The Mech Touch

Despite the short notice of his guest lecture, a lot of students wanted to attend it. Originally, Professor Nxi only wanted Ves to lecture a single class of senior students.

Yet as soon as word broke out that a prodigal Journeyman with a colorful track record was about to speak in front of a class, many more students wanted to attend!

The demand became so high that Professor Nxi gained the leverage to shift the lecture towards one of their larger speaking venues.

At one of the larger auditoriums of Rawlings, a crowd numbering almost ten-thousand mech design students eagerly took their place on one of the many comfortable padded red seats.

While Ves knew that Rawlings educated even more students, he could scarcely fathom the consequences of releasing so many new mech designers into Sentinel's already bountiful mech industry!

Rawlings was not the only university who pumped out mech designers! Other institutions in the top ten each educated enormous numbers of mech designers as well, and many lesser schools also released a tsunami of badly-prepared mech designers into the wild every year!

No matter how many employment opportunities the Sentinel Kingdom and the Komodo Star Sector offered to freshly-graduated mech designers, there was no way it could accommodate that many!

Ves already knew that the vast majority of mech designers would face disappointment and failure and be forced to transition into lesser technical jobs.

Though Ves lamented the waste, he knew why the MTA pushed for this absurd policy from the top.

They wanted to cast a wide net in order to provide opportunities to as many people with psionic potential as possible!

The MTA also wished to foster a competitive environment to stimulate every ambitious mech designer. Some of those who survived and thrived in such difficult market environments often went on to become the next generation of Seniors and Masters.

Though Ves understood the logic of this policy, witnessing the sheer amount of students who all wanted to join his profession hit home the human cost of educating so many mech designers.

"Too many of them are set up for failure." He whispered.

Right now, Ves stood in an enclosure in the rear area of the auditorium.

No props were being prepared. Though Professor Nxi offered him the opportunity to call up some mechs to use as props, he declined the offer. If he couldn't show off one of his own mechs, he would rather resort to projections than someone else's products.

"It's too bad the Sentinel Kingdom is too far from the Bright Republic." He sighed.

It would take weeks or months to import one of his existing mechs to Cinach VIII. That took way too much time, and Ves didn't see the need to wait for such a long time just because he wanted to impress his audience.

He was confident enough that he could do so without the use of this aid.

"I used to be one of those students, you know." Ves told his bodyguard, gesturing towards the growing audience. "Seeing them brings back memories. I never left the Bright Republic. My monthly allowance was but a miniscule fraction of the money I had at my disposal."

Nitaa directed a skeptical glance at him. "Surely you must have thought yourself greater than your classmates, right?"

He knew what she was talking about. He decided to be honest and shook his head.

"I'm not as exceptional as you think I am. Back then, I was just an average kid who naively thought that my mediocre academic record gave me a shot at success. I was wrong. Very, very wrong."

"Then.. how come you are.. as great as you are today?"

"I have my parents to thank for that. They are greater than you can ever realize. I'm just the one who reaped the benefits of their sacrifice and hard work."

He let Nitaa process his words by herself as Professor Nxi walked over to him. She eyed his Pride of Dusk once again. The distinct badge of the Galactic Hunting Club looked very distinctive on the breast of his overcoat.

"Commanding the attention of so many students isn't easy, but I'm sure your current appearance will go a long way in making the more conceited fellows honest."

Ves decided to make a dignified impression. He left his decorative cat ears in his pockets. He also decided to leave Lucky with Nitaa.

"Is there anything you'd like me to take note of, professor?"

"This will mostly be your show. While a number of professors like myself will be sitting in the front seats, it is up to you to engage the students. Also, I'd like to remind you that your guest lecture will also be recorded and broadcasted through our channels in the Sentinel Kingdom and beyond."

"I am aware. That's all in the contract we've signed."

Both sides sought to benefit from each other.

Ves wanted to borrow Rawlings University's credibility.

In turn, Rawlings University to borrow Ves' prestige and halo of success.

For this reason, Ves handed over most of the rights to his guest lecture for Rawlings to use as they wished. They secured the right to slap their logo over the footage and market their institution to the Sentinel Kingdom by using snippets of his own lecture as promotional material.

Ten more minutes passed by until the entrances to the auditorium finally closed. Soon, Ves received the signal to start the lecture.

"Good luck, Mr. Larkinson. Our staff will support you as best as we can." The professor said before she stepped towards the front row of seats.

The guest lecture began in earnest when the vast majority of the large and empty podium began to light up as a massive projection came online.

No sound originated from the footage that Ves selected, but the crowd of mech design students instantly fell silent.

When the professor gave Ves the option to choose the footage he wanted to start with, he declined to show off his mech designs or his participation in the recent Crown Hunt.

Ves wanted to set a certain tone for his lecture. Puffing himself up had its time and place, but the last thing he wanted to do was to come across as a braggart whose mouth was bigger than his accomplishments.

He already enjoyed a nasty reputation due to his hateful Devil Tongue moniker!

Therefore, the soundless footage did not depict the glorious Aurora Titan. It did not depict the radiant Transcendent Messenger either. In fact, neither Ves nor any of his products could be found in any of the clips that Ves selected in the montage.

Instead, Ves opted to project snapshots of some of the bloodiest battles of the Bright-Vesia Wars.

There was nothing glorious about the battles. The worn-out Brighter mechs, whether splattered by mud or leaking air in space, fought desperately against their Vesian adversaries!

In some cases, the mechs of the Mech Corps barely prevailed, but at the cost of most of their mechs and mech pilots. In other cases, the Mech Legion brutally crushed the opposition, paving the way for further bloody incursions!

Amidst all of this eerily silent collage of battle footage, Ves moved out onto the podium and gradually stepped to the middle.

While Ves had been given the option to speak behind a lectern, he needed no notes to speak from his heart. He also wanted his Pride of Dusk to be visible to everyone in the audience!

The distracting footage caused most of the students to become enraptured by the desperate struggles of the forces of the Mech Corps. Hardly anyone took notice of Ves at the start.

However, as Ves neared the center, he began to weaken the spiritual barrier holding the aura of his Pride of Dusk in check.

The invisible aura around him began to strengthen. Though those who sat closest to the front noticed the sensation first, soon enough the aura grew strong enough to encompass the entire auditorium!

With the help of his overcoat, Ves silently managed to command the attention of tens of thousands of mech design students! Even the dozens of professors who decided to attend his guest lecture out of curiosity or boredom no longer dismissed him as a flash-in-the-pan sensation!

His boots echoed against the surface of the podium with one last crack as he reached the very center. He cast his gaze at the entire audience, sweeping from left to right. His heavy presence, enhanced by Zeigra's unrelenting range and pride, forced everyone to acknowledge his existence.

If any of the students sat too far away to makeout his face, then the side projections of a close-up of his entire body made sure that even the one sitting in the very back viewed him clearly!

No one chatted. No one shared jokes with each other. No one played games on their comms.

At this moment, Ves captured the complete attention of each and every person present.

Ves gestured his arm towards the battle footage continuing running in the background.

"I am not a Sentinel. I am a Brighter. This is the reality that I have grown up in. The Bright-Vesia Wars that has marked my home state has influenced our mech culture as strongly as the Nyxian Gap has influenced yours."

His voice conveyed a lot of weight. Amplified by the auditorium's speakers, his deceptively-calm voice pressured the formerly-jovial mech design students even further.

"War has dominated every facet of the Bright Republic. Mech designers like me are not exempt from contributing to the war effort. Though there is plenty of glory and honor to be earned in war, let me tell you, if you're stationed at the frontlines, most of the time you're more preoccupied with surviving the next battle than dreaming about the next medal you can pin on your chest!"

Ves believed he managed to convey the severity of the wars that had plagued the Bright Republic to the students.

"There is a reason why I showed you a taste of what our wars are like. It is to remind you of the role we serve. In the future, some of you will go on to help the brave Sentinel mech pilots survive their coming battles. Whether your mechs will be put to use against the Nyxian pirates or some hostile state, know that the responsibility you bear is greater than you think. The fate of not only your customers, but the innocents who they protect all depend on your work!"

His words caused the people present to feel a lot more solemn about their profession than before! With how self-centered mech designers tended to be about their careers, it was difficult for them to think through the consequences of their actions!

"Many of you dream of becoming a mech designer of renown. Perhaps you heard about me and decided to become like me. However, ask yourselves, is it easy to follow in my footsteps?"

Silence ensued. No one dared to speak up at this tense and solemn moment.

"Come now, don't be shy." He smiled in a wicked fashion. "Let me make it easier and pose a simple request. Please raise your hands if you believe you will become a Master Mech Designer in your lifetime!"

For a moment, only a handful dared to raise their hands. The professors hesitated least of all. They either decisively raised their hands or kept them lowered in an honest assessment of their capabilities.

As for the students, Ves still sensed a lot of hesitation among the crowd.

"Have I visited the wrong university? Am I speaking in front of Rawlings students or not?! Come now! Where is your ambition! Raise your hands if you believe in yourself! Don't be shy!"

Under his encouragement, around thirty percent of the students eventually raised their hands.

"What an impressive amount of ambition!" Ves dramatically gasped. "If each and you are able to fulfill your dreams, then the Sentinel Kingdom would probably be home to more Masters than the amount of Masters in the Bright Republic and the Hexadric Hegemony combined!"

That was an absurd statement! Everyone knew the chances of advancing to Masters. The odds of advancing to Masters from those who emerged from third-rate states was microscopically small!

In fact, it was pretty much unheard of in the Komodo Star Sector!

Ves exagerattingly shook his head. "Only about a third of you raised your hand. I'm disappointed."

He abruptly thumped his fist against his palm before pointing his finger at the audience in an accusatory manner. "I'm disappointed, but not at those who raised their hands and thought they have what it takes to become a Master! Instead, I'm let down by the rest of you who didn't have the guts to set your sights higher!"

The moods of every student and professor suddenly experienced turmoil! What kind of guest lecture was this?! Didn't Ves know the awful odds that any of them could ever advance to Master one day?!