The Mech Touch

His decision to expand his Design Department paid off. Now that Ves transitioned over to working on several mech design projects at a time, his productivity had skyrocketed. By letting his assistants perform the work that required the least brainpower, he freed up a lot of time which he could spend on solving the most critical design problems.

Certainly, there were downsides to this approach. His sense of ownership in his products had dropped. His lack of control resulted in suboptimal outcomes that he would have never produced on his own. He wore out his mind a lot faster due to the need to juggle many different mech designs at once.

Yet the benefits were worth it. Not only was he able to deliver many more mech designs to the people that needed them, he also gained the approval of the System in the form of Design Points.

Ves was well aware that the System's new incentive mechanisms encouraged him to design more mechs. It was set up in a way that silently told him that it was better to design a lot of mech designs in haste than to design a single extremely high quality mech design at a time.

To put it simpler, the System valued the process and the experience of designing mechs more than the end product.

Ves directed a knowing look at the vambrace of the Unending Regalia that had integrated the System comm.

"You value me more than my mech designs, is that right? What is your purpose?"

Naturally, the System did not deign to answer him. He was already used to its attitude. Even if Ves insulted it, the System was way too stuck-up to pay any mind to his feelings.

As Ves experienced more of the galaxy, his perspective was not as limited as before. Beyond discovering the System's entanglement with his mother and the Five Scrolls Compact, he was becoming more aware of the interests that drove people forward.

Now that he looked back on the behavior of the System, Ves had become much more certain about his suspicions. He had become so dazzled by its incredibly advanced capabilities that he failed to think critically about its complete state.

It may actually be the Metal Scroll or a remnant of the long-lost Sacred Scroll, but it was definitely far from its prime. The Mech Designer System was very much flawed and rough to Ves. It was as if the Scroll had just cobbled it up together in order to present a different image. The fact that its mechanisms changed over time meant that the System was experimenting!

Just like how Ves experimented on his mech pilots, the System likely treated him the same way!

As a seasoned researcher, he knew quite well how dangerous it was to be someone's test subject. Sometimes, he felt as if he was beta testing a product for the Metal Scroll. A moment of carelessness could easily result in a head explosion!

Sweat poured out of his brow. His Unending Regalia automatically absorbed the moisture, but that did not lessen his fears about realizing that he was caught in another entity's experiment!

He slowly calmed down. He recognized he couldn't do anything about his suspected status. Experimenters always did their utmost to control every possible variable. They never let test subjects go out of control.

Besides, he didn't think the System intended to dispose of him after expending so many resources on facilitating his growth. That was an enormous waste and unnecessary to boot. Its ambiguous relationship with his mother gave him some guarantees as well. She would have done something if she believed the System was harmful.

Ves pushed these distracting thoughts to the back of his mind. While it was useful gain more awareness, he had to solve his immediate problems first before addressing other concerns.

"With over 450,000 DP under my belt, I've gained a lot more spending power."

He could have spent it on so many new Skills and Sub-Skills. Ever since he integrated his Archimedes Rubal implant, he expanded his brain capacity. While he still needed to pay attention to the compatibility of the knowledge he absorbed, as long as his design philosophy was okay with it, he could easily imagine boosting the quality of his mech designs even further by spending all of that DP!

"In fact, according to my original plan, I should be conserving these points until I accumulate 1 million DP."

He still yearned to unlock the mystery behind expert mech design. If the System kept its old reward structure, then he would have been able to afford it many times over by now. He wasn't too hung up over the changes because it was only a matter of time before he reached his target.

"I probably won't be able to earn 550,000 DP after completing the current round of mech designs, but I'll definitely get it done after completing the next round!"

Unfortunately, the enemy fleet forced his hand. Rather than sitting on his pile of accumulated Design Points like a hoarding dragon, he felt pressured to convert them into anything that would help him tide over this crisis.

His resentment against his cousin Ghanso and the Fridaymen rose even higher!

"Goddamn you bastards. You've effectively delayed my plans for a year. I'll never forgive you for setting back my masterplan!"

He navigated the interface of the System. As much as he wanted to delve into the Skill Tree, he resisted his urges and ventured into the Store.

He browsed through the catalog and tried to look for any useful categories.

He used to think that the Store charged exorbitant prices for its goods. Everytime he purchased something from it, he felt as if the Store was ripping him off. He wasted so much of his hard-earn DP on items which he could have used to improve his design capabilities instead.

He knew better now. The System was actually filled with a broad selection of advanced and incredibly expensive first-rate products that he couldn't obtain through normal means. A large proportion of the products it sold were exclusive to certain human factions and never saw the light of day.

It was natural for the Store to set its prices so high for these reasons. The Store essentially served to close the gap between him and eminent sons such as Jovie Armalon who enjoyed the best opportunities a mech designer could get from their organizations.

In fact, Ves even felt that the Store was subsidizing him by undercharging many of its products. There was no way that its Attribute Candies were actually worth a few hundred to a few thousand DP. The fact that he could obtain Candies tailored to other people basically implied that the System wanted him to develop a network of helpers, just like other high-ranking mech designers.

"Well, Store, do you have anything that can help me beat up a few thousand second-class mechs?"

He impatiently browsed through the projected storefront. He observed many products that offered a lot of personal conveniences to him when he was at work or when he was under threat.

He scrolled past mech designer equipment such as scanners, miniature fabrication modules, precision tools, anti-tampering gadgets, auto-designers and other equipment that would not look out of place in Master Willix's personal workshop.

Of course, none of these amazing tools were cheap. Anything worthwhile enough for him to acquire cost millions of DP. Ves had to forgo upgrading a lot of Skills in order to afford any of them. In the early stages of his mech design career, this was a stupid choice.

"I don't need the System to obtain these products." He muttered. "As long as I keep climbing up, I can obtain equipment that is just as good from the MTA or some other powerful organization."

Aside from professional gear, the System also offered a range of self-protection options. They ranged from medicine, infantry weapons, combat armor modules, stealth gadgets, communication equipment and optional upgrades to some of the aforementioned goods.

Ves spent several minutes exploring this broad category of weapons, armor and auxiliary products.

His eyes lit up as he spotted many incredibly useful modules that he could add to his Unending Regalia. Even if he wasn't a professional-trained soldier, he could turn himself into a deadly commando by stuffing his armor with all of these fancy additions!

"Yet…" His voice fell. "Why is there nothing here that will help me fight against mechs?!"

The scale of the products on offer was purely limited in scale and scope! Even the most expensive laser pistols that reminded him of the Amastendira were only incidentally able to threaten mechs.

The Store offered no wondrous weapons that he could directly mount onto one of his mechs!

Most crucially, it also declined to put any mechs or any other large war machines for sale!

As for ships, the Store only sold a relatively modest variety of ship components.

Its catalog of raw materials was also rather lackluster. The MTA offered a much greater selection.

The underlying message became clear to him. The System didn't want him to rely on its Store to resolve mech-based threats. A true mech designer was supposed to design, produce and field his own mechs!

If he couldn't even do that, he didn't deserve to keep the System.

"Then.. what am I supposed to do?" He frowned. "Should I splurge it all on lottery tickets instead?"

He felt tempted to do so. As long as he bought enough lottery tickets, he was bound to obtain something good.

However, the lack of control along with all of the randomness scared him off. Even if he gained something fantastic, his prize probably wouldn't be relevant to his current situation!

"Besides, they're way too expensive."

The System charged 20,000 DP for a silver lottery ticket and 100,000 DP for a golden lottery ticket. That was way too much considering that there was a significant chance that they didn't award any prize!

In the end, Ves disappointedly stuck to the Store and browsed the section on auxiliary modules.

Mechs and weapons were out of his consideration. He only hoped to redeem some augments that were primarily designed to improve his personal safety but could also be employed in mechs.

"If you think about it, equipment that is meant to be carried by a person can also be used as a miniaturized mech module!"

It didn't matter if he intended to use a machine beyond what it was designed for. A tool was a tool. As long as it worked, who cared whether he was breaking its warranty?

Which of his mechs should he upgrade? And what should he choose to upgrade?

"Unlike gems, these modules aren't installed permanently. I don't have to feel sorry about using them up. As long as they remain intact, I can always move them over to a better mech in the future."

After narrowing down his specifications, he still had a fair number of options to choose from. He struggled to select a suitable module that was useful enough while still fitting within his budget.

[Odineye - Long-ranged Omni-Sensor - Level 3]

Price: 400,000 DP

This compact sensor module is specialized in detecting and uncovering the data of any object, person or mech up to an extended range. It is compatible with targeting systems, analytical machines and many other devices that accept sensor input.

The level 3 Odineye is most effective within a range of 500 meters in unobstructed spaces, but gradually loses most of its effectiveness at 5 kilometers.

While he could have chosen a lot of other helpful gadgets, Ves eventually settled his mind on the Odineye.

"It's not the known threats I should necessarily worry about. It's the unknown threats that I truly need to be worried about!"

The Odineye's range might be short in the context of space battles, but its capabilities were undeniable. Not only was it able to detect all manner of stealth mechs and stealth vehicles, it was also capable of looking deep into the structure of mechs.

This effectively meant that Ves could employ the Odineye to expose all of the weak points of any mech! As long as the machine was incapable of blocking the Odineye's sight, then much of its vulnerabilities became visible.

This was invaluable information to a mech designer like Ves!