The Mech Touch

After Superpublishing the design, Ves forfeited all of the DP gains he stood to earn from his work.

Three months of design work pretty much entered into black hole as far as the System was concerned.

Ves felt mildly disappointed at that, especially because DP was much harder to come by these days. The stingy System continued to deny him opportunities to earn more DP ever since he started ignoring its Supply Missions.

"Well, it's not like I can buy something that can't be found on the galactic net." He muttered.

Aside from MTA merits, Ves also sought to earn DP so that he'd be able to get back up to a million DP again. Once he reached this sum, he had the option of granting guest access to Gloriana.

While he hadn't made up his mind yet on the decision to reveal the System to his girlfriend, having the option available at any time would ease his mind.

"That is still too far away, though."

For now, he focused on the present. The Bright Warrior design and its four different configurations projected in front of his face like a lost treasure that Ves uncovered from a dusty alien ruin.

It might as well be a relic considering the incredible quality of the design. That little bump in ten percent performance was as if a Master applied a bit of his ingenuity in optimizing and elevating the Bright Warrior to an entirely new height!

The solutions applied by the System showed that Ves and Gloriana had a lot more to go before they matched the standards of their betters. Many of the solutions hadn't even come up to them in the first place!

The value of Superpublishing was not just in elevating a design. Its true value lay in how it essentially offered him a guide on how to increase the performance of his designs through pure design!

With such a cheat sheet at his disposal, Ves could study and incorporate the methods used to squeeze out more performance out of his original design and apply them to his future designs!

In essence, a succession of Superpublished designs could act like a roadmap where Ves could constantly develop his design ingenuity at a rapid pace, thereby skipping years or even decades of constant puzzling!

"There is a price, though."

Aside from forgoing all DP and losing his sense of ownership in the design, Ves also risked growing lazy. By avoiding the opportunities to develop his problem-solving skills in an organic manner, he risked losing this ability entirely!

This was why he planned to use the Superpublishing function sparingly. At the very least, he should make sure he designed plenty of mechs the old-fashioned way without depending on external help.

"It's alright to make use of it occasionally." He reassured himself.

Once he emerged from his enclosed chamber, Nitaa followed behind him as they left the design labs.

One day passed as Ves kept the Superpublished design to himself. He sequestered himself from everyone and refrained from showing off the improved design to his girlfriend.

The next day, Ves believed enough time had passed to offer Gloriana a plausible story. When they reached the design labs, he took his girlfriend aside and revealed the Superpublished version of the design.

The moment he projected the full schematics in front of her face, she entered into a daze.

"This.. Ves… what the.. Is this our design? Why…"

"I felt bad about the quality of our mech, and I don't want to spend more time on refining it further, so I cashed in a favor from another mech designer to make a pass on our work."

"What?! Who did you ask? Professor Ventag? Professor Velton? Professor Jimenez?"

Ves grew alarmed when she mentioned that last name! Professor Jimenez was a very taboo name in the regional mech community! How did she find out about his association with the Skull Architect?!

"It's not important." Ves dismissively waved his hand. "All I can tell you is that the mech designer I consulted is very skilled but doesn't want to be credited with the design."

"Oh. Okay."

She easily accepted this excuse, much to his relief. Cases like this happened a lot where a better mech design would make a pass on the work of their juniors.

"So.. do you approve?"

Gloriana paid no attention to him anymore. The moment she saw the design, her breath grew heavier and heavier. The hunger in her eyes increased and Ves even felt her spirituality becoming more active as her design seed went into overdrive!

"This… this mech design.. These solutions are BRILLIANT! They're PERFECT! Not even my teachers from Kelma have displayed so much elegance in resolving the contradictions in our designs."

"So.. you approve?"

"Approve?" Gloriana finally turned to Ves with an ecstatic grin. "I LOVE IT! THANK YOU, VES! THIS IS THE BEST PRESENT EVER!"

She subsequently glomped him and showered him with some of the most passionate kisses that he had ever experienced!

Once they finished their all-too-brief makeout session, Gloriana went back to ignoring Ves in order to devote her complete attention to studying the Superpublished design. Just like Ves, she summoned a raft of projections that allowed her to compare her original work to the uplifted version of the design.

Soon, she became completely absorbed in her own little universe. She exuded a sense of devotion and intensity that suggested that nothing could pull her away from her need to absorb all of the insights she could glean from the improved design!

Ves understood her enthusiasm. As a fellow mech designer, he appreciated good craftsmanship as well. He was always eager to learn more, though from a philosophical standpoint he preferred to innovate.

Since Gloriana became unresponsive, Ves decided to follow her lead and sit down to study the Superpublished design as well. Just because he didn't share her obsession for perfection didn't mean he wanted to let this opportunity go to waste!

The two shared a comfortable moment together as they each broke down the various improvements made to their original design. To mech designers like them, they could glean all kinds of insights from the 'before' and 'after' picture.

It wasn't until the day had passed that Gloriana finally managed to claw herself back from her obsessive fascination!

To Ves, it was as if she was glowing twice as bright! The grin on her face was so wide that it could stretch across a cavern!

"Ves! I love this design! Whoever improved it has taught me a lot! I really appreciate this opportunity, Ves. I think I'll be able to progress my design philosophy two or three steps further once I internalized what I've learned. This is truly revolutionary!"

As Gloriana continued to babble about the gains she made, Ves honestly felt perplexed.

She didn't ask any of the questions that Ves was worried about, such as why he felt the need to seek help from another mech designer.

Not that he complained. He didn't really have a good way to explain the System's Superpublish function. If Gloriana pressed him any further, he might slip something up! She was quite good at ferreting out his secrets, and Ves didn't want to prove her with any more loopholes than he had already revealed!

"So what do you think about the names?"

"They're okay." She replied, her mind still lost in her dreams. "Calling the overall design the Bright Warrior is a good decision, though I'm less enthused about the names for the configurations."

Ves shrugged. "I had to call them something."

"Well, even if their names don't entirely represent the design, with how good it is, they'll definitely have a chance to burnish their credentials! I just love this design!"

As they continued their discussion, Ves noticed that Gloriana didn't even bother with the fact that the design was not entirely their work anymore. While Ves constantly worried about losing their sense of ownership in the design, Gloriana didn't seem to care that much about this issue!

While Ves regrettably lost some of his emotional investment in the design, Gloriana was the opposite. She truly reveled in the solutions the Superpublish ability introduced into their work.

In her perspective, it didn't matter how these improvements came about. She only cared about delivering a result that was closest to perfection! The fact that she wasn't responsible for designing such a fantastic mech was compensated by the valuable opportunities she gained to evolve her design ability!

Due to her unexpected optimism, Ves began to rekindle some hope in his heart.

Perhaps it might be possible to fabricate a masterwork mech after all!

Ves would have to make sure that Gloriana was in the best possible state to fabricate the mech. In fact, he wanted to start off right away!

Unfortunately, it was the end of the day, and Gloriana still needed to stick to her regular sleep cycle. Though it was possible for her to ingest some pills to force her to stay awake for a couple of days, now was not a good time.

He still wanted to begin as soon as possible.

"We should strike while the iron is hot." He proposed. "We should rest and prepare for our upcoming attempt to make a masterwork mech. If possible, I want to complete this fabrication run in one, continuous session. Can you do that?"

She nodded. "No problem. I'll ask Ranya to prepare the necessary treatments to keep up with you. It's not good for my health if I keep it up, but it shouldn't be an issue to forgo sleep just this time."

Some people attempted to reduce their need to sleep. Most of the time, it was to make better use of their time.

Whenever someone slept, they wasted valuable time which they could have used to progress their career or create a new product!

For example, Nitaa hadn't quite gotten rid of her dependence on sleep, but her physical augmentations cut her sleep cycle by half!

However, there was a reason why this wasn't popular. Aside from being a fairly expensive and difficult treatment, humans needed sleep for multiple reasons. Those who skipped sleep for years at a time tended to become very odd!

In any case, the MTA performed plenty of surveys and concluded that skipping sleep for an extended period of time did more harm than good.

This was one of the reasons that Ves still tried to stick to a regular sleep schedule whenever possible. He had the faint notion that once he stopped sleeping, he would lose his humanity!

"To sleep is to be human." He spoke and held her by the shoulder. "I know you are tempted to stay awake to study the improved design even further, but make sure you have a good rest tonight. I believe that we are close to achieving one of the goals we have always been aiming for. As long as we succeed in fabricating a masterwork, our affinity for mechs will definitely increase! This will certainly allow us to design and fabricate a masterwork mech that is worthy to gain your mother's appreciation!"

She nodded. "You're right. I can study these improvements later, but our chances of creating a masterwork of the Bright Warrior is fleeting!"

Once they settled on a plan, they left the headquarters and returned to the Austen Estate to go to bed early.

Both of them wanted to catch as much sleep as possible before they embarked on their marathon fabrication session!

Before Ves went to sleep, he held the Larkinson Mandate in his hands and did the one thing he never imagined doing again.

He prayed.

"I beg of you. Help us fabricate a masterwork mech tomorrow. Do whatever you can to assist us and boost our chances to create the best possible version of the Bright Warrior. Once we succeed, our fortunes will massively increase! Once we receive recognition from the MTA, we will instantly be able to stand out from the crowd and receive countless new opportunities! This is not only good for us, but also the Larkinson Clan! Will you help us, Goldie?"

Nyaaaa.

The Golden Cat looked up at Ves with huge, unblinking eyes.