The Mech Touch

The Wodin Warriors, the remnants of Task Force Predator and a small MTA delegation led by Master Willix traveled deeper into the Sentinel Kingdom in unison.

Though the MTA vessels could have reached the Cinach System in a single jump, they chose to accompany the fleet that emerged out of the Nyxian Gap in order to stay close to the dangerous captured warships.

Word had already spread. Every time the combined fleet transitioned out of FTL, the locals in the star systems eagerly gawked at the might on display!

The powerful Hexer second-class mechs, the rugged and damaged vessels of the Larkinson Clan, the small but incredibly authoritative presence of the Ubiquitous Force and of course the crude but enormous Gravada Knarlax captured everyone's attention.

A large number of sensors and scanners directed their arrays at the heavily-damaged heavy cruiser. The buzz surrounding the pirate warships turned contentious as the local Sentinels regarded them with a mix of dread and excitement.

Though the Big Two did their best to paint warships as threats to human civilization, their allure could not be denied. Though damaged and tarnished, the sheer size of the former pirate flagship exuded a brutish charm that captivated the imagination of anyone who desired power.

What would it be like to control this destructive warship?

How many ships would they be able to demolish with her guns?

The sight of the captured warships inspired plenty of deviants! The problem got so bad that the MTA felt compelled to set up a simple interference field. Many long-ranged sensors and scanners failed to gain a detailed glimpse once this field enveloped the fleet.

As the reunion between the task force and the Larkinson Clan approached, Ves split his time on several priorities.

Now that the Design Department completed all of its ongoing projects, Ves gained some time to evaluate the performance of his Braves and provide them with some useful guidance.

He also made sure to check up on Maikel and Zanthar's studies.

With all of the Attribute Candies they ingested, their learning capabilities were only modestly behind that of Ketis. They devoured textbooks quite quickly. While their 1.6 Intelligence provided them with a substantial boost, the real reason why they were able to persist in their study sessions was their 1.8 Concentration.

As far as Ves was concerned, Concentration mattered more than Intelligence. Human geneticists developed a large amount of gene mod templates that directly improved the latter. The former did not receive as much attention. Any genetic augmentations that purported to improve this attribute were considerably less refined.

Yet the benefits of high Concentration were evident. Not only did it make his mech designers more dedicated to their studies, it also ensured they remained focused and free from distractions when they were working on a mech design.

It was with the help of their high Concentration that the two Larkinson seeds made good strides in their studies.

That said, they hadn't rushed ahead of the curriculum that Ves had set. Since he was determined to turn them into second-class mech designers from the start, he insisted on instilling them with a deep foundation.

They had to be just as knowledgeable and competent as Gloriana when she graduated from Kelma University!

As Ves finished going over the latest exam results, he smiled as he turned to his students.

"I am satisfied with your progress. Your grasp on mechanics, electromagnetism, calculus, data analytics and so on is quite extensive."

"Thank you, teacher!" Maikel smiled at the praise. "We both worked hard to catch up to your level."

Zanthar also showed a lot of eagerness.

"With all of the action going on, I want to be able to contribute as well. I would love nothing more than to see my clansmen pilot my mechs!"

Ves responded with a good-natured chuckle. "You are far from reaching that level. It's good to set a lofty goal for yourselves, but don't delude yourself that you'll be able to design a good mech right away upon graduation. The standards of the Larkinson Clan keep getting higher, so the two of you will need to study a lot more to design a worthy mech for our mech pilots. Properly speaking, Novice-grade mechs don't cut it. The Larkinson Clan will only pilot Journeyman-grade mechs at a minimum."

The two students immediately lost their cheer. They were working hard to become Novice Mech Designers. They had to work some more in order to reach the rank of Apprentice. Then, they faced the biggest test of all. Only a small proportion of Apprentices were able to move forward, and there was no guarantee that Maikel and Zanthar would be a part of this group!

They only had to look at the Braves to see how difficult it was to become a Journeyman. The two Larkinson seeds had befriended many of the mech designers aboard the Scarlet Rose. Each of them were smart, talented and capable in many ways.

Yet out of all of the Braves, only Ketis possessed the confidence that she was getting close to achieving this transformation.

"Don't be so depressed." Ves said. "Back when I was a Novice, I wasn't nearly as good as now, but I managed to practice my craft and earn a profit anyway. There is a place in the market for Novices as well. Just because your design ability isn't up to par yet for the clan doesn't mean that every other customer is as strict."

That caused them to regain a bit of optimism. Ves was right. A proper independent mech designer always started off from the bottom. While the performance of mechs designed by Novices and Apprentices weren't that impressive, they were much more affordable than the products designed by the likes of Ves and Gloriana!

"Do you have a better idea on how you will specialize in the future? While we haven't reached the juncture where you must declare your future direction in your studies, you have already gained a good overview of the varieties of mechs that can be made."

"I want to design living mechs like yours, teachers!" Maikel answered without hesitation.

"I'm more interested in arming my mechs with powerful guns." Zanthar spoke.

The two of them hadn't changed their minds about their orientation. Ves wasn't entirely comfortable with their choices.

While Ves did not object to Maikel's choice, the young mech design student might not have the right aptitude to design a living mech.

What determined a mech designer's spiritual attributes?

Were they born with them, or did they develop them over the course of their life by taking after their environment?

Ves believed the latter was definitely the case. It explained how Venerable Joshua managed to develop a very rare life domain.

In fact, as LMC became more prevalent, Ves predicted that more mech pilots like Joshua might emerge. Millions of LMC mechs were already put to use in the star sector. Many mech pilots had already become devoted fans of his products, just like Joshua!

Ves held the highest hopes for his Larkinson Clan. His mech pilots excelled at piloting LMC mechs. Once he rounded out the mech roster, his clansmen would be surrounded by so many living mechs that they should definitely embrace life!

Perhaps the only uncertainty was the age of the mech pilot. Ves noticed that younger people were more malleable to change. They possessed impressionable minds and were still in the process of forming their principles.

In contrast, the old dogs who had gone through hell and back were remarkably stable and static. Their strong core was unassailable by most external influences. At best, their constant proximity to living mechs may make them slightly more compatible with them, but only to an extent.

Ves wondered how other mech designers managed this problem. Was it as easy as surrounding their students with a specific kind of mechs? Somehow, he didn't think it was that simple.

Perhaps the rarer and more exotic spiritual attributes were harder to acquire than others. The trueblood members of his clan had spent years around LMC mechs, but Ves hadn't seen anyone developing a life attribute yet. None of them came close to following Joshua's footsteps.

From what he knew, the mentality of the person in question mattered as well. Passive exposure wasn't enough. The individual in question had to believe in the concept represented by the attribute.

"Maikel."

"Yes, teacher?" The young Larkinson seed looked attentive.

"Let me warn you that following footsteps is not for everyone. Many mech designers are completely unsuited to designing a mech that is comparable to mine. You may not have the right 'talent'. Do you know what that means? No matter how much you force yourself, you won't be able to inherit some of my legacy."

"Do I have the right talent?"

"I don't know. It's not something that is easy to acquire, but I believe there is still a chance. Don't worry. Since I accepted the responsibility to become your teacher, I will do my best to set you up. I can't do it without you, though. Whenever you are free, you should spend more time with my mechs. It doesn't matter which. Bright Warrior, Aurora Titan, Doom Guard or whatever. Just go ahead and work alongside a crew of mech technicians as they service the machines. Don't go through the motions. Be earnest about it. As long as you are sincere, I believe you'll be ready to design a living mech!"

Maikel regained some of hope. "I'll do my best! It's just that my studies already eat up my time. I barely enjoyed a day off in the last year."

Ves tapped the kid on his head. "I won't tell you that breaks aren't allowed. I'm pushing you hard, too hard maybe. However, achieving greatness can't be done by settling for mediocrity. I set my expectations high because I'm setting you up to become the best. If you don't think you can keep up, then you can choose to lighten your workload. Just know that investing less in yourself will decrease the chances of achieving the success you desire. That is something that every student must grapple with over the course of their adolescence."

In truth, he did not expect his two students to have any problems in this regard. Their artificially high Concentration always ensured that their motivation remained high.

"What about me, teacher?" Zanthar. "Is my choice as difficult as well?"

"Not quite." Ves shook his head. "There are many mech designers who excel in increasing the damage output of their mechs. It's quite easy to get into, but that isn't an excuse to take it easy."

"How so?"

"Maikel's problem is that he needs to work hard to get his foot in the door. You're different, Zanthar. It's easy for you to step through the door. Your real problem is that you'll be entering a crowded room. The crowd will do its best to push you to the back of the room. What you need to do is push forward and make it to the front. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"You mean I'll be struggling with a lot of competitors?"

Ves nodded. "Precisely. The ease of which you'll be able to reach the front of the room depends on how you approach your specialty. It needs to be both strong and distinct from the rest in order to stand out from the crowd. Therefore, don't think you have to work any less than Maikel."

Though Zanthar looked troubled by this, Ves didn't worry as much about him. Even if Zanthar failed to live up to expectations, he would still be able to become a decent mech designer. That was the benefit of choosing a more accessible design philosophy.

For the remainder of the session, Ves provided them with some advice on how to prepare themselves. While they were a bit too early in their studies to lock in their choices, Ves believed the two had already made their considerations.

The earlier they devoted themselves to their specialties, the faster they were able to start with developing their future domains!