The Mech Touch

There were multiple reasons why Ves brazenly put up so much resistance to participating in a design duel.

First, he genuinely lacked the confidence to win against an MTA elite like Jovy.

Aside from the MTA mech designer's excellent upbringing and access to some of the best resources in human hands, Ves simply knew too little about his opponent!

The same did not apply to Jovy. The man not only accessed Ves' record, but also spent days on the Little Angel!

Though the fabrication of the masterwork mech was mostly Gloriana's work, Ves had been a lot more involved in its design. A mech designer as competent as Jovy should have been able to figure out most of Ves' strengths and weaknesses with that much examination!

Second, he genuinely thought it was a waste of time. Winning the Komodo War, designing more best-selling mechs and earning millions of MTA merits mattered more to him than defending his pride or comparing himself against a true peer in mech design.

The only reason he halted his steps in the first place was because Jovy and Master Willix finally added something attractive in the pot. Obtaining the so-called Darkbreak module, even temporarily, would definitely help him out in his upcoming mission!

However, this piece of tech came directly from the MTA, and Ves did not trust that any data sent through this module would remain secret.

Third, he respected the MTA's power, but not its friendship.

Almost every other mech designer in the galaxy viewed the MTA with rose-tinted glasses. It was hard not to. Not only did it single-handedly prop up the mech industry to the point that it had become the most flourishing sector in the galaxy, the MTA also offered many opportunities that weren't ordinarily available.

Without the MTA, the Age of Mechs would have never succeeded the Age of Conquest!

Without the MTA, trillions of mech designers would have never been able to compete in a much less regulated mech market!

Without the MTA, their profession would have never been as honored and lucrative as today!

While Ves acknowledged all of the good that the MTA had done, it still had a lot of skeletons in the closet. Ves feared that his own skeleton would be added to the Association's closet if he came too close!

All of these reasons meant that Ves didn't feel very enthused about accepting this challenge.

However, that did not mean he was opposed to it entirely. Now that the pot had been sweetened a bit, Ves wanted to test how hard he could drive this bargain.

He continued to stand still as he waited for Jovy and Master Willix to adjust the stakes again.

As soon as Master Willix intervened in Jovy's private challenge, Ves began to suspect that she may have a hand in it as well. Was she trying to induce him to design and build a mech in front of her eyes?

This caused him to grow a bit more vigilant. Ves was deeply afraid that Master Willix might glean some more clues if she observed him putting his full effort into making a competition mech!

On the other hand, if Master Willix encouraged Jovy to issue his challenge, then that meant that Ves could milk them even further. Even though he didn't want to show off his design methods to the MTA, he was still fairly confident that he would successfully be able to confound Master Willix!

As long as this premise held, he was not as opposed to accepting the duel. He just wanted to make the most out of his bargaining power and see if he could extract more concessions. If they wanted him to duel Jovy so badly, then they better bring out more from MTA's immense wealth!

Just as Jovy was about to open his mouth, Master Willix raised her hand and stepped forward. Her irritation had grown deeper.

"This is quite enough, Mr. Larkinson. If you win, you will keep the Darkbreak module. If you lose, you can only borrow it. This is the extent of what the stakes will be. Before you think that is not enough, let me inform you that the Darkbreak module can maintain a secure connection in other anomalous regions, not just the Nyxian Gap. While it is relatively rare to encounter this situation in the Komodo Star Sector, there are several ways to hinder the operation of quantum entanglement nodes. States and powerful organizations in the more prosperous parts of human space regularly make use of them to hinder their foes. The Darkbreak module can defeat these measures to an extent."

It sounded as if Master Willix knew exactly what Ves intended and plainly wanted to forestall his attempt! Ves tried his best not to show his displeasure.

"I will still get the credits as well, right?"

Master Willix didn't even deign to answer that question. 5,000 MTA credits was peanuts to her, but that did not mean that she was willing to throw more money at Ves in order to reward his scoundrel-like behavior!

A very powerful aura began to emanate from the Master. Ves, Jovy, Gloriana and the other MTA personnel abruptly felt a formidable pressure on their minds.

Ves looked incredibly serious as his exceptional spiritual perception saw more! The limped and hidden spirituality in the Master's mind had roused itself. Though she ordinarily suppressed it, now she was actively stimulating some of her formidable strength as a mech designer who realized her design philosophy!

Her strength dwarfed almost anything he had seen before! Perhaps not even Qilanxo could hold a candle against the might that this powerful Master ordinarily locked within her mind!

Then, the pressure disappeared. People sighed in relief as Master Willix returned to her normal demeanor as an approachable mech designer.

"Please set the terms of the design duel, Mr. Larkinson. Choose any time limit, mech class and mech type. No handicaps and no ridiculous demands. Let us keep the design duel fair but challenging for you both. This is not only a contest of skills, but also an opportunity to learn from each other."

"Uhm, okay. Let me think."

This time, Ves didn't dare to act insolent. Perhaps he misjudged how many antics Master Willix was willing to tolerate. He had been lulled by her friendly overtures and generous actions. This caused her to remind him of her immense power and authority!

The way she phrased her words made it seem that it was already a given that Ves accepted the duel. He could not afford to say anything that contradicted her command, which meant he could not extricate himself from this challenge any longer!

When Ves gazed at Jovy, he only saw eagerness and lust for victory.

The MTA mech designer was very confident in himself, and for good reason!

This caused Ves to feel more troubled. Though he already stood to gain a decent reward in the event of a loss, he wanted to keep the Darkbreak module!

In the future, his enemies would only grow more formidable. Once he encountered a difficult situation where his connection to the galactic net became frayed, having a more robust means of communication might be a lifesaver!

Naturally, any signal passed through the Darkbreak module would also fall into the hands of the MTA, but that was already the case with regular quantum entanglement nodes. Almost everyone sensible in the galaxy already knew that the Comm Consortium was a puppet of the Big Two!

Therefore, Ves had plenty of motivation now to do his best to win this duel.

Since Jovy and Master Willix generously allowed him to set the terms, he might as well see if he could push his luck in this area as well!

"Let's design a third-class mech." He stated.

Predictably, Jovy did not look pleased with this suggestion. "Third-class mechs are.. too basic to express our strengths. You are already a second-class mech designer, are you not? The Little Angel there has shown me that you have already reached a satisfactory standard."

"Most of that is Gloriana's handiwork." Ves partially lied. "She not only started off as a second-class mech designer, but was also responsible for solving many difficult problems! Even if I'm qualified to design second-class mechs, I have just surpassed the threshold. I'm still a third-class mech designer at heart. I've designed more than a dozen third-class mechs but only a single Blessed Squire design. Why should I cede my personal high ground just because you think that cheap mechs are worthless?"

"That's not what I meant, Mr. Larkinson! I am just.. not.. used.. to.. designing.. lower-specced.. mechs…"

Ves turned to Master Willix, who in turn looked displeased at Jovy.

"Mechs are mechs regardless of their quality or power. Third-class mechs are the most ubiquitous machines in the galaxy. They play an indispensable role to many states and people. Mr. Armalon, if you wish to master mechs to a higher degree, then you need to set aside some of your preconceived notions and step out of your comfort zone. Do not forget the purpose of your tour."

With the admonishment from the Master, it was Jovy's turn to acquiesce.

"Very well." He reluctantly responded. "I accept this term."

Throughout this brief exchange, Ves recognized that his guess was right. This wealthy, privileged mech designer was so used to designing powerful mechs that his experience in designing lesser mechs was limited!

Since that was the case, Ves should continue to pounce

"Even third-class mechs can be expensive to many many others. In the mech markets that I am still engaged in, pricing and cost efficiency are some of the most important criteria to many customers. It has always been a challenge to design a mech that is expected to do much while still remaining affordable. For this reason, let us set the budget at 600,000 hex credits."

"What?! That is an unbearably low sum! You can hardly design anything with such a miniscule budget!"

Ves remained stubborn, however. "My Desolate Soldier is the most successful product of my mech company to date, and its price is not that far off from this amount. Are you saying you can't design a mech that can sell just as well with the same budget?"

"No!"

As an MTA mech designer, Jovy did not allow himself to admit his inferiority in this area! At the very least, he should put up a fight! He briefly glanced at Master Willix in order to gauge her stance.

Her expression remained impassive, which meant that there was not big issue with this term!

"Very well." Jovy sighed. "I will agree to your budget."

"That's great. As for the mech type, let's go for a landbound striker mech. It's a simple design and one that we can finish in a very short amount of time."

"A striker mech?! That's too simple!"

"It's because they are so simple that they make for a good choice in a pure design duel." Ves retorted with confidence. "Both of us are going to put our competition mechs to the test by allowing our own mech pilots to compete, right? Any MTA mech pilot can easily overpower my own mech pilots in skill, training and reflexes."

"Letting actual people pilot our mechs is not the only option. The MTA has developed many AI mech pilots that can be used for these occasions. Both of our mechs will be piloted by the exact same AI mech pilot to ensure total fairness."

Ves shook his head. "No can do. My design philosophy is metaphysical man-machine symbiosis. That means my strengths are centered around influencing and empowering mech pilots when they pilot my mechs. What can I do with a lifeless, unfeeling bot? A duel involving AI mech pilots will essentially negate my greatest selling point, which means you won't be facing me at my full strength!"

"Mr. Larkinson is correct." Master Willix interjected again. "His demand to test your competition mechs with human mech pilots is reasonable, and so is his assumption that our mech pilots are superior in every way. Choosing a mech type with relatively little skill expression such as striker mechs is a good way to lessen this unavoidable disparity."

Of course, they could have assigned mech pilots from the same group to pilot both mechs. However, it was very hard to ensure whether an MTA mech pilot would do his best in a mech designed by Ves. Since he already suggested this term, he had made his own stance clear.

"Very well, but that is it." Jovy stated with a firm voice. "In order to keep this duel equitable, this is the extent you can set the rules. For the subsequent terms, we must both agree to them. Is that acceptable?"

"That's fine!"

Ves grinned. He already secured enough advantages!