The Mech Touch

by Stayrr

Humanity has conquered half the galaxy and the Age of Mechs reigns supreme! Ves Larkinson lacked the genetic aptitude to become a famed mech pilot. Fighting against his fate, he studied mech design in order to express his love for mechs as a builder instead of a soldier. When Ves graduated from college, he returned to a new but empty boutique. Left with a small, newly founded mec

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Even Ves hadn't understood why Horatio favored him over Oleg. His design looked decent, but paled in comparison to Oleg's hasty creation. The younger mech designer managed to create a miracle in only half the time.

"I know you're confused. You shouldn't be." Horatio said and swept his arm towards the mech cadets who stood silently at attention all this time. "First, let's hear our test pilots out. What are your thoughts on the mech designed by Oleg?"

The pilots gave out a smattering of opinions.

"It's powerful. I can feel the difference in performance. Most of the training mechs don't feel as powerful as this frame."

"Slow but protective. I feel I can take on the entire galaxy with the amount of armor it carries."

"It corresponds to what a knight should be. I don't mind the lack of speed since it's supposed to be a defensive mech anyway."

"I can do anything with this machine! In the right hands, I can overpower anyone who dares to get close."

"I can't get used to its sluggishness. It's as if my body is moving under water. It's too slow."

When Horatio asked them what they thought of the design made by Ves, they gave out a distinctly different opinion.

"It feels like home. The mech just clicked for me."

"It's one of the few mechs I've piloted that actually worked together with me."

"The performance is a little lackluster compared to the other one, but when I'm in the cockpit I don't feel that way."

"It's very responsive. I don't have to fight against the controls to make it do what I want. There's hardly any learning curve with this mech."

After the pilots gave out their opinions, Horatio clapped and attracted everyone's attention. "You can see that the first thing that pops in the minds of the pilots differs drastically between the two mechs. Oleg, considering the terms of your mech design duel, do you truly believe you've overcome Ves in this regard?"

"I still have five votes." Oleg stubbornly replied. "Even if I hadn't focused much on comfort, does it even matter?"

"You've chosen a crooked path to compete on comfort. Whether it's important or not, the fact of the matter is that you've agreed to compete against Ves on the matter of designing the most comfortable mech. Ves is the only participant who worked earnestly on this area and the comments made by the test pilots makes this clear."

"The mech pilots haven't received a lot of clarity when they were asked to evaluate our mechs." Ves spoke up. "If they had a clearer idea on what they should be judging, then I might have received more votes."

"Maybe, maybe not." Horatio said. "Oleg's viewpoint can't be discounted. A superior mech will always be valued more than a lesser mech. However, the rules for this design duel explicitly leaves out any comparison on performance. In this regard, none of the mech cadets have praised Oleg's mech for its level of accomodation." historical

Oleg wowed half of the mech cadets through delivering a better mech despite performing worse in the aspect of comfort. He might have missed the point on the duel, but he still succeeded in forcing a tie. That couldn't easily be changed.

"Don't set your eyes on the present. Think of the future. After a couple of years, the both of you will be developing in different directions. If you hold the same duel at that time, who will prove to be more superior in the aspect of comfort?"

By that time, Ves would have probably accomplished a breakthrough in the X-Factor. In addition, he'd also advance much further than anyone here expected. After all, they couldn't have known about the heaven-defying nature of the System.

Still, if he hadn't advanced his other skills through the System, then Ves would still win on the matter of comfort. Only he possessed the requirements to work with the X-Factor.

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"If you put it that way, you have a point." Oleg reluctantly admitted. "But that's in the future. We're still in the present."

"Yes, we're still in the present. Therefore, I believe that you should demonstrate your magnanimity and offer a concession to Ves. Don't forget that you are one of Carmin's direct disciple. With regards to age, you're junior to Ves, but with regards to seniority you enjoy a vastly higher position than him. To employ all your gifts to bully a junior who only received a few pointers from Carmin is not good form."

Even Ves forgot about this point. Oleg behaved like a teenager but as a mech designer he enjoyed a very privileged status. Many older mech designers had to make way for the direct disciple if they met him on the street.

"Besides, look at the stakes for this duel. If Ves loses the bet, he'll have to give up a precious companion of his. Don't think that Ves won't start to resent you. They are lifelike creatures meant to bond with their owners."

"On the other hand, if I lose the bet, I won't lose anything substantial. A license is very valuable to Ves, but it's nothing special to me."

Licenses only held value to those who lacked the capability that it offered. It cost Oleg nothing but a potential loss in earnings if he gave one away without demanding anything in return. That was because licenses only granted the mech designer who received it the right to use a design.

This was the nature of intellectual property. If someone wrote a virtual book, he could easily give it away to his friends for free. A couple of handouts didn't really impact his sales in any meaningful way. However, if he became a bit too liberal with his generosity, then he'd be shooting himself in the foot by missing out on a lot of sales.

Did Oleg look like someone who cared about giving away a free design? As a direct disciple, he enjoyed almost unlimited resources! A single engine license worth billions of bright credits was actually worth only a couple tens of millions of cols in Coalition space. For such a small amount of cols, Oleg would be too embarrassed to quibble about this sum of money.

In the end, Oleg conceded the match to Ves. Though he still felt unresigned, he felt that as a senior he had to show off his good side to Master Olson's latest apprentice. They both signed a couple of contracts on the spot that officially granted Ves the right to incorporate the Trailblazer engine model in any of his designs for a period of ten years.

"It's a really good engine." Oleg boasted as he swiftly recovered from his loss. "The Trailblazer is ideal for mechs focused on endurance and efficiency. Just take care not to push it too hard. It doesn't handle peak loads very well."

As Horatio left for another appointment, Ves had a suspicion he'd been used. Horatio obviously didn't need to mediate the design duel in person. He must have used the opportunity as a teaching moment for Oleg. He not only learned to be generous, he also opened his eyes to another perspective on mech design.

Ves shrugged. As the 'winner' of this duel, he benefited from this moment as well. Besides his material rewards, this event also taught him about a hidden danger inherent in his design method.

"Pursuing harmony at the cost of performance is not always the right solution." He concluded.

In the Age of Mechs, an endless number of mech designs came into existence. While the market for mechs ensured that plenty saw sales, most models failed to attract any sales due to poor design choices.

An optimized mech delivered much greater performance than a similar mech at the same cost.

"I've been focusing too much on harmony at the cost of synergy."

Harmony and synergy sounded the same, but they were actually very different concepts.

As Ves understood it, harmony represented how well the design and its components agreed with the images he held in his mind. A good harmony ensured he'd be able to impart a strong and life-like X-Factor to his mechs. Few designers should be able to match his prowess in this area.

On the other hand, most mech designers focused on maximizing synergy. This had nothing to do with metaphysics. Instead, it required both art and science to bring out the best performance out of every part.

"Harmony and synergy doesn't necessarily have to conflict with each other."

Once his capabilities grew, his selection of design choices should also grow with him. More choices allowed him to make more optimal decisions without adversely affecting the overall harmony of the design.

In any case, Ves got away with a massive win. After the end of the duel, Ves decided to wrap up his trip with a visit to the Clifford Society.

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Oleg begged off accompanying Ves. Ever since Horatio declared him the loser, the air between them grew a little awkward. Both of them needed some time away from each other.

"I'll be going now." Ves said as he held Lucky in his arms and left the estate.

He took an aircar that brought him from the center of the archipelago to the northern region of the planet. Like the virtual version, the real version of the Clifford Society's headquarters had been built on top of a mountain range.

Naturally, real humans weren't gods, so the Society hadn't gone overboard in spreading their structures out. Most of the core buildings had been built around a cluster of twenty mountains. Man-sized floating 'eggs' granted visitors a convenient way to traverse from one mountain to the other.

His first destination was the marketplace. While most members sold their wares through the Society's virtual portal, Ves wanted to take a look at some real examples. He visited the small town built at the foot of the mountains and browsed the largest shop that sold equipment.

"Welcome customer." A floating bot said as it hovered over to Ves. "May I be of assistance?"

"Take me to the alloy compressor and chemical treatment machines. I'd like to purchase a set."

A set basically consisted of a compressor and a CTM that had been designed to work together. Usually, mech manufacturers preferred to link the two machines together with a compatible 3D printer. This allowed them to automate the process of fabricating compressed armor plating as much as possible, though the more complicated formulas still required human supervision.

"Our shop offers thirty-two different sets. Please refer to the projections if you wish to view their specifications."

Ves took a good look at the selection offered by the shop. The prices for the sets ranged from fifty merits to ten thousand merits. He only set aside two-hundred merits for his budget, so he excluded every other set that exceeded his price range.

That left him with thirteen different pairings. As Ves studied their specs in greater detail, he determined that the differences in price directly corresponded to what they brought to the table.

Some compressors and CTMs finished their processes faster than others. Other sets guaranteed higher precision. The newer sets offered automation to a wider range of formulas, while the older sets sold at a discount.

Ves pulled back from his inspection before he got lost in the maze.

"I should determine what I need before I start my selection."

The Living Mech Corporation mainly aimed to for the higher segments of the mech market, so he didn't place too much importance on speed and automation.

However, if he wanted to enable his fabricators such as Carlos to work with compressed armor, some form of automation was necessary. The silver label mechs didn't have to be perfect, but the sets had to offer some conveniences in order to allow his other employees to work with the machines.

Several sets of alloy compressors and CTMs fit hit requirements. He eventually settled on a pair of systems that cost a hundred-and-ninety merits. They didn't offer much in terms of automation, but a decent fabricator specialised in alloy compression should be able to handle the process without problem.

"Even if Carlos can't do it, I can hire someone else who can."

Still, before he decided on the purchase, Ves visited some other stores in order to find out if he could pick a bargain.

While most of the shops offered a similar selection of machines, he did find the same set at twenty merits off.

"Why is this set so cheap here?"

"It's a refurbished set of machines." The cheaper store's bot replied in a dutiful tone. "Their previous owner unfortunately perished on a mission for the Society. Due to his debts, this store has laid claim to his fabrication equipment. Do you wish to view the previous owner's other machines? We offer discounts up to thirty percent depending on their condition!"

The answer momentarily chilled Ves. He could have been one of the poor chumps as well. His trip to Groening might have showered him with merits, but he escaped from death by a narrow margin.

Still, the set hadn't seen much use. Ves checked their condition as well as their production logs and found them to be good enough that he wouldn't get much better if he bought them factory new.

"I'll take this set."

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Ves decided to pick up a second-hand assembly system as well for the low price of twenty merits. Thus, he spent a total of a hundred-and-ninety merits on three machines that had seen a moderate amount of use.

He also enlisted the services of a hacker who could unlock the restrictions set on the processors for the Dortmund printer. After some haggling, Ves agreed to hand over three merits to the bot that represented the hacker. Ves handed over the processor chips that had been stored in the Barracuda over the past few months and heard that they'd be ready within a few days.

"Every problem appears trivial once you have a lot of wealth." He noted with a rueful smile as he exited the latest store. "Problems that keep me up at night can be solved with a single snap of the finger."

His shopping spree showcased the power of a few hundred merits. He successfully acquired a number of high-quality machines that delivered slightly better performance than most machines available in the Bright Republic.

"Together with the Dortmund, I've acquired a full ensemble of industrial gear."

What did that mean? It meant that from now on, his physical assets ceased to be a hindrance. If he wanted to, he could even fabricate the original Caesar Augustus with his newly purchased equipment.

Now, he had over two-hundred merits remaining in his account. While that sounded a lot, he also had to acquire a lot of component licenses. While some of the smaller components sold for only a couple of merits, the large amount of components added up to a frightening sum. Ves obviously had to set priorities.

"The three things I need the most to design a high quality knight is an armor system, a power reactor and artificial musculature. Together with Oleg's engine license, I'll have all my bases covered."

If he had any merits left after making those purchases, he'd settle on acquiring some decent licenses for some peripheral components such as ECM, energy cells and a cockpit.

As for the really minor parts such as gyroscopes, sensors and a transceiver, he'd settle for acquiring cheaper ones with credits. Hopefully he'd be able to save as much merits as possible in case he wanted to borrow some exclusive books from the Moon Library.

Ves found his shopping experience to be exhilarating. While the pricier products remained out of his reach, the product standard in Leemar ensured that even the cheaper offerings in the store could compete with what the Bright Republic regularly used.

The only problem he faced was that a lot of the parts for licensing required a large amount of exotics to work. Ves couldn't help the fact that the Friday Coalition ruled over the most resource-abundant territory in the Komodo Star Sector. Resources that were extremely scarce in the Bright Republic could be acquired for a reasonable sum in the Coalition.

In fact, many of the cheapest licenses consisted of badly optimized components. They only reached a reasonable level of performance by virtue of their extravagant use of resources.

Thus, even with an upfront price tag of a dozen merits or so, Ves would still lose a fortune over time as the production cost per unit racked up to a terrifying digit.

Thus, Ves had to ignore most of the deceptively cheap offerings and turn his attention to the more expensive licenses offered by the real experts.

This was where the strength of the LIT came through. As a major technological center for education and research, the Leemar Institute of Technology possessed connections to a vast network of scientists and engineers. Many of its alumni that went on to become successful component developers made some of their best licenses available to their alma mater at preferential prices.

Despite the discounts, the prices for the more decent-looking armor systems quickly ran up in the thousands of merits. The prices were so disgustingly high that it became obvious that they only catered to a breed of mech designers.

The products within a more affordable price range all came with various issues such as the problem mentioned earlier. It became very difficult for Ves to seek out a decent armor system that didn't break the bank.

"I can't go on like this. I have to give something up."

Some armor systems could be licensed on the cheap, but racked up many millions of credits in production costs.

Other systems offered reasonable prices in both areas but delivered mediocre performance.

Those that performed slightly better were so difficult to fabricate that his error rate would balloon to twenty-five percent.

Obtaining a perfect armor system that checked all the boxes was out of the question. Ves had to make a careful consideration on what he'd be willing to sacrifice.

"I'll be marketing my product to the Bright Republic, not to Friday Coalition, so I don't have to adhere to the prevailing standard of a second-rate state."

It pained him to lower his standard, but Ves concluded he made the right decision. As a young entrant in the mech business, Ves hadn't built up his brand to the point where the local market believed he'd be able to participate at the top segments of the market. A design that's too high-end would end up as another white elephant akin to the original Caesar Augustus.

The catalog looked a lot better now that he let go of his unrealistic standards. In order to future-proof his designs once the next generation arrived, Ves focused his attention on armor plating that withstood directed energy weapons a little better than usual.

Apparently, many other mech designers had the same idea. The prices for these valuable systems averaged around twenty percent over armors that specialized against absorbing shocks and kinetic impacts.

Against this scam-like market behavior, Ves could only grit his teeth in response.

The list of products that met his criteria still consisted of several hundred products. Ves spent an entire day pouring over the specs of each viable armor system. His decision had far-reaching effects for the immediate future of his mech career, so it was of utmost importance for him to make the best decision possible.

He settled for a rather boring choice. He chose a decently successful armor system that had been developed a decade or so ago. Though it was on the old side, plenty of mech designers who purchased the same system had nothing but praise for the armor.

"Thank you for purchasing the Burgens and Sons Co. Keltrex Avi E-33 armor system!" The cheerful sales bot exclaimed in a weirdly feminine tone. "A sales representative will be with you in a moment to establish a licensing contract! Please be patient!" historical

A few minutes later, a man emerged from the air. His antigrav clothes brought him straight to Ves. After shaking hands, the sales representative offered him three different variations of the licensing contract. The variations gave Ves more favorable terms depending on his production pattern.

If he intended to engage in high-volume production, it was worth it to spend some extra merits to lower his per-unit fees.

On the other hand, if he only intended to sell a dozen or so mechs a year, then he could take a discounted contract that put hard limits on how many times he could fabricate the Keltrex.

While Ves didn't plan on establishing a huge production plant, he did aim to achieve a sales figure of at least a thousand mechs a year. With his new and refurbished equipment, his workshop should be able to reach this ambitious goal.

"I'd like to sign the standard contract, please. I don't want any restrictions and I don't need any additional privileges."

"A good choice, Mr. Larkinson. The upfront fee for the standard contract amounts to seventy-five merits."

Ves transferred the painfully high price tag with his comm. This was only the beginning. Since they signed a contract in Coalition space, Ves had to transfer his production fees in cols instead of bright credits. The cost per copy amounted to 30,000 cols or around 3 million bright credits.

He winced at the thought of throwing away so much credits whenever he fabricated a copy of the Keltrex system. The much cheaper HRF armor system that he currently used for the Mark II only demanded a modest fee of around 100,000 bright credits per copy.

Still, he didn't regret his choice. Among the cheaper armors available in the shops, the Keltrex system happened to require exotics that were relatively abundant in the Bright Republic. Ves didn't have to import rare resources from far-flung states in order to meet his production needs.

In this regard, the higher-than-average per-unit fee was a worthwhile sacrifice to make.

"I still have to pay a fortune for the raw materials alone. It gets worse if I have to fabricate a set of armor for a knight."

Knights piled up on a lot of armor, more than any other archetype. Ves already calculated that he had to spend a whopping twenty million credits just to fabricate a standard set of knight armor. Worse, the cost might reach even greater heights if the cost of raw materials continued to rise.

Since Ves set a target sales price at around 60 million credits for his original design, the ludicrous expense was still somewhat bearable.

Fortunately, the Keltrex system brought a lot to the table. Burgens and Sons Co. developed several variations of its Keltrex series. While the Keltrex Avi E-33 was one of its cheapest offerings, it still enjoyed some of the advantages of its more expensive cousins.

The biggest attraction to Ves was that it didn't weigh too much. While other systems relied on large amounts of conventional alloys to make up for their disappointing formulas, the Keltrex used an ingenious formula that brought out the full strength of their special alloys.

"It's not only great for knights. I can use the same armor system for other types of medium mechs."

Its versatility allowed Ves to use the same production license in multiple different designs. This allowed him to save a lot of money in the long run.

The same went for Oleg's Trailblazer engine, though it did shoehorn Ves into designing mechs that fit its traits.

Ves shopped for other component licenses with the same thought in mind. With thirty-five merits remaining in his budget, he quickly acquired a relatively boring set of component licenses for the ECM, energy cells and cockpit.

With his most important purchase behind him, Ves relaxed and took his time browsing for a decent power reactor and artificial musculature license. After another day of contemplation, he handed over thirty-five merits for a satisfactory pair of component licenses.

While their specs fell fell a little short of the Trailblazer engine, the one area they excelled in was endurance. They'd be able to withstand a decent amount of damage and keep running.

"I only have a hundred merits left."

He considered spending them on other component licenses, but eventually stuck to his original decision of holding back a reserve. "If I can't acquire the rest with credits, I can still spend my merits later."

At this stage, Ves hadn't even drafted up a preliminary sketch of his original design. If he purchased a complete set of component licenses before he even drew up a draft design, he'd be liable to shoot himself in the foot.

"What I have now is enough."

Ves acquired the most essential components to start his draft. With the Trailblazer engine and Keltrex armor system at the core, he acquired all the essential ingredients to bake a great cake. It was up to a great cook to process these ingredients and incorporate them into a well-designed dish to bring out all of their qualities.

Now that he completed his shopping, it was time to return to Cloudy Curtain. Ves held Lucky in his arms and hailed an aircar that brought him back to the Barracuda.

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The Barracuda slipped into FTL in a blink.

Having left the Leemar System, Ves felt as if he left the paradise for the wasteland. He became enchanted by Leemar's high level of development. The products that second-rate states like the Friday Coalition took for granted could hardly be found in the poorer states.

It wasn't as if the Bright Republic had no means of getting access to high technology. However, the higher tiers incorporated a lot of exotics or exclusive research that made them too expensive for the poorer states to adopt at a wide scale. Only the upper echelon enjoyed a couple of gadgets at a ruinous cost. historical

The distribution of wealth in the galaxy came down to resource endowment. Even if the poorer states acquired a couple of pieces of high technology, they'd be bankrupting themselves in the long run if they went overboard.

Even if Ves acquired some fantastic component licenses from Leemar, he'd be pricing himself out of the market due to the ridiculous cost of his products.

That didn't mean that Ves had resigned himself to this remote corner of the galaxy. In his burning ambition to reach the pinnacle of mech design, he intended to use the Bright Republic's market as an incubation ground for his nascent business.

"At my current level, I won't be able to make a splash in the Coalition."

Too many geniuses like Oleg already occupy the entire market for innovative mechs designed by newcomers in the industry. In addition, Ves also had to contend with his rivals who emigrated from the surrounding third-rate states in order to seek out a better future.

To someone like Ves who possessed no innate advantages but a very high growth rate, the Republic's mech market provided him with enough demand to meet his needs.

For now, Ves had some free time in his hands as it took his corvette several weeks to return to Cloudy Curtain.

"What shall I do?"

He could study some textbooks in order to broaden his perspective, or he could design a virtual mech so that he earned some much-needed DP. Currently, Ves hadn't checked in with the virtual economy for a while, so he turned on his terminal and checked his Iron Spirit account.

Surprisingly, in the past few months, his mech sales experienced a continuing surge of sales. While the market in Cloudy Curtain had pretty much been tapped out, his two principal models started gaining a tiny amount of traction on Bentheim.

"It's not only the Young Blood and the Old Soul that are doing well. Even the Mark Antony Mark II has sold over a thousand times."

That explained much of the growth in DP during his time on Groening IV. Without this persistent trend of sales, he would never been able to spend so much DP on acquiring the essential skills and gadgets to get out of Doctor Jutland's clutches.

Ves poured into the comments that his Bentheim customers left behind. He found out that nothing in particular had been driving his sales except for his budding reputation for selling mechs that did well with fussy mech pilots.

"This one feels like a cold beer in a warm evening! Thumbs up for this mech!"

"I have a neural condition that makes me allergic to almost every kind of mech. My brain just spasms out if I force myself to pilot them! I thought I had to abandon my hobby of piloting mechs, but thankfully I found out about this AMAZING model! Please design more mechs!"

"I bought the famous Mark II. It's everything my buddies promised. There are no words to describe how deep your mind can meld with this model. Don't pilot this mech if you want to compete. Buy it when you want to relax."

Ves found a common strain among the comments. In the virtual community of Bentheim, he started making a name for himself as a niche designer who specialized in so-called 'recreational' mechs.

He didn't feel flattered. As a serious mech designer, Ves aimed to build up a reputation for designing battlefield-viable mechs. If he started acquiring a reputation that his mechs were no good except for a couple of rounds of fun, then he'd face an uphill battle trying to persuade the market to purchase his mechs for their primary purpose. That is, to deploy them in battle.

Fortunately, the phenomenon hadn't reached the point of no return. To the larger community, Ves and the Living Mech Corporation remained largely unknown.

He'd be able to shape his reputation once he released his first original design. That day came closer and closer now that he fulfilled most of the prerequisites for doing so. The road ahead had been paved. All he had to do was step forward.

"It's still not time."

His intuition told him that he had to wait before he embarked on this ambitious project.

Somehow, he lacked something vital that could elevate his original design into something great. He didn't know what he currently missed. Could it be an obscure skill, or a unique component?

In any case, if he designed his original mech at his current state, he'd be introducing an average and unremarkable design in an already bloated mech market. The LMC might not even be able to meet his current goal achieving at least a thousand sales a year if he published a boring design.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to designing a virtual mech. Despite his worries, the galaxy still moved on. "Earning more DP is never wrong."

Ves wanted to break the mold this time by designing something very different. In truth, he began resenting the act of designing variants.

It was as if he took an existing piece of art and fiddled around with its appearance. Even if he improved upon the original work, most people would think he borrowed from someone else's efforts.

There was actually an element of truth in that statement. Modifying an existing mech skipped several vital processes in the art of mech design. Many mech designers tend to rely too much on these crutches and slowly became unable to transition to designing an original mech.

"That said, I'm still not ready to design an original mech myself."

As long as he kept this problem in mind, he wouldn't fall into this trap.

Before he embarked on designing a mech, Ves studied the market trend in the game for inspiration.

This time he decided on designing a 4-star variant. Different from the lower starred virtual mechs, the 4-star designs usually catered to a more mature audience in the Gold League. They consisted of senior potentates who decided not to pursue a career in mech piloting and young adults who started their advanced training at an academy like Abelard.

"If I want to correct my reputation, then it's better to aim for the young professionals rather than the leisurely elderly."

Most of the older potentates who got stuck in the Gold League only played the game in order to meet the minimum proficiency standard to qualify as a reserve pilot. Those with the potential to pilot had the obligation to keep their skills somewhat sharp. Those who acted lazy started to lose their much-cherished privileges.

Ves knew the crowd. They were the old geezers and has-been pretenders who cared more about getting their hand-outs from the state than actually contributing something to society. They usually ended up squealing when the war erupted and progressed to a frightening degree. That was when the Mech Corps came knocking at their doors.

Rather than aim for that group of leeches, Ves would rather design a mech for the likes of the young pilots he knew. "Like Charlotte, or Lovejoy, or even Melkor."

He wondered how they were doing these days. Charlotte must be having a great time at the Republic's branch of the MTA, while Lovejoy still underwent rigorous training in order to make the breakthrough from advanced pilot to expert pilot.

"If I want to design a mech that calls out to advanced pilots like them, I'll have to design something challenging."

Ves excluded the basic archetypes such as the knight and rifleman mechs from his consideration. He wanted something with a lot more nuance, though it also had to fall within his skill range.

Each increase in stars came with a lot of added complexity. For example, Ves easily designed a flying light mech like the 1-star Seraphim due to that era's primitive technology standard. Such a slapdash attitude to mech design couldn't be applied so easily with several hundred years of progress in the picture.

After leaving aside the more exotic categories such as aerial mechs or heavy mechs, Ves began to consider his remaining options.

"A striker mech is too similar to knights, while skirmishers and ambushers are a bit too similar to my previous virtual designs."

He started to consider some of the less commonly produced designs such as medium scouts or medium artillery mechs.

"Hmm. What about an assassin mech?"

It sounded like an interesting challenge. As ridiculous as it sounded, assassin mechs actually existed in recent times. They saw a lot of use in the first-rate superstates as a way to take out highly valuable cutting-edge mechs before they showed their strengths.

While active cloaking technology had slowly diffused from the first-rate states to the rest of the galaxy, it remained fairly expensive, so the rim rarely used these types of mechs.

Fortunately, the game made everything more convenient. While Ves would probably have to pay a higher price to get access to the right virtual licenses, he'd still be able to play around with cloaking technology.

Ves browsed the catalogs of the game and saw that assassin mechs could be divided into several ways. Light assassins usually excelled in stealth while their medium cousins packed more punch. Some assassins came equipped with a powerful ranged weapons while others relied on a good melee weapon.

Naturally, this was just a general trend. Plenty of exceptions still existed.

Considering his specialties and his interests, he narrowed down his choice to a medium melee mech. It presented more of a challenge and benefited him more. The act of exploring a way to maximize the assassin mech's ability to deliver a fatal blow in a single strike would advance his understanding of Master Olson's teachings.

He didn't spend too much time on selecting a good base model. Due to the pricy nature of the technology, the virtual licenses of the cheapest models started selling at a staggering price of 2 million bright credits!

Still, Ves had money to spare, with well over six-hundred million credits in the bank. The higher investment would also pay off, for the Mech Designer System capped the limit of his DP earnings for 4-star mechs at a much higher bar.

"If I can succeed in designing this variant, I'll be able to earn up to 100,000 DP in total from its virtual sales."

What did 100,000 DP represent? It was one of the most difficult prerequisites to upgrade one of his Journeyman-level Skills to Senior-level. While Ves didn't plan on upgrading any of his skills just yet, he could sure use the DP on other goodies, such as upgrading his mental attributes or acquiring the next tier of stealth augments from the Shop.

After a couple of hours of casual browsing, Ves settled for a fast and silent model from some obscure company called Carrera Designs.

Rather than a traditional mech business, Carrera Designs made their living by selling their designs instead of mechs. These design studios pumped out hundreds of designs a year. Most of them ended up forgotten in some shelf, but savvy mech manufacturers snapped up some of their more successful designs for quite a bit of money.

The DarkSilver FFL-25 happened to be one of their unsold designs. One of the mech designers under the employ of Carrera Designs had been tasked with exploring the relatively new phenomenon of active cloaking.

As its code number suggested, the FFL-25 represented the twenty-fifth iteration of their exploration. Due to the poor track record of the previous versions of the DarkSilver line, Carrera Designs never managed to sell the FFL-25 despite its high level refinement.

Unknowingly, they slept on a hidden treasure. It only came into prominence several generations later.

It possessed a short-lived but highly effective cloaking system for a medium mech. For about three minutes, they remained undetectable to the most commonly employed sensors that measured light, sound and various other kinds of signals.

As long as the unsuspecting targets weren't actively scanning for cloaked mechs, the DarkSilver model had a high chance of sneaking up to their backs.

In comparison to its excellent but quirky stealth system, the FFL-25 happened to be slightly lackluster in making the kill. Its extreme devotion to stealth left little room for actual combat capability. The model had a lot of trouble trying to pierce through thick sections of armor.

It also possessed paperthin armor that solely existed to enhance its stealth. Actual protection from enemy attacks remained a distant second priority.

Many mech designers today used the excellent base provided by the DarkSilver design and worked to mitigate its flaws. Overall, they achieved mixed success as the base model truly left little room for enhancements. If they went too far, its supreme stealth system started to suffer.

"It's an interesting puzzle. I like it."

Ves forked over the two million credit fee for the virtual license. He already looked forward to putting his own spin on this design.

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Ves didn't feel like spending additional credits on additional virtual component licenses. One of the problems of the DarkSilver design was that it allocated the majority of its space on enhancing its active stealth systems. It contained precious little space for any other systems.

Most of the variants he'd seen took the FFL-25 and added alternate loadouts. Instead of a piddly little knife, the other mech designers mostly provided their variants with limited-use weapons that delivered a large amount of damage in an instant such as bombs or acid containers. historical

To be frank, Ves considered employing the same means, but he held off because he wouldn't add anything new to the game.

In addition, the solution seemed like a cheap cop-out that turned its back on the original intent of the DarkSilver line. The players who buy the variants mostly use them to sabotage the enemy base and supply depots instead of assassinating enemy mechs.

"Why are there so few variants that retain the DarkSilver's original purpose?"

A handful of ambitious mech designers tried their hands at 'fixing' the FFL-25. Their attempts either enhanced the base model's strength while sacrificing its stealth capability, or they preserved its stealth but made only marginal improvements in its strength.

Obviously, all of the mech designers who worked with the frame failed to find the silver bullet that circumvented the base model's limited capacity. The oldest 4-star designs originally came out about a hundred years ago, which severely limited today's designers from introducing modern innovations.

The most successful variants therefore eschewed the stock design and rebuilt it from the ground-up. They used the same components and the same materials but rearranged them into a completely different package that delivered substantially higher performance in some areas.

Not a lot of these redesigns existed as it required a lot of work for very little payoff, since assassin mechs never sold as much as mainstream mechs. However, this in turn gave Ves an opening for him to introduce something others hadn't done before.

"It's a lot like designing an original mech in a sense."

Letting go of the boundaries of the base model freed Ves from its restrictions but also gave him room to stumble. Nevertheless, Ves didn't shy away from the challenge.

First he had to set a vision for his variant. In his eyes, an assassin mech didn't require protective armor. It avoided damage by virtue of its stealth systems and its speed. The base model mostly emphasized the former and paid only lip service to the latter.

"Let's focus on speed and momentum."

The conventional assassin mech sneaked up on their targets at an opportune moment and landed a lethal blow. Once they finished the deed, they popped their chaff and snuck away during the confusion.

"Just like the Old Soul in a sense."

His 2-star sniper mech became known for its devastating ambushes and slippery escapes. This proved that the strategy worked, but Ves didn't wish to retread the same old path.

Instead, he envisioned an assassin mech that used its cloak not to get into point-blank range, but to position itself for a short but devastating charge.

The beauty of this modus operandi was that Ves only had to ensure that his design possessed enough speed and acceleration. The arms and torso didn't need any special attention. As long as they held up at the point of impact, his assassin mech should be fine.

In essence, his variant relied on its running start to build up enough momentum to punch through an unsuspecting mech's armor. A weapon that enabled the mech to transfer its force into a single point worked best in these circumstances, so Ves immediately decided on pairing his design with a spear.

"The only problem is that the mech can't maintain its stealth while running."

Faster movement came with more vibrations and more disturbances in the air. It became vastly more difficult for its active stealth systems to suppress the deluge of signals.

Ves had no solution to this problem, but it shouldn't matter too much. In his imagination, he envisioned his assassin mech using its cloak to sneak in close to its target, but not too close to get detected by its passive sensors. These usually became more effective the closer anyone tried to sneak up on their backs.

Instead, his assassin mech stayed just out of detection radius and readied itself for a charge. At the decisive moment, it rushed forward and closed the distance within seconds before ramming its spear into the vulnerable back of its target. After delivering its blow, the assassin mech ran away at full speed.

"It's going to be risky for the mech to survive without any form of chaff." He judged.

The escape should be the most difficult phase of the assassination process. While he could fit a small chaff module onto his variant, it would likely affect the effectiveness of its stealth. Thus, he decided to leave it out of the picture and focus solely on stealth and speed.

Now that he established a clear vision for his design, he began to construct a set of images for this Triple Division technique.

First, he set the base role as an idealized version of his assassin mech. Ves simply added in his vision for his design and imaged more scenarios on how it should be used.

The most important job for the base role image was to enhance the compatibility between the X-Factor and the actual mech. It didn't need to be too strong or remarkable, but it couldn't be inaccurate.

Ves in fact possessed average creativity, but it should be sufficient to paint a detailed enough picture. It helped that his assassin mech possessed a one-dimensional playstyle. It revolved solely around the mech's ability to set up for a charge and escape when the deed was done. As long as it achieved perfection on this part, his design didn't need any added frills.

Next, he moved on to the totem animal for his assassin mech. He wanted to pick out a predator that perfectly encapsulated his design's ability to pounce at a target and get away quickly. Ves tried to come up with a standard Terran animal that fit its nature well.

"Let's go for a cheetah."

These large cats were favored predators that had often been genetically modified for various purposes. Their extremely fast sprinting velocity endeared them to various customers that liked to take advantage of this trait to hunt for difficult prey.

After browsing the galactic net, Ves found that the standard wild cheetahs exhibited different behavior in different situations. However, whenever it had to hunt alone, it employed a hunting strategy much like his assassin mech. Instead of stealth, it used various kinds of cover and concealment such as hills or tall grass to obscure its approach.

Ves liked the imagery the animal evoked, so he centered his totem animal around a solitary cheetah. With plenty of footage on the galactic net, Ves had no trouble constructing a vivid image of the cheetah at hunt.

Once he moved on to the final portion of the Triple Division technique, Ves had to be more thoughtful. The human myth portion of the technique required a lot of backstory in order to provide a lifelike human touch to the X-Factor.

He didn't pull off anything too fancy this time. He made up an assassin called the Last Spear, as he used to be a guard for a fallen royal household. The fall of the king as well as his relatives has forced the Last Spear into the life of a fugitive without status.

The man fell into a bad crowd, and eventually made it to an assassin's guild that taught him all the tricks of the trade. Ever since he completed his training, he began to wage a one-man reign of terror against his former enemies who took over his homeland.

The Last Spear stuck to the weapon of his choice. He wanted to let his targets recognize his spear as it plunged through their chests and their life faded away.

To him, it wasn't about the money. It was personal. He swore fealty to the fallen royals and dedicated his life to defend their honor even in death.

Others might think him crazy, but the Last Spear found his true calling in life once he started harvesting the lives of those who profited from the conquest. He made it his solemn mission to track down every bastard that contributed to the fall of the royals and stab his spear into hearts without fail.

"Well, this is intense." Ves shook his head.

His imagination got ahead of itself and conjured up a depressing image, one filled with both duty and pointless obsession. The Last Spear's futile crusade against his enemies served no point except to torment his old enemies for a cause that no longer existed.

Well, the specifics of the backstory didn't matter too much in comparison to his character's skills and mindset. As long as he could capture some of that quintessential expertise in his image, his X-Factor became substantially more helpful.

This was especially important in this case as Ves wished to emphasize the rational side over the primal side of the X-Factor. A large emphasis on the latter in his previous designs should be the main reason why his designs gained a reputation for being recreational.

"Besides, assassin mechs are extremely difficult to pilot. My customers will need all the help they can get."

Most mech pilots hadn't received any special training on how to pilot an assassin mech. Some accomodation in this area should be very helpful with easing his model's substantial learning curve.

With the three elements of his Triple Division technique set in place, Ves employed the full force of his mind and superimposed them into a single gestalt. With this hazy half-marged product in his mind, he got into a trance and started his redesign project.

First, he scrapped the base frame, stripping away everything except for its barest support structures. When he was left with nothing but an alloy skeleton, he tweaked some of its bones in order to enhance its mobility.

Then, he started adding in the organs. All of the essential components such as the engine and the power reactor filled up the internals. Different from standard mechs, the DarkSilver line employed a large suite of active ECM and stealth systems that all took up a lot of space. All of these gadgets demanded a lot of space.

Ves crammed in as much as he could while building up his mech's internal architecture at the same. His experience with the Mark II turned him into a veteran in this kind of work, so defty skirted past the knots that popped up every once in a while.

Every savings he made in space or weight, he allocated it towards enhancing his mech's mobility.

He paid relatively little attention to flexibility and agility and merely piled up on its ability to accelerate in a straight line. His assassin mech should be able to pounce upon its target with as little lead time as possible. Thus, acceleration mattered more than top speed.

"It still needs to be fairly fast in order to escape pursuit. It should at least run away far enough to re-engage its stealth."

While his design slowly came into fruition, the Triple Division technique started to fluctuate within his mind. Just like with the Tyrant he designed in his duel with Oleg, the three images started to chafe against each other once they started to show more signs of life.

Different from last time, his images didn't fundamentally conflict with each other. While Ves hadn't done so on purpose, all three elements possessed very few contradictions.

Instead, they jostled around for dominance. None of his images wanted to share responsibilities. All of them wished to dominate the gestalt and turn the others into its slaves.

The conflict became increasingly more heated as Ves did nothing to discourage the fighting. In fact, he'd been aiming something of the sort from the start. This time, he wished to see what happened when the fighting had stopped.

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Ever since his mind underwent some inexplicable changes, his influence on the X-Factor deepened. In particular, anything he imagined into existence took on a life on its own.

What did this mean?

It meant that his images took back their sovereignty! Their history, behavior, attitudes and aspirations developed on their own without conscious input from Ves. He might have created them in his mind, but their transformation into an insubstantial lifeform shielded them from any further alterations.

Rather than describe them as his creations, to be altered or discarded at will, they became thoughts given form, that could not be violated on a whim.

Naturally, Ves still remained the ultimate arbiter of their lives. As long as they took up space in the real estate of his mind, he could wipe them all away if he wished.

"Not that it's desirable to do so."

Ves created the images to enhance the quality of his mech. If he wiped them out before completing his design, he'd be neutering its X-Factor.

Like a parent who meticulously raised their kids, they had to let go of the reins when they grew up. Ves merely hoped he raised them well enough that they didn't do stupid things like doing drugs or spend all their time awake on games.

Currently, his three images shared the same amount of mental power provided by Ves. Thus, the initial struggles didn't amount to anything as all three images encountered the same level of opposition.

The stalemate quickly ended once his images expressed their personality traits. The assassin mech exhibited the least amount of activity, as it led a fairly short and one-dimensional life. In contrast, the cheetah and the Last Spear both enjoyed complete lives!

With their inherent advantages, they employed their power in much more creative ways. They soon noticed the assassin mech's failure to keep up. Sensing weakness, the cheetah and the Last Spear tacitly stopped their probes against each other and turned their full might onto the poor mech.

The battle ended in an instant. Faced with attacks from two fronts, the assassin mech could barely put up a defense. The two voracious predators eagerly broke through its guard and frantically absorbed the substance that made up its existence.

The assassin mech died. The cheetah and the Last Spear cannibalized its very existence and used the energies to enrich their lives. They both underwent another minor transformation that strengthened their existences.

Once they fully digested their meals, the two surviving images eyed each other with barely restrained aggression. The cheetah exhibited unrelenting hunger towards flesh while the Last Spear stoically wished to put down the beast.

The Last Spear pounced first. As a former guardsman, he knew that he wouldn't be able to take his rival by surprise. So he decided to attack the cheetah openly, taking hold of the opportunity to deliver the first blow.

The cheetah reared back in surprise. The animal totem's strengthened existence suffered substantial damage from the opening strike. Enraged, the cheetah pounced on the Last Spear and started tearing apart his substance with its claws and teeth.

In the end, the primal ferocity of the cheetah was no match for the ingenuity of man. The animal only knew how to attack and paid little attention to defense. The Last Spear endured the assault as best he could while he steadily whittled down the cheetah's existence.

Once he landed the final blow with his spear, the cheetah ceased to live. Its damaged and punctured existence became the tonic that fueled the Last Spear's final growth. The man steadily absorbed his final opponent's substance. His aura continued to grow stronger as he did so.

When nothing was left of the other two images, the Last Spear bent down on his knees and saluted to the memory of the fallen royal house. Ves could feel his earnest devotion to his cause and how it gave him strength. The added energies had transformed the surviving image into something that approached a living human being.

"It's too bad it still falls short."

Ves vaguely sensed that the Last Spear lacked a crucial ingredient that prevented his ascension into a higher state of being. The melancholy that emanated from the image bled over to Ves, and even he started to feel depressed.

He shook his head. "I can't lose sight of my goal."

If he started sympathising with him images, he'd become their servants instead of the other way around. Ves had to remind himself that as much as he aspired to explore every facet of the X-Factor, it had to fulfill its original purpose of strengthening his mech designs.

"I'm a runaway scientist who wants to subvert the heavens. It's stupid to treat them like actual humans."

It sounded a little callous, but it was an important distinction to make.

Now that the battle in his mind came to a conclusion, Ves resumed designing his mech. The changes in his mind immediately led to adjustments in his style.

While he still maintained his original vision, his perspective shifted to a direction that highly favored his sole surviving image. The Last Spear exerted a very strong influence in his decision making, to the point where Ves even backtracked on some of his earlier decisions.

Overall, his assassin mech became even stronger with the spear. His design gained some added flexibility in its arms, allowing it to wield its spear more effectively besides thrusting it forward.

Ves didn't necessarily agree with this direction as he had to sacrifice some redundancy in the arms to make room for the modifications.

"A skillful mech pilot will be able to outduel an opponent, but a lesser skilled pilot will suffer."

With much less room for error, it heightened the difficulty of piloting his design. The mech pilot had to avoid damage to its arms at all costs. Despite its added capability, his core design still retained its focus on assassination.

The Last Spear's domineering influence permeated his entire design. The two became connected in a way that made it impossible for Ves to separate the two. He could only destroy them both if he stopped in his tracks, because his sole surviving image could only be contained within his mind for a couple of months.

That had been an unwelcome surprise. While Ves never mothballed his projects so far, to learn that his images only had a limited lifespan ruined his mood somewhat.

Once his images reached a higher state, his mindspace became more unwelcoming to their presence. He had to finish his design as fast as possible so that he could anchor their existences to a more accommodating space.

Fortunately, Ves didn't intend to spend too much time on his assassin mech. As the Barracuda swiftly reached the Bright Republic and almost reached his home, Ves put the finishing touches on his largely-completed design.

Besides the redesign, Ves encountered very few hurdles on his way. His ample knowledge and the simple requirements for his design allowed him to focus solely on a couple of priorities, which led to very few conflicts.

Ves borrowed a few influences from his other designs for his assassin mech. Most significantly, Ves incorporated the Festive Cloud Generator within the small amount of space available. Once the mech sprung its ambush and charged forward with its spear, the entire mech should emit a massive amount of raging black smoke.

If its target became lucky enough to spot the phenomenon, the pilot should feel a lot of dread at the incoming wave of doom. Its effect became even more pronounced than the one he added to the Young Blood's legs.

His knight mech simply left a sharp trail behind its legs when it charged, while his assassin mech pumped out a lot more vapor. Ves wanted to amp up the illusion that nothing could stop his mech once it charged out into the open.

While all of the vapor didn't help the mech in its escape, it should still have a measurable psychological effect to bystanders.

If things went right, the black train of doom should become his assassin mech's calling card. Anyone who spotted it should instantly associate it to his design.

Ves spent some time on personalising its appearance. The stealth armor his variant adopted from the FFL-25 took on a default black coating that minimized reflections. While anything he added over the coating minutely affected its ability to stay hidden, its active stealth systems should be good enough to minimize the problem.

"I think you'll like this." He said to his image as he added the emblem of the fallen royal house onto the chest of his design. The circular symbol resembled a curled up yellow otter.

The Last Spear pulsed with strong emotion once Ves finished adding the emblem. Naturally, he also added in the symbol for his company at the much less prominent place on one of his assassin mech's arms.

The little touches of color added some levity to its serious appearance. Still, Ves didn't wish to detract too much from its original purpose.

"All it needs is a name."

Ves already started thinking of a suitable name at the tail end of his design phase. He wanted to leave a name on his design that encapsulated its role without being too garish or incomprehensible.

"What about the DarkSpear?"

It certainly encapsulated the nature of his assassin mech in the most succinct way possible. Those who first encounter the name should immediately be able to associate it with his variant due to the unusual pairing of a stealth mech with a spear weapon.

With that done, Ves submitted his latest design to the System after activating his Privacy Shield. Even in the confines of his own ship, he remained ambivalent about its security.

[Design Evaluation: DarkSpear]

Variant name: FFL-25P DarkSpear

Base model: DarkSilver FFL-25 historical

Original Manufacturer: Carrera Designs

Weight Classification: Medium

Recommended Role: Assassin Mech

Armor: F

Carrying Capacity: E-

Aesthetics: B

Endurance: D

Energy Efficiency: E

Flexibility: C-

Firepower: B-

Integrity: C

Mobility: C

Spotting: D

Stealth: A-

X-Factor: C

Deviance: 76%

Performance improvement: 18%

Cost efficiency: -3%

Overall evaluation: The DarkSpear is a radical departure from the DarkSilver FFL-25 in many ways. While it largely retained the original's stealth systems, the DarkSpear is able to assassinate its targets as long as it remains unopposed during its brief but violent approach.

[You have received 100 Design Points for completing an original design with a performance improvement of over 10%.]

[You have received 500 Design Points for designing a mech with a moderate presence of X-Factor.]

The System really didn't give his design any high marks. Over the year since he owned the System, Ves learned that the program evaluated his designs in comparison to the same type of mechs.

While he wouldn't have to compare his works directly with the best designs in the galaxy, it still disappointed him a bit that his DarkSpear variant scored so low in many areas.

Different from his other evaluations, the System added a category for stealth. Only in this area did Ves achieve some results. While he hadn't introduced any innovations in this area, his redesign successfully preserved the strengths of the FFL-25's strong stealth systems. In the few areas that mattered, the DarkSpear at least met the minimum standard to fulfill its role.

The only thing that puzzled him was that the System rated him C for the X-Factor. Ves had never seen the System use a double plus as a modifier for his score.

"System, why did you give me a C and not a B- or something like that?"

This time, the System got off its lazy butt and answered his question in earnest.

[The X-Factor of your design has improved only marginally. The difference in quality exceed your previous efforts but it fails to meet the necessary standards to obtain a higher rating.]

Ves figured something like that must have happened, but it still disappointed him that his experiments hadn't led to a major breakthrough.

"Obviously, something must be different. I'll have to wait for customer feedback in order to find out if anything has improved."

Ves introduced his latest variant to his virtual catalog with hardly any notice. At first, none of his fans noticed the addition of a new 4-star mech.

That changed soon after when the first qualified Iron Spirit players tried out the DarkSpear. Word soon spread among the local players who reached the Gold League or higher.

A new phenomenon soon emerged in the local virtual mech scene.

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By the time the Barracuda finally landed at Cloudy Curtain's spaceport, he just released the DarkSpear. The storm this model unleashed in the local virtual community still required some time to come into fruition.

At this time, Ves mostly concerned himself with logistics. The new equipment he ordered from Leemar had been loaded in a jumbo transport ship that still took a few more weeks to arrive in Bentheim. The shipment had been delayed due to the need to adhere to the schedule of fixed convoy routes.

Naturally, the shipping services passed on the costs to their customers.

"Business keeps getting more inconvenient." Ves shook his head.

The Rimward Star Herald and all the other news portals had been hammering their subscribers with dire predictions about the state of the economy. The first major businesses that had been hanging on for years had already been tipped over into bankruptcy procedures due to the ongoing rise in costs.

Fortunately, his Living Mech Corporation only operated for about a year. It hadn't developed long enough to develop the massive overhead that older companies usually ended up with. He paid more for security than any other non-production expenses such as payroll, taxes and interest payments.

Ves hoped to change that over time when he finally expanded his workshop's production capacity. While he still had to wait for his alloy compressor and CTM, with the hacked processors in his possession he could finally put the finishing touches on the reconstructed Dortmund printer.

He already looked forward to working with an industrial printer. Ves already had a taste of it when he worked with the stellar machines in Master Olson's Apprentice Workshop. If the Dortmund printer worked as advertised, then Ves could expect to speed up his fabrication phase by as much as seventy-five percent!

In particular, the Dortmund massively sped up the fabrication of uncompressed armor plating. Its increased speed and precision allowed Ves and any other fabricator like Carlos to automate the fabrication of any component up to a certain level of complexity without any worry.

The Dortmund could even fabricate more advanced processors that his current printer couldn't handle. Actually, the mini printer collecting dust in the Barracuda's workshop possessed even more capabilities in this regard, though it needed a lot of time to fabricate a single chip.

Once Ves disembarked from his corvette with Melkor and Lucky, a small fleet of shuttles from Sanyal-Ablin awaited his presence.

"Sir, please enter the center shuttle."

They boarded the only shuttle with the hatch left open. Once they secured themselves into the seats, the entire arrangement started to move. Even a casual trip from Orinoco to Freslin required an armed escort these days. Ves lamented the necessity of it all and the extra charges he'd receive from Sanyal-Ablin.

"The mercenaries and the security companies must be making a killing these days."

"It's not without reason." Melkor commented. "The security industry is able to deter most threats by brandishing their superior gear. Even then, the occasional clashes result in a lot of wear and tear. It takes a massive amount of money to keep their assets functional."

The smaller mercenary corps had a particularly rough time trying to keep afloat. A single ruinous battle could result in massive repair bills that ruined their financial outlook.

"Did you enjoy your stay at Abelard?" Ves asked, changing the topic. "I can imagine the standard for mech pilots is a lot higher in Coalition space."

"It's actually not too far apart. Abelard employs a lot more simulations as well as real mechs so they can insure that every graduate will at least reach the level of advanced pilot. However, even then they can't insure that any of them will advance into expert pilots."

Normal mech pilots made up the rank-and-file that usually ended up piloting frontline mechs. Advanced pilots received better treatment due to their ability to bring out the full strength of standard humanoid or animal mechs.

Yet even then, a state wouldn't shed a tear if they lost them by the thousands in a single battle. As long as a state had sufficient time, they could replenish such pilots with relative ease.

Only when a pilot advanced to the rank of expert pilot did they truly become elite. Even the extended Larkinson Family only boasted of a couple of expert pilots, almost all of whom retired due to old age or injury.

His grandfather Benjamin happened to be one of them, and used the respect afforded to him to transition into a career in the Ministry of Defense. Even Rittersberg's career politicians had to sit up and pay attention to a former expert pilot.

"How far are you from reaching this rank?"

Melkor chuckled at his question. "You have no idea how difficult it is to achieve a breakthrough. What I've learned at Abelard has made it even clearer to me how much of a gap I still have have close."

"So even second-rate states have difficulty training expert pilots."

"They have more options. Their standard training doesn't produce much better results, but as long as they're willing to allocate unlimited resources to training a couple of important scions, they'll be able to reach the necessary standard by force. Even then, there are several shortcomings, as they often have shaky foundations. The bad habits they haven't corrected will become critical weaknesses at that point."

Ves didn't fully understand what it meant to be an expert pilot, much as Melkor didn't understand the ranks of mech designers. If Ves ever wanted to move up to designing elite mechs, he had to learn what made expert pilots so rare and valuable. Fortunately, Ves had plenty of time before he reached that point.

First, he had to take care of his more immediate concerns. Once his guarded shuttle arrived at the landing pad inside his workshop's premises, he hopped out with a spring and entered his familiar abode. Carlos already waited for him at the entrance.

"Good to see you here!"

"I'm back now. How's the workshop while I was gone?"

"Nothing really comes to mind. I've already told you everything you needed to know from the reports. The main thing that's really bad for business is that the costs of raw materials is continuing to rise. Right now, the total cost of production has ballooned to 20 million credits."

Ves became alarmed. "That much!? A few weeks ago you said it was still around 19 million credits!"

The increase amounted to five percent, which didn't sound so scary. However, his cost figure already ballooned by almost twenty percent since the start of his production and it might even reach fifty percent by the end of the year.

When Ves delved in the reports, he found out that the major resource suppliers prioritized their bigger clients over small fish like him. With the LMC's current sales volume of roughly a hundred mechs a year, it didn't even represent a blink in the profits of the major suppliers.

The increasingly depressing cost picture reminded Ves once again that he had to take control over his own supply chain. At the very least, he had to ensure the continued supply of the rarer exotics in the event the major suppliers pulled out of the MTA's internal market entirely.

"Let's hear some good news for a change. How are your silver label Mark II's coming along?"

Carlos smiled at him. "I've completely mastered their fabrication. I've poured into all of the manuals and studied more about assembly in my free time. At this moment, I can ensure only one part in a million will have flaws."

Even in the best conditions, a fabricator never promised a success rate of a hundred percent. The Mark II especially exhibited a higher level of complexity than normal. That Carlos made it this far could only be attributed to the fact that he had plenty of time to master one single model.

In comparison, while Ves didn't possess the same level of confidence, his deeper foundation allowed him to fabricate many other models with very few flaws.

As for Carlos, his shallow range of skills forced him to start from nothing whenever he encountered a different model.

"Don't forget to keep mastering your assembly skills. You're already getting a lot of hands-on experience, but without the theoretical background you won't be as flexible as me whenever I introduce a new model."

"When are you ready to introduce your new design? It's already getting stale fabricating the same Mark II over and over again."

"It will take a few months at the very least. First I have to install all my new toys. Then I have to round out my collection of component licenses. I'll likely end up short on money so I might have to pursue some money making projects in the meantime."

Now that Ves established the Living Mech Corporation and had proven its capability to run at a profit, however tenable that might be, his reputation should open up more opportunities.

Once they reached the fabrication hall, they approached the long-dormant Dortmund 3D printer. From a mess of loose components scavenged off a score of wrecked machines, Ves meticulously restored or reconstructed them into a mechanically functional machine. Only the security restrictions hidden within the programming of its processors held it back.

Now, even that ceased to be an obstacle.

Ves carefully installed the processors back in the appropriate slots before closing up the printer. The anticipation practically swelled within his heart as he pressed the button that should turn his machine online.

A couple of lights dramatically glowed. The dubiously restored Dortmund accepted the input from the processors and became activate without any hiccups.

"It works!"

Both Ves and Carlos celebrated at the Dortmund's successful restoration. Ves eagerly approached the onboard terminal and dug into its diagnostics and status readings. His preoccupation with the machine kept going for hours as he patiently tested the Dortmund's capability to print both micro and larger components.

He even fed the printer some cheap alloys from his inventory in order to see with his own two eyes if the Dortmund matched its description.

"That's so fast!" Carlos exclaimed when a perfect piece of uncompressed armor plating emerged from the machine. "You've got to let me use this machine!"

"You'll get your chance." Ves chuckled. Even he began to tire of his old and ramshackle printer. "For now, whenever I have no need of it, you can use the Dortmund." historical

Before Carlos could use the new machine, Ves set conditions for its use. Its higher speed and powerful capabilities also increased the risk of catastrophic damage in the event the Dortmund malfunctioned. Carlos had to study the manual and practice fabricating with the Dortmund in a virtual simulation before he received permission to use the industrial printer.

While Carlos went off to do his homework, Ves took over his fabricator's production quota for the week. He already had a silver label Mark II lined up to be shipped at the end of the week. Ves pulled up his sleeves and went to work.

The fabrication run only took up less than a day. Even Carlos required three days at his very best. Parts kept spitting out the exit tray like a machine gun, to the point where his workshop's loader bots threatened to bottleneck the fast-paced fabrication process.

The overworked bots simply couldn't keep up. They worked their antigrav modules to the bone trying to supply enough raw materials for the hungry printer and pick up finished components when they piled up at the exit tray.

In the end, it took longer to assemble the Mark II than it took to fabricate all of its parts. Ves completed the entire fabrication and assembly cycle of the Mark II within two days. With practice, Carlos should be able to achieve the same within three days even if he turned his brain off, as the Dortmund's formidable automation processes did most of the heavy lifting.

With this new machine, the LMC finally had the grounds to call itself a mech manufacturer. Ves smiled with satisfaction as he patted the Dortmund's exterior.

"The first step is done."

Ves still had a lot of hurdles to go through before he became ready to design an original mech. Despite the long road ahead, Ves already thought of a couple of ways to make his printer more useful.

"There shouldn't be more than half-a-dozen industrial printers on Cloudy Curtain, if there are any at all. Perhaps I can make use of this fact."

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Chapter 214: Shady

After some rudimentary research, Ves found out that Cloudy Curtain pretty all of its gear from Bentheim. The short distance enabled local businesses to order all manner of machine equipment from the local mecca of fabrication.

So the LMC couldn't effectively rent out its fabrication capacity to other businesses.

However, his options didn't end there. Besides a smattering of small and medium enterprises, Cloudy Curtain also hosted Walter's Whalers. The mech gang recently underwent a major expansion after selling off their scavenged goods. The bulk exotics they sold might not be very valuable, but the huge amount they sold in the black and grey markets earned them lots of credits.

As Ves had traveled more throughout the galaxy and became wiser to the ways of human society, he realized that the Whalers possessed a lot of connections. The strength of their gang lay not only in their solidarity, but also their expansive network with many elements of the Bright Republic's underbelly.

As his company required a lot of money to round out its component licenses, Ves called a meeting with Dietrich. They met up in downtown Freslin at a coffee shop owned by the Whalers. Ves carefully activated his Privacy Shield before they began their discussion, preventing his guards from listening in on sensitive matters. historical

"You sure that gadget works as advertised?" Dietrich pointed at his comm.

"It's never been beaten as far as I know."

Perhaps some devices could crack through the shield, but Ves doubted that Sanyal-Ablin brought any such equipment with them to snoop on Ves. Kings, presidents and CEOs of major companies deserved that kind of attention.

Ves sipped on a cup of coffee that Dietrich ordered for him. "We haven't seen each other in a while. Before we get to business, how's it going with the Whalers?"

"Oh, it's great! Our numbers are growing by the day!" Dietrich boasted with a gleaming smile. "You helped a lot as well. You've energised a lot of the bored potentates at home. More people are getting interested mechs again and they've been knocking at our doors until they collapsed!"

Ves hoped he had that kind of effect. Too many potentates in Cloudy Curtain left their training to the wayside once they failed to enter an advanced academy on Bentheim.

"What about their training?"

"Oh we're picking the cream of the crop, whatever little there is, but you know how it goes. The recruits have more spunk than skill, and it takes a lot of screaming and yelling to get them to learn something right."

"Sounds awful."

"It's a little better than before. They've been practising a lot in games, particularly with your knight and rifleman mechs. Still, that's no true substitute to piloting real mechs."

The local mech academies on Cloudy Curtain had been underfunded for decades. Their training mechs resembled zombies and their curriculum fit a history class more than a mech class. Many of its graduates didn't even qualify for the lowest rank of mech pilot.

As for the local elites, they relied more on private tutors than trust the academy's teachers to do an adequate job. Ves always thought that Cloudy Curtain hosted enough private tutors and retired veterans to found a private academy on their own, but to each his own.

"Do you have the mechs ready for your recruits?"

"Heavens, no! They'll crash and burn within minutes if we let them anywhere near the cockpit. Besides, we don't have the money."

"I can help you with that problem." Ves said with a smile. "I happen to get my hands on an industrial printer that can fabricate pretty much anything you think of. Best of all, its processors are hacked, so it won't be sending any logs to the original manufacturer."

Most 3D printers established a connection to the local networks in order to send their logs and activity reports to various parties, chief among them the MTA.

Dietrich looked at Ves with a dubious eye. "Are you thinking about doing the repair scam?"

The repair scam was a basic but widespread method that happened to be popular among mercenaries and gangs. When they bought a mech, they usually signed a standard contract that enumerated several rights and restrictions, chief among them the right to repair and replace a damaged component.

Imagine if a mercenary corps reported that their mech lost its arms after a battle against pirates. While they could order replacement arms from the original manufacturer, If they owned a capable 3D printer, they might as well reproduce the arms themselves, so they do so.

A few months later, the same mech happened to lose its legs in a training accident. Again, instead of contacting the original manufacturer, they fabricate replacement legs on their own and restore their mech to full health.

Perhaps another month later, the mercenary corps suffered an ambush from a criminal gang. The recently repaired mech happened to lose its entire torso and head. However, they happened to recover a pair of arms and legs, and they looked to be in pristine condition as well!

The mercenary commander decided not to bother the manufacturer and painstakingly fabricated an entire torso and head, and fit the orphan arms and legs to the machine. Voila, the mech regained its top form!

Of course, all of those battles and training accidents never really happened. They only existed on paper when the mercenary corps had to come up with an excuse to justify their supposed battle damage.

In reality, they bent the repair clauses to their advantage and reproduced an entirely mech out 'replacement parts'. This sort of behavior was really prevalent in the frontier, where expeditions often disappeared into the wilderness for months or years.

Dietrich definitely looked interested. "How good is your new printer?"

"It's a top-of-the-line machine in the Republic. Better machines exist, but what they can do, my Dortmund can do as well."

Ves sent him a document of the Dortmund's capabilities via his comm. While his Privacy Shield blocked any signals from going in and out of the tiny radius around him, it didn't stop any signals kept inside the bubble.

"I don't really know how to read this." Dietrich said and scratched his head. "I'll have to take this up with our technicians, but I believe you."

They elaborated their deal and discussed the details. In addition to commissioning their own 'replacement parts', the Whalers also promised to extend the same service to their contacts for a small fee. Ves and Dietrich didn't set up a formal contract for this agreement. Instead, they arranged everything verbally.

Regarding his earnings, Ves estimated that he stood to gain an extra hundred million credits a year from this agreement. The Whalers and any other clients took care of the resources and all the other costs. Ves merely had to keep his printer available for a couple of hours a week.

"It's best not to go overboard." Dietrich warned him. "Too many new mechs without an obvious source will obviously ring some alarms."

Ves agreed with him. He reserved most of his printer's capacity for his own business activities, especially when his sales started picking up. For now, Ves had the capacity to spare, but once he published a competitive design, he planned to phase out this arrangement.

"Can you offer me some money up-front?" He asked. "I'm kind of short on money."

"Are you in debt?"

"Not exactly."

The mech pilot's face scrunched up as Ves explained his circumstances. "Damn, I always heard it took a fortune to start making mechs, but these sums are outrageous! I'm sorry to say I can't help you here."

This left Ves with a dilemma. While his new agreement with Dietrich could potentially net him a lot of earnings, it took too long to earn all that money.

With this business done, they moved on to other matters. Ves recalled that he once asked Dietrich a favor. He asked them to investigate the Colmes region that the two big farming consortiums secretly developed.

"Have you found out what they are up to?"

Dietrich shook his head. "It's impossible to observe from afar. Our planet's cloud cover rules out any attempts to observe from space, while anything that is hanging lower in the air will get detected for sure."

"So why are the farming consortiums in such of a tizzy at this time?"

"Just because we can't look at it, doesn't mean we can't stir the pot." Dietrich smirked and crossed his arms. "Do you know how easy it is to redirect some asteroids to fall upon that area?"

That sounded really dangerous. Redirecting asteroids to employ them as makeshift bombs touched upon a fundamental taboo.

"Oh, relax. They're only about the size of a container. Nothing that will wipe out an entire continent."

"And nothing has stopped the asteroids from falling?"

"Hah! Do you know we're in charge of asteroid defense? It's super easy to tell the government they got totally smashed when I brought them a lot of drinks."

As an obscure, rural planet, Cloudy Curtain boasted little in the way of orbital infrastructure. Their home planet had no space station or defense station, let alone a Republican patrol carrier. No other local power boasted as much mechs as the Whalers.

Sending the asteroid down to the Colmes region was a brazen attack on the farming consortiums. They should know that the Whalers were complicit in this attack, and if they had some brains they should also know that the attack had a connection with Ves.

However, without any evidence, the farming consortiums had no recourse. Making a fuss risked escalating their conflict. In addition, their secretive activities might get exposed.

From the way the consortiums and the ruling coalitions kept mum all these months, Ves suspected that he touched on a critical activity.

"What are they hiding, you think?"

"Even we're scratching our heads at the question." Dietrich responded. "Our best guess is that they're cultivating some super sensitive crops. It's probably something that requires unique conditions to grow and it should also be of very high value. Maybe the farming consortiums have been smuggling those goodies in between the bags of regular cloud rice whenever they send another shipment to Bentheim."

Hardly any inspection paid close attention to bulk goods like rice. If the Whalers guessed correctly, the farming consortiums might be cultivating an extremely high-value crop that Bentheim's upper society loved.

The question was whether they wanted to do something about it. "Do you think it's illegal?"

"It has to be. They shouldn't be so secretive about it otherwise."

The problem they faced was that both sides held a certain amount of leverage over the other. Ves could threaten to sicc the Whalers onto the Colmes region while the ruling coalition could ram their tax bill through the planetary assembly. Both measures resulted in drastic consequences that neither side wanted to see.

Ves predicted that the status quo wouldn't last forever. On principle, the White Doves completely hated mechs and everything they stood for. A mech manufacturer on their own soil offended them in a fundamental way. In essence, they were mortal enemies to each other.

And now, Ves brought over the Whalers to his side. They never really paid attention to the local power structure before, but the latest incident should have woken them up.

"Sorry about bringing you into this fight." Ves apologised.

"No worries, man. They're idiots, anyway. In this kind of galaxy, who the hell believes in pacifism?"

"Pacifists or not, they're loaded with money. They might send some trouble on your way."

The easiest way to cope with Walter's Whalers was to hire a rival gang to dispute their territory. As long as the farming consortiums threw enough money, they were bound to find some willing participants.

Despite expectations, Dietrich remained complacent. "They can try all they want. No sane outfit will take them up on their offer. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

Dietrich leaned forward and whispered in a low tone. "I'll let you in on a secret. We answer to Monty the Beheader."

"Monty?!" Ves exclaimed. "One of the Three Tyrants of Bentheim?"

"Yup!"

The vast criminal underworld made a lot of men and women stand out for their brutality. One of the ultimate rulers of the Bentheim underworld, Monty the Beheader became known for cutting off the heads of more than a thousand clansmen who betrayed his allegiance. He boldly recorded the dirty deed and let it spread on the galactic net.

Ever since then, everyone knew that you should never mess around with Monty the Beheader.

Learning that the Whalers ultimately answered to the notorious Bentheim crime boss made Ves feel a little queasy. The kind of activities that Monty engaged in frequently made the news, and not in a good way.

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"Why did you tell me this?" Ves asked with an elevated heartbeat. The Three Tyrants should never be brought up in a casual conversation. In addition, Ves shouldn't even know of the connection between the Monty the Beheader and Walter's Whalers.

"So you know who's got our backs. He's not the nicest boss, but he's fair to his underlings. Besides, the Whalers are merely associates to him. He doesn't pay too much attention to what goes on in hick planets like ours."

"That's good to hear."

It certainly explained how the Whalers enjoyed so many connections. They were actually a part of a larger underground organisation with tentacles that stretched out everywhere. In the larger scheme of things, the Whalers kept an eye on Monty's backyard and occasionally helped hide some hot goods that needed to be squared away somewhere obscure but not out of reach.

Dietrich swept up his palm. "Besides, he's really big in the resource trade. I heard you've been looking around for a fixed supplier. If you want, I can give you an introduction to some companies that are in his pocket."

The offer sounded very attractive, to the point where Ves almost spilled his coffee. Still, he felt reluctant to establish deeper ties with a notorious crime boss. Doing a couple of odd jobs might be okay, but if he started getting in deep, he'd wonder if he could ever get out someday.

"Thank you, but I can take care of my own business."

They made no other agreements at this time. Ves hadn't gotten the instant cash infusion that he hoped for, but at least he secured another revenue stream, even if it looked a little dubious. Carlos would have to deal with the extra workload.

After they left the coffee shop, they went their separate ways. Ves returned to his workshop while contemplating his business relationships.

He always knew he had to keep an amicable relationship with the local gang. At Rittersberg, he'd been taught about the reality of the criminal underworld and how pervasive their influence extended throughout society.

Especially out in the galactic rim, most third-rate states lacked the strength to control their territory effectively. This gave room for alternative power structures with different goals in mind. Bentheim was especially rife with warring crime groups, which was one reason why Ves avoided the place.

"Luckily, there's nothing going on here that will attract any serious attention." Ves concluded. "If there's one thing the politicians are right about, it's that our planet is too poor to rob."

Ves still thought differently, but he became more aware of the risks. If Cloudy Curtain ever shed its status as an underdeveloped planet, some groups might wish to take a piece of the pie. If too many people all grabbed a pie, Ves would have nothing left but an empty plate.

"I doubt the situation will end up that way. With the Whalers having been in power for more than decade, they're not so easy to dislodge."

When his armored shuttle arrived back at his workshop, Ves briefed Carlos in on his extra assignment. His friend looked very dubious at him, as if he couldn't believe Ves dared to engage in such a scheme.

"You do know your cousin is part of the Planetary Guard, right? Won't she lock you up if she finds out what kind of scam you're pulling off?"

"She'll never know." Ves confidently said. "The Whalers will take care of all the paperwork. They'll establish shell companies and everything that will fake legitimate repair orders. Even if someone digs into their background, they'll only find that they're owned by another shell company which is owned by another shell company and so on."

Most companies only existed on paper. They acted as holding companies that allowed the real shareholders to hang on to properties without leaving behind their names. This could get very complicated but also very lucrative once different companies set their headquarters at different tax jurisdictions.

"What about your grandfather?" Carlos continued to press. "He's a board member of your company, you know. There's no way you can hide the truth from him once he sees how much extra activities we're doing."

"My grandfather won't make a fuss. I'm sure of it. What I'm doing will not only benefit the company financially, but I'll also be appeasing the local gang that's in control of the planet."

Sometimes you had to get your hands dirty in order to do business. Ves was pretty sure that the Larkinson family established their own ties with shady groups in order to safeguard their real estate on Rittersberg.

In any case, he'd deal with it if it became a problem. At this early stage, Ves couldn't turn his eyes away to an additional revenue stream.

Since the equipment he ordered from Leemar still took some time to arrive, Ves decided to check up on his virtual sales. He placed the DarkSpear onto the virtual market a week ago and wanted to see whether he achieved enough sales.

His eyes opened wide when he inspected his sales history. "Over two-thousand sales!"

He only predicted an initial sales volume of around a hundred mechs. Even in his most optimistic projections, he never dared to hope that he could break past five-hundred units sold. historical

The amount of credits he earned from these sales still remained negligible as Ves continued to set the lowest minimum prices on his designs. What Ves truly cared about was how much DP the System awarded him for achieving so much 4-star sales.

Since Ves earned 10 DP for each DarkSpear sold, the System should have added over 20,000 DP to his account! He quickly summoned up his Status on his comm and saw with his own eyes that he earned just a little bit more than that amount.

Sure, a four-digit sales volume hardly phased the more successful developers of virtual mechs, but to Ves it represented a great success.

Once he got over his shock, he started scratching his head. Why did his latest model sell so well? Cloudy Curtain might have a modest amount of Gold Leaguers, but Ves imagined that not a lot people would be interested in piloting an assassin mech. It required a very patient and deliberate playstyle that contrasted sharply with the instant direct action that other mech classifications provided.

He looked at his customer profiles and found that the majority actually came from Bentheim instead of Cloudy Curtain. For some reason, his latest virtual design caught on there.

After a bit of digging, Ves found out why.

In short, a couple of early adopters fell in love with the concept. One of the biggest complaints of assassin mechs was that it became extremely tedious trying to sneak up on an enemy mech.

The DarkSpear happened to skip the riskiest portion of the approach. Unlike other assassin mechs, It didn't need to enter the range in which the sensors of any mech became increasingly more effective at spotting anomalies.

What happened was that the early adopters basically cheesed through the Gold League by taking out their opposition with sudden charges from behind. The enemies never saw them coming if the pilots of the DarkSpear models used them effectively.

Ves guessed that the X-Factor played a vital role in easing the pilots to the the stalk-and-pounce tactic the DarkSpear heavily favored. Even through the complications of piloting a virtual mech, the X-Factor still made its presence known, especially since it possessed the highest grade that Ves had produced so far.

The DarkSpear caused a minor upheaval in the Bentheim virtual gaming community. With several copies making the rounds, many oblivious gamers throughout the galaxy turned into their victims. They all left rude and profanity-filled comments behind on the DarkSpear's store page.

"Awful specs! Even my dog can design a better mech than this dude!"

"STUPID MECH! DON'T BUY THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE!"

"I've never heard of Komodo before, but if the mech designers there come up with designs like this, then we're better off without them!"

Still, despite the intense reaction to his new design, he still sold a couple of hundred virtual mechs to players around the galaxy, mostly from the other rim sectors.

Those who lived closer to the center of the galaxy generally scoffed at any mechs designed from someone from the galactic rim. They also enjoyed a higher standard of living so they could afford much higher quality mechs.

Still, despite the spontaneous success of his mech, Ves didn't think it was sufficient. Every 4-star mech charged a considerable sum of in-game gold or real credits to purchase. Once players reached the Gold League, they had to be more mindful of their spending as Iron Spirit introduced more elements to their in-game economy.

So Ves set aside the store page and performed a casual search on the galactic net. The first article that showed up pretty much revealed the

MOSVILLE FIREFLIES CAPTAIN JARLE BRENTHILL DOMINATING HIS OPPONENTS IN THE VIRTUAL BATTLEFIELD WITH A QUIRKY NEW ASSASSIN MECH!

Even Ves had heard about the Mosville Fireflies, though only in passing. Their team captain happened to have come across the DarkSpear somehow when he publically streamed his gaming session.

With his superior skills sharpened by many years on the duelling circuit, Jarle quickly mastered the essence of the DarkSpear and began to take it into the Arena.

Even at the Diamond League level, he completely ran over his opponents. He always made effective use of terrain to further mask the DarkSpear's invisible approach. Jarle never got caught before he started his charge. Even when his mech dropped its stealth, his opponents still took a second or so to react to its sudden presence.

By that time, the DarkSpear's weapon ran through the backs of their mechs.

Even though Jarle eventually matched up against increasingly skilled opponents who managed to react in time, his earlier winning streak had compelled his fans to try out the DarkSpear for themselves. As stream viewers already witnessed a great example on how to utilize the DarkSpear, they quickly found the best uses for this mech.

"Hm, this is the second time I can thank a streamer for delivering me so many sales." He realized.

This time, a pro showcased his model. If a casual player tried their hand at the DarkSpear, they probably would have fumbled in front of an audience. That could have given his design a bad reputation.

Ves looked around and found that Jarle had somehow become obsessed with the DarkSpear. When Ves visited his stream page, he saw that Jarle had been streaming for four hours straight today, attracting a respectable audience that numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

All of this budding enthusiasm for his mech gave him an idea. He called over Raella, who had almost recovered from her Molgon poisoning by now. His niece entered the office area with a grumbling face.

"What's up?"

"I need your help with something. What do you know about Jarle Brenthill?"

As a former amateur duellist, Raella knew more about the duelling scene than anyone else on the planet. She instantly perked up when she heard the name. "Jarle? He's a sick skirmisher pilot. In fact, he's one of my role models! He's great at psychological warfare and always manages to approach his opponents from a tricky angle. He's also wickedly handsome."

Raella said that with a teasing smile that Ves automatically ignored. Instead, he pressed his own concerns. "He's streaming one of my virtual mechs right now on the galactic net. Take a look."

When Raella peeked at the projection, she raised her eyebrows. "Wow. I didn't know you could design something as devious as this DarkSpear. If I was any good at spears, I'd probably be interested too."

"Do you think Jarle might be open to some form of sponsorship or other cooperation with me?"

Mentioning sponsorship to Raella who used to aspire for it might not be wise, but Ves figured enough time had passed to take the sting away.

"That depends." Raella crossed her arms. She stopped paying attention to the stream. "Jarle is the team captain of the Fireflies. Currently, they're doing great in the 3v3 arenas, so he's not short on sponsors and cash. It will take a lot of credits to attract his attention."

"How much?"

"Mech athletes make a lot of money when they win." Raella explained. "They have to if they want to repair all the battle damage their mechs frequently incur. It takes around ten million credits to get your foot in the door."

That sounded way too much money for Ves. He might as well use Iron Spirit's direct advertising system in that case.

Ves frowned a bit. "I'm not talking about a sponsorship of the Fireflies. I just want to sponsor his stream for a time. Will it be possible to come to an arrangement with him in this matter?"

"Well, it's off-season right now, so Jarle has a lot of free time on his hands. You have to know that a pro at his level isn't streaming because he's in need of extra cash. He's using it to interact with his fans."

That made a lot of sense. When Ves watched the stream, Jarle frequently responded to the comments from his viewers. That sort of interactive engagement with his fans helped build his brand.

"So there's no chance I can catch his attention?"

"That's not true. There's still one way you can catch his attention." Raella replied with a smile. "Offer him something unique. Streamers love showing off unique mechs that are tailored to their style. Since Jarle seems to love your DarkSpear design so much, why not offer to customize it? A lot of mech designers show off their goods in this way, not only at online streams, but also in the real arenas."

Her suggestion had a lot of merit. Customized mechs remained the ultimate possession for many mech pilots.

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[MissMisstep: Jarle, what do you think is better when it comes to mech duels, a win with severe battle damage or a loss without scratch?]

"A win! You've got to win all the way! If you're already starting to think about repair bills when you're duelling another team, you've already given up." Jarle emphatically said. "The only way to earn enough credits to keep your mechs in tip top shape is to keep on winning!"

In truth, even a top-tier team like the Velvet Fists couldn't afford to wreck their mechs in every match. Each duelling season tested the skill and judgement of each team. Some knew when to give up early and saved up on repairs, while others kept on fighting past the point of no return and faced exponentially greater costs.

Explaining all of that took a lot of nuance that belied his public image as a daredevil. With his handsome face and his half-shaved blond hair, Jarle presented himself as the ultimate thrill seeker who constantly risked it all and won.

His bold but slighty dim person also helped mask his deviously tricky fighting style.

[ZevHarper: Will we be seeing you in action this summer?]

Jarle nodded inside his virtual cockpit. "I'll be appearing in a couple of rallies organised by the Mech Corps. Be sure to check the schedule in my profile page!"

Even as he responded to his many viewers, his DarkSpear silently crept through the rocky cliffs and hills of a desolate moonscape.

His mech's high powered stealth systems ran at quarter strength right now. It did nothing to prevent a mech from seeing his DarkSpear if it had a direct line of sight, but it was sufficient to dampen his other emissions as long as Jarle stayed behind cover.

Finding the right place to hide happened to be one of his specialties. Under his expert control, he slowly crept behind the highly advanced swordsman mech that kept a wary eye towards its surroundings.

In 1v1 duels like this, if your opponent never showed up, he probably prepared an ambush. As a fellow Diamond League player, the enemy pilot didn't let down his guard. An extremely complicated dance emerged as a result where both sides tried to maneuver in their most optimal positions.

The DarkSpear held a decisive advantage over the swordsman mech. The latter excelled in open duels, and did not include any sophisticated sensor arrays capable of detecting stealthed opponents.

However, even if the swordsman mech only possessed a standard set of sensors, their overall quality ensured they'd be able to detect any approaching assassin mechs once it reached a distance of fifty to a hundred meters or so. That gave the pilot enough reaction time to set up a guard.

As long as his swordsman mech withstood the first blow, his advantage only grew.

With soft and measured steps, the DarkSpear slowly closed the distance to the swordsman mech. Jarle moved practically in sync with his mech. He became completely immersed in the act to the point where he stopped paying attention to the questions of his viewers.

He was on the hunt.

The enemy pilot had a brain, as he chose the most open area on the battlefield. A wide stretch of moon plains provided precious few opportunities to conceal an approach.

Jarle estimated the DarkSpear's power and heat reserves and noted that he had less capacity in the latter. It didn't matter too much as his estimates placed his mech's capacity within range of his targeted distance.

He flicked the switch that activated the full-powered stealth suite. The DarkSpear shimmered out of existence, and a low oppressive dampening field minimized its other emissions.

Jarle entered a highly focused state where he constantly adjusted the movements of his mech according to his judgement. He moved when his opponent looked elsewhere and sat still when he risked getting noticed. Even if the DarkSpear obscured its entire frame, it was very difficult to hide its footsteps.

He managed, somehow. He utilized a special stepping technique that allowed the DarkSpear to move forward briskly while leaving minimal traces behind. It utilized the slight uneven terrain to its advantage as no battlefield was truly flat.

The swordsman mech had no clue a deadly hunter approached its back. As the DarkSpear slowly stalked its way closer, Jarle's anticipation built up to a heightening crescendo. Target fixation threatened to overwhelm his mind but Jarle made sure to hold back his urge to propel his mech forward.

"Now is not the time."

His mech subsided a bit as it realized that Jarle had a point. The swordsman mech turned around abruptly a few seconds later. If the DarkSpear charged out at this point, it would have been exposed.

It became a test of time. Would the swordsman mech turn back around before the DarkSpear's cloak ran out? It might be better for the assassin mech to begin its attack, for if it became exposed at a distance, it would suffer a very bad fate.

In this, Jarle could only rely on his own seasoned instincts. Normally, he never really took simulations like Iron Spirit seriously. For all of its professed attempts at realism, it always seemed to pale in comparison to the visceral feeling of piloting a real mech.

Yet the DarkSpear changed his outlook on the game. He only purchased the gimmicky model on a whim as he was curious to see how someone could marry a spear wielder and an assassin mech. Ever since he entered the cockpit, Jarle had the sensation that he entered into a black hole. The mech hid a lot of depth, and he'd plunged straight into the hole.

By now, he must have piloted the DarkSpear through hundreds of duels. All of his viewers got to see his overwhelming performance in the comfort of their homes. Even now, his fans screamed for him to wreck this swordsman mech and add another victory to his already swelling record.

"Not yet."

As Jarle's mech only had around five seconds left of cloaking time, the swordsman mech finally turned around. The moment it did so, the DarkSpear erupted from its hiding spot and charged forth in a blazing black missile of doom. The Festive Cloud Generator attached to its frame billowed out demonically towards the unsuspecting swordsman mech.

The enemy pilot's mech blared an alarm. To his credit, he turned around fairly quickly, though the only thing he saw was a big black streak of vapor closing in on his mech. The pilot panicked and prepared to dodge, only to stop when he belatedly noticed that his sensors detected a mech at the forefront of the cloud. The swordsman mech quickly raised its sword in a guard.

"Too late!" Jarle yelled as his mech deftly veered to the left at the very last moment. Propelled by the full momentum of a mech at the apex of its charge, his spear punched right through the swordsman mech's chest and dealt moderate damage to its internals, barely missing the core shell of the power reactor!

The stricken mech received such as heavy blow that it had been flung into a half-spinning back throw. Even then, it recovered remarkably quickly. It continued to spin and kicked out with its feet, preventing the DarkSpear from delivering its coup-de-grace.

"You're bleeding." Jarle grinned. "I can feel your power reactor failing."

The swordsman mech exhibited unstable movements as its entire frame suffered from a lack of power. Still, even at half its strength, the swordsman mech possessed superior strength and speed. Besides its awful chest wound, all of its other sections remained undamaged.

As if realizing its predicament, the swordsman mech threw caution to the wind and embarked on a furious counter-attack with all of its systems running past their peak. Its pilot needed to ensure a quick win, and he was confident that his damaged mech could handle an assassin mech out in the open.

Jarle grinned as he guessed his opponent's intentions. "You've already died after I made my first blow."

His viewers howled for blood and started betting on how much time it took for Jarle to finish it off. The shortest bet ranged from ten seconds while the longest one went up to three minutes.

Perhaps an average pilot might be in trouble, but Jarle had more than a decade of duelling experience. While he missed his daggers, the DarkSpear's eponymous weapon jabbed and spun with expert handling. Taking advantage of its reach, Jarle kept the fumbling swordsman mech out of range while slowly chipping away at the gaping hole in its chest. historical

"Damn it, if I had my daggers, I'd already be peeling open this can of worms!"

It took an entirely different set of skills to handle a spear compared to a pair of daggers. What got to Jarle the most was that his opponent read most of his moves like he was an open book.

Despite his earlier setback, the enemy pilot was still a highly skilled swordsman. Jarle had to take advantage of his opponent's failing machine to get an edge. In addition, after hundreds of duels, Jarle had slowly become used to the unwieldy weapon.

After parrying aside another sword slash, the DarkSpear plunged forward abruptly with its strong legs and shoulder bashed the swordsman mech. It dealt relatively minor damage to its opponent, but successfully threw the swordsman mech off balance.

Even as the swordsman mech slashed wide in a last-ditch effort to deter an attack, the DarkSpear took the blow head on, allowing its free arm to be amputated while the other arm thrust its spear into damaged sections of the swordsman mech.

The victory message hardly sated Jarle as the virtual battlefield winked out of existence. This fight shouldn't have turned into an open brawl. Almost every opponent he met as of late survived the initial charge and fought back with the ferocity of a wounded bear.

"This mech is getting kind of boring." Jarle spoke to his viewers once his cockpit shimmered away and threw him back to his lobby. "Do you think I should pilot something new?"

His viewers expressed divided opinions. Some wanted him to carry the DarkSpear all the way to the top of the Diamond League while others missed his more conventional skirmisher style.

Jarle grinned at the comments and responded with a simple message. "I'll think about it."

After answering a few more questions, he said his goodbyes and shut off his stream. As he emerged from his simulator pod, he felt oddly empty now that he left the virtual cockpit behind.

The DarkSpear had a way of compelling him to return and assassinate more mechs. Even piloting his competition mechs felt hollow in comparison. Personally, Jarle figured that the novelty of piloting such a unique variant must have infected his mood.

While Jarle left the simulator room and headed for the showers, his agent suddenly appeared.

"Jarle! I've got something interesting for you!"

"What is it?"

"There's this kid called Gavin Neumann on the line. He says he represents the mech designer who came up with the DarkSpear you're messing around lately. He wants to enter into a minor sponsorship agreement with you!"

Jarle frowned at his agent. Minor sponsorship agreement usually netted him and his team a paltry sum. "I thought I told you to refuse all these petty deals. I've long grown beyond grovelling for pennies."

The early career of a mech athlete always revolved around money. Jarle remembered that he used to sign contracts for baby feed and dog toys back when he started out.

"Hey, it's not like that. This is more of a temporary thing where you pimp the DarkSpear for a couple of weeks." His agent replied defensively. "Gavin is claiming that the mech designer is willing to design a customized virtual DarkSpear for you."

That attracted his attention. Like any mech pilot, Jarle appreciated custom mechs. Unlike the general models on the market that had been designed to accommodate as many pilots as possible, custom mechs allowed their pilots to bring out their full strength at any time.

Mech athletes like Jarle hardly ever showed any interest if someone threw a money chip containing millions of credits in front of his feet. On the other hand, the moment a decent mech designer offered to design a custom mech, they'd all be slobbering like dogs.

Jarle only kept his composure due to the fact that he'd merely be getting a customized virtual mech. Even then, his constant longing for the DarkSpear made it very difficult to set this offer aside.

"Tell me more. How much work do I have to do to earn this custom mech?"

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Ves left the job of establishing contact to his publicist. Gavin worked efficiently and contacted the Fireflies for a sponsorship offer.

To Gavin's surprise, Jarle expressed interest in obtaining a custom virtual mech. That left the door open to negotiations, which Gavin and Jarle's agent quickly hammered out.

Since the deal did not require much formality, the two sides came to a simple understanding.

In absolute terms, Ves provided Jarle with an exclusive customized virtual DarkSpear. He'd design the unique machine after a talk with Jarle over the comm and after he received a list of specifications.

Since they wanted to get this done as quickly as possible before the new duelling season began, Ves would not take more than a few days to complete the custom design.

Once Ves had done his part, Jarle would pilot his custom job and promote the DarkSpear model for a certain number of hours per week. The mech athlete and streamer would continue to pimp the DarkSpear model for a month.

The actual contract looked a lot more complicated, but put simply, Ves got his first spokesperson for the huge and largely untapped Bentheim market.

Gavin visited the workshop to brief Ves on the contract and get him to sign a few documents. He also had a lot of questions about the deal.

"Isn't it premature to expand your brand presence in Bentheim? I thought we already agreed on our marketing strategy. Diverting too much attention on the virtual market makes no sense. The real and virtual markets are too different from each other. Even if you spend a lot of effort on your virtual models, your actual earnings won't increase by all that much."

Ves understood Gavin's doubts, but he had to grow his ability to earn lots of DP. "I don't entirely agree with you on that point. Marcella tells me that many of my customers who bought the Mark II became convinced of its craftsmanship after trying out some of my virtual models. In addition, higher sales figures of my virtual product lines will also translate to confidence in the quality of my real mechs."

"It will be a blip in the ocean. Jarle is hardly the most popular celebrity from Bentheim. Without a constant media presence, your brand will quickly fall into obscurity."

His words rang true. As the local mecca of mech production and export, Bentheim was saturated with thousands of brands. At the LMC's current scale, it had no hopes of competing with these long-established household names. historical

Still, Ves didn't need to put in a lot of effort to cobble up a custom virtual DarkSpear, and he got plenty of short-term benefits out of the weeks-long promotion. As long as his sales for his latest virtual mech surpassed ten thousand units, he'd earn 100,000 DP in total. Ves needed the huge sum to shore up his skills and attributes to design a decent original mech.

Despite Gavin's skepticism, Ves still went through with his plans. Before Gavin left, he wanted to ask a question that had been burning in his mind for a while.

"Boss? I'd like you to clear something up for me."

"Yes?"

"Well, it's like this. I've been analyzing the sales patterns of your virtual mechs and compared them to your peers. One pattern happened to stand out like a sore thumb. Your customer retention is off the charts. Anyone who buys one of your virtual mechs is several times more likely to buy another mech designed by you. This usually doesn't happen to newcomers in the market."

Consumers never really paid attention to the mech designer when they purchased a product from the low-end of the virtual market. They only cared about specs and their personal feelings about the mech.

Most mech designers who started out wished to make a name for themselves and their businesses. A mech manufacturer with a steady amount of repeat customers would never have to worry about missing their sales targets as long as they didn't screw up.

"I've focused a lot on improving the piloting experience." Ves answered simply. "I'm guessing that my customers have caught on its benefits. I'm sure you've found that out yourself when you asked around."

"It's beyond that. Some of your customers are oddly attached to their mechs, to the point where they treat them as affectionately as pets. I'm rather concerned because this effect is very pronounced in certain cases. It reminds me of the Farund Affair."

"Heavens no!" Ves immediately denied. "I haven't messed around with the neural interfaces. This is nothing like the Farund Affair."

The Farund Affair stood out as the first and only case where a company managed to brainwash its customers with its virtual mechs. Back then, the simulator pod manufacturers competed against each other on how well they could make their simulations come to life. They all increased the intensity of their neural interfaces with each new generation of pods.

This uncontrolled growth of neural intensity led to some companies taking advantage of this phenomenon by messing around with the neural interfaces of their mechs. Most tried to be subtle and added a minor addictive element to their interfaces. For a couple of years, these shady companies saw steady growth as their models grew in popularity.

Farund Inc. obviously didn't get the message. Its brash CEO jacked up all of the settings to the maximum. In the short term, his company rose like a rocket as sales ballooned almost exponentially. It became a major sensation in the virtual market as its models became increasingly dominant in the mech simulator games of that time.

Sadly for Farund, the good times didn't last together. A few mech designers got suspicious and started poking around at Farund's many designs. Their actual specs were nothing special, but each test pilot became instant converts the moment they piloted the virtual mechs.

The horrifying consequences of Farund's mechs finally came to light when researchers found out about the tampered neural interfaces. The scandal ruined the company overnight and the MTA arrested all of its executives and mech designers. They only took a week to sentence them to death.

Even then, many of its victims required years of therapy in order to wean off the urge to pilot any of Farund's mechs. A million or so of its most devoted fans had played with the virtual mechs for so long that their condition became practically incurable. The MTA took them all in and nobody had ever heard from them again.

These days, virtual mechs received much closer scrutiny. Iron Spirit certified every virtual mech submitted to its marketplace and they often flatly refused any mech that included non-standard neural interfaces. In addition, manufacturers of simulator pods cleaned up their act and pulled back some of their most extreme innovations.

In this light, Gavin's question made little sense. Even if Ves had any nefarious intentions, he'd never get away with it with all the precautions introduced after the Farund Affair.

After Gavin made the arrangements, Ves faced a projector which fizzled into the image of Captain Jarle Brenthill. The man truly looked gifted in both looks and talent. Even Ves felt a little bit oppressed when faced with a celebrity of this magnitude.

"Hello Jarle. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." The mech athlete responded perfunctory while he studied Ves. "You've got a sturdy body. Are you working out?"

"Ah, no. It's due to a mishap that messed with my genetics."

"Well, I still have some training to catch up to, so I'll make it short. First, I got our resident mech designer to form up a list of what I'd like to include in my custom mech. I'd appreciate it if you can meet at least two-thirds of what I've noted down."

Jarle sent the virtual document over to Ves, who opened it up and skimmed through the points. The mech athlete's priorities had been formatted in precise language that told Ves exactly what to do. That made his job much easier than if he merely had a brief talk with Jarle.

"I see that you wish to change the DarkSpear's default weapon from a spear to a pair of daggers." Ves carefully noted. The document even included an exact set of dimensions for the pair of blades. "This... I can see why you prefer the daggers, but my mech favors forward momentum over agile footwork. Those weapons will not be a good fit for my current frame."

"Don't worry about it. I'll make it work. As long as you can increase the range of motion and the responsiveness of the arms, I'll be okay with my baby."

"The arms are already optimized for thrusting and absorbing shocks. If you want me to increase their range of motion, I'll have to take away some of its other abilities."

"Then do so. I'm fine with such a trade."

Fortunately, Jarle set realistic expectations for his custom mech. He set a few other reasonable conditions that Ves agreed to without much objection. As a consummate professional who piloted dozens of mechs in his career, he knew what kind of limitations mech designers faced. Most professionals picked up on some basic knowledge from the design world as they came into contact with different mechs.

Only spoiled brats like Vincent Ricklin who only ever trained with one or two models asked for something as dumb as a codpiece for their mechs.

Overall, Ves understood Jarle's desires for his custom mech and it was his job to make it into reality. After cutting off the connection after an hour of discussion, Ves mulled on how to go about this project.

His main concern was to preserve the model's excellent X-Factor. Ves faced a difficult puzzle in that the X-Factor for the DarkSpear had already been set in stone. Even if Ves updated its design in the future, the assassin mech always became defined by its ability to charge from stealth.

Ves recalled the few times he went back to a design and changed the schematic. The Marc Antony Mark II came to mind. Ves did not really depart from his vision, but he made such a radical redesign that it could even be considered an entirely new variant rather than an update from the Mark I.

Even then, Ves did not stray too far from his original vision. He merely defined them in explicit terms so that he had a better grip on the just-developed Triple Division technique.

For this project, Ves considered whether he could grant his custom design an entirely new gestalt.

"It's worth a try. I doubt this will end badly. At worst, I'll just scrap my work if I end up with a muddle-headed design."

He activated his design suite and loaded in a copy of the DarkSpear's design schematic. When Ves looked at the assassin mech, he felt that every shape and marking hid a portion of the Last Spear's will. For a moment, Ves dreaded the thought of tearing this mental creation apart.

He shook his head. "What am I hesitating about? It's just a copy."

Even if he butchered this particular copy, it didn't affect the main design. While he intuitively thought that every permutation of a design should share the same strain of X-Factor, in reality each copy took on its own separate existence.

This was one of the biggest reasons why the X-Factor could never show its full strength in the virtual world. The virtual mechs never lasted long enough to develop its history.

With this perspective in mind, Ves steeled himself and visualised a knife in his mind. With the ruthless care of a pet owner about to end the life of a suffering dog, he struck at the image central to this image.

CLANG!

The Last Spear's manifestation showed up at the last possible moment and parried the mental knife with his spear! The rebound from the failed strike rattled Ves to the point where he took a few steps backward.

The image associated with the DarkSpear had developed its own instincts for life. It could even detect a threat against its existence and put up a defence!

Ordinarily, Ves would rejoice that he developed his X-Factor to the point where it developed a form of autonomy. Now, it made things harder, for Ves found to his surprise that the Last Spear's manifestation possessed just enough strength to withstand his mental attacks.

In essence, Ves could not even overcome his own creation!

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"Perhaps I'm going at it the wrong way."

Ves tried to kill the image embedded into a copy of the DarkSpear's design in various ways. No matter what kind of weapon he materialized in his mind, the stubborn manifestation of the Last Spear always parried his attempts.

Each time he got rebuffed, his mental stability took another hit. His brain became so disarrayed that he had to halt his attempts to kill the image.

"Maybe that's the problem. I'm not treating it with respect."

Ves realized he fell into the trap he often accused others of falling for all the time. His design was not some commodity to be used and discarded at will. It possessed its own determination to live, at least in his conception of how the multiverse worked.

Despite his strong visualization, Ves could never really rule out that everything that happened earlier was just a figment of his imagination. The further he delved into the X-Factor, the more he relied on intuition instead of theory backed by solid science.

Still, the image was so strong that it couldn't be imaginary. His headaches felt very real.

After trying and failing to take the forceful approach, Ves tried to use a gentler means to coax the image.

"I need you to be able to wield a pair of daggers. Will you let me change your fighting style?"

The manifestation objected strongly to this change. He wielded the spear like it was his sacred duty. Even if he shifted his profession from a royal guard to a slinking assassin, he never got rid of his determination to slay his enemies with the weapon of his choice. Taking up a pair of daggers made the manifestation feel dirty.

Ves only had himself to blame for these personality traits. In his original vision, the DarkSpear focused completely on wielding its spear to its maximum effect. He threw no consideration to any alternatives due to a lack of carrying capacity. Even adding in a backup knife ruined its balance.

Against the intractable Last Spear, Ves made no headway in achieving any sort of compromise. The manifestation did not even leave the door open to negotiation. He didn't even blame the stubborn creation for refusing his overtures.

Even if Ves expressed his sincerity, his patience had a limit.

Perhaps he could make another attempt by starting over, but Ves did not wish to leave this problem unfulfilled. There might be a time in the future where he had to make some changes on the fly. If he still didn't possess a solution to this problem, he'd be facing constant setbacks and delays.

He took a step back and tried to parse the situation. The manifestation inhabiting the copy of the DarkSpear design never showed any signs of tiring. Where did it get its energy? Was it inexhaustible or could Ves slowly chip away at its reserves?

If he could figure out this puzzle, he may be able to come up with a means to wear down this stubborn image.

Then he thought about how the X-Factor centered around the unity of the mech designer, mech and mech pilot. Leaving the pilot out of consideration, what if Ves forcibly tried to change the design with an overriding image? Could he impose his own vision over the original design and therefore change the fundamental makeup of the X-Factor?

As much as Ves treated the images like living beings, they exhibited many traits that left them open to exploitation. "They exist in the imaginary realm and have to obey the rules that govern their existence. They aren't solid in a way that makes them unassailable. If I can chip away at their foundation, I can open a crack in their defenses."

Ves took a break in order to get his mind back in order. He played around with Lucky and cataloged the gems he excreted lately. The cat lately complained about an insufficiency of high quality minerals, so Ves had to order a new shipment of premium ores to stop Lucky's badgering.

"What's another million or so credits?" He ruefully told himself. "Compared to my cat's wellbeing, money is no objection."

His cat ate so much minerals and only produced a couple of gems in the end. The disparity between input and output was so huge that Ves wondered how his mechanical cat's digestion actually worked.

Did Lucky convert low-quality minerals to high quality alloys within its digestive system or did he turn it into pure energy?

Both possibilities seem outlandish considering Lucky's size. Only the most advanced labs could accomplish such a feat.

Other than cutting him open, Ves had no way to be sure. He left the problem aside and decided to catch up on the news.

He visited the galactic net and saw much of the same doom and gloom. Rising costs started to trickle down to the consumers and everyone felt the pinch. Their willingness to spend more on luxury goods declined, which caused several businesses catering to these markets to decline in turn.

The Republic's economy slowly transitioned into war footing Production of mechs, turrets, carriers and a vast amount of supplies ramped up in preparation of half a decade of war. Naturally, the bulk of these extra orders went to the big established companies. Small fry like his Living Mech Corporation barely benefited from this upsurge of demand. In fact, the rising cost of production negated most of his gains.

"How is House Kaine doing these days?"

With the expedition over, House Kaine and Ves went their separate ways. By now, the Ark Horizon should have made the journey back to the Grey Willow Star Sector.

Ves searched the news and found that Lord Kaine had made some waves upon his return. House Kaine had actually been in bad shape for a while and even stood to lose its most valuable planets. However, the successful expedition turned the tables on the vultures that preyed for their fall.

With a new champion in the form of Felicity Kaine, House Kaine successfully gained prominence through a number of duels against rival houses. The major reason why she won the duel was because her Cathrec received an overhaul that vastly increased its power generation.

Finally, House Kaine announced a number of partnerships with the CFA, which also contributed to their ascendancy. With the tacit backing of a behemoth in the form of the Common Fleet Alliance, House Kaine didn't have to worry about rivals trying to undermine them in secret for a couple of years.

"The CFA must have gotten a great haul out of the Groening System."

Much of the frontier remained untouched by human greed. The galaxy was simply too large to be explored in its entirety. Treasure and danger coexisted alongside each other in this vast sea of stars. House Kaine happened to have gambled and won in their last ditch effort to make a big score.

Still, Ves knew how fraught it had been at certain times. The news only celebrated the success stories. For every successful expedition, ten more crashed and burned. Out here in the frontier, people regarded treasure hunting as delayed form of suicide.

After Ves finished his recovery, he summoned up the copy of the design and prepared for round two. This time, he opted to go for an indirect approach, seeing as he could never beat the vigilant manifestation in a head-on clash. historical

First, Ves adjusted his vision for the DarkSpear. He visualized his custom mech's performance if Ves adopted Jarle's suggestions. The frame took on a slightly different shape that enhanced its flexibility. Its prominent spear made way for a pair of blackened curved daggers. The mech's overall paint scheme took on a Mosville blue shade, with the team logo prominently replacing the royal emblem on its chest.

Now that he had his vision, Ves turned his attention to constructing the right accompanying image. He had to be careful with this step because he didn't wish to ruin his custom mech's X-Factor by destroying its original identity.

"I have to supplement the image somehow."

Ves had a good idea on how to go about it. First, he constructed a simple image centered around Jarle Brenthill. He summoned another projector and let it display some highlights of the mech athlete's career. A vague entity emerged in his mind that carried the essence of Jarle's piloting style.

"This should be close enough."

Then he slowly started tweaking the actual design. He already prepared his plans beforehand, so he worked swiftly in dismantling his design's original arrangements. Ves avoided bumping into the manifestation. Instead, he solely focused on his new vision and image and tried to embed it into his current work.

This time, he encountered no obstruction. The manifestation of his design's X-Factor started to take on different traits as Ves slowly changed the fundamental nature of his design. The schematic and its accompanying X-Factor turned from a pure spear wielder into a transitional form that made it better at wielding daggers.

It was as if a drop of black paint had fallen onto a bucket of water. The previously clear water became murkier as it took on a grey shade. The longer Ves worked, the more drops of paint fell down into the bucket.

In the meantime, the manifestation didn't even realize its own contradictory nature. The image flickered a lot as it couldn't decide whether to wield a spear or a pair of daggers.

The dichotomy became more pronounced as Ves continued to work on the design for the next couple of days. The design steadily reached a tipping point where its original identity of a spear wielder became lost.

"Now should be a good time."

Ves switched the swear for a pair or daggers he already prepared beforehand. The curved weapons fit the new design like a glove. For a moment, he expected explosions, but nothing drastic resulted from this action. The manifestation slowly warped and solidified into a dagger wielder. Its appearance even resembled Jarle.

"It worked!"

He learned something new with attempt. His images drew their strength from their source. Affecting the source allowed Ves to affect the original X-Factor in a form that fit his modifications better. He felt relieved that he didn't have to go back to the drawing board each time he wanted to update his design or derive a custom mech out of one of his models.

The ramifications of this experiment affected more than just his own models. Ves wondered if he could apply the same method to other designs or mechs. He could even use it as a subtle form of sabotage.

"If I ever happen to be working on a mech for someone I hate, I can subsume its X-Factor with a malevolent spirit. Even if every inspection checks out, the mech will still perform worse than normal."

He quickly discarded the idea. Something like that would never happen. Mech pilots wanted people he could trust to work on their mechs. Putting an enemy in charge of your own war materiel was just asking for trouble.

Now that he solved the biggest issue, Ves resumed his design work and finalized his modifications. Most of the changes required a decent amount of testing that ate up a lot of time, but Ves wanted to insure he delivered a flawless product. The fate of the sponsorship deal and Jarle's enthusiasm for his endorsement mattered a lot.

"This is going to be my first proper entry into the Bentheim market. Once the DarkSpear catches on, my other models will see a surge in popularity."

Once that happened, Ves gained a foothold in the notoriously crowded Bentheim mech scene. He expected to boost both is virtual and real business activities from that point.

According to the latest shipping update, his new equipment should arrive at his workshop in the coming week. Once he unpacked his goodies and installed them on the workshop floor, he'd be ready for the next phase in his business plan.

"I'm still short on money, though."

With only a couple of component licenses under his belt, Ves needed at least a dozen more to round out his collection. With his company's current war chest, he'd be hard pressed to license a set of decent components that could fit his minimum standards.

He intended to design a premium mech, after all. He should invest at least a billion credits in this area to avoid inconsistencies in his original design.

"Where can I find some money!"

Short of exchanging his valuable merits or finding an opportunity to make a quick buck, Ves considered whether he should take another loan.

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With the declining profitability of his only Mark II production model, Ves could not sit back and wait. His rough projection of the future revealed that his profits diminished at an alarmingly fast rate.

While he considered taking another loan, Ves ruled that out after figuring he did not wish to become more reliant on external actors that might not have his best interests at heart. Banks that extended huge loans to companies often demanded a voice on how to run the company.

Ves absolutely abhorred such a possibility.

As for selling merits, he'd be making a huge loss if he went through with such a transaction. Merits were extremely valuable and hard to come by. Even a single merit represented a chance to obtain priceless knowledge that he couldn't get from the System.

While the System's Skill Tree allowed him to learn many standard skills, Ves learned that they contained no personality. What he meant by this was that the knowledge held no biases or special insights developed over a long period of designing mechs. Sometimes, this should be an advantage, but other times Ves would miss out on crucial perspectives like Master Olson's focus on endurance and longevity.

Ves vaguely sensed the System's requirements for advancing a skill from Journeyman-level to Senior-level demanded a thorough understanding of the field. This meant that he had to broaden his range and become acquainted with many different viewpoint held by different experts in the field.

Mech designers ordinarily hoarded such knowledge. Even the System didn't provide him with different perspectives on the same subject. Thus, merits formed the only way for him to advance in the future.

"I can still decide to exchange it later as a last ditch effort." He decided. He hadn't exhausted all of his other methods.

He decided to follow his mech broker's suggestion and look for events where he could showcase his ability. A quick search on the galactic net returned dozen of conferences, competitions, show events and exhibitions starting in the next couple of months in the Republic alone.

Most of these occasions demanded strict requirements to any participating mech designer. No ordinary Dick, Tom and Harry would be allowed to bring their horrible designs and amateurish mechs.

The classiest events that attracted the richest clientele only opened their doors to Journeyman Mech Designers and higher. Ves had to rule these prestigious events out and lower his sights to those that welcomed Apprentice Mech Designers like himself. These occasions generally drew a poorer crowd that cared more about getting a bargain than ordering a quality mech.

He shook his head. "These sound more like flea markets than proper opportunities to show your talent."

Ves studiously combed through the various events and tried to find one which offered him the best possibility to close a lucrative deal.

He found one in the Vintage Festival.

It celebrated the coming passing of lastgen mechs into obsolescence. With the next generation of mechs about to arrive, a number of people who grew up during the rise of lastgen mechs more than twenty years ago found it difficult to say their goodbyes to these reliable workhorses.

To them, their love of lastgen mechs represented a nostalgic love of their childhood experienced. They used to play with toys of lastgen mechs and played the models in virtual simulations in their adolescence. Even if their performance had fallen off these days, their heartfelt love for this period of mech development remained more important than the specs of the following generation of mechs.

"These are my kind of guys." Ves remarked with gleaming eyes. Many of the attendants to these festivals had money to spend and didn't care too much about the latest innovations. They only wanted go back in the past and relive the glory days of the last generation of mechs. They'd easily overspend on anything that struck their fancy.

The only problem was that many of his fellow mech designers knew this as well. While the Vintage Festival allowed Apprentice Mech Designers to showcase their lastgen designs, they conducted a strict selection of every applicant.

The only upside to the Festival was that Journeyman Mech Designers disdained to compete on sales at such an event. These well-established mech designers focused more on selling their currentgen designs than revisiting soon-to-be-extinct dinosaurs, so not a lot of journeymen bothered to take notice of the event.

The few that did sign up for the Festival mainly wanted to show off their vintage prestige models in the centerpiece exhibition. The majority of the actual sales occurred in the side halls where various hopeful apprentices hoped to make some easy money from their outdated production licenses.

"There's one thing strange about this Vintage Festival. Why would the Vintage Festival which focuses so much on lastgen mechs invite younger designers to sell their mechs?"

Some of them hadn't even been born during the golden years of this period. Ves himself barely remembered anything of that generation.

He came up with a number of guesses. The most probable reason was that every enthusiast of lastgen mechs already owned genuine vintage models, or simply found them to be old and familiar. Perhaps they wanted to see what the younger crop of mech designers could make out of this old period in mech history.

"Lets see how past Festivals have gone."

When Ves read through the articles of past Vintage Festivals, he got the sense that these middle-aged customers sought two things at once. They wanted to see and purchase great models that brought them back to the past, but they also wanted to see something fresh that proved that lastgen mechs hadn't reached the end of the road.

These two desires contradicted each other. Many apprentices either stuck to the base model and tried to reproduce them as faithfully as possible, or designed radical new variants that performed much better than the originals.

The downsides to each approach resulted in poor sales to most apprentices hoping to earn some money. Those that tread familiar ground could never surpass the models fabricated by the original manufacturers. Those that spent a lot of effort designing new variants ended up with models so far removed from lastgen mechs that they lost the essence of that period.

Some apprentices tried to take the middle road by making only minor tweaks to the base model, but many visitors shook their heads at these timid attempts to present something remarkable. The mech designer's lack of courage reflected back in their work, which often looked and felt as if designed by a bot.

"It's not easy to persuade the visitors to pull out their wallets. None of these people are easy to please." Ves surmised after reading through the summaries of the public sales reports.

While it didn't include any private transactions with special conditions, many mech designers struggled to make a sale.

Ves hoped to succeed where many others had failed. Unlike the other designers, Ves had a secret weapon. Mechs with an abundant level of X-Factor evoked strong emotion to anyone who saw them. Such machines should make a powerful impact in the sea of mediocre mechs that others put on display.

The entire festival revolved around the themes of nostalgia and authenticity. These were subjective criteria that could only be judged with feeling and emotion, something which Ves had a lot of practice in bending them to his will.

"If I can get this right, I'll have the crowd eating from the palm of my hand."

He decided to apply for the festival.

When Ves looked at the requirements to participate, he found them to be troublesome but attainable. The Vintage Festival only offered a venue to mech designers who were able to deliver. Since Ves owned his own workshop, he possessed ample qualifications to participate.

He only found a snag when he found out that he had to present at least three different models to the organization. The Festival took place about a month later, but the deadline for participation ended only three weeks from now.

"I'll have to work hard to meet this deadline."

Fortunately, his new machines should arrive in time for him to produce an original Caesar Augustus.

Yes, Ves wanted to fabricate the expensive, untarnished original Caesar Augustus. With the imminent arrival of his alloy compressor and CTM, his workshop finally gained the capability to reproduce the base model's highly advanced armor system.

It should be the centerpiece of his presentation. Even though the white elephant flopped on the market, its iconic look and features made it live to see a bright future in the form of toys, action figures and simulator reproductions. Many of the kids and teenagers at that time aspired to pilot this prestigious model.

The main challenge Ves faced with this model was to determine the right feel for this model. He once toured a couple of mech halls on Bentheim and personally witnessed a couple of great examples of the Caesar Augustus.

Each designer or fabricator left their own unique imprint behind in their work. Even though their influence was slight, it still provided the mechs with their own unique flavor. The better designers left a stronger mark behind.

"There's a lot of depth behind each quality reproduction."

The very best copies fabricated by the very best mech designers conveyed a strong blend of flavors that told a rich story. Even though their strength paled in comparison to what Ves could accomplish on his own, their rich experience and untold depths of knowledge provided them with a distinct advantage.

"It's like comparing a candy to a moldy cheese. Even if the candy offers a very strong flavor, those with more sophisticated tastes will prefer the cheese." historical

Ves had to tread carefully in this matter. If he failed to impress the crowd with his chosen vision, he could say goodbye to any potential sales.

Besides the Caesar Augustus, Ves planned to offer a gold label Marc Antony Mark II as the second model in his application. The Mark II represented a modern, cheaper take on the Caesar Augustus, which should ordinarily not sell very well in an event like the Vintage Festival.

His recent experience with modifying the DarkSpear gave him an idea on how to tackle this problem. He could modify the Mark II both visually and emotionally in order to appeal to the festival goers. Even if it was a longshot, it was worth a try.

"In any case, the Mark II already satisfies the condition."

Besides tinkering with the X-Factor, the two models required no additional work. Ves understood both designs from top to bottom, so he could immediately begin to fabricate them as soon as he received his shipment of raw materials.

"I still have to figure something out for the third model."

While Ves could take the lazy route and offer the old Mark I, he really didn't wish to embarrass himself. The Mark I was vastly inferior to the Mark II and should be consigned to the recycler. His pride as a mech designer refused to consider showing up at the Vintage Festival with the Mark I as an example of his current ability.

That left the most time-consuming option. "I'll have to design a new variant."

Since Ves already planned to offer an original model and a radical variant, he figured he should offer something that fit in between. Even though the Festival disdained such boring machines, Ves felt confident he could break the mold with the help of the X-Factor.

"The less changes I make, the faster I can get this done."

With a time limit of a couple of weeks, Ves couldn't afford to invest his attention on another radical variant. He blamed himself for not checking out these kinds of events sooner. Some of them really provided a good opportunity for him to make some money.

With a tentative plan in place, Ves decided to consult his mech broker and his publicist. As professional marketers, he should listen to their advice.

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When Ves called Marcella and told her of his plan, she responded with a thoughtful look.

"Ordinarily, I'd advise apprentices to stay away from this crowd. The people who purchase mechs at the Vintage Festivals have their heads stuck in the past. What they consider to be a good mech can be very different from what you and I think are good."

Basically, his mech broker called them fanboys and fangirls who exhibited irrational love for lastgen mechs. Even if they saw the latest cutting edge mech designed by a renowned master, they'd scoff at their fancy modern features.

"I can't say I understand them, but my unique specialties should appeal to their tastes. I'm confident I can make an impact at the festival."

"You do have that quality." Marcella admitted with a thoughtful expression. "Yes, if you tailor your mechs in a way that amplifies the 'good old days' feel of the last generation, you'll be able to tug at the heartstrings of your customers."

She offered to facilitate his application to participate at the festival. In addition, she promised to staff his booth with some savvy employees who could do the heavy lifting in terms of persuading visitors to purchase his mechs.

Naturally, she also received a cut out of these sales.

Marcella also warned him about a troublesome phenomenon. "One thing you should know is that the customers who attend these festivals will often decide with their guts instead of their brains. Around a third of these people will come to regret their impulse purchase when they sober up. Expect them to call us up to cancel their orders."

Ves frowned at that. "Is there any way to stop this? Why not rule out cancellations in the sales contract?"

"That's bad form and prohibited by the MTA. It protects your customers from being bamboozled into signing awful contracts. Your best bet is to have an ample stock of finished mechs that you can ship out immediately. Once your customers get their hands on your mechs, they'll find it a lot harder to demand a refund."

The battle over consumer and producer rights tilted back and forth over the centuries. Currently, the ascendancy of the MTA granted mech manufacturers more protection than before, though their protection only applied if the mechs went through certification.

Uncertified mechs like those that had been assembled on the cheap by taking advantage of the repair scam or pirated licenses enjoyed no such protection. Both the seller and buyer risked getting screwed by each other as no one guaranteed their transaction.

In general, any mech that passed certification carried a guarantee by the MTA that the machine had no defects and hadn't been sabotaged in any way. Once a customer gained possession of such a mech and didn't issue any complaints, he'd be stuck with it from that point onwards. historical

This meant that he couldn't accidentally crash the mech and demand a refund from the manufacturer afterwards. The mech was sound and didn't carry any defects in terms of navigation or locomotion. The fault lay solely in the mech pilot who trashed the new machine.

"So what you're saying is the only way to prevent more refunds is if I can deliver my mechs as fast as possible?" Ves frowned at the implications.

"The best solution is to fabricate an ample stock of mechs in advance and ship them over to Bentheim. When the festival starts, you can transfer the mechs into the hands of your customers at the very same day. Don't give them time to reconsider time to reconsider their purchase if you want to maximize your earnings."

What his mech broker said made sense, but it represented a very large bet to Ves. If he attended the festival with dozens of models stashed in a warehouse but failed to sell the majority of his stock, he'd be stuck with an awful lot of wasted mechs. Outside of the Vintage Festival, these nostalgia-ridden mechs carried no appeal to regular consumers.

"I won't fabricate more than a single copy of each mech I plan to sell." Ves eventually decided. "Your idea has merit, but my liquid funds can only stretch so far. I'd be using up my entire drawer of cash if I fabricate more copies of the Caesar Augustus or any other comechs."

Comechs stood short for compressed armor mechs. In first and second-rate states, such a terms would be redundant, because pretty much every battle mech incorporated some form of compressed armor.

Only in resource-starved third-rate states did people find it necessary to distinguish comechs from unmechs, the unflattering term for cheap mechs built with uncompressed armor.

"That's your decision to make." Marcella responded with a touch of understanding. "Do make sure to prepare for an intense period of fabrication. The longer you take to deliver your product, the higher the chance your orders get cancelled. If you let your customers wait for months, you will stand to lose a lot of potential earnings."

With the Dortmund printer and his new set of equipment shipped from Leemar, Ves didn't worry too much about this possibility. His workshop would soon be capable of fabricating mechs at a rate of one per day once he mastered the equipment and beefed up the staffing.

After finishing his talk with Marcella, he consulted Gavin to hear from another perspective. His publicist's face turned into an eager expression when he heard how Ves described the clientele.

"I know the type. They're suckers. They're the sort of people who will throw away their entire life savings on a toy that is shiny enough in their eyes. The key is to make your product shine bright enough that they can't see the flaws through all of the glare."

"What do you suggest?"

Gavin had some useful advice to accomplish this feat. "Impose artificial scarcity on the products that you're offering at the festival. Give them enough unique traits and add an exclusive-sounding label like Legacy Edition or Limited Edition and promise not to produce more than ten or so copies of each model. This way, you'll limit the amount of work you have in store and maximize the profits of each individual sale."

His suggestion sounded similar to what Marcella once said. Ves declined to complicate his product offering back then because he didn't want to end up with a messy catalog.

Now that he was awfully short on money, Ves reconsidered his decision. It sounded like an easy way to distinguish his products and the changes he planned to make with the X-Factor. These wouldn't be regular mechs intended for the open market.

Pulling this off required a careful judgement on the amount of copies he intended to sell for each model. Fabricating too many copies diminished the exclusive nature of each design.

However, if he went too far in the other direction, he'd earn a paltry sum even if he managed to boost his profit margin on the few models he sold.

Fortunately, Ves didn't have to figure this out on his own. "Can you analyze the market and determine the optimal amount of mechs to sell? The key is to maximize out earnings, not our profit margin. I need lots of cold hard cash to fund the development of a new design."

"I can do that, but I can only get you the most accurate results if I know how good your designs catch on to your target audience."

"You can develop three scenarios then." Ves suggested. "One where my sales fall flat, one where there is modest interest and one where my models catch fire. We can leave the actual figures ambiguous until we're able to gauge the actual response to my works."

Gavin immediately went to work after receiving his assignment.

As for Ves, before he turned his attention to his new projects, he wanted to catch up to how Jarle Brenthill had been taking his new virtual mech. He opened up his terminal and visited the mech athlete's livestream.

"The Rushing Storm does it again! Another mech down for the count!"

A bombastic battlefield came into view as Jarle's custom mech had just emerged from stealth and rushed to the rear of an enemy squad. Unlike his previous duels, this time Jarle opted to play in one of the larger game modes.

Even if he rushed out alone, the enemy mechs became disarrayed. Ves had tweaked the Festive Cloud Generator to pump up even more vapor, this time dyed in Mosville Blue. The dark blue coloration added an electrifying component to the assassin's mech rush. The rifleman mechs panicked and fired blindly in the direction of the approaching cloud.

The custom mech deftly dodged the direction of their aim. Jarle utilized a complicated spinning pattern to approach the enemy formation from a more vulnerable direction. The instant he approached a rifleman mech, his assassin mech struck with a flurry of deadly stabs, instantly striking all of its weak points.

The moment the rifleman mech got downed, Jarle turned to the next rifleman mech and struck its weapon aside before tearing it apart in a rapid example of battlefield deconstruction. Most of its companions hesitated on shooting back for fear of causing friendly fire. The two melee mechs of the squads tried to race to the rescue but Jarle's machine always seemed to dance away from their reach.

"Is this still an assassin mech?" Ves wondered with puzzlement.

Jarle's performance astounded him. While the custom mech lost its ability to cripple a mech with a single charge, its added agility allowed it to destroy several vulnerable mechs in quick succession before the enemy squad could form a proper response.

Once his momentum started to fade, the custom mech quickly turned around and sped away. The remnants of the enemy squad were in no shape to pursue, allowing Jarle to get away scott-free.

The amazing burst of explosiveness riled up the viewers of the stream. Jarle's viewership enjoyed a remarkable growth since the last time Ves visited the channel. Right now, he drew over two million viewers.

A quick check on his virtual sales dimmed his enthusiasm a bit. The DarkSpear only sold around four-thousand extra virtual copies, far below the growth in viewership. It showed that while the viewers admired Jarle's display of murderous efficiency, they didn't attribute his success to his mech.

Despite this small disappointment, Ves was well on track on reaching his sales target of ten-thousand units sold. "I'll probably reach the maximum in one or two weeks."

Designing a custom mech for Jarle had been worth the effort. For a small bit of work, he accelerated his accumulation of DP by a fair pace.

His online account even received a lot of requests for him to design a custom virtual mech. Ves had no time to engage in this business, but it signalled that Ves had finally gained some renown.

With several projects in store and a lot of potential sales needing to be fulfilled, Ves finally got around to consider expanding his work force.

"It's time to get more manpower by my side."

Ves held several ambitions for his workshop personnel. They didn't need to be too capable, but they must be loyal and and able to solve problems on their own. He greatly admired how House Kaine cultivated a capable group of mech technicians to staff their maintenance department. He planned to emulate their model for his own workshop.

"Let's start with hiring ten or so mech technicians. Any more and my workshop will become crowded."

With only two production lines, Ves expected to face relatively few issues at the beginning. Carlos and Ves had already made do with bots so far. In that regard, hiring mech technicians seem redundant, but once the LMC started to expand, the extra hands should prove useful.

To keep the mech technicians in line, Ves wanted to put a senior mech technician in charge. The chief technician should have ample experience and ideally plenty of leadership experience.

"It's going to get hard getting my hands on such a gem."

Mech manufacturers treasured these kinds of chief technicians. They possessed both rich experience and sound judgement and could solve a variety of difficult conundrums without asking for help from someone more knowledgeable.

Fortunately, Ves didn't have to take the trouble of seeking one out himself. The Larkinsons nurtured its own army of mech technicians. Perhaps he could snag one from his family's estate.

Ves prepared to call his grandfather.

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His grandfather didn't look surprised when Ves made his request. "Any good mech workshop needs a crew of human hands. It's good of you to realize that. Too many manufacturers are seduced by the total control they have over their bots that they don't realize that their perfect arrangement falls apart once it bumps into an obstacle."

"I already know about the whole automation debate, grandfather. I won't follow in the footsteps of the Terrans."

Pretty much everyone in the galaxy knew about the dangers of relying too much on bots. A few hundred years ago, the Greater Terran United Confederation once thought to replace all menial labor with bots, and reached a remarkable degree robotization in their society.

All of this went dandy and fine, until some groups of undisciplined dissidents hacked several widespread models of bots, causing widespread destruction and mayhem. Bots went rogue as they attack the humans they served or caused deliberate fires and explosions.

The unprepared Terrans found to their horror that they depended so much on bots for their everyday life that they could hardly muster a response to the rogue bots.

Even worse was when their battle bots became compromised as well. While they possessed much tighter cybersecurity, rampaging bots had forcefully invaded the headquarters of the companies who made them. The rebels made off with libraries filled with source code and other critical files, which they used to devastating effect.

The so-called Bot Rebellion as it became known had fractured the largely unified humans into disparate islands of calm, as some bulwarks managed to eliminate the bots early. By the time the Terrans managed to get a grip on their own territory, the dream of uniting the human race under a single political entity had been shattered.

"I'll send you one of my chiefs. It will take a lot of persuasion to relocate from Rittersberg to Cloudy Curtain, so you better offer him some good conditions. I suggest you look somewhere closer to fill up the rest of your roster."

"Thank you for that, grandfather. I'll be sure to treat him well."

Ves realized that Benjamin must have made a great sacrifice by parting with one of his chiefs. The Larkinsons always cultivated their own crop of technicians in order to be assured of their loyalty and qualifications. As long as he had a trusted chief watching over his technicians, Ves didn't have to worry about their conduct.

They closed the call after his grandfather estimated that the chief should arrive in a month. Ves figured he'd wait on hiring more mech technicians until then, as he wanted his new chief to make his own selection from the local workforce.

Ves spent the next day preparing his workshop for the new additions. He moved over the existing machines so that it offered enough space for two distinct production lines.

The old production line consisted of his second-hand printer and his second-hand assembly system. While a little slow, the old line sufficed in fabricating unmechs like the Marc Antony Mark II.

The new production line took up a lot more space. The basic production process started with inputting raw materials in the Dortmund printer. Bots brought over the parts it spat out to his new assembly system which should rapidly construct a new frame.

Any parts that required compressed armor went through a few more steps. The Dortmund printer fabricated an embryo which would then be submerged in a special solution in the chemical treatment machine.

Once the formula did its job, the altered embryo would then be put in an alloy compressor which will subject the unfinished piece of alloy to enormous forces. After that, a proper piece of compressed armor should come out of it, which would then be taking to his new assembly system to be put on a mech frame.

Despite the additional steps, Ves envisioned that the new production line should be able to work much faster than the old one. At the start, it might take a couple of days to fabricate a comech. The second one should be finished a little faster, while the third one took even less time.

This went on and on until the learning curve finally flattened. By that time, Ves boldly predicted that the new production line should be able to finish a comech within a single day.

"The most time consuming portion are the chemical treatment and the alloy compression phases. While it's not possible to automate them completely, if I can hire or train a specialist to take charge of these machines, he will be able to optimize their processes."

Perhaps Ves obsessed a little too much on arranging his production lines, but establishing a good flow saved a lot of money and time. It was better to plan his arrangements beforehand than to do it while he had a ton of orders to fulfill.

The next day, a small fleet of transports arrived at his workshop. After his security checked over the goods, Ves finally received the new additions to his workshop.

In order to save time, Ves tasked Carlos with setting up the machines. "While they look sophisticated, they're mostly self-contained so they should work right out of the box. Just run some diagnostics and start a few test projects to make sure they work according to specs."

"Are you sure you want me setting up these expensive machines?" Carlos asked apprehensively. After all, while he didn't know their exact models, they all looked extremely expensive and far beyond what a typical mech boutique should own.

"It's still within the range of your capabilities. Just don't drop anything and you're good to go."

"If you say so, boss."

Ves predicted that Carlos should take a couple of days to insure the machines had been installed correctly. Even if the bots sped up the installation, his fabricator still needed some time to check all of their functions.

In the meantime, Ves decided to start on designing the three models he'd present at the Vintage Festival. Gavin and Marcella sent him different reports that gave him some insight into his target audience.

"They're not simple lastgen fanboys."

Many visitors of the Vintage Festival merely wished to relive the past, but the ones with money had more discerning tastes. They should be his actual target segment. After skimming through the reports, Ves got a sense of what kind of product should appeal to their desires.

"Lastgen mechs will soon be used and discarded en masse in the upcoming war. This is the eventual fate for most outdated mechs, but it's a sad outcome nonetheless."

Those in charge intended to send out the lastgen mechs to the forefront of the battle because they were expendable. While this was the most logical and efficient decision to make, it nonetheless rested on the assumption that lastgen mechs could no longer contribute to society.

This was profoundly disrespectful to the people who developed an affection for this generation.

It was akin to putting a rifle in the hands of their grandparents and shoving them onto the battlefield to die. Now that they've grown old and inform, they served no other use. Rather than allow them to continue to take up valuable resources, it was better to let them go out with a bang.

Even Ves felt ambivalent about this cold but rational decision. The alternative would be breaking down the mechs and forge new machines out of them, but that required way too much effort.

"Every model only has a limited shelf life. The moment a mech designer finalized a design, its clock had already started ticking."

Mechs generally lasted around twenty years. The visitors of the Vintage Festival disliked the ephemeral nature of their generation.

Ves had thought a lot about their desires. He finally touched upon one of their deepest desires.

"What they truly want is an immortal mech."

Enduring, eternal, immutable. If Ves could design a mech that embodied these ideals, he'd have a bestseller on his hands. His design should intrinsically grow in value as it got older.

"That's going to be a challenge."

Since mechs generally possessed a limited life span, their value always decreased over time. Even if his customers never piloted his models and intended to put them on display, Ves had to ensure its components never decayed in this state.

This should be easy to do, but entailed a lot of small modifications. Ves had to replace the more delicate components in his design for durable versions that demanded very little maintenance.

He started with the easiest and most familiar design, the Marc Antony Mark II. Ves recalled the images he used to form its X-Factor and reused them in their original conditions except for one small addition. He added an underlying tone of continuity and perpetuity to their flavors.

After composing the altered images, Ves went to work on modifying his design. He already knew which components needed replacing, so he hardly wasted any time. It took only two days to rip out all of the disposable components and replace them with hardier versions. historical

The work hardly required a lot of thought, but Ves spent some time on testing his altered design to make sure it retained its functionality. While the mech still possessed elements that degraded over time, it should be manageable if their owners performed sporadic maintenance.

"I can't go too far in this direction." Ves carefully reminded himself. "Mechs that focus so much on longevity tend to turn into empty shells that fall apart once they enter the battlefield."

Even if the customers at the Vintage Festival bought the mechs to serve as collectables, they should still be able to fulfill their primary function. Mechs that lost their fighting capability lacked the authenticity that the festival goers demanded.

"Let's call this the Eternal Edition."

The Mark II Eternal Edition cost a bit more to build as Ves replaced some of its cheaper materials with more expensive ones. Other than that, the mech should still match the specs of the regular design. Only its X-Factor should be different. Ves couldn't wait to fabricate a show model to experience its aura.

He had to order a new batch of raw materials to fabricate the Eternal Edition. While his order would be sent on the next convoy shipment to Cloudy Curtain, Ves turned his attention to his second project, the original Caesar Augustus.

A complex mood settled into his body as he called up a projection of the original design. "Just a year ago, I merely dreamed of being able to work with this design directly."

Carlos already made good progress with setting up his new production line. Soon, the Living Mech Corporation would be able to fabricate comech designs like the Caesar Augustus at a decent scale.

It represented a step up for his company and added to its prestige.

That said, Ves didn't plan on doing any business with the regular design outside the Festival. The demand for every lastgen model had declined so it made little sense to add yet another soon-to-be-obsolete design to his product catalog.

Working with the Caesar Augustus required a bit more effort from Ves. From a technical standpoint, Ves already knew what to tweak or replace. He mainly placed his concerns on its X-Factor.

"How can I shape the X-Factor of a design that's not my own?"

Perhaps the original design never carried any meaningful X-Factor at all. Nevertheless, the design still carried a touch of Jason Kozlowski in his younger years.

Ves had to respect the intentions of the original designer while simultaneously putting his own spin on its classic design.

Fortunately, his familiarity with his design allowed him to come up with an suitable vision for his Eternal Edition. Since it served as the centerpiece of his display, it should carry forth the original model's aspirations to serve as a leader and a rallying cry on the battlefield.

Since he only planned to do some minor modifications, Ves thought it was inappropriate to use the Triple Division technique. The design belonged to Jason Kozlowski and Ves didn't wish to tarnish the touch he left behind.

Instead, he intended to amplify its core concepts of hope and authority while adding a touch of eternity to the mixture. With his mental strength, Ves expected to achieve a remarkable result once he finished the modified design.

"Let's get to work."

Ves successfully blended his new vision onto a very slightly tweaked design. With this, the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition should be ready for fabrication once he got the raw materials.

This time, Ves had to wince as he ordered another batch of materials to add to his existing orders. Compressed armor always used up more exotics. With the rising cost of resources, his total cost had ballooned to 50 million credits!

"I can barely make a profit out of this model if I only charge a normal price."

At least he gained something from this effort. His understanding of this old design had deepened, which should prove useful for his next project.

With two Eternal Editions down, Ves turned his attention to the third design, a comech variant of the Caesar Augustus. Having worked on several different variants of this design gave him a unique impression of what it could do.

"It's a mech designed for heroic leaders. It's not a coincidence the coating is brilliant white. This mech is designed to inspire."

While that sounded great, Ves put some questions on whether this scenario actually occurred since the model's release.

What mech designers cook up in their imagination might not translate into practical designs. The Caesar Augustus embodied this phenomenon. The model became larger than life due to the hopeful dreams that propelled its design. In a certain perspective, it represented a high note of the last generation of mechs.

Figuring this out reignited his own passion and love for mech design. He summed up the underlying intent of this design. "Mechs don't always have to be realistic. What's wrong with a little fantasy?"

Granted, such a naive approach to mech design rarely led to critical success. The mech market centered around fulfilling their practical demands such as delivering high performance for a reasonable cost. The bloated Caesar Augustus failed to reach the heights its designer originally aimed for, and suffered for it upon its debut.

Ves wanted to chart his own path.

The Mark II had been designed with practicality and cost-efficiency in mind, while the Caesar Augustus revolved around hope. Ves wished to design a variant that embodied his own ideals instead of adhering to the demands of the market or the original designer.

An inkling of magnitude crept up in his mind. Ves faintly realized this decision affected his design philosophy. Even though Ves only grasped a glimpse of what seniors and masters referred to as design philosophy, he knew its development formed the key to advancing to their level.

"The way these people talk about design philosophy makes it clear it's not about mentality alone." Ves surmised after he recalled the few instances where older mech designers stressed the importance of developing a design philosophy. "It involves some sort of higher state of being."

Ves had the sense that it functioned similar to the X-Factor and that it involved some sort of metaphysics. From what he heard, a well-developed design philosophy enabled a mech designer to develop a design that functioned beyond the boundaries of common science. The more advanced Journeyman-level textbooks occasionally hinted at such.

"Design philosophy and the X-Factor may even be different roads that lead to the same destination. Is this why AIs haven't taken over the job of designing mechs?" He mused.

The technology to allow computers to design mechs on their own existed for a long time. Even then, it never caught on. Design philosophy should be one of the main reasons why AIs could never match a human mind.

"Enough distractions."

Ves shook his head and turned his attention back to his design. For his third model, Ves wanted to embody his own principles. So far, his principles aspired to bring mechs to life.

He summed up his end goal. "People should look at my design and mistake it for a living entity."

His mechs didn't need to be autonomous sentient beings like some living AI. After all, he designed mechs, not robots. The difference between the two was that mechs functioned best when paired with a human pilot. Ves aimed to enhance the piloting experience by enriching the mech with lifelike qualities.

A wonderful synergy should result with this pairing. What Jarle pulled off with his customized DarkSpear should only be the tip of the spear of what Ves ultimately wanted to bring into existence.

This time Ves decided to go with an understated X-Factor for his third model. Ves didn't wish to overshadow the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition, which ought to play the leading role in his display.

He quickly hit a snag. "How can I design a mech that's both eternal but also alive?"

Something that lived went through various phases of life. They grew stronger from the moment of their birth and declined in strength once they reached their peak. Something with a finite lifespan did not fit well with a mech that was supposed to be eternal.

He turned to a simple solution. In his imagination, anything was possible, even eternity. Ves envisioned an Immortal Sage, a being out of ancient myth just like the Instructor.

The man used to be a warrior at youth, achieving plenty of merits that fueled his career into officialdom. Through hard work and smart decisions, he achieved a higher status, eventually vaulting to a ministry before deciding to retire.

Even then, he continued to guide his country towards prosperity. Stepping back from power granted him a sober perspective on many matters. Through constant deduction and self-reflection, his mind experienced a cleansing that elevated him to immortality.

"I like this image." He smiled.

This time, he used it as the central component of his Triple Division technique. The base role remained a hybrid knight while the totem animal consisted of a mythical undying turtle.

After a few hours of composing an appropriate background for all of his images, he mashed them all together.

Surprisingly, the images didn't come to blows. The Immortal Sage and the undying turtle minded their own business. Only the hybrid knight showed some aggression but failed to uncover any openings. The two sagely images both collaborated with each other, holding the hybrid knight at bay.

"This isn't supposed to happen."

He deliberately strengthened the Sage and allocated only a limited amount of mental strength to the other two images. Ves wanted the Sage to stomp over the other two and absorb their essense in order to evolve its own.

Life threw a wrench in that plan.

"It's best not to force the situation further." He concluded. "It's my own fault for making the Immortal Sage so enlightened."

Ves went to work on a template of the Caesar Augustus with his tentative images. He couldn't help but overhaul large portions of its crowded interior. The solutions he developed for the Marc Antony Mark II could also be applied to the base model. historical

He made sure not to go too far, both because the frames ultimately differed in many aspects. Different armor systems led to different weight distribution and support. Ves had to figure out plenty of new solutions to simplify the internals.

Just like with the other two designs, this time Ves aimed to enhance the mech's longevity. He borrowed some of the solutions he applied on the original Caesar Augustus, saving him a lot of time.

In total, Ves spent just over a week to refine his third design. As it came into its own identity, the design already started to evoke a strong sense of life, wisdom and immortality.

As a final touch, Ves added in the Festive Cloud Generator in the form of a rolling purple cape instead of a head crest. It added to his variant's role as a ruler instead of a warrior.

"Let's call this one the Marcus Aurelius."

The Ancient Roman emperor in Old Earth's history had been regarded as something of a sage. As Ves was no expert of this time period, he merely picked the first suitable name the galactic net spat out. It sounded stately enough to convey the right emotions.

The Marcus Aurelius functioned more as a symbol rather than a war machine. While Ves maintained its capability to do battle, he much rather preferred to see it prosper in times of peace.

Ves passed over the design to the System for evaluation. He already knew how well his latest design performed, so he skimmed over most of the report. The only thing that mattered to Ves was its X-Factor.

In this regard, the System granted the design a score of C, well below his expected target.

"Oh come on, System! Just because the images didn't cannibalize each other doesn't mean my design is any worse than the DarkSpear!"

The System stayed silent of course, but even if it knew the answer, Ves had to figure things out on his own.

Obviously, a higher quality X-Factor required some kind of interaction with his images. Allowing them to fight to the death should only be one way to spur an evolution. Ves wondered if he could get his images to evolve through voluntary synthesis.

"It's something to consider for the next time."

Right now, Ves finished his design work. All he had to do was fabricate the show models of all three designs in order to meet the requirements to participate in the Vintage Festival.

The raw materials for the Eternal Editions of the Mark II and the Caesar Augustus had already arrived. By the time he finished fabricating the show models of both designs, the resources to fabricate the Marcus Aurelius should also be shipped to his workshop.

"Carlos!" Ves called when he entered the workshop floor.

"Yes, boss?"

"Set aside your current project and help me fabricate my three show models. I've just finished their design and I'm itching to see if they measure up in reality."

"That's great!"

The two went about their work with infectious enthusiasm. Ves took the lead this time because he wanted to ensure the X-Factor for each of the models remained pure. He merely let Carlos fetch some materials or arrange some minor details to speed up the work. His employee lacked the mental strength to compete against his boss in this aspect.

The Eternal Edition of the Mark II only took a day to complete. With their extreme familiarity of the LMC's only production model, they hardly needed to pause as they used the Dortmund printer and the new assembly system to put a mech together.

Ves left the mech aside after inspecting its X-Factor. It had indeed gained a smidgen of eternity compared to his other gold label mechs, but the difference was rather small. Its design still retained something of a workhorse quality Ves had conveyed in his original vision for the Mark II.

"I should get a better result with the other two models."

This would be the first time his workshop fabricated a mech clad with compressed armor. While Ves had fabricated the fabrication of the Caesar Augustus in a virtual environment, that gave little comfort to him. Virtual fabrication only provided him with a simplified experience in an excessively ideal environment.

Only a little more than a week remained until the deadline for entry passed. Ves had to work briskly in order to make it in time.

"Let's begin."

Over a week-long period, Ves fabricated both the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition and the Marcus Aurelius in back-to-back sessions that stretched on for many hours.

Ves faced very few difficulties with fabricating their internals, which shared many commonalities with the internals of the Mark II. He only encountered difficulties when he started fabricating compressed armor plating.

The formula used in the formation of the extremely resilient armor demanded an extreme amount of precision. Ves constantly had to watch the chemical treatment machine and the alloy compressor to make sure they applied their processes evenly.

Flat plates required relatively little effort to ensure their quality, but the process became more complicated once he started with the curved ones. Their uneven shapes added a lot of extra work for Ves as he had to find the right settings to allow the processes to seep into the plating without major deviations.

Ves barely completed the fabrication of the two expensive models within the deadline. As a final touch, Ves added in a couple of random gems with minor effects. With his growing sum of DP, he could easily afford the 100 DP it took to add an anonymous stamp to Lucky's gems.

When Ves stored the models side-by-side in an expanded store room, he became bewitched by their mutually reinforcing auras.

Any single model represented a treasure by itself, but when they were put together, they achieved a qualitative transformation that even Carlos couldn't ignore.

"Why do I get the feeling that your show models are hiding something big?" Carlos asked with puzzlement.

Ves smiled at his employee's remark. "You have no idea how special these models are. They're eternal."

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The Vintage Festival accepted his entry when he applied.

Properly speaking, Ves had to bring his show models to Bentheim before the deadline expired, but the person in charge of applications bent the rules for him. It only took a day or two until the next convoy shipped the models to Bentheim.

Ves left the arrangements of his booth to Marcella, who in turn delegated the job to her subordinates. These same people would also be staffing his booth and take care of his sales once the festival began.

"Their role in this event is to facilitate the sales process." Marcella explained over the comm. "While you don't need to be present at all times, it will be helpful if you stick to your booth and explain your designs to anyone who shows any interest in purchasing a mech. Often times, a customer can be swayed to purchase your products if you present yourself as a reputable mech designer."

"Will you be there as well?"

"I'm not going to make it." Marcella shook her head. "I'm negotiating on behalf of another client on a major order. Sorry kid, but you're still small-time as far as I'm concerned."

Fair enough. While Marcella earned a generous cut with her current contract, it didn't amount to much in absolute terms. While he recently expanded the LMC's production capabilities, it only sold a handful of Mark II's a month, far below the standards of a typical medium-scale mech manufacturer.

After saying goodbye, Ves turned his attention back to his workshop. "I should prepare for an intensive round of fabrication."

His words betrayed the confidence he held in his Eternal series. Their craftsmanship surpassed anything that Ves had produced so far. When the three models stood side-by-side, their X-Factor emanated a formless pressure that threatened to engulf the entire storage space! historical

"I won't believe my models will flop."

Ves gambled a lot on their success. Already, his company's savings account diminished by a whopping 120 million credits. He had no other choice but to spend the money on the raw materials to fabricate the show models. If he couldn't even manage to sell the original models, he'd be stuck with a couple of extremely expensive statues.

"All I can do now is wait."

The Festival started in a couple more weeks, leaving Ves plenty of time to get his company in order.

First, he optimized his new production line. His previous bout of fabrication exposed some flaws in his arrangements that could prove dangerous down the line. Ves nipped the latent problems in the bud and ensured that all of the machines worked properly.

By this time, their first shady orders had arrived. Dietrich arranged for some nondescript companies with boring names such as Ellis and Johnson Security or Armature Inc. to place some random component orders to the LMC. Superficially, they all appeared to be legitimate companies that all owned mechs but needed urgent replacements.

Ves wasn't fooled. They all stood for shadier organizations that wanted to make use of his workshop's unregistered and unmonitored Dortmund printer to fabricate a whole swathe of mech parts. Much of the orders his company received consisted of complex parts that regular printers couldn't handle.

Still, his Dortmund printer should provide enough assistance to Carlos that he'd be able to handle the majority of the orders by himself. Ves only took care of the most difficult orders which consisted of various compressed armor plating.

"I still think this is a bad idea. The more we fabricate, the more we become involved." Carlos repeated to Ves. "I don't want to wake up with a gun pointed at my head one day."

Ves idly waved away his concern. "Relax, Carlos. It's safe here in Cloudy Curtain. It's ten times worse if I decided to set my business up in Bentheim."

Even if he exaggerated a bit, his words possessed an element of truth. Managing your relations with the local gangs had often been considered as the cost of doing business in Bentheim.

Frankly, the sheer amount of shady activities that went on in the port system exposed the Republic's weakness. Its relatively lose grasp on society allowed an abundance of bad actors to settle between its gaps.

The weeks went by in a blur. Even the challenge of fabricating the exotic orders didn't fase Ves much. He left Carlos with the rest of the workload and boarded his corvette which held two packed mechs, Melkor's Stanislaw and Raella's Vektrix.

Ves learned his lesson. Instead of hoping for the best, he prepared for the worst. After the last incident on Bentheim, his family arranged a permit for him to travel around with a mech escort.

He didn't leave his fate to chance and made more preparations. He contracted Sanyal-Ablin to provide armed transportation and additional security at the festival. The Coalition security company eagerly accepted the job after Ves paid them a hefty sum.

Raella, Melkor and Lucky accompanied him aboard the Barracuda. By now, Raella recovered fully from her poisoning and showed eagerness to get back into shape. Even the bad memories she got from her last trip to Bentheim didn't dim her enthusiasm to get out in the galaxy.

"Hopefully nothing happens this time." Raella remarked as she sipped a special nutrient-rich solution at the lounge. "It's annoying to fight against enemies who hide in the dark."

Ves pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. "Who can say? At least the chaos on Bentheim has subsided a bit. The Mech Corps did a good job rooting out the BLM from their hiding holes."

"Yeah, but the damage is already done."

The Bentheim Liberation Movement sabotaged a lot of critical infrastructure that kept the mech industry going. The disruption in supply chains led to far-reaching consequences to the companies down the line. Nobody enjoyed the sudden rise in costs.

Worse, many manufacturers went out of business due to their inability to generate a profit in these circumstances. This led to a significant amount of layoffs, putting many low-level laborers on the street.

This in turn fueled the indignity against the central government. Rather than blaming the BLM for disrupting the economy, they would rather lay the blame on the elites at Rittersberg.

On that depressing note, the Barracuda swiftly reached the Bentheim System in less than half a day. As his pilot and navigator Miranda Pham became increasingly more familiar with the corvette, her ability to plot a faster transition improved.

"Navigating gravitic space takes a lot of judgement." Captain Silvestra explained to Ves when he asked about the difference. "Laymen often confuse FTL travel for taking a shortcut in a dimension where distances are shorter. We're actually shifting to a range of upper dimensions where spacetime exhibits slight differences from one dimension to the next."

The key to reducing transit time laid in a ship's ability to plow the same route over and over to explore the most efficient set of upper dimensions. What complicated this process was that substantial differences in mass and volume led to different transition times.

A slow, lumbering shuttle generally did better if it kept to the lower range of dimensions, while a fast corvette like the Barracuda preferred a higher range. Ships that tried to transition into a range beyond their capacity risked being torn apart by the differences in forces exerted at various points of their hulls.

Fortunately, interstellar travel to a port system like Bentheim posed much fewer risks than normal. Their journey went without a hitch and the Barracuda effortlessly descended into the atmosphere until it reached Marcella's private mech yard.

A smartly-dressed auburn-haired woman welcomed Ves and his companions to Bentheim with a smile. "Mr. Larkinson, it's a pleasure to meet you! My name is Antje Livinis. I'm the sales manager for Bollinger Mech Trade. Miss Bollinger has put me in charge of your sales force for the upcoming festival."

After Ves shook her dainty little hand, he regarded her with a curious expression. Unlike Bollinger who exhibited the muscular physique of an ex-veteran mech pilot, Antje looked like a fairy. That must help a lot in the business as many clients probably underestimated her poise.

"Have you seen my show models yet?"

"Oh, yes! They're absolutely fabulous!" Antje gushed with genuine enthusiasm. "They're as impressive as the artisan models in the museums! I don't know how you managed to design them like that, but if you're able to reproduce the same sensation in your production models, then I expect you'll be making a hefty amount of business."

Even though she praised his craftsmanship, she also put a couple of question marks in his ability to replicate the show models with all of their qualities intact.

"I can assure you that my fabrication skills are up to par. I can easily match their qualities in my subsequent production."

Even though the sales manager still held doubts, she chose to believe him. As a sales manager who handled a lot of routine business for Marcella, Antje had already become familiar with his Mark II. Even the silver label mechs that Carlos fabricated every week contained a smidgen of X-Factor.

Technically, the Eternal series consisted of gold label mechs, and they displayed the traits typical to this exclusive range. Even if Antje couldn't quite put her finger on why the models impressed her so much, she knew that people would pay a lot of money to own a mech that could radiate such pressure.

"Too bad my publicist Gavin isn't able to attend. He'd love to discuss the details with you."

Gavin and Calsie only worked part-time at the LMC while they focused on their studies. They still had a year to go before they graduated from the local university in Freslin.

Ves shared the virtual documents that Gavin compiled to Antje. It turned out that the sales manager performed her own analysis on his projected sales, though she didn't come up with three different scenarios.

She smiled at him. "I know the sort of people who attend this festival, and I think it's very likely your models will catch on. I think it's not too far-fetched if we assume the most optimistic scenario will take place."

Gavin's optimistic scenario envisioned a huge demand for his Eternal Edition mechs. Under the assumption that there would always be more customers, he came up with a complicated pricing scheme for each models during the four-day festival.

The Mark II Eternal Edition started sales at a whopping 40 million credits, with a limit of ten models sold each day. The limit ensured that his company wouldn't be burdened by endless orders that risked being cancelled after a couple of months.

The Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition sold at an even more incredulous price tag of 80 million credits, with only three models sold per day. Gavin predicted that many collectors wanted to own this model in the optimistic scenario, thus he jacked up the price to almost twice its production cost.

As for the Marcus Aurelius, nobody knew if anyone wanted it more than the Caesar Augustus. Due to its uniqueness and exclusivity, Gavin decided to hold a daily auction over this model. This allowed them to avoid setting a fixed price for this esoteric model.

That could either go good or bad depending on its appeal. Antje clearly questioned the need to hold an auction. "Your design is rather conservative for a variant. On paper, it's nothing impressive, though I admit it does make you forget about it once you see it in the flesh. My main concern is that others won't see it that way and refuse to raise their bids."

Failed auctions showed that Ves had overestimated the value of his designs. If he couldn't match or surpass the standard price of a Caesar Augustus, then his reputation in the mech industry could take a hit.

Ves stuck to his guns. "I'm willing to take the bet."

He charged high prices for his designs because they carried something unique. His entry into the Vintage Festival formed something of a trial balloon. Ves wanted to gauge whether the public had any stomach for mechs enhanced by the X-Factor. The LMC's entire business model rested on the outcome of this event.

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The Vintage Festival took place at a city called Ansel. Situated far away from the bustling metropolis of Dorum, Ansel offered more established mech designers a place to do their business. It became particularly renowned for its Ansel University of Mech Design, an educational institution solely dedicated to teaching the art of mech design.

Even though Ves studied mech design at the Rittersberg University of Technology, in truth its mech design course wasn't all that great. The AUMD held a lot more prestige in the mech industry due to its deep connections to the local mech industry.

A tight network of influential alumni regularly contributed to the prestigious school with lectures, tours, internships and even exclusive textbooks. Each student who graduated from Ansel's mech design course received numerous lucrative opportunities that gave them a head-start in the industry.

A fleet of armored shuttles escorted by several mechs on foot reached the city after several hours of travel. Many other transports heading to Ansel enjoyed protection so the fleet attracted little attention.

Ves left his shuttle after they arrived at the local convention center. Meanwhile, Raella and Melkor stayed in their mechs and went ahead to his show booth. The organization allowed Ves a single armed guard to accompany him.

"Looks like we made it in time." He said while carrying Lucky.

Not a lot of people had arrived in the morning. Ansel's distance from Dorum led to fewer visitors who decided to stop by on a whim. This insured that the majority of the visitors held some actual interest in the theme.

The convention center consisted of a massive white-faced main hall with three different side halls spread in equal directions. The whole layout resembled a cross, with one leg bigger than the rest.

Every mech designer converged at the main hall first. Before the festival began, the managing director had some words to say. Ves entered the bright white walls illuminated both by Bentheim's sun and some added light sources. Gleaming metallic mechs in various shapes and sizes glistened in the light, mesmerising all who entered this opened halls.

Many of these honored lastgen mechs came from local hands. The neatly projected captions made it clear that half of their designers graduated from the AUMD. Even with the benefit of bias, Ves knew that all of the designs deserved their places of honor.

When he reached the end of the hall, Ves joined his fellow mech designers circling a stage. All of them stood still, mesmerized by the mech elevated to the highest place of honor.

"No way! That's the Reckoner!" A mech designer who just entered after Ves screamed out. "How can one be here?!"

The Reckoner was one of this generation's famed artillery mechs. Designed and sold in the heartland sectors of the galaxy, it turned into an iconic sight in the last forty years among the second-rate states that could afford it. Many of the mech designers present in the hall had never seen one in the flesh.

With its eight heavy spider legs and its relatively flat torso, the mech had been designed as a low-profile artillery platform. It only really possessed one single weapon, a thick, extendable howitzer that fired off massive explosive shells or railgun projectiles depending on its configuration.

Entire cities turned to ruin after a single Reckoner unleashed its entire payload. All of this the artillery mech accomplished many kilometers away. In truth, its heavy cannons barely stayed within the limits of acceptable firepower.

What impressed the designers here the most besides its presence here was its age. Various marks and scratch marred its faded camouflage coating. Even though Ves did not detect any substantial X-Factor, its worn-out components gave the Reckoner a special feeling of a machine that did its duty but tired of the job.

An hour went by as mech designers kept converging around the Reckoner. It must be the most expensive mech at the festival by far. Even Ves didn't dare to put a price on this mech. It was worth its weight in exotics as pretty much all of its components incorporated them in their construction.

As Ves patiently waited for the manager to arrive, Ves received a distinctive ping from his comm. He looked up his device and saw one of his apps informing him that another Society member was among the crowd.

The other member received the same notification and chose to home in on Ves. Minutes later, an elderly looking man approach Ves. "Knight Larkinson? My name is Reesc McDonnell, a Squire of the Clifford Society."

Ves shook hands with the elderly squire with a bemused expression. He couldn't quite get a grip on a Squire as old as Reesc. Every other Squire he encountered at Leemar only had a couple of years on him. The man sensed his confusion and smiled.

"Don't be so surprised. The Squires you've met at Leemar are mostly recent graduates that are trying to keep their options open. Those of us who come from outside Coalition space often blind themselves to the challenges of competing against actual Coalition citizens. Most of them will return to their home states after years of fruitless effort."

Unspoken in his explanation was that Reesc had likely been one of these dreamers. After finding out that his skills barely impressed the elitist Coalition citizens, he packed up his bags and shuffled back to the Republic in order to make a living. The fact that he languished as a Squire up to when his hair turned grey meant that Reesc didn't deserve any respect.

"My apologies. I'm not used to seeing older Society members." Ves replied. "As you've said, those that gathered at Leemar still have a full life ahead of them. If I hadn't already had plans, I might have lingered at Leemar as well."

They chatted a bit about their mech careers. Like Ves, Reesc entered a competition held by Leemar and managed to reach a notable rank. However, his foundation didn't amount to much, and he only reached the top 500 by sheer luck. Even after he gained access to the Star Library, Reesc never got to read a lot of books.

"Merits are simply too hard to come by!" The old man lamented. "I don't have anything to trade, so the only way I got them is by doing these tedious long-term missions. Even then, they only pay a handful of merits after you slave away for years. It's completely impossible to earn enough merits this way!"

While he agreed with Reesc's complaints, Ves pointed out an alternative. "Haven't you considered taking one of the riskier missions? They pay quite well for a couple of months of work."

"Absolutely not! The pay is better, but the conditions are awful! Mech designers like us belong behind a desk, not at some hostile alien planet while shells are raining down above our heads! Leave the battlefield work to the people who signed up to fight!"

As Reesc chatted on about his lack of opportunities, Ves increasingly came to dislike the stodgy Squire. The elderly mech designer had a golden opportunity to develop his skills and knowledge through trading merits for access to textbooks, and what did Reesc do? He squandered decades of his life performing the safest and most unrewarding missions imaginable!

Ves finally welcomed the arrival of the managing director. Everyone hushed their conversation and even Reesc had to shut his mouth. Everyone stared beneath the legs of the Reckoner as a small platform lifted upwards from below.

A much more distinguished gentleman appeared on stage. The man looked at the hundreds of mech designers gathered here today and nodded in satisfaction.

"It pleases me to see so many of you take part in my festival." The director began. "The last generation of mechs may slowly be forgotten, but our memories of this remarkable period will live on. Our job is to remind the public that the last generation will never be consigned to the archives!"

Everyone cheered in unison at those words, though Ves doubted everyone present here agreed with the director. He had the feeling that at least half of the mech designers had no other choice but to attend in order to make some last bit of money out of their aging production licenses.

The director went on to explain some practical matters after his opening. The organizers held different events each day in the main hall. For the most part, only Journeyman Mech Designers qualified to participate in the main exhibitions, so Ves tuned out the speech. He was mostly here to sell mechs instead of trying to gain prestige.

Once the director reached the end of his speech, the mech designers dispersed. The main hall became open to the general public, where the managing director officially marked the opening of the festival.

"I don't need to be here." historical

Like Ves, many of the Apprentices decided not to linger and headed to their booths in the side halls. As he walked to his booth, he glanced at the show models along the way.

Most of them appeared familiar to Ves. While he couldn't name their exact models, the Apprentices mostly licenced the same designs. All of them were prevalent in Republic space.

As with previous years, the quality of the show models left something to be desired. The harsh reality of setting up a business among thousands of competitors left many mech designers at the brink of their finances. A significant amount of show models consisted of bottom-tier frontline mechs. Some even sold for as low as five million credits!

Ves thanked his lucky stars that he ended up with a better start when his father gifted him the System.

Once Ves arrived at his booth, he beheld his three show models. The Mark II Eternal Edition, the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition and the Marcus Aurelius all displayed their full glory with pride. The similarity between the three models betrayed their common origin, but the distinctive traits that Ves imparted in them allowed them to develop their own distinctive look.

"Wow! Who made these models?"

"Who would be so extravagant to license a comech?! Do you know how much it costs to fabricate a single of these machines?!"

"Whoever's bored enough to work with the Caesar Augustus design must be a moneybags or something!"

A dozen mech designers who occupied the booths next to the one reserved by Ves had gathered over. Compared the Caesar Augustus and its illustrious variants, their cheap mechs looked like ugly ducklings before a swan. Some of the designers grew jealous, hence the mildly snide remarks.

"Make way please! This is my booth!"

When Ves appeared behind their midst, the mech designers turned around. More than half of them became astonished at his age, while the rest figured that he was some sort of scion of a rich and powerful family. No matter their thoughts, they all smothered their words and politely parted aside.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! Where did you get your production licenses? Did you pay them on your own?"

"Are you interested in collaborating with us on a joint project? We'll give you the majority share!"

Ves mostly ignored the solicitations from his colleagues. At his level, he stopped taking notice of these low-tier designers. Even if they reached the Apprentice level through their talents or connections, they obviously didn't have much of a future like Reesc.

He turned around and regarded the crowd with a forceful expression. "Please disperse! You're blocking the way for my customers! The festival is just about to start, so you'll have plenty of time to admire my designs!"

A couple of designers found fault with his attitude.

"Who are you to tell us what to do?!"

"I'm older than you! When you were still in diapers, I've already graduated with a degree in mech design!"

Ves didn't fall for their trap. He stared at them wordlessly while holding a glowering Lucky. His dour face and his lack of response gave his fellow colleagues no opportunities to seek some benefits from him. They eventually walked away with bitter expressions.

After he put down Lucky to let his pet stroll about, Ves approach Antje who supervised the placement of the final props. Various projectors, posters, simulator pods and other gadgets occupied his spacious booth, all of which enhanced the shopping experience.

"Don't you think you brought too much stuff?" Ves asked with worry. In his eyes, all of these devices attracted attention away from his model.

Antje shook her head. "Your show models don't seem to have any difficulties attracting attention. You should worry more about catching the attention of your potential customers from admiring your designs."

Marcella's protege sounded a lot more optimistic than before. "Do you think they'll really catch on with the crowd?"

"I can guarantee you they will. Compared to the mechs of your neighbors, yours are the only decent ones in range. The contrast will heighten the appeal of your products."

Her words certainly rang true. Ves couldn't help but let out a smile as he looked forward to meeting his first customers.

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The traffic started pouring in after an hour into the festival. Most of the early visitors consisted of average people who wanted to avoid the crowded main hall. The opening ceremony started off with a bang. If not for the main hall's excellent isolation, the side halls would have been inundated with music and cheers.

Ves got a notion of how well his show models attracted attention when he noticed a lot of foot traffic heading in his direction. Only around ten percent of the show models in the hall consisted of premium mechs.

The Caesar Augustus drew the most attention, but the Marcus Aurelius also held a certain appeal. A loose variety of visitors arrived at his booth to gawk at the expensive models up close.

"They're just like the masterwork models at the show halls!"

"What is this design? The Caesar Augustus?"

"Oh. Let's go then. I heard the Augustus was a flop."

"Are you kidding? You're blind if you call this mech a flop! Just look at the detail of this machine!"

Ves couldn't tell if the X-Factor or the rarity of his show models had a bigger influence on the crowd. Whatever the case, more than two dozen people of varying walks of life quickly congregated around his booth.

To his regret, none of them looked like potential customers. They ranged from couples hauling along their kids to career mech pilots on leave. Their clothing and lack of escorts made it clear that they didn't have the credits to spend on something as extravagant as a mech.

Even if they didn't spend a single credit on his products, Ves didn't care too much. The day had only started and peak time came later.

The constant number of people lingering at his booth attracted the attention others who wanted to see what the fuss was about. His models gained a steady amount of exposure.

The kids and the adults who grew up during the golden period of the last generation worshipped his spin on the Caesar Augustus. The Eternal Edition's glorious aura infected their minds with fanciful delusions where they imagined playing the hero.

The Marcus Aurelius on the other hand appealed to the older crowd. Compared to the bright and vivid Caesar Augustus, the sage-like mech exuded an aura of peaceful timelessness. That turned off those who craved constant action, but it put the elderly folk at peace as they thought about the legacies they left behind.

Only the Mark II Eternal Edition proved to be a disappointment. Its aggressive aura paled in comparison to glory exuded by the Caesar Augustus, while its inferior quality and cost condemned it to the role of a sidekick.

While Ves found it unfair for his cheapest model, he still hoped for a change in fortune. Once the people with money arrived, its price tag should warrant the forgotten mech second look.

The only unexpected surprise he encountered had to do with his virtual mechs. The recent promotion of his DarkSpear also had a knock-on effect on the recognition of his other designs.

"Will you be selling a dagger assassin like the one you designed for Jarle?" A young man asked.

"Jarle's custom mech is an exclusive design. He won't be happy if I make more copies available." Ves patiently explained. "Besides, I made a lot of expert tweaks on its design that make it exceedingly difficult to pilot for the average player. Only a top pilot with lightning-fast reaction speeds can get a grip on its controls."

The man and a few other fans looked disappointed at his answer, but Ves had no choice. He signed a contract with Jarle that stipulated that his mech should be the only virtual copy of its design.

Frankly, Ves got a little bored of the mundane questions. Very few festival goers showed any serious interest in purchasing his models.

Occasionally some other mech designers visited his booth. Their jealousy flared up when they watched the steadily growing numbers crowding at his booth. The organizers even stationed a couple of extra guards in the area to keep them well-behaved.

Sometimes they tried to argue with Ves about his design choices.

One skinny designer took stock with one of his designs and made his objections loud and clear. "Hey! You made a mistake with this mech! The arms are protruding forward too much! Don't you know how to balance a mech?"

Ves grew a little angry at the ignorant remark. When he turned around to reply, Antje quickly held his arm.

"Don't argue with trolls. You'll only feed them. You'll never be able to win a debate against someone who is set out to make trouble in public."

The reminder cooled his head, allowing him to regain his rationality. Antje had a point. He had everything to lose and nothing to gain by arguing in public. Still, his pride as a mech designer made it difficult to ignore the blow.

Antje whispered something on her comm. "Look. Security is already handling the issue. They won't allow the festival to be spoiled by ignorant loudmouths."

A couple of security guards took hold of the designer and quickly hauled him away.

"Hey! Unhand me you muscle heads! I'm a highly successful mech designer! My mechs are up ahead! You can't throw me out!"

The mech designer threw up so much commotion that the guards injected him with a sedative. That quickly shut him up. Ves and a couple of others shook their heads at the pathetic sight.

"I remember seeing his show models." One of the visitors remarked. "They hardly amount to anything. I can't imagine anyone willing to buy those heaps of junk."

"Maybe that's why he lashed out. His designs are crap so he wishes that every other design is crap."

Sadly, other designers kept the unwanted critique going. With hardly any activity at their own booths, they strolled around the halls and let out their frustration at the first decent mechs they encountered. As Ves offered some of the best mechs among the Apprentices, he became a frequent target for snide remarks and discouraging advice.

Only the fact that they maintained a cordial tone prevented security from dragging them out of earshot. Their remarks even had a conspiratorial tone to them as many visitors lacked the technical background to understand the truth of their words.

Many issues in mech design involved complex interconnected design choices. If Ves changed one tiny aspect, then he had to make adjustments to ten different sections of his designs. Sometimes, what appeared to be the most optimal solution turned out to be a trap.

The most important goal that mech designers had to keep in mind was to complete a practical design. Often times, that meant that the designers had to dial back their ambitions in order to ensure their design remained functionally balanced. Pursuing peak performance in one area often came at a ruinous cost in another area.

These subtleties became lost once you engaged in an argument about specific design choices. The perception of the crowd turned ambivalent once they heard remarks like 'the arms are too protruded' or 'the limbs are too stiff for long-term battlefield deployments'.

Ves tried to be the better man and decided to close his ears to the noise. Despite the efforts of his fellow mech designers, his show models exhibited enough attraction that they constantly drew more visitors.

He even got to meet his first potential customer. The woman looked like a bureaucrat delegated to do some errands for his boss. While she threw an admiring glance towards the Caesar Augustus, its ludicrous price tag almost frightened her to the bones. She quickly diverted her eyes towards the more modest Mark II.

Antje introduced its features. "The Marc Antony Mark II is a major revision from the Mark II, and is currently deployed by mercenaries and companies around the Republic. The Eternal Edition of the Mark II features several enhancements that make it suitable as a display model. The Mark II Eternal Edition is an ideal design to inspire your company and intimidate your competitors."

"That sounds great, but this mech line lacks compressed armor." The businesswoman retorted. "At the price you're charging for this mech, I might as well procure a comech." historical

"That's your decision to make, but you'll be better off if you procure the Mark II. Display mechs aren't meant to be deployed in battle. The quality of the armor hardly matters if its role is to impress the people who are working or visiting your headquarters. Just look at the frame and forget about its specs. Feel how it calls out to you. Can you feel your blood pumping faster?"

The businesswoman wavered a bit. "Now that you mention it, this mech does seem to have a motivating effect."

In the Age of Mechs, humanity worshipped mechs to a degree that elevated them beyond the battlefield. An informal custom emerged where certain companies put mechs in front of their headquarters and important offices to show off their wealth.

The practice caught on, and more companies started putting up display models for various reasons.

For example, an aggressive skirmisher mech encouraged a company's employees to be proactive and to take more risks.

A mobile rifleman mech encouraged employees to be more flexible in their approach and to head off potential dangers in advance.

A heavy knight proclaimed the company to be an enduring fixture in the market. No matter what its competitors threw at them, they remained unassailable.

All of this sounded like hyperbole, but many academic studies have proven that the custom did indeed bring about a subtle psychological effect. The difference often amounted to a couple of percentage points, but for some large companies that quickly added up to a few billion credits.

Many businessmen still doubt the actual truth of the matter. Only a small minority of companies actually engaged in this custom. The rest considered the practice to be wasteful and needlessly indulgent. 'Toys for boys' they thought derisively.

Unfortunately for Ves, Antje didn't manage to make a sale this time. The businesswoman shook her head after she spent a couple of minutes taking in the Mark II's aura.

"I'll have to decline your offer. Your mech doesn't possess the traits my superior is looking for in a display model." She turned to the nearby Caesar Augustus. "Your other models look more suitable, but the price..."

The Marcus Aurelius would be auctioned in the evening while the Caesar Augustus sold for 80 million credits. Either mechs had been priced out of reach of nearly every company in the Republic.

Even though his first potential customer shied away, a couple of other serious buyers expressed their interest. Ves mainly stood by and let his salespersons do the talking. All of them worked for Marcella, so they possessed ample competence in this area.

Ves only intervened when the more technical-minded buyers started asking complicated questions.

Despite the increasing number of potential buyers drawn to his booth, his salespeople didn't manage to close a deal. The number one objection raised by these people was that Ves charged way too much for his mechs. His price levels did not conform to the market where people expected a mech that offered a certain level of performance to charge only so much money.

For example, the Mark II Eternal Edition delivered almost the same performance as the vanilla Mark II. However, their prices differed substantially. The Eternal Edition sold for 40 million credits while the regular Mark II sold for only 28 million credits.

Many potential buyers couldn't accept this 12 million credits premium!

As the afternoon rolled on, his booth still didn't manage to make a sale. Even as the crowd around his booth grew to more than a hundred, the buyers among them all kept their wallets closed.

Even Antje started showing her concern. She pulled Ves to the side. "I think we've misjudged the market demand for your mechs. You've succeeded in drawing a lot of interest, but that doesn't matter if you can't convert any of that interest into actual sales. I think we should adjust our price levels."

"It's too soon to lower our prices. There's still half a day to go before the first day is over."

"You don't realize how important it is to deliver a strong performance on the opening day." Antje shook her head. "The organizers keep track of every mech designer's sales record and publicise the list in front of the halls for everyone to see. If you end up in the bottom of the list, you'll discourage other buyers from taking you seriously."

Ves forgot about that detail. He showed some actual worry this time. "I understand the severity of the situation, but I'm not willing to budge on my prices. At least wait until the evening. If we haven't sold anything by that time, I'll reconsider the matter."

Even if others thought he behaved excessively greedy, his products earned the premium he charged. His potential buyers might be discouraged for now, but once they strolled around the convention center, they might change their minds.

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Setting the right price mattered a lot in the mech industry. The MTA maintained a public record on every certified mech sold by a mech designer. Potential customers often looked up his recent record to get an estimate on the value of his products.

The initial price often set the standard.

Consider coming up with a mundane product like a pair of shoes. These days, modern manufacturing techniques have turned these articles of footwear into a cheap commodity that could be bought for rock-bottom prices. Some of the more affluent consumers even fabricate their own if they own a household 3D printer.

Most shoe manufacturers saw little future in trying to compete on price and volume. Instead, they went into the opposite direction, coming up with something fancy by employing famous fashion designers and incorporating trace exotics in their products.

All of that cost a lot of money, so the shoe manufacturers charged a higher premium for their fancy shoes. Sometimes they charged fifty times the unit cost of a single pair of shoes.

It sounded like a scam, right? Yet many shoe manufacturers sold out their most exclusive and expensive products the moment they released them on the market. They painstakingly built up a brand for excellence that consumers trusted.

Put in a cynical way, a strong brand effectively brainwashed the market. Consumers believed that the high prices the manufacturers adopted represented genuine value.

Sometimes, this even turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. As brands grew in recognition and value, people who owned them earned more social recognition. Clothes made the man and woman.

Every company in pretty much every sector aimed to built up a brand like this. Unfortunately for Ves, the Living Mech Company hadn't reached this level yet. It barely got off the starting line.

To charge a twelve million credit premium for the Mark II Eternal Edition could be considered arrogant and premature. Neither his company nor his design achieved a strong enough brand to let him get away with such an outrageous price hike.

At least according to conventional wisdom.

"Then again, nothing what I do adheres to conventional wisdom." Ves said to himself.

Ves faced two main hindrances to getting his audience accept his higher prices.

First, he barely started operating a year ago, and the LMC only came into existence a couple of months ago.

While he built up his company's brand on Cloudy Curtain, extending it to the vast and limitless Bentheim market required an even greater investment than before. Throwing a couple of billion credits on ad campaigns would barely be able to bump his company's profile from zero percent to one percent awareness.

Second, the true value of his products lay in the X-Factor, which had a definite effect on people but could not be measured directly. In addition, since Ves wished to keep his knowledge of the X-Factor a trade secret, he couldn't even direct the audience to take note of its effects.

Buyers had to trust in their gut feeling to appreciate his mechs enough to fork over the extra premium.

Yet they weren't always stupid.

The more credits at stake, the more they started thinking with their brains instead of their guts. When they looked at the Mark II Eternal Edition and inspected its specs, they would know that its performance simply didn't match its price.

If there was one thing consumers hated, it was being made aware that they were overcharging for a product. A strong brand blinded consumers to this occurrence, but Ves didn't enjoy such a luxury at the moment.

A purchase should feel good. Ves hoped that anyone who decided to buy his mechs felt happy that they went for his designs. He'd leave a bad taste in their mouths if he appeared to be overcharging his products. This explained his current lack of sales.

As visitors kept pouring into the convention center, Ves still hadn't made a sale. The few potential buyers among the crowd soundly rejected his greedy prices and turned elsewhere to satisfy their cravings.

Even his neighboring booths sold a couple of mechs. Ves didn't think much of the mundane-looking mechs neighboring his booth, but their mech designers joyfully appealed to the crowd milling in front of his show models.

The prices of their mechs ranged from ten to twenty million credits. From what Ves could see, the desperate mech designers didn't even charge much of a premium for their mechs. They'd barely make more than half-a-million credits after deducting their production costs and license fees.

Still, as poor as they behaved, at least they made some progress. Ves on the other hand sat with empty hands while the first day of the festival already progressed halfway.

"It comes down to feeling." Ves realized after musing about this point. "There's got to be a way to make the feeling more poignant."

He turned his head to the nearby simulator pods. Marcella's organization brought ten pods to his booth to allow the guests to try out the virtual versions of his show models.

They loosely set a limit of ten minutes per guest so that every potentate got a turn. Even then, around fifty eager guests waited in line.

Ves noted that everyone who wanted to try out a simulation consisted of average festival goers. While that helped leave a good impression behind, the mass of people blocked his potential customers from accessing the pods quickly.

Ves immediately turned to Antje. "I think it's best to encourage our potential customers to try out the simulators. Let's cut back on access to the pods to the general public."

"Hm. Good idea. While not everyone who expresses interest in our mechs is a potentate, there are enough that it's worthwhile so set some pods aside."

The sales manager immediately went to work. She set three pods aside and instructed the sales representatives to encourage their use by anyone expressing interest in the mechs.

Half an hour went by as the new policy went into effect. Ves sat back and watched as the potential customers got an opportunity to experience the mechs up close. Their attitudes of his products changed once they got a taste of piloting the mechs.

While the experience paled in comparison to entering the actual cockpits, the rules forbid the practice out of safety concerns.

"I still need an extra oomph to get across the idea that my mechs are different."

He looked at his models and compared them to the simulated footage displayed by the various projectors at his booth. The projected mechs looked a lot more vivid due to their motion and something else that Ves had overlooked.

"The Festive Cloud Generators are inactive."

Ves declined to add the generator to his lightly modified Caesar Augustus, he did add them to his variants. The Mark II Eternal Edition featured a striking red vertical head crest while the Marcus Aurelius as a rolling purple cape. When both modules turned active, it made the mech seem larger than life.

However, the organizers strictly prohibited the activation of any show models. Even turning on the lights posed too much of a risk. Still, Ves wanted to try and see if he could get an exemption on this rule.

He summoned up the hall manager. A round-bellied man with a moustache showed up. He dressed in a weirdly formal costume that emphasized the girth of his belly. In an age where various weight-reducing treatments existed, being fat was more of a fashion statement than a sign of obesity.

"What a wonderful trio of mechs!" The hall manager exclaimed as he arrived at his booth. A couple of security officers had to shove the crowd aside to allow his portly body to get close. "I love what you did to the Caesar Augustus! It's one of the best I've ever seen! You could apply for a masterwork certificate from the MTA with this beauty!"

Ves awkwardly laughed. "I'm still too junior to think about such a thing."

Mechs had to meet a lot of strict criteria before they became eligible for a masterwork certificate. Generally, only Senior and Master Mech Designers possessed the skills to reach this standard.

"Then what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm looking to turn on a function of two of my show models." Ves replied and guided him to a projection that showed the Mark II Eternal Edition and the Marcus Aurelius in action. "The Festive Cloud Generator injects minute particles into harmless water vapor to achieve these visual effects."

"I do admit the mechs look dazzling when the so-called cloud generators are active, but the potential risks are numerous. The main reason why we don't allow mechs to run any systems is because their reactors have to come online. Even at their lowest operating level, they generate a significant amount of heat and energy. If anything goes wrong with these reactors, the consequences could be catastrophic to the nearby crowd."

The hall manager gestured to the pressing mass of people who became enchanted by his mechs. From a public safety standpoint, the man had a point. From a technical standpoint, the chance the reactors malfunctioned and exploded was virtually nil.

"These are brand-new mechs that have gone through certification. The MTA insured they're safe. What's the harm in turning on a couple of vapor generators? Think of how much better my mechs will look like. The festival will be better off if the crowd can see my mechs at their best."

His arguments slowly persuaded the hall manager to the merits of letting his mechs appear at their best.

Ves figured out that the shrewd man in charge of this side hall competed against the managers of the other halls to attract the most visitors. The manager never told him this directly, but his responses hinted at this dynamic at work. The more he talked, the more he honed in on these benefits.

"My mechs are already one the biggest draws in this hall. I know you have reservations for turning on those cheaply-built mechs, but my products are different. I didn't cut any corners when I designed and fabricated these mechs. I can truly guarantee you that nothing will go wrong if I'm allowed to turn on the generators."

It took five more minutes to squeeze an exemption out of the reluctant manager. At the end, Ves had the feeling he was merely providing an excuse for something the manager actually wanted at the beginning. His training and instructions prevented him from complying right away, but talk long enough and even the steel-hearted started to waver.

When Ves quickly entered the cockpits and turned them online at their lowest level, the entire crowd held their breath. Since he received an exemption to run his mechs at their lowest activity level, he sneakily bent the rules and turned a few more lights on as well.

The difference became apparent right away. A low murmur of appreciation ran through the crowd as the two models underwent a transformation.

The exclusive Marcus Aurelius especially appeared dramatic. Its rolling purple cape reinforced the regal quality to his eternal mech. While it always became a hit with the older folk, even the kids and teenagers started to admire the sage-like model.

As the only two mechs that received permission to come online, the spectacle instantly doubled the crowd. Ves didn't care about that but instead directed his attention to an affluent visitor who just exited a simulator pod.

When the man entered the pod, the mechs still remained dormant. Only when he got to enjoy the simulations for ten short minutes did he emerge with an entirely new view. His gaze admired the aggressive contours of the Mark II and the ethereal ambiance radiated by the Marcus Aurelius. historical

He turned his attention back to the Mark II after a while. It appeared his budget only allowed him to consider the cheapest offering. Even if Ves planned to auction the Marcus Aurelius, its high production cost ensured that it would not come cheap.

Eventually, the potential customer made a choice. He caught the attention of a sales representative. "I'd like to purchase a copy of this design."

Ves smiled when he heard those words. If everything went right, he just made his first sale.

"This is just the start."

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The first buyer turned out to be a sentimentalist. He wanted to purchase the Mark II Eternal Edition for himself and not for any business purposes. Evidently, he had a lot of money to spare.

Ves had the feeling the man earned his money through less than legal means. His name turned up very few records and the details he provided about himself hardly illuminated his life.

No matter what, a sale was a sale and the man possessed enough legal standing to sign a contract.

The first sale opened the floodgates. After a couple of more potential buyers tried the mechs first-hand in a virtual environment, they became sold to the idea of owning the mech.

Their backgrounds ranged from retired mercenary commanders to well-off business owners. Ves soon reached his daily quota of ten Mark II's sold in the next couple of hours.

Once the quota had been met, most potential customers that came afterwards expressed regret for arriving too late. Many of them had visited his booth earlier and mentally dismissed his designs as overpriced, but once they heard how his Mark II caught fire they came back too late.

Antje smiled with satisfaction at the sight. "Herd mentality is at work now. Your Mark II Eternal Edition has turned into a must-own design. If nothing goes wrong, most of these latecomers will be back tomorrow."

"Hopefully they'll still be in a rush after a good night's sleep. I'd hate to see them lose their drive to purchase my mechs after they had some time to reflect." Ves remarked. "Herd mentality only works as long as there's momentum propelling them forward."

Ten Marc Antony Mark II Eternal Edition mechs represented around 400 million credits in value! If Ves sold out for the next three days, he'd make over 1.2 billion credits in revenue alone! After deducting all of his expenses, he'd still end up with roughly a third of that incredible sum, enough to fill up his current shortfall.

"It will be better if my Caesar Augustus start getting sold as well."

Many potential customers still shied away from the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition. Its intimidating price tag of 80 million credits sounded a bit too ludicrous even for enthusiasts. The ability to make a direct comparison between the Eternal Edition and the original model hurt a lot. They could get an original Caesar Augustus for well under 60 million credits, after all!

Maybe Ves had been a little bit too greedy for charging a 20 million credit premium on an intangible benefit. If nobody pointed out the design's excellent X-Factor, how could his potential customers not feel scammed if they decided to purchase a model?

At least the Mark II benefited from not having a direct comparison. While unmech variants of the Caesar Augustus existed, their specs different substantially from each other. The Mark II also acquitted itself well if someone compared its specs to those other variants that lacked compressed armor.

Once the first day of the festival transitioned to the evening, the events in the main hall started amping up. While many visitors left the side halls to join the festivities, many more guests arrived from elsewhere who found the press of the crowd intimidating. The side halls received plenty of fresh faces, and the number of people who congregated around his booth never diminished.

Every sales representative focused on pushing the Caesar Augustus. Despite setting a daily quota of three mechs, the fish simply refused to take the bait. Ves began to grow more concerned. His happiness for selling out the Mark II aside, he'd miss out on a lot of lost opportunities if his more expensive product line did poorly.

After a while, Antje came back to him after getting a pulse of his well-heeled crowd.

"There are still people who are eying the Caesar Augustus." She began. "Yet they're holding back due to their price. Their willingness to buy is pretty high, but not high enough to justify 80 million credits. Worse, they know that others are holding the same doubts. I think they've reached a tacit agreement to wait out your resolve."

"What does that mean?" Ves frowned. "Are they sure that no one will snap up my mech at my asking price?"

"That's exactly right. The seasoned collectors among them are familiar with this game. When they think a seller is demanding too much, they discourage everyone from making the first step. This forces the seller to lower prices. It's an open conspiracy."

Essentially, the two sides waited out each other's patience. The first side to give in lost the advantage. While Ves found the issue rather thorny, at least the willingness to buy his centerpiece model exist.

He worked his brain over the problem. "All we need to break their game is to force out a single sale. Once the first quota is sold, the second and third will be snapped up instantly."

"Again, the first step is the hardest. We don't have any other means to compel a sale."

Props and visual spectacles helped set the mood, but Ves had exhausted his options. The hall manager didn't allow him to turn on the Caesar Augustus because it didn't feature a Festive Cloud Generator. The striking looks of the Marc Antony and the Marcus Aurelius with their constant emission of colored vapor made the Caesar Augustus look plain.

"It will help if we turn off the two other mechs."

Antje shook her head. "We'll cut off all the buzz we generated so far. We can't stop midway. Besides, you still plan to auction the Marcus Aurelius, right? We have to do it when it appears at its best."

That gave Ves an idea. "The schedule called for auctioning the Marcus Aurelius in the late evening, but why not do it now? I think we can work up a buying fever if we auction the Marcus Aurelius. Those who didn't manage to get their hands on my exclusive variant can set their sights on the Caesar Augustus instead."

"That's a great idea, but there are a lot of risks involved if we auction your exclusive mech too early." The sales manager warned. "The lack of buying fever among your more expensive models may lead to an anemic bidding procedure. To my judgement, it's still too soon."

Something had to change. Either Ves decided to hold the auction now, or wait out the patience of his buyers. He preferred to take action immediately.

"Hold the auction now. Don't worry too much about the risks. I'm sure that there are people here who have been eying the Marcus Aurelius. It's a unique variant and only four of them will ever exist."

They held an informal auction in an hour, leaving enough time for those who kept their eye on his mech to return to his booth. Antje took care of the arrangements and made some space in front of his booth.

She also employed a specialized auction software that tracked all of the bids. Eligible bidders merely had to speak out to register their bids, which would be displayed in the open by the largest projector they possessed.

If anyone wanted to stay anonymous for some reason, they could also input their bids into their comms. As long as they verified their identities and proved they had enough money, the bidders had the option to hide their names and affiliations.

As the skies darkened outside Ansel, the auction finally went underway. Ves tried to hype up the crowd by taking the stage and explaining what he did to the Marcus Aurelius. He devoted his speech on both its technical aspects and its vision.

"This is more than a Caesar Augustus with a cape. This is a symbol!" Ves proclaimed as he gestured his hands towards his newest variant. "Imagine putting it in front of your headquarters or your collection hall. Who would diminish you when you own the king of mechs? Best of all, the model is extremely enduring and will last for hundreds of years with proper maintenance. Even as it ages, its essential quality will remain!"

Ves expected that anyone who bought this mech would never deploy it in battle, so he emphasized its brilliance as a display model. Once he finished his speech, he left the stage for Antje who finally started the auction.

"The price starts at zero credits! Please bid in increments of 100,000 bright credits. No other currencies or bartering will be accepted. Who wants to make the first bid?"

"I do!" A random mercenary laughed. "I'll take it for 100,000 credits!"

"200,000!"

"500,000!"

"3 million credits!"

"10 million!"

"10.1 million!"

"10.2 million!"

"10.3 million!"

"10.4 million!"

"You pussies! We'll be stuck here for the entire night if you two go on like that! 30 million credits!"

"I can say the same for you! Do you really think this eye candy is worth 30 million? I bid 45 million credits!"

A low murmur ran through the crowd as they heard that sum. 45 million credits was considered the floor price for a Caesar Augustus.

Now that the opportunistic low-ball offers stopped, the pace of the bidding reached a calmer stage. It took a few seconds for a new bid to follow-up on the old one. The bidders each looked at each other as if trying to figure out if they reached their limit.

The mass of people who gathered to join the fun made it difficult to figure out who still wanted to bid. Ves himself estimated the auction started with over a hundred bidders, but now that the price surpassed bargain bin territory, only around twenty serious bidders still remained.

"55 million credits."

"56 million credits."

"60 million credits."

"61 million credits!"

The auction further slowed down after reaching the magical figure of 60 million credits. For the same sum, the bidders could order an original Caesar Augustus fabricated by National Aeromotives themselves. Any bid that surpassed this sum meant that the bidder placed a lot of value on what Ves had contributed to the original design.

"63 million credits."

"63.5 million credits."

"64 million credits."

"64.5 million credits."

The remaining bidders began to grow reluctant. Some stayed patient and refrained from speaking out, while others started making bids anonymously.

"An anonymous bidder just put up 67 million credits!" Antje announced as the projection shifted. "Come on, is that all? Will you allow this precious mech to get away from your grasp?"

"Enough!" A powerful voice boomed. A man in military uniform stood up and silenced the tentative bidders in an instant. "I bid 80 million credits!"

Another commotion ran through the watching crowd. They never imagined a single mech in this festival could reach such a value. Even more remarkable was that the bidder came from the Mech Corps. People guessed whether he made his bid on behalf of a senior officer or a division.

Even Ves found the presence of the soldier to be puzzling. Did someone in the Mech Corps decide to do him a favor? He couldn't imagine any other reason why they wanted to get their hands on an outdated mech.

"Favor or not, at least a mental barrier is broken now."

With this bid, the Marcus Aurelius matched the asking price for the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition. Any further bids represented a strong desire to own its first copy.

"81 million."

85 million."

"85.1 million."

"86 million."

Only four bidders remained at this stage. The military officer competed against what looked like a collector, a CEO and an anonymous bidder. It all came down to nerve and the size of their wallets at this point.

"88 million."

"90 million." historical

"90.1 million."

"90.2 million."

"90.5 million."

"90.6 million."

For some reason, the final bid stalled at this amount. Antje waited for a dozen seconds, but the crowd remained as still as a graveyard. Eventually, she had to move the auction along.

"Alright folks, the current bid stands at 90.6 million credits. Going once..."

Not even a peep emerged from the frozen audience.

"Going twice..."

Just when Ves thought the limit had been reached, the man that looked like a CEO lost his patience. "110 million! This is my final offer!"

The vast sum came as a shock. Even Ves hadn't imagined such a massive bump in bids. While everyone blinked at the astonishing figure, Antje hurried the closing moments of the auction along.

"Going once, going twice..."

Ves thought Antje must be deliberately inducing haste to prompt the other hesitant bidders into action. Whatever her intentions, her gamble failed as no one showed any willingness to put up a higher bid.

"...Sold!"

The crowd erupted in hysterics as the Marcus Aurelius had been successfully nabbed by the businessman. The other bidders in contention had to throw in the towel when faced with such extravagance.

Ves didn't know whether the winner had been smart or foolish for raising the bar by an extra twenty million credits. Perhaps he thought that raising the sum by ten million credits provided too little shock.

The news traveled throughout the halls. More people started pouring in from elsewhere in order to catch a glimpse of a mech worth 110 million credits. While the main hall showed off many mechs that sold for more, it was still a milestone for the side halls.

As for the losers of the auction, they quietly approached his sales representatives and bought his stalled Caesar Augustus. Ves instantly achieved his daily quota of selling three of them a day. His face practically lit up in smiles when he heard the news.

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Chapter 228: Hype

Ves remained in a jubilant mood throughout the night. Despite the shaky start, his customers finally bit the bullet and submitted an order for his mechs. While they merely represented a reservation of sorts that could be cancelled at any time, Ves didn't worry too much as long as he delivered the mechs quickly.

The most astonishing event that happened that day was when the Marcus Aurelius sold for 110 million credits at an auction. In the Bright Republic, any mech that sold for over 100 million credits had to possess something special. Usually, only expert pilots and other elites piloted such mechs.

What made this case special was that the Marcus Aurelius reached this standard by virtue of its rarity and its so-called 'intangible value'. That was a polite way of saying that many people thought the winner of the auction grossly overspent on a mech that should ordinarily be worth 60 million credits at most. historical

One local news portal published a critical article about the auction.

"Through theatrics and guile, Mr. Larkinson succeeded in pulling the wool over the eyes of his audience. With the Vintage Festival's hall manager complicit in his scams, this money-grubbing mech designer manipulated his buyers into spending twice the amount of money that they ought to. We are dearly concerned with the Vintage Festival's integrity for hosting Mr. Larkinson and granting him additional favors that honest mech designers could only dream about."

On the other hand, many other news portal put a positive spin on the events.

"Have you heard of the Living Mech Corporation? If you're shaking your head, you're not alone! Founded by the scion of the Larkinsons, a military dynasty, the company made a splash in Ansel yesterday by selling and auctioning their limited edition mechs at sky high prices. Our resident mech analyst predicts that Mr. Larkinson has achieved a profit margin of a hundred percent, which sits at the top range for mech designers at his level!"

"It is a mystery why the Marcus Aurelius reached a value of 110 million credits. Mr Brandstein, CEO and chairman of the Brandstein Asset Management, is known as a shrewd investor and has never made any catastrophic bets. What did Mr. Brandstein see in the mysterious Marcus Aurelius that made him want this exclusive model at all costs? No matter his intentions, his august patronage has lent some sorely needed credibility to Mr. Larkinson's mech startup."

Ves shook his head as he browsed the articles the next morning. The reporters spun grand tales out of very little facts. Their articles mainly contained speculation and opinions that served to accommodate the existing biases of their target audience.

"Any publicity is good publicity." Antje told him as she ate her breakfast at the hotel they stayed at. "While these news portals don't reach very far, they are strongly rooted in Bentheim. They key to building up a brand in Bentheim is to lay down a distinctive track record. Stand out. Make a splash. Whatever you do, don't settle for mediocrity."

In other words, even if Ves screwed up, as long as he did so in a spectacular manner, he'd still be able to increase his name recognition. The amount of competitors in the Bentheim market reached such a ridiculous level that many average mech designers who designed normal, practical mechs never achieved success because nobody had heard of them and their boring designs.

It was easy to get lost in the crowd.

Once they arrived at his booth, they faced a difficult situation. Numerous buyers congregated around his sales representatives asking to purchase the Mark II and the Caesar Augustus. Normally, that would make Ves happy, but this time the number of buyers exceeded his daily quota.

"It's very important to handle this situation with care." Antje warned as she read through the waiting list of customers. "There are a lot of influential people on this list. How do you wish to proceed?"

Even though the situation looked great, the wrong decision could tip over the favorable balance that they managed to create.

Ves considered his options. "We could institute a first come first serve policy. Those who spent the effort on getting here the earliest have priority over those who come later. If we want to be really fair, we could also do a random draw of all the people who expressed interest in buying my products. We could even spread them out over the day so that no one will feel we've left them out."

"Those are fair options, but they're not the most optimal ones." His sales manager responded. "Right now, you're in the enviable position of being able to set your prices. Even at your current price levels, there is still room for growth."

That sounded logical, and in an ordinary situation he'd go for it. In economics, demand usually matched supply.

If demand exceeded supply, then the most appropriate response was to raise his prices until the cheapskates stopped demanding his products. Meanwhile, those with thicker wallets eagerly spent more for essentially the same products.

Still, Ves thought he had a good thing going on now. Pushing his buyers to the limit might cause a backlash that could see the momentum that had grown around his products fade.

"Let's keep the prices as they are." Ves decided. "My profit margins are hovering around a hundred percent already. That's extremely good for a newcomer in the mech industry. It's more important to consolidate our gains than to overreach our current market standing."

Antje looked disappointed, but she accepted his decision. As a marketer, she thought that Ves had lost an easy opportunity to earn some extra money. If they played their cards right, they could have earned twenty to thirty percent more.

To accommodate their potential customers, they decided to go for a random draw. Each hour, they held a lottery for the opportunity to purchase a single Mark II or Caesar Augustus. The announcement momentarily befuddled the crowd of buyers, but they stuck around anyway.

If they failed to win the first draw, they still had a chance in the second one, and so on. The arrangement slightly favored those who persisted the longest, though eventually luck formed the decisive factor.

"Another advantage of resorting to a random draw is that the winners will cherish their lucky opportunities." Antje noted as she saw the first lucky bastard jump into the air with joy. "That means the chance that they'll turn back on the transaction and demand a refund is a lot lower than if you raised your prices."

Throughout the second day, his booth became more of a exhibition than a store. Even more visitors arrived at Ansel today, causing the halls to be packed with people. Through word of mouth, his show models became one of the must-see attractions of the Vintage Festival.

The space in front of his booth became jam-packed with visitors. The hall manager sent additional security to his area to maintain order.

Ves found it amusing that people started to speculate on what made his designs so valuable. They entered a peculiar state where they sought for possible answers while staring at his show models. This made them more sensitive to the X-Factor the models radiated, causing them to come up with all sorts of wild reasons.

In any case, everyone pretty much agreed that his models possessed a certain gravitas that drew the eye. This was most obvious with the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition, but the Marcus Aurelius formed an especially puzzling mech.

People ascribed more value to the mystical mech because someone else already paid a fortune for it. Even if they couldn't sense its X-Factor, its mere perceived value had transformed it into a hot commodity that brought a lot of value to whoever got to own a copy.

That perception strengthened when the professional mech aficionados gave out favorable reviews of the Marcus Aurelius. Experiencing its X-Factor at close proximity and trying out its virtual version allowed them go get a taste of its special qualities.

They all used their own terms to describe their sensations.

"Larger than life."

"A mech with stature."

"A living legacy."

These authoritative statements fueled the anticipation surrounding the Marcus Aurelius. By the time they held the second auction, a famed collector finally managed to secure his bid at 120 million credits!

More and more people began to believe the Marcus Aurelius possessed a unique strength, especially if they tried it out in a simulation. The crowd started to demand he released the virtual model to the general public, but Ves refused to give in to the demand.

He wanted to maintain the aura of mystique around his most valuable model and maintain its exclusivity. The less people became exposed to the mech, the more they wanted to possess it. The limited amount of time allotted to simulations barely satisfied their cravings. In fact, it spurred them to an even greater frenzy.

On the third day, besides selling out his regular models, the third Marcus Aurelius had been won by an anonymous bidder for a modest sum of 115 million credits.

The lower sum compared to the day before represented that his model had reached its apex in terms of hype and perceived value. Even though demand for the Marcus Aurelius remained high, it reached a hard limit in terms of how far Ves could stretch out its value.

His suspicions born out when they held the final auction at the last day of the festival. With most of the guests attending the closing ceremony at the main hall, the buzz around his show models had clearly reached a low point. The final bid given by another CEO only reached 113 million credits.

While this still represented an unimaginable sum of money, Ves had secretly hoped for more. He shook his head at his greed. "I've already won big at this event. There's no need to complain about missing out."

The daily sales chart proved his success. His booth had topped the sales chart in Hall 2. Surprisingly, a few mech designers over at Hall 1 did even better. They mostly consisted of AUMD alumni who catered to their home market. While their profit margins were drastically lower, they managed to sell hundreds of mechs, all of which added up to a frightening sum.

Antje tried to console Ves. "They're already players in the Bentheim market, and their mechs are much more reasonably priced. These are natural results from your diverging product strategies. You've been targeting the high-end consumers while they've been focusing on the middle segment of the market."

"I see. You're right. It's stupid to fuss about this issue. We haven't been competing directly against each other."

He always envisioned the LMC to take the high-end route. Instead of investing in production capacity, Ves would rather develop his skills and his products and develop a reputation for excellence.

After a wonderful period of doing business, they began to pack up their props and dismantle their booth. Ves sent the show models back to Marcella's storage yard to be inspected and brushed up. Even if they served their duty as show models, they were destined to fall into the hands of his first clients.

"Goodbye, my sweet mechs. I hope you enjoy your new homes."

At the end of the ride, Ves wasted a lot of time on paperwork. Technically, he hadn't sold any mech yet. He only received a number of orders that he had to fulfill before the customer transferred the promised sum.

Despite these technicalities, Ves still made out with a fortune. First, he sold forty Marc Antony Mark II Eternal Editions. With 40 million credits a pop, the total sum reached 1.6 billion credits.

Second, he twelve copies of the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition for 80 million credits for a total of 960 million credits.

Finally, he auctioned out four exclusive copies of the Marcus Aurelius for a total of 458 million credits! Just four mechs earned him almost a billion credits alone!

Still, Ves had to throw in a lot of caveats that diminished his final earnings. First, Ves promised Marcella a ten percent cut out of his gross profits. That was ten percent less than their contract which Ves insisted on due to all the work he had put into this event. Even then, Ves would dearly miss that money.

Second, increased resource costs raised the production costs to a higher level than ever. Right now, the fabrication cost for a Mark II Eternal Edition evened out at 24 million credits, mostly due to the added premium materials included in its design.

The Caesar Augustus and Marcus Aurelius both cost around the same to produce at around 50 million credits, though the actual price fluctuated significantly from day to day. That meant that Ves might be able to pay only 49 million credits tomorrow, but 51 million credits the day after that.

Still, the general trend made it clear that Ves had to spend big in order to earn big.

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Ves faced the daunting prospect of trying to fulfill 56 orders in perfect order. He not only had to arrange the logistics in a way that kept his production line running as much as possible, he also had to be personally involved in each step of the way.

All of his customers ordered the equivalent of gold label mechs. If Ves decided to be lazy and left the fabrication to his employees, then the mechs would never reach their full potential in the X-Factor.

Once his customers got their hands on the diminished products, they'd look at their mechs and wonder if Ves bamboozled them. As the actual product's qualities couldn't match the show models, they'd be justified in their outrage.

"I can't cut any corners with these orders." Ves murmured as he drew up a rough plan on how to fulfill the orders as fast as possible. "The amount of stuff I have to take into account is growing by the day. I should probably beef up my administrative workforce soon."

At the very least, Ves required someone to take care of the administrative side of things. He also needed a financial wizard to manage his growing pile of cash. Relying too much on automated software to do his administration left him prone to overlooking too many things

After the Vintage Festival ended in a spectacular fashion, he immediately returned to the Barracuda with his followers and lifted off from Bentheim. He couldn't wait to return to his workshop and get his hands dirty.

Right now, time was of the essence. He had to fulfill his orders fast if he wanted to release an original design before the end of the year. While no one knew when the Vesians planned to invade the Republic, the pundits on the news portals all predict it wouldn't be too long. Both sides already started mobilizing some of their reserves.

In the meantime, the Mech Corps fought back against the rebels and the pirates preying on the shipping lines. The anti-piracy operations progressed decently as the Republic hunted down the smaller pirate outfits, though they failed to nail down their elusive leadership.

Closer to home, several famous divisions achieved great success at crippling the BLM's off-planet assets. Their influence in the greater Bentheim region shrank drastically as a result, leaving the separatists with too little assets to pose a threat on other planets.

Once the Barracuda arrived at Cloudy Curtain, Ves returned to his workshop under an even tighter guard.

Word of his success at the festival had spread to his home. While his stature and influence had grown, so did the risks. Sanyal-Ablin already informed him the amount of probes and hacking attempts on his workshop had increased by over a thousand percent!

His long-awaited help waited for him at the entrance to his workshop. "It's great to finally meet you! I'm Ves."

A stodgy man with greying hair clasped his hand in a strong grip. "Cyril Hockett, chief mech technician. Your grandfather offered me some new scenery, and I figured you could use the help."

"Your help is sorely needed. Right now, I've got a barebones operation going on. That was fine when I just started my business, but now I've got to fulfill a large quantity of orders."

Ves proceeded to explain the layout of his workshop. He introduced his incoming chief to his shiny new machines and explained their extensive capabilities. He also showed him around the storerooms and other areas to make sure where he could find what he needed.

When Cyril saw that Ves had no other workers in his workshop except for Carlos, he almost spat on the floor.

"This is a piss-poor workshop for a company that just received billions worth of credits in orders! When you've grown to the point where you aim to deliver more than fifty mechs in less than half a year, then you should stop thinking you can do everything by yourself. As far as I'm concerned, you should have started training up some mech technicians from the moment you incorporated your business."

"To be honest, the reason why I didn't hire any technicians sooner is because it's difficult to insure their loyalty." Ves sheepishly admitted. "If you've heard about the dangers I've been through, then you should know there's a very real threat of infiltration."

When his grandfather promised to send out a chief, Ves had briefly read his profile. Unlike some random technician he could hire off the street, Cyril had been orphan who lost his parents in one of the past Bright-Vesia Wars. He'd been picked up by the Larkinsons who took care of his upbringing so that he formed a strong loyalty to the family.

Many wealthy families engaged in such practices to form a cadre of loyal retainers. The lives of these men and women could have been much worse without the nurturing they received from their backers.

Due to his simple history and impeccable service, Ves trust Cyril almost as much as his father and grandfather.

His new chief already made some bold plans. "It's a little cramped here, but I like it. You've got some real quality equipment here. It's a shame you don't have enough hands to make full use of them. Let me take care of the hiring. I'll be sure to watch out if they're up to anything. With me around, they won't even get the chance to harm you." historical

Cyril's confidence provided some reassurance to Ves. He nodded at his chief and keyed him into the various systems that ran his workshop. In particular, Ves granted Cyril the authority to hire and train new personnel on his behalf. The chief didn't need to check in with Ves for every little decision he made.

Naturally, his security systems still kept track of everyone's movements. Ves occasionally skimmed the logs to make sure that Carlos hadn't been slacking off. He simply had some extra reading to do with Cyril's addition to his workforce.

"Delegate when you can." Cyril nodded approvingly. "The key to transitioning from a scrappy startup to an established company is to increase its scope but maintain control. You'll shackle your company if you insist on micromanaging every aspect. Focus on your strengths as a mech designer and leave all of the details to your underlings."

Cyril made some broad recommendations to his operations. Besides urging him to staff his administrative department, he also recommended moving his workshop within half a year.

"Why so soon?" Ves asked with a puzzled tone. "I don't expect I'll need to expand my workshop any further before I develop my first original design."

The chief shook his head. "That's a short-sighted perspective. With only a fixed set of orders to fulfill, right now is the best time to plan a relocation. If you haven't looked outside, your workshop is sitting at the edge of a suburban neighborhood. I'm fairly certain that the local zoning laws is prohibiting a further expansion of your workshop."

"Yes, but why is it necessary to move to an open area as fast as possible?"

"You need a bigger inventory! Not only for raw materials, but also for your products! Right now, you're shipping in materials and shipping out mechs with hardly any margin for error."

"I see. Until recently, I lacked the cash to worry about building up my inventory. Now I've got a large amount of mechs to deliver."

A larger inventory allowed his workshop to fabricate without interruption or delays. It also helped provide a buffer if war or piracy cut off the shipping lines between Bentheim and its major suppliers.

Cyril provided even more reasons to move. Ves could plan ahead and use a much more efficient layout of his work site with plenty of room for expansion. He could also consult Sanyal-Ablin on how to make his workshop safe and secure from the very start.

"Money can make a lot of people go crazy. It's unfortunate your recent sales have attracted so much scrutiny. You can expect a lot of important visitors to knock at your door in the next couple of days."

His words came true the next day. While Cyril went out to the local branch of the MTA to put up a recruiting notice, a familiar face turned up to his doorstep. Dietrich sat down on a sofa in his lounge with a serious expression.

He sighed. "I hate to be doing this, but my father insisted. You know how we've got your back, right? A lot of scum started snooping around our turf. We've been cleaning them up as soon as they show up, but it's tiresome work. You've become a big boy now under our protection. I even let you take advantage of my connections."

"I see." Ves said flatly. He already knew what Dietrich had in mind. "Nothing comes for free."

"Hah! Wouldn't it be nice to eat cloud rice every day! Sadly, you're right. You only get to enjoy something if you're willing to pay for it. That goes for both the trans-galactic corporations and the local liquor store where I've been buying my best drinks. Seeing as you're running a business yourself, it's time to pay your debts."

Before Ves made it big, Walter's Whalers treated him like kid. They indulged him to build up good relations and to insure they established a relationship before he rose up. Even if he never amounted to anything, it didn't cost the Whalers anything to make the effort.

Now they realized they were sitting on a gold mine. While they still wanted to be friends, they also wanted a piece of the very juicy pie that Ves had just brought back from Bentheim.

They negotiated for a couple of minutes. Unlike the domineering gangs in Bentheim, the Whalers presented reasonable demands to Ves and the LMC. They asked for a modest contribution of five percent of gross profits.

Ves expected worse, like a demand to cough up 500 million credits immediately.

"We're not stupid, you know?" Dietrich remarked when he noted that Ves doubted his words. "We run our own businesses, so of course we know a thing or two about liquidity. All those stories you've heard about the gangs in Bentheim are exceptions rather than the norm. There's a whole bunch of chuckleheads in that cesspit who have more greed than sense. They rarely last very long."

In fact, the Whalers made a shrewd decision by betting on the future. Demanding a five percent cut in gross profits sounded small while the LMC remained in its beginning stages of its growth. Once it expanded to the point where it sold tens of thousands of mechs a year, that five percent accumulated into a frightening amount of money.

Despite being taken advantage of, Ves knew he couldn't refuse the offer. He nodded wordlessly, and after exchanging a bit of pleasantries, his guest left the workshop.

"At least I only have to start paying for the next fiscal year."

Ves set the fiscal year to the date he first embarked on his career as a mech designer, which came up very soon. Not only did he have to file for taxes for his earnings up to now, he also had to make another interest payment on the debt his father accrued.

"It's interesting what a difference a year can make."

A year ago, Ves faced an existential threat because he started penniless with 330 million credits in debt. This unimaginably huge sum loomed over him like mountain that threatened to collapse on his shoulders.

The debt still existed to this day, only this time Ves had grown into a giant. Before he knew it, he became capable of tipping over the mountain anytime he wanted. Only his reluctance to spend his cash before he finished investing in a couple more licenses withheld him from doing so.

An alarm interrupted his musings. Someone else arrived at his doorstep. When Ves went up to see who came, he met a familiar face from the Pioneers.

"Mr. Larkinson." Linden Royce tipped his hat to Ves. "Can I come in?"

"Certainly. Come right in." Ves replied after his security cleared him of any bugs and threats. "I'm sorry to say I didn't expect your presence, deputy director."

"Recent developments changed our outlook on your case. And it's director now. My superior has been reassigned. There's been a lot of shakeups at the Pioneers. Certain factions lost support while others rose with the tide."

"And I suppose I'm to blame."

Linden smiled at Ves, confirming the jest. The recent revival of the mech scene on Cloudy Curtain had benefited the Pioneers the most. They grew from a marginal position with little influence to a formidable source of opposition to the Greens and the White Doves.

No matter how much they disliked each other, they had to rely on each other in order to resist the status quo.

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Director Royce left with empty hands after a largely fruitless meeting with Ves.

Having seen their true face, Ves did not have a good impression of the Pioneers. Even in their brief but cordial conversation, Royce always assumed an air that Ves already belonged to their crowd.

While Ves favored a better business climate, that did not mean he wanted to step into the swamp of politics. In his eyes, the Pioneers were just as sleazy as the ruling coalition. He had no doubt that as soon as the winds turned against him, the Pioneers would be the first to abandon his side.

No matter what the director promised, Ves refused to entertain any entreaties for his support. Faced with a brick wall in terms of willingness to cooperate, Royce got the message and made himself scarce.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to keep him at arm's length?" Carlos asked as he entered the lounge.

"I'm in the business of selling mechs, not policy making. Frankly,

The only useful bit of information Ves got out of the conversation was when Royce explained the Republican Commissioner's lack of involvement.

"The Commissioner is an old man who's been pushed out of a cushy position at the capital. Right now, he's expected to hold the fort and keep his head down. He can ill afford a controversy on his hands, which will be sure to happen if he intervenes." historical

"So we're simply a place of exile for an outmaneuvered politician?"

"Don't forget what planet we are on." Royce emphasized. "To the Republic, Cloudy Curtain is one of Bentheim's bread basket. As long as it keep supplying cloud rice, they don't really care how developed our industries are."

At the very least, Ves and the Pioneers agreed that Cloudy Curtain deserved to be more than a farm planet. That was why Ves rejected closer ties. They largely worked towards the same goal already.

"Let's get back to business." Ves turned his attention back to the real matters at hand. "Our first shipment of raw materials have arrived, right?"

"Yup. Enough to build four comechs. You wanted to fabricate the Marcus Aurelius first, right? Don't you think it's better to start with the Caesar Augustus and gain some proficiency?"

He shook his head. "I already mastered its design and most of its nuances. At my level of proficiency, I won't gain anything new after fabricating sixteen copies of the Caesar Augustus. I'm more anxious about finishing the most important orders first. Those who paid the most should get priority over those who ordered our regular products."

Ves had plenty of reasons to hurry up with the Marcus Aurelius models. For one, a couple of mech portals obsessed over the Marcus Aurelius. Those who experienced the show model up close gave out glowing remarks. Those who heard about the auction from afar savaged the design for being grossly overpriced.

While the auction contract didn't include the option for buyers to cancel their orders, Ves didn't want them to regret their bids. Fulfilling their orders as soon as possible should alleviate the criticism he received because the model would become more accessible this way.

Besides, fulfilling these orders also netted him almost half a billion credits in gross revenue. That was easy money, especially since he only had to deliver three additional mechs besides the original show model.

For the upcoming batch of mechs, Ves gathered Carlos and Cyril who returned from the MTA.

"The Marcus Aurelius is a prestige design. The frames have to come out flawlessly from our workshop. I'm going for perfection this time. Speed is not an issue."

"Do you want to utilize both production lines at once?" His new chief suggested. "The old one can be used to fabricate the less important parts while the newer one can do the bulk of the armor and other delicate components."

"No. It's important to give the models the impression that they're handmade by me. Even the most unassuming bolt needs to be fabricated with the best machine we have. We'll stick to the new production line."

While Ves wanted to fulfill his orders quickly, the Marcus Aurelius demanded perfection. Even the tiniest flaws that the MTA didn't care about had to be eliminated from the start.

With their new stock of raw materials, they proceeded to fabricate the three models one at a time. The relatively measured pace of fabrication and assembly insured that Ves could maintain his concentration over long stretches of time. This empowered the finish product's X-Factor and insured they didn't suffer from any deficiencies.

It took nine days to complete the three mechs. Even if Ves wanted to take it slow, the fast and efficient Dortmund printer insured a brisk pace. Ves sent them off to the MTA for certification, upon which they'd be shipped to Bentheim on a high priority berth in the next convoy.

Even though Ves claimed that he already mastered the Caesar Augustus and its derivatives, they still learned many new tricks. Carlos and Cyril especially gained a lot from the experience, the former due to his lack of experience and the latter due to his unfamiliarity with the design.

They both provided essential assistance that saved a lot of time. When Ves moved on to fulfilling the orders for the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition, they transitioned into a well-oiled machine that pumped out a frame every two days.

The workshop became a lot busier once Cyril recruited his first crop of mech technicians. He settled for ten bright young men and women who came from all over Cloudy Curtain.

The young technicians didn't possess impressive resumes, but Cyril recruited them anyway for their other qualities. Their relative youth and boundless optimism fit well in a young and growing company.

"Their qualifications aren't important. Anything can be trained so long as you put in the effort." Cyril remarked to Ves as he watched the technicians fumble around a practice project on the old production line. "What I'm really looking for are blank slates. It's essential for a workshop to be staffed by a core of true believers. These local technicians can be shaped and molded to fit your needs."

Basically, Chief Cyril aimed to replicate the same methods that the Larkinsons used on him. It sounded a bit manipulative to brainwash the recruits from fresh, but this was standard practice from the factory floor to the military. At this stage, Ves didn't require an abundance of competent technicians to assist him in his work. It was better for the LMC to lay a good foundation.

Ves didn't even bother to learn their names. All of the young men and women pretty much considered Ves to be a god. After all, he managed to earn billions of credits in revenue in a single event.

The difference in status between Ves and the average person had widened to such an extent that it rivaled the vast distance between galaxies. Ves had truly ascended into the ranks of upper society.

In general, if Ves needed anything trivial done, he told Cyril or Carlos, who delegated the actual job to the closest technician at hand. Thus, a three-layer hierarchy came into being with Ves as the emperor and the mech technicians as the plebians.

For the most part, this kept Ves from being disturbed as he did his work. While Carlos didn't have much of a talent for leadership, the mech technicians loved him for being a relatable mech designer, never mind that he never actually designed a commercial mech.

In short, his workshop experienced remarkable changes that elevated it from a tiny mech boutique to a proper mech manufacturing site. The backlog of orders insured that the mech technicians witnessed first-hand how an actual mech came into being.

Once Cyril brushed up their fundamentals, they even became more involved with the fabrication of the mechs. By the time Ves finished his fifteenth and last Caesar Augustus, their assistance sped up the fabrication process by at least twenty percent.

Ves sighed in relief once he fulfilled the most important set of orders. Having delivered all the premium models before their customers could back out of the transaction lifted a weight off his mind. "Now we're really going to pick up our speed. It's already more than a month and we still have over thirty mechs to go."

The advantage of leaving the Marc Antony Mark II Eternal Edition as last became evident at this stage. All ten mech technicians gained enough proficiency by now that they could be trusted to handle more important tasks. Along with the fact that the Mark II utilized uncompressed armor, Ves managed to fabricate a single frame in less than a day.

Another month went by as they maintained a rapid pace. Shipments flew in and out of his workshop almost daily as the workshop pumped out mech after mech. Even though Ves pushed the pace to the limit, he never exceeded it and risk losing control.

The constant, repetitive work sapped some of the excitement out of his mech technicians, but it also indoctrinated them fully into his company. Through constant nurturing by Carlos and Cyril, the workers became immersed in a workplace culture that emphasized initiative, cooperation and excellence.

"What about efficiency?" Cyril asked when Ves presented them with his outline for the kind of workplace culture that he wanted to foster. "Initiative and excellence sound good and all, but free-thinking mech technicians have a tendency to go off the beaten path and decide on inefficient methods."

"As long as my mechs retain their quality, I don't care. Efficiency is important, but don't forget that my aim has always been the high-end mech market. My profits margins are high enough that I don't have to be the best in the industry in this area. It's more important to insure a constant flow of flawless mechs. They might even benefit from a touch of individuality."

In the meantime, many of his customers have already received his products. With the spread of his prestige mechs, Ves created another minor buzz in the mech scene.

Two different CEOs won the auctions for the highly exclusive Marcus Aurelius. As soon as they received the mechs and transferred the payments, they displayed them prominently in front of their company headquarters.

The locations turned into local sensations with the placement of the new mechs. The strong X-Factor radiating from the frames exerted a subtle but pervasive influence to anyone that visited the offices. Those who worked there from day-to-day slowly adopted different work patterns.

In particular, they lost some of their short-sightedness and showed more consideration to the future. Whether these changes benefited the companies in question, Ves wasn't sure, but their and stature had solidified the Marcus Aurelius as a remarkable design.

The more numerous Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition provoked a lot of comparisons with the original edition. A couple of mech portals borrowed access to the Eternal Edition and conducted an in-depth look on what Ves had done to make them so special.

They came away with a lot of puzzlement. For some reason, each mech overperformed in a single aspect, and they couldn't find a mechanical reason for this deviation. They also couldn't make head or tails of the auras, though they definitely basked in the sensation.

Among the norm with gold label mechs, Ves included one of Lucky's unique performance-enhancing gems in the cockpit. The mystical gems worked their magic silently as he stamped each of them with the Anonymizing Stamp. With the promotion of the DarkSpear, Ves could easily afford the 100 DP it took to stamp each gem, though the numbers added up a bit.

With the addition of over a 100,000 DP, Ves had refrained from spending them until he finished his current set of orders. Even though he could benefit from improving his various Assembly Skills, he didn't strictly require any help. He'd rather save the points for more important Skills.

Almost every day, Ves turned on his Privacy Shield and explored the options provided by the System. As the time to design an original mech came within reach, he faced a difficult choice in his development strategy.

Should he widen or deepen his base of knowledge?

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Regarding the Mech Designer System, Ves had many ideas on where to spend his DP. The most luxurious one would be to upgrade his stealth module on his comm, but that drained pretty much all of his recent earnings.

"It's better to spend them on skills and attributes this time."

The more he thought about the prospect of designing an original mech, the more he realized the daunting nature of the endeavor. Not only did he have to make a functional mech, he also had to make it sell.

A peculiar trend in the mech industry was that mechs with strong strengths and weaknesses sold better than they ought to. This pattern became especially prevalent in the lower segments of the market.

They considered balanced mechs with no obvious traits the safe and boring option. Many of the mainstream models throughout the galactic rim, heartland and center consisted of these kinds of mechs. Even if they were as flavorless as water, their excellent quality control and lack of exploitable weaknesses made them safe to deploy in large amounts.

Generally, the mech industry believed that newcomers should focus on their strengths rather than balance out their weaknesses. Mech pilots sought out mechs that complimented their strengths. Even if their favorite models came with caveats, knowing about them beforehand allowed them to mitigate these weaknesses.

"It's probably too much to aim for upgrading a Skill to Journeyman-level." Ves considered as he finalized the shipment of the final mechs.

Excluding the original show models, Ves completed the fabrication of three copies of the Marcus Aurelius, fifteen copies of the Caesar Augustus Eternal Edition and around thirty-four copies of the Marc Antony Mark II Eternal Edition.

All of this should have taken more than a year in his old workshop, but with his new machines and mech technicians, he finished it all in just over two months. The speed at which his workshop completed the orders showcased the benefits of superior capital and labor.

"It's a bit daunting to sit around so many expensive machines. I also have to be responsible for my workers."

Even when Ves hired Carlos, Calsie and Gavin to help him manage the Living Mech Corporation, he always felt alone. In essence, he never really shed the sense that it was essentially a one-man operation.

Now, with the addition of eleven pair of hands in the workshop floor, every day turned lively. Even as they finally finished all the limited edition mechs, they still had a busy week ahead with the fabrication of the regular silver label Mark II's.

One benefit of his high-profile participation in the Vintage Festival was that the demand for his products spiked up. Marcella often received solicitations for Ves to fabricate a Marcus Aurelius or a Caesar Augustus.

Sadly for the latecomers, Ves had no intentions reducing the scarcity of those mechs. They stopped being rare if too many copies circulated in the market.

Thus, most customers turned away when they heard that Ves stopped providing mechs of that caliber. The only model Ves offered freely were the silver label Mark II's. His well-practiced mech technicians eagerly tackled the challenge of fabricating the Mark II's without direct involvement from Ves.

With Carlos and Chief Cyril watching over the eager men and women, Ves had nothing to worry about on that end. They used the new production line for the silver label Mark II's, which not only sped up the work, but also ensured the quality of the finished components.

The LMC sold an average of three silver label Mark II's per week. Despite tripling the rate of production, the drastically higher resource costs meant that his gross profits hadn't really increased all that much.

At this time, Ves also finished tallying up his finances for the end of the fiscal year.

Excluding the recent orders, the LMC accumulated around 700 million credits in regular business activities. The sum consisted of the investment made by the Larkinson family, the profits out of fulfilling orders for the gold and silver label Mark II's and the compensation for fulfilling 'irregular' orders.

To make the long story short, Ves earned around a billion credits in gross profits from the entire event. While Ves received more than that as payment for delivering the mechs, the painfully high resource costs as well as the minor cut to his mech broker reduced his earnings.

When Ves added various fees such as a one percent cut to the organizers of the festival and the various shipping and insurance costs, then Ves should thank his lucky stars that he still retained a billion credits.

Ves only briefly enjoyed the massive sum his company accumulated. Every business had to pay taxes, and the LMC was no different. Even though it benefited from several exemptions meant to ease the burden on startups, the LMC still had to cough up money to the planet and the state at an effective tax rate of twenty percent. The company paid fifteen percent to the central government and five percent to Cloudy Curtain's local government.

Furthermore, he also had to reserve money to pay for his other annual expenses. This included his electricity bill, which ballooned once the company gained the new production line. It also included the annual compensation for Sanyal-Ablin for its combined security, convoy shipment and insurance costs.

"I also can't forget to add the interest payment for the old loan."

After deducting a depressing amount of expenses to his company's account, the LMC was left with only 1.4 billion credits in liquid cash.

"It's not the windfall I hoped for, but it's still a huge pile of money."

Ves amply met his goal of raising a vast sum of money. While it took a short couple of months to earn this sum, he finally gained some options with regards to completing his set of licenses.

Right now, without a solid draft for his first design, he held off on shopping for component licenses.

"It's like baking a pie. Even though I already know the type of pie I want to bake, I still don't know if I want the filling to be apples or blueberries."

He had to be careful with acquiring the right component licenses. With stagnant profits, Ves could not rely on his company to raise more cash in the event he wasted his current savings.

The main problem he faced right now was that Ves felt apprehensive about drafting an initial outline for his design. He vaguely sensed a gap in his mind that warned him that he missed something essential to design a good original mech.

Over the past couple of months, this feeling grew stronger, to the point where it even haunted his dreams. Specters of possible futures where he introduced his first original design with bombast, only to be ridiculed by the mech industry happened every night.

"What am I missing?" Ves puzzled over his conundrum. Was it experience? Inspiration? Skills?

Even without spending his DP, Ves considered himself to be amply prepared for the task. Many other Apprentice Mech Designers published their first original designs without the help of the System.

Leaving out the freaks and the direct disciples, Ves should be one of the most prepared Apprentice Mech Designers without an original design in his belt.

Perhaps he needed a break. Ves had worked non-stop for the last couple of months. Even though he mastered his new equipment and refined his Assembly skills through constant repetition, he still found the work to be tedious, especially since he had to focus his mind to imbue his mechs with the X-Factor.

"I've been wondering if you were still human." Chief Cyril joked as Ves admitted his frustrations. "You've worked harder than any of us. Even I take a couple of days off. The way you're putting all your passion in your mechs is admirable, but if your entire life resolves solely around designing and fabricating mechs, then you're no different from a human-shaped bot."

The remark startled Ves. When was the last time he put down his work and relaxed? He couldn't even recall something as simple as that. "It's not easy getting my company up its feet. I only got this far because of all the effort I put into my career."

Even Carlos shook his head when he heard those words. "Ves, you've got to learn to relax. Even when we studied at Rittersberg, we still partied a lot, remember? What happened to the old Ves?" historical

"The old, average loser Ves made way for a successful founder and mech designer."

"You'll die an early grave if you keep that up." Cyril warned with a serious tone in his voice. "I get that you're focused in your work. You always achieve great results when you put your full heart and soul into your mechs. But damnit, you're draining your life!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean is that you should find some meaning in your life! Get a hobby, play some games, go on a vacation! Hell, the best way to cure workaholism is to get a girlfriend!"

"Hah! Don't talk about girlfriends with Ves! It's his sore spot." Carlos snorted.

Ves automatically ignored any talk about getting a girlfriend. Instead, he fixated on a particular term his chief technician uttered. "Find the meaning in life, huh?"

For the first time in months, Ves got the sense that he grasped a straw in the dark. The puzzle that forced him to stall his plans to design an original mech became a bit more comprehensible.

His subordinates showed him the light. Even if they joked around a bit, they still showed their concern. Besides mechs, Ves really had nothing else to occupy his life. Small things like playing with Lucky or talking to his relatives over the comm didn't count. He lacked any form of fulfillment besides his work.

To be honest, even if he realized this deficiency, he still felt reluctant about spending time on something else than progressing his career. He truly enjoyed designing mechs and running his company.

"What else can I do, then?"

"A lot of mech designers back in Rittersberg joined a club. There are countless clubs that cater to overworked professionals like you. There's golf clubs, painting clubs, gaming clubs, drama clubs, shuttle racing clubs and more. Whatever hobby you can mention, there's a bunch of men and women who enjoy doing their hobbies together. Everything is better if you share it with others."

That sounded fine on a major planet like Rittersberg or Bentheim, but a lightly populated planet like Cloudy Curtain probably didn't offer such a sheer variety of clubs.

Besides, Ves didn't even know what kind of hobby he should take.

Fortunately, Chief Cyril had some sage advice for him. "You should look into a creative pursuit rather than a sports activity. Mech design involves both art and science. While it's necessary to be proficient in science and engineering, you also need to flex your creativity. Many mech designers find a hobby for themselves to find inspiration for their next designs. Their ideas don't fall from the sky, you know."

His chief technician's words resonated with the doubts that lurked in his mind. He forgot about this essential truth in mech design.

The creative element distinguished mechs designed by bots from mechs designed by actual humans. Even though the latter might be prone to flaws and inefficiencies, the creative solutions employed by a human designer often led to better results on the battlefield.

The whole industry revolved around this nuance. The sheer variety of mechs being designed every day led to a vibrant mech market where a customer could ask for a mech in any possible shape or form.

While only a small portion of designs achieved commercial success, even the failures added something of value to the industry.

All of this enlightened Ves to the need to enrich his life. Without any other life experiences, how could he know what was best for his original design?

That still begged the question of what kind of hobby he should pick up.

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Ves considered designing mechs his life's calling. Since his birth into the Larkinson family, his upbringing constantly centered around mechs. Even after finding out that he'd never be able to interface with a mech, he switched his goals to designing them after a low spell.

Strangely enough, Ves never questioned his singular obsession with mechs. In the Age of Mechs, that shouldn't be a problem for most people, but mech designers had it different.

A mech designer designed mechs. While that sounded like a pleonasm, it actually hid a fundamental truth: a mech designer combined his knowledge and life experiences to shape a unique mechanical war machine into being.

What was a mech designer without much life experience? A bot. A run-of-the-mill cookie-cutter designer who studied from the same mainstream textbooks referenced by countless other designers.

"Is this why apprenticing to a Master and seeking fortune in danger is so important?" Ves hummed to himself. He felt as if he parted the veil behind a essential truth in the field of mech design. "Mech designers that lead monotonous lives will inevitably gravitate towards designing monotonous mechs."

He thought back on all the innovative designs he came across. From the glorious, larger-than-life Caesar Augustus to the gimmicky spear-dashing Hoplite, all of these unique creations possessed a spark of personality that no sane designer could have ever come up with if they holed up in a design studio all day.

Despite their various flaws, the personal touch imbued in their designs turned them into unforgettable classics that lived on in the annals of mech history.

What about the Star Designers, the very best designers in the galaxy? Legends like Apollo, The Polymath and The Armorer all possessed colorful biographies filled with excitement, struggle and tragedy. They persevered throw their lows and rode their highs towards the very top of the tallest mountain in the galaxy.

Even then, they still sought even greater heights, always grasping towards the unattainable heavens above.

"That's still too far away from me." Ves shook his head. Who was he kidding? Forget about reaching the heavens, he still hadn't finished his first climb. "Let's find a hobby first."

What did other people do for fun? Ves decided to ask his employees.

He already knew what Carlos did sometimes in his free time. Even back at Rittersberg, he occasionally sneaked to a game center and immersed himself in one of those casual mech simulation games.

Different from Iron Spirit, these games allowed neural peasants like Carlos and Ves to get a taste of actual piloting with minimal demands on their aptitude. They worked by pre-programming all kinds of moves into the virtual mechs. Players could activate them by issuing only a single mental command.

Rather than call it piloting a virtual mech, Ves considered it more like commanding a robot. He always felt very detached when he played such casual games. Even though the games evolved throughout the years to the point where even beginner pilots could pull off moves mastered by aces, it never felt real enough.

"So that's out."

Ves approached Chief Cyril next. He had a very peculiar hobby.

"I make my own clockwork from scratch. I started with the classics using alloys and woods, and after several years of mastery I moved on to incorporating exotics in my works. It's a great hobby for technicians like me because the skills and patience you learn from assembling clocks will greatly help your ability to put a mech together."

Clocks didn't call out to Ves. As far as he was concerned, if he needed to know the time, he could look up the current time from his comm.

With some reluctance, he started asking his technicians on what they did in their free time.

"I like to catch up on the mech duels of the past week with my buddies."

"My father used to be a pro at zero-G rugby. I still play some in the weekends at Freslin's local club."

"I'm part of a bird watcher's association. We're currently lobbying the local government to introduce more species of birds on our planet."

None of these activities appealed to him, but they did give him a sense on what people did for fun. Half of the time they took over the hobbies from their parents. That presented a problem for Ves, as his father was a mech pilot himself.

"What did my dad do in his off time?"

He liked to sit on the porch of their house and watch the murky sky of their home planet. Sometimes he brought out a data pad and read some literature about mundane people facing mundane problems. historical

Should he sit down and read a book like his father? "I already have to read a lot for my work, so I have no appetite to read anything else for fun."

Ves didn't imagine he'd have so much trouble finding a suitable hobby for him. The more he realized its absence, more he thought he hadn't been making the most out of his life.

He started dabbling in various kinds of arts.

He tried practicing music, but his complete lack of experience with any kind of instrument made it clear he needed to put in thousands of hours to get somewhere. For someone like Ves, that took way too much time.

He switched to painting next, only to get frustrated by his inability to translate his vision onto the campus. Besides requiring a lot of specialized skills and finesse, Ves also found the process to be tedious.

Figuring he had nothing left to lose, Ves tried out a couple of virtual games on his terminal. He tried his hand at being a battlefield commander ordering around virtual troops, an infantryman fighting against aliens in the trenches and a ship captain who tried to bring his battered ship home.

None of the games held his interest for long. Ves already worked in a sector closely related to war and conflict. Playing the role of a combatant was a nice fantasy, but he'd rather stick with his current job.

He also played some of the sillier popular games. He pretended to be an anthropomorphic pony on fairytale world or engage in a detective game where he tried to solve a fictional city's chicken theft spree.

The lack of depth and the substantial amount of detachment in these games bored Ves to tears. "Anyone who plays these games are either kids or adults looking to escape reality."

So even virtual games couldn't stoke his passion. Ves scratched his head and sighed. "I'm such a quintessential mech head. My entire life is geared towards mechs!"

It was not as if he understood where others got their enjoyment from their hobbies. They simply didn't resonate to Ves. His body and mind had been wired in a different way to most people, and it received a further transformation from his adventure at Groening IV.

"I've got alien genes in my body. Maybe that's got to do with my lethargy."

He couldn't deny that Ves still didn't understand his body. Even though he regularly visited a specialist from Sanyal-Ablin, he still felt a bit unsettled by the changes wrought by the additional organs in his body.

His Jutland organ still continued to circulate an invisible energy loop in his body. While his treatments helped subside some of the organ's strange effects, Ves always considered it with a wary eye.

For this reason, Ves declined to participate in any sports. His posthuman body gave him an unnatural advantage in this area. Many sports clubs automatically bar their gates towards any genetic deviants like him. They wanted to maintain an even playing field for the most numerous species of mankind.

"I can't blame them for doing so. They'll unleash a race towards hybridization if they allow people who muck up their genetics with alien traits in their ranks."

Ves considered taking a hobby closer to his calling, such as constructing functional scale miniatures or designing so-called 'fantasy mechs'.

The latter consisted of designing mechs using technology or principles beyond humanity's reach. In many cases, this referred to magic.

Several popular virtual games took place in a low-tech fantasy environment. The mechs that sometimes appeared in these settings ran on either pure magic or a combination of magic and technology. They provided an alternative to those who wanted to play with mechs but didn't wish to simulate reality so closely.

He briefly considered diving into this world, but begged it off after a while. "If I'm going to escape from my work, I better not be doing the same thing."

By now, even his subordinates grew exasperated by his ineptness at finding a distraction. Carlos tutted at him with a tired expression. "For heaven's sake, Ves, just get off your butt and go take a walk or something. There's plenty of things to do in downtown Freslin."

"I'm kind of under constant threat right now. My security guards advised me against taking casual walks outside. Who knows how many greedy criminals are waiting to kidnap me outside."

The LMC made a fortune out of its recent sales. No one could hide that fact, especially since dozens of news portals published articles about his products. The more money he accumulated, the more scrutiny he attracted.

Few of those gazes had the best intentions in mind.

Frankly, Ves started to feel that his current security arrangements could use some adjustment. Melkor and Raella helped by patrolling with their mechs, but Ves could hardly demand they stay inside their mechs for an entire day.

Work constantly tempted him back, but he resisted. "The workshop doesn't need me right now."

At the moment, the LMC only produced the silver label Mark II's. That didn't mean the design posed no challenges, but with Carlos on hand, his employees should be able to handle any problems themselves.

The new workplace culture started to show its effects. Under a combination of positive reinforcement and leading by example, Chief Cyril managed to instill the mech technicians with a sense of initiative. They loosened up and started giving out suggestions on how to improve particular processes.

Even if their ideas turned out to be brain-dead stupid, at least they made an effort. Ves had no wish to turn his company into a soulless profit-driven enterprise where its workers were treated like cogs in a machine. Carlos often complained about treated like dirt in his previous job as a quality control inspector at a major mech manufacturing plant.

Ves turned back to his quest to find a hobby. He even asked Lucky if he had any suggestions on what to do. The mechanical cat let out a puzzling meow before turning back to munching on a chunk of minerals, tail swishing lazily all the while.

"Okay then. Enjoy your meal."

Should he simply give up on his search or find a girlfriend to spend his time with? Ves quickly ruled out these options.

"Maybe I should go on a vacation."

He considered spending time on a retreat not too far away from home. While Ves liked to experience a change in scenery, he didn't wish to stay aboard a ship for weeks at a time. He couldn't afford to take too much time out of work.

The idea stood out as a great way to experience something new without making a substantial commitment to his time. With the speed of his Barracuda, he could easily reach most star systems within Bentheim's sphere of influence in a couple of days.

Ves browsed through a selection of nearby star systems and planets. Every settled planet in the Republic offered something unique to tourists. Even a boring place like Cloudy Curtain turned into a refuge for those that lived on worlds with very strong suns.

He paused flicking through the destinations when he came across an aquatic planet called Moira's Paradise. Water covered the entire globe except for a couple of artificial islands. Its settlers built many cities underwater.

While the planet originally offered very little in the way of aquatic flora and fauna, its enterprising citizens imported many remarkable alien wildlife into its ecosystem. They even managed to get their hands on a couple of exotic creatures that could only be found in the galactic heartland or the galactic center.

All of them deserved a closer look.

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Once Ves set his mind on his destination, he moved quickly. He browsed the galactic net for holiday options and selected a vacation package catered to the rich.

Ves booked a ticket aboard an advanced aquatic cruise ship that provided guided tours around Moira's Paradise. He paid 300,000 credits for the lowest-level package, which provided him with a basic cabin that nevertheless exceeded the standard of any 5-star hotel on Cloudy Curtain.

The tier above that offered him a roomier berth, a higher priority on visiting the various sights and premium service aboard the cruise ship. That sounded nice and all, but anyone who wanted to take advantage of these luxuries had to cough up 5 million credits a pop.

"That's not even considering the upper tiers."

Moira's Paradise attracted a decent amount of tourists from the neighboring states. The ocean planet worked hard to diversify its ecosystem to the point where it became a regional attraction. It offered a handful of unique exotic creatures that couldn't be found elsewhere in the Komodo Star Sector.

"There's also the aquatic mechs to consider. I've never been exposed to that scene."

An entire subculture developed around aquatic mechs. Any settled planet with oceans of water or other liquids required a whole different paradigm if you wanted to invade or defend it. Any regular mechs that fell into a boundless ocean quickly sank to the bottom until the increasing pressure crushed it like a can.

Aquatic mechs had to comply with two essential demands. First, it had to be able to handle the crushing pressure. Second, it had to be waterproof. This led to the adoption heavily armored fish or mermen-shaped mechs propelled by powerful jets as the norm in aquatic combat.

Weight formed less of a concern than elsewhere, allowing aquatic mech designers to stuff their mechs full of goodies that would have slowed a mech on land to a crawl.

In addition, aquatic warfare often occurred within knife-fighting range. The only viable form of long-range combat consisted of flinging torpedoes at each other. At close ranges, railguns, harpoons and ballistic rifles became viable, but not ideal. In third-rate states, melee combat dominated the oceans.

Having booked his ticket, Ves packed up his bags and brought along Lucky and Raella for the ride. When she heard he wanted to take her along for the ride, she looked a little put off.

"It's great that you're finally bringing me away from this boring as hell planet, but why aren't you going somewhere exciting? Moira's Paradise is a tourist trap! Hardly anything happens over there! Even the BLM doesn't bother with the place."

"It's either you or Melkor, and he's already had his turn. Besides, don't you want to see the aquatic mechs up close?"

"Who cares about those fish mechs? Besides, my Vektrix is absolutely useless without solid beneath her feet. I won't be of any use to you."

"Just come with me. I need someone I trust at my side."

With some reluctance, Raella eventually relented. She exacted a promise from Ves to bring her along if he went on another adventure. Ves privately thought she might have to wait for years, as he didn't plan to risk his life anytime soon.

They boarded the Barracuda and made their way to Moira's Paradise on a direct FTL transition. As a binary star system, it possessed a powerful pair of suns that made it relatively easy for the Barracuda to hone in on its coordinates. The corvette traversed the distance in a matter of days before reaching the edge of the star system.

Another day went past as they corvette made its way to the inner system and descended onto one of the few artificial islands dotting the surface of Moira's Paradise. They made it well in time before their cruise ship debarked from the island's port.

The massive submersible cruise ship looked like a starship with a streamlined shape. When Ves first caught sight of the Nautilus of the Deep, he found its scale to be as impressive as the luxury passenger ships plying the stars.

Ves, Raella and Lucky joined an orderly line of well-dressed passengers before the ramp. Considering the ticket price, none of the people possessed average backgrounds. The line moved quickly as an army of attendants processed their tickets and checked over their belongings.

Raella had to leave her pistol and her knife behind. The crew of the Nautilus took responsibility for their security for the most part, though Ves heard of tales where passengers resorted to fists. historical

"Mr. Larkinson?" A uniformed attendant called once he boarded the ship. "My name is Georgina Black. I'll be your first point of contact for your stay aboard the Nautilus of the Deep. If you have any concerns or requests, feel free to contact me in person or through my comm!"

They exchanged comm contacts before Georgina led him to his cabin in the lower decks. For 300,000 credits, the room he appeared sufficiently lavish. It's blue-gold embellishments added a deep-sea ambiance to the place. Ves and Raella handed their floating coffers to the cabin bots, which automatically sorted out their clothes and other belongings.

"The Nautilus will depart in two hours. Please make your way to the middle observation deck at that time. We'll be commencing the first part of our tour at that time."

After mentioning a few other points of notice, Georgina left the guests to their devices. Raella already started to yawn. "It's dull in here. Let's visit the shopping boulevard!"

The pair proceeded to enter the shopping boulevard set in the upper decks of the Nautilus. A transparent, retractable dome allowed strong sunlight to fall upon the boulevard. Plenty of guests have already set their sights on the luxury products in the displays. Raella pretty much raced towards the clothing stores.

Meanwhile, Ves strolled through the electronics and gadget stores. All kinds of conveniences could be bought for a pretty sum. A couple of products had even been imported from the Coalition, such as comm modules that sold for 500,000 credits.

The boulevards offered plenty of space for those who didn't feel inclined to spend so much money. Kids ran around the open park areas while older boys tried to woo the girls they came across. Couples sat together admiring the statues and other artwork that enlivened the interior.

Ves picked up a variety of accents from their conversations. He even caught a few Coalition speech patterns, most notably from the Carnegie Group. They possessed the most open culture within the Friday Coalition. It made sense that the more adventurous among them spent their holidays abroad where their purchasing power turned them into royals.

"What would someone like Oleg think when he visits the Republic?"

He'd probably be astounded by the lack of development of his state. The Bright Republic offered few prospects to elites like him. He deserved to perform on a greater stage.

Ves milled around for a while but refrained from purchasing anything. Even if his company's accounts strained with cash, the money should be spent on investments rather than useless consumer goods.

Besides, sitting in the park watching people go about their lives relaxed him in a soothing way. Here, he could let down his worries and forget about the concerns that weighed him down.

For the next ten days, Ves resolved to lay down his job as a mech designer and enjoy the sights like a normal tourist. Already he could feel the benefits of his decision to spend his time on Moira's Paradise. The harmonious environment cleansed his mind and soothed away the stresses that had been accumulating without his notice.

A tranquil mood settled in as Ves waited until Raella returned with a few bags of clothes. Ves had provided her with a generous allowance this time. After handing the bags off to a service bot that brought them back to their cabin, the pair followed the directions towards the middle observation deck.

The Nautilus featured an extendable hump at the upper part of her hull that provided a commanding view of the artificial island and the boundless ocean. Ves and Raella arrived in time and met up with Georgina, who gathered up around thirty other passengers.

"Alright, everyone is here!" The attendant clapped. "Welcome aboard the Nautilus of the Deep. As the most premier cruise ship on Moira's Paradise, the Nautilus offers the highest level of comfort and protection to our guests. Again, if you have any concerns, please feel free to inform me. Now, without further ado, let us set off!"

A low shudder ran throughout the massive ship. The Nautilus groaned before slowly edging away from her berth at the island's port. With deceptive slowness, the massive cruise ship flung herself forward and built up a considerable amount of speed and momentum.

As the island began to recede, a handful of aquatic mechs swam around the Nautilus. Their powerful jet engines easily kept up with the cruise ship's massive starship-sized propulsion.

After the excitement died down, Georgina detailed their schedule for the next ten days. "The Nautilus will be bringing you along some of the best sights our planet has to offer. In the first leg of our journey, we'll be submerging ourselves into the Vermillion Sea. You'll be able to see some of our many exotic creatures up close and learn why they are treasured by the galaxy!"

A projection came into being that showed off some of these alien creatures. None of them appeared monstrous, which was likely a deliberate decision by the rulers of Moira's Paradise. No need to scare the kids away.

"Next, we'll be visiting Fort MacLellan, a neutral, sovereign bulwark built to resist an alien invasion. Built and maintained by the MTA, this mobile, floating fortress features many advancements prevalent in the center of the galaxy. Much of its areas remains off-limits, but they offer limited access to vetted visitors. Not to worry, anyone who's currently aboard our ship is already cleared."

The projection showed an intimidating mass of construction the size of downtown Freslin. It was shaped like an oval and moved through the water with unknown means. Squads of aquatic mechs emerged from various launching points around the floating fortress.

Its smooth, thick hull gave the illusion that MacLellan functioned like a turtle. Ves wasn't fooled. Even as he recognized the precious exotic alloys used in its construction, he also spotted the outlines of giant, retractable hatches that undoubtedly covered enormous weapon emplacements.

"Fort MacLellan also offers distinguished guests a tour of their first-class aquatic mechs. VIPs and those who pay a fee are granted greater privileges in this tour. Please check the details in the virtual guide that's been sent to your comm."

First-class mechs was an informal term that people used to refer to mechs built to the standards of a first-rate superstate. The vast majority of the mechs that Ves encountered in the Republic consisted of only third-class mechs, while the Coalition had it better with their second-class mechs.

In truth, the designs utilized by Fort MacLellan consisted of bottom-tier first-class mechs. If any mech pilot showed up to a duel with a bottom-tier mech, they'd be laughed away before they get a chance to fight.

Still, a pauper mech from a first-rate state turned into a kingly steed the moment it entered the galactic rim. Even Ves looked forward to seeing first-class mechs in the flesh.

"After experiencing the majesty of the MTA, we'll be descending to the deepest depths of the Vermillion Sea and arrive at Cava City, the entertainment capital of Moira's Paradise. Cava city offers great opportunities for art enthusiasts in its sector-renowned museums. Fancy some shows from Cava City's renowned theaters? Refer to the virtual guide and let us book your tickets on your behalf."

Cava City offered much more than museum and plays. The place had become notorious for its freewheeling gambling and competitive aquatic mech scene. While Bentheim held the crown for landbound and aerial mechs, Moira's Paradise was a mecca for amphibian and aquatic mechs.

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The Nautilus submerged after the guides finished their introductions. Ves noticed that the crew arranged different guides to different groups. Some preferred bots while others preferred no guide at all. The VIPs even had a full staff catering to their every needs.

As for Ves, he preferred staying in a group. The surrounding people already started introducing themselves as they waited for the Nautilus to reach the required depths in the Vermillion Sea.

Ves introduced himself as an independent mech designer, which didn't raise a lot of eyebrows. There were bankers, socialites, shipping magnates and scientists among the crowd, and all of them occupied leadership positions of some capacity.

Only a quarter of the tourists dealt directly with the mech industry. Ves found himself drawn to a conversation with a middle-aged shipping magnate named Eddie Zhang.

"So you are predicting and abrupt collapse and rise of prices in exotics? How does that work?" Ves asked with evident confusion.

"Mr. Larkinson, you speak of exotic minerals as if they are all the same. That's a gross oversimplification of the market. The Komodo Star Sector is relatively barren in exotics in both quantity and variety. It's the latter that's been causing anxieties for us. Our neighboring Star Sectors are increasingly tightening the flow of exotics that's been exported from the galactic heartland."

"Are they growing hostile to us?"

Eddie shook his head. "Nothing as nefarious as that. The Vicious Mountain and Majestic Teal Star Sectors have their own internal tension to deal with, so they are basically intercepting any shipments of exotics before they reach our sector. We're the last kid in a very long line of hungry children, and the cafeteria only has so much bread to pass around."

Ves found it ironic that a wealthy man like him with a net worth in the billions used such an allegory.

"But the Komodo Star Sector still produces its own fair share of exotics, right?"

"Yes, and the quantity is sufficient to meet the needs of the domestic industry, but certain types of minerals are too hard to come by. The Bright Republic doesn't make too much use of these expensive imported exotics, but the Coalition and the Hexarchy will be badly affected when they find they can't produce their high-quality second-class mechs in the desired quantities. Once that happens, the knock-on effects will resonate throughout the sector."

"I see now." Ves could also think through the consequences. "Even though the second-class mechs require imported exotics to produce, they also take up a large share of locally sourced exotics. Once the mech manufacturers find themselves bottlenecked by decreasing imports, the local exotic resource market will end up in a glut of unsold exotics."

That could be good and bad for the mech industry in the Republic. Certainly, Ves didn't think it would be that simple and that the LMC would enjoy a reprieve from the rising cost of raw materials.

All of these worries threatened to burden his holiday, so Ves avoided the topic of mechs. As the Nautilus started diving past various colonies of remarkable marine life, the guides started to explain their origin and their notable traits.

"The spirellian spike fish is a notable species of carnivorous fish unique to the Komodo Star Sector. The spikes extending out of their bodies are not only incredibly tough, but they also enable the fishes to communicate with each other through extradimensional means. Larger schools of spike fishes are able to pool their power together, to the point where it has been proven that they have been communicating with another school of fish several light-years away."

That required a school of over a million spike fishes, something that the spike fishes on Moira's Paradise couldn't sustain. It sure sounded impressive nonetheless. Seeing the spirellian spike fishes swim in unison in such a coordinated fashion hammered home the beauty of nature.

Throughout the next two days, the Nautilus visited various reefs, volcanic vents and trenches. Each time, the passengers gazed wondrously at the exotic marine life making their homes there.

One of the most notable exotic species consisted of fluorescent amoeba. They actively emitted a rainbow of colored light. These shapeless blob-like creatures not only looked resplendent in the dark, but also hid their thorns very deeply.

"The suryean amoebae are notable for being one of the few species in the galaxy to have weaponized radioactivity. If they are provoked in any fashion, they will burn away most of their energy to flash an intense burst of radioactive light that will fatally affect their attackers. Most often, the amoeba in question will die, but others of its kind will feed on the remains and reproduce."

Just when Ves thought he'd experienced enough exotic species, the aeliotonoc whales took him aback.

"One of our most valuable exospecies consists of the aeliotonoc whales. These whale-shaped, eight-limbed creatures are actually genetic off-shoots of an the extinct sentient alien species called the Aylos. If you remember your history lessons, in their early expansion into the galaxy, the Terrans encountered the Aylos. While they were rather slow-witted, these sentient space whales developed a form of FTL that was leagues better than what humanity cobbled together on their own."

The Terrans quickly found out that the Aylos tended to be pacifists, so they outright stole their FTL technology before waging war on them. Utilizing their new ships to their full advantage, they took the Aylos off-guard and wiped them out to the last whale.

Communication between the two species had always been rough, but near the end of this genocide, humanity managed to develop some form of communication with the Aylos. At their final moment, the space whales made a desperate plea for their species to live on, rather than be wiped out from existence. historical

Since humanity already occupied a commanding position, they assented to the request. Through extensive genetic manipulation, they developed the aeliotonoc whales from the carcass of the once-majestic Aylos species.

Humanity saw it as a final humiliation for a species they vanquished, but the Aylos species considered it a continuation of their lineage.

Nowadays, historians considered the war against the Aylos to be one of humanity's most formative steps to dominating the galaxy. The anti-alien extremists in the Terran government increased their grip on power and began to pursue a policy of rapid expansion and aggression.

This subsequently led to humanity's greater expansion in their origin star sector. Even though they bumped into trouble when they bumped into a regional alien superpower, their boundless ferocity gave them a fighting chance.

What startled Ves about the aeliotonoc whales was not their history, but their mental energy. As the Nautilus gently traversed along a colony of playful whales, his sixth sense started pinging with increased intensity.

Each time a whale did something notable, his sixth sense spiked. The strange sensation totally rooted Ves in place. "How are these creatures so strong?"

Every whale possessed an immense mental strength that Ves could hardly believe it at first. Yet despite the power locked in their bodies, the signals they put out was a mass of chaotic noise that easily blended into the background.

"They've got all that strength, but they don't know how to use it."

Ves never really paid too much attention to the history of mankind's early ascent into space. The Aylos species only formed a footnote in their long and contentious rise to the stars. If humanity hadn't stolen their FTL technology and adapted it for their needs, the space whales would have been forgotten by all but the most obscure historians.

Now, he took a second look at their history. What made these whales so remarkable that they needed so much mental strength? How strong were the original Aylos, and how did they utilize their powers?

He approached Georgina when she finished her initial explanation. "Can you tell me more about the aeliotonoc whales?"

"Certainly, Mr. Larkinson. Do you wish to know anything specific?"

"What are the uses of the whales?" He asked.

Every exotic species they encountered offered something useful to the planet. For example, Moira's Paradise cultivated the spirellian spike fishes for their spikes to serve as substitute materials in the construction of quantum entanglement nodes.

"Besides serving as a monument to mankind's defeat of the Aylos, the aeliotonoc whales are harvested as ingredients for high-value psychotropic drugs. Many inexplicable mental conditions can be treated with these drugs."

Georgina didn't know much more about the drugs because it touched upon the core business of the transgalactic drug manufacturers.

She knew more about the empathic nature of the aeliotonoc whales. As a near-sentient aquatic exospecies, the creatures demonstrated a remarkable capacity to bond with any humans they came across.

All of this hinted that the whales possessed exceptional minds. Ves wished to get closer to the creatures, but Moira's Paradise strictly prohibited contact with the aeliotonoc whales except for therapeutic purposes. The Nautilus only lingered for half an hour before its time was up.

The cruise ship made its way deeper into the depths of the Vermillion Sea. Fort MacLellan ordinary drifted in the deepest trenches of the planet's oceans.

"The Nautilus will be arriving at Fort MacLellan tomorrow morning." Georgina explained. "Make sure to set your alarms and wake up early if you want to step foot inside the fortress. The MTA maintains a strict schedule and any latecomers will be refused at the gates if they arrive one second too late."

"Why is the floating fortress drifting so deep? Won't the pressure put a lot of stress on its shell?" A kid asked.

Their tour guide smiled along with most of the adults. Almost everyone knew the answer. "That's a good question! Think about what forts are supposed to do. Can you tell me why they have such thick and strong exteriors?"

"So that they can bounce off attacks!"

"Good! Now think about a fort in water and compare it to a fort in space. The latter is surrounded by vacuum, which is another word for empty space. If someone fires gun at the fort, the vacuum will do almost nothing to prevent it from reaching the fort. Now compare that to Fort MacLellan, which is many kilometers underwater. If you fire a gun from the surface of the ocean, it will only reach a short distance before the projectile loses power."

"Oh, so all of this water is like another form of armor."

"That's right! The deeper you go, the more stuff you put between the fort and any attacks from space. In fact, aquatic planets are often considered fortress planets for their ability to hold off against a siege. That's also the reason why the MTA decided to build Fort MacLellan here."

A tourist with a military background added his own insights to the topic. "Floating fortresses are superior to underground fortresses because they are able to move around. The water already renders most forms of weapons of mass destruction ineffective. Lasers fired from battleships in orbit will get refracted while projectiles lose their momentum. Anything else that gets through will often lose their mark as the fortress has already drifted away."

The floating fortresses also used other means to obscure their presence from wide-area scans. By hiding within the depths of the oceans, these fortresses forced invaders to allocate a lot of resources in combing the waters for their trails.

Such a game of cat and mouse could drag on for years or even decades, making the invaders very miserable. In comparison, conventional underground fortresses were often found within weeks. Their inability to move made their presence obvious once the invaders brought powerful enough scanners.

"So the fort will only be useful if aliens invade our state?"

"Yes. Floating fortresses like Fort MacLellan takes a lot of resources to maintain. The Republic isn't able to build one that is good enough to hide against conventional scanners."

After answering a couple of other questions, Georgina left and the tour group dispersed. Just as Ves wondered if he should look up the space whales on the galactic net, Raella grabbed his arm and dragged him elsewhere.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I just found out that they're holding a concert in one of the auditoriums. Do you know who's performing? It's Stellar Fantasy, yo! I can't miss seeing them up close!"

And so Ves spent the rest of the day attending a concert.

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The Nautilus of the Deep made her way towards the depths of Moira's Paradise. In this age, humans preferred to live above blue skies and breathe fresh air, but some made do without them. On aquatic planets, the vast majority of the population lived underneath massive domes at the bottom of the oceans.

Fort MacLellan differed from those static settlements by possessing both stealth and mobililty along with a very thick shell. Combined, these traits turned the floating citadel into one of the best protected bulwarks against external threats.

As the Nautilus arrived at the right coordinates, a handful of fast marine shuttles descended onto the cruise ship. Heavily armed security officers in MTA colors scoured over the entire ship from top to bottom. Even Ves and Raella had to be subjected to a couple of scans.

The pair had been cleared to enter Fort MacLellan, but Lucky had to be left behind.

"Our apologies, Mr. Larkinson, but our scans can't penetrate your mechanical companion. For safety reasons, it's best to leave your pet behind."

Ves acquiesced to the demand, especially since the Mech Trade Association guaranteed his security aboard the fort. Besides, if the MTA turned on him for any reason, he doubted Lucky could make a difference. Against the vast might of one of the two most powerful human organizations in the galaxy, nobody could afford to go against their will.

When the fort came into view of the ship, everyone on the observation decks held their voices. The floating fortress appeared as a giant metallic egg with many segmented surface plates, all of which could be retracted to reveal weapon hardpoints or hangar entrances.

At its current state, the fort hid its fangs, but its gigantic size loomed like a constant threat. An estimated fifty-thousand men and women manned the fort, enough to lockdown the entire planet if it stockpiled enough supplies.

Once the Nautilus had been checked, the MTA started shuttling tourists over to the dormant egg. A small hatch opened up to allow the marine shuttles to enter the belly of the beast. A powerful energy screen kept the water at bay. Despite the immense pressure at this depth, the energy screen never flickered from the stress.

Georgina gathered her tour group once the passengers exited the shuttles. She led them through a series of guarded checkpoints through depressing grey corridors.

The entire interior appeared utilitarian to the extreme. Ves spotted hardly any artwork or decorations that could cheer up the people manning the fort. Every service member they passed by maintained dour expressions that spoke of complete dedication to the cause.

"Even the Mech Corps isn't as serious as these dummies." Raella carelessly remarked, which earned him a few glares from the other guests.

It was never a good idea to disrespect the MTA, especially in the middle of one of their strongholds.

"You may be wondering why the service members are unusually focused on their tasks." Georgina said when the atmosphere turned tense. "That is because they are exiled from the galactic center and have been forced to take up a post in the galactic rim. Essentially, they are not here by choice."

"So is everyone here a constript? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Not everyone aboard the MacLellan is a conscript. Half are volunteers sourced from across the Komodo Star Sector. Once they signed up with the MTA, they formally renounced their citizenship to their former states and have become a true galactic citizen. Even if they don't look like it, they all hold very strong fealty to the MTA."

As an organization renowned across the galaxy, the MTA knew how to inspire loyalty in its people. Much of what actually happened inside its halls remained classified, but everyone knew that service members almost never turned against the organization.

Some conspiracy theorists even thought that the MTA injected nanites in their members to influence their thoughts. Since such an act violated a fundamental taboo enforced by the very same organization, no one entertained such ideas.

An MTA public relations officer met with Georgina at the end of a long series of corridors. Unlike most service members, the officer actually smiled.

"Welcome aboard Fort MacLellan! For the next two days, I will be guiding you around the fort. Our first destination is just up ahead. Follow me."

They followed the guide to a massive chamber that hosted a giant cannon barrel the size of a corvette. The sheer size of the thing underscored how powerful the fort could be if it ever bared its fangs.

The PR officer began his speech. "Fort MacLellan hosts many advanced types of weapons, from pulse cannons to antimatter nukes. While I can't speak about most of those armament, sometimes we find the simplest solution the best solution. This big boy here is a plain old gauss cannon that's been scaled to fit our needs. Just like any weapon that works on electromagnetism, it propels a heavy alloy slug forward at unimaginable speeds. At the right depth, we can even crack a battlecruiser in half."

Everyone got to enter the control room and witness simulations of the super-sized gauss cannon at work. A childish glee took over the guests as they pretended to hurl accelerated slugs at various simulated targets, all projected with an unprecedented level of realism.

After everyone got a round with the cannon, the PR officer brought them along some other places.

They dropped by the mess hall to experience first-class food.

They visited one of the armories, where they got to hold some very advanced infantry weapons. Tourists who held weapon proficiencies even got to fire them in the practice range. Ves especially found the pulse rifles intriguing.

Pulse weapons served as the standard weapon in the galactic center for its ability to deal both kinetic and thermal damage at the same time. As long as weapon developers paired the technology with sufficiently powerful energy cells and heatsinks, a pulse weapon vastly outlasted conventional ballistic weaponry.

"I'm not a fan of rifles, but this rifle is really awesome!" Raella whooped with enthusiasm as she fired the rifle until it reached its heat capacity. A block of alloy at the range turned into a broken, half-molten mess. "I only drained ten percent of its batteries!"

A lot of other people took note of this, prompting the PR officer to speak up. "Human technology has made enormous strides into increasing the density of our energy cells. In truth, the rifles you are holding are all equipped with the lowest tier of energy cells. It's unfortunate that our heatsink technology hasn't caught up with our needs. Normally, we allow the rifles to vent the heat or eject the sink and replace it with a cold one." historical

The officer demonstrated the procedure. The spent heatsink came out red hot, to the point of distorting the air around it. If the officer didn't wear a specialized glove, he would have burned his hands down to the bone.

"The more you move to the center of the galaxy, the less restrictions we face in terms of power supply. A cutting-edge mech of the New Rubarth Empire can output enough energy to power a capital ship."

That meant at minimum a battlecruiser, a capital ship crewed by thousands. Battlecruisers possessed enough armaments to wipe out every form of life on a planet such at Bentheim or Rittersberg. The notion that all of that power could be compressed in a single mech completely astounded Ves.

"Does MacLellan have one of those mechs?"

"Sadly, no." The officer smiled as he shook his head. "Such mechs are extremely demanding in their fabrication and maintenance requirements. It would cost as much as the GDP of the Bright Republic to maintain a cutting-edge mech for a single year."

Again, the tourists learned how little the Komodo Star Sector mattered in the greater scheme of things.

"While we don't have a cutting-edge mech to show off, we do have plenty of excellent first-class mechs to offer."

They moved on to one of the many mech stables of Fort MacLellan. Even Ves looked forward to this part, as he had never come across an aquatic mech in his life.

Everyone expressed their awe once they came across the mechs. Every mech looked like giant metallic fish. Only a couple of mechs adopted humanoid traits in their design.

"Much like the aquatic mechs of the Bright Republic, our mech pilots favor hydrodynamic shapes over the increased flexibility of a humanoid aquatic mech design."

"Why don't aquatic mech pilots want arms?"

"Oh, it's not that they hate arms, but they bring more cons than pros when you fight underwater. In practice, the speeds at which aquatic mech combat occurs makes it difficult for a humanoid mech to swing its weapon. Mechs have to fight against the water before they can deal any damage to their opponents."

Humanoid mechs also had a tendency to lose grip on their weapons at higher speeds. They had to lock their weapons to the frame through various means if the mech had to crank up their jet engines. Mech designers might as well adopt a fish-shaped design and embed the weapons along the frame in fixed hardpoints.

"That's not to say that humanoid aquatic mechs serve no use." The man quickly added. "Mechs face less pressure the closer they are to the surface of the ocean. Sometimes, aquatic mechs have to fight against enemies that are on the surface or in the air. Arms provide more flexibility than rigid hardpoints in this case."

They got to visit both varieties of mechs. The first design consisted of a classic merman mech. It possessed a humanoid torso and a fish-like lower body. Its complicated arrangement of scales and flexible internal frame made the lower body as responsive as the body of a snake. It allowed the mech to maneuver through the water with a high degree of control.

With a mech designer's eye, Ves noted that the mech had been fabricated in an absolutely perfect state. Besides some evidence of routine wear and tear, the mech appeared flawless. Other copies of the same model exhibited the same traits.

"How are these mechs produced?" He asked, unable to contain his curiosity. "They don't look like they've been fabricated and assembled with ordinary means."

"That's because we don't fabricate the mechs, we materialize them." The PR officer smiled with pride. "Each design is reproduced from atom to atom with a materializer. You'd have to bring up a lab-grade scanner to notice any discrepancies from the mech and its original design."

"How fast is this process?"

"Oh, it's fairly fast. The best equipment can materialize a mech in less than an hour. Materialization is our most advanced means of producing mechs. Still, it will likely take several hundred years for the technology to proliferate to this corner of the galaxy, as materializers demand a lot of power to run."

While the technology sounded impressive, Ves found the results to be less than stellar. The mechs appeared completely dead to his senses. Even when he strained his Sixth Sense, he encountered nothing but silence.

Even the sloppiest fabricated mech carried some remains from the people who worked on the machine. Ves had never encountered a mech that felt more dead than these aquatic mechs.

A normal mech fabricated by his competitors at least showed some potential for life. Even if their X-Factor ended up in a stillborn state, it still left some remnants that possessed a chance to be revived.

A mech that had been materialized lacked this possibility. The influence of any single human being had been diminished to the point where he had to activate a single command on a materializer. Once he lifted his finger, the materializer did the rest of the work, reproducing the design from atom to atom with precision that only machines could accomplish.

"The future of manufacturing technology is becoming increasingly more soulless." Ves lamented quietly.

The pursuit of speed, efficiency and precision had no limits. Human beings imposed many constraints on these goals, as their wobbly limbs, slow reaction speeds and questionable judgement made it difficult to ensure a perfect production run.

Personal craftsmanship became increasingly more irrelevant in the face of better technology. Ves took a final look at the merman mech and turned away. He completely lost his appetite for MacLellan's mechs.

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Beyond the childlike fascination of witnessing humanity latest toys at work, Ves thought the visit to Fort MacLellan served another purpose. There was no reason for the MTA to show off its might to the well-heeled tourists of the Nautilus than to put them in their place.

For Ves, the visit reminded him that the states in the Komodo Star Sector meant nothing to the MTA. As far as they were concerned, the conflicts between the states resembled toddlers fighting over a favored toy.

Still, even the MTA and CFA had their limits. Even though they made a lot of strides in binding the fractured human states together, they never attempted to unite all of humanity into a single galactic empire.

History had shown that such a cause often ended with disaster. Nowadays, the galaxy was big enough to accomodate all kinds of rulers and states. The existences of countless kingdoms, republics, federations, alliances and more attested to the diversity of their race.

After touring a couple more aquatic mechs and other curiosities, the tourists shuttled back to the Nautilus. The final leg of the holiday consisted of a three-long visit to Cava City, the party capital of Moira's Paradise.

The tour organizers offered a lot of options for the passengers to choose. Some preferred to visit the city's seedy gambling dens while others preferred the city's fantastic art scene.

Raella wanted to attend a high-profile aquatic mech duel tournament. Ves on the other hand wanted to find some inspiration by paying a visit to the city's many museums.

"Cava City isn't safe. We shouldn't split up."

"Oh, come on Ves, why do you have to visit those boring museums? If you want to admire some artwork, why don't you look them up from your terminal?"

"A projection is no substitute for the real thing."

"That's what artsy design folk like you would say. To me, it makes no difference!"

They argued a bit but Ves had the upper hand since he paid all the bills. Ves only relented a bit by promising to spend one day at the arena before going off to the museums and art galleries.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're wasting your time." Raella remarked with a touch of spite in her tone.

"Culture is never a waste of time." Ves replied as he registered their plans to the tour operators. They'd receive their priority tickets within the hour. "It takes a lot of creativity to come up with a good design. They don't fall off the sky like apples from a tree."

A mech designer had to come up with something creative in order to make a splash in the market. Many of his rivals forgot about this rule and published generic designs that competed in the same saturated market segments. They'd never be able to beat the mainstream models that have gone through countless rounds of optimization.

As the Nautilus traversed along the bottom of the ocean, Ves considered whether he'd benefit from spending his DP. He eyed his Status and his stagnant Attributes and considered whether to invest in candies that upgraded his Creativity.

[Status]

Name: Ves Larkinson

Profession: Apprentice Mech Designer

Specializations: None

Design Points: 112,530

Attributes

Strength: 1.3

Dexterity: 0.8

Endurance: 1.9

Intelligence: 1.8

Creativity: 1

Concentration: 1.7

Neural Aptitude: F

Skills

[Assembly: Apprentice - [3D Printer Proficiency III] [Assembler Proficiency III]

[Battle Mechatronics: Apprentice

[Business: Apprentice

[Computer Science: Incompetent

[Electrical Engineering: Apprentice - [Structural Pathway Configuration II]

[Mathematics: Journeyman

[Mechanics: Journeyman - [Jury Rigging III] [Speed Tuning III]

[Metallurgy: Journeyman - [Alloy Compression II]

[Metaphysics: Incompetent

[Physics: Journeyman - [Directed Energy Weapon Optimization II] [Lightweight Armor Optimization I] [Mediumweight Armor Optimization III] [Melee Weapon Optimization II]

[Salvaging: Apprentice

[Signals and Communications: Apprentice

Abilities

[Superpublish: Available. Can be activated once a year.

Evaluation: A post-human mech designer with a random collection of Skills.

Over the months, his physique had stabilized at their current levels. With an endurance of 1.9, his body performed close to the genetic limit of the human race. His strength had also decreased by a significant margin.

For now, Ves ignored his physical Attributes and focused on his mental ones.

"There should be a reason why the System includes Creativity in its Status page."

The industry often repeated the phrase that designing mechs was both an art and a science. Now that Ves faced the prospect of designing his first original mech, he became aware of the importance of those words.

"It's never wrong to invest in my mind.

With a stockpile of over 100,000 DP, Ves had the points to spare. He decided to upgrade his Creativity first. Right now, Ves merely wished to improve his capability to appreciate art.

Ves checked whether his Privacy Shield still worked before purchasing a bunch of candies. "Come on, System, give me the candies!"

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,000 Design Points

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,100 Design Points

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,200 Design Points

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,300 Design Points

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,400 Design Points

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,500 Design Points

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,600 Design Points

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,700 Design Points

[Creativity Attribute Candy: 1,800 Design Points

The candies materialized before him. Ves had never figured out how the System did that, but now that he learned about materialization, he started to foster some suspicions. He looked at his form-fitting comm resting on his wrist, but no matter how much he stared at it, he couldn't believe it actually packed such a wondrous piece of technology.

Since the System maintained its silence, Ves simply shrugged and started swallowing the candies one after another.

The candies worked their magic in a gentle fashion. Ves found it hard to describe the transformation in his mind. It was as if a gentle breeze blew into his mindscape. Wherever it passed, flowers bloomed and animals grew.

The difference between a Creativity score of 1.0 and 1.9 quickly became apparent. His mind bloomed with possibilities. Ves found it difficult to hold his focus as his senses ceaselessly stimulated his imagination.

Things ceased to become things.

They became something more.

For example, when Ves looked at a half-empty glass of water sitting on the table, his mind started to go off a tangent about its origins. The glass possessed an exquisite design, but Ves could tell it had been mass produced.

He imagined some dirty factory on some rusted planet that had pumped out these glasses on the cheap. His mind made up the tragic backstories of the handful of workers whose job entailed looking after the bots that did the actual work and cleaning up after their messes if they screwed up.

Even the water itself sent his mind into a wild story about how some primordial comet traversed the stars for billions of years before it fell into Moira's Paradise. The Nautilus of the Deep sucked up some of the fallen comet's water molecules out of pure coincidence.

"I've got to get a grip on my mind!" Ves clenched his teeth as he attempted to stop his overactive imagination. "My mind works for me, not the other way around!"

In the end, Ves had to employ his considerable concentration to force his imagination back. He maintained his highly focused state throughout the day until his imagination started to relent.

"That could have been dangerous for me." Ves wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Maybe I should show more consideration for balancing my attributes."

If he didn't possess a strong concentration, then he might have gotten lost in his own world. Ves never imagined that upgrading his Creativity could lead to such a dangerous result.

"The mind is a sensitive domain. I should be more prudent about it. I should stop swallowing all of the candies at once at the very least."

He'd become too complacent of its relatively mild effects. The candies appeared trivial compared to gene boosts that came with very strong side effects.

The ordeal forced him to pause his plans to upgrade his other Skills and Attributes. He had a sense that his imagination still needed to be tamed. Right now, Ves felt as if he birthed an uncontrollable monster in his mind. Without a leash, it could wreak havoc with his mentality.

For the rest of the day, Ves rested in his cabin, only coming out for meals and such. Meanwhile, the Nautilus continued her journey to Cava City without stop. By the time Ves recovered sufficiently to leave his cabin, the cruise ship reached her destination.

"The city looks huge." Raella uttered as she stared out from the observation deck.

"Millions of people live and work in Cava City. Of course it's huge."

Massive transparent domes littered the bottom of the Vermillion Sea. The domes kept the water out from the man-made construction contained inside. If Cava City faced a threat, the domes could even be covered by armored shutters made out of bulk exotic alloys.

To make their surroundings more attractive, Cava City spent a lot of effort in transforming its surroundings. Powerful lights illuminated the strange and colorful marine flora around the domes. Aesthetically pleasing fish and other marine life made their homes among these alien plants.

Despite the immense pressure at this depth, the plants and fish swayed leisurely along the currents. All the biodiversity gave Cava City the impression of an underwater kingdom.

The Nautilus arrived at a bustling port that hosted many other ships. Once the ship established a connection with the structure, the passengers entered the city in a figurative horde.

Ves entered the city with Raella and Lucky in tow. This time, his cat got to enjoy the sights as well. His cat purred with pleasure once Ves brought him out of the familiar confines of the Nautilus.

Mindful of his security, he also brought along a pair of guards. The cruise organization maintained a partnership with a local security firm that regularly hired out its guards to the passengers of the Nautilus. Ves had to pay an extra fee to get some piece of mind.

Once they stepped out into the nearest dome, they looked around and admired the dynamic structure and the lights flashing from their surface.

"It's so wild here. I like it!" Raella grinned.

"Strange. There's no mechs in sight."

"That's because mechs are prohibited from operating inside the domes." A nearby tourist responded to Ves. "Think of how much damage a rogue mech can do. If they're powerful enough, they can even crack the dome above our heads!"

Ves and Raella shuddered a bit at the thought. Ves had it worse as his overactive imagination started to spark a very vivid image of what a catastrophe a cracked dome could be.

"I guess that makes a lot of sense." historical

Even though they constantly faced the risk of a malfunctioning dome, Ves still felt safer in Cava City. The lack of mechs meant that Ves still had a fighting chance if another incident occurred.

One of their guards flagged an aircar. Once they hopped inside, the car brought them to their first destination. The car entered an underground passage filled to the brim with other vehicles and leisurely passed underneath a dozen domes before reaching the busiest one.

"Welcome to Cava City's mech district!" An invisible transmitter greeted the new arrivals as they stepped out from their aircars. "Enjoy your stay but be mindful of the rules!"

Several flashing warning signs posted at the exit the of the parking area emphasized the rules again.

The rules basically boiled down to one thing: no active mechs allowed on the streets.

"Do people break these rules?" Ves asked his guards.

"It happens more often than you think, Mr. Larkinson. Emotions run high during some of the duels. Sometimes the mech athletes put themselves under debt in order to compete at the stage. If they lose, they stand to lose everything."

The explanation showcased the darker side to dueling scene. Raella shook her head in pity. "A lot of people don't realize how much credits it takes to run a dueling team. There's always kids entering the amateur circuit who think they can get by with their skills alone."

"What happens next?"

"They find out they're not as big of a deal as they thought. Some duelists are quicker to realize this lesson than others. Those who hold on to their delusions either have the skill to back up their confidence, or become ruined within a year."

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A large and boisterous crowd waited before the biggest mech arena in the mech district. As a fully developed aquatic planet, Moira's Paradise hosted a robust mech scene that revolved completely around aquatic mechs.

Fans of the aquatic variant of mech duels favored their brutality. The estimated mortality rate in an aquatic duel was five times higher than normal due to several factors.

First, the water pressure often killed off the pilots if the cockpit incurred minor damage. If the cockpit's automated self-repair systems couldn't fix the crack in time, that tiny crack could quickly grow into a massive breach.

Aquatic mech duels therefore came in two flavors. Low pressure aquatic mech duels occurred in conditions that simulated a depth of up to a hundred meters, while high pressure mech duels adopted a depth of at least ten kilometers. People often considered the former to be a stepping stone for the latter.

"Low pressure duels are fast and rely a lot on reflexes. While you need to master a lot of specialized skills to do well in these duels, there's not a lot of money to be made in this circuit." Raella explained as they entered the arena's VIP gate.

"So it's kind of like the kiddie version of the real duels?"

"Yup. The high pressure duels is where the real action can be found. The mechs there are larger and slower, so the mech pilots have to move deliberately and with forethought. Every action matters and one mistake can spell a fatal end. It's a high pressure environment in more than one way, you could say."

"That sounds stupid. Why won't the organizers make things safer for the mech athletes?"

Ves didn't understand why anyone would be willing to compete in a high pressure aquatic duel. The high risks associated with these duels ensured that you might never come home after a match.

Even veteran mech athletes with a decade of experience occasionally died. Fatal accidents could happen to anyone at any moment.

"Fans pay a lot more to attend these kinds of events. Aquatic mech teams earn a ton of money if they're halfway decent, though they have to spend even more to repair their mechs."

Aquatic mechs outmassed their landborn forms by a significant amount, so it cost a lot of resources to produce and maintain these beasts. While these mechs featured a high degree of compartmentalization, any breached sections had to be written off, which added to the costs.

Once the gate personnel processed their tickets, a uniform attendant guided them to a private room that hovered above the arena. Around two thousand floating rooms surrounded the massive arena. Aquatic mechs required a lot of space to bring out their full strengths so the amount of space dedicated to this sole arena exceeded his imaginations.

Lucky made himself comfortable on a nearby sofa while Ves tinkered with the control terminal. Its various settings allowed him to project multiple angles at the same time. It also allowed him to relocate his floating room.

Ves lowered his room so that it almost went up to the transparent dome that enveloped the pressurized dueling ring.

"When will the action start?"

"The first duel starts in half an hour. Would you like some refreshments?"

They ordered some drinks and waited for the arena to fill up. The VIPs entered the floating rooms and started moving them to their preferred positions. As for the regular folk, they had to make do with the bleachers.

A lot of people already arrived early, and in the time that remained, the seats became filled to the brim. Over half-a-million people came to watch the upcoming series of duels.

"What's happening today?"

"Don't you know?" Raella looked at Ves as if he was an idiot. "It's the finals of the Sea Crown Tournament! Two of the best aquatic mech teams are going to duke it out in a series of five 1-on-1 mech duels!"

The Cava City Sea Dragons enjoyed a long and illustrious track record ever since they became the city's hometown team. They won the Sea Crown for three years in a row already.

As the challengers, the Velton Myrmidons faced an uphill battle in the coming finals, but a lot of people rooted for the underdogs. With their young team of highly talented athletes, it remained to be seen whether they could beat the odds.

"Who will you support?"

"The Myrmidons, of course! The Sea Dragons are good, but their previous team captain retired recently. This is the best opportunity for the Myrmidons to take the Crown from the Dragons!"

The spectacle finally began when a pair of announcers came into view.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman to the crowning event of Cava City! Today, the Cava City Sea Dragons will be defending their title against the ambitious Velton Myrmidons!"

Two-thirds of the crowd stood up. "Sea Dragons!"

The supporters of the challengers also rooted for their team. "Myrmidons!"

The sheer amount of energy in the air fueled a frenetic atmosphere that called for blood. Even Ves got caught up in the excitement. Just like Raella, he looked forward to the upcoming clash.

"The team leaders have submitted their final lineups! First up, the Red Kraken will get the chance to avenge his miserable defeat at the hands of the Unstoppable Juggernaut!"

People often referred to the top athletes by their nicknames. The names also helped outsiders like Ves get a sense on the piloting style of the individual duelists.

After a lot of pomp and ceremony, the pressurized arena ring started to churn.

A hatch opened up to let in the Red Kraken of the Myrmidons. Like its namesake, it had been designed to mimic the mythical kraken. With its eight articulating limbs and a host of hooks and other nasty surprises, the monstrous mech possessed plenty of tools to dismantle an opponent within its grasp.

The Sea Dragons sent out a more traditional aquatic mech. The Unstoppable Juggernaut piloted a hammerhead shark-shaped mech. Different from its organic counterpart, the Sea Dragon mech featured a thicker and more robust head that had been designed for collision.

"That hammerhead mech must be expensive to maintain." Ves astutely noted. "The mech technicians in charge of maintaining that mech must be hating it with a vengeance."

Raella browsed the records of the Juggernaut. "You aren't wrong, but the Juggernaut and his mech is one of the best aquatic mech duelists in Cava City. Every opponent he meets on the ring has to respect his devastating rush."

Whatever damage the Juggernaut incurred, his opponent's mech likely fared worse. Such a mutually destructive game of chicken led to expensive repair bills for both sides. The Juggernaut only remained viable because he enjoyed the support of a well-funded team and the crowd loved his antics.

"A lot of viewers from the Republic tune in when he enters the stage."

"What about his life expectancy?"

Raella shrugged. No one really cared about the danger when a spectacle was involved.

In any base, the round began. The churning waters made it difficult for both mechs to hold their course, but as their jets powered up, they started to gain more control.

Both mechs circled around each other. Despite the Juggernaut's focus on collisions, his mech incorporated a small miniature torpedo launcher that he used to send out some harassing fire.

The Red Kraken intercepted most of the torpedoes by firing out short-ranged spikes from the main torso of his octopus mech.

The hammerhead mech took the opportunity to close in for its first charge. It revved up its engines and its short-range aquatic boosters to propel itself forward like a missile in flight.

"Too early!" Raella shouted. historical

Even if the Red Kraken focused on taking out the torpedoes, he didn't forget to keep an eye on his opponent. The Kraken smoothly dashed his mech aside, dodging the first attempt with ease.

The Juggernaut didn't take the failure to heart and steered his mech into a lazy circle to maintain some momentum.

Both mechs incurred no damage at all so far. Since the Red Kraken piloted a relatively immobile mech, he didn't bother to chase after the hammerhead mech. Instead, he positioned his mech at the side of the dome where he'd be able to limit the angles of approach of his opponent.

The tension ratcheted up. Everyone waited for the Juggernaut to make a move. As the duelist with the faster mech, he had to take action within the next couple of minutes.

"Why is he holding back?" Ves asked.

"His mech is very one-dimensional. Besides his mini-torpedoes, he doesn't have any other ranged options. The only way he can avoid a loss is if he keeps moving. He has to find the right angle and moment to charge in order to maximize his success for a collision."

The match turned into a standoff as the Juggernaut refrained from going in. Ves couldn't imagine how much pressure the duelists faced.

"He's moving!"

The Juggernaut finally chose to move, turning his circling trajectory into a straight path towards the octopus mech. As the hammerhead bore down on its target, it initiated its short-range boosters at full strength, closing the gap at such a speed that the Red Kraken only had seconds to respond.

He juked his octopus mech upwards at just the right time to dodge the charge!

Just as Ves thought the hammerhead mech would miss its target and collide against the edge of the dome, the Juggernaut made a split-second move. The hammerhead mech cut off most of its forward jets and activated the auxiliary boosters attached to the bottom side of its frame. In addition, a large fin-shaped spike slid out from its upper frame!

The Juggernaut turned his mech's forward charge into an uppercut strike that savaged the octopus mech from below, slicing away two of its tentacles in that single pass!

The crowd went wild! Even Raella whooped at the move. "Kudos to the mech designer of that Sea Dragon mech!"

Even Ves admired the modifications put into the mech. Mech designers in the employ of a competitive dueling team often changed the designs of their mechs to keep them fresh.

A lazy team risked an awful loss if they used the exact same mechs for all of its matches. Their opponents could easily analyze the weak points of their designs and practice fighting against them in countless simulations.

Still, the Juggernaut lost his momentum after making such a drastic change of course. Before he could move his mech away, the Red Kraken pounced at the stalling hammerhead mech.

His octopus mech engaged his own short-ranged boosters and moved to envelop the hammerhead mech with its six remaining tentacles.

"Ohh! What a misplay by the Juggernaut! He failed to move away in time. Now his mech has become entangled!

Even as the hammerhead mech cranked up its engines, the octopus mech solidified its grip on its raging prey. Its six tentacles managed to clasp the hammerhead mech tightly before it could force its way out of the trap.

Saws, spikes and other cutting implements emerged from the tentacles and started to rail against the armor of the Juggernaut's mech. Even with its thick, shock-absorbing armor, the ceaseless grind from the Kraken started weakening its weak points.

After a solid minute of thrashing, the Kraken cut its way through the side armor! The water pressure enlarged the breach and crushed the internals in that compartment. The hammerhead mech lost ten percent of its power!

Even as the Kraken continued to exploit more weak points, the Juggernaut gave up on disentangling the tentacles. Instead, his hammerhead mech engaged its short-ranged boosters for the last time, propelling both entangled mechs against the surface of the dome!

Crack!

The main torso of the octopus mech collided against the dome head-first! Even after such a shock, the Red Kraken still continued to cut apart his prey, managing to cut open another compartment!

Both of the duellists raced against time. Would the Red Kraken disable the Juggernaut fast enough before his opponent bashed his octopus mech into pieces?

The duel turned violent as both mechs suffered continuous damage.

CRACK!

In the end, the octopus mech succumbed to its wounds. Its tentacles started to lose their strength and the vital central torso suffered critical damage to its power reactor. The Red Kraken quickly conceded before the damage reached his cockpit.

"The Red Kraken transmitted his surrender! The first round goes to the Sea Dragons!"

As the spectators stood up to cheer for their teams, Ves sank back in his seat and shook his head. The hammerhead mech had been built like a tank so it could take a lot more abuse. The Red Kraken should have let go instead of holding on so stubbornly.

"It's a bad matchup for the Red Kraken." Raella noted a little glumly. Her adopted team lost the first round, after all. "Of all the opponents he could duel, he faced off against the heaviest aquatic mech."

In a best-of-five, the Myrmidons already fell behind! They couldn't afford another loss if they hoped to obtain the prestigious Sea Crown!

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The second round commenced after various bots cleaned up all the debris from the pressurized arena ring. Two very different aquatic mechs emerged from the hatches.

The Cava City Sea Dragons sent out a stubby eel-like mech. The announcers already laid out their predictions.

"Slippery Winston has entered the stage! Will the third-strongest member of the Sea Dragons deliver another victory for his team?"

"Not very likely in my eyes, as the Velton Myrmidons mean business this time! Look who they brought into the ring!"

The Myrmidon supporters among the crowd erupted in support of the mech athlete who entered.

"Firebreather! Firebreather! Firebreather!"

Unlike other aquatic mechs, Firebreather's mech took on a shape that didn't resemble any terrestrial animals. From the commentary the announcers provided, Ves learned that the designer adopted an original shape that didn't resemble any Terran or exo creature.

If Ves had to describe Firebreather's mech, he'd say it resembled an octagonal honeycomb. Its symmetrical angular sides all featured octagonal-shaped armor plating. Besides functioning as modular armor, the armor plating also camouflaged the placements of thrusters, boosters and weapon hardpoints.

The logic of its unusual design became evident once the round commenced. The eel mech approached the octagon mech, slithering forth with electric grace. Sparks of current ran throughout its frame, making it obvious that tangling with it up close was a bad idea.

Slippery Winston started off the engagement by launching a pair of high-powered harpoons at the octagon mech. Both of them puncturered through the octagon mech's relatively weak plating.

"Firebreather got harpooned! But will it stick?"

A strong current ran through the cables between the harpoons and the eel mech. Yet before it could do much damage, a spark of liquid heat erupted from the affected side of the octagon mech. The cables melted apart, freeing Firebreather from the electric attack.

The octagon mech started to spin a bit and present an undamaged side to the eel mech. Its strange shape gave the mech a lot of options as it possessed an array of weapons and thrusters at each side. Constraints in disposable space limited their power, but the enormous redundancy gave the mech a lot of options.

Not content to sit back and let Slippery Winston out of his grasp, Firebreather sent his mech forward and fired off volleys of short-ranged heat attacks.

Even if Slippery Winston gained his fame for his ability to dodge all kinds of attacks, the wide area heat sprays proved extremely difficult to avoid. His eel mech specialized in agility, but its top speed left something to be desired.

"It's like a battle between a striker and a skirmisher." Raella noted. "Except this skirmisher is a little slow."

"It's hard to design an aquatic mech that can go faster under these circumstances."

Mech designers had to allocate an exponential amount of power to mobility if they wished to make an aquatic mech go faster. Thus, most deep sea designs emphasized agility and power over pure speed.

Right now, Slippery Winston's eel mech started to looked cooked as its armor plating started to break down from the continuous exposure to heat. The duellist of the Sea Dragons attempted to fight back by launching harpoons and missiles, but the octagon mech's ridiculous amount of redundancy made it look like they fell into an endless hole.

"This match is over." Ves predicted. He could tell that the eel mech didn't have much in store except to go all in.

Ordinarily, such a move would be best as it could use its deadly electrical currents to fry its prey from within. historical

Slippery Winston must have realized his predicament. As his eel mech started to get cornered, he finally stopped avoiding the attacks and dove head-first into the octagon mech.

"Oh, Winston is going in! Will this be the end?"

"He's falling right into Firebreather's hands!"

The octagon mech blasted out a giant spray of heated liquids that struck the eel mech head-on. The sheer amount of heat distorted the water around them, but Ves could see that Slippery Winston cleverly rotated his mech to spread the damage over its frame.

However, the octagon mech kept pumping out a constant torrent of thermal energy. Firebreather decided to dump his full arsenal at this moment, which rapidly degraded Winston's mech.

Yet the eel mech still persisted under these circumstances. It used the tail end of its frame to lash against the octagon mech, smashing aside the armor at those spots.

The two mechs continued to batter at each other, hoping to force their opponent to concede first. The contest of endurance turned into a contest of wills. Whoever lost their nerve first would be savaged by the pumped up crowd!

Even Raella clenched her fists at the action underneath their floating room. "Get closer!"

"I can't. There's too many rooms in the way!"

A whole pile of floating rooms had congregated around the side where the fighting took place. The VIPs all wanted to get close to see the outcome of this decisive moment with their very own eyes.

Moments like these reminded Ves why he adored mechs. The visceral combat stimulated the primitive part of his brain that craved for blood. For all humanity pretended to be civilized, deep down they still let themselves be ruled by the instincts that evolution had been slow to erase.

The sense that he lost his purpose started to fade as he got caught up in the fight. He made an important realization during this match.

"Mechs embody violence."

When Ves recently worked on his limited edition mechs, he explicitly designed them to be display models. While there was nothing wrong with designing mechs for peaceful purposes, it should never be his primary focus.

A real mech should be bred for war. Any refinements that Ves chose to add to his mechs should never overshadow their primary purpose of destroying their enemies.

The duel reached its final stages when the octagon mech managed to burn a large gap in the frame of the eel mech. Firebreather instantly capitalized on the weak point by focusing all of his heat attacks on that spot!

A low boom echoed from the dome as something critical inside Slippery Winston's mech exploded! The disruption caused by that explosion opened up the insides of his eel mech to water, which quickly crushed the delicate internals inside the affected compartments.

The referees forced a halt to the fighting because Winston had been knocked unconscious from the sudden shock. Fortunately, his cockpit's integrity remained intact, so he escaped from the duel with his life intact.

Ves lost interest in the tournament at this point. The subsequent matches proceeded rather tamely as the mech athletes played conservatively and dragged out the time. None of them wanted to end up like Slippery Winston.

Even Raella started to yawn when the standoff between two shark-like mechs went on for more than fifteen minutes. Both mechs primarily relied on spikes and torpedoes to harass their opponents to death.

Only the dedicated fans remained excited for their adopted teams. Ves stopped caring about the outcome and instead focused on the mechs themselves.

All of the mechs he had seen so far possessed a spark of life. Ves could tell that each mech adopted a unique design that had gone through numerous evolutions. Each time they sustained significant damage, their designers tweaked the designs so that the mechs fared a little better next time.

They were very much opposite to the clinically clean and lifeless machines of the MTA. Mechs produced through materialization paid for their perfection with their souls. Even if they delivered superior performance over mechs produced through fabrication, Ves wondered if they represented the answer to making better mechs.

It depended on the potential of the X-Factor. Ves only scratched the surface with this metaphysical phenomenon. He suspected that a stronger X-Factor might have dramatic effects, but he was years away from another breakthrough. At his current level of progress, achieving those levels seemed far away.

"What do you think about materialized mechs?" Ves asked his cousin out of the blue.

"You mean that fancy new production technique from the galactic center? It sounds like it's really expensive. I'll probably be dead before materialized mechs become mainstream in our neighborhood."

"Do you think they're better?"

"Of course! It's more expensive, so it must be worth the money, right?"

Her answer revealed that Raella didn't know much about mech production. A mech pilot like her wouldn't know the difference.

Would Ves still have a place in a future where materialization became reasonable enough to take over the galactic rim? If mech pilots started to become more exacting about their demands, then Ves expected to face a lot of difficulty trying to achieve the inhuman level of quality that materialization easily provided.

Something started to crystallize in his mind as he wrestled over this issue. Ves had always been fascinated by the X-Factor. Since he already achieved some progress, he owed it to himself and the System to see this journey through.

Even if materialization came with many benefits, it could not replace the fundamental value of plain-old craftsmanship. Mechs should come with a human touch.

His newfound conviction seemed to cleanse his mind once again. Rather than regard materialization as an inevitability or a looming threat, he treated it as an alternative that he already ruled out.

If the mech market progressed in a way that favored materialized mechs, then Ves would continue to fight for mechs produced through more traditional ways.

He'd prop up his own market if he had to.

That was not to say that he aimed to fight against this technology. Materialization offered a lot of benefits in other industries that had always been chasing after zero errors. Progress couldn't be stopped once it was unleashed. The mech industry as a whole stood to gain a lot from this method of production as well.

"Not everyone cares for a handmade mech."

The vast majority of mechs sold today consisted of cheap, mass-produced mechs. Once materialization became more affordable, the lower end of the market should gain a lot of benefits as the overall quality went up.

The Sea Crown Tournament reached its final act as the Sea Dragons and the Myrmidons went even with each other. Both teams eked out two wins, beating most people's expectations that the reigning champions would easily steamroll the challengers.

Ves regained his interest in the tournament once the final round commenced. Both teams sent out their team captains for this decisive match.

"Jackknife Jake is carrying the final hopes of the Myrmidons! Will he be able to deliver on the promise he made to his fans, or will he return to Velton with empty hands?"

"Not if the Sea King has anything to say about it! With over nine years of duelling experience, the King has reigned over our planet for three consecutive years as he led the Sea Dragons to victory time and time again!"

Jackknife Jake piloted a medium-sized angular fish mech with lots of retractable weapon hardpoints. Ves could tell his mech relied on hit-and-run attacks with its sharpened fins to grind his opponents down.

In contrast, the Sea King piloted a sea dragon-shaped mech. The extravagant machine had clearly been designed to evoke a sense of majesty, as if it was a given that the Sea King should reign over Moira's Paradise. Its design achieved an optimal balance between power and flexibility. Its two claws added a lot of extra options to the Sea King's arsenal.

"Jake!" The Sea King broadcasted through an open channel which the arena passed on to the crowd. "Your team did well this year, but your lucky streak has come to an end. You've never defeated me before. The outcome is already set!"

The team captain of the Myrmidons responded, if only to please his supporters. "Boast after you win, not before! I've crawled through countless rivals to get to this point, beating expectations along the way. Even if you have the better machine, nothing is ever set in stone!"

While Jackknife Jake piloted a very good aquatic mech, the amount of money invested into the sea dragon mech beggared the mind. From what Ves could tell, the Sea King's mech was worth at least three times as much as Jackknife Jake's machine.

"Is the outcome already determined?" Ves softly asked to himself. Personally, he found the Sea King's attitude to be repulsive. He started to root for the Myrmidons again. "Come on, Jake, show him what a better pilot can do!"

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Despite the disparity in value between the two mechs, the outcome of the match was still in doubt.

Jackknife Jake's bladed fish mech possessed superior speed and agility over the larger sea dragon-shaped mech. He showcased his strengths at the very start of the final round by darting along the flanks of his opponent's mech.

While the Sea King possessed the advantage of power and endurance, he wouldn't be able to leverage them properly if he couldn't get a grip on his opponent. The King knew this and didn't bother to chase after his opponent. He drifted in place and retaliated whenever Jake got close.

"How many weapons are stuffed inside that mech?" Raella asked with surprise as the sea dragon mech showed off its arsenal. "That's like five or six weapon systems already!"

Ves had also noticed its diverse array of weapon hardpoints. "It's like a hybrid mech in a sense. It possesses both short and long-ranged options."

The sea dragon-shaped mech's main armament consisted of its sharp and sturdy claws and teeth. Jake respected their threat to his mech and always tried to attack the Sea King from the rear.

A variety of weapon systems dotted around the frame of the sea dragon. Much like the octagon mech that appeared before, the sea dragon mech hid the exact placement of those systems underneath identical scale-like armor plating.

The sea dragon fired spikes, torpedoes, harpoons and all other assorted weaponry at the approaching fish mech. Its ammunition seemed limitless as it attempted to constrain Jackknife Jake with suppressive fire.

The bladed fish mech incurred a decent amount of scratches from the barrage. Jake chose to dodge the harpoons even if his mech had to eat a face full of spikes. In return, his mech got close enough to rake through the sea dragon mech's sides.

"Both of them are not holding back! Jackknife Jake is throwing all caution to the wind, knowing that he won't be able to last long enough against the Sea King's superior range advantage!"

"The Sea King must not be feeling so well. His mech's agility pales in comparison to the killing machine in the hands of Jackknife Jake. Look at how he's tearing a boatload of armor plates with every pass!"

Jackknife Jake dished out a good amount of damage, but Ves could obviously tell his mech degraded faster than the sea dragon mech. As a speed-focused mech, its armor would always fall behind to a mech that aimed for balance.

More perversely, the Sea King obviously splurged a lot on the armor system of his mech. The scale-like plating took a lot of force to dislodge or cut through. Each time Jackknife Jake made a pass, his mech lost momentum, something which the Sea King eagerly pounced upon. The balance of favor started to tilt against the Myrmidon team captain.

A huge lance emerged from the mouth of the fish mech. Jackknife Jake abruptly ceased dancing around the sea dragon mech in favor of a direct approach.

The Sea King had obviously been off-guard, but a pilot of his caliber didn't remain stunned for long. The dragon mech opened up its own jaws and ejected a large orb that it had kept hidden all this time.

The lance hit the orb head-on and exploded. Like a mine, it detonated with a furious shockwave that impacted the fish mech at virtually point-blank range.

Just as everyone thought that had been the end of the Myrmidons, Jackknife Jake emerged from the murky waters with a battered but functional mech! Another lance replaced the broken one that detonated the orb, allowing Jake to continue his rush towards the Sea Dragon.

This time, the Sea King had been truly caught off-guard, to the point where his mech instinctively fended off the lance with its claws. The lance pierced right through its left claw and pushed on to impale the upper torso. Jackknife Jake quickly detached the lance before squirreling away, leaving the weapon pinned in his opponent's mech.

"How did Jackknife Jake survive that mine?! Quick, rerun that segment!" historical

The entire audience turned to the closest projection to see a slow-motion replay of the last encounter. Moments before the first lance pierced the mine, Jackknife Jake detached the lance and abruptly engaged his mech's reverse boosters, cutting off its forward momentum and allowing it to escape the brunt of the blast.

"What a fast reaction! Jake chose to overload his reverse boosters at a critical moment! Even if they're fried, they've done their job!"

The lance embedded in the sea dragon mech affected its mobility in a serious way. The Sea King's mech experienced a lot of problems when it tried to transfer enough power to the thrusters placed along its frame.

The Sea King went mad this time. "I'll crush you like a bug, Jake!"

The sea dragon mech showed off its full capabilities as its jaw ejected dozens of mines. They floated around the Sea King's mech like an omnidirectional guard. Cables shot out from tiny openings, connecting the orbs to each other like a net.

The nets then started to chase after the fish mech. Jackknife Jake had to abort his hit-and-run attacks in face of this new weapon. While the nets didn't move very fast, their expansive reach and coverage fully constrained his mobility.

Having ejected all of the mines in its stores, the sea dragon mech then revealed another weapon from its gaping jaws. The cone-shaped barrel turned out to be a sonic cannon as it started to emit continuous sound waves towards the dancing fish mech.

Like a wide-area flamethrower, the sonic weapon's range fell off quickly. Nevertheless, the mech piloted by Jackknife Jake already started to fall apart. The Myrmidon team captain had to make a difficult choice. Either he braved the storm and risk annihilation, or he could keep his distance and bet that the sea dragon mech ran out of power first.

Mech pilots tended to favor aggression over inaction, so Jake decided to make one more play.

"Why is he going in? His mech doesn't have much left." Ves noted with puzzlement.

From what he could determine, the Sea King piloted a ridiculous aquatic mech. The mine net alone countered every possible move that Jake could make.

"He'll be letting down his team and his fans if he gives up at this point." Raella explained. As a former amateur mech athlete, she had a keen understanding of what went on in his mind. "Even if he has to put his life on the line, he owes it to his supporters to continue the fight."

The damaged fish mech dramatically charged towards the sea dragon mech. The Sea King overloaded his sonic cannon, but the weapon merely tickled the fish mech.

As Jake reached the mine net, he revealed his final trump card. Moments before his fish mech collided against the net, his mech split in half!

The forward section of his mech crashed against the net and caused the mines to explode, obscuring everything in the vicinity.

The Sea King tentatively backed away. His mech's excellent sensors caught the moment of separation, but before he could put much distance from the blast, Jake emerged from the turbulent water with just half of his mech intact, yet it moved just as fast as before!

Jake's mech had obviously been designed to split beforehand. The rear part of the original fish mech took on an hydrodynamic spear shape that turned the newly revealed front portion into a stubby wedge that looked sharp enough to split apart its opponent.

His mech bore down on the sea dragon mech with the help of single-use boosters that he kept in reserve up to this point!

"Is he going to make it?!"

As Jackknife Jake came within spitting distance of his opponent, the Sea King ceased his futile attempt to dodge. Instead, he oriented his mech to allow its tail to take the blow in its stead!

A huge explosion occurred at the moment of impact! At the very last moment, Jake ejected his cockpit from his half-mech, leaving the rest to collide and explode against the Sea King's mech in a cataclysmic blast that spread out countless of broken components in every direction.

The Sea King obviously hadn't expected an explosion of that magnitude to erupt from the kamikaze mech. His sea dragon mech slithered out of the polluted waters in a bedraggled state.

Only its high quality components kept the mech functional, and even that came into doubt as the mech's power reactor started failing. The previous lance strike had opened up a weak point in the Sea King's mech that the collision and explosion had ruthlessly exploited.

A tense and chilling mood ran through the audience as they waited for the Sea King to revive his mech. The outcome of the match depended on whether his mech could still put up a fight.

According to the standard mech duels, even if a mech duellist was left with a cockpit, as long as it possessed a single backup thruster and a piddly little gun, it remained in contention. The floating cockpit piloted by Jackknife Jake demonstrated both requirements as it slowly recovered from its uncontrolled ejection.

Just as everyone thought the Sea King had fallen from his throne, his sea dragon mech emerged from its slumber for the very last time. It moved its broken form and turned a claw towards the slowly drifting cockpit.

A single claw tip ejected from the limb. Even if it hadn't been propelled with a lot of force, it reached Jake's cockpit in a blink and pierced through its feeble shell.

"The cockpit has been breached! Jake's life signs have flatlined!"

"A fatality! The Sea King murdered Jackknife Jake before his victim could concede!"

The entire crowd uttered their outrage at the final move. Only the hardcore supporters of the Sea Dragons remained enlivened. The rest appeared to condemn the unsportsmanlike move. The screams of anger, horror and indignation flooded the entire arena to the point where they drowned out the announcers.

Even Ves expressed his shock at that final, spiteful act by the Sea King. "Why did he do it?"

"Because it's within the rules." Raella responded with a sour expression. "When you dance along the edge, you're going to get cut sooner or later. Jackknife Jake thought he'd be clever by piloting a kamikaze mech, but as long as he and his mech remained combat capable, he's fair game. It's not his opponent's responsibility to save his life."

"So you're allowed to deliberately kill your opponent during a duel?"

"Essentially, yes, but most people don't go out of their way to do so. Not only will you get a bad reputation, you'll also lose your sponsors."

"I don't think the Sea Dragons has any trouble attracting sponsors."

Whatever the case, the referees had no choice but to rule the match in favor of the bloodied Sea King. It turned out that his crippling mech only had a few seconds of uptime left. If his mech ran out of juice before he did something to Jake, then the long-held Sea Crown would be lost for the first time in three years to the upstart Myrmidons.

The Sea King faced a difficult decision. If the captain of the Sea Dragons wished to retain the Sea Crown, he had to disable Jake's cockpit by any means possible, even if it meant a lethal outcome.

He chose to do what was best for his team. Even if he had to throw away his reputation, his team secured the vaunted Sea Crown for the fourth time in a row. With bloodied hands, the Sea King cruelly showed how far he would go to defend his title.

As the analysts, pundits and fans poured over those final moments, Ves directed his floating room away from the dome. Numerous bots already entered the ring and began retrieving the remains.

"People will do anything for fame." Raella spoke up. "Each time you enter the ring, you risk an accident that can take away your life. There's always a risk of death when two big hunks of metal go toe-to-toe against each other."

"What about you? Did you ever fear for your life when you entered the ring?"

"Of course, but adrenaline and a little extra liquid courage helps a lot in pushing those doubts away. You don't want to start a duel with a clouded mind. Even if fatalities happen, I never thought it would happen to me."

The sad outcome to a hopeful match put the entire mech arena in a somber mood. Ves didn't pay attention to the subdued closing ceremony where the deputy team captain of the Sea Dragons accepted the Sea Crown for the fourth time in a row. The Sea King himself didn't dare show up in front of the audience.

The dramatic turn of events put Ves in a strange mood. After having established a lifelong conviction, witnessing the extent the team captains fought to win had opened his mind to what kind of original mech he'd like to design.

Ves closed his eyes and turned his focus inward. A fleeting inspiration bloomed into a vivid image that centered around determination.

"Never give up. Fight to the end!"

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