The Mech Touch

The time to realize the long-awaited expert mech upgrade to the Shield of Samar had come.

After simulations had confirmed that the latest round of tweaks did not produce any negative impact worth noting, Gloriana finally chose to complete the expert mech design project.

Everyone in the Design Department felt enormously relieved now that they had finally put this ċumbersome project past them. Out of all of the design projects, the Bulwark Project definitely ranked at the top in terms of work. Its greater volume along with its large amount of parts made it a pain to make any adjustments.

Since the Larkinsons had already made sufficient preparations to fabricate the mech, the Journeymen could start performing the upgrade process straight away.

The four Journeymen of the Design Department had gathered at Gloriana's workshop after resting for an entire day.

The expert pilots had come as well, of course.

"Your wait is finally over." Venerable Joshua said. "I'm so jealous of you, you know. From what the mech designers have told me, I have to wait for at least several more weeks before I get my turn."

Jannzi crossed her arms. "You don't have to feel so bad. I've heard that the Patriarch went all-out when it came to designing your expert mech. You're his golden boy, after all. The Chimera Project will likely set a new standard for living mechs."

Joshua couldn't help but grin like a kid. Since the Chimera Project was designed especially for him, he was regularly apprised of its progress. The expert mech design was incredibly ambitious and fit his talents incredibly well.

His only complaint was that he had waited way too long to get his hands on it! Venerable Tusa and the other early Larkinson expert pilots had gained such an enormous head start that it was unlikely for him to catch up to their progress. He would probably remain the runt among the current crop of expert pilots for a long time!

"You should follow Joshua's example and take some sword lessons from us." Venerable Dise spoke as she observed the projection of the completed Bulwark Project. "Even though your Shield of Samar is too slow and ċumbersome to perform any sophisticated sword moves, that makes it even more important that you thoroughly master the basics. The Heavensworders have mastered several basic sword styles that can thoroughly strengthen your fundamentals and increase the coordination between your sword and shield."

Venerable Jannzi shook her head. "I've already considered it before. The Heavensworder sword styles are interesting, but that is all. None of them are a complete match to my inclinations. I prefer to develop my own fighting style."

This was the conventional choice of many expert pilots. At their level of skill and strength, they were more than qualified to develop their own styles based on their strengths and the strengths of their expert mechs.

Since every expert pilot and expert mech was different, it was generally recommended for every powerful individual to branch out from established methods in order to develop a unique approach that could be improved over time.

Although the power and effectiveness of self-developed fighting styles were not that impressive at first, the expert pilots that developed them completely mastered them. Their compatibility with their creators was also high.

Once people like Venerable Jannzi became a high-tier expert pilot, their combat effectiveness would shoot up enormously as they became capable of empowering each and every move with their domain attributes!

Dise understood what Jannzi attempted to accomplish and respected the younger expert pilot's decision.

"You don't have to adopt any existing sword styles. You can follow my example and reference them instead in order to help you develop your own techniques. You've seen the power of our offensive techniques. With a slow and heavy expert mech like yours, you urgently need to increase your lethality. Even Joshua has received lessons from Swordmaster Ketis."

Jannzi did not look as hesitant as before. "I'm open to exchanges. I'm not a swordswoman and I can never dedicate my life to the sword as much as you, but I don't mind receiving some tips with regards to my own fighting style."

The sword was just a tool to her and the Shield of Samar was no different.

She didn't really mind. Her main purpose in battle was to stall, threaten and deter enemy expert mechs. Killing them was the job of other friendly expert mechs. She threw a respectful look at Venerable Stark.

"They say that we will cooperate much more closely with each other once your Shield of Samar is brought up to standard." The older woman said. "We will have to train often together in order to develop a greater accord in battle."

The Amaranto was the ultimate offensive mech while the Shield of Samar was the ultimate defensive mech. Teaming them up made a lot of sense, especially when they were specifically designed to mate together!

Gloriana approached the expert pilots a few minutes later. She proudly and openly carried Alexandria on her shoulder. Clixie followed after her footsteps but the trailing cat hardly drew any eyeballs.

Every expert pilot could sense the special nature of Alexandria. She would have attracted a lot more attention if she was the only spiritual cat of her kind. Joshua and the rest were already familiar with other spiritual entities aligned to Ves and the Larkinson Clan. An incorporeal red cat hardly looked strange.

Maow.

"We're about to start, Jannzi. This is a complex, difficult and time-consuming upgrade session so we will likely remain occupied for 9 whole days."

"I am already aware that it will take longer to upgrade my mech. I still have enough patience to wait this long."

"You're not sitting on the sidelines this time." Gloriana said. "We need you to become an active participant in the process. We're trying out a new method that will likely yield better results."

"How?"

"You'll see. We're not demanding much from you, Jannzi. Come with me. We have already prepared a place for you. The more you cooperate, the more we can improve the final product."

When Gloriana brought Jannzi back to the other three Journeymen, they were close to starting.

Both Gloriana and Juliet had already made their prayers to the Superior Mother. Ketis also looked eager to start working. Even though the Shield of Samar wasn't strictly a swordsman mech, it was still a melee mech that wielded a sword, if only reluctantly.

Venerable Jannzi looked around the workshop and grew puzzled. "That's strange. The last time you fabricated an expert mech, you organized an entire spectacle. Why leave out the public this time?"

"It's not necessary." Ves replied. "The results of our previous attempt were rather mixed. I don't think the crowd has affected the quality of the First Sword all that much. What actually determines the output is the state and mood of the participating mech designers. Holding repeated ceremonies becomes routine after a while."

Ves hadn't obtained as much insights on craftsmanship back then and still ȧssumed that making masterworks depended on luck and other difficult variables.

He decided to dispense with the theatrics now that he had become more enlightened. Relying on tricks was much less reliable than developing a more consistent approach.

Besides his own gains, he had a lot of expectations for Gloriana.

"Let's start." Gloriana grinned. "Please relax your minds and don't resist. Alexandria, bind us together!"

Maow!

The red spiritual cat concentrated her energy and began to generate several strong spiritual bonds. These bonds quickly connected to the minds of Ves, Ketis, Juliet and most surprisingly Jannzi as well!

Venerable Jannzi reacted with surprise at the unexpected intrusion. Of course, with a mind as thick as hers, there was no way for Alexandria to force a connection.

"Please let us in, Jannzi."

The expert pilot frowned. She didn't object to joining this so-called design network, but she didn't want to bȧrė too much of herself to others.

Her eyes pointedly rested on Ves. She especially didn't want to read his odious thoughts!

Gloriana reached out to ċȧrėss Alexandria's back. "You don't need to be worried about sharing irrelevant thoughts and emotions. My cat has a high degree of control over the data that passes through her design network. I promise you that I will respect everyone's privacy. I'm only interested in upgrading your Shield of Samar to its best possible form. Will you share your sentiments of your bonded mech to us? Whatever you pass on will help us understand your machine from your unique perspective."

The attraction of this offer was too great. Jannzi quickly acquiesced. "I will open my mind and will to you, but I will do my best to limit my thoughts."

Jannzi slowly lowered her guard, allowing Alexandria to forge a solid connection.

"This design network is much stronger than that of Blinky!" Ketis gasped.

Maow.

Alexandria proudly preened as she heard that. Unlike Ves' companion spirit, Gloriana's new pet specialized in maintaining a design network. She was hardly under any strain and could easily regulate the small number of connections for an extended period of time!

What was also different this time was the participation of Venerable Jannzi!

Ves wouldn't have dared to include an expert pilot in the design network before. He was afraid that Blinky might not be able to cope with the addition of a strong force of will.

The birth of Alexandria opened up a lot more possibilities. The companion spirit's greater design network was much stronger and more robust. Its bandwidth was significantly greater and was easily able to accommodate Venerable Jannzi's powerful will!

As Ves and everyone else began to get used to sharing their thoughts, emotions, insights and perspectives to a greater degree, they spent a few minutes fine tuning the new design network.

"You need to tone it down a bit, Gloriana. It's like we're yelling in each other's ears."

"You need to put more effort into filtering out irrelevant thoughts. I don't need to know you're craving a cup of coffee."

"You need to open yourself up a bit more, Jannzi. Part of the reason why we are adding you to the design network is because we want to get more in tune with your strengths."

Once Alexandria made the necessary adjustments to her design network, the Journeymen finally went to work.

They immediately experienced the difference. Even as they began to fabricate the many parts needed to refit the Shield of Samar, every mech designer felt as if they were hosting multiple design philosophies!

Of course, this was just an illusion. Ves only gained a fraction of Gloriana, Juliet and Ketis' understanding of mechs. The difference was that the degree of improvement was a bit more substantial!

Juliet and Ketis gained more from this sharing of insights and understanding than others. They were excellent when they worked on tasks that were relevant to their area of expertise but their output was a lot more average when they performed other tasks.

With the help of the design network, someone like Ketis could ȧssist with fabricating power transmission systems without botching the job as much! She could draw upon enough of Gloriana's expertise to know how to keep the quality of her work consistently high!

At the same time, Ves was able to lend his sensitivity and understanding of life to his colleagues.

Gloriana and the other Journeymen became capable of making their work alive, which not only saved Ves a lot of effort, but also enriched the life of the entire mech!

It was as if every Journeyman became as good as an Apprentice Mech Designer in their borrowed fields of expertise!