The Mech Touch

Ves did not spend too much time on exploring this idea in his current form.

He just borrowed a few spare mech weapons that Diandi Base had in storage and awkwardly used them to beat up a few bots.

The only difference was that he tried to augment their performance by summoning different 'elementals' to see whether he could directly enhance their offensive power.

The results were not as impressive this time.

The spare weapons were holdovers from the previous generation. The lack of hyper materials made it difficult for the elementals to attach themselves to the weapons in a significant way.

It was just like the difference between prime mechs and non-prime mechs. The latter did not offer any direct physical interfaces for the elementals to channel their power in the material realm.

However, their effects were not completely invalid.

Ves managed to make enough observations to determine that utilizing multiple living entities could help in an offensive capacity as well.

He became reminded by the Gray Lotus. That was the prototypical example of this concept in action.

Even though the Gray Lotus was a self-contained relic weapon that could be wielded by any mech, it still represented a means for hyper mechs to effectively utilize other E energy attributes!

What Ves wanted to make was a secondary life that was attached and subordinate to a primary life.

Just like people with companion spirits, they were both separate and the same. They possessed enough distinctions to gain greater flexibility, but they were also united enough to escape many of the coordination problems.

Once he and Alexa had gathered enough data and made enough observations, Ves shrunk his body back to his compact form.

He briefly committed a blunder by getting swamped by the giant tarpaulin that previously acted as his robe.

His reduction in size did not apply to his clothes!

Fortunately, this was just a minor problem that served as another motivation for him to develop his own version of a nanosuit.

No matter what, Ves did not want to tear apart all of his clothes when he unfolded his true body in the future!

"I can contact an equipment supplier and commission a custom suit that can solve your wardrobe problem if necessary." Alexa suggested.

"That won't be necessary. I intend to solve this problem myself." Ves responded. "As a mech designer, I have the expertise and skills to make my own equipment. Aside from a few exceptions such as a personal teleporter, I can make nearly anything. It is not a good habit to rely too much on other people's work. The intentions of the maker are not always so pure. This is one of the many lessons of Frontier Wisdom that I have learned the hard way."

His assistant nodded and no longer made any further suggestions.

The pair continued to discuss their future plans with regards to their mech design projects.

"Will your new delay the completion of the Supremo Project and the Transcendent Punisher Mark III Project? According to your previous words, you hoped to complete them in the next month at most."

"Hmmm... I should be able to make this addition without too much trouble." Ves said as he could rely on Veronica to do much of the work from her end. "I have already solved many of the problems related to making secondary life forms when I completed the Fey Fianna. Right now, I just have to adapt the existing template into a design that is centered around a single whole mech frame. I think my chances of success will be greater in these cases as heavy artillery mechs are so large that they have a much higher fault tolerance when it comes to hyper technology and E-technology."

Since that was the case, then the Supremo Project and the Transcendent Punisher Mark HI were the best candidates for Ves to apply his experimental concept!

Once he managed to make it work with the mechs that were best predisposed to hosting multiple life forms, Ves could work towards miniaturizing his solution so that it could 'fit' into smaller and more compact mech designs.

"That is an excellent idea." Alexa approvingly said. "I admire your creativity. It is not always common for mech designers at your level to generate so many inventive and effective design solutions."

Ves replied with a modest smile. "It is easier this time because the Hyper Generation has just rolled out. There are so many new possibilities that people have yet to explore that I have a chance of exploiting them first."

"I doubt that other mech designers can take advantage of this dynamic. They will have to master the art of designing a living mech. This is a solution that only you can devise and realize."

"Speaking about that, how is your progress coming along, Alexa? I don't know how much time you have put into your studies, but you have been working alongside me for several months. You have assisted in the design and fabrication of numerous living mechs, several of which are quite remarkable. The companion spirit that I have gifted you should have given you a clear advantage in learning the essence of living mechs."

He refused to believe that a talented and well-educated elite Terran mech designer could remain stuck for so long after she enjoyed so many favorable conditions.

The only reason that could prevent her from advancing to the rank of Journeyman Mech Designer was if she lacked spiritual potential, but that was not the case.

In fact, spiritual potential didn't matter anymore in the Age of Dawn. The continuous bombardment of E energy radiation had gradually fed and grown the spiritualities of every human without exception!

While their talent and other circumstances still had a significant influence on how much progress they could make, even the dullest and most talentless human would gain a boost that may eventually bring him up to par with an individual with good spiritual potential!

Therefore, no Apprentice Mech Designer faced any hard obstacles anymore. So long as they were passionate, motivated and hard-working enough, each of them should be able to form their design seeds in the current environment!

Just as he predicted, Alexa was not as simple as she appeared.

"To be honest, sir, I think I have come close to breaking through as a Journeyman. I cannot give you any absolute answers, but if I want to follow in your footsteps as closely as possible, I only have to study and immerse myself in your teachings and your mech designs. However..."

"You are not satisfied with treading down a beaten path. You want to strike out on your own and pioneer a different interpretation of living mechs, is that correct?"

Alexa nodded. "I cannot repeat how many times I have become impressed by how much you have turned living mechs into powerful assets that can make a strong difference to the mech pilots that depend on them. I do not seek to surpass your contributions to the mech industry, but I still have my own pride. I want to add to the body of mechs from my own angle. I have been working on exploring several directions of research that you have never spent much time on exploring. I just need more time to determine which one is the most viable and suitable for myself."

Ves fully approved of this decision! Even if Alexa slowed down her progress due to the need to rely on her own research to progress her design philosophy, at least she had devoted herself to solutions developed by herself rather than her mentor!

Of course, there were still plenty of ways for the two to exchange their knowledge and work together. Their shared field meant that there would always be room for them to assist each other.

"I look forward to hearing what you have decided to specialize in." Ves graciously smiled. "Can you give me an estimate of how long it will take for you to lock in your choice?"

"It shouldn't take much longer. I think I will likely complete my own research and finalize my choice shortly before or after you have introduced the Fey Fianna to the mech market."

That was hardly any time at all. It sounded as if Alexa was fully confident that she would have the makings of a Journeyman Mech Designer in a relatively short amount of time.

Ves truly looked forward to seeing Alexa advance. She was already incredibly useful to him as an Apprentice Mech Designer. Her value to him would definitely skyrocket once she became a Journeyman Mech Designer!

In fact, her value far exceeded that of the other lead designers of the Larkinson Clan!

She was the most authentic version of a first-class mech designer. She could competently design first-class mechs right away that could be of great use to the Premier Branch in the short term.

Even when Ves gained the qualifications needed to design first-class mechs himself, Alexa would be able to handle a lot of work assignments by herself.

The only Larkinson mech designer that was more valuable than Alexa was his wife!

No matter whether it was the old Gloriana or the new one that came back with a first-class cranial implant, his long-established synergy with her elevated all of their collaboration works.

Fortunately, Ves was not forced to choose between the two. He could cooperate with both of them at the same time.

He spent a few minutes on providing Alexa a bit of guidance before allowing her to return to her own research.

Ves meanwhile had to take care of an issue that had been brewing for several hours.

He needed to eat.

Gavin looked on from the side with a perplexed expression as Ves started to dig into the literal mountains of roasted meat that had been set on long and oversized tables!

Ves did not recognize the species the meat belonged to, and he didn't even spend that much time on savoring the flavors of all of his massive and aggressive bites.

His devouring speed was remarkably quick. It was frankly inhuman for him to be able to bite and swallow so much meat at a time!

However, even that was not enough to satisfy his desire to replenish his reserves. He shed his uniform once again and summoned a giant curtain before using it to cover up his true body!

After that, the huge piles of roasted meat began to diminish at a rapid speed!

The more his flesh rejoiced at the intake of biomass, the more Ves lost his decorum! He ate and ate until there was nothing left on the table!

In fact, he even had a notion that he could devour the table if he really wanted to! The digestive system of a phase lord was far more powerful than that of a human!

Ves loudly burped as he folded his body back into his human-sized form.

He donned his regular outfit yet again and patted his dutiful assistant on the shoulder.

"That was a good meal. Try and stock up on lots of tons of meat in case I get hungry next time. Make sure to order enough industrial cooking facilities to process so much biomass at the same time. I am not always patient enough to wait until all of the batches are done."

"Uh... okay, sir..."

"Good man."

Ves calmly walked away until he reached the nearest restroom.

The place hardly offered any better privacy than the corridors outside, but he had a psychological compulsion to visit a bathroom every time he wanted to take care of a particular kind of business.

"Let's see what I can I get this time."

With a single mental command, all time outside seemed to freeze as he instantly entered the System Space.

Just after he arrived, the System immediately projected a few notifications.

[You have personally assembled a masterwork mech based on your own Lionheart design!]

[You have been awarded with one radiant lottery ticket! Create more masterwork mechs to receive more radiant lottery tickets! ]

Ves started to grin as he confirmed that he had received his desired reward.

He already had a good idea on what to aim for with his latest lottery ticket.