The Mech Touch

When Ves visited the design lab, he entered an office and sat down while studying the contents of a data pad.

He hadn't paid much attention to Maikel Larkinson and Zanthar Larkinson's recent academic progress. The Purgatory Campaign and all of his other responsibilities took up too much of his time.

He never worried about the two, though. Although the pair of Larkinson seeds acted a bit presumptuous at times, their grades were real and they never failed a course since they started their studies.

The data pad not only contained a log of their academic progress, but also contained Gloriana's personal notes on their performance under her tutelage.

Gloriana was effectively in charge of the design lab most of the time. Although Ves officially held more authority, his split responsibilities often caused him to be away for weeks at a time.

Under these circumstances, Gloriana efficiently took over and made sure that every subordinate remained productive.

She also took charge of Maikel and Zanthar's studies during these times. Though her teaching style and philosophy was different, she was already passing on her teachings to Maisie Ann Larkinson and Rennie Larkinson, so it wasn't as if this was anything new and different.

"Hmmm. Your results have actually improved. That's impressive." Ves commenced as he looked at the list of grades. It looks like both of you have embraced your respective passions. Otherwise, you wouldn't have studied these final courses with such enthusiasm."

"Luminar crystal technology is really difficult to get into." Zanthar helplessly said. "I haven' changed my mind on specializing in this wonderful tech, but I don't think I can come close to designing the luminar crystal weapons that our mech pilots love."

"All in due time, Zanthar. You're not even a Novice yet. Even if you are, you still need to take many more steps before you can independently design energy weapons at that caliber. However, once you become good enough to call yourself an Apprentice, I might allow you to assist in the design of future ranged mechs such as the Bright Warrior Mark II or the Crystal Lord Mark III. The experiences you can gain from participating in these projects will provide a massive boost in your understanding of luminar crystal weapons."

Zanthar looked a lot more enthused than before. "Really, patriarch!?"

"This is part of the reason why I have taught you. I expect the both of you to grow into mech designers that can specifically help our Design Department improve our products. We still have many holes in our mech designer roster. It is practically impossible to hire a luminar crystal weapon specialist from the job market, so I can only place my hopes on you to develop this tech in my stead."

Neither Maikel nor Zanthar were stupid. They both knew that Ves and the other Larkinsons had groomed them for a purpose.

They didn't see a problem in this. Both of the young men had received far more attention and tutelage than students who attended actual mech design universities.

While Ves and Gloriana could never come close to matching the orthodox teachings of those reputable institutions, the pair of eccentric but accomplished Journeymen were able to provide a lot more personalized instruction!

All of the individual treatment caused Maikel and Zanthar to become a lot more prepared to work in the Design Department than others!

Other mech design graduates may be smarter and more talented, but they still needed a lot of time to fit into the Design Department and understand their roles.

In contrast, all four Larkinson seeds practically grew up in this place! The design labs were their campus and they had become exposed to the methods of their fellow Larkinson mech designers for several years!

They even made friends with many of the assistant mech designers. As long as the foursome supplemented their knowledge and polished their skills a bit, they could seamlessly join a design team and begin to work shortly afterwards!

To Ves, Maikel and Zanthar were truly treasures in his eyes. No one should be better prepared to inherit parts of his mantle than these trueblood clansmen who completely absorbed the Larkinson style of designing mechs.

"Madame Gloriana told us that we are ready to begin our graduation assignments." Maikel mentioned. "Can you give us the details, teacher? We are eager to become actual Novices."

"Impatient, aren't you?" Ves looked amused. "Well, I like your enthusiasm. Give me a moment. I need to compose suitable assignments based on the results of your studies. This will be the definite period where you prove your worth. The mech designs that you submit this time is not only about earning a passing grade from me. Your work must convince the others that you are good enough to become a productive member of the mech industry. If you only submit a perfunctory design, then what have you been doing all of these years? Any random graduate from a mech university can whip out a boring mech design. It takes true skill and passion to design a unique mech that is marked by your imprint!"

His words heaped up a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the Larkinson seeds.

At the same time, Ves also raised the pair's expectations. They did not shy away from this challenge!

Ves briefly studied the pair of students. Maikel and Zanthar both possessed the typical black hair of their Larkinson lineage. Their faces and their bodies had grown less delicate and more masculine as they grew into their twenties.

The various genetic treatments and other augments they received from the Larkinson Clan had turned them into formidable engineers that were more than ready to begin their mech design careers!

Whether it was their knowledge base, their career preparations, their cognitive functions and their appearances, the pair of Larkinson seeds were much better off than Ves at this stage of their lives!

It should be impossible for Maikel and Zanthar to stumble and fall!

Once he was done with thinking how much his students had changed over the years, Ves knew what he needed to do to end this fruitful period.

"Alright. The two of you have remained students long enough. I don't need to treat you as kids anymore. It is time for you to enter the real mech industry. Each of you will receive a different assignment that conforms to your respective specialties."

Ves turned to one of the pair. "Maikel, you have developed a passion for living mechs and have completed a lot of courses related to AIs and mech automation. With all of that effort, you need to create a solid result that vindicates your choices."

"How can I do that, teacher?"

"By designing a fully-automated battle bot that can defeat a regular second-class mech piloted by a trained mech pilot."

"What?! Sir… I… I don't think I can do that yet." Maikel said while looking queasy. "Can't you allow me to design a regular mech?"

Ves shook his head. That was too boring! If Maikel thought that he could get a standard graduation assignment, then he severely underestimated his teacher!

"This is for your own good, Maikel." Ves smirked. "For mech designers like us, it is not enough to think about embracing a design philosophy. You need to practice it and prove that you can actually develop a specialty to the point where you can compete against your peers. If you can't design a fully-automated battle bot that can defeat a conventional mech, then I would rather have you fail your graduation and study under me for another year. I don't want any timid mech designers under my name! If you can't achieve the same level of success as Ketis, then you are a disgrace of my teachings!"

Ves may have been a bit too harsh in his words, but he truly thought that Maikel was strong enough to endure the pressure.

It looked like he was right. Though Maikel originally looked overwhelmed, the mech design student quickly fired himself up. He was confident in his skills!

"Alright, sir. I will do it. Can you give me the details?"

"Sure." Ves said and waved his hand to transfer an electronic document to Maikel's comm. "In short, I want you to design a battle bot that can defeat a Bright Warrior piloted by an average Living Sentinel mech pilot. Now, I don't expect the work of a Novice to overcome one of my older but still good works. The synergy that a human mech pilot can add to a mech is a considerable force multiplier. You don't stand a chance if your battle bot has to be designed with an equivalent design budget to my Bright Warrior. I will give you… double the budget in order to give you a fighting chance."

Maikel looked a lot more relieved when he heard this. If his rudimentary battle bot had to defeat a fully-fledged Bright Warrior under equal circumstances, then his chances of succeeding was close to zero.

The story was different if his work was twice as expensive!

Although it was impossible for the technical performance of his battle bot to be double as much as the Bright Warrior, Maikel would still be able to make a work with a decisive advantage in raw performance!

This could be considered a handicap in an attempt to give him a fighting chance. If Maikel was not able to make sufficient use of this advantage, then even he would agree that he was not ready to become an actual mech designer!

"I'll do it, teacher." Maikel said in a serious tone. "I will do my best to design a battle bot that can fight well enough to defeat an actual mech piloted by a real mech pilot. Will you test my work in a simulation or in an actual match?"

"The latter, of course. Simulations are safer and less costly, but they're not convincing enough. I like real results produced by real machines, so you must make sure that your fabrication skills are up to par. Designing a good battle bot isn't enough. You have to produce an adequate copy in order to make sure it doesn't fall apart during the match."

This was a comprehensive test that fully pushed Maikel to his limits. Although Ves had doubled his student's design budget, that didn't mean this assignment was a cakewalk.

If Ves accepted this challenge, he had no doubt that he could easily design a battle bot that could smash his Bright Warrior! His design skills had become so formidable that he could squeeze much greater performance out of every part and material than a Novice Mech Designer!

Maikel was far from reaching this level, but Ves believed that the kid should be good enough to overcome this hurdle.

Meanwhile, Zanthar looked increasingly more apprehensive. Ves did not make it easy for Maikel at all. What kind of torture did Journeyman intend to inflict on his other studnet?

"Zanthar."

"Yes, teacher?"

"Your assignment is different. You have chosen to specialize in energy weapons and more specifically luminar crystal weapons, so your final work as a student must showcase your strength and belief in this exotic technology. Luminar crystal tech is extremely difficult to master at the higher levels. In fact, research on its fundamental principles is still ongoing and there is much that we don't understand."

"What do I need to do for my assignment?"

Ves paused for a few seconds as he settled on a suitable challenge for the firepower enthusiast.

"Zanthar, I'm worried whether you are innovative and creative enough to succeed in this difficult field. If you want to specialize in luminar crystal technology, then you need to prove that you are good enough to advance humanity's understanding of this half-deciphered alien tech. Just like Maikel, I want you to design a work that can compete against a regular mech. This time, you need to design a rifleman mech that can defeat an ordinary Bright Warrior. Both of them will be piloted by ordinary mech pilots of equivalent skill, so their differences shouldn't be a factor."

"Uhhh…"

"Before you ask, you will receive the same handicap as Maikel. You will have twice as much money at your disposal than what I was working with when I designed the Bright Warrior. I do have to impose a unique requirement on you though. I need you to pair your rifleman mech with an original luminar crystal rifle that is able to fire an energy beam that is different from the six attack phases that our clan is already utilizing. In other words, you need to invent a seventh attack phase that is strong enough to compete against my existing solutions."

"What?!" Zanthar reacted almost identically to Maikel at first!