The Mech Touch

Jovy Armalon challenged Ves to a design duel out of the blue.

The silver-haired Journeyman hadn't made any noise since he arrived with Master Willix. Yet all of a sudden, he wanted to compare against Ves in design ability!

The request came so sudden that Ves momentarily paused.

"Why?" He asked in confusion.

"Because I'm impressed with your work!" He shouted with energy! "Among second-class mechs, I have never witnessed a mech like the Little Angel! Certainly, I would never be able to design a mech that comes close to what it offers, and that is not something I see every day."

"That's not a reason to challenge me. You're an MTA mech designer. I'm just a local mech designer. Our titles may be the same, but our realms are worlds apart."

This wasn't the first time Jovy challenged an indigenous mech designer. Many of them quaked with fear at the thought of challenging someone who had been nurtured by the MTA. Even Seniors with decades of seniority doubted whether they could measure up against a mech designer who had been nurtured by the holy land of mechs!

Jovy smiled and tried to adopt a friendlier posture. "Our specialties and our mechs are vastly different. While it is true that you won't be able to match me when it comes to designing first-class mechs, the same does not necessarily apply when we fight on your terms. I have toured several star sectors already and met with all manner of mech designers, from eager Apprentices to stately Masters. When it comes to lesser mechs, I believe there is a lot of credence in the rumor that you are one of the best Journeymen in the star cluster. You are worthy to battle me in the design arena."

He made it sound as if Ves should feel privileged to lock horns with someone as his august self!

Though Ves was very confident in his design ability, to say that he was truly one of the best Journeymen was a stretch. In terms of foundational Skills, he knew he already exceeded the ordinary levels of his peers.

However, when it came to his specialization, he hadn't actually made that much progress. As powerful as it was, Ves had mostly been taking advantage of external design spirits.

When it came to empowering his mechs by relying on his own, he still had much to go! Until he made some breakthroughs in this area, he did not dare to claim that he ranked among the top of Journeymen.

Perhaps he truly had the capital to make such a statement if he limited his comparison to his generation, but Ves knew that there were lots of old dogs who had developed all kinds of confounding abilities!

Ves crossed his arms. "Mr. Armalon, your flattery is just talk. How can those rumors be true? The galaxy is vast and holds all manner of absurd mech designers. Even in this small star sector, I still do not dare to claim to be the best when there are hundreds, if not thousands of mech designers who have been personally nurtured by the esteemed Masters of the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony. If you seek an actual challenge, you should go to them instead!"

"Oh, I plan to do so, but right now I'm at your doorstep. I have heard that you take a lot of pride in your work. I also heard you like to challenge yourself. You're not the first mech designer who thinks someone from the MTA like myself can't be overcome, but don't sell yourself short. I have dueled many local mech designers and they have bested me numerous times when I play their own game. I'm more than willing for you to choose the terms of the duel as long as they are fair. What do you say? Are you willing to defend your pride?"

Though Ves admittedly felt riled up as soon as his pride was on the line, he quickly reminded himself of his many responsibilities.

He was no longer a young and eager Apprentice eager to make himself stand out from the mech industry. He had already achieved this objective.

"I have already proven myself as a mech designer. My mech company sells more than 50,000 Doom Guards per month, and I have already sold over 2 million Desolate Soldiers. I am already past the stage where I need to make a name for myself by winning duels. Instead of wasting time, I can spend my time on preparing for my upcoming expedition to the Nyxian Gap. Now that is a real challenge. Do you dare to come with me to the Nyxian Gap and fight all manner of pirates while evading hazardous zones?"

Jovy blinked at that. Even he heard about the Nyxian Gap and how it swallowed many of his colleagues. Even if they traveled on the best ships they could access and fielded a large number of formidable first-class multipurpose mechs, as long as they traveled deep enough, they never appeared again!

This fact frightened the Big Two to no end! If not for the remoteness of the Nyxian Gap, the MTA and the CFA would have invested serious resources to decipher and dismantle the hazards of this warped region of space!

"If pride is not enough, what about money?" Jovy offered. "Let's make a bet. If you win, I'll transfer 1,000 MTA credits!"

"And what if I lose?"

"You don't have to pay me anything! It won't cost you anything if you lose, but if you happen to win, "

Ves rapidly performed some mental calculations. A single MTA credit was almost equivalent to the value of a Blessed Squire. A thousand MTA credits used to be an unimaginably huge amount of money to him, but he was not the little Novice and Apprentice of before.

With his LMC spreading its reach over half the star sector, earning a thousand MTA credits was simply a matter of selling enough profitable mechs!

That said, 1,000 MTA merits roughly amounted to 191 billion hex credits, which was around a sixth of the cost of his factory ship!

Whether he intended to spend the money on acquiring new combat carriers or ordering additional upgrades for his factory ship, Ves would not say no to earning this hefty sum!

However… Jovy was an internal mech designer of the MTA. This duel reeked of a trap. While it was true that Ves did not shy away from a challenge, the rewards had to be proportionate to the risks!

It didn't matter if Jovy dangled 1,000 MTA credits or 1 million MTA credits in front of his face. There was no way that this elite mech designer was that easy to beat!

Ves shook his head and turned around. "I'm a very busy mech designer. Credits don't interest me. If you offered me merits, then I might change my mind. If not, then I bid you a good day."

"Hey, wait a minute Larkinson! If 1,000 MTA credits is not enough, what about 2,000? No? 3,000! 4,000! 5,000!"

No matter how much Jovy raised the stakes, Ves remained unmoved.

"I'll give you half even if you lose! That way, you won't come away empty-handed regardless of the outcome!"

Though Ves slowed his steps, he continued to walk away, causing Jovy to become increasingly more distraught.

Hardly any mech designer refused when he issued his challenge. Even if the odds of winning were slim, the other mech designers were too awed by his identity to reject his request.

Even though everyone that Jovy dueled knew that he was using them as a whetstone to polish his design skills, they were eager to maintain good relations with the MTA. As long as they earned his respect, they always had the opportunity to become acquaintances and remain in contact!

Making such a connection was extremely valuable to these local mech designers!

The elite talent never met someone like Ves who apparently couldn't care less about his potential friendship.

Of course, much of that had to do with his determination to minimize his entanglement with the MTA. Why should he possibly pursue a friendship with someone who might as well be more discerning and obnoxious than Master Willix in the future?

Seeing that Ves remained unmoved even after Jovy offered a sum of money that would make any indigenous mech designer wild, he began to draw out something else from his formidable arsenal!

"What about a piece of tech? I can offer you an upgraded shield generator that is better than the ones you have! If you want knowledge, I can offer you a copy of my personal textbooks!"

Though an additional shield generator or an MTA-issued textbook wasn't as attractive to Ves as Jovy thought, the offers nonetheless headed in the right direction.

Ves halted his departure and turned around. "Do you have any tech that can allow me to maintain a stable connection to the galactic net while I'm inside the Nyxian Gap?"

"Uhm… I don't think so." Jovy suddenly halted. "I'm not authorized to put forth such a device. Master Willix, do we have this tech?"

The Master nodded. "The local branches of the MTA have developed a specialized quantum entanglement node that is able to resist the interference produced by the space warping of the Nyxian Gap. However, it is not omnipotent. It only ensures that you can maintain a stabler connection while you are in the periphery of the Gap. As for venturing deeper, the strengthened connection will rapidly diminish. It is better than a standard quantum entanglement node, but not by much."

Ves still looked very interested at this piece of tech! "If you put this specialized node up as a reward for my participation, I will accept your duel!"

"I cannot. It's not within my rights to release restricted tech to a local such as you." Jovy turned to Master Willix. "Unless…"

The Master furrowed her brow. This was a problematic demand. However, she possessed a considerable amount of authority and leeway within the local branch.

"I can lend out the Darkbreak module, which is what the specialized quantum entanglement node is called." She eventually decided. "Once Mr. Larkinson is done, he must return the Darkbreak module to our hands. This is the extent of what I can offer."

That was enough for Jovy! "There! Will you accept my duel now? If you win, you will get 5,000 MTA credits and the opportunity to borrow our Darkbreak module! If you lose, I'll give you half the credits no matter your performance."

Even Gloriana couldn't contain herself any longer. "You should accept, Ves!"

"I don't know…" Ves looked warily at Jovy. "It's all well and good to dangle the Darkbreak module in front of my face, bu