending on what happened, he might not identify as much with his work anymore. That would spell disaster for his chances of fabricating a masterwork mech.
Yet.. this was a price that Ves was willing to pay.
"A single masterwork mech won't make much of a difference on the battlefield." He stated. "Deploying one excellent mech is not as impactful as deploying a thousand fine mechs!"
That said, Ves didn't want to let go of this opportunity.
"I'm not the mech designer I was before. I've matured as a mech designer."
One of the lessons he learned was that his own mentality partially determined the prices he paid for his various decisions.
For example, in the past he would probably feel guilty if he shot someone in the head. Now, he felt absolutely nothing at the thought of killing some random bystanders.
In the same manner, Ves no longer regarded the Superpublish function as a foreign cheat. It was a resource that could enhance a mech design in the same way as other mech designers did when they invited their mentors or Masters to make a pass at their work.
"I'm not cheating!" He convinced himself. "I'm just making use of the resources I have at my disposal! This will still be my design!"
With this conviction in his mind, he hesitated no further. He decided to pull the trigger and finalize his project in the most explosive manner possible!
First, he needed to impart it with a design spirit.
"Golden Cat! Wake up! It's time for you to bind yourself to your first mech design!"
Nya...?
The Golden Cat sleepily looked up at him as Ves prodded her with his spiritual projection.
Once she understood what she wanted, she cooperated fully with his actions. Under his guidance, he coaxed her into leaving a presence in the spiritual space of his mech design!
The mech's spiritual foundation was highly compatible with her own trait. She easily found purchase in the design and successfully became its design spirit!
The moment she formed a bond with the design, Ves sensed plenty of changes. Not only did the Golden Cat left some sort of duplicate presence in the mech design, the Larkinson Mandate also stirred in response!
To his astonishment, the Larkinson Mandate formed its first bond with a mech design! This was definite proof that the design formed an indispensable part of the Larkinson Clan!
"Excellent!"
His joy at these changes prompted him to make up his mind on how to name his work!
"From now on, my design shall be known as the Bright Warrior!"
Though the name wasn't the most imaginative one he came up with, it captured the sentiment of his design!
He designed the Bright Warrior to forge a path into the unknown and protect them against the monsters lurking in the darkness!
Chapter 1877 Bright Warrior
The Bright Warrior!
It was a fitting name for a mech that centered around the Larkinson Clan and the Golden Cat!
Its name reflected the heritage and identity of the Larkinson Clan.
A warrior was different from a soldier. For a very long time, the original Larkinson Family devoted itself to the armed forces of the Bright Republic. To become a military mech pilot was one of the greatest ambitions of a Larkinson!
"No more. That time is over."
The old family may have stuck to the old ways, but the Larkinson Clan followed a different trajectory!
A warrior was not a soldier. A soldier fought for a state and served its people.
That was not the case this time. The Larkinson Clan fought and struggled for its own desires and ideals.
The reason why Ves settled on a simple name like the Bright Warrior was because he wanted to preserve the strength of their Larkinson heritage. However, he also wanted to get rid of the compulsive desire to serve in the Mech Corps.
Reorienting the Larkinson Clan from soldiers to warriors was one of the ways he settled on to transition the clan into becoming a strong but independent group.
The essence of both the Larkinson Family and the Larkinson Clan was fellowship! Ves wanted to channel this pursuit in a way that made his clansmen want to fight on behalf of their fellow Larkinsons!
One peculiar aspect about the name was how similar it sounded to the Desolate Soldier. It followed the same naming convention as his most successful mech design, but also stood out by how it conveyed a different message!
"The Bright Warrior will light the way!"
The use of the word 'bright' was deliberate and alluded to multiple meanings.
The most obvious reference was towards the Bright Republic, the state where the original Larkinson Family originated.
While the Larkinson Clan severed most of its ties to its former state, many of its clansmen were still undeniably Brighters. This kind of connection could not be severed in its entirety.
Even Ves felt reluctant to stop calling himself a Brighter.
"I can leave my state, but my state still hasn't left my heart." He sighed.
Calling his mech the Bright Warrior also had another meaning. It alluded to the fact that he designed this mech with an aim to train his mech pilots and elevate them past their current limits.
As long as the Bright Warrior became ubiquitous in his mech forces, Ves anticipated that it wouldn't take long for his mech pilots to become qualified to pilot second-class mechs en masse.
"It's more than just a teaching tool. It's more than just a mech design. It's more than just a product."
The Bright Warrior was the culmination of most of his hopes and ambitions. In a span of three intensive months, Ves labored earnestly to make sure it embodied his vision as much as possible.
He didn't hesitate to stuff it with all kinds of toys, such as the expensive Breyer alloy or the very risky high-capacity neural interface model, in order to achieve his high expectation for this design!
"I've succeeded!"
The prototypes proved that the design was not a failure! It not only met his expectations, but also surpassed it in the case of the lancer mech configuration!
That reminded him of something. Each different configuration needed a separate name. Otherwise, it would be highly confusing to ask for a rifleman mech but receive a space knight instead!
"The Bright Warrior only refers to the overall modular mech platform. Each different configuration is like a different variation of the same design!"
The rifleman mech configuration was the backbone of his mech forces. In space, distance was king, and ranged combat reigned supreme. It was practically a given that the Avatars and Sentinels would rely heavily on this configuration to form the bulk of their mech rosters!
Given the vital nature of the rifleman mech configuration, Ves decided to call it the Illuminating Warrior!
"With their bright lasers and their powerful rounds, the Illuminating Warriors will light the way forward!"
In contrast to the offensive role of the rifleman mechs, the space knight configuration served as the primary defensive assets on the battlefield.
They were most suited to be employed defensively by guarding his light carriers and other vulnerable assets from enemy attacks.
However, the defensive properties of Breyer alloy was so strong that the space knight configuration still retained sufficient mobility to go on the offense as well!
Regardless of how they were employed, it was undeniable that they were built to take beating no matter the circumstances!
To reflect their nature as enduring machines that inspired confidence, Ves dubbed the space mech configuration the Solar Warrior!
"With their constant and unshakable presence on the battlefield, the Solar Warriors shall warm the hearts of fellow comrades!"
The lancer mech configuration was the offensive powerhouse configuration of the Bright Warrior design. Though not as good in a dogfight as the other configuration, it was completely geared to excel in only one single mode of combat.
The charge.
Like a bright and furious comet, the lancer mech configuration possessed the potential to collapse a second-class mech!
Not only that, but the mech was capable of mitigating so much shock and force that the mech and mech pilot would actually be able survive the ultraviolet collision!
Even so, the lancer mechs constantly toyed with danger as it pursued constant extremes in combat!
As the Larkinson Clan's only hope of defeating superior mechs, Ves settled on referring to the lancer configuration as the Shining Warrior!
"With their indomitable charges and world-shaking collisions, the Shining Warriors must keep burning when all other lights have dimmed!"
Compared to the previous three configurations, the swordsman mech configuration was a little less illustrious. On land, its role was just as important if not more so than lancer mechs. In space, it occupied an awkward middle ground where it was decent in aspects but possessed few pronounced strengths.
Yet Ves did not look down on the swordsman mech configuration because of that. As a jack-of-all-trades, the sword-wielding version of the Bright Warrior could fulfill many possible roles. Not only was it decent against fending off light skirmishers, it also fared well against other melee mechs.
In the hands of an excellent mech pilot, the performance of the swordsman mech configuration had the potential to dazzle an entire region!
To encapsulate the potential of the swordsman mech configuration, Ves called it the Nova Warrior.
"Well, it's a more flattering name than the other options I had in mind."
The Bright Warrior. The Illuminating Warrior. The Solar Warrior. The Shining Warrior. The Nova Warrior.
Each of these names stood for different mechs or configurations. While distinct, all of them were part of the same mech platform!
By imparting the mech design with a design spirit and a set of names, this was ordinarily the time when Ves formally ended the project. Aside from filing some paperwork and handling some other administrative steps, the development of the mech should come to an end.
"Not this time!"
Now that he had reached this point, Ves firmly committed to his choice to use the Superpublish function on the Bright Warrior!
Whether the design deserved this treatment or not, Ves wanted his Larkinsons and other subordinates to pilot the best possible mech he could design! Utilizing the Superpublish ability would definitely boost the design in a holistic manner that accentuated its strengths while diminishing its weaknesses.
The result was hopefully a comprehensively better mech design that nonetheless conformed to Ves and Gloriana's original vision.
"Well, here goes nothing."
It had been a long time since he last used it. Once he loaded the design into his System comm and activated the function, a transformation occurred in real time.
Ves keenly watched as the design projected by his System comm changed in real time.
It was as if his System comm connected to a Master Mech Designer who casually adjusted the design from a much greater height!
While Ves had no clue how the System gained the knowledge or inspiration to perform all of these improvements, it was undeniable that each adjustment added something more to the design!
"How ingenious! So that is how I should have solved this problem!"
Ves tracked the results and tried to figure out their logic. Since thousands of small and subtle changes occurred at the same time, Ves could only capture a few of the more noticeable alterations at this time.
What he managed to pick up already surprised him beyond belief. He knew that the Superpublish function was strong, but the last time he used it, its operation was a lot more basic due to his inferior mech design ability.
Now that he became a mech designer and partnered up with a perfectionist like Gloriana, each of his mech designs became cleaner than the last. This meant that there was much less room to improve the performance of his designs by making some basic tweaks.
As a consequence, the System had to implement more inventive solutions in order to elevate the performance of the mech by ten percent!
Ten percent didn't sound by much, but in a mech that was already good, this was a huge jump.
This was especially so when the improvements came from pure design ingenuity as opposed to replacing the materials or components of a mech!
What Ves witnessed before his very eyes was a masterful transformation where the System reinvented his entire mech from the ground up! The Bright Warrior turned from a good mech into an excellent mech by the time the rapid cycles of improvement settled down.
"What a fantastic mech design!"
In order to elevate a design that was already high in quality, the System seemed to pull out all the stops and resorted to many different tricks that Ves never even learned of! Neither his experiences nor his book knowledge ever conceived of the dazzling methods that the System casually demonstrated!
Ves continued to the study each and every angle of the improved design. He summoned a projection of the original version of the Bright Warrior and marked out each and every measure that changed the mech for the better.
There was a lot for Ves to go through! Ves couldn't afford to spend so much time locked up in a guarded chamber.
"I can't do this alone."
There was also another problem.
Witnessing the incredible transformation of the Bright Warrior humbled Ves so much that he began to lose his sense of belonging to the mech design.
Ves anticipated this response and shook his head. "I shouldn't think this way! This design is still my work!"
He forcibly attempted to shift his mentality. He wanted to resist the sense of alienation and rejection that threatened to ruin his chances of fabricating a masterwork.
Regardless how much credit he deserved for developing the Bright Warrior up to this point, Ves firmly believed that his role and implementations were essential!
"The Superpublish function may have added some icing on the cake, but I'm still responsible for baking it in the first place!"
He could lie to others, but he couldn't lie to himself.
No matter how much he tried to change his mentality, a part of him would always feel that he and Gloriana didn't deserve full credit for designing such a high-quality mech.
Ves decided to change tack. Instead of lying to himself, he decided to resort to excuses!
"It doesn't matter!" He turned to Lucky, who had been lounging in the air for the entire time. "Cheating or not, the mech is still significant and meaningful for all of the right ways!"
"Meow?"
"You believe me, don't you, Lucky?"
"Meow."
"Yes! I'm the lead designer of the Bright Warrior! It bears the unmistakable character of the Golden Cat and the Larkinson Clan! No other mech designer can add those qualities to the Bright Warrior!"
"Meow meow."
"You lie!"
Chapter 1878 Elevated Design
After Superpublishing the design, Ves forfeited all of the DP gains he stood to earn from his work.
Three months of design work pretty much entered into black hole as far as the System was concerned.
Ves felt mildly disappointed at that, especially because DP was much harder to come by these days. The stingy System continued to deny him opportunities to earn more DP ever since he started ignoring its Supply Missions.
"Well, it's not like I can buy something that can't be found on the galactic net." He muttered.
Aside from MTA merits, Ves also sought to earn DP so that he'd be able to get back up to a million DP again. Once he reached this sum, he had the option of granting guest access to Gloriana.
While he hadn't made up his mind yet on the decision to reveal the System to his girlfriend, having the option available at any time would ease his mind.
"That is still too far away, though."
For now, he focused on the present. The Bright Warrior design and its four different configurations projected in front of his face like a lost treasure that Ves uncovered from a dusty alien ruin.
It might as well be a relic considering the incredible quality of the design. That little bump in ten percent performance was as if a Master applied a bit of his ingenuity in optimizing and elevating the Bright Warrior to an entirely new height!
The solutions applied by the System showed that Ves and Gloriana had a lot more to go before they matched the standards of their betters. Many of the solutions hadn't even come up to them in the first place!
The value of Superpublishing was not just in elevating a design. Its true value lay in how it essentially offered him a guide on how to increase the performance of his designs through pure design!
With such a cheat sheet at his disposal, Ves could study and incorporate the methods used to squeeze out more performance out of his original design and apply them to his future designs!
In essence, a succession of Superpublished designs could act like a roadmap where Ves could constantly develop his design ingenuity at a rapid pace, thereby skipping years or even decades of constant puzzling!
"There is a price, though."
Aside from forgoing all DP and losing his sense of ownership in the design, Ves also risked growing lazy. By avoiding the opportunities to develop his problem-solving skills in an organic manner, he risked losing this ability entirely!
This was why he planned to use the Superpublishing function sparingly. At the very least, he should make sure he designed plenty of mechs the old-fashioned way without depending on external help.
"It's alright to make use of it occasionally." He reassured himself.
Once he emerged from his enclosed chamber, Nitaa followed behind him as they left the design labs.
One day passed as Ves kept the Superpublished design to himself. He sequestered himself from everyone and refrained from showing off the improved design to his girlfriend.
The next day, Ves believed enough time had passed to offer Gloriana a plausible story. When they reached the design labs, he took his girlfriend aside and revealed the Superpublished version of the design.
The moment he projected the full schematics in front of her face, she entered into a daze.
"This.. Ves... what the.. Is this our design? Why..."
"I felt bad about the quality of our mech, and I don't want to spend more time on refining it further, so I cashed in a favor from another mech designer to make a pass on our work."
"What?! Who did you ask? Professor Ventag? Professor Velton? Professor Jimenez?"
Ves grew alarmed when she mentioned that last name! Professor Jimenez was a very taboo name in the regional mech community! How did she find out about his association with the Skull Architect?!
"It's not important." Ves dismissively waved his hand. "All I can tell you is that the mech designer I consulted is very skilled but doesn't want to be credited with the design."
"Oh. Okay."
She easily accepted this excuse, much to his relief. Cases like this happened a lot where a better mech design would make a pass on the work of their juniors.
"So.. do you approve?"
Gloriana paid no attention to him anymore. The moment she saw the design, her breath grew heavier and heavier. The hunger in her eyes increased and Ves even felt her spirituality becoming more active as her design seed went into overdrive!
"This... this mech design.. These solutions are BRILLIANT! They're PERFECT! Not even my teachers from Kelma have displayed so much elegance in resolving the contradictions in our designs."
"So.. you approve?"
"Approve?" Gloriana finally turned to Ves with an ecstatic grin. "I LOVE IT! THANK YOU, VES! THIS IS THE BEST PRESENT EVER!"
She subsequently glomped him and showered him with some of the most passionate kisses that he had ever experienced!
Once they finished their all-too-brief makeout session, Gloriana went back to ignoring Ves in order to devote her complete attention to studying the Superpublished design. Just like Ves, she summoned a raft of projections that allowed her to compare her original work to the uplifted version of the design.
Soon, she became completely absorbed in her own little universe. She exuded a sense of devotion and intensity that suggested that nothing could pull her away from her need to absorb all of the insights she could glean from the improved design!
Ves understood her enthusiasm. As a fellow mech designer, he appreciated good craftsmanship as well. He was always eager to learn more, though from a philosophical standpoint he preferred to innovate.
Since Gloriana became unresponsive, Ves decided to follow her lead and sit down to study the Superpublished design as well. Just because he didn't share her obsession for perfection didn't mean he wanted to let this opportunity go to waste!
The two shared a comfortable moment together as they each broke down the various improvements made to their original design. To mech designers like them, they could glean all kinds of insights from the 'before' and 'after' picture.
It wasn't until the day had passed that Gloriana finally managed to claw herself back from her obsessive fascination!
To Ves, it was as if she was glowing twice as bright! The grin on her face was so wide that it could stretch across a cavern!
"Ves! I love this design! Whoever improved it has taught me a lot! I really appreciate this opportunity, Ves. I think I'll be able to progress my design philosophy two or three steps further once I internalized what I've learned. This is truly revolutionary!"
As Gloriana continued to babble about the gains she made, Ves honestly felt perplexed.
She didn't ask any of the questions that Ves was worried about, such as why he felt the need to seek help from another mech designer.
Not that he complained. He didn't really have a good way to explain the System's Superpublish function. If Gloriana pressed him any further, he might slip something up! She was quite good at ferreting out his secrets, and Ves didn't want to prove her with any more loopholes than he had already revealed!
"So what do you think about the names?"
"They're okay." She replied, her mind still lost in her dreams. "Calling the overall design the Bright Warrior is a good decision, though I'm less enthused about the names for the configurations."
Ves shrugged. "I had to call them something."
"Well, even if their names don't entirely represent the design, with how good it is, they'll definitely have a chance to burnish their credentials! I just love this design!"
As they continued their discussion, Ves noticed that Gloriana didn't even bother with the fact that the design was not entirely their work anymore. While Ves constantly worried about losing their sense of ownership in the design, Gloriana didn't seem to care that much about this issue!
While Ves regrettably lost some of his emotional investment in the design, Gloriana was the opposite. She truly reveled in the solutions the Superpublish ability introduced into their work.
In her perspective, it didn't matter how these improvements came about. She only cared about delivering a result that was closest to perfection! The fact that she wasn't responsible for designing such a fantastic mech was compensated by the valuable opportunities she gained to evolve her design ability!
Due to her unexpected optimism, Ves began to rekindle some hope in his heart.
Perhaps it might be possible to fabricate a masterwork mech after all!
Ves would have to make sure that Gloriana was in the best possible state to fabricate the mech. In fact, he wanted to start off right away!
Unfortunately, it was the end of the day, and Gloriana still needed to stick to her regular sleep cycle. Though it was possible for her to ingest some pills to force her to stay awake for a couple of days, now was not a good time.
He still wanted to begin as soon as possible.
"We should strike while the iron is hot." He proposed. "We should rest and prepare for our upcoming attempt to make a masterwork mech. If possible, I want to complete this fabrication run in one, continuous session. Can you do that?"
She nodded. "No problem. I'll ask Ranya to prepare the necessary treatments to keep up with you. It's not good for my health if I keep it up, but it shouldn't be an issue to forgo sleep just this time."
Some people attempted to reduce their need to sleep. Most of the time, it was to make better use of their time.
Whenever someone slept, they wasted valuable time which they could have used to progress their career or create a new product!
For example, Nitaa hadn't quite gotten rid of her dependence on sleep, but her physical augmentations cut her sleep cycle by half!
However, there was a reason why this wasn't popular. Aside from being a fairly expensive and difficult treatment, humans needed sleep for multiple reasons. Those who skipped sleep for years at a time tended to become very odd!
In any case, the MTA performed plenty of surveys and concluded that skipping sleep for an extended period of time did more harm than good.
This was one of the reasons that Ves still tried to stick to a regular sleep schedule whenever possible. He had the faint notion that once he stopped sleeping, he would lose his humanity!
"To sleep is to be human." He spoke and held her by the shoulder. "I know you are tempted to stay awake to study the improved design even further, but make sure you have a good rest tonight. I believe that we are close to achieving one of the goals we have always been aiming for. As long as we succeed in fabricating a masterwork, our affinity for mechs will definitely increase! This will certainly allow us to design and fabricate a masterwork mech that is worthy to gain your mother's appreciation!"
She nodded. "You're right. I can study these improvements later, but our chances of creating a masterwork of the Bright Warrior is fleeting!"
Once they settled on a plan, they left the headquarters and returned to the Austen Estate to go to bed early.
Both of them wanted to catch as much sleep as possible before they embarked on their marathon fabrication session!
Before Ves went to sleep, he held the Larkinson Mandate in his hands and did the one thing he never imagined doing again.
He prayed.
"I beg of you. Help us fabricate a masterwork mech tomorrow. Do whatever you can to assist us and boost our chances to create the best possible version of the Bright Warrior. Once we succeed, our fortunes will massively increase! Once we receive recognition from the MTA, we will instantly be able to stand out from the crowd and receive countless new opportunities! This is not only good for us, but also the Larkinson Clan! Will you help us, Goldie?"
Nyaaaa.
The Golden Cat looked up at Ves with huge, unblinking eyes.
Chapter 1879 Blessed Attemp
The next morning, Ves and Gloriana woke up and followed their morning ritual with more solemnity than ever before. They dressed for work and met up at the dining room to enjoy breakfast.
Gloriana had already instructed Dr. Lupo and her chefs to prepare the most sumptuous breakfast they could manage.
As the two mech designers filled their bellies with appetizing meals, they began to talk about their upcoming design session.
"Just like last time, we'll have to fabricate the first production model by ourselves." Ves told her. "We should make sure our mech workshop is closed off so we'll be left undisturbed. Can you get your Glory Battalion to form a security cordon around the site? I've also asked Melkor to dispatch his Avatars to guard the outer perimeter."
"I doubt there are any threats on Kesseling VIII that can force their way past your Avatars."
"You can never be sure." Ves shook his head. "I don't want their mechs to get too close to the workshop. I'm very sensitive to the glows of the Blackbeaks, Crystal Lords and other LMC mechs. While I normally enjoy their presence, they'll only interfere in my attempts to visualize our design as we try to turn it into a reality."
To fabricate a good Bright Warrior, he had to immerse himself in it as much as possible. His other mechs were great products, but their glows and identities were different from his latest design!
Everything started to fall into place. Ves and Gloriana both paid plenty of attention to the smallest of details. Nothing was allowed to ruin their upcoming moment!
As they boarded a shuttle and traveled to the mech workshop they prepared, the pair cuddled together along with their cats.
Both Lucky and Clixie knew that the next days were crucial to their owners. Neither of them fussed as much and simply offered themselves up for petting and scratching.
"Meow."
"Miaow."
"I love you, Ves." Gloriana smiled as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's times like these that I enjoy the most. Sharing my passion with you and working together to design novel creations is one of my greatest joys. I don't want this to end."
He looked down in her eyes and took in her scent.
Due to the importance of their work, she applied lighter and less oppressive perfume this time. Ves still found her as intoxicating as ever. Her adoring eyes and her infectious smile made him all the more eager to please her desires.
Fabricating a masterwork mech was not just about furthering his goals. A part of him wanted to do his best so that he could make Gloriana into the happiest woman in the galaxy!
Both of them understood each other. They didn't have to share any words to express how much they cared for each other and how much they wanted their upcoming session to succeed.
A part of Ves was very pleased with this moment. Their affection and investment in the Bright Warrior meant that the stakes rose even further.
They both ascribed another meaning in the outcome of the fabrication run!
"We have to succeed."
If they failed, then not only would their chances of gaining Constance Wodin's approval decrease, but also make each other sad!
Ves did not want to disappoint his girlfriend! Making her happy was one of the greatest joys in his life, and he felt the urge to do his utmost to ensure that they would be celebrated as some of the youngest masterwork mech designers in the mech industry!
With the sheer amount of mech designers in the galaxy, there were obviously freaks who managed to fabricate a masterwork even earlier in their careers!
That didn't diminish the value of gaining a masterwork certificate. It was simply too rare for Journeymen to touch this magical boundary which seemed to have no logic behind its mechanisms.
Countless mech designers tried to invent a sureproof and replicable method to fabricate masterworks. None of their attempts succeeded.
Not even the brightest minds from the MTA and the galactic center managed to crack the code!
The mech industry only figured out a couple of rules, such as that higher-ranked mech designers had a higher chance of making one, or that their creation was always accompanied by chance and serendipity.
No matter how they came to be, it was undeniable that the mech designers responsible for creating them received a huge amount of accolades.
It was difficult to describe the admiration and respect that fellow mech designers directed towards the possessors of a masterwork certificate.
This simple acknowledgement was proof that the mech designer in question possessed an affinity for mechs! They understood mechs at a deeper level than most of their colleagues, and their works were always a little bit more superior in terms of quality than their peers.
To be honest, Ves didn't entirely understand why the MTA celebrated masterwork mechs so excessively. The sole reason why the mech industry valued masterwork mechs so much was not their exquisite construction, their indescribable presence or their unsurpassed degree of optimization.
For all of hype, the actual performance of a masterwork mech was barely better than a bog-standard copy of the same design!
Considering that fighting was the primary purpose of a mech, the perceived value of masterwork machines was incredibly overinflated!
Even though they were worth roughly the same, a single masterwork mech could never defeat a hundred regular mechs!
From this, Ves deduced that masterwork mechs possessed a quality that made them incredibly wanted by the MTA.
The fact that they rewarded 10,000 MTA merits for any third-class masterwork mech and a whopping 1 million MTA merit for a second-class masterwork was quite remarkable.
As far as Ves was concerned, the MTA always looked out for itself. The Association always made sure to gain the upper hand in any transaction. Incurring losses was against its nature!
This meant that the actual value of a second-class masterwork mech should be way more than just a million merits!
The MTA had to be buying them up and hoarding them for a reason! Ves just couldn't figure out why. He hadn't spent much time in studying his Devil Tiger to figure out what exactly stood out from a masterwork mech.
Hopefully, he would have another opportunity soon. As long as they succeeded, Ves would definitely keep the masterwork mech in his possession this time! He wouldn't even let the Avatars pilot it in battle and risk its premature destruction!
"We've arrived."
The shuttle and its escorts reached an underground work site in the rural parts of Kesseling VIII. A large number of mechs from the Avatars of Myth and the Glory Battalion already secured the entire surroundings.
Nothing was allowed to disturb their work!
As they entered the tightly-guarded workshop, the pair inspected the facilities.
Ves had already shipped several batches of materials to the workshop. He wouldn't be short of Breyer alloy or any other essential materials!
Meanwhile, Gloriana inspected each and every tool and production machine with utmost attention. All of the tools and production equipment belonged to her, so she knew exactly how to calibrate them. She had already serviced them before, so she didn't need to perform any maintenance on her gear.
"Everything is okay." She eventually said. "The production equipment is in the best possible shape that I can manage. I wish we could do this in the Hegemony, though. The facilities are much better."
"Calm down, Gloriana. The tools don't make the mech. We do. I managed to make a masterwork mech in a rented, shabby workshop using half-worn tools and highly-used production machines. If there are any misalignments in our gear, we can just compensate for it with our skill and judgement. That is what matters the most in fabricating a masterwork mech."
She didn't entirely believe him, but refrained from arguing any further. This was an important moment for them. She was keenly aware that they needed to be in the best mood possible. Quibbling over minor issues would do nothing to improve their chances of making a masterwork!
Before they began, Ves felt as if there was something missing. If they just began to fabricate the Bright Warrior in their current state, he suspected that they might fall short of their goal!
"Wait a moment." He held her arm.
"What is it, Ves?"
"Do your best. A lot is at stake. I'm sure I don't have to reiterate why. I just want you to keep our goals in mind. Don't pay any attention to anything that isn't related to the Bright Warrior. Don't obsess too much over details and trust in your instincts. Your intuition is one of your most powerful tools in fabricating our mechs. When all else fails, choose what your heart thinks is best!"
"I.. alright. I'll keep your advice in mind." She solemnly nodded.
His words carried a lot of weight to her because Ves had actually succeeded once. She didn't dare to dismiss his advice, but she developed her own approach towards her work. What worked for Ves didn't necessarily work for others.
Each mech designer was different!
As Gloriana began to turn around, Ves stopped her a second time.
"Wait. There is one extra step."
He stretched his hand towards the floating tome at his side and brought it close. The Larkinson Mandate in all of its brilliant splendor glowed brilliant in his spiritual vision as the Golden Cat stood by to do her part.
"The Bright Warrior is a mech designed for the Larkinson Clan." He said. "The Golden Cat is the spiritual representation of my clan and the mold which shaped our design!"
"What are you trying to do, Ves?"
"Open your mind and don't resist. Let the Golden Cat bathe your mind with her presence. This is good for our upcoming attempt!"
Upon receiving his instruction, The Golden Cat excited a part of her spiritual energy and began to channel her presence through the bonds she formed with Ves and Gloriana.
The pair of mech designers soon began to exhibit identical glows as the Golden Cat showered their minds and spirits with her blessing!
"Ves!" Gloriana's eyes widened. "This feels amazing! I can feel the Golden Cat much clearer than before! She's... she's so lovely!"
Ves grinned. He was enjoying the same sensation as well! "I'm glad you enjoy her presence, but don't get consumed by it. Make use of what you perceive to shape your mood and guide your work. The Golden Cat is just as invested in the Bright Warrior design as us! She'll help you as long as you trust her guidance."
"I'll... keep that in mind."
Now that they finished their mental preparation, they began their work.
The hollow workshop hall soon began to get noisy as Ves and Gloriana brought all kinds of production machines online. They divided the work amongst them with hardly any need for discussion.
Each of them were already aware of what the other was capable of. Ves no longer fumbled with Gloriana's advanced production machines and operated them with a level of fluency he hadn't shown before!
No distinctive moods overcame them both as they began to fabricate the initial parts of the Bright Warrior and the four configurations.
Ves tried not to worry about that, knowing that any frustration would only make it even less likely for him to enter into an exceptional state.
Instead, he devoted his complete attention to his work. With the Golden Cat paying attention and his vision for the Bright Warrior seared into his mind, he tried his best to fabricate the parts in the highest possible quality that he could manage!
While Ves quickly immersed himself into his work. Gloriana was slower to adjust.
She had never designed or fabricated a mech while hosting a design spirit in her mind!
Even though the Golden Cat only extended a portion of her presence, Gloriana was still distracted by all the novel sensations she experienced! It interfered with her work, causing her to halt her work lest she botch the batch of parts she was trying to make!
Chapter 1880 Self-Centered
Three cats observed the pair of mech designers pour their hearts and minds into their work. The mech workshop hummed and clanged with various noises as the massive production equipment began to process various materials or turn them into various parts.
A succession of bots silently flew back and forth, carrying parts to various different places in order to subject them to scans before placing them aside.
"Meow." Lucky turned towards the Larkinson Mandate that lay seemingly forgotten on a random table.
The Golden Cat, who resided in the book, continued to observe the proceedings while extending her powers through the bonds she shared with Ves and Gloriana.
She had been spending less time with Lucky and Clixie lately, and it showed. A bit of her playfulness and immaturity had faded. In their place, a sense of majesty and responsibility began to take shape.
The Golden Cat was slowly beginning to follow the footsteps of Qilanxo!
The ways of Sacred Gods were powerful and varied. The huge, anomalous exobeasts of Aeon Corona VII developed their own system of harnessing the spiritual might they had at their disposal.
An essential part of their repertoire was the symbiotic relations their species shared with their human worshippers.
Though much of it was shrouded in mystery, the Golden Cat had already learned some tricks of the trade from her spiritual mentor!
Nyaaaaa.
"Meow."
"Miaow?"
While the Golden Cat's awareness and understanding of humans were still in question, one thing was clear.
She wanted to make Ves and Gloriana happy.
The Golden Cat felt a lot of affection for them due to the strong bonds she shared with them. She especially looked up to Ves, but Gloriana also had a place in her intangible heart!
While Ves, who worked with many spiritual entities over the years, easily embraced her radiant presence, Gloriana was not as quick to adjust.
This was a problem. The Golden Cat looked upset and tried to employ another trick that Qilanxo had taught.
Utilizing the bond between them, the ancestral spirit began to convey actual feelings and impressions to the recipient.
For a moment, Gloriana yelped and inadvertently botched her fabrication attempt!
She frowned and paused as she tried to process the interruption.
"Is that you.. Goldie?"
An affirming sensation entered her mind. Her eyes widened even further. She was actively communicating with one of Ves' proto-gods!
Just as she was about to get caught up by the novelty of this development, she quickly remembered Ves' words.
This was not the time to become fascinated by the Golden Cat. Fabricating the best possible copy of the Bright Warrior mattered the most!
Working with mechs was her passion and joy. She would never forgive herself if she ruined this moment because she couldn't get her mind off the Golden Cat!
"I'm pleased to meet you, Goldie. Can you.. adjust yourself while you make contact with my mind. I'm sorry, but your presence is kind of distracting. I can't concentrate on the matters that require a lot of focus. Can you.. do something to increase my focus instead of the opposite?"
The connection conveyed a feeling of anticipation and curiosity, which Gloriana interpreted as a positive response.
Soon enough, the Golden Cat didn't loom so large in her mind. Gloriana felt as if she was able to regain more control over actions.
When she began to redo the task she botched, she tried to focus as much as possible on the details of her work.
This time, the Golden Cat did better. The approach she adopted for Ves didn't seem to work for Gloriana.
Ves was a mech designer who reveled in anything related to spirituality. His Spirituality attribute was very high and his sensitivity towards spiritual energy was extremely high compared to other people.
Due to his advantages and his abundant experiences in this field, Ves easily embraced the Golden Cat's presence, allowing her to act as a co-pilot in his mind. The degree of closeness they exhibited towards each other was very high!
In contrast, the Golden Cat discovered that she needed to adopt a more low-key approach for Gloriana. The Hexer mech designer was someone who naturally gravitated towards greater control.
She was not like Ves, who was willing to leave some of the outcomes of his work in the hands of his design spirit!
One of the many principles that Gloriana adopted over her career was that if she wanted something done right, it was best to do it herself!
While she trusted Ves as a collaboration partner, that did not mean she was willing for him to take the lead in everything. In areas where she was clearly better than her lover, she preferred to take charge!
This was also why the two divided the work amongst themselves so that Gloriana was responsible for all of the difficult and delicate tasks. All of the work that Gloriana took upon herself required a considerable amount of skill and finesse to complete.
Therefore, the Golden Cat puzzled for a time before she understood that Gloriana didn't need a partner, but a supporter.
Once the cooperation between the two smoothed out, Gloriana became a lot more comfortable with hosting a foreign presence in her mind. She relaxed and let herself go, paying no more mind to anything but the tasks at hand!
Time passed by as part after part continued to emerge from the 3D printer and other machines.
Processing the Breyer alloy was something that Ves took upon himself. As the source of this wonderful material, he wanted to shape it into armor plating in person.
To think that all of this high-quality alloy came from a reality-defying spiritual production loop!
Ves felt very grateful to Casssandra Breyer. If the undead mummified witch hadn't decided to haunt him for some reason, he would have missed out on this windfall and be unable to design a mech as great as the Bright Warrior!
In his perspective, Cassandra Breyer deserved at least half of the credit for making the Bright Warrior possible!
"I won't let you off, though." He snorted.
Just because he was grateful to her didn't mean that he was willing to let her off! She had already proven herself hostile to Ves with her earlier actions. The humiliating dream he experienced and the unexpected intervention in Silent William's correctional surgery definitely proved that she was definitely out to get him for whatever reason!
He pushed these thoughts aside a moment later and went back to his work. With the Golden Cat watching over him, he didn't fear Cassandra's untimely interventions as much anymore!
If she attempted to ruin his efforts again, she would have to beat both Ves and the Golden Cat!
Guarding the Larkinson Clan from unfathomable spiritual threats was one of the principal reasons why Ves created the Golden Cat! She was made to be the guardian of the Larkinsons in more ways than one!
"Keep up the good work, Goldie." He muttered as his mind continued to embrace her active presence. "This mech will certainly become a machine that will make us proud!"
As they fabricated the parts, neither Ves nor Gloriana entered into a different state.
Whether they were lacking something or whether the serendipity wasn't there, Ves wasn't sure.
Though a sense of disappointment crept into his mind, he didn't allow it to consume his consciousness.
Even if their fabrication attempt resulted in failure, at the very least Ves was committed to creating the best possible copy of the Bright Warrior that they could manage! This was a matter of pride as well as principle!
Therefore, regardless of the slow start, Ves still persisted as if the entire Larkinson Clan depended on the results.
Two straight days passed by as Ves and Gloriana worked continuously. They only took breaks in order to relieve themselves and to drink some water and eat their prepared meals which mostly consisted of compact, high-density nutrients.
Neither of them spoke to each other. Instead, they became lost in their own universes as they tried to reach the apex of what they were capable of. Both of them were doing pretty well so far, but the magical moment that both of them had been waiting for continued to remain elusive.
Though Ves tried his best not to feel bothered by it, he couldn't help but think they were doing something wrong.
Maybe dividing their work wasn't the best course of action.
He briefly glanced at Gloriana, who seemed to be having the time of her life. Though she didn't appear to have entered into any special state, Ves was very loath to interrupt her enjoyment.
"I can't give up!" He hissed to himself. "This still isn't over yet! I have to believe in myself! I have to believe in my design!"
Yet that was the mental stumbling block that Ves continually failed to overcome. His sense of ownership in the design had dropped. Whenever he worked on a part which had been affected by the many changes wrought by the System's Superpublish function, he felt as if he was working on another mech designer's creation instead of his own!
This was a very annoying and persisting feeling which Ves simply couldn't get rid off no matter how many times he tried to delude himself into thinking otherwise.
Lying to himself never seemed to work. Ves was not someone who forgot such transgression easily.
The fact of the matter was that he cheated. The Bright Warrior certainly became a better mech design, but the cost was great as Ves continued to feel alienated by a design that should have been his passion project!
"The worst part about it was that only Ves seemed to care. Neither Gloriana nor the Golden Cat showed any sign of feeling disturbed by the breaking of a principle that only Ves took to heart!
"I'm too professional!" He realized.
This was a very odd complaint to make. Ves always prided himself on his professionalism and his integrity as a mech designer.
Though he was by no means a poster boy for the MTA, he liked to think he abided by the main ideals of his profession.
"A mech designer exists to serve mech pilots, not the other way around."
This seemingly unrelated phrase randomly floated through his mind when he thought about his professionalism.
For some reason, Ves continued to linger over this characteristic phrase.
"A mech designer exists to serve mech pilots, not the other way around."
Once he repeated the words, he began to make another, more profound realization.
Didn't he plan to sequester the masterwork mech if he managed to create one out of the Bright Warrior design?
Didn't he resolve to keep the masterwork Bright Warrior locked up in his vault, only to be taken out whenever he wanted to study its properties and ascertain what made it so valuable to the MTA?
Didn't he promise to never allow his masterwork mechs to be fielded in battle, lest a single scratch might ruin what made them special?
"These intentions do not conform to the spirit of a mech designer!"
Mechs were not relics or toys. They weren't made to serve as display pieces or metal statues.
"Mechs exist to fight!"
Ves realized he was going astray. Did he ever think about keeping the Devil Tiger from getting used? No! He obviously wanted it to be used hard and often in order to gather as much data as possible!
He succeeded then, so the approach he adopted back then wasn't wrong!
"Mechs exist to fight, not to look pretty!"
The declaration made it clear that prior to this moment, he wanted to fabricate a masterwork mech for all the wrong reasons. None of them had anything to do with the primary purpose of a mech!
Now that he was aware of his error, he shifted his mentality and began to resume his work with a different kind of intensity.
He no longer emphasized his own wants and needs as much. Instead, he shifted his motives towards his mech pilots, who would have to entrust their lives to the Bright Warrior model in the future.
Ves owed it to the Larkinson Clan to deliver the best possible mech that allowed them to achieve victory in battle!
His mental shift significantly boosted his mood. Not only did he work with greater motivation than before, he also resonated even greater with the Golden Cat!
By devoting his work to the Larkinson Clan, the Golden Cat was supremely pleased by his commitment!
Chapter 1881 Humble
It seemed so strange.
Ves, a Journeyman Mech Designer who designed over two-dozen mech designs in his short but illustrious career, was questioning his motivation.
Why did he become a mech designer? What was he working towards? Did these questions even matter at this time?
"They do."
The principal reasons why he took up this profession determined his entire outlook and approach towards mech design.
Ves suddenly realized that he had gone astray lately.
Ever since he explosively shot up in success, his ego subconsciously grew larger. He began to consider himself as someone who was special, if not outright better than his peers!
It was easy to get caught up in his own hype. So far, Ves hadn't encountered anything that could outdo him at his own game. His spiritual component monopoly was a potent way to empower a mech design, and only he held the keys to its secrets!
Yet... since when did mech design revolve around the wants and desires of the mech designer?
Mechs existed to fight. Mech pilots were the people who had been chosen to pilot them. They were the protagonist who bore all the risk and glory of battle.
In comparison, mech designers took on a background role.
Certainly, they played an essential role in facilitating the jobs of mech pilots. A good mech designer could play a huge role in enabling and enhancing the battle prowess of his customers.
Yet just like mech technicians, mech designers ultimately existed to support the efforts of the real heroes of the battlefield.
Was it wrong for a mech designer to harbor ambitions? Was it wrong for Ves to act selfishly and chase after his own goals?
Not really.
The key was that he should never compromise the ultimate purpose of mech designers. Serving mech pilots always came first! Ves had to justify each of his actions according to the needs of mech pilots!
"It's surprisingly difficult to maintain sight of this purpose." He muttered.
Mech designers pursued careers that were just as glamorous as mech pilots. Though their overall popularity was a bit less, the mech industry was filled with stars and celebrities.
Ves considered himself to be a celebrity as well! Ever since he gained the moniker of Devil Tongue, it was very easy to fall in the mindset of a superstar!
Though his fame, reputation and prestige significantly aided his own career, they were only useful to himself and the LMC.
The only way these intangible assets aided mech pilots was if he genuinely delivered a superior product.
While Ves believed his products possessed an undeniable edge over the competition, this was not a healthy viewpoint. It could easily lead to a state of mind where the entire multiverse revolved around his needs.
His recent resolve to keep any possible masterwork mech to himself was a typical consequence of a producer-oriented mindset.
When Ves studied mech design, his teachers continually emphasized the need to put the needs of the consumer first. Mech designers were marketers as well and product makers. Leaning too much on the latter risked putting him in an ivory tower, making him increasingly more detached from the actual needs of the users of his products!
As he made all of these realizations, his mentality continued to experience a small but profound evolution. He felt as if he was going back to his roots as a mech designer.
While his ambitions and desires still mattered a lot, it was the context in which he pursued his goals that changed.
Rather than pursuing his goals with a completely selfish mindset, he shifted to a more humble mindset which included his desire to serve and empower mech pilots!
"Mech pilots matter the most! Their needs come before mine! I should never do anything that detracts from the interests of my customers! That is not the mech designer way!"
Mentality affected everything when it came to creative pursuits. The outcome of a design or fabrication run was not a mathematical formula where Ves just had to follow the right steps to come to the right answer.
His mood, attitude, emotions and feelings all affected the output of his efforts!
In recent times, Ves pursued many different ways to improve all of those factors in order to increase the chance of making a masterwork mech.
Yet unwittingly, he continually eroded his basic foundation as a mech designer! If he continued to chase blindly after his own ambitions and increasingly neglected the needs of his customer base, then he didn't deserve to become a Senior or Master!
"It's pretty shameful for me to lose sight of my purpose when I'm already a Journeyman."
Even Novices and Apprentices knew better!
Fortunately, he corrected himself. As his mental sublimation came to a close, Ves felt incredibly at peace with himself. It was as if he undid something that had warped his personality to become more self-centered, to the detriment of what truly mattered!
With clearer eyes than ever before, Ves locked his gaze towards the production equipment he was controlling.
The parts he produced and the mech he planned to build were not meant for him. All of his efforts should instead be dedicated to the mech pilot who would be privileged to pilot the end product!
Ves began to think of the target audience of the Bright Warrior. The Larkinson Clan, the Avatars of Myth, the Living Sentinels and even the Battle Criers all awaited a better machine that would serve them well in the times to come!
"They are the reason why I designed the Bright Warrior!"
To whom should he dedicate the first production model?
A specific face and name entered his mind. For some reason, he wanted to dedicate the very first copy of the Bright Warrior design to Joshua King, his undying fan and one of the best mech pilots of the Avatars of Myth!
If not for the recent addition of Jannzi and Tusa, Joshua would have definitely cemented his status as the champion of the Avatars!
"Jannzi and Tusa are already following their own paths."
Neither expert candidates needed the Bright Warrior. His current mech design was a medium modular mech platform, which generally fell outside of their respective specialties.
Ves already did his part in serving Jannzi by upgrading her Shield of Samar. Tusa was already content with the light skirmisher the Avatars bought from the market, though Ves planned to design a better mech for him when he had the time.
Thinking about his family centered him. He initially conceived of the idea of forming the Larkinson Clan in order to provide him with a loyal cadre that could strengthen his control over his increasingly-sprawling enterprise.
Yet ever since the Larkinson Clan actually came into being, Ves began to care increasingly more about his responsibilities. As the founder and patriarch of his clan, he actually began to put its needs on top of his own selfish desires!
Ves initially considered this to be an unnatural and undesirable change. Since when did he want to go back to following someone else's demands?
"Yet that is essentially what a mech designer does. We abide by the demands of mech pilots all the time!"
There was nothing shameful or humiliating in this statement. This was the essence of his profession. If he wanted to become a superstar, then he should have pursued a job where adopting a self-centered mentality was a virtue instead of a sin!
Once Ves resumed his work, he became a lot more serene. While he still possessed his old desires, they all seemed to fade in the background. Regardless of whether he managed to produce a masterwork mech or not, it was not that consequential to him anymore.
If he failed to make a masterwork, then so be it. He always had other opportunities.
Right now, his primary motivation to produce a masterwork mech was no longer about increasing his reputation and propelling him to greater prominence.
No. Those needs were secondary compared to the needs of his clan and mech pilots!
Ves decided to dedicate this mech to Joshua King, the person who long waited for a mech to pilot that he could truly call his own!
By coincidence, Joshua just happened to be a mech pilot who could fully make use of the complete modular capabilities of the Bright Warrior!
Having piloted numerous virtual and physical mechs designed by Ves, Joshua developed a varied set of skills that encompassed multiple specialties.
Joshua was just as proficient in piloting landbound mechs as spaceborn mechs. His swordsmanship was practically as good as his marksmanship! He piloted practically every standard mech that Ves designed that wasn't a competition mech or a private commission.
A fairly diverse and versatile modular mech platform sounded like a match made in heaven for Joshua. Though the Bright Warrior was not a mech customized for any single mech pilot, Ves had to admit that the young prodigy possessed the highest fit.
Whether Joshua pelted his enemies from afar with the Illuminating Warrior, charged a superior mech to death with the Shining Warrior, shielded his comrades with the Solar Warrior or outdueled a champion with the Nova Warrior, he could do it all without breaking a sweat!
As Ves continued to imagine how well Joshua could make use of the Bright Warrior, his work proceeded at a brisk and pleasant pace.
While his serene mood didn't improve his work by a significant margin, he was nonetheless content with the parts he made.
Time continued to pass until the fabrication stage was done. Ves and Gloriana both took a longer break before resuming their work.
First, they thoroughly inspected all of the parts, paying extra attention to the more critical ones such as the power reactor and the neural interface.
Everything was in order. Gloriana delivered high-quality results as usual while Ves was not that far off in terms of maintaining consistency.
It fell a little short of what they expected from a masterwork, though. While that didn't necessarily mean that the possibility to produce a masterwork mech was gone, it certainly reduced their chances.
Though Gloriana began to feel upset about this, Ves calmed her down.
"Just do your best." He patted her back. "We are making this mech to satisfy our mech pilots, not ourselves. Our needs come secondary. Whatever mech we produce at the end, we should have no regrets."
She looked at him in curiosity. "Ves? You're.. different. Is this the special state you were talking about?"
Gloriana knew him too well. She quickly figured out that Ves was different from his usual self.
He smiled at her. "I just had a realization about the core purpose of a mech designer. I think I recently started to forget what it meant to take up this profession."
"I see. Are you better now?"
"I am. I feel much more at ease with myself. Let's begin the assembly phase. Make sure to keep in mind that we are building this mech for our mech pilots, not ourselves."
"I always kept that in mind, Ves. The needs of the mech pilots are core to my own design philosophy."
Gloriana was much better in this regard, he admitted. She never needed a reminder, unlike him. He was much more selfish than his girlfriend!
When they moved to the assembly system, they began the laborious process of putting their mech together.
Technically, the Bright Warrior came with four different configurations.
Though Ves and Gloriana had the option of fabricating just one configuration, they decided to produce all four in the same run!
This entailed a lot of work. Not only had their workload increased, they also needed to ensure that each of the configurations fit in place with the base platform. This was not a given as small misalignments could easily lead to mounting problems.
Both mech designers quietly manipulated the heavy-duty arms and tools of the assembly system. Bots and lifter platforms continually brought parts out of their temporary storage and placed them into position.
As the base platform came closer to completion, the elusive chance that both of them had been waiting for was nowhere to be seen.
A shadow cast over the underground workshop.
Chapter 1882 Tower of Babel
In the end, the quality of the Bright Warrior and its four sets of configurations reached a very high level.
Compared to a typical gold label LMC mech, the quality of the mech that Ves and Gloriana produced was clearly better.
They should be proud of what they accomplished!
Yet.. they only felt a mild sense of disappointment. As they put in the final parts and performed a final inspection, nothing about the mech transcended the level of an ordinary product. At most, it contained a lot less production-related flaws.
Though Ves had made peace with the outcome, Gloriana was not resigned to this outcome. Unlike him, the quality of her products was a lot more central to her design philosophy!
Producing a masterwork mech was literally one of her primary ambitions! After all of the effort she invested into designing the Bright Warrior, she was unwilling to let the mech in front of her be the definitive version of the first production model!
A part of her felt tempted to scrap the mech entirely and try again. She dropped it, though. According to Ves, the first time was special. If they fabricated the mech again, they would be able to lean on the lessons they learned before, but lose most of the meaning that came with fabricating the very first complete copy of the finalized design.
The latter was far more important than the former in determining whether the mech they created became a masterwork!
"It's not to be this time." Ves attempted to soothe her frustration. "Almost everything fell in place for this passion project. We stacked the deck in our favor as much as possible. There was scarcely anything we could have done to increase our odds of realizing our ambition even further. It's just that reality doesn't work according to our desires. I fabricated well over a couple of dozen mechs, but I only managed to luck out in creating a masterwork once. The odds were never in our favor."
"I know that!" Gloriana shouted as her frustration boiled over. "We did so much! We especially kept ourselves awake to finish this marathon session in a single continuous run! I expected us to be rewarded for our efforts!"
Ves shook his head and turned away. "Let it be, Gloriana. The first production model is complete. It's not what we hoped, but it is still a mech to be proud of. We can still try again in the future. One day, the stars will align and everything will fall in place."
"You keep hammering on about 'chance' and 'serendipity' as if they are graced by gods! Isn't there a way to make our own chance?!"
"Serendipity is fleeting, but not a fantasy. It exists and operated by its own rules. I'm sure there is a way to demystify it, but neither of us are equipped to decipher its mechanisms. All we can do is roll the dice and hope we get the number we want."
Such a helpless approach basically amounted to a surrender to Gloriana. As someone who wanted to exert as much control as possible, she detested the notion of relying on something as ephemeral as luck or destiny to achieve the outcome she desired!
Gloriana forcefully poked her finger against his chest. "All of that is easy for you to say. You've already succeeded once! You have taken one step closer to attaining the elusive mech touch, while I'm still stuck at the starting line! You did it once. You can do it again!"
He wasn't in a mind to linger at the workshop any longer. Though his body could still hang on for a couple of days, his mind was worn out. All of the work he performed in the preceding days required utmost concentration.
Even if Ves happened to be good in this aspect, he was not a bot!
He turned around and held the hand that was poking him in a firm grip. "Drop it, Gloriana. We made an attempt and it didn't work out. We are no different from 99.9999999 percent of mech designers in this regard. What I managed to accomplish back then was a fluke! Maybe that's the crux about masterwork mechs. You'll never attain them by desiring them! You're trying too hard!"
Gloriana was practically gnashing her teeth. Quality was one of her top priorities. Unlike the ease in which Ves humbled himself and adopted a more tolerant mindset, it was impossible for her to drop her obsession for masterwork mechs!
She pressed closer to Ves and grasped his work uniform!
"You! You! YOU! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THIS IS EVERYTHING TO ME! I HAVE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME AND YOU JUST TELL ME TO DROP IT?! I HAVE BEEN PATIENT WITH YOU AND TOLERATED ALL OF YOUR ANTICS, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN TRAMPLE ON MY DREAMS LIKE THEY ARE TRASH!"
"I-I-I didn't mean it that way!"
"WELL FIX THIS THEN!"
"I can't!" Ves raised his hands in surrender. "Don't you think I would have tried something if it got us closer to our goal? The fact of the matter is that the quality of our mech is merely good instead of stellar. There is nothing about it that breaks any boundaries or ascends the realm of an ordinary product!"
'THIS SHOULDN'T BE IT! AREN'T YOU GOOD AT CREATING MIRACLES, VES? I KNOW YOU CAN DO SOMETHING! PUMP THIS MECH WITH DIVINE ENERGY, CREATE ANOTHER PROTO-GOD, SACRIFICE SOMEONE'S LIFE TO MAKE IT ALIVE, JUST DO SOMETHING!"
"It doesn't work that way!" Ves shouted. "The Bright Warrior already possesses a distinct spiritual foundation with its own unique attributes! Our respective spiritual energies don't conform to the mech! Besides, spirituality is a different attribute of mechs that don't cause mechs to become masterworks. There are other factors at work that don't have anything to do with spirituality!"
"No no no! I can't accept this!" Gloriana pounded her fists against his chest as tears began to spill from her eyes. Her voice broke down as the disappointment of the situation settled into her mind. "Don't you love me, Ves?! You can fix this! You can make this moment perfect! Isn't there anything you can do to make this right?"
Though it pained Ves' heart to disappoint his girlfriend, there was really nothing he could do to make her happy. The option that he had been contemplating in the back of his mind was embedding one of Lucky's greater gems in the mech to bump its quality past the masterwork threshold.
Yet for that option to work, the quality of the mech had to reach high enough to put it within reach of the masterwork threshold!
It was as if they were trying to build the Tower of Babel. Even if Ves and Gloriana failed to make the tower high enough to reach the heavens, Ves could still pull out a ladder from his pocket to reach their goal, but only if the top floor of the legendary tower almost brushed the clouds!
As it was, even if Ves brought out his ladder and planted it at the top of their current tower, there was no way that Ves could climb on top and stretch out his hand and expect to touch a fluffy white cloud!
"It's not possible. Sorry." He lamely replied.
"YOU LIE!" She went back to pressing her head against his own! "I can spot when you are lying, Ves! The way you avert your eyes and soften the tone of your voice in just that manner are tell-tale signs that you aren't telling me the truth!"
Ves inwardly cursed. Since when could Gloriana sniff out his lies?! To what extent did she study and analyze his mannerisms for her to be able to recognize that he was being less than truthful?! Why was there no justice in this galaxy?!
"I'm telling you over and over again. There's nothing I can do! If I did, I would have done so already!"
"THAT'S NOT AN ACCEPTABLE ANSWER! I know you have a lot of tricks on your sleeve. A young and inexperienced Journeyman like you can't possibly fabricate a masterwork mech so early in your career! Was it truly a fluke like you claimed, or did you pull something off that enabled your success? TELL ME, VES!"
She continued to cry as she sought to grasp any chance of salvaging this day. She put so much hope in this fabrication run that failure hit her much deeper than normal!
It pained Ves to see his girlfriend in emotional distress. He really didn't want to see her cry! It was one of the most painful sights he had ever seen!
"I.. I may have a trick, but...it won't work this time."
"WHY NOT?!"
"I can bump the quality of our meck a little higher, but not enough to reach our desired standard."
"THEN APPLY YOUR TRICK AGAIN!"
"I can't! It doesn't work that way! The trick I have can only be applied once per mech! I already tried to find out if I can stack it, but there is a hard rule against it! One time is the limit!"
"VES! YOU STUPID BOY! LOOK AT OUR BRIGHT WARRIOR!" She grabbed his head and tried to yank it to the freshly-fabricated mech. "DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A SINGLE MECH TO YOU?! IT'S NOT! IT'S A MODULAR MECH PLATFORM WITH FOUR DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS! IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S FOUR MECHS IN ONE! CAN'T YOU APPLY THIS SECRET METHOD OF YOURS ON EACH CONFIGURATION?!"
"This.."
Her suggestion astounded Ves! He had never considered this option before!
At first, it sounded ridiculous. Ves had already tried beforehand to embed multiple gems in a single mech, but there was some sort of interference between them that caused them to interfere with each other's effects. The first gem was the only one that took effect! Anything else that Ves added afterwards would only look pretty, nothing more!
Yet.. Gloriana had a point. The Bright Warrior was not a conventional mech design! The name stood for an entire system that encompassed a base platform as well as multiple different modular add-ons that turned it into different mech types!
In short, the Bright Warrior was both a single mech design and multiple mech designs at the same time!
The most crucial aspect about modular mech platforms was that the different configurations weren't mounted on the base platform at the same time! Only one of them was mounted onto the mech at any single time, with hardly any interchangeability between them due to their specialized parts!
This theoretically made it possible for Ves to apply as many gems as the different configurations could handle! He just had to make sure the gems stuck to the specialized parts instead of the common base platform!
Gloriana blinked up at him with an intensity that could burn a mech!
"I know that look of yours. It's viable, right? You wouldn't be contemplating so many ideas if what I said was wrong! IT WILL WORK, RIGHT?! RIGHT?! RIGHT?!"
"I don't know! I don't know if it will stack up the way we want!"
"Then try!"
"I.. don't know. I might waste some very valuable resources if we fail!"
'WE DON'T KNOW IF WE DON'T TRY! JUST DO IT, VES! GET TO WORK AND FIX THIS MESS!"
Being harried so much by Gloriana sent his mind into muddle. He really couldn't maintain his composure when Gloriana was subjecting him to her volatile mood swings!
The reason why he hesitated was because there was no guarantee that the gems would collectively elevate the quality of the entire modular mech platform. It didn't make much sense if that were the case!
What was much more likely to occur was that only a single gem would be active at a time. Depending on which configuration was mounted to the base platform, only that single gem took effect!
With such a disappointing outcome in mind, Ves was very pessimistic about his odds of success! He really wanted to save his stash of greater gems for better opportunities than salvage an outcome that was already doomed!
Gloriana didn't let him, though!
"WHY ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT HOLDING BACK AT THIS STAGE?! FIX THIS NOW!"
Chapter 1883 Placing Ladders
The entire mechanism on how Lucky's gems improved the quality of a mech was hard to explain.
Ves would have to define the quality of a mech and explain what variables influenced this parameter.
There was no precise, numerical measuring stick for quality. Just like the much-despised mech performance index, it was a bit simplistic to boil down the quality of mech by a single word, number or description.
Mech designers developed both a theoretical and instinctual understanding of quality when it came to mechs. Their judgement might differ from each other depending on how they ranked the aspects they cared about the most, but in general their opinions didn't diverge too much.
The quality of the Bright Warrior and the four sets of add-ons that made up its modular configurations were quite good. Ves would even call the end product fantastic.
Yet that was still separate steps too far from the insanely high standard that was called masterwork.
Implicitly, a masterwork was a work that was worthy to be called the magnum opus a master in a respective craft.
What this meant was that Ves and Gloriana both had to fabricate a mech that was so good that a typical Master Mech Designer on a very good day could not deliver anything better!
This was simply an unreal standard! It reflected how rare it was to create a masterwork mech when a mech designer was still short of reaching Master.
It reflected the exceptional nature of masterworks and ensured that they remained rare throughout the mech industry. So many mech designers attempted to achieve this stellar goal, yet few ever did! The few Seniors who managed to reach this standard always relied on exceptional circumstances and random chance to hit the jackpot and luck out!
For a Journeyman like Ves to assume that making another masterwork mech was just a matter of time was very arrogant.
No other Journeyman would possibly hope for creating a masterwork because the foundation of a mech designer at this stage was simply too shallow!
This was also the reason why Ves pursued an unusual strategy. The only way for him to realistically make a masterwork mech was to rely on one of his strange but exceptionally potent moods that always seemed to supercharge his fabrication run.
As far as Ves could ascertain, he always seemed to have a lot at stake each time he entered into those productive moods. He theorized that he could increase the chance of grasping an exceptional mood if he kept raising the stakes.
Adding more meaning to his mech design while adhering to a strict and cramped schedule all served to raise his sense of urgency and increase his emotional investment in the success of his project.
Did all of this work?
Ves would argue yes. Compared to the first attempts of fabricating the Deliverer and the Desolate Soldier, the first production model of the Bright Warrior clearly took the crown in terms of overall quality.
Yet the mech that Ves and Gloriana finished today was still within mortal limits. Its quality failed to get close to the unreal level where masterworks and other great works reigned!
For this reason, Ves really didn't want to do what Gloriana was pushing him for the last five minutes. She kept shouting and haranguing at him, but it wasn't until she started crying and pouring out her wounded heart that Ves really couldn't remain impassive anymore.
He cared about Gloriana! He didn't want to see her in this sad and tear-stricken state!
After a bit of consideration, he decided to shove aside his doubts and bury his hesitation. Even if what he was about to do was doomed to fail, he at least owed it to Gloriana to make an attempt.
"Okay, okay. I'll do it!" He said, interrupting her unhinged tirade. "Just stop crying, okay? It's not the end of the galaxy here. Come on, Gloriana. Please don't be sad."
He kissed her on the lips, causing her to calm down from her hysterical mood. Though tears still streaked across her cheeks, she began to look at him with a hopeful expression.
"You'll do it, Ves?"
"I'll try."
'TRYING IS NOT ENOUGH!" She warned him while pounding her fist against his chest. "YOU HAVE TO SUCCEED! I WON'T ACCEPT ANY OTHER OUTCOME THIS DAY!"
"I get it, Gloriana! You don't have to harry me any further!"
Ves walked up to the finished mech with Gloriana following right behind him like a persistent barnacle.
He first paused at the base platform and admired its form. Since this mech was meant for the Avatars, he coated it in a brilliant gold-and-black color scheme with a dash of navy blue to accent its overall contours.
The third eye enveloped by a hexagon sat prominently on the forehead while the emblems of the Larkinson Clan and the Avatars of Myth proudly adorned its upper left chest.
The Golden Cat and the Vitruvian Mech both marked the allegiance of this mech! This was a mech that was solely made to serve the Larkinsons, not the market!
Yet as impressive as the base platform appeared, it was still devoid of many essential elements. It lacked a complete armor cover and distinctly possessed no arms.
Ves turned towards the sets of modular parts that formed the different configurations. Each represented a different role, and each consisted of different parts and gear.
He studied the different configurations before deciding to start off with the Illuminating Warrior.
The rifleman mech configuration consisted of the smallest sets of parts. This was because the configuration did not add any additional armor plating onto the base platform.
Ves and Gloriana wanted to preserve as much mobility as possible in order to allow the Illuminating Warrior to reposition itself quickly and evade pursuit.
Both a laser rifle and a ballistic rifle had been added to the set. The Illuminating Warrior could opt to bring either or even both weapons to the battlefield.
"This is a pretty powerful configuration." He said. "The Breyer alloy we've incorporated in the construction of the frames of these rifles has done much to strengthen them and increase some of their parameters."
Gloriana snorted and placed her hands on her hips. "Why are you babbling about something irrelevant, Ves? STOP STALLING AND GET TO WORK!"
It seemed like his girlfriend was not in the mood to reflect on their work!
He helplessly withdrew a pouch he made out of a portion of Synthra Umbra fabric.
"You always carried that in your pocket." Gloriana noted with an intensely focused expression. "I always wondered why you never left it in the vault."
Ves shrugged but refrained from explaining. He didn't want to tell her that Lucky was the source of the gems he was about to use.
She would definitely pamper his cat silly if she found out he was the source! This meant that Ves would continue to receive gems revolving around gaining the affection of women!
After briefly rummaging through his pouch, he pulled out the gem he wanted.
[Remnant Supernova]
The remnants of a supernova that wiped out an entire alien race is contained within this gem. Increases the damage inflicted by directed energy weapons by 25 percent.
Though this gem only favored energy weapons, this wasn't a big deal for Ves. The current mech generation was already being called the laser generation due to the strength of lasers over many other damage types.
Of course, this mainly applied to third-class mechs. Higher classes of mechs utilized a much greater variety of weapon systems which made it difficult for laser weapons to dominate the conversation.
Regardless, for a mech like the Illuminating Warrior, Ves clearly favored its laser armament over its ballistic armament. He only included the latter to the design as a backup option in case they encountered another foe like the sandman race that was immune to energy weapons.
He needed to decide where to mount the gem. Ordinarily, he embedded the gem in the cockpit of a mech, which was ordinarily its most safest place.
That wasn't possible. His choices this time basically amounted to the left arm or right arm.
Ves chose the left arm because this limb was the closest to the emblems painted to the chest of the base platform.
He partially disassembled the arm portion with the help of some tools and bots. Gloriana assisted him when she saw what he was trying to do. With her help, it didn't take long before Ves reached a well-protected portion of the mech.
He mounted the gem and fixed it into place.
Nothing immediately happened, but Ves already expected that somehow. He withdrew from the innards of the mech arm and put it back together.
"Alright, let's go to the next configuration." He told Gloriana.
He repeated the same steps for the other configurations, embedding a different gem in similar locations.
For the Shining Warrior, the lancer mech configuration, he used the Fist of the Faithful.
[Fist of the Faithful]
The memory of a punch that changed the course of the galaxy resides in this gem. Increases the impact damage inflicted by a mech by 30 percent.
For the Solar Warrior, the space knight configuration, he used the Horned Devil's Visage.
[Horned Devil's Visage]
The echo of an extinct alien race is captured within this gem. Increases the sensor range of a mech by 40 percent.
Finally, for the Nova Warrior, the swordsman mech configuration, he used the Furnace of Regret
[Furnace of Regret]
The anguish of a forgotten terror is encapsulated in this gem. Increases the output of a power reactor of a mech by 30 percent.
Ves winced at some of the choices he made. The handful of greater gems he possessed didn't entirely fit the primary needs of the respective configurations.
He felt most pained by the decision to add the Furnace of Regret to Nova Warrior instead of the Illuminating Warrior.
He didn't have a choice, though. The Remnant Supernova was practically useless to every other configuration, so it had to be paired with the Illuminating Warrior.
Once Ves finished planting the gems in the arms of each separate configuration, he took a step back and looked at the resting base platform and the pile of parts.
As expected, he failed to attain his goal.
"..That's it?" Gloriana frowned. "Your secret weapon.. was just a bunch of gems?"
"They aren't regular gems. They're special!"
'WELL CLEARLY THEY AREN'T WORKING!" She burst out and kicked his shin!
"I-I don't know why! This was our best chance of making it work! I really don't know what is going on or why it isn't working! Maybe we need to mount a configuration on the base platform to make it mesh together!"
They attempted to do just that. They utilized the assembly system to mount the parts for the Illuminating Warrior onto the base platform.
Nothing happened. Outside of Ves' expectations, he saw nothing that indicated that the Remnant Supernova had set in! It was as if the gem had become inert!
"What!? How can there be no effect?!" He puzzled.
Ves decided to remove the Illuminating Warrior configuration and mount the other three configurations in turn.
The same result happened each time. The Bright Warrior turned into a different mech type, but Ves saw no indicator that proved that the gems had magically improved its attributes.
The expected increase in overall quality didn't occur either!
What was going on?"
"I don't know why it's not working!"
"If four gems aren't enough, what about five?! You added those strange gems to each of the different configurations, but you left out the base platform!"
"I already told you it doesn't work that way! The gems conflict with each other! Either one or the other takes supremacy!"
"This mech is different! Whatever you just did, you need to tie them together somehow. The base platform is the one common element that ties them all together. Just try it! I won't forgive you if you don't!"
Gloriana continued to pelt him until he did what she wanted. He helplessly approached the base platform and climbed up and entered its cockpit. With Gloriana squirming her way inside, they both squeezed inside the cramped space surrounded by consoles and other gizmos.
Ves sat down on the seat and held a multitool. He looked at the startup button and pried it off before taking out his pouch again.
Not a lot of gems remained in the pouch. He felt extremely pained at how Gloriana forced him to bet all in on turning this Bright Warrior into a masterwork! He gambled so much that even he couldn't stomach the thought of failure anymore!
As he contemplated his choice, his intuition nudged him towards a gem that Ves had always looked down upon.
[Accumulation of Spirit]
Allows a mech to bear a small quantity of spiritual energy.
He retrieved the small, opaque white gem and mounted it to the start button position.
As soon as the gem took its place, a reaction finally took place.
A profound spiritual glow seemed to form within the gem!
Soon enough, more reactions took place after the gem became active. Ves somehow felt the other gems embedded in the different configurations coming online as well!
It was as if the Accumulation of Spirit was all that needed to start a chain reaction! One that both activated the other gems and connected them all together!
"What is happening, Ves?!"
"I don't know, but there is something very familiar about these reactions!"
Through some indescribable sense, both Ves and Gloriana felt as if the mech they were in was undergoing a very profound transformation!
Chapter 1884 Altered Reality
An extraordinary transformation took place that Ves could hardly fathom. He saw and felt the Bright Warrior changing through several senses.
All of these reactions started off with the insertion of the Accumulation of Spirit. This seemingly insignificant gem somehow managed to either activate or connect with the other four gems, causing them to become active as if they had all been attached to a whole mech!
The weirdness of it all struck Ves like a sledgehammer. After becoming exposed to Lucky's gems for so long, Ves realized he knew almost nothing about their workings or mechanisms.
He barely even figured out its rules of operation!
How could he possibly think of applying multiple gems onto a single mech by exploiting a loophole in their rules? He never thought about 'splitting' up a mech to allow for multiple gems to take effect onto a single mech!
Regardless of whether the gems became active at the same time, the fact that it was possibly to boost the quality of a mech by stacking the effects of the gems this way was inconceivable!
He recalled the descriptions of the gems. Did it turn out that the System wasn't telling nonsense, and that the gems actually contained some remnants of past entities?
Were they unable to get along with each other on the same mech due to their conflicting or overlapping properties?
Was using some gem with neutral or binding options a way to get around this conflict?
Whatever the case, Ves learned plenty of new rules about the operation of Lucky's gems! He was very astonished by the realization that there were more sophisticated ways to utilize them! Just adding a single gem to an individual mech was not the end of the story!
As the transformation continued, Gloriana became enthralled while Ves maintained a sobar mind.
This wasn't the first time he saw Lucky's gems improve a mech through unknown means. Instead, he paid close attention to the differences between this empowering event and prior instances of upgrading a mech through embedding gems.
One thing was for sure. This transformation was a lot more drastic and potent than the ones that Ves witnessed before!
What was a masterwork mech?
The answer was difficult to say. The textbook definition described them as mechs whose 'quality' had reached physical wholeness and soundness beyond the reach of what should be possible.
This description implied that a mech somehow reached perfection or beyond in terms of physical quality, but Ves already experienced first-hand that it was too simplistic and incomplete to describe the profound existence of masterwork mechs!
There was more to a masterwork than just an elevated physical quality!
Due to the extreme reaction that Ves was witnessing right now, the changes experienced by the mech were much more visible than with the Devil Tiger!
This gave Ves a much clearer opportunity to observe what the gems exactly did to the Bright Warrior mech to elevate its quality and improve its other properties!
One thing that stood out to Ves was that the changes affected it's spiritual quality as well! Whether it was due to the Accumulation of Spirit, the nature of the transformation or both, the spiritual foundation of mech strength improved remarkably!
Amongst other effects, the Golden Cat glow grew significantly stronger, causing the mech to embody her presence to a greater degree!
This wasn't all. In his spiritual vision, he also saw something that he hadn't really noticed before.
The spiritual foundation of the mech integrated much more extensively with its physical frame! It was as if they were loose friends beforehand but turned into bosom buddies!
Ves never knew that the spiritual foundation of a mech could mesh so well to the physical frame. Ideas began to circulate in his mind. Perhaps he could replicate this phenomenon on his own without relying on this exceptional reaction!
In particular, the way the spiritual foundation adopted the overall shape of the Bright Warrior suggested to Ves that his fanciful notion of combining an imaginary mech with a physical mech was not as pointless as he thought!
Plenty of other interesting phenomena took place. While Gloriana was unable to witness the spiritual transformation of the mech, she had become completely obsessed by the physical transformation of the mech!
It was not as if the mech changed shape or something like that. The effects worked a bit more extensively than that. The best way to describe it was that if reality was being overwritten in real-time!
Normally, such reality-defying transformation shouldn't occur at all because the mech designer or fabricator already shaped the mech to the standard of a masterwork mech.
The introduction and activation of Lucky's gems broke all of those rules! Their mysterious properties caused the Bright Warrior mech to literally self-correct itself to the standard of a masterwork mech!
In Gloriana's words, it was a genuine miracle!
Ever since she conceived her design philosophy, she had always been chasing after the ideal of a perfect vessel. In her opinion, creating a masterwork was her best chance of realizing her seemingly-impossible dream!
Now that she finally accomplished it for the very first time, she stood to gain a huge amount of insights that would definitely advance her design philosophy by leaps and bounds!
"I can't stay in this cockpit! I have to witness all of the changes!"
This dream come true was such a precious moment for her that her design seed became excited beyond belief!
For this reason, Gloriana quickly squirmed out of the cockpit and activated her antigrav clothing to float in the air and observe all of the physical phenomena with her very own eyes!
As Gloriana experienced one of the greatest moments of her life, Ves became fascinated by the physical transformation for a different reason.
What kind of properties defined a masterwork? What was it that made them masterwork, and how could Ves reach this standard without relying on a shortcut like Lucky's gems?
Compared to the previous time he made a masterwork, Ves observed a lot more details. Part of this was because he was already prepared beforehand, but another part was due to his high affinity for mechs!
It didn't escape his attention that due to making another masterwork, his affinity for mechs rose once again! Gloriana was also the recipient of this effect, thereby vaulted her to the exclusive rank of masterwork mech designer!
Raising her affinity for mechs was one of the principal reasons why she wanted to succeed in making a masterwork mech!
The benefits a mech designer gained from increasing their instinctual understanding were already very good as Ves had already experienced. Yet to someone like Gloriana, the boons she gained was of much greater importance!
It was not surprising for her to lash out at Ves when they had initially fallen short of making a masterwork. She obsessed so much about masterworks that it didn't surprise Ves that she would do anything to attain her goal.
He was like that too, sometimes.
Ves felt very pleased that this gamble somehow worked out. Making Gloriana happy made him happy as well.
It was just that the price was a bit too much! Wasting five gems to create a single masterwork was an awful return on investment!
If he had a choice, he would rather create five masterwork mechs with the help of these gems!
All of this was moot now. Now that the gems had been used, they became permanently bound to the mech. In prior tests, Ves already figured out that the gems weren't reusable for some reason. Removing them and putting them into a different mech didn't work because the gems lost effect.
It was yet another unexplainable phenomenon that Ves hadn't figured out!
Whatever the case, the gems were stuck for good, so Ves could no longer make use of them to empower other mechs!
He lamented over their loss. Did he regret giving in to Gloriana's demands? Partially.
It wasn't as if Ves only incurred losses. The drastic transformations that took place due to the combined effects of five gems acting together already taught him a lot about the nature of masterwork mechs.
He doubted he would be able to make so many remarkable observations if he used a gem the regular way!
On top of that, with the elevation of this Bright Warrior mech, Ves could finally apply for a masterwork certificate. This meant that he stood to become a formally-recognized masterwork mech designer just a few years after he advanced to Journeyman!
The amount of mech designers who managed to accomplish this feat in the earlier periods of their careers was miniscule! This was a club reserved only for the very exceptional, very lucky or very talented!
Regardless in which category that Ves and Gloriana fell under, there was no doubt that masterwork mech designer enjoyed an exalted status in the mech community! This was more so for those who managed to make a masterwork when they were young!
Essentially, the earlier a mech designer gained a valid masterwork certificate, the more prominent they became!
Most Masters never even accomplished such a remarkable feat in their Journeyman days! In fact, a lot of Masters still weren't able to create any masterworks!
While that didn't necessarily diminish their design prowess or their value to the mech community, such Masters still respected those who were able to create masterworks!
This was a given because every masterwork mech designer possessed a deep and intimate understanding of mechs. No matter how much other mech designers disagreed with their design approach, they couldn't help but recognize that masterwork mech designers had made an exceptional achievement in the field of mech design!
All of this meant that attaining the status of masterwork mech designer sooner was exceptionally valuable.
If it took a decade for Ves to make another masterwork mech, then he would rather pay an exorbitant cost to make one sooner.
A masterwork mech designer in his thirties was ten times more remarkable than a masterwork mech designer in his forties!
Of course, if he was already capable of making a masterwork mech within a year, then wasting five greater gems was a very large pity. Ves would never know whether the losses outweighed the gains. He had no choice but to roll with the dice and accept the consequences of the choices he had already made.
He shook his head. "Five gems or not, I'm glad the Bright Warrior I've completed today is something I can show off with pride."
This mech was a lot more significant than the Devil Tiger. The Bright Warrior design that Ves could choose to publish on the market if he wished!
There was no hindrance in applying for a masterwork certificate this time! Ves felt incredibly gratified that he could finally convert his de facto masterwork mech designer status into a de jure status!
The amount of fame, prestige and reputation he would gain if the MTA official recognized his accomplishment was significant!
In the vast and extremely competitive mech industry, it was incredibly hard for mech designers to raise their profile and stand out from the crowd.
Gaining fame this way was not about satisfying his vanity.
Instead, Ves wanted to take advantage of this new status to grasp opportunities that weren't open to him before and work with powerful partners who wouldn't pay him any mind if he was just a regular Journeyman!
More specifically, Ves anticipated that becoming an officially-recognized masterwork mech designer would open up a lot of lucrative missions from the Rim Exchange!
At this moment in his life, what Ves cared the most was earning lots of MTA merits!
Increasing his qualifications, racking up achievements and raising his profile within the mech community was the best way for him to increase his value in the eyes of the Rim Guardians and their affiliates. This in turn boosted his ability to earn merits, thereby bringing him one step closer to redeeming a beyonder ticket!
Being able to reach this point earlier made him feel a lot less sour about spending all of those gems. Regardless of their future value, in the short term, Ves would rather earn more merits, because that was the only way he could become a galactic pioneer within his original timeframe!
Chapter 1885 Bridge Mech
The transformation eventually ended, but the day wasn't over to Ves and Gloriana.
Both of them were immensely pleased at the first production model's successful elevation to masterwork standard. Even though they hadn't been able to reach this standard through their personal design ability, the gains they made were huge and manifold, especially for Gloriana!
All of her earlier resentment and contempt had disappeared. She was so ecstatic that it was as if she had died and gone to heaven!
Her earlier scowls and frowns were nowhere to be seen now. She was all smiles as she continuously basked in the insights she made from observing the physical transformation.
She also became more radiant due to her increased affinity for mechs. This was a very vague property that raised her intuition towards mech design, increased her instinctive understanding of mechs and boosted her chances of making another masterwork mech!
If Ves was in her place, he would celebrate as much as her as well!
As it was, Ves was the one who paid the bill for all of these benefits. Though he gained a lot as well, he still felt that Gloriana took advantage of him somehow.
He shrugged. It was not as if he took advantage of his girlfriend plenty of times.
"Ves!" She finally deigned to direct her attention to him again. "This mech is so wonderful! It changed so much that I can study it for months! It's all thanks to you that I've made a huge harvest today! Thank you!"
She glomped him and showed her appreciation towards him in an intimate fashion!
Their snogging only lasted for a short time before Gloriana pulled back. "Come on! We still have much to observe and learn!"
Though both of them were tired, they didn't want to go to sleep. Gloriana especially insisted on studying the newly-elevated masterwork mech while her mind was still fresh and inspired from the remarkable transformation she witnessed!
Ves played along as he was curious to see how the gems exactly worked now that the Accumulation of Spirit seemingly bonded them together.
They scanned the mech and fiddled around a bit by mounting a couple of configurations to the mech.
After turning the mech online, Ves discovered that only one gem was in effect at a time.
This meant that the Illuminating Warrior wouldn't be able to take advantage of the Nova Warrior's improved power reactor enhancement.
If all or at least some of the gems were in effect at the same time, then Ves would have no more complaints about expending five greater gems on a single mech.
As it was, the Bright Warrior mech hadn't actually grown more powerful than an equivalent masterwork mech boosted by just a single gem!
"Well, I can't have everything, I guess." He shook his head.
He still remained somewhat suspicious of the Accumulation of Spirit mounted in the cockpit of the base platform. He was absolutely certain that its effect was a lot more than being able to store a little bit of spirituality!
Sadly, Ves didn't think he could decipher their secrets anytime soon. They were simply too inscrutable for him. Neither Gloriana's scanners nor his own spiritual senses could decipher anything unusual behind their shiny facades.
"Don't ask me how they work. I have no idea how they enhance an attribute of a mech or how they elevate its overall quality." He told her. "Just consider them as consumable add-ons. I can integrate them onto any single mech to improve their performance or push them over the edge of masterwork."
That wasn't an acceptable answer to Gloriana! As she slowly came off the high of becoming a masterwork mech designer, she rushed up to him like a demon and grasped his arms!
"TELL ME WHERE YOU GOT YOUR GEMS! I NEED THEM! I NEED THEM! I NEED THEM!"
Ves gently but firmly shook her off and pushed her away. "Calm down! I can't answer this question, and I prefer to keep hold of what gems I have left. They're very rare and difficult to obtain. Don't worry though, I can obtain them periodically, so the gems I have left in my pouch aren't the only ones we can use to our advantage."
"Come on, Ves! Don't you love me? Aren't we together in this? Why can't you tell me anything more?" She pleaded to him while showing off her puppy eyes.
Though Gloriana appeared exceptionally adorable right now, Ves had enough of her for one day. With his thoughts lingering on the price he paid for this accomplishment, he wasn't in the mood to indulge her anymore!
"Just drop it. I love you, Gloriana, but just like you I've withhold some information from you. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that what I know is far too dangerous to be spread around."
"—But—"
"—I'M BEING SERIOUS HERE!" He shouted back, his temper flaring due to her persistence! "If you know me as well as I suspect you do, then you must have figured out that my life is a bit unusual. This is partially because I'm caught up in events that are incredibly dangerous and involve parties that are inconceivably powerful! If I draw the attention of one of them, my life will definitely be over!"
She looked shocked at him. "I.. I didn't know it was that bad.."
"Please respect my privacy, at least for this." He sighed and calmed down. "Those gems are related to matters that are so significant that even the Big Two will pay attention to me once I become exposed!"
Though she looked unwilling, his girlfriend understood that Ves really didn't want to share the secret behind his reality-warping gems.
It was difficult for her to resist her urges. The shiny gems that Ves whipped out attracted her beyond all reason! Their incredible uses and immense potential aligned so much with her design philosophy that she thought it was unfair that Ves managed to obtain them. Where did he even get these sparkling treasures?!
Now that Ves and Lucky was done with their work, their cats approached their owners and begged for their affection.
"Miaow."
While Ves bent down to ruffle Clixie's silky soft fur, Lucky brushed his side against Gloriana's legs while curling his tail in a playful manner.
"Meow!"
"Hm? Do you want a hug or something, Lucky!"
"Meow meow meow!"
Lucky wiggled his rear end while calling out to Gloriana.
When Ves heard his cat, he froze while widening his eyes! What was Lucky doing!? He quickly moved away from Clixie and grabbed his cat!
"Lucky!" He hissed. "Remember who's your boss!"
"Meow! Meow!"
Lucky reached out to Gloriana with his paws!
"What's going on, Ves? What's wrong with Lucky?"
"Ah, he's just a bit too pampered these days. He needs some more exercise."
"Meow!"
"Shut up, Lucky!"
Even though Lucky kept meowing at Gloriana, she didn't understand what he was trying to say! Unlike Ves, she didn't have the ability to communicate with creatures!
"Lucky looks like he wants something from me. Why are you keeping him away?"
"Hehe, Lucky is a little naughty these days. Don't mind him. I'll be teaching him a lesson soon."
Though Lucky's distress increased, Ves kept a vice grip on his pet. He did not want Lucky to reveal that he was the source of the gems that became Gloriana's latest fascination!
Lucky was his cat, damnit! Gloriana would definitely try to convert him if she discovered Lucky's actual nature!
This brief incident signified the end of their preoccupation with their new masterwork mech. Before the pair left the underground workshop, they made sure to secure their new creation and arrange the base platform and its configurations to be sent to the current base occupied by the Avatars of Myth.
They also wrapped up the logs and files related to the creation of the masterwork mech.
Obviously, they left out the explosive footage where the gems took effect and transformed the mech.
They transferred only existing copy of the footage to a single secure data chip, to be put in Gloriana's care so she could study the all of the changes at her leisure.
"Make sure to view the contents of this data pad in a shielded room with a device that isn't connected to the galactic net." Ves told her. "I'm sure I don't need to explain to you how much trouble we'll attract if people know they can make masterworks with this method."
She nodded attentively. "I understand. I'm not taking this lightly at all. I really do need this footage to gain more insights. I haven't observed nearly enough to make me satisfied!"
"I understand. I trust you to keep the contents of this data chip secure."
Once they wound down the mech workshop and thoroughly cleared every single memory of what transpired, they boarded a shuttle and returned to the Austen Estate.
During the trip, both of them began to prepare for their applications to receive a masterwork certificate.
Due to the unusual nature of how they managed to create the masterwork, they weren't able to prepare all of the information the MTA usually needed.
"It's not that big of a deal." Gloriana reassured her. "The MTA will recognize that our masterwork mech is genuine. Attributing its creation to us is a little difficult, but I'm told that they have ways of verifying that as well."
"Do we have to send our mech to the MTA?"
"Not unless we want to certify it, which isn't necessary. Plenty of mech designers want to keep their masterwork mechs for themselves. The MTA will send an envoy to us to verify our claims. It's just that we'll attract a huge amount of attention."
"We're too young." He stated as he looked up from his projected interface. "We are one of the few mech designers in our early thirties who managed to accomplish this feat."
"Exactly. While this will do wonders for our fame, we'll also attract a huge amount of attention from nearly everyone. The Protectorate branch of the MTA will likely dispatch someone very high up the ladder to lead the delegation to inspect our masterwork mech."
That didn't sit too well with Ves. The less direct contact he had with the MTA, the better. If not for the fact he needed to earn a lot of MTA merits, he would have also tried to avoid the Rim Guardians as well.
"Well, we'll deal with whoever the Association sends. Hopefully, the envoy won't get too snoopy or demand custody of our mech."
Gloriana smiled and shook her head. "That won't happen. The MTA wants masterwork mechs very badly, but it can't be heavy-handed in their persuasion attempts. A fair number of masterwork mech designers submit their creations to the MTA to earn merits, but there are also those who keep them to themselves or negotiate a deal with a client or customer."
"How many merits do you think we can earn if we give up our masterwork to the MTA?"
While Ves would never actually make this decision, he still wanted to see what he was missing out on. He wasn't quite sure how many merits the MTA was willing to pay.
To answer his question, Gloriana had to browse the galactic net and pull up one of the countless voluminous rulebooks of the MTA.
After studying the terms related to submitting masterwork mechs, she look up to Ves with a shrug.
"I don't know. The MTA hadn't outlined any rules concerning bridge mechs. The MTA can either view our Bright Warrior design as a crippled second-class mech or a heavily enhanced third-class mech. Depending on the definition they adopt, we can either gain a million merits or just a hundredth of that sum!"
The disparity between the classes was huge. It showed that the MTA frankly didn't care about third-class masterwork mechs. Only the ones who could at least compete against other second-class mechs caught their attention!
Even with all of its gem-provided upgrades, the mech they made still fell short to the likes of the Paravin or Selzer in every aspect except defense!
Chapter 1886 Amadeus Clae Molien
When Ves and Gloriana returned to the Austen Estate, they were more than ready to crash into their beds and catch up on the sleep they missed.
Before they left to their own bedrooms, Gloriana held her boyfriend's arm.
"There is one more issue I want to address before we retire for the night. Our masterwork mech deserves its own name."
"That sounds like a good idea."
He agreed with her, though he failed to come up with a suggestion so far. He was still preoccupied with everything that took place today to think of a good name.
"How about the Quint?" She suggested. "It's a short and succinct name. While it doesn't sound as impressive as some of the other names attached to masterwork mechs, it will give our mech the opportunity to define its own identity."
Though Ves initially thought her suggestion sounded too plain and simple, he became swayed by her argument.
Calling their new masterwork mech something that sounded conventional such as the 'Fading Star' or the 'Zopharis Eon' didn't satisfy Ves. No description could ever fully describe the splendor of their new masterwork mech!
With four different configurations empowered by their own gems, the Bright Warrior mech they made was both versatile and powerful in different ways.
Masterwork mechs didn't have to remain stagnant in order to retain this special state.
Anyone could repair a masterwork mech once damaged as long as they restored it to its original state with matching materials.
They could even make some modifications or adjustments without breaking the quality that defined it as a masterwork!
Otherwise, Ves wouldn't have let his Devil Tiger go! The MTA wouldn't have valued masterwork mechs that much if they lost what made them special after participating in a single battle.
Stil, it was best to let the masterwork mech designer perform these changes himself, as he possessed the closest connection to their extraordinary creation.
Why this was so, Ves didn't entirely know. This was just what the MTA made public about masterwork mechs. There were still many questions and myths surrounding the nature of these kinds of products.
Due to his mental weariness, Ves didn't think much further before accepting her suggestion. "Quint it is, then. I hope this masterwork mech will stay with Joshua and the Avatars long enough to develop its own fame."
"Great! I'll put that in our applications and take care of the rest of the paperwork! Have a good rest, Ves!"
She pecked his cheek before she left with a giggle.
Ves kept hold of Lucky and moved to his chambers. Once there, he lectured his cat on what he was allowed to do. Under no circumstances should Lucky ever 'produce' a gem in Gloriana's presence!
"Meow meow!"
"No! This is non-negotiable!"
"Meowwwww~"
"Don't complain! I'm promising you a greater share of Breyer alloy in exchange for your silence! However, you'll have to increase the output of your greater gem production to keep me satisfied. Don't keep it all to yourself!"
"Meow.. meow."
"How many gems have you produced lately? I only received two, and both of them are completely useless! You have to do better, Lucky!"
After Ves set things straight with his cat, he finally retired for the night.
The next day, Ves woke up late but completely rested. After taking care of his morning routine, he discovered that Gloriana still needed more rest.
"My cousin has been through a lot. Her exhaustion reached a more alarming state than I anticipated." Ranya said when Ves called her over the comm. "For the moment, I brought her back to the treatment center in order to facilitate her recovery."
"When will she be back?"
"Not too long. It will take a day or two before she's ready to be discharged."
That didn't sound too bad. Once Ves ended his call, he decided to revisit the Quint and study it further.
For now, neither Ves nor Gloriana spread the word about their amazing accomplishment. It was such explosive news that it would definitely send shockwaves throughout his enterprise and beyond!
While Ves didn't mind that, he wanted to make sure he could leverage this news properly.
To assist him with this, he summoned Gavin to accompany him on his shuttle trip to the Avatar base.
"So why did you call me here for, boss?" His assistant spoke after Ves boarded the shuttle with Lucky.
"I want to hear your advice on our latest accomplishment."
"What is it? Is this accomplishment of yours related to the mech you and your girlfriend built?"
He nodded. He looked around and activated a signal jammer before revealing the details.
Once Gavin heard that Ves and Gloriana managed to succeed in making a masterwork, he looked shocked!
"I have no clue why everyone in the mech community obsesses so much over masterworks, but I definitely know that it shouldn?t be possible for the two of you to succeed! Every source I've read on this topic states that only Seniors should be able to start making masterworks!"
"There's an exception for everything, Benny." Ves smiled ruefully. "Human space is immense and the amount of mech designers who created masterwork mechs are considerable. Some of them are even more talented in mech design than me and managed to do the same in their teens! I haven't broken any records in this regard."
The current record holder for youngest mech designer to receive a masterwork certificate was a freak from the New Rubarth Empire.
Around sixty or seventy years ago, the galactic mech community entered into a tumult when news came out that a seventeen-year old Rubarthan managed to design a mech and produce a masterwork copy by himself!
What was remarkable about this story was that Amadeus Clae Molien, the Rubarthan prodigy, received no assistance at any point during the design and fabrication stages!
In many cases, younger mech designers managed to receive a masterwork certificate by relying heavily on older and better mech designers.
This wasn't the case with Amadeus! The Rubarthans quickly moved to publicize and celebrate the freak's record-breaking feat!
It was too bad that Amadeus died before he reached twenty-five years old. The stories surrounding his death were shrouded with confusion.
No one knew who was responsible for assassinating Amadeus! Most of the rumors pointed the finger at the Terran Confederation, while others cast suspicion on the prodigy's rivals within the Rubarthan Empire!
Some even dared to accuse the CFA of the deed in order to deprive the MTA of a powerful future ally and partner!
Even crazier was the rumors that suggested that the MTA itself got rid of Amadeus for some inexplicable reason!
Whatever the case, Amadeus died because he attracted too much attention. His continued existence threatened many powers and his death benefited them considerably.
The tale of Amadeus Clae Molien weighed heavily on Ves. While his own accomplishment was nowhere close to that of the Rubarthan prodigy, it was nonetheless extremely exceptional in an underdeveloped star sector at the very edge of the galactic rim!
Ves and Gloriana probably set a new record for youngest masterwork mech designers from the Komodo Star Sector!
In fact, the entire Yeina Star Cluster probably hadn't produced a mech designer who surpassed the pair on this front!
The huge import of this news soon dawned upon Gavin. He couldn't restrain his shock that Ves and his girlfriend of all people managed to do the impossible!
"You're right to keep the news under wraps." He said softly. "You can't suppress it forever, though. Other people have already seen the masterwork mech, right?"
"Some of our guards were present inside the workshop, though I made sure to order them to look away from us. I did order some people to transport the Quint to the Avatar base. A lot of people have seen the mech during the way. I trust the Avatars to keep their mouths shut, though."
Gavin looked skeptical. "Secrets always leak. Especially when they are exposed to this extent. No offense to your Avatars, but at any time they can always slip some information. You shouldn't assume that the Avatars who know about your Quint will stay mute forever."
"That's why I need a plan, Benny. How should we announce our accomplishment? How should we take advantage of the publicity we'll inevitably draw, and what should we be concerned about? I don't want to end up as the second Amadeus Clae Molien."
"We can't stay in the Ylvaine Protectorate." Nitaa interjected. "This state has been a fine host to you, but it is in a precarious situation. The Friday Coalition remains a clear threat to you. Once your feat becomes known, the Fridaymen will no longer dismiss you as an inconsequential individual!"
"You're right. I already planned to leave the Protectorate after finishing this project." He said. "There is nothing in the Protectorate that is compelling enough to make us stay here. We need to move on to greener pastures soon."
After satisfying Nitaa, Gavin offered his own views.
"To be honest, the timing of the announcement is not very convenient. If you had sprung me with this news when we have reached somewhere safer like the Sentinel Kingdom, then I would have told you to invite a lot of prominent members of the mech community and hold a grand banquet where you can show off your masterwork mech with pride!"
Ves frantically shook his head. "That is way too extravagant to me! I have no desire to schmooze with other mech designers. I also don't like to be exposed to so many strangers."
"Then.. we can hold a more modest press conference. Just like with the Aurora Titan's reveal event but on a smaller scale, we can invite a number of journalists and friendly acquaintances to experience your Quint in person. This is necessary if you don't want your accomplishment to be called into question."
Doing so would successfully validate his accomplishment to the wider mech community and raise his profile.
While Ves sought to raise his fame and prestige, he didn't want to attract the wrong kind of attention. He asked Gavin what he should do to mitigate the risks.
"You need to find a backer." He replied simply. "In fact, you need one already in order to be ready in case the news leaks out."
"I see.."
So far, his only choice for backer was the Wodin Dynasty. Gloriana's mother and other relatives were strong enough to guarantee his safety and freedom to all but the most major threats!
That did not sit well with Ves. he frowned as he contemplated how much he had to rely on the Wodin Dynasty to further his own goals.
As unwilling as felt, he saw no other choice!
Fortunately, Ves believed that Madame Constance Wodin would definitely regard his relationship with her daughter in a better light.
Even if they hadn't managed to create a second-class masterwork mech that was usable by one of the Wodins, he was still the youngest masterwork mech designer in the star sector or star cluster!
Best of all, he also managed to bring Gloriana along for the ride! Such a contribution should be immensely valuable to the Wodin Dynasty! Ves didn't believe that Gloriana's notoriously demanding mother would continue to disregard his worth!
"Will the Hexers back you, boss? If not, we're in trouble."
"Don't worry." Ves waved his assistant down. "Gloriana will take care of this issue when she wakes. The Wodins are already friends from what I can see. If Brutus and Ranya's change of heart is anything to go by, it shouldn't be difficult to obtain their support."
"Okay.. we should still prepare for the worst, I believe."
"That's a given. For now, I want you to start making the arrangements for the press conference, but try and hold it off for as long as possible. I'm not ready to make this announcement so soon."
"Why the delay?"
Ves smirked and tapped the side of his head. "I have an implant waiting to be installed in my head!"
Chapter 1887 First Activation
The Quint stood imposingly in a restricted hall inside the Avatar base. No one was allowed to go inside except for a select few people.
Plenty of people had seen the Quint, though few knew what it represented. Though word about its masterwork status hadn't spread, a few people knew the truth.
At this moment, four people entered the hall. Ves stood in front of an interface to manipulate a set of bots and manipulator tools to load the Nova Warrior configurations onto the base platform.
For the very first activation, Ves opted to mount the swordsman mech configuration. This was the most balanced and neutral configuration of the Bright Warrior model, though its ranged options left much to be desired.
The Quint's only common armament, its low-profile shoulder-mounted missile launchers, hadn't been loaded with missiles yet!
The LMC had trouble procuring powerful missiles to make the missile launchers worthwhile. While Ves had already ordered a large batch of standard missiles from an Ylvainan munition supplier, their potency was lackluster.
While Ves worked to prepare the Quint for a very basic activation, Commander Melkor and Joshua waited patiently a few steps back.
Nitaa was present as ever in her imposing armor and her triple-type heavy assault rifle. The bodyguard continually swept every corner for threats and intruders like an inexhaustible sentry bot.
Lucky on the other hand was lounging on his back in the air as if he was lying in a hammock. He was the most unconcerned of them all!
"This mech.." Joshua trailed, his eyes wide with fascination.
As an aficionado of LMC mechs, he had seen and piloted many mechs designed by Ves.
Of all the machines he had the pleasure of seeing, the Quint that stood dormant topped everything else. Not even the vaunted Shield of Samar or the gold label mechs in the possession of the Avatars could match the indescribable splendor of the first copy of the Bright Warrior!
"This is a rare opportunity that Ves has prepared for you, Mr. King." Melkor told his subordinate. "The Quint may not be the custom mech that you have been hoping for, but it is by far the best standard mech that you will be able to pilot for the foreseeable time."
"Thank you for assigning this mech to me." Joshua sincerely bowed to Melkor and Ves, his piloting suit stretching over his lean frame. "I will strive to prove myself worthy to pilot this august machine."
"Ves has very high expectations of you. Make sure you continue to meet them. If we have cause to believe the prowess of the Quint is wasted on you, we won't hesitate to reassign it to a worthier mech pilot. Don't let it come to that. Always remember that the mech is not your personal possession. You are an Avatar. You fight on behalf of Ves and the Larkinson Clan."
"Understood."
Once Ves finished preparing the Quint, he withdrew from the work console and turned to the pair of Avatars.
"The mech is ready. Joshua, go ahead and enter its cockpit. The honor of its first piloted activation goes to you. Savor this moment, but don't get too caught up by the experience. I still wish to gather a lot of data and I don't have all day.
"Yes, sir!"
While Joshua marched over to the mech of his dreams, Ves and Melkor studied the young mech pilot.
"You're paying too much attention to Joshua." The Avatar Commander told Ves. "While he's an exceptional mech pilot, there are other talents in my troop that merits attention as well. I've been careful to temper his expectations to avoid inflating his ego. Assigning him the honor of piloting your first masterwork mech without earning a lot of merit is not a good precedent."
His opinion was sound. Ves did overreach a bit by selecting Joshua as the designated mech pilot of the Quint, but he had his own reasons for picking this young talent over other deserving Avatars.
One of the main reasons was that Joshua was a mech pilot with strong spiritual potential. While he wasn't the second coming of Venerable Foster or anything, the native from Cloudy Curtain possessed spiritual attributes that made him very compatible with LMC mechs!
Of course, Ves couldn't reveal this reasoning to his cousin, so he employed other excuses instead.
"Joshua is the most versatile mech pilot on our payroll." He calmly said. "Whether he deserves this honor or not, it's undeniable that he is skilled in both swordsmanship and marksmanship. He can pilot light mechs as proficient as knight mechs. With his diverse skillset, he can make adequate if not full use out of all four configurations of the Bright Warrior model. Can any other Avatar top him in this regard?"
"There are several Larkinsons on the top of my head that can give Joshua a run on his money." Melkor retorted. "You know how we train our own relatives. We always instill our mech pilots with a solid foundation and at least basic competencies in each fundamental field. Some of our Larkinsons have gone beyond the basics and developed well-rounded repertoires. While they are admittedly not as extreme as Mr. King, they're family."
Ves shook his head. "Joshua's loyalty is not less than our own clansmen. He's a plain kid and his motivations are clear to see. I don't see any harm in entrusting him with the Quint."
Though Melkor still disagreed with Ves, he didn't argue any further. Ves was the boss, and he was just his subordinate. The hierarchy was very clear.
Once Joshua entered the cockpit, Ves switched the interface to display a raft of telemetry as well as an interior view of the cockpit.
Both Ves and Melkor saw Joshua sitting on the piloting chair and looking at the silent consoles with rapt attention and admiration.
One of the smaller characteristics that Ves added to his mech was to decorate the interior of the cockpit. Reliefs of the Bright Warrior in different configurations fighting against different foes adorned the sides and back of the cockpit.
Each of them told a different story. Ves added them to the cockpit in order to influence his mech pilots and put them in the right mood.
Ves looked to the side where the Larkinson Mandate floated in the air. The brace he built for it was permanently active and followed him by default.
Several times, he contemplated the idea of trying to mate its controls to the Golden Cat. This allowed the ancestral spirit to decide how to move the book.
He quickly shot down this idea. For the moment, the Golden Cat was way too immature and would definitely be up to mischief! Ves did not wish to deal with a second Lucky!
"Get ready, Goldie." He whispered. "Make sure to channel yourself in the Quint and give Joshua an experience he won't forget."
Nyaaaa.
The Golden Cat playfully bopped her head at Ves before turning her attention to her many spiritual bonds.
In the meantime, Joshua was done admiring the interior. He mentally peppered himself up and slowly drew his finger forward to press the oddly-warm activation button.
The interior of the cockpit glowed.
Various systems of the Quint came online. Due to its overall quality, it only took seconds for many of its essential systems to become powered.
A hum and thrum emanated deep from within. Joshua momentarily felt a vibration shaking him through his very seat before the cockpit's inertial dampeners came online.
As his mind began to interface with the Quint, a vast presence welled within the center of the great machine.
Its glow started to come online.
To Ves, both the Larkinson Mandate and the Quint glowed in unison. For an instant, he had the illusion that the book and the mech were one and the same!
The formation of the glow signified the mech had become fully operational. Throughout the brief startup period, Joshua finally connected to the mech.
Many mech pilots dreamt of piloting a masterwork mech. Though its specs weren't necessarily better than a regular mech, there was always something about them that gave their mech pilots a profound experience.
There was even a myth in the mech community that piloting a masterwork mech was the best method for ordinary mech pilots to advance to expert candidate!
While the MTA and many mech designers rejected this unproven assertion, there was no doubt that piloting a masterwork mech was always special!
Right now, despite Ves' warning, Joshua couldn't help but become enthralled by the transcendent sensations he was experiencing through the Quint!
Its masterwork qualities combined with its potent spiritual properties combined in an activation sequence that amounted to a magical journey!
No one else knew what Joshua was experiencing now aside from the Golden Cat!
The ancestral spirit fell silent as the Quint interfaced with its first mech pilot. Ves frowned and switched his view from the Larkinson Mech and the cockpit view and back.
What was going on?
After two minutes of absolute silence, the spiritual activity levels emanating from the Larkinson Mandate and the Quint subsided. Joshua pulled himself from his trance and completed the initial boot-up sequence as if there was nothing wrong!
"I'm ready to move the mech, sir." He transmitted through the communication channel.
"Take a few steps forward." Ves quickly ordered.
The large mech moved forward. Its sword was currently mounted on its back at an angle to avoid bumping into the flight system.
The entire hall thundered with loud impacts and solid vibrations as each step brought the imposing machine forward.
Ves rid himself of most distractions and turned to the console. He carefully studied the telemetry and tried to contrast them with the typical performance of the prototypes.
One difference immediately stood out. The piloting activity was much higher, which suggested that Joshua exhibited a much deeper degree of immersion than any of the test pilots had managed with the prototypes!
Even Melkor couldn't help but take note!
"It is as if Joshua was born to pilot this mech!"
Ves smirked. "It seems my choice isn't wrong."
The basic testing session continued. The underground hall was large enough to hold a small duel, so the Quint had plenty of space to perform some motions.
As a spaceborn mech, the Bright Warrior model was not exactly suited for landbound operations.
However, Ves did not rule this option out entirely. While the mech model's mobility was severely curtailed in landbound operations, it was able to walk and jog under standard gravity operations without a problem.
The mech was even able to fly in the air, though its flight characteristics were vastly inferior compared to true aerial mechs!
Ves contemplated designing a variant of the Bright Warrior that was optimized for either aerial or landbound combat, but that was something to consider later.
Bolstering the spaceborn combat capabilities of the Avatars and Sentinels took priority! Only when Ves could ensure his safety in space would he be free to pursue other goals.
The inaugural piloting session of the Quint lasted an entire hour. Ves continued to command the masterwork mech to flourish its sword, hover in the air, perform attacks against projected mechs and test out its marksmanship by wielding a borrowed practice rifle.
As Ves gathered a wealth of data on the Quint's distinct performance, he asked a question to Melkor.
"Have you offered Joshua to become a retainer of our clan?"
Melkor shook his head. "No. He's too young. I felt that it is prudent to keep him under observation for a couple of years."
"You can skip that." Ves said and patted his palm on the surface of the floating Larkinson Mandate. "I can already tell you that he is a good fit for our clan. Extend the offer. He'll say yes."
"Ves.."
"Just do it. Joshua is a valuable asset. I want to bind him to our service in a more permanent arrangement than the one we have right now."
"Becoming a retainer of the Larkinson Clan is supposed to be a privilege!" The Avatar Commander threw up his hands. "Giving it away like candy goes against the spirit of our merit-based incentive structure! What else can we dangle in front of his face to make sure he continues to strive for the clan?!"
Ves turned around and smirked. "We can adopt him into the clan."
Chapter 1888 First Batch
Over several practice sessions, Ves obtained a decent baseline on the basic performance of the Quint.
While he hadn't subjected the masterwork mech to any comprehensive exercises of mock battles, Ves was more than satisfied with what he learned.
The gems were all working as advertised, though only one of them was active at the same time.
The only exception was the Accumulation of Spirit, which rested silently in the cockpit of the base platform. Ves imagined it as a spider sitting in the center of a vast web. The gem's ultimate purpose went far beyond just a vessel for spiritual energy!
As Joshua continued to get accustomed to the Quint, his entire mood and demeanor lit up. He became increasingly more appreciative of the masterwork mech and cherished any opportunity to pilot it around.
More than once, Joshua requested for the mech to be brought up in space so he could put it through its paces in the environment it was designed to operate in! The Quint was primarily a spaceborn mech, so piloting it on the surface of a planet was a huge disservice to the mech!
"It's not time yet." Ves ruled out the possibility. "Moving the Quint onto a ship will expose it to a significant portion of the crew. For now, the mech stays here."
Aside from supervising the Quint, Ves also spent some time at the production sites tasked with producing the initial batch of Bright Warriors.
The gold-and-black coated mechs that rolled off the production line in the next few days were all distinct from the Quint.
Unlike the first copy of the Bright Warrior design, the subsequent copies already came in one one of the four configurations.
The decision to leave the modularity aspect of the Bright Warrior aside was a decision made out of necessity.
Currently, the LMC was being bottlenecked by the limited supply of Breyer alloy! The Battle Criers were only able to 'supply' a given amount of Breyer alloy every so often.
It was impossible to fabricate hundreds of Bright Warrior and provide each of them with their own sets of configurations!
To save both time and money, Ves instructed the LMC to pretend that the Bright Warrior was a product line that encompassed four different models.
The first batch should go to the Avatar mech pilots who were uniquely suited to adopt one of the roles of the Bright Warrior.
Over the course of ten days, Ves worked to replace the old mechs of the 1st Spaceborn Mech Company of the Avatars of Myth with forty brand-new gold label Bright Warriors!
While Ves didn't have the time to fabricate the mechs in person, he regularly visited the local manufacturing sites. He corrected the spiritual foundation of the mechs in the making to ensure they met the standard of a gold label mech!
This was fairly exhausting work, and drained a considerable amount of spiritual energy from him, but it ensured that the first adopters of the Bright Warrior piloted the best edition of his new design barring the Quint!
Ves cared a lot about the first batch. For the times to come, these mechs would serve as the standard of his fighting forces!
Was there enough Breyer alloy to kit out all forty mechs? Yes. He could even begin producing the next batch, but there wouldn't be much materials left after that!
"The production loop is pretty fast, but it's not fast enough to meet my needs." Ves rubbed his chin.
The Breyer alloy expended in the last week expended a huge chunk of the stockpile that the Scarlet Rose accumulated in the last three months.
Ves already maximized the speed of production. It couldn't go any faster because there appeared to be a set time when the cockpit reappeared in the escape tube. While this time varied a bit due to random factors, there was no point installing a second forging machine or furnace machine in Compartment G-13.
At the current pace, Ves would probably have to wait for a year or so to supply a thousand Bright Warriors to the Avatars and Sentinels!
This was a very long time, but Ves believed it was worthwhile to do so. In time, this decision would pay off as many of his mech pilots developed a closer bond with the Larkinson Clan and the Golden Cat.
What concerned Ves the most was that he might not have the time to supply his forces with so many mechs.
While his Avatars, Battle Criers and Sentinels already fielded serviceable mechs, the exceptional defense and superior performance of the Bright Warriors could make a huge difference on the battlefield!
Comprehensively upgrading his mech troops by adopting the Bright Warrior as the new standard would definitely deter a lot of potential threats!
Considering the hot water that Ves and Gloriana dove into recently, improving their security situation was an extremely high priority!
With a bright but turbulent future ahead of them, Gloriana went to work as well after she recovered from her marathon fabrication session.
Once she got over the excitement of becoming a masterwork mech designer, she began to handle their correspondence with the MTA as well as their relations with various parties, ranging from the Wodin Dynasty to the Ylvaine Protectorate.
Though Ves questioned whether Gloriana was the right person to be in charge of their public relations, she turned out to be adequate in this role. She was able to reign in most of her eccentric aspects and present a dignified demeanor to others.
Of course, she was still a Hexer, so she didn't exactly come across as normal.
Ves didn't mind this. In fact, he was banking on it! The more unhinged she came across, the better!
The two of them needed to explain how they managed to defy the odds and fabricated a masterwork mech. Presenting a crazy facade was something that Ves had found useful many times.
As long as other people believed that they managed to luck out due to their unorthodox beliefs and crazy approach towards mech design, then they weren't inclined to investigate them any further to see if they relied on any secrets!
Therefore, Ves freely gave permission to Gloriana to battle about 'proto-gods', domains and a couple of other concepts, because he knew that she would just confuse her audience!
The fact that she genuinely believed in these concepts was a massive advantage!
When Ves met with Gloriana at the Austen Estate after a long day of work, he was surprised she brought her relatives this time.
Both Ranya and Brutus joined the dinner table and enjoyed the varied dishes cooked by Dr. Lupo and the chefs.
As they ate, Gloriana shared some of the latest developments.
"The local MTA branch in Kesseling is too small to evaluate the Quint. The branch director referred our case to a larger branch, which decided to dispatch a delegation to our current star system. The envoys are already on their way and are scheduled to arrive in a couple more days."
"We'll have to be on our best behavior in front of these envoys." Ves remarked as he sipped his soup. "Did the MTA tell you what kind of people will make up their delegation?"
Gloriana shook her head. "They refrained from telling me, but given other cases, the delegation will certainly consist of at least one mech designer and one mech pilot. The former is needed to ascertain whether our mech is truly a masterwork, while the latter is needed to test the mech to see if there aren't any problems with the mech that a thorough inspection hasn't revealed."
"I see."
"Mind you, this isn't set in stone. Different branches adopted different policies, and our case is rather special. When I visited the local MTA branch to discuss our applications, the branch director was extremely shocked. I expect the local MTA presence to attach a considerable amount of importance to our claims."
"So they'll definitely send a larger-than-usual delegation." Ves concluded. "How long will they stay?"
"Not long. Strictly, they should only be here long enough to verify that our mech is a masterwork. However, they'll probably try and stick around longer and request to see the Quint in action."
"We can't reveal the Quint at this stage."
"The news will leak eventually." She retorted. "I think it's not bad to keep the MTA fascinated. As long as they are preoccupied with examining the Quint, we are under their implicit protection. Don't you think this is a good opportunity to undergo your implant surgery?"
The suggestion surprised him. "Shouldn't I be keeping the envoys company?"
Gloriana grinned. "I can do that in your stead. You already trust me, right? Don't forget that I'm the second lead designer of the Bright Warrior! I have a right to represent our product! Just let go of your worries and go install that implant of yours. You've been waiting for this for a long time. Let me tell you that working with a cranial implant is a completely different experience! Your productivity will soar since you'll essentially be able to use your mind as an internal computer!"
He was very attracted towards the possibilities that the Archimedes Rubal might bring. He could barely stand the thought of stalling the implantation surgery yet again!
"Dr. Ranya, how prepared are you to perform the surgery?"
"We can begin the operation at any time." The woman replied. "Just give us a few hours of preparation to make sure you are in a sound condition to integrate a cranial implant. Once we verify your actual state is good enough, we can proceed with the main operation."
"How long will I stay under, as it were?"
She shrugged. "We can't make any guarantees. Due to your complicated physical state and abnormal brain structure, the chance of complications and other issues are considerate. By my estimates, it will take a week at minimum for you to regain consciousness, and several more weeks to supervise the integration process."
"So I'll be out for a week?"
"We aren't sure. In the best case scenario, your self-healing and adjustment abilities might be powerful enough to cut this period short. It might also be that your body exhibits a stronger than usual rejection towards the implant. In that case, we will need to keep you under treatment continuously in order to train your body to accept the implant. Due to its sensitive placement and nature, we cannot allow you to remain conscious during this delicate period."
As Ves continued to pepper Ranya with questions, her answers followed the same trajectory.
Nothing was certain about the implantation surgery. The outcomes varied wildly depending on two major variables.
The first variable was how well the surgeons performed the procedure.
The second variable was how his half-alien body decided to react.
Both had the potential to mess up his recovery!
"You shouldn't be too concerned, Ves." Ranya tried to reassure him. "Gloriana has informed us of your latest deeds. We have been deliberating among ourselves and we have also been in touch with my aunt."
Ves widened his eyes. "Did you tell Gloriana's mother about our latest accomplishment?!"
"Not exactly." Gloriana quickly replied, knowing how much Ves might overreact if they told him the wrong answer! "We were very careful in our communications. We utilized a specific code that represented that you have made a massive contribution to our dynasty. This code is only known to my branch. My mother is smart enough to interpret the message I'm trying to convey."
"..What is her response?"
She offered Ves a brilliant smile. "The challenge she issued to us? We passed! She finally declared that she approves of our relationship, hihi!"
"What?!"
"It's true! Even though we didn't exactly meet her terms, what we have done at our ages is enough to bring us glory! My mother has promised us that the Wodin Dynasty will immediately move to support you! Congratulations, Ves!"
For some reason, Ves felt anything but happy. While he managed to pass a huge hurdle that prevented him from deepening his relationship with Gloriana, why did he feel so ambivalent?
Chapter 1889 Same Bed
It didn't surprise Ves that turning their first Bright Warrior into a masterwork mech was enough to win Gloriana's mother approval.
From a benefit standpoint, the boost he provided to Gloriana was enormous.
The Wodins invested a lot in her upbringing and expected a healthy return on investment.
Turning her into a Journeyman Mech Designer was not enough. She had to become a Senior in order to break even and advance to Master in order for her dynasty to earn a profit!
Normally, this took a very long time to come into fruition. As brilliant as Gloriana appeared to be, it was unlikely for her to advance to Senior before she reached fifty years old!
During this time, anything could happen. Gloriana might encounter a mishap that ended her career early. She might stagnate and stop improving.
In short, Gloriana's value to the Wodin Dynasty was anything but settled
Yet now that they made the Quint, the entire picture changed.
What did it mean to become a masterwork mech designer at her age?
Usually, it signified that she possessed a very high aptitude for mech design! Her chances of becoming a Senior was practically assured, while advancing one step further to Master had also been raised!
More than that, the worth of a masterwork mech designer was extremely valuable in itself, especially at the Journeyman-level and more so at their ages!
Once the MTA handed over a masterwork certificate to her, Gloriana would definitely become an existence that brought a great amount of glory and prestige to the Wodin Dynasty!
Her incredible success vindicated all of the money and resources her mother and the dynasty spent on her! As an investment vehicle, Gloriana's return on investment at this stage in her career already surpassed their most optimistic projections!
Therefore, even if Ves and Gloriana hadn't managed to make a proper second-class masterwork mech, it didn't matter.
Once Gloriana became capable of making masterwork mech, she could definitely do it again!
What surprised Ves was how quickly the Wodin Dynasty changed its stance on him! The transition from mild indifference and disapproval to open support was too abrupt!
Though Ves anticipated that the Wodins would have a change of heart, what his girlfriend told him next continued to surpass his expectations!
"My brother will be here to stay with us." Gloriana nudged her head to Brutus. "My mother has personally arranged him and the rest of the Glory Battalion to protect us both. Isn't that great? If the incident on Cloudy Curtain happens again, my escorts won't stand by anymore and let others take you away!"
Ves looked astonished for a moment before he started to chuckle. "Your mother sure has her priorities straight. She knows that I'm vital to your continued success!"
"Exactly!" Gloriana grinned at him. "I've been trying my best to convince her to see you in a better light, and now I've finally succeeded! My mother has finally blessed our relationship! Do you know what this means?!"
"Your mother won't force us to separate us at the end of the three-year deadline anymore?"
"Hihi! Not that, silly. It means we can sleep in the same bed from now on! You don't have to wait anymore!"
"Miss Gloriana!" Melody protested from the side. She looked aghast! "Please remember your decorum!"
Both Brutus and Ranya looked unsettled. Gloriana's brother even directed a glare at Ves, which was accompanied by a push from his force of will!
If Ves was a regular boy, then Brutus would have definitely been able to scare Ves until he was numb!
Unfortunately, Ves was no slouch in the spiritual domain. He easily brushed aside the intimidation attempt.
That said, Ves wasn't exactly sure how to take this new development. For some reason, the thought of sharing the same bed with Gloriana sent shivers through his back!
At this moment, he would rather stick to their old arrangement of sleeping in different beds!
"Let's not act too hasty here, Gloriana. What would your mother think?"
"Hehe, she's not here now. I'm in charge!"
Ves turned to Gloriana's assistant. "What do you think, Melody?"
The woman looked unamused. "Madame Constance prefers the two of you to act with restraint. She has conveyed a desire to meet Mr. Larkinson in person."
That caused Gloriana to jump. "This is a good opportunity for us to bring you to the Hegemony and introduce you to my mother in person! Once you become a masterwork mech designer, no Hexer will ridicule you! They will all envy me for believing in you when every other Hexer disapproved!"
"You know my stance on this matter. My opinion hasn't changed." Ves replied with a mild glare at her overenthusiastic girlfriend.
"Oh.. well.. I told my mother that. She.. responded much better than I thought."
"What does that mean?"
"She.. she's fine if you want to stay out of the Hegemony."
"Huh?"
Ves wanted to rub his ears. Did he hear that right? From what he heard, Constance Wodin was notoriously strict and old-fashioned. He never expected her to drop the demand that Ves should travel to the Hegemony and meet with her in person!
"I know you don't like the Hegemony, Ves." Gloriana said softly. "You made that abundantly clear."
"I.. I never thought you would remember that. I expected you to overlook my demands. You always have a habit of doing that when it suits your purposes."
"Oh, Ves. I am always trying to do what is best for you. I still think that you should visit my mother, but I accept your wish if you don't want to be surrounded by my own people."
He could hardly believe what he was hearing. While he thought it was plausible for the woman who knew him best to accept his desire to avoid the Hegemony, he never thought her mother would agree so easily!
"So what happens now?"
"My mother still wants to talk to you, though. While it's not convenient to do so at the moment, she decided to make an exception for us and is willing to talk to you on the galactic net!"
The very thought of it filled Ves with apprehension! He much preferred for Madame Constance to stick to her rigid ways and insist on a personal meeting that would never happen!
"Well, let's talk about it after I've integrated my new implant. Is there anything else that I should know?"
She nodded. "My mother is concerned about our safety. She prefers it if we depart the Ylvaine Protectorate as soon as possible and travel to the Hegemony or a region that is under my state's protection."
"Those are my thoughts as well." Ves replied. "I don't have a good destination in mind aside from the Sentinel Kingdom."
"Sentinel works. It's so far away from the Friday Coalition that its influence is non-existent in this state!"
"Alright, then. Let's set that as our next destination. I don't want to stay there forever, though. Once we get there, I think it's time for us to start earning some MTA merits. I plan to accept some missions from the Rim Guardians."
Gloriana frowned. "What about the Komodo War?"
He scoffed. "You Hexers don't need a 'boy' like me to win your battles. Look, I don't mind designing some mechs for the Hegemony, but I don't want to get too involved. The grand expedition is what's important to me. No matter what happens in our star sector, it's all inconsequential to me once I've left this galaxy!"
Though his remark upset the Wodins at the dinner table, they quickly schooled their expressions.
Ves observed their reactions and gleaned some clues from their quick response.
"I.. understand." His girlfriend said. "I'll do my best to support you, Ves. After everything you have done for me, you deserve to have your way. I'm sure my mother will convince the rest that we don't have to be in the Hegemony in order to contribute to the war."
"Good. In truth, I'm thinking about leaving all of the troubles of the Komodo Star Sector behind and travel to a different star sector. I can perform some missions for the Rim Guardians without worrying about getting hounded by the Fridaymen all the time. Is that okay?"
"As I've said, I'll support every decision you make."
She looked very reluctant when she said those words! Her brother and her cousin also looked upset!
Too bad Ves didn't care about their desires. He was more than done with the Komodo Star Sector. He wanted to pursue a fresh start while at the same time make a practice run at adopting a nomadic lifestyle.
As long as he had enough time, Ves wanted to tour several star sectors and acclimatize his clansmen and subordinates to the life of a spaceborn clan!
Staying in the same place all the time would do nothing to prepare his people for the trip of their lifetimes!
At this moment, Brutus decided to speak up. "It is dangerous for the two of you to travel once your accomplishments become known."
Gloriana nodded. "That's true. Masterwork mech designers as young as us will inevitably attract attention, and some of it won't be of the good kind! It's a good thing that we'll be receiving some reinforcements, then!"
That was news to Ves!
"Reinforcements?"
"Yup!" Gloriana smiled. "My mother arranged some additional protection for us. It will take some time for them to rendez-vous with us, so don't expect our security to be bolstered immediately."
Ves appreciated the assistance. Anything that made him safer was a boon in his book. He was just unsure whether the reinforcements would listen to Gloriana's orders.
The conversation continued long past dessert. Ves continued to ask questions while Gloriana patiently answered his questions.
At some moments, either Brutus or Ranya would interject.
Only after Ves ran out of questions did they separate for the evening.
"Excuse me, Ves. I still need to make some arrangements. I also have to prepare your bed so that I can sleep in it tonight, hihi!"
"You don't have to do that!"
"But I want to!"
Once Gloriana skipped away, Ves retreated to his private office and settled down behind his desk. He sighed and glanced towards Lucky, who was staring back with glinting eyes.
Ves patted his cat on the head. "Do you think this is funny?!"
"Meow."
"You don't understand! You have Clixie while I have Gloriana!"
"Meow meow."
"I don't have time for that! Not with everything that is going on! Ask me again when we have left this star sector and escaped the reach of the Friday Coalition."
"Meow."
Ves crossed his arms and turned his head away from his insolent cat. He instead directed his attention to his silent but loyal bodyguard.
"Nitaa, what do you think about the conversation earlier? Are the Wodins sincere?"
"Your girlfriend masks her intentions well." Nitaa stoically replied. "Even as a woman, I have always found it difficult to decipher her true thoughts."
"You're not the only one." Ves sardonically replied.
"Brutus is very disciplined. He always maintains control over his body language and mannerisms. The only Wodin who I can read with a reasonable degree of certainty of Dr. Ranya Wodin."
"What did you find out?"
"The Wodins value you, that is for certain. Dr. Ranya's attitude towards you has shifted significantly from the beginning. She is much more amenable to your company. I believe she even respects you in the same way she respects Miss Gloriana."
"That's good. I guess I have a few less concerns about my upcoming implant surgery now. I suspect that is not the extent of what you wish to say, right?"
Nitaa grunted. "I don't have any solid reason why, but I am not entirely at ease with the Wodins. While I have always known you are a great person, it is surprising that your girlfriend's relatives have turned around so quickly. This does not conform with their prior attitudes and stance towards you. Something smells."
"Is that your extraordinary nose talking?"
The bodyguard grimaced. "No. It is my intuition that is warning me. The Wodins are pursuing their own agenda."
Ves shrugged. "Aren't we all?"
Chapter 1890 Roving Headquarters
"Hihihi! We finally get to sleep together! Isn't that great, Ves?"
"Yeah.. great..."
At the Austen Estate, his bedroom received a minor makeover. Gloriana had ordered a team of bots to bring some closets and furniture from her old bedroom.
Ves felt as if his bedroom was no longer entirely his bedroom. While he hadn't bothered to decorate and personalize a chamber that he would soon be leaving, he still felt a bit bothered at the abrupt change in scenery.
As Gloriana emerged from the bathroom in pajamas, she dove into the bed.
"Miaow."
Clixie, who was laying on a cushion, began to roll towards her owner.
This prompted Gloriana to grasp her cat and hug her cozily against her chest. She giggled and kissed Clixie on the forehead.
When Ves, clad in his own pajamas, slid into the other side of the king-sized bed, he stared at Gloriana and took in her rosy, bath-scented presence.
He never really thought this day would come so soon. He had become so used to sleeping in his bed by himself that he hadn't really fathomed lying alongside someone else!
The only times when he slept in a bed with others was when he was just four or five years old! He remembered being scared of the dark and heading to his parents' bedroom in order to beg his mother to protect him from the menace of the shadows!
"What are you thinking, Ves?"
"Oh, ummm.. is it really okay for you to sleep with me? I.. wouldn't want to bother your mother."
"It's fine, Ves!" She sleepily grinned while cozying up to the furball in her arms. "I already told you that the old rules don't apply anymore. Becoming a genuine masterwork mech designer at your age is enough to make my mother and those stiff matriarchs from my dynasty regard you in a different light!"
Even Hexers recognized the accomplishments of exceptional males. Naturally, they also continued to regard them as boys. People like Ves were just similar to child prodigies in that regard.
Though Ves disliked such treatment, it was better than being disregarded, so he would take what he could get.
That didn't mean he developed any sort of appreciation for the Hexers. He was still determined to stay as far away from the Hegemony as possible!
"Lights, off." He spoke.
The lights in the bedroom faded out, leaving the bedroom in near-darkness. Only a small amount of light filtering through the darkened windows.
"Goodnight, Ves."
"Goodnight, Gloriana."
As Gloriana started to doze off while clinging to Clixie like a stuffed animal, Ves felt a bit awkward.
A part of him felt that he should be doing something more, but...
"Miaow."
Clixie was in the way! Even as Gloriana snuggling against her back, the cat's round eyes glinted at Ves with a wary expression!
"Meow."
What was more, Lucky was watching curiously from the foot of the bed!
On top of that, Ves could hear the small movements of the combat armor worn by the guards keeping them safe!
Aside from Nitaa, who was always present in his vicinity, over a dozen guards from the Glory Battalion silently stood guard from all directions.
How could Ves possibly cozy up to his girlfriend with all of these onlookers present? His excitement instantly dropped at the thought that all of them possessed night vision capabilities!
Seeing that Gloriana started to fade into slumber with a content smile, Ves realized that she didn't intend to do anything more than sleep with him today.
He shrugged helplessly. He felt as if he had been hoodwinked somehow. Was this how his nights with Gloriana would proceed from now on? Would he ever be able to share the same bed with her without the peanut gallery watching his every move?
He was not a public performer! He was just a mech designer!
"Forget it." He muttered and turned around.
Sleep came slowly. After a turbulent night of rest, Ves woke up the next morning feeling only half as refreshed as usual.
As the morning light poured through the automatically-cleared windows, a gentle ray of sunshine landed on Gloriana's smiling face.
"Miaow."
Clixie had squirmed out of Gloriana's grasp at some point. She was wide awake and rested on the table next to where he put the Larkinson Mandate.
Of course, Lucky and the guards were around as well. They had stood guard and patrolled throughout the spacious chamber without taking any break! The dedication they showed to their guard duty was admirable!
As Ves and Gloriana showered in separate bathrooms and readied themselves for the day, they met again at the dining table to discuss their upcoming agenda.
"You plan to start your implantation surgery shortly after the MTA delegation arrives?" Gloriana curiously asked as she partook a cute-looking bunny-shaped tart.
"Yup." He nodded. "I don't think the MTA envoys will appreciate it if I avoid them entirely. They have to verify that I'm a masterwork mech designer as well. Once they complete this part of the inspection, I plan to go under as soon as possible."
Gloriana briefly paused. "Are you trying to avoid the MTA or something?"
"No!" Ves quickly shook his head. "I just want to make the best use of my time. Besides, we both know that our enemies will definitely steer away from us while we are hosting an official delegation from the MTA. I can't let this opportunity pass!"
According to the schedule, the ship carrying the delegation from the main MTA branch in the Protectorate would be arriving at Kesseling VII the next day. This meant that there was not much time left before he had to appear at his best while at the same time starting the operation that would significantly increase his cognitive functions!
Just thinking about the Archimedes Rubal's formidable data storage capacities and virtual connectivity options made him drool.
Not only that, but after almost half a year of studying and tinkering with the bioimplant, Dr. Ranya and Dr. Lupo extensively upgraded the implant in almost every way with modern solutions!
One of the most important addons to the bioimplant was a small dedicated mini processor that added some much-needed processing power. This would allow Ves to perform rapid calculations in his mind without having to consult any conventional software solutions!
On top of that, Ves also spent some time to engineer some protection for the implant. He built a small shell of modified Breyer alloy that was extremely thin but still very strong. He surrounded it with a small amount of Synthra Umbra fabric to make it invisible from nearly every type of sensor or remote hacking system.
Of course, Ves couldn't close it off entirely. He added small, curling canals to the stealthed shell that allowed for specially-cultivated biothreads to connect the implant with his central nervous system.
All of these complications significantly raised the difficulty of integrating the implant with his brain tissue, but Ves didn't care.
He didn't want his bioimplant to become vulnerable to hacking, data siphoning or or nasty tricks!
While the risks were significant, the rewards were even more so. Gloriana had already described more than once how her own Erestal-015 doubled or tripled her design capabilities. She wouldn't have been nearly as good at spotting and resolving flaws in her designs if not for her formidable cognitive functions.
They even aided her off the job! Ves deeply suspected that one of the reasons she knew him too well was because she stuffed all kinds of data about him in her implant and ran analytical software whenever they talked!
Once the pair finished their breakfast, they went about their day. Gloriana split off to babysit the design teams while Ves began to prepare his organizations for departure.
When Ves finally announced the news that he intended to move, Raymond, Gavin and Calsie all looked perplexed.
"We knew we wouldn't be staying here forever, but..." Calsie hesitated. "We aren't ready for this. Not truly."
"You knew what you were getting in when you continued to remain in the company." Ves stoically pointed out.
"Saying is one thing, doing it is another. I think we all didn't mind your initial intentions because the Ylvaine Protectorate is right next door to the Bright Republic. Now that we are moving further away.. I expect a lot of employees to have a change of heart."
Ves grimaced. "Leave them behind, then. We don't need them. You can station them in the local branches or let them go entirely. Right now, I only value the people who are willing to accompany me no matter my destinations."
"The LMC can handle it." Raymond said. "Our overhead has decreased ever since we have decided to outsource almost all of our production to external partners. Many positions have become redundant. Along with all of the Ylvainans that are eager to take the place of the old guard, we won't suffer any staffing problems. The only difficulty I'm concerned about is that transitioning to the mobile headquarters and virtual headquarters models will lead to a lot of disarray at first. We won't be in the position to undertake any major activities for the next couple of months."
"That's fine." Ves dismissively waved. "I don't plan to design any commercial mechs for the time being. The LMC can continue to manage the marketing, production, sales and support of our legacy products."
Gavin looked concerned. "You haven't released a commercial mech design for some time, boss. The Desolate Soldier is our last major success if you count out the abnormal Deliverer. While it's by far our best-selling product in the company's existence, a single breakout success does not define a company. The hype has already faded and our brand awareness is already fading. If you don't want our hard-earned fame, reputation and brand value to fade, then you should really think about generating some excitement by releasing a new mass-market product."
He had a point. Ves did work hard to propel the LMC into the forefront of his customers. Yet the market was always fleeting and fads always wore out in time.
Eventually, his Desolate Soldier would no longer be a mech that turned heads whenever someone saw them. The LMC had to prove that it was not just a one-hit wonder and that it was absolutely capable of generating constant value.
Ves wasn't very concerned with the state of the LMC though. Commercial mech design was still an important money-making vehicle to him, but he had other priorities these days. As long as the LMC's cash flow remained healthy, he was more interested in earning merits rather than credits.
"How will the Larkinson Clan cope?"
"Frankly, half of us are rather glad to leave the Protectorate." Raymond replied. "No offense to the Ylvainans, but we never managed to feel at home on this planet. It's odd for any of us to go on an excursion in Krent due to all of the open religious expression around us. The people and the architecture are all marked by the Ylvainan Faith, and the Holy Soldiers and Deliverers walking around everywhere doesn't help matters either!"
That was what Ves felt as well. As much as he appreciated the Ylvainans for supporting him so much, he would rather hang out in the Sentinel Kingdom which was just as secular as the Bright Republic.
"We employ a lot of Ylvainans these days, right? Will they be fine with moving away from their home state?"
Calsie smiled at that. "I've been liaising with the Ylvainans every day. We explicitly adjusted our hiring criteria to recruit only those who are willing to go on an adventure, so there aren't many local citizens who insist on remaining in their home states."
That surprised Ves. He thought it would be much more difficult to convince the insular Ylvainans to travel abroad.
Even if they believed they were on a mission to support the Bright Martyr or something, Ves would take what he could get!
"Continue to keep a close eye on the Ylvainans then, Calsie. If there are any unusual developments regarding this group, inform me immediately."
"Will do, sir."
As Ves continued to ask questions, he generally received satisfactory answers.
His subordinates hadn't been sitting on their thumbs all this time! Transitioning their core operations to a roving fleet was a massive endeavor, but Raymond and the rest of the leadership had months to prepare!
Chapter 1891 Bargaining with a Boy
With the MTA delegation due to arrive, Ves decided he should spend the rest of his remaining time on pre-surgery preparations.
At the medical facility operated by his charity foundation, Ves underwent a number of physical examinations. Various advanced devices scanned his entire body structure from top to bottom and took various samples.
"How am I, docs?"
"Your physical state is as vigorous as ever, sir." Dr. Lupo replied as he studied some sort of graph pertaining to his blood. "We are just performing this examination as a precaution. We have already planned and modeled our steps according to your last-recorded state. We are just looking for discrepancies at this stage."
Dr. Ranya Wodin grimaced. "Upgrading and expanding the capabilities of the centuries-old Archimedes Rubal implant is not without its consequences. While the bioimplant is considerably more powerful than before, it is even harder to perform the surgery without complications."
It was more than worth it, though. Once Ves gained some of the capabilities enjoyed by Gloriana and more, he would definitely be able to catch up to her progress.
Lately, Ves noticed that Gloriana had progressed her design philosophy by leaps and bounds! Witnessing the physical transformation of the Quint and studying the footage from every angle provided her with a huge amount of direction on how to attain the perfect vessel.
To be honest, Ves felt rather threatened by her recent progress. It would be a tragedy if Gloriana advanced to Senior sooner than him! Even if she promised to respect his wishes, Ves still wouldn't feel comfortable with a power dynamic that put her on top!
Ves was a man, damnit! He still had his own pride!
His drive to keep up with the competition compelled him to demand various upgrades to the Archimedes Rubal. No matter the cost, as long as it wasn't too risky, Ves wanted the best!
The current incarnation of the implant bore no resemblance to the original implant he found underneath a toilet in a cabin aboard the Starlight Megalodon. Three centuries of technological progress was a lot of time for bioimplant technology to develop many different innovations.
However, the tech disparity couldn't be defeated so easily. Even though it was horribly outdated, the biological structure of the implant incorporated lots of high-grade exotics that were only found in the galactic center! Each of them boosted the implants beyond the means of second-rate states such as the Hegemony!
Though the Archimedes Rubal turned into a Frankenstein-like abomination due to all of the upgrades and alterations, Ves didn't mind the deviations.
Implants, especially cranial implants, were notoriously difficult to remove once installed. The mental state of an individual could easily suffer irreparable damage if the implant had to be removed.
For this reason, cranial implants were pretty much regarded as one-way permanent augmentations. While it was possible to remove them safely, the cost was prohibitive and the risks were immense.
This meant that everyone had to make a careful choice on the cranial implant they wished to integrate. Once set, there was no going back!
Once the examinations finished, Ves met with Dr. Ranya and talk to her in private.
After asking some questions related to the Archimedes Rubal, he began to address another matter.
"Please help me understand your dynasty's current stance towards me. I'm not entirely clear what has changed."
"Gloriana has already explained that to you yesterday."
"I'd like a more detailed answer, and I don't think I'll get any straight ones from my girlfriend."
Dr. Ranya looked unamused. For a moment, her eyes sparkled with disdain. She quickly remembered that the boy in front of him was no longer an upstart from a lesser state.
Third-rater or not, even Ranya was aware of how valuable Ves had become!
Even if she was inclined to disregard his personal worth, Ves had proven to be a great companion to Gloriana.
Anything that benefited Gloriana also improved the fortunes of the Wodin Dynasty. Ranya no longer considered her current excursion to be a chore. She saw it as an opportunity to get close to the latest rising stars in the mech community and ride on their coattails!
Therefore, Ranya decided that she should do her best to conform to foreign standards and keep her opinions of boys to herself.
This was a very un-Hexer-like decision of her, but with so many opportunities at stake, she didn't care if she behaved in an undignified manner!
"As Gloriana's partner and principal enabler, our dynasty has recognized your importance." She explained in a plain voice. "When it is convenient, we will publicly announce that we will be backing you. This will grant you many advantages. For example, you are entitled to better treatment when you are residing in Hegemony-aligned lesser states. This is very helpful if you choose to travel to the Sentinel Kingdom."
"I see. What else is in store?"
"We are pretty content with your current relationship with Gloriana, so we want that to continue as long as the two of you continue to benefit from each other. We are willing to assist your professional endeavors and grant some favors to ease your rise in the mech community. The reinforcements we have dispatched is just the first step. If possible, we would also like to dispatch specialists and other assistance to you. We can even provide you with monetary grants or invest in the LMC or gift you valuable assets such as fully-functional starships."
Ves blinked. That sounded serious!
While Ves normally wasn't inclined to look at a gift horse in the mouth, it was a different story when the horse in question belonged to a Hexer breed!
"I've been doing so far on my own. Right now, I value my independence. I am not inclined to accept any further 'assistance' if it comes with strings attached. Have I made myself clear?"
Ranya pressed her lips. "Our Wodin Dynasty is committed to become your friend and ally. Please don't reject our generosity. Brutus and I are part of the package."
"I appreciate that, but the Larkinson Clan and I still wish to maintain control over our own destiny. Let's make one thing clear, doctor. I do not intend to become a member of the Wodin Dynasty."
"Understood.."
Though Ranya obviously had a lot to say about that decision, she refrained from voicing them. This was unprecedented! She couldn't remember when she had ever reined herself in because of a boy!
Throughout the conversation, Ves made his stance clear. While he didn't refuse the Wodin Dynasty's goodwill, he did not wish to lose his independence!
While Ves knew that the power disparity between himself and a mighty dynasty from the Hexadric Hegemony was still considerable, it was better than before!
At least now he possessed value that was impossible to replace! This improved his bargaining power to the point where he actually felt bold enough to negotiate with the Hexers!
His gamble seemed to pay off. Ranya, far from pushing back and attempting to assert Hexer primacy, instead gave ground to most of his requests and demands.
It was a surprisingly refreshing experience. It wasn't every day that a boy managed to get a female Hexer to compromise!
While Ves wasn't entirely sure if Ranya was able to speak on behalf of the entire Wodin Dynasty, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt for the moment.
Once he gained the answers he wanted to hear, he left the medical facility and spent the remainder of his time preparing to welcome the incoming MTA delegation.
He changed his clothes to a more formal outfit prepared by Gavin to reflect his raised stature.
Though Ves briefly contemplated wearing his Pride of Dusk, considering that the delegation would likely include a mech designer, he decided to leave it in the closet.
"Do you think the delegation includes a Master Mech Designer?" Ves asked Gavin as a bot styled his hair.
Gavin shook his head. "Most of the Masters employed by the MTA in this region reside at the sector headquarters in the Centerpoint System. From what I've managed to gather, those Masters are rarely stationed elsewhere in the star sector."
That meant that the delegation likely wouldn't include a Master.
This was a bit of a letdown. Ves and Gloriana practically broke records when they managed to make a masterwork mech! Such an amazing accomplishment deserved to be noticed by the MTA!
On the other hand, maybe it was for the best. From his own interactions with Master Olson, Ves learnt that mech designers at his exalted height were very astute.
There was no telling what a Master could figure out when he personally examined the Quint!
In the worst-case scenario, the Master might discover that there was a huge issue with how Ves and Gloriana managed to make their masterwork. If the MTA deduced that the pair relied on external methods to forcefully elevate the quality of their mech, then that would spell deep trouble for them both!
Though Senior Mech Designers were quite observant as well, Ves believed it was a lot easier to keep them in the dark. The gulf between a Senior and a Master was immense! The two didn't even belong to the same species at all!
Once Ves completed his makeover, he began to head to the exit, but paused.
He turned around and looked at the floating Larkinson Mandate. This book continued to radiate a powerful glow that affected its entire surroundings!
Though Ves, Gavin, Lucky and everyone else around them had already become accustomed to its glow, the same could not be said for the MTA delegation!
In order to avoid any unfortunate incidents, Ves grabbed the Larkinson Mandate and put it in his assistant's hands.
"It's not very convenient for us to dangle this book in front of the faces of the MTA envoys. Please bring it to Raymond for safekeeping, Benny. I trust he will keep it safe."
Gavin frowned as he accepted the large and sturdy book. "Are you sure, boss? They say that the one who holds the book possesses a mandate to command the Larkinson Clan!"
Ves dismissively waved his hand. "Raymond won't try anything when I'm around. This is just a casual phrase. Book or not, I'm still the clan patriarch!"
While his assistant reluctantly brought the book away, Ves picked Lucky up and boarded a shuttle that brought them to the Avatar base.
There, Ves joined Gloriana in waiting for a ship that was about to descend from orbit.
"Are you nervous?" Gloriana curiously asked as she adjusted her ocean blue multilayered dress.
"I'd be lying if I say no. My relationship with the MTA is.. not as simple as you think."
"Oh?" Gloriana raised her eyebrow towards him. "What's wrong? Have you been naughty, Ves?"
Ves smiled sardonically at her. "I wouldn't put it that way, but I would highly prefer it if you take the lead in our upcoming interactions with the MTA. For various reasons, the less they know about my design philosophy, the better. I also don't want them to snoop too much in my other affairs."
"Okay. I'll do my best to attract their attention."
The time had come. In the distant skies of Kesseling VII, Ves and Gloriana noticed a small object among other objects in the sky becoming larger.
An MTA frigate-sized vessel cut through the air with such speed that it could have been mistaken as a destructive asteroid if not for the transponder broadcasting the ship's identity!
A pair of grand multipurpose mechs escorted the rapidly-descending ship without showing any difficulty in keeping up! Once Ves and Gloriana used their comms to zoom in on the mechs, they both became fascinated by their design!
"What a powerful mech!" Gloriana sighed. "I've seen better at Centerpoint, but this design is truly outstanding in its own way! It's so rugged!"
Rugged was a good way to describe the model of the two mechs. Ves had an impression that the large and well-equipped mechs were capable of operating in any environment, including underwater or in a gas giant environment!
Choosing to arrive at the site of a pair of young and unconfirmed masterwork mech designers with such an escort was a powerful statement.
Masterwork mech or not, the Quint was still vastly inferior to the first-class mechs flanking the MTA frigate!
This was the power of the MTA! In terms of quantity and quality, nobody in the galaxy could possibly equal its might!
Even a pair of exceptional mech designers had to bow their heads in front of one of the greatest powers in human space!
Chapter 1892 Moira Willix
Compared to the impressive multipurpose mechs, the starship they escorted looked a lot plainer.
She was a simple frigate tasked for passenger transport and courier service. While Ves noticed several distinct ports that likely hid potent ship-based weaponry, he had seen much more impressive ships from the MTA.
The ship landed at the designated landing zone with just a featherlight landing. The huge and imposing mechs that towered over all of the mechs of the Avatars landed alongside the frigate and ceased moving.
Soon enough, a passenger hatch opened up from the side of the frigate. A fairly small delegation consisting of half-a-dozen well-dressed individuals alongside an equal number of armored guards emerged and floated down to the ground.
As Ves directed his attention from the ship to the party that he was about to greet, his eyes widened as his intuition jolted him for some reason!
When Ves slightly concentrated his mind and activated his spiritual vision, he practically blinded himself by looking into the approaching sun!
This strength! This radiance! This awe-inspiring presence! Most of all, it was all contained within a very tight package!
Ves had never seen this magnitude of strength from anyone other than the likes of Master Olson!
No! This was different! One of the envoys in the MTA delegation was not just Master Olson's equal, but surpassed her somehow!
"Careful!" Ves hissed to Gloriana with a soft but nervous whisper. "One of the people who are about to greet us is a Master! Watch your words and don't reveal more than is necessary!"
Gloriana jerked her head. "Huh?"
They didn't have any time to exchange any further words because their guests had already arrived!
The guards accompanying the envoys looked incredibly formidable. There was no semblance of opulence or vanity in their armored appearances. Every aspect about their combat armor exuded pure functionality and lethality.
Ves had the impression that these suits of combat armor were even capable of fighting against the mechs fielded by the Avatars of Myth!
He didn't know why this thought occurred to him, but he sensed extreme threat whenever he cast his eyes on these silent but imposing guards!
The unarmored individuals looked completely different. Not a single one of the men and women standing before Ves and Gloriana looked anything but impeccable.
Their rich business garments were decked with all manner of frills and decorations. The prominent symbol of the MTA adorned all of their chests, making it clear that each of them represented the powerful organization with pride!
Of the six, it wasn't immediately clear which one was the Master. If not for his spiritual senses, Ves would have dismissed the woman standing in the back of the group!
It was not until the party hovered close enough to greet the pair that the Master finally came forward.
One peculiar detail about the new arrivals is that none of them bothered to walk on the ground. Instead, they continued to rely on their antigrav modules to hover just above the surface!
The middle-aged woman that came forward possessed a mild face and soft, brown hair that trailed just past her shoulders.
Despite her unimposing physical stature, there was a sense of presence around her that made her appear larger than life.
Her presence, though initially unnoticeable, became more evident by how the rest of the envoys regarded her with great respect!
"I am Master Moira Willix of the Komodo Branch of the Mech Trade Association." She announced her identity with a calm but compelling voice. "I believe the two of you have applied for a masterwork certificate, am I correct?"
For a moment, neither Ves nor Gloriana responded. They were both unprepared to greet a Master! How could one of them be bored enough to linger in this region and be on hand to join this delegation? It made no sense!
Gloriana recovered faster than her boyfriend. "We are the Journeymen who have sent the applications, Master. We are honored by your presence! I am Gloriana Wodin, and this is my boyfriend, Ves Larkinson."
The Master curled her mouth, showing a sliver of amusement!
"Interesting. You are oddly respectful to your boyfriend, Miss Wodin."
"He deserves it, ma'am."
"It's not every day I see that from a Hexer."
Obviously, Master Willix had prior interactions with the Hexer. She wasn't completely detached from the Komodo Star Sector.
While Gloriana appeared to be getting along with Master Willix, Ves continued to feel uncomfortable in the presence of such a powerful individual.
Meeting a Master Mech Designer from the MTA was one of his worst fears! There was no telling what Master Willix might find out! Ves was practically sweating in his boots!
"Mr. Larkinson. You seem ill at ease." She swept her powerful eyes towards Ves, pinning him with a piercing glance!
Ves awkwardly smiled. "I genuinely did not expect to be graced by a Master Mech Designer for what is just supposed to be a simple verification process."
"This verification process is anything but simple." The Master replied. "The news of your applications, once they were deemed credible, sparked a small storm at Halcyon Citadel. If your claims are true, then you stand to become the youngest masterwork mech designers of this star cluster. This will bring a considerable honor to our branch. It is therefore of utmost importance that we thoroughly confirm that your mech is a masterwork and that the two of you are responsible for building it. I took a portal jump straight to this state to catch up as soon as possible."
"Portal jump?" Ves asked.
"Portal jumping is an alternate method of FTL travel. I believe the CFA's Archangel Battle Group has once demonstrated some time ago when they arrived at the capital planet of the sandman civilization. The range and capabilities of portal jump technology are considerably better than conventional FTL drives. There are limitations as well, though, but that is not relevant for today."
This sounded expensive! While the MTA was more than capable of bearing this burden, the urgency revealed by Master Willix meant that Ves and Gloriana attracted far more attention than they anticipated! This was not good news!
The arrival of a Master completely upended their plans. Neither Ves, Gloriana, the Avatars and everyone else knew what to do. Should they invite the Master to a banquet or something?
There was a very high chance that a Master from the MTA would scoff at the poor and feeble dishes that Dr. Lupo and the other chefs were able to serve. None of their ingredients would ever be able to equal anything such a vaunted Master partook on a daily basis!
Somewhat outside of their expectations, Master Willix defied his impression of an arrogant and demanding elite.
She waved her hand. "I do not wish to delay this matter any further. Please lead me to the mech in question. You named it the Quint, right?"
While Ves and Gloriana began to walk with their cats in tow, the MTA delegation quietly floated alongside them. None of the other people accompanying the Master spoke up during this entire time!
"Correct." Gloriana answered with a smile. "We came up with this name to represent the partition of our modular mech platform."
"It is quite daring of the two of you to tackle a modular mech platform at your stages in your careers. Usually, only Seniors begin to design such mech platforms."
"We only designed four configurations, which limits the complexity of the project. We were confident we'd be able to complete the design within three months!"
"That sounds quite impressive. It is clear that your respective foundations are solid." The Master said and looked around at the other mechs in the Avatar base. "These other mechs are each impressive in their own ways. Though simple, I see a mastery in the physical and the immaterial that is very hard to find in other native Journeymen."
"Thank you for the compliment, ma'am!" Gloriana ecstatically grinned at the praise! "We strive to improve with each mech we design! While we can't claim to have attained perfection, we are approaching it step by step. Turning the Quint into a masterwork mech is the biggest leap I have made since I started my mech design career!"
"Keep up the good work. You have a bright head on your shoulders. Despite your difficult design philosophy, you managed to find a right direction that suits you most. From our studies, only mech designers who genuinely believe in their own design philosophies are able to create masterworks. One cannot be present without the other."
As they approached the underground chamber which held the Quint, Ves remained demure and tried to attract as little attention as possible.
He was glad to see that Gloriana successfully managed to draw the Master into a conversation!
Knowing Gloriana, she was probably ecstatic at meeting a female Master Mech Designer. If the MTA sent a man, then she would have been a lot less enthusiastic.
Whether by coincidence or on purpose, the MTA dispatched one of their female mech designers from Halcyon Citadel!
Right now, Gloriana acted as if she had met one of her idols! She didn't need to force herself to draw the Master's attention. Her exuberance and enthusiasm was all she needed!
Ves carefully observed the Master while they entered a lift that slowly descended below the ground.
After several minutes of observation, Ves suspected that Master Willix was likely a rational mech designer!
Her relative calm, her mild demeanor, her measured handling of Gloriana and several more indicators all shared some points of similarity to Master Olson and Patricia Cain!
Ves wasn't entirely sure what this meant. Rational mech designers weren't necessarily scarier than passionate mech designers. However, their rational perspectives and relative open-mindedness made them very suitable in analyzing the works or design philosophies of other mech designers!
The MTA hardly could have picked a better individual to examine the Quint!
Ves continued to feel nervous. He wasn't sure what Master Willix might pick up, but the chance of finding problems in the Quint was very considerable!
What should he do? Knock her over the head?
Impossible! A Master like her most probably wore a very powerful shield generator and other protective measures! Her guards alone would vaporize his body before he got close!
Attack her spirituality?
Ves inwardly laughed with despair. The powerful spirituality contained within the Master's mind was immensely more powerful than that of his own! He wasn't even sure if he could make a dent in Master Willix's spiritual presence with the help of his F-stone!
It didn't take much thought to conclude that he had no choice but to allow the Master to perform a close examination of the Quint. Ves could only roll with the punches and hope that Master Willix wasn't interested in the mech beyond the fact that it became a masterwork.
"The Bright Warrior design your Quint is based upon appears to be a private mech design. It is regrettable that the two of you have declined to submit your work for validation. Even if the two of you have no plans to sell any mechs based on this design, it is still useful to validate your work. Would you like to present your design to us? We prefer to determine the baseline performance of your mech design before we compare it to the performance of your masterwork."
"Okay." Gloriana chirped, and immediately activated her comm to transfer some very critical schematics to Master Willix!
Ves raised his hand and opened his mind before withdrawing. He did not wish for those root design files to be spread! The Bright Warrior was an exclusive mech design that was solely reserved for the Larkinson Clan and his other organizations!
The two women didn't seem to care, though. Gloriana smiled happily as Master Willix studied the projection alongside the other envoys of the MTA.
For some reason, Ves felt as if the Master was gleaning every possible secret from his latest mech design!
Master Willix curiously hummed. "This is interesting. There is a powerful property in this mech design that isn't caused by any of the design elements contained within these schematics."
"That's because it hosts a proto-god!"
"Proto.. god?"
Chapter 1893 Crazy Ha
Ves had been keeping an eye on Master Moira Willix, both visually and spiritually.
To host an august Master from the MTA was a supreme honor to any mech designer. Gloriana certainly looked as if she was having the time of her time!
Such supreme existences occupied the upper echelons of the mighty organizations. From what Ves had read, not only did they enjoy access to some of the best resources the trans-galactic organization could provide, but also possessed real decision-making power!
The higher ups of the sector branches of the MTA often influenced the local trends in mech design. While Ves wasn't aware of how much say Master Willix possessed, he bet that she must have certainly made many decisions that steered the Komodo Star Sector in different directions.
No Master from the MTA was average!
The senior leadership and the best mech designers of the MTA not only augmented themselves to outright superhuman levels, they had access to the largest and most extensive body of knowledge in humanity's possession!
The MTA was a hoarder of knowledge. Anything related to mech design inevitably fell into its hands. The knowledge and expertise that Master Willix possessed was probably considerably more than 'native' Masters such as Carmin Olson!
What made Master Willix even more formidable than Master Olson in his perspective was the disparity in their ages.
While it wasn't polite to ask the age of a lady, Ves definitely picked up the sense of wisdom and timelessness he was used to seeing in centuries-old monsters.
Compared to an old fossil like Senator Tovar, Master Willix exhibited a bit more vitality, so Ves estimated her age to be around centuries, give or take fifty years.
This range was already pretty scary to Ves! In his experience, the older someone became, the more they saw through the truth of many matters!
That wasn't all.
Master Willix appeared to belong to a special and rare breed of professionals that happened to be one of his worst nightmares.
She was a rational mech designer.
Oh, she wasn't completely emotionless. Master Willix smiled and indulged Gloriana with the attitude of a teacher checking up on the progress of a favored student.
Yet there was no doubt that Master Willix possessed a calm, controlled and rational mind.
Now that Ves knew what to look for, he noticed that her potent spirituality was both tightly-controlled and very stable.
No matter what mechs came into view, Master Willix studied the Blackbeaks, Crystal Lords, Desolate Soldiers and Deliverers with measured eyes.
It was as if she was dissecting all of his mech designs on the spot!
The notion that a Master possessed the ability and aptitude to decipher all of his works and designs down to the intangible was extremely unnerving to Ves! How could he possibly outwit a mech designer who was older and better than him in almost every aspect? The amount of mechs she designed or examined must have probably reached five or six digits, if not more!
When Gloriana showed off the Bright Warrior design to Master Willix without any scruples, Ves almost had a heart attack.
When his girlfriend mentioned the dreaded P-word, Ves knew he couldn't avoid the elephant in the room any longer.
Inwardly, he sighed. It looked as if he needed to put on the crazy hat again. Why did he constantly end up in situations where he was forced to pull the wool over the eyes of the Big Two?
At least he came prepared. Ever since he learned that an MTA delegation was on its way to examine their purported masterwork mech in person, Ves took the time to construct a meticulous mask and infused it with a considerable amount of spiritual energy.
This mask was very similar to the one he wore when he paid a visit to Halcyon Citadel and espoused his misleading views to Professor Kastel Oodiv.
Of course, this one was much more thorough. The extra time and attention he put into constructing this mask would hopefully make it foolproof enough to deceive one of the most observant individuals he had met so far! Just the thought of trying to fool a Master who was high up in the Association's hierarchy sent shivers through his spine!
Fortunately, Ves was a Larkinson! Courage and boldness in the face of overwhelming danger was a congenital trait as far as he was concerned!
The moment he donned the mask over his mind, much of his apprehension and uncertainty disappeared.
One of the defining traits of his spiritually-empowered mask was that it preferred action over hesitation!
If Ves had to lie or speak misleading statements, then he needed to do so with absolute confidence! As long as he came across as a true believer, it would be hard for others to get past his defenses!
Ves could only hope right now that Master Willix would become just as perplexed as Professor Oodiv back then. As a rational mech designer, it was virtually a given that she was a secularist!
The MTA despised religion, dismissing it as outdated superstition!
Yet humanity and human civilization was far from done with faith! A significant chunk of humans still believed in something greater, and that made organizations like the Big Two extremely helpless!
"Proto-gods is the term we've come up with to describe the life we have birthed in our mechs and mech designs." Ves answered smoothly.
Now that he donned his latest mask, he straightened his back and exuded the demeanor of a true believer!
Ves took a lot of inspiration from fanatics like Dr. Jutland, the worshippers of Haatumak and Gloriana!
The best way to sell his act was to believe in his nonsense wholeheartedly!
"Interesting." Master Willix responded as she turned her full attention to Ves. "On the surface, I see much of Gloriana's design style in the Bright Warrior design. Her technical mastery is admirable for someone of her age. Yet you are also credited as the lead designer of this particular design. What exactly do you bring to table?"
"Since you have read my record, you must have read up on my design philosophy, right?"
The Master nodded. "The record concerning your design philosophy is.. not very helpful. The Senior who received you during your pilgrimage to our sector headquarters has been remiss in cataloging your specialization. Since I am already here, I might as well correct this shortcoming. Please tell me more about these.. proto-gods."
Ves his hand all around the interior of the Avatar base. "Many of the mechs you see here are different from other mechs. I believe a mech designer as astute as you must have noticed what makes them stand out. Each of them exhibit one of my famous glows. These glows are generated by the life that I have created and infused in my mechs!"
"Go on." Willix smiled at Ves as if she completely bought into his story!
"Mechs are more than just machines." Ves spoke with true meaning. "They can be vessels of something great! To me, mechs are different from starships. The fact that high-ranking mech designers and mech pilots are able to warp reality by exhibiting all manner of extraordinary abilities means that it isn't too much of a stretch to believe that a lifeform exists which can wield these powers with much greater prowess!"
The intriguing notions that Ves put out successfully attracted the Master Mech Designer's attention.
"Even if that is the case, it is still a stretch to conclude these powerful beings are gods."
"This is why we merely call them proto-gods for now! According to both hexism and the Ylvainan Faith, life and death are two sides of the same coin. Life can persist beyond death, and the dead can rise back to life. There is even the possibility that life exists that has never stepped into the material realm! When I initially embarked on my career, I always felt that mechs are special beyond a reason. I slowly developed a theory that mechs aren't lifeless machines, but it was not only until I became exposed to the Ylvainan Faith that I had truly obtained the answers I sought for my entire life!"
"You.. became inspired by the local religion?"
"Yes!" Ves grinned like a street prophet! "I am extremely grateful to the Ylvainans for enlightening me with the truth of how reality works! The Great Prophet that is central to their faith has never truly died! He is still alive! As the Bright Martyr, I personally designed the Transcendent Messenger, Holy Soldier and Deliverer mechs to prove that Prophet Ylvaine is still watching over his people from the realm of death! His divine presence still graces his believers every day through the mechs I designed with his blessing!"
"That is a rather unusual tale." Willix replied with a mildly shocked expression.
"I know, but the truth cannot be denied, ma'am! The proto-gods that I have come to make are truly gods in the making as far as I'm concerned! While they start off weak and powerless, they have the capacity to grow and come into power as the gods they deserve to be known! What I have witnessed and experienced on a planet called Aeon Corona VII has been another inspiration for me. The bestial gods that roamed this unique environment each demonstrated what my proto-gods might be capable of once they grow into their powers!"
"What does this have to do with mech design?" Master Willix frowned.
Ves spread his arms wide. "EVERYTHING! Don't you see, Master Willix? My mechs contain a component that is intrinsically unique to my designs! As a mech designer, I call this addition a 'divine component'. So far, I have not been able to discover any other mech designed by another colleague that contains this essential component. This means that my mechs are more complete than every other mech designed by every other mech designer! I believe that I am on the right path to revolutionize the entire mech industry! I will prove every skeptic and naysayer once I've reached Master and realized my design philosophy!"
His exuberance didn't seem to scare Master Willix at all. Instead, she crossed her arms and maintained a very keen interest in what he had to say!
This was not what Ves wanted to see! He wanted to evoke disgust! He wanted Master Willix to feel repelled by all of the superstitious nonsense he spewed from his mouth? Why did it seem as if Willix fully accepted his outlandish claims?
"You have developed a very peculiar theoretical framework. That is very bold of you." She praised. "The mech community normally isn't very tolerant towards exotic theories that rely on more.. esoteric assumptions. Class IX mech designers such as you often face intense difficulties in trying to gain acceptance."
"That is.. true. Professor Oodiv certainly didn't express much understanding towards my design philosophy. Only Gloriana has accepted my views! I am extremely grateful for finding a partner who is able to see mechs the same way as I do! We both believe that we can turn mechs into gods as long as we combine our powers! The mechs you see around here is nothing compared to the miracles we'll bring to life!"
"Ves is right!" Gloriana chirped as she helpfully played along with his act! "My boyfriend might sound strange, but I fully believe we are capable of designing mechs that are more than mechs. Gods exist. Not only that. Gods can be created! The key to making this possible is to use the medium of mechs to anchor their existences and channel their godly powers into the material realm!"
"What is your ultimate aim? What are the two of you working towards?"
"Ves grinned even wider. "Why, we are aiming for nothing less than to mass produce gods in the form of mechs! We plan to make god pilots completely redundant! Our distinct brand of mechs will become known as the true god mechs in the mech community!"
The mere thought of trying to supplant god pilots with his distinctive mechs sounded crazy! God pilots were one of the most exalted existences in human civilization, yet Ves claimed he wanted to do nothing less but make them obsolete!
Any other mech designer or mech pilot would throttle his neck right now! Master Willix's entourage certainly looked as if they were tempted to do so! If not for their superior's presence, they would have taken action by now in order to punish Ves for his heretical remarks!
Yet.. the most powerful individual among the MTA delegation didn't share their reactions. Not a single shred of repulsion had ever shown on her face!
Instead, she looked more and more interested! Far from scaring her away, Ves just pulled her into his story further!
This was not part of the script!
Chapter 1894 Mr. S
Ves employed the same crazy-sounding arguments against Professor Oodiv of the MTA. He succeeded in arousing the Senior's disgust, and managed to end any further line of questioning in his unorthodox design philosophy.
He expected a rational mech designer like Master Willix to respond in a similar fashion.
After all, the MTA was known to be a highly secularist organization. Though it was officially neutral when it came to matters of faith, in practice most if not all of its members comprised of people who believed that every phenomena could be explained and that gods didn't exist!
Was Master Willix a closet believer or something? Ves didn't think so. She was a rational mech designer. Rationalists never engaged in superstition!
Right?
After Ves threw out his latest outlandish notion, Master Willix continued to remain silent as she mulled over his words.
The five men and women who accompanied her looked as if they had plenty of words to say to Ves, but none dared to act presumptuously in the presence of a Master!
The silence didn't last for long.
"Keep up the good work." She finally said.
"..Thanks?"
She smiled at Ves. "I am not Professor Oodiv, Mr. Larkinson. I come from the galactic heartland. I have dedicated myself to mechs for almost two centuries and experienced the diversity of mechs in dozens of star sectors. From third-class mechs to first-class mechs, I have witnessed almost every variety of mechs that can be made. I exchanged with thousands of mech designers from every corner of the galaxy and have become exposed to thousands of eclectic views with regards to mechs. Do you believe that your views are the most extreme I've heard? Far from it! Class IX design philosophies encompass an entire gamut of unbelievable premises!"
"I.. see." Ves stammered. "Does that mean you.. believe me, ma'am?"
"We are scientists. We are engineers. We are mech designers." She turned to her entourage and stared them down with a mildly-disapproving expression. "Look at the mechs around you. Have you noticed how some of those mechs exert a distinct influence on your moods and emotions? Whether Mr. Larkinson is right or wrong, there is no doubt that he has managed to produce results!"
"But, ma'am, his theories are completely unfounded!"
"Are they?" Master Willix pointed at a nearby Desolate Soldier. "Then how do you explain this mech?"
There was no way for them to answer this question. They had no grasp on the phenomena known as glows!
"Human society is divided. We are separated by differences in myths, beliefs, customs and more. Most of us believe that this is detrimental to our development as a species." She threw out. "The most common strain of thought is that we would have become strong enough to conquer the entire galaxy as long as we aren't so prone to division!"
"You.. disagree, ma'am?"
Master Willix nodded. "I think diversity is one of the greatest advantages our expensive society has produced. Certainly, there are both good and bad beliefs. All manner of reprehensible despots have managed to take advantage of our propensity for division to further their selfish ends. Yet it is when humans have room to explore their own views that some of our most revolutionary innovations have come about. Trying to stifle these explorers when they aren't doing any harm does not further the interests of our Association."
She mostly directed her words at her fellow members of the MTA. Ves understood then that Master Willix was using his case as a teaching moment!
"Now, the theories espoused by Miss Wodin and Mr. Larkinson are certainly exotic. However, it is not the responsibility of the MTA to determine which views and design philosophies are allowed. So long as they do not cross any lines, it is our policy to leave them to develop on their own. If we did not adopt this policy, then narrow-minded people within our Association would have stifled numerous radical but successful advances in mech design."
Her rebuke hit the other officials of the MTA square in the heart!
"With regards to unusual theories and radical approaches towards mech design, our Association has maintained a consistent attitude towards them since our founding." She swept her gaze to the mechs piloted by the Avatars. "Proof is everything. No matter if their theories are inaccurate or incomplete, there is no doubt that this pair of mech designers have achieved unique results that have lent some credence to their views. It makes no sense to disparage them when they have succeeded in introducing something novel in the field of mech design. Each of you should understand how exceptional it is to achieve true innovation in the mech industry. In my opinion, these pair of youngsters are some of the worthiest mech designers I have met among the natives."
Her statement shocked both her entourage and Ves!
While Gloriana acted as if she deserved to be praised, Ves inwardly felt surprised that Master Willix was a lot more open-minded than he initially thought.
Was this what a true Master of the MTA was like? The breadth of vision Master Willix possessed was substantially higher than that of her fellow members!
After rebuking the others, she turned her attention back to Ves. "Your steadfastness and willingness to stand up to your beliefs are admirable. Ignore your detractors. As long as you continue to produce results, you can shut any naysayer. Remember, in the mech industry, right or wrong is determined by the mechs you design, not the arguments you use to frame your design philosophy. You can shut every argument up as long as you design or build the right mech."
"Thank you, Master. I appreciate your support."
Soon enough, they entered a structure that led them underground. Once the party arrived at the restricted hall that held the Quint and its four configurations, the MTA delegation began to take in the view.
It didn't take long for someone to state the obvious.
"This modular mech platform and its available configurations are all masterworks. There is no mistaking this judgement."
"This 'Quint' is stronger than we have led to believe! A mech this sublime is not the result of an accidental effort! The circumstances surrounding the creation of this masterpiece is suspicious. How can a pair of Journeymen create such a powerful masterwork?!"
From the remarks made by the MTA envoys, Ves discovered that they were quite experienced in evaluating masterworks! They managed to glean far more clues about the Quint than he expected!
As the envoys started to crawl all over the mechs, Master Willix swept her gaze towards the base platform and each configuration with piercing eyes.
Those weren't ordinary eyes! Ves guessed that Willix heavily augmented her eyes so that she could pierce through the inner structure of any mech!
After fifteen minutes of cursory examinations, the envoys floated back to Master Willix and whispered some of their initial conclusions. The Master nodded continuously as she agreed with their judgements.
She eventually waved her hand. "Continue inspecting the Masterwork."
Once her entourage returned to the Quint, Master Willix floated over to Ves and Gloriana and stared at them with a hint of disapproval!
Gloriana looked confused while Ves couldn't help but feel nervous despite his mask. It was too hard to hide his secrets in front of a Master!
"Did you really think you could fool a Master?"
Uh oh!
"What.. what are you talking about?" Ves cautiously asked.
"We have been nothing but truthful so far!" Gloriana earnestly claimed.
Master Willix frowned deeper. "It is time to stop avoiding the truth. Admit it. Lying to the MTA is deeply unbecoming of professionals such as you. I do not wish to see you ruin your careers because you have decided to mislead us in order to earn more credit that you are not entitled to! Tell me! Did the two of you design the Bright Warrior by yourselves and fabricate this masterwork without any help?"
Both of the mech designers she addressed grew confused. What was she talking about?
As Ves wracked his mind on what Master Willix was referring to, he suddenly realized what she was talking about.
It was his decision to Superpublish his design! Prior to that, the quality and sophistication of the design was rather good but not exceptional according to their standards.
Yet when he Superpublished the design behind Gloriana's back, the Bright Warrior design fundamentally morphed into a different beast!
Seeing that this detail clearly hadn't escaped the sight of Master Willix, Ves decided to come clean.
"Yes." He spoke and pretended to be more upset about this admission than he really felt! "At the end of our design project, I.. took our finished design to another mech designer who subsequently tuned it up. Our benefactor considerably raised the quality of our mech design, which is good because my Larkinson Clan will benefit from piloting the best mech possible. It.. it wasn't our intention to misattribute our mech design to just ourselves, but in our defense, we never intended to publish the Bright Warrior. If not for turning its first copy into a masterwork, we would have never brought it to the attention of your Association!"
Master Willix softened her expression. "You are right, and I am pleased to hear you admit the truth. Can you tell me the name of your benefactor? From what I have deduced from the schematics of your design, the third party who improved your mech design is very skilled and possesses a great mastery in technical problem-solving. I'm quite interested in corresponding with such an eminent mech designer."
"Ves?" Gloriana looked to him in expectation.
He shrugged and generated a quick excuse. "My.. benefactor.. does not wish to be known. I know him as 'Mr. S'. He comes and goes when he pleases, and when he's gone it's as if he has disappeared from the material realm. To be absolutely honest, earlier in my career, I received a lot of guidance from him, but lately he has been showing up less and less in my life. I have found my own way."
"Understood." Master Willix nodded. "I will respect his privacy, then. I have encountered several cases like this. When skilled mech designers do not wish to be known, then it is usually best to respect their privacy. Is Mr. S the primary cause for turning this mech into a masterwork?"
It sounded as if she had already made a conclusion in her mind! Ves instantly grasped this opportunity!
"Yes." He lied. "Gloriana and I would have never been able to create a masterwork mech on our own. It.. is true that we relied on external assistance to elevate the quality of the Quint. Mr. S deserves the majority of credit."
"This is not what the two of you have stated in your masterwork applications. Did you know how many red flags you've raised when the documentation and footage you've provided contains some very clear omissions?" Master Willix put her hands on her hips. "As I have already said, lying to the MTA is a severe offense. As mech designers, I expect better from you. Do. Not. Lie. To. The. MTA. Again. Understand?"
"Yes, Master."
Both Ves and Gloriana lowered their heads and pretended to be chastised by the Master's words!
"Now that we have established the truth, let us proceed with the verification process." Master Willix said and motioned them to step forward to the Quint. "Even if Mr. S deserves most of the credit for creating this powerful masterwork, the two of you appeared to have played a substantial role in its creation."
Once they approached the foot of the base platform, Ves and Gloriana meekly waited as the Master looked up at the tall machine with a hint of admiration.
"Alright. Step forward and touch the surface of this mech."
The pair did as the Master commanded.
While Ves felt the warmth within the mech, Master Willix stared at them both for almost an entire minute!
"Alright, you can withdraw your hands. I have seen enough."
Once he withdrew his arm, he looked towards the Master with a questioning expression. "Ma'am.. Are our masterwork applications.. still valid?"
If Master Willix found cause to reject their applications, then everything around Ves might fall apart! The Wodin Dynasty would certainly feel as if they had been fooled and would pull every support they initially promised!
"There are clear problems with your applications. This is undeniable." Master Willix spoke gravely. "However... earlier, I told you that you can rebut any argument as long as you design or build the right mech. Well, from what I have ascertained so far, the two of you possess a clear and undeniable bond with this mech. This is proof that you have materially contributed to the formation of this masterwork mech. As a consequence, the two of you are still eligible to receive your masterwork certificates."
Ves and Gloriana both looked relieved! They still had a chance!
Chapter 1895 Postponed
What Ves feared the most was the MTA finding out the truth behind his design philosophy.
So when Master Willix initially found some problems, he was deeply afraid that she would force him to cough up his secrets!
Instead, she drew her attention to another loophole, thereby giving Ves a reprieve!
He would rather admit that Gloriana and him weren't solely responsible for making a masterwork mech than exposing something more sensitive!
Though they drew the Master's displeasure as a consequence, this was better than all of the horror stories Ves had fantasized about!
"Both of you have sworn an oath to uphold the principles and values of our profession." Master Willix lectured to the younger mech designers. "Being honest to yourself, others and the MTA is an essential trait for mech designers. Cheating and lying might be able to get you ahead for a time, but eventually lead to a dead end. Becoming a Master is far more difficult than you can possibly comprehend. While you have to explore this difficult journey on your own, know that you will make it ten times harder if you don't possess enough integrity."
While Ves nodded as if he took her lesson seriously, inwardly he felt only relief! So far, Master Willix didn't appear to be inclined to probe his design philosophy any further.
The conversation between them soon became more cordial. As Master continued to inspect the Quint by examining the base platform and the four configurations up close, she occasionally asked Ves or Gloriana to explain their design choices.
"Why did you opt to clad your mech with an alloy that is not natively produced in the Komodo Star Sector?"
"What is the reason for comprising the design of your rifleman mech configuration by making it compatible with both physical and energy rifles?"
"Is there a point to the swordsman mech configuration?"
Her questions were certainly sharp. Ves and Gloriana both exhibited clear difficulties in coming up with satisfactory answers!
Both of them only questioned their decisions more as Master Willix systematically exposed almost every fundamental shortcoming about the mech.
Even if the Bright Warrior was highly optimized and nearly perfect from a design aspect, Ves and Gloriana nonetheless could have made better decisions at many junctions!
As the examination proceeded to the testing phase where a mech pilot began to pilot the Bright Warrior and its different configurations, some discrepancies soon emerged.
The Illuminating Warrior's laser rifle inflicted considerably more damage than its technical specs suggested!
The Shining Warrior's spear delivered significantly greater force with its spear than should be possible!
The Nova Warrior's power reactor was a third more powerful for no apparent reason!
The Solar Warrior's sensors exhibited substantially more effective range without any augmentations to its systems!
At the end of the first day of testing, the entire MTA delegation was abuzz. There was no way to explain these abnormal performance readings! Even as Master Willix continued to examine the physical mech in person and scrutinized the design schematics from every direction, she began to frown as it failed to explain the discrepancies!
Ves looked helpless as the MTA continued to puzzle over his Quint as if they were performing a full certification process.
This wasn't part of the plan! The MTA delegation was only supposed to confirm that the Quint was a masterwork mech and that Ves and Gloriana deserved to be credited for its formation.
Master Willix personally confirmed that there weren't any further issues with regards to their masterwork applications.
This should have been the end of the story, yet the delegation clearly wasn't done with his mech!
While Ves expected the MTA envoys to be interested in studying the Quint, he never gave permission for them to station a pilot in its cockpit and bring the mech online! He also didn't give them leave to test the capabilities of the four configurations by performing some basic tests.
The effects of Lucky's gems couldn't be hidden at this point!
When the differences between the Quint's actual performance and the theoretical performance of the Bright Warrior design were so wide, even Moira Willix became intrigued!
At the end of the day, after failing to come up with an explanation, the Master turned back to the pair.
She projected a bunch of performance charts that outlined the differences in the most obvious way possible.
"Please explain."
As usual, Gloriana pointed towards Ves. "He knows."
Ves awkwardly smiled. "I don't know the mechanics behind these inexplicable performance boosts either. The proto-god that I have instilled in the Bright Warrior design is quite capable, but it isn't capable of improving the raw performance of the Quint. I can only attribute these improvements to Mr. S."
"Understood."
Surprisingly, Master Willix didn't question him any further. Ves found out that attributing every discrepancy towards a mysterious superior mech designer was a very convenient excuse! It neatly fit the guesses that the Master Mech Designer doubtlessly made.
Of course, there was a possibility that Master Willix wasn't fooled, but Ves would take what he could get. Just like his final conversation with Master Olson, the best way to mislead Masters was to confirm their biases!
After the end of the first day of examinations, the MTA delegation exited the underground hall and returned to their parked starship.
They declined Ves and Gloriana's cursory offer to host them at their Austen Estate. Likely, they didn't want to spend the night in the equivalent of a peasant's hovel in their perspective.
"If I may ask, ma'am, how long will you stay?"
"Are you eager to see me leave?" Master Willix quirked her mouth in amusement.
Damn! Master Mech Designers were too astute! Between a Master and Calabast, Ves didn't know who was worse, but he would rather be rid of them entirely!
"We have.. plans." Ves answered. "Due to the Sand War, the Komodo War and other recent developments, we adopted a tight schedule. According to my original plans, I am supposed to undergo an implantation surgery soon."
Willix regarded him with a flat expression. "You would rather stick to your schedule than act as a responsible host? I am very very disappointed in you, Mr. Larkinson."
"My apologies, ma'am. I did not anticipate that you would continue to remain interested in our little masterwork. It is just a bridge mech. Its performance doesn't even fully reach the standard of a second-class mech!"
"You shouldn't beat your own creation down." The Master smiled. "As poor as its baseline may be compared to the multipurpose mechs that I am accustomed to working with, your Quint contains several interesting elements. Whether it is the improvements implemented by Mr. S or your 'proto-god', I have never encountered anything similar in my long career in mech design. When you reach my level, it is quite difficult to witness anything truly novel in mech design! Your Quint has successfully defied my expectations and presented me with innovations that are truly inspiring. Bravo. For a pair of young Journeymen like you, it isn't easy to impress me in this manner!"
Was Ves supposed to pat himself in the back? He would rather shove Master Willix through the hatch of her starship and see her depart as soon as possible!
He thought that Masters were supposed to be busy people whose time could never be wasted. At the very least, that was the impression he received from Master Olson.
So why was Master Willix so bored or idle to remain on Kesseling VII longer in order to study his masterwork mech? Was it truly that exceptional to the MTA?
Maybe sticking five different gems in a single mech was a mistake.
There was no arguing with a Master, however. Despite her politeness, Moira Willix carried herself with the demeanor of someone of supremely high station.
A pair of native Journeyman Mech Designers had no room for refusal!
"Please postpone your planned surgery." She instructed to Ves. "Whenever I encounter something novel, I am filled with questions. It would be helpful for you to be on hand as I thoroughly examine your creation over multiple days."
"No.. no problem, ma'am. How long will we be hosting your august presence?"
Willix tapped her finger against her lips. "A week will do. Please ensure that you and the Quint both remain accessible while I am here."
"We live to serve."
"Good." The old woman nodded in approval. "We won't occupy your time in vain. As long as you remain helpful and receive your masterwork certificates without any further issues, I will submit a request to award you with 1 million MTA merits, split evenly between each of you. With my standing, our sector headquarters will certainly approve of my request."
What?! 1 million merits! Ves completely turned his stance around as soon as he heard this figure!
"Truly, ma'am?"
"I thought we would earn less merits for our masterwork mechs." Gloriana couldn't help but remark. "Our mech is not a proper second-class mech, and we don't plan to submit it to your Association."
Master Willix smiled indulgently at Gloriana. "Those are the rules, but I am a Master. I possess considerable autonomy and authority within our organization. It just so happens that I like the two of you. Both of you are quite remarkable by yourselves, but together you make for a potent pair. I will be watching your careers closely from now on. If your Bright Warrior design is anything to go by, I am confident that you will be able to shake the mech industry as long as you mature."
While Gloriana beamed as if this was the happiest day of her life, Ves only felt his heart sink even further.
Attracting the MTA's attention was the last thing he wanted! He thought he could repel Master Willix by wearing his crazy hat, but how could he know that she was a lot more magnanimous and open-minded than he anticipated?
Clearly, Master Willix seemed to have adopted the attitude of a mentor towards them. Both Ves and Gloriana were promising mech designers who had the potential to provide the MTA and the mech community with a lot of unique innovations.
The Master didn't mind spending more time here to guide and question their work for this reason!
As Master Willix and her entourage finally disappeared into their ship, Ves and Gloriana slowly walked towards the shuttle that would bring them away.
Later that evening, both of them took stock of the meeting in the privacy of their shared bedroom.
As both of them had changed into their pajamas, they sat on the surface of the bed and looked towards each other.
"Master Willix is a lot nicer than I thought." Gloriana chirped. "I briefly encountered some Masters during my time at Centerpoint. Most of them are a lot more preoccupied and dismissive."
Ves shrugged. "Maybe that's the reason why she took it upon herself to travel to the Kesseling System."
His girlfriend winced. "She is certainly good at her job. Some of the questions she asked still haunt me to this moment."
"That's a Master Mech Designer for you. Their depth and breadth in mech design is unimaginably greater than ours. Hiding anything related to mech design from her is an impossible task!"
With seven days to go, Ves feared that Master Willix would keep asking questions. What she managed to uncover today was already bad enough. Multiplying it by seven would almost certainly spell doom!
That was the point, though. Moira Willix found something new and unique in the Quint. Ves feared that she wouldn't leave until she deciphered all of its working!
Ves looked bummed. Aside from the increasing risk of exposure, he also had to postpone his long-awaited implant surgery. He waited for months to integrate the Archimedes Rubal in his head. To delay it by at least a week annoyed him to no end!
"At least she's handing us a million merits for our efforts." Gloriana soothed him. "Doesn't that sound great? We are one percent closer to buying our beyonder ticket!"
"Whoopie." Ves replied flatly.
Chapter 1896 The Benevolent Association
How did he end up in this position?
Ves wondered why he had the 'fortune' to attract a floating disaster named Moira Willix.
This eminent dignitary from the powerful Mech Trade Association should have been throwing herself into cutting-edge research back at the hyper-advanced Halcyon Citadel.
In no way did Ves ever think that his works were interesting enough to garner the extended interest of a genuine Master Mech Designer from the MTA!
By her own words, she traveled through numerous star sectors and moved all the way from the galactic heartland to the edge of the galaxy. She experienced too many mech designs than Ves could count and exchanged with all sorts of unique and excellent mech designers.
And now, she decided to lodge at Kesseling VIII for the sole purpose to crawl all over his Quint like it was an ancient relic!
"What are you worried about, Ves?" A sleepy voice murmured from his chest.
He looked down at the long locks of hair that blocked his vision. Though he couldn't see the rest of her body in the morning light, he could feel the weight and warmth of his girlfriend's body pressing up against his side.
Ever since their first night of sleep, Gloriana grew comfortable with sleeping while cuddling with him. Essentially, his body replaced Clixie as her favorite stuffed animal, much to Clixie's consternation!
"Miaow."
The cat in question threw a jealous look at Ves from the foot of the bed.
"Meow."
Lucky licked the side of her head and distracted her attention.
"I'm afraid my spiritual component monopoly is under threat. The MTA is a band of thieves who somehow came into power. They don't need to steal other people's secrets covertly. They can just abuse their official mandate to extract every possible drop of value from so-called 'native' mech designers like you and me! Now that we have attracted the interest of one of their Masters, I fear the day will come where my glows become ubiquitous in the mech industry against my will!"
Gloriana yawned and raised her head to look at Ves in the eyes. "You're exaggerating. Master Willix may be an excellent mech designer, but your design philosophy is too unique. Do you truly think that she can do what you can do and create gods without your godly domain?"
"Ordinarily, I'm not concerned, but Master Willix is different. She's a rational mech designer. Have you seen how open-minded and tolerant she is of Class IX design philosophies like mine? That's because she's been trained to copy the essence of other people's design philosophies and use her combined knowledge to her own advantage in her work!"
"That's a very serious accusation, Ves."
"It's true!"
"I don't think it's that simple." She retorted. "Take my design philosophy, for example. Class I design philosophies can be just as difficult to adopt as Class IX design philosophies. It takes an extremely dedicated mindset towards the ideal of perfection to be able to imitate my specialization. Perhaps Master Willix is mentally flexible enough to approach my mindset, but I am absolutely certain that despite her formidable abilities, she can never fully comprehend my greatest methods! She doesn't have my drive!"
Her words reminded Ves of a contradiction.
If rational mech designers were geared towards absorbing the fruit of oher mech designers, how could they possibly do so while remaining largely emotionless?
Passionate mech designers like Ves and Gloriana often stoked their passion and embraced the flames in order to produce their best works! The Bright Warrior design was almost entirely fueled by passion for example!
The notion that a rational mech designer was able to imitate the methods of a passionate mech designer was as absurd as a bot trying to create art!
Still, the fact that the MTA largely employed rational mech designers meant that they must have developed at least some tricks to cope with this contradiction!
While Ves did not think it was easy to copy his techniques, it was sheer folly to underestimate the design prowess of a Master!
Though Ves didn't know how many Masters resided at Halcyon Citadel, but he truly believed he wasn't wrong if he stated that Master Moira Willix was one of the best mech designers in the Komodo Star Sector!
Her presence alone threw the LMC, the Larkinson Clan, the local government and the entire Ylvaine Protectorate in disarray!
As the pair freshened up and met up in the dining room for breakfast, Gloriana tutted at Ves.
"I understand your concerns, but Master Willix is not here to threaten you and ruin your career. She's a mech designer from the MTA. She has an obligation to uphold all of the Association's ideals!"
"That doesn't really reassure me, Gloriana." He scoffed.
She didn't know the MTA like he did! There were darker sides to the MTA that were never voiced in public! All Gloriana knew about the Association was how it portrayed itself in public.
The protector and ultimate arbiter of human space might be dominated by males, but to Gloriana it truly stood up for mech pilots and mech designers regardless of their affiliations!
She glanced at him as if he was an idiot. "You are only focusing on the downsides of Master Willix's visit. I'm not saying that she doesn't damage our interests, but in my eyes she's a fair and principled mech designer. She not only promised to reward us with 1 million merits, she's also remarkably approachable and easy to talk to for a Master! Don't you realize what a golden opportunity she represents? We can learn so much from her as long as she remains charitable towards us! I don't know about you, but I shall definitely take advantage of her generosity!"
Her words had merit, Ves admitted. Master Willix truly appeared to embody some of the ideals of the MTA.
The Mech Trade Association may have become one of the most dominant organizations in human space, but at its heart it was still a trade association.
Though most people these days tended to forget about this modest-aspect, the MTA still had a responsibility to set an example on how anyone who worked with mechs should conduct themselves.
Ves was just being too cynical. He automatically assumed that the Masters in the Association only paid lip service to the MTA's ideals. Since they had reached the highest echelons of one of the Big Two, he thought that they would pretty much be able to take everything without giving anything in return!
Certainly, Master Willix clearly wanted to glean more insights from his Quint, so that aspect about the MTA was still true. He did not intend to drop his vigilance towards the thieving Master for this reason!
When the pair finished their breakfast, they boarded a shuttle and flew to the Avatar base where the MTA delegation had already started to resume their inspection of the Quint.
During the ride, Gloriana played with Clixie and Lucky while Ves quietly discussed with Gavin.
"It's bad, Ves." His assistant frowned. "The abrupt arrival of Master Willix has become public knowledge. The MTA has done nothing to hide her visit to our premises!"
"Figures." Ves scowled in disgust.
The MTA never took into account that he wished to keep the Quint under wraps for the time being! It just did what it wanted regardless of his desires!
"For now, the Quint hasn't become public knowledge, but I can guess it's only a matter of time before the Ylvainans and the rest of the star sector learn the reason why you attracted a bigshot from the MTA. We will have to move our announcement date forward if we still want to control the narrative!"
"Great."
"It's not all that bad, boss. We can take advantage of Master Willix's interest in your latest mech to increase your prestige. Her willingness to travel to Kesseling VIII shows that design ability has truly attracted the attention of the top! As long as we frame this observation in the right way, we can definitely improve your prestige! This will make you even more notable in the mech community!"
"While that sounds good, I don't want to paint a bigger target on my back!"
"On the contrary. Far from making you more vulnerable, you can turn this situation around so that you can implicitly suggest that you have earned Master Willix's support! Whether it's true or false, any enemy of yours will think twice about touching you, lest they earn the ire of a very highly-placed individual within the local branch of the MTA!"
That.. sounded quite good to Ves. He thought for a moment before he nodded. "Come up with a plan that allows me to do what you've suggested. Make sure you don't cross any lines, Benny."
"I know what to do." Gavin grinned.
With that taken care of, Ves discussed other matters until the shuttle finally arrived at its destination.
As Ves and Gloriana exited the shuttle, he turned to his cat. "Make yourself scarce. Master Willix may have overlooked you for now, but that might change at any moment!"
"Meow!"
"What do you mean? You have often been by yourself! Don't pretend you like to be around me all the time. If you want to enjoy some company, then head to Raymond who is holding on to the Larkinson Mandate for me. I'm sure the Golden Cat would love your company!"
"Meow meow!"
Lucky seemed to agree. He turned to Clixie and exchanged a few meows before the two entered the shuttle.
Gavin looked at the cats with bemusement. "Am I supposed to babysit your pets?"
A hand patted his shoulder. "Yup. Keep an eye on them and don't let them get up to any mischief."
The assistant looked helpless. He knew very well that he had no power over the pair of cats! Either of them could easily kick his butt if they wished!
Ves didn't care. He joined Gloriana in heading towards the underground hall.
Different from yesterday, the MTA delegation brought down a lot of equipment from their frigate.
Various advanced scanning equipment and other devices precisely gathered data from the base platform and all of the configurations!
As his own personal creation, Ves felt quite affronted by this deep and extensive examination!
However, there was no stopping the MTA. The only choice he could make was to bear with the situation and hope that Master Willix failed to glean any of his core secrets.
The pair strode forward until they reached a portable work console that was floating a few meters from the ground. Master Willix precisely manipulated the dizzying array of controls while sweeping her eyes past various projected screens.
"Ah, the two of you are finally here."
"Good morning, Master Willix." Both of them bowed and greeted politely.
"I have been mulling over the Bright Warrior design and the Quint since yesterday. There is quite a lot of depth in your work, and I have plenty of questions."
"We will do your best to satisfy your curiosity, ma'am." Gloriana dutifully said.
"Good."
The morning began with a quiz. Fortunately for Ves, Master Willix only focused on the technical aspects of their mech design. Gloriana easily took charge and answered most of the questions.
During this time, Master Willix often made brief but succinct remarks that often enlightened them to alternate solutions to the problems they encountered. They went outside the solutions selected by Mr. S, thereby granted them an even greater awareness of how the Bright Warrior design could be improved!
As much as Ves wanted to remain on guard, it was difficult not to get caught up by the mutual exchange.
His girlfriend was right. Master Willix was a font of knowledge and wisdom and didn't mind sharing some of it to the younger generation!
As the long day progressed, Gloriana gained a considerable amount of insights as most of the topics Master Willix brought up fell under her specialization.
Between the two of them, Ves possessed a much more esoteric specialty. It was considerably more difficult for Master Willix to guide him, so she directed most of her attention to the mech designer who had the most to gain from her insights.
It wasn't surprising therefore that Gloriana completely turned into Master Willix's attentive pupil! All of the younger mech designer's doubt and wariness towards the Master disappeared, and she completely adjusted her mindset to soak up as many gains as she could!
Meanwhile, Ves awkwardly stood at the side. While the two women appeared to be enjoying themselves, he felt kind left out. The topics they discussed went way over his head.
Was he supposed to feel glad or remorseful?
Chapter 1897 Font of Wisdom and Knowledge
Two days went by as Master Willix mainly directed her attention to the technical side of both Bright Warrior design and the Quint.
Ves noticed that she appeared to show a lot of interest in the improvements made by the mysterious Mr. S.
"Any Master or experienced Senior for that matter can implement these improvements in a Journeyman-level design." She revealed during one of her more talkative moments. "What is remarkable is that Mr. S managed to comprehensively elevate your Bright Warrior design while retaining your original design styles. Can you imagine improving a mech design without leaving some form of influence in the changed product? It's nearly impossible, yet the original version of your Bright Warrior and the improved version that Mr. S has produced are virtually similar in terms of character. This takes true skill."
The professional respect she conveyed towards Mr. S sounded genuine. It was as if Master Willix regarded his mysterious benefactor as a hidden Master!
Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she was being so amiable towards Ves and Gloriana. If they enjoyed the backing of a Master in hiding, then that signified that the pair must possess qualities that made them very promising!
This deduction combined with her own personal interest in their intriguing work prompted Master Willix to treat them more earnestly than she might otherwise choose.
Even though the Master talked to them all day she made sure that the examination of the Quint continued.
Her subordinates and helpers all inspected the Quint thoroughly. Sometimes, they even disassembled some of the parts to take a closer look inside!
This behavior alarmed Ves, but the MTA specialists treated the Quint with a lot of care. Their tools were highly advanced and their expertise was so great that they never threatened the integrity of the mech they were handling.
As expected of internal members of the MTA, all of them possessed genuine respect for mechs, especially masterwork mechs!
Their great ability actually shamed Ves to some extent. Though the MTA delegation only brought a modest amount of equipment, the skill and ability they demonstrated was far beyond Ves and Gloriana could currently demonstrate!
The gap between internal members of the MTA and natives was immense. Ves felt as if he was an ancient tribesman gawking at a bunch of technologically-advanced explorers who had come to examine every detail of his mudhouse.
It was difficult for Ves to suppress his tech envy and other kinds of envy. It would have been great if he managed to join the ranks of the greatest mech organization in the galaxy, but he knew it was not to be. He carried the taint of the Five Scrolls Compact, which just happened to be the archenemy of the MTA!
Therefore, spending time with the likes of Master Willix was just as precarious as a murderer hanging out with a police detective.
At any point in time, Master Willix might be able to sniff his association with the Compact or one of its Sacred Scrolls!
The worst part of this ordeal was that even if he knew the risks, he had no choice but to put up a mask and act as an eager Journeyman looking to pick up scraps from a generous Master.
A Master was worthy of genuine respect and admiration from lower-ranked mech designers. This was an iron-clad custom that almost everyone in the mech community followed!
Ves could not violate this norm without attracting a lot of attention. Therefore, he was forced to act within expectations and continue to stay close to Master Willix.
The act was grating on him, especially when it appeared that the Master actually didn't require that much answers from him. Most of the time, she turned to Gloriana for answers, making his presence largely redundant!
He could have undergone his implantation surgery by now. Integrating the Archimedes Rubal in his brain was a much more attractive prospect than listening in on the highly technical discussions between his girlfriend and the seemingly-benevolent Master.
It was not until the third that Master Willix finally paid more than a cursory amount of attention to the other lead designer of the Bright Warrior design.
"Mr. Larkinson." She began with a polite smile. "I've been refraining from delving into your principal contribution into your mech because your specialty isn't easy to grasp."
"My design philosophy is an earnest expression of my beliefs." Ves smoothly replied. "Creating gods is not for the meek."
"Yes.. gods. I am quite interested in them, or at least your views on them. Would you like to elaborate?"
Hell no! If Ves had his way, he would have sewed his mouth shut!
Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to express his inner feelings in front of Master Willix, so he instead adopted a helpful posture.
"What would you like to know, Master Willix?"
"Do you worship them? Are you in any way subservient to these gods you speak about?"
His intuition sensed a deeper meaning behind these words. From what he knew about the MTA's early history, Ves didn't have to think very hard to realize the trap in her words.
Fortunately, Ves never worshipped any gods to begin with. Whether it was Qilanxo, Nyxie, Cassandra or even his mother, he never believed they were unfathomable or deserving of his devotion!
Seriously!
Ves spoke the truth. "In the faith espoused by the Ylvainans, everyone has the potential to become a god. In my opinion, the separation between mortals and the divine is not as wide as everyone thinks. Gloriana and I agree that mech pilots and mech designers are already gods in the making. Starting from expert pilot or Journeyman Mech Designer, we advance up the ranks, each time gaining more and more divinity as we grow!"
"You are referring to psionic power." Master Willix spoke plainly. As a senior dignitary from the MTA, the rules that prohibited people from speaking openly about psionics didn't apply to her! "This is not a mysterious field. It is a measurable and empirically-established facet of nature that is only mysterious because it is difficult to explore."
"I don't disagree, ma'am." Ves shook his head. "In fact, it is because I agree with your assessment that I think that gods are not as omnipotent or omniscient as some faiths make them out to be. They can be great and powerful beings, but I am confident that I can master their existences one day and harness their powers in the form of mechs!"
Even Ves wasn't really sure what he was saying right now! He was just following his fake logic in convoluted directions in the hopes that Master Willix bought his act!
She nodded at him in an indulgent manner. "That is a good mindset to adopt. No matter what you choose to believe in, always remember that humans like us no longer need to serve any greater powers. Whether we're talking about powerful alien races or existences that are difficult to imagine, our race has still defeated an insurmountable amount of horrors and come to dominate half of the galaxy!"
"We're also making inroads in another galaxy." Ves conveniently diverted the topic. "I'm very excited about the invasion of the Red Ocean! Gloriana and I have made a promise to ourselves that we should embark on an expedition to the Red Ocean within a decade. Both of us think that we'll be able to take advantage of countless opportunities in the new dwarf galaxy!"
Master Willix looked surprised. "It is not impossible for you to travel to the Red Ocean by yourself. If you want to travel with Gloriana, then the amount of merits you will have to earn is considerably immense. Without involving additional partners, it should be impossible for a pair of Journeymen to accumulate the necessary merits."
"With respect, ma'am, we're not ordinary mech designers. It wasn't too long ago that Gloriana and I aimed to make a masterwork mech despite our relatively young ages. We didn't let anything stop us from achieving our goal!"
"You couldn't have succeeded without Mr. S." She factually pointed out.
Ves offered her a shrug. "That is correct, but no matter what, we achieved the result we wanted. Making our first masterwork mech is just the first step in our plan to obtain a second-class fleet beyonder ticket. Even if we are aiming, we have the confidence that we can succeed where others have failed!"
"He's right!" Gloriana nodded from the side. "Ves and I are special. When we combine our specialties and synergize our methods, we can design excellent mechs such as the Bright Warrior or produce outright miracles such as the Quint! Even if we had some help this time, I'm confident that the lessons we have learned today will allow us to replicate our success without any external assistance next time!"
"Those are some very bold words. I applaud your ambitions." Master Willix smiled. "There is no harm in aiming high as long as you are able to make some gains along the way. This way, even if you fail, you can still be proud of what you have managed to achieve."
This was the same advice that Ves once told other mech designers.
"Master Willix, do you have any advice on how we can improve our chances of becoming galactic pioneers before too much time has passed?" Ves boldly asked.
The earnest hope from both Ves and Gloriana caused Master Willix to shift her opinions of them. They were truly serious about aiming for the Red Ocean!
She shook her head as if she was facing a bunch of kids who wanted to play outside. "Well, my first advice is that you should highly consider finding reliable partners to share the burden. The Red Ocean is far more dangerous and chaotic than you can imagine. A pair of mech designers such as you might be excellent when it comes to making use of the abundant resources in the dwarf galaxy to earn money, but you need more than that to compete against the many groups that are seeking to do the same."
"We.. aren't eager to share power." Ves admitted.
"I suggest you correct your mindset. We mech designers excel in technology, but that is only one aspect about running a fleet or founding an enduring state. No matter what you seek to do in the Red Ocean, you will need a powerful partner who is adept in combat and command. It is also advisable to seek another partner that can cover your commercial, industrial and administrative needs. Don't think that any local will do. You will need the best. Only those who are good enough to lead their own organizations should be under your consideration. Everyone else is not worth your time."
The Master implicitly told Ves that it wasn't enough to rely on his existing enterprise to address all of the challenges he might face in the Red Ocean!
While Ves understood what she was getting at, he found it difficult to accept her advice.
There was hardly any partner he could trust aside from Gloriana!
"We will keep your advice in mind."
Since Master Willix seemed willing enough to talk about the Red Ocean, Ves tried to see if he could glean some insider details!
"If it's not too presumptuous to ask, could you describe what the Red Ocean is like?" He asked.
"The Red Ocean is.. a melting pot of dangers and opportunities." She spoke, her eyes glancing away as if she was recalling some memories. "If I was younger, then I would have felt tempted to push for an assignment in the dwarf galaxy. It is truly a place where dreams can be made and stars can rise."
"Why did you decline to do so, then?"
"It is also a furnace." She replied with a serious expression. "Our Association imposes heavy requirements to anyone who aims to exploit the Red Ocean for some very good reasons. It is not a place for the incompetent and the soft-hearted. While we have done some best to impose some rules and establish some order in our conquered territories, we cannot stop all the evils in our current galaxy and other galaxies. In our internal projections, we expect over ninety percent of galactic pioneers to fail!"
What! A ninety percent failure rate! That was astronomical!
Chapter 1898 Duplicitous Smile
"Did you think that my earlier advice is something you can disregard at will?" Moira Willix pinned Ves with a piercing stare. "If a pair of eager but naive mech designers such as you are in charge of a group entering the Red Ocean, then you will almost certainly fail in achieving your goals. There are dangers abound in the dwarf galaxy, both from the indigenous alien civilizations and your fellow galactic pioneers. We have not established any rules prohibiting fighting between pioneers because we know that this is a necessary process that can't be avoided."
Though Ves was already aware of the risks involved with any potential excursion to the Red Ocean, Master Willix knew more. Her words definitely had a considerable amount of weight behind them. If she said the Red Ocean was filled with peril, then he should not discount her words!
"I see." He said while maintaining a determined expression. "Even if the risks are high, we are still committed to our plan. We would regret it for the rest of our lives if we missed out on this great adventure."
Gloriana nodded, though she looked a little less eager to take part in the scramble for phasewater and other resources.
Master Willix sighed when she saw that it was unlikely for her to sway them from changing their minds.
"The Red Ocean has been in our sights for a very long time." She told them. "Our invasion is a carefully planned operation. While we have devoted a lot of attention on how to defeat the advanced indigenous alien civilizations that inhabit this dwarf galaxy, we have not made any extensive plans on how to govern and exploit our conquered territories. This matter is left to pioneers. No matter how they compete against each other, by the end we hope to turn the dwarf galaxy into a strong and productive addition to the territories under the control of our race. We will need this strength for the times to come."
This was something that Ves had already figured out. What surprised him a bit was the last sentence. Master Willix seemed to hint that there was a greater reason behind humanity's initiative to conquer the Red Ocean!
"Aside from the advice you have already given us, is there any other suggestion you can make to improve our chances of success?"
The Master glanced at Ves with a thoughtful expression. "All of the advice and warnings that you can find on the galactic net ought to be sufficient. As long as you don't underestimate the pitfalls and dangers of the Red Ocean, you should be able to survive. Greed poses the greatest threat to your success. Know your strength and don't compete for resources or territory that you can't keep. Remember than most galactic pioneers will emerge from the galactic heartland and galactic center. Their strength in terms of wealth, technology, manpower and resources is significantly beyond your comprehension."
"How can we narrow this gap, ma'am?"
"If you have managed to redeem a beyonder ticket, then you should be capable and resourceful enough to find a way." She replied. "Know your advantages and make use of them. In my opinion, your only advantages are your unique and distinctive mech design abilities. You should leverage them in a way that will allow you to make allies, business partners and eager customers among the powerful forces from the more prosperous parts of the galaxy. Don't compete with them. Cooperate with them. This is also why I suggest you partner up with someone powerful enough to act as your diplomat and business partner."
That was a decent approach. Ves seriously considered adopting it because it sounded like a safe and stable way to survive in the Red Ocean.
He didn't harbor any ambitions to found a state and neither did he hunger for wealth or phasewater.
To him, what mattered the most was finding to enrich and to progress his design philosophy! Becoming a Master was his goal, and he believed he would reach this height a lot faster in an environment like the Red Ocean!
"Enough about this matter." The Master shook her head. "This discussion is wholly premature. Wait until you have redeemed a beyonder ticket before inquiring further. It is not so easy for a pair of young mech designers such as you to earn 100 million merits in a short amount of time. Don't expect that you'll be able to earn another million merits easily by relying on something as volatile as producing masterwork mechs. Our Association deliberately set those high redemption thresholds in order to slow down the influx from the galactic heartland and the galactic center. We expect a much lower proportion of people from the galactic rim to be able to pass this test."
This sounded discouraging, but not so much. Ves didn't consider himself inferior to second-class and first-class mech designers. At most, their design styles and expertise branched in different directions.
Whatever advantages they possessed, Ves could obtain them as well! In fact, after designing the Bright Warrior, he pretty much understood the essence of second-class mech design! It wouldn't take much further study for him to start designing a higher class of mechs!
The rest of the day went back on track as Master Willix returned to examining the Quint.
In the next couple of days, the MTA delegation temporarily took possession of the Quint and a couple of Bright Warriors supplied to the Avatars. They stuck their own mech pilots in their cockpits and deployed in the field on both land and in space!
Any hopes of hiding the Quint were completely dashed once Master Willix insisted on observing its performance out in high orbit where anyone on Kesseling VIII with a store-bought telescope could observe the masterwork mech in clear detail!
Ves could only smile and nod at the MTA's increasingly more intrusive requests. In their perspective, natives like him served to provide the Association with useful data and research directions!
Everytime he thought about saying no, he reminded himself that he and his girlfriend each became 500,000 merits richer.
This was a vast sum of merits, and Ves didn't even have to give up his masterwork mech permanently!
Any other mech designer in his position would be more than eager to cater to the MTA's needs.
Gloriana certainly acted like this! Though she helpfully obfuscated his secrets by explaining her views in the lens of hexism, she showed remarkably little restraint in explaining every little detail about the Bright Warrior design!
On his part, Ves had to periodically fend off Master Willix's probes in his design philosophy while remaining polite.
Just because he managed to divert her attention from the inner workings of his design philosophy didn't mean she forgot about her intentions.
The Master possessed a presence that was both academic and tyrannical. Though she maintained a gentle facade, underneath the surface was a hungry and avaricious beast who hungered for any knowledge that could supplement her formidable mech design repertoire!
In one of the latter days of her stay, Master Willix surprised Ves when she projected a peculiar mech design in front of his face.
It was a very simple but very elegant mech design. Though it only depicted a plain rifleman mech, Ves couldn't help but get lost in the many subtle nuances contained in the schematics.
"This!" Gloriana widened her eyes as she became increasingly more fascinated by the mech design! "This mech design approaches perfection! I can't possibly think of a way to improve it any further, which is rare!"
"What!?"
Ves pulled back a bit and viewed the mech design in a more holistic manner.
To his shock, he discovered that the simple landbound rifleman mech design contained many touches that reminded him of Gloriana's work! It not only imitated her design style and distinctive quirks, but also a portion of her extraordinary applications!
This basically meant that Master Willix had managed a considerable portion of Gloriana's design methods!
As Ves studied the mech design deeper, he noticed some discrepancies, however. If he looked closely, the mech seemed to possess a slightly different concept of the perfect vessel.
This was a gap that Master Willix hadn't been able to overcome!
In the end, his girlfriend's design philosophy belonged to herself. Only one mech designer in existence was completely suited for it, and that was Gloriana herself!
That did not take much away from Master Willix's accomplishment. She managed to imitate the easier aspects of Gloriana's design style and design philosophy with perfect accuracy and mastery, thereby demonstrating a very scary capability to assimilate other people's strengths!
He briefly glanced towards Gloriana to see how she took this surprise.
Only a brilliant smile adorned her face as she stared at the mech design with genuine hunger and admiration!
"This mech design.. can.. can I have it, ma'am? This work is so elegant. Each part is like a masterpiece, and the way you put it together is so fine that I can learn lots of lessons from your solutions!"
Moira Willix shook her head and drew the projection back. "That is a very poor idea, Miss Wodin. I'm afraid my work will only harm your development. There are aspects about this mech design that can potentially be incorporated in your future direction. I do not wish to contaminate you with the design direction that I have chosen for this casual design. You should make your own choices on how to develop your design style."
"I.. understand." Gloriana sobered up a bit. Though she still yearned to study the rifleman mech design, she exhibited a considerable amount of restraint! "I've gained enough from what I saw. I shouldn't study it any further."
While his girlfriend expressly turned around so that she no longer faced the projection, Master Willix spoke again.
"Mr. Larkinson, my work is not just an attempt to reproduce your partner's design philosophy. I have also attempted to capture the essence of your design philosophy, with much poorer results. Can you tell me what my attempt is lacking?"
What? The mech design was an attempt to copy his design philosophy? His inner alarm instantly rose as Ves studied the mech design from another angle!
Now that he thought about it, some of the design choices did seem as if they bore his style rather than his girlfriend's style.
However, that only pertained to the technical aspects of the mech design. As for the spiritual aspects… Ves hesitated on what he should reveal.
He didn't want Master Willix to steal his design philosophy. He already hated it when she barged in and studied his Quint from top to bottom! There was no way that he would ever agree to proactively instruct her on how to copy his unique abilities!
Fortunately.. her attempt at imitating his specialty was absolutely abysmal. If she didn't point out that the mech design was supposed to contain his strengths, he wouldn't have suspected that he had anything to do with the work!
"It's dead." He replied flatly. "There is no life in this mech design. Gods are alive. How can a mech become a god when it doesn't possess any life to begin with? Unless you believe that mechs are alive and have the capacity to embody or outright turn into gods, there is no way you can approach my design philosophy, ma'am."
The Master paused for a moment before closing her eyes. "As expected from a Class IX design philosophy. If I am unable to accept the starting premise of a design philosophy as unusual as yours, I will not be able to accomplish anything. What a pity."
"Perhaps you will have a better chance if you convert to hexism or the Ylvainan Faith." Ves unhelpfully suggested with a duplicitous smile. "I took a lot of inspiration from their beliefs in forming my approach towards mech design. As long as you adopt their views on life, death and gods, you will have taken one step closer to designing mechs that contain life!"
"I shall take your suggestion under consideration." Willix stoically replied.
Chapter 1899 Mind Over Hear
In the final days of the examination period, Master Willix seemed to focus less on the Quint.
Instead, she devoted an increasing amount of time on designing mechs that contained life!
The speed at which she designed astounded him. Though she put up an opaque energy screen around her to prevent contaminating Ves and Gloriana with her methodology, the fact that she could present a complete mech within thirty minutes absolutely shocked them both!
Her mastery of technical mech design had reached a very great height. What took months for Ves to design could easily be put together by someone who was much more senior in their profession.
This was what it meant to be a Master! The distance between her current state and the legendary mech touch was quite close!
Of course, as much as Master Willix tried, she never even got her foot in the door when it came to designing mechs with life!
Though her energy screen blocked most if not all forms of probing in a similar fashion to his Privacy Shield, Ves could still peek at her from a spiritual lens.
It was difficult to observe her in a passive manner. She was like a sun in his vision. Her formidable spirituality was so powerful yet so contained that it was very difficult to see what was actually going on inside her mind.
Nonetheless, Ves observed enough to guess that even though Master Willix concentrated fully on designing her mech, she lacked the most essential ingredient to convey her mechs with even an inkling of spiritual foundation.
She lacked the life domain!
Her spirituality exhibited a lot of light and heavy attributes, both of which interacted with each other in a delicate balance. This made sense as Master Willix originally specialized in gravitic systems according to her public record.
Whatever methods rational mech designers used to imitate other people's design philosophies, they could copy the theory and knowledge, but they weren't quite capable of copying other people's spiritual attributes!
Yet if that were so, why was she capable of copying Gloriana's specialization to such an accurate degree?
After a bit of thought and a lot of surreptitious observation, Ves formed a possible theory.
Rational mech designers did not really utilize their spirituality in the same way as other mech designers. Their spirits had become very tame and contained, thereby allowing their rationality to take primacy in any attempts to design a mech.
The value that spirituality brought to their work therefore had to be substituted by something else.
What else could rational mech designers substitute this quality than their greatest strength, their rationality?
Ves began to suspect that each time Master Willix designed a mech, she kept her passion and most of her spirituality under lock and key while she let her mind work overtime in forming some sort of mental construct that served as a 'fake' design seed of some sorts!
It was actually quite similar to how Ves created masks and infused them with spirituality!
The advantages of this method were myriad. If Master Willix was truly capable of reconstructing the design seeds of other mech designers, then wouldn't she be capable of substituting their work to a reasonable degree? Even if the fake possessed a couple of shortcomings compared to the real deal, Master Willix wasn't limited to channeling just a single fake!
She could probably channel half-a-dozen fake design seeds and leverage the strengths of each of them at the same time!
If she chose the right design philosophies to imitate, then she might even be able to achieve synergies despite working as a solo mech designer!
Ves couldn't help but feel profoundly shocked at the limitless potential of such a mode of mech design!
No wonder rational mech designers were considered superior!
No wonder rational mech designers dominated the MTA!
No wonder the MTA developed such a voracious hunger for the innovations of other mech designers!
For a moment, Ves felt incredibly inferior. As he worked hard to deepen his design philosophy and tread new paths, Master Willix could just take advantage of his hard efforts to and effortlessly copy most of his hard-earned innovations as long as she possessed the right understanding!
Yet... it appeared it wasn't so easy to copy other people's understanding of mechs. Class IX design philosophies were especially known to be odd and unorthodox.
Ves had a suspicion that one of the primary reasons why Class IX were valued rather poorly within the mech community was because rational mech designers couldn't make good use of them! The difficulty of imitating an odd design philosophy like his own was ten or even a hundred times harder than Gloriana's design philosophy!
The much-vaunted rationality of mech designers like Master Willix worked against her in this case. The more rational she became, the less capable she was of violating basic truths.
For example, suppose a madman mech designer existed who was capable of designing reality-defying mechs. The premise of his design philosophy rested on the assumption that 1 + 1 = 3.
It was plausible for someone who didn't possess a right mind would be able to believe in such an absurd statement.
Yet it was impossible for a rational mech designer who clearly knew that 1 + 1 = 2 to delude herself into thinking otherwise!
The starting point of his design philosophy was that mechs were alive. Mechs were capable of possessing the quality known as life. Mechs needed to be treated with the same amount of respect as living beings.
This was not merely a case of regarding mechs as a vessel of life. Ves went beyond that and truly indoctrinated himself into believing that even if they were composed of a lot of metal parts, they still possessed the potential to be alive!
Since the start of his design career, Ves had always lived and breathed through this principle. He regarded it as his core ethos and never violated it like his other principles!
How could a passerby, even someone as mighty and superior as Master Willix, possibly embody all of his efforts within a matter of days?
He felt more relieved after making this realization. He lost his concerns and began to regard her feeble attempts at copying his design philosophy as an amusing pastime.
His life domain contained more than just his beliefs that mechs were alive! It also contained his heartfelt admiration and wonder for life.
If even a Master Mech Designer failed to imitate his design philosophy, then Ves had nothing to fear from others breaking his spiritual component monopoly!
Naturally, there was also a downside to this development. Ves would find it exceptionally difficult to pass on his teachings to someone else. As a prerequisite, they needed to have the right aptitude to develop a domain that encompassed both life and mechs!
That was a concern for later, though. For now, Ves was more than pleased to see a mighty Master fumble so embarrassingly in trying to imitate his design seed.
Naturally, Master Willix didn't hit her head against a wall all the time. She regularly consulted Ves on how to design his style of mechs.
She even instructed him to design a basic mech on the spot!
"Please design a mech in front of me in three hours."
"I can't design a mech that fast, ma'am."
"The quality of your work doesn't matter. In your record, you designed several competition mechs under high pressure. It shouldn't be a problem for you to develop a mech design."
Ves shrugged and did as he was instructed. He didn't dare to play any funny games this time and earnestly concentrated his mind to design a very rough and unoptimized knight mech.
He designed the mech according to a very plain and boring vision. He simply imagined the knight mech as an immovable rock. He wanted it to function as a mobile obstacle that could root itself in place in order to withstand a huge amount of incoming fire.
Ves declined to borrow the strength of Qilanxo or another design spirit to enhance the spiritual character of his design. He was afraid that Master Willix would be able to capture this interaction!
Instead, he fell back to his older methods and simply created an image of an immovable rock in his mind before infusing it with a generous dose of spiritual energy.
This turned the spiritual image into a remarkably substantial existence despite its lack of complexity!
Ves hoped that its apparent strength would be enough to fool Master Willix into thinking that the empowered image was not that much different from one of his design spirits!
He created and empowered the image on the fly as he was designing the mech. This little bit of multitasking was well within his capabilities.
At the end of the three-hour design period, he infused the mech design with his simple image, thereby bestowing it with both structure and life.
Despite the inconsequential nature of the rudimentary knight mech, Ves was truly proud at what he was able to do in just three hours of time. This mech was far more sound and coherent than anything he could design under the same conditions in the past!
The mech actually worked. It was a viable design that could truly be used for the purpose that Ves meant for it to fulfill. Not only that, but it possessed a simple but very noticeable X-Factor that accentuated its use. Any mech pilot who hopped into the cockpit would doubtlessly become influenced by the image of the immovable rock!
Despite holding back his more important techniques, Ves truly exerted his utmost. His pride as a mech designer prevented him from purposefully doing a bad job under the observation of a Master in his profession.
Whether Master Willix was able to glean any secrets from his operation, Ves didn't care. He had become firmer in the belief that Master Willix lacked multiple essential qualities that allowed her to manipulate her spirituality in the same fashion as his own!
If the Master wasn't putting on an act, then she truly failed to comprehend how to replicate his methods.
In the next couple of hours, she continually reproduced the knight mech he designed down to the finest detail.
From a technical standpoint, her attempts were completely accurate down to the nanometer!
Yet during this entire time, her spirituality remained still while her mind created different mental constructs.
These were similar to his images, but were completely hollow because they lacked spirituality that could infuse them with life and turn them into autonomous existences!
When she somehow managed to apply her mental constructs to her imitated designs, the effect wasn't very noticeable.
That was because hollow mental constructs contained no substance! They added nothing to a mech design because they were just figments of Willix's imagination!
Naturally, this didn't mean that Master Willix might be able to find the right knack and succeed in the future, but Ves believed she lacked too much to be able to equal or surpass his design philosophy.
Rational mech designers may be capable imitators, but they were never able to match the sheer capacity for innovation like passionate mech designers!
Ves may only be truly good in one aspect of mech design, but he was the only one who was capable of delving new ground!
The same went for Gloriana. Master Willix made a fine attempt at copying her design philosophy, but she relied on her mind instead of her heart!
There was always a gap between theoretical understanding and absolute belief.
The former was a house of cards while the latter was a solid mansion!
No matter what went wrong, Ves would always possess the belief that he was right! The same went for Gloriana!
This kind of persistence was a trait intrinsic to passionate mech designers. It was essential to their ability to innovate!
Ves tried hard not to look smug or gloating. He maintained a humble and respectful posture and regularly provided her with useless advice.
At the end of the seven-day period, Master Willix finally stopped her attempts and wrapped up the examination of the Quint.
The MTA delegation was finally ready to depart!
Chapter 1900 Raising the Standard
The examination of the Quint officially ended.
Of course, the raiders from the MTA did much more than ascertain whether the Quint was a masterwork mech and that Ves and Gloriana deserved credit for its creation.
Under the lead of Master Willix, the MTA delegation systematically studied every single part. Not even the gems escaped their scanners!
Fortunately, Lucky's gems truly didn't emanate any unusual emissions. By all accounts, they were useless pieces of decoration that served no purpose other than to make the mech a little prettier.
Among the millions of different components and subcomponents, they attracted no attention at all! Even Master Willix completely disregarded them in favor of more important parts!
As the advanced equipment and tools all lifted in the air and exited the underground hall by themselves, the MTA envoys began to depart without another word.
Only Master Willix and her bodyguards lingered for a moment. After continually failing to replicate Ves' design philosophy, she did not look discouraged in the slightest.
Instead, she smiled and looked up at the Quint in admiration. She looked completely at ease, which was out of his expectation.
As Ves and Gloriana stood quietly a few steps back, they waited for the Master to issue her final words.
"Each masterwork mech is a treasure." The old woman finally spoke. "The value of a masterwork is indescribable. While I'm not able to reveal why they are so great, don't treat them lightly. Just because you were able to make one at your young ages doesn't mean you can create them on command. Relying on external help is a crooked way to become a masterwork mech designer. While it is true that your affinity for mechs have increased, you only deserve partial credit for this accomplishment."
"We are aware, ma'am." Gloriana modestly bowed her head. "We will do our best to be able to develop the capability of building masterwork mechs on our own. My design philosophy and our ambitions hinge on them! The Quint will not be the last time we make a masterwork mech!"
Over the week, Gloriana had become increasingly more comfortable in Master Willix's presence. The two got along quite well.
"The two of you are still too far from that point." The Master shook her head. "Journeymen aren't supposed to make masterwork mechs. The fact that you belong to the rare group that has breached this rule doesn't mean that you are better than your peers. Unlike you, many other Journeymen are diligently deepening their practice and developing new methods. The most solid and talented among them may be able to overtake you in the future when they embark on their road to Master. Your prior experiences and accumulation all affect your chances of bridging the impossible gap that stands between Senior and Master."
She sounded very serious about this. She was essentially warning them not to be blinded by the glory and glamour of making masterwork mechs. Becoming a Master Mech Designer was much more important than increasing their ability to create masterwork mechs!
"We are always dedicated to progressing our design philosophy, ma'am." He affirmed. "We are still committed to designing mechs the regular way."
"Good. I hope to see you reach Senior before your first century. As for reaching the rank of Master, even I can't calculate your chances of success. You will have to rely largely on yourselves to realize your design philosophies. No matter how much the two of you support each other, don't forget that you will need to be able to design Master-level mechs on your own if you want to reach my rank!"
This was another pertinent warning. Lately, Ves and Gloriana collaborated pretty much nonstop. They hardly wanted to return to the days when they designed their mechs alone.
Both of them had come to depend on each other. Ves wasn't very passionate about technical mech design while Gloriana lacked the capability to engage in spiritual mech design. By allowing the other to cover their weaknesses, they formed a win-win arrangement where their mech designs only contained the best of both!
Yet as great as that sounded, the pair risked distorting their practice. By constantly failing to address their shortcomings, they lacked the practice and experience to cover for their weaknesses when they went back to designing mechs by themselves!
Both Ves and Gloriana were smart enough to realize this hidden danger. They both nodded in acknowledgement at Master Willix's simple but sage advice.
The Master proceeded to provide them with further advice. The pair received tailored hints and suggestions that would doubtlessly make their advancement trajectory smoother.
This was the benefit of receiving guidance of an older and more advanced mech designer! The value of a Master Mech Designer was far more than their personal design capabilities.
What was just as valuable about them was their ability to elevate other mech designers around them! Just like how expert pilots perpetuated the strength of the original Larkinson Family, Ves hoped to serve as the same kind of pillar for his Larkinson Clan!
Master Willix eventually said goodbye to the Quint and hovered towards the exit. Her bodyguards silently kept up with her while surrounding her from all sides.
While Ves and Gloriana matched her pace, they patiently listened as the Master sporadically made some general remarks.
"There are several reasons why I awarded your partnership with 1 million merits." She noted as she appeared outdoors. "Part of it is what you deserve for bringing glory to the Komodo Star Sector's mech industry. While it is a rather minor accomplishment at the galaxy level, creating a masterwork mech at your ages is still a feat worthy of recognition in the Yeina Star Cluster. Not even the Winged Serenade Star Sector can boast of a Journeyman who can beat your record!"
"We are happy to raise the standard of our local mech community, Master. Even if we're just a frontier star sector, our mechs aren't any worse than those designed in other star sectors!"
"I agree." She nodded. "Though most beg to differ. I hope you can maintain your current attitudes towards mech design, because your competitors from Winged Serenade and other developed star sectors are able to create works that are much more exotic than what you are accustomed to competing with! Never lose confidence and never forget that no matter where you are, you will always represent your star sector in the galactic stage."
Though Ves dutifully nodded at her words, inwardly he wanted to roll his eyes. Now that his Larkinson Clan transitioned into an independent entity, he was pretty much done with the Komodo Star Sector.
He couldn't wait to leave this poor and rotten star sector behind!
Whether it was the sandmen, Friday Coalition or Hexadric Hegemony, Ves was eager to distance himself as far away as possible from them! There was no possible advantage in continuing to remain within their reach!
Additionally, the looming arrival of the mysterious envoy from the Ruined Temple also weighed heavily on Ves. While he planned to leave the Milky Way Galaxy within the decade, there was no harm in securing a head-start!
When the group finally arrived at the parked MTA frigate, Master Willix turned to face the younger mech designers with a stern expression.
"There is another reason why I took the initiative to increase your merit award." She spoke. "As the youngest masterwork mech designers in our star cluster, your value has increased considerably. If you lack confidence in your current abilities to protect yourselves, then I highly suggest you spend those merits on solutions that increase your security. There are many possible options to choose from, but know that the most effective ones demand a considerable amount of merits."
Both Ves and Gloriana shared a look with each other. Neither of them exhibited any willingness to waste their merits!
While Ves was aware that many essential goods and services offered by the Rim Guardians and the MTA required merits, he didn't want to delay the start of his grand expedition!
If Master Willix caught their unspoken intentions, she didn't take note of it. As a representative of the MTA, she stood above the petty squabbles and conflicts that took place in ordinary space.
She was not allowed to grant the pair any overt favors in order to maintain her Association's neutrality!
"Do you have any suggestions on how to earn more merits, ma'am?" Ves boldly asked.
Master Willix pursed her lips. "According to your record, you have recently become an associate of the Rim Guardians. That is already the best step you can take. I am unable and unwilling to help you on this matter. As far as I am concerned, earning the merits required to redeem a beyonder ticket is a critical qualification test. If you are unable to obtain a beyonder ticket within a reasonable timeframe, then that shows that you are not competent enough to do well in the Red Ocean. Only if you overcome this difficult challenge will you be able to obtain a chance to be part of the ten percent of pioneers who succeed in their endeavors in the dwarf galaxy."
That sounded like a bummer to Ves, because so far Master Willix had been quite generous in other ways!
Even as she stole some of their valuable methods and insights, she made sure to repay the favor!
"Will we be seeing you again?" Gloriana suddenly asked.
It was as if she didn't have enough of Master Willix's guidance!
The older woman shook her head. "That is unlikely. While I have enjoyed studying your work, I have other projects to attend to. There should be no further intersections of our lives, so this should be the last time we meet each other in the flesh."
After that, the pair formally bid farewell to Master Willix as she finished her final say. The final envoy from the MTA floated to the open hatch of the frigate.
Once she entered, Ves and Gloriana hastily distanced themselves from the ship as she began to hum and come online. With the grace of a bird, the starship easily ascended from the ground before blasting off towards orbit!
"Well.." Ves spoke after a few minutes. "That's that. We finally got rid of the Master."
Gloriana frowned. "Master Willix isn't as bad as you make it sound. She's been nothing but helpful throughout our stay. She mentored us for an entire week! Do you know how many mech designers would kill to attract so much attention from a Master?"
"While I admit her tutelage was helpful, don't forget that she took advantage of us as well! With how extensively the MTA delegation crawled over our Quint, they probably understand our masterwork mech better than us! Master Willix openly copied your design philosophy! Aren't you upset that she stole all of your earnest efforts?"
Gloriana blinked and smiled. "Not at all. I take it as a compliment, actually! It's flattering to see that Master Willix can work with my design philosophy. As an innovator, you should always maintain confidence in your ability. No matter how much others try to imitate your works, they'll never be able to surpass the original!"
Though Ves somewhat agreed with her statement, he wasn't entirely sure if Master Willix would find a way to crack the code some day!
She might have failed so far, but just a few days had gone by. What Ves feared the most was that she wouldn't give up and continually to experiment until she finally achieved success!
Still, if the MTA truly managed to break his spiritual component monopoly, then Ves would just have to work with this new development.
As the only pioneer in this field, Ves would always possess an edge over the imitators and copycats! He could even benefit from the MTA's proliferation of spiritual components to expand his reach and make his products more mainstream!
Though this outcome didn't sound so bad, Ves actually didn't want to see this outcome.
He was much more selfish than that! He wanted to keep all of the gains from his spiritual component monopoly to himself!
