The Mech Touch

Ves still hadn't made up his mind on which upgrade track he should choose.

His discussions with Calabast, the Crossers and the Glory Seekers had caused him to swing towards Mech Pilot Cultivation.

His recent talk with Director Pesca Aduc shed new light on the value and the utility of Spiritual Ascension.

As much as Ves liked the idea of upgrading mech pilots with the help of brand-new System functions, he became even more enamored by the idea of expanding his spiritual engineering capabilities.

Ves was a creator by nature!

Philosophically, he believed that he could solve every problem as long as he built the right device or tool.

Even the matter of repairing or upgrading a person's genetic aptitude was not outside the realm of possibility. If Divine Hussain Albedo was able to do so by leveraging his willpower, then Ves believed that it was possible to develop a spiritual solution that could achieve similar results.

Of course, without enough time, skill, knowledge and commitment, it was unlikely for him and the T Institute to create a viable method to perform this impossible feat.

Ves and Director Pesca Aduc had already spent a few months exploring this fantastical idea, but they encountered so many hurdles that they quickly gave up and set their sights on more modest research goals.

They still dreamed about developing more powerful applications, but their depth and understanding of spiritual engineering was so shallow that they could only keep their more ambitious ideas to themselves.

The thought of being able to bring them out of the dark after gaining a massive boost to his spiritual engineering capabilities sounded extremely attractive to him at the moment!

It was probably the best choice he could make among the more productivity-oriented upgrade tracks.

As Director Pesca had just mentioned, there were many people that already excelled as designing mechs.

However, outside of himself and the researchers of the T Institute, there were few spiritual engineers who dedicated much of their expertise to developing helpful applications that could make humanity stronger as a whole.

The only major exception was the researchers of the Five Scrolls Compact, but they were so crazy and hostile towards the current order that they would never dedicate their time on research that could improve the lives of the common people!

As Ves continued to imagine how much good he could do as a spiritual engineer, he felt as if he could truly turn into an existence akin to a god as long as he became good enough in this aspect.

"Damn, this option sounds more and more tempting by the minute."

He was not done with exploring his options, though. He continued to approach different people in order to sound out their own views.

The next person he visited was 'Director' Samandra Avikon of the Creation Association.

As an organization centered around the spread of Vulcan's totems, the Creation Association was not a regular club.

When Ves entered its headquarters that was located in the busy Commercial District of Kotor City, he did not get the impression that he had stepped inside the venue of a trade association.

The high ceilings, the abundance of arches, the prevalence of mixed dwarven and human iconography along with the smell of incense made him feel as if he had entered a cathedral!

Numerous robed figures bowed in respect at Ves' passing. They recognized him and revered him for introducing Vulcan into their lives.

Ves frowned deeper with every respectful greeting. It was never his intention to turn the Creation Association into an actual church, but somehow it had morphed into this form.

As much as he disliked the Creation Association's tendency of turning its members and adherents into fanatical worshipers, he could not argue the results.

Not only did the Creation Association collect enough member fees to earn a handsome profit, it was also responsible for spreading Vulcan and the totems made in his image throughout the Red Ocean!

"Patriarch Ves! I am honored by your visit!" Director Samandra Avikon spoke as her robed figure rose from her ostentatious-looking chair. "Have you come to bless us with a new gift, or are you here to discuss our new dealings with the Rubarthans?"

"Wait, what?"

"Didn't you read the notice that I sent you a day ago, my lord?"

"I must have missed that since I became preoccupied with another matter as of late. Can you tell me more about the Rubarthans?"

It turned out that a group of superstitious Rubarthan craftsmen had heard about the wonderful benefits of the Creation Association. They proposed to pay a considerable fortune for the 'production method' of the totems that were exclusive to the Creation Association.

Of course, it was impossible for the Creation Association to agree to such a deal. Totems were exclusive to the Larkinson Clan. This was a hard rule that Ves already adhered to. Besides, he didn't think that anyone could fully replicate his work, so the point was moot.

"These first-raters are too overbearing." Ves grimaced. "However, it is not so simple to say no to them. Who knows how they will react if we slam the door in their face. Try and stall out the negotiations and insist that we can't do anything except to supply the products that the Creation Association already sells. If that isn't enough to satisfy them, then come to me. I'll find a way to drag in the MTA and deter them with my backing."

This was not the first time a group of first-raters had approached Ves or his organizations for something.

After all, if his glows were effective and useful for second-class mechs, they would undoubtedly be useful for first-class mechs as well!

If Ves wanted to, he could contact a desperate enough first-class mech designer and enter into a collaboration with that person to design and release a line of first-class living mechs.

However, Ves possessed enough self-knowledge and prudence to know that he was not yet ready to play in this arena.

Just like how he was reluctant to disturb the second-class mech market in the past, he was afraid of making too many enemies by encroaching on their territories.

The people and organizations involved in the design, production and sale of first-class multipurpose mechs were anything but simple!

Their might, resources and energy were far greater than his own! Even if they were prohibited from messing about in the middle and lower zones of the Red Ocean, there were still plenty of ways they could screw around with Ves and his clan.

Due to all of these fears, Ves had long maintained a policy of limiting his exposure to first-raters.

He did not reject every potential business duel with either Terran and Rubarthan parties, but he took extra care to avoid any entanglements that would pull him far too deep in their dangerous games.

After he finished expressing his views on this topic, he moved on to bringing up the topic that truly occupied his attention at this time.

"You are a great person, Patriarch Ves." Director Samandra said with great conviction. "No matter who you are and where you devote your energy towards, I have no doubt that you will succeed beyond anyone's imagination. You have already accomplished much before your forties. I cannot imagine how extensively you have affected every person's life when you become four centuries old."

"So you think it doesn't matter what I choose to focus on in the future?" Ves asked.

"That is not exactly what I mean. I believe that destiny or fate will guide you into the right path. You are born for greatness, sir. You have stood out among other people and begun to build up a sizable following. I have faith that you will be able to lead each of us to a new and better future!"

Well, that was helpful. Not.

"So you have no opinions at all on my future course of action?"

"Well, I must truly give an opinion, then I think that it is helpful to our Creation Association if you can introduce more powerful means of spreading your splendor. While we have managed to distribute many totems over the years, it is difficult to appeal to different people. We are facing particularly substantial suppression from other faiths and religious groups."

That was a familiar-sounding problem. Other religions tended to regard the Creation Association as a direct threat to their own interests, so they pushed back heavily to limit this upstart organization's expansion.

The suppression was quite effective. The Larkinson Clan may be influential in Davute and the immediate region, but it was hard for the Larkinsons to project their power in more distant regions.

"How many clients do we have at this time?"

"According to the latest figures, we have around 23,350 active clients. Each of them possess at least 1 totem of Vulcan that is active and authorized. Due to how many craftsmen and makers wish to obtain Vulcan's blessing, we are able to collect at least 10,000 MTA credits in usage fees."

"How much monthly revenue have we earned last month?"

"Only around 80,000 MTA credits, which is not as high as the sum we have earned when we are at our peak, but I am assured that we will do better next time."

The totems were all capable of imparting a weaker version of what his Hammer of Brilliance was capable of, but only did so when receiving payment in the form of MTA credits.

The clever part about the totems was that the minimum amount of money needed to activate this useful function was 1 MTA credit, but there was no upper boundary to the maximum sum.

The general rule regarding totems was that a greater sacrifice was paired with greater benefits!

The totems not only extended and maintained their full glows for a longer period, but also granted more powerful inspired states to the main recipient!

As such, there were times when different artisans sacrificed as much as 2,000 MTA credits in order to guarantee a successful completion of a critical project!

Although this entire arrangement sounded like a cynical scam, the benefits offered by the totems were still real enough. Ves at least possessed that much integrity.

It was for that reason that this business model remained viable and that no one had truly managed to discredit the Creation Association.

"80,000 MTA credits, huh?"

In the past, Ves might consider this to be an astronomical sum and a huge windfall for him and his clan, but these days it hardly whet his appetite.

The expenses of his clan had ballooned as it expanded over time. It cost a lot of money to commission new ships, build expensive mechs and gain access to a sufficient amount of rare and valuable resources.

The maintenance and upkeep of his growing expedition fleet alone cost almost just as much money!

All of the investment and associated burdens were worth it, though. Every capital ship had undergone major overhauls that made them at least several times more effective than before.

Every existing mech had received massive upgrades while a lot of new and powerful machines expanded the already-impressive combat power of the Larkinson Clan.

With how much money the LMC was earning these days, it was absolutely no problem for the Larkinson Clan to bear this expanded burden.

Still, Ves felt his clan could have done a lot more to strengthen his clan further if he was able to earn more money.

The Creation Association's success showed that there was a huge demand for totems and other products empowered by spirituality. They were able to help in ways that no other alternatives could fully match and they did so at a surprisingly low cost.

If Ves opted to go for Spiritual Ascension, he had a suspicion that he could truly elevate the Creation Association into a massive influence!

"Thank you for your input, Director Samandra. I have a schedule to attend to, so I will leave you to your work."