The Mech Touch

Ves went through hundreds of test subjects before he succeeded in developing a method that ensured that some would survive his test runs.

It wasn't easy to get to this point. He tried various methods to stop his transcended specimens from resonating themselves to death. The solution had to take effect instantly and at the right time.

If the prisoner got purged too early, then his spirituality failed to evolve into spiritual potential. This was a total failure as the violent resonance dealt considerable damage to the structure of the mind. Not only that, but the pressure exerted onto the barriers of the mind by the amplified obsession produced a lot of damage as well!

What the Aspect of Transcendence induced in people was not a trivial transformation. Ves had a feeling that it would always be a one-way trip. Either an average person would be able to step onto the path of transcendence, or he would die as his very mind had broken from the process!

When Ves examined the seven survivors with a cursory spiritual sweep, his expression dropped.

He could already tell that the results were just as bad as before.

"Damn."

He approached the first test subject. This person has been the first to unlock his spiritual potential.

That usually meant he was weakest of the batch of 'surviving' specimens.

"It's not good to be first in this case."

Those with stronger and more developed minds were usually able to accommodate more mental activity.

In contrast, those who were not as intellectual reached saturation too quickly. The difference was like filling up a mug as opposed to filling up an entire barrel.

Ves theorized that those with smaller minds would generate less destructive resonance. This actually came true, but the damage they suffered was actually significantly greater because their mental fortitude was too low, which meant their minds easily broke!

The test subject he faced was a typical case of that. The bearded thug turned completely unresponsive as his weak mind had been torn into pieces due to its inability to contain its violent fluctuations.

Ves performed some basic examinations, but he already confirmed that the weak-minded test subject had turned braindead.

"These guys fold over way too easily."

There was no future in trying to elevate weak-minded people. These encompassed people like cowards, followers, useless bums and so on. Each of them were weak and risk-averse. Even if they managed to attain spiritual potential, there was no point to it! Their pathetic personalities formed a significant hindrance in developing their newfound potential!

"It's actually good that people like you are excluded from the path of transcendence. My Larkinsons aren't weak, and the best and most deserving ones are most certainly opposite to you guys. It makes a lot more sense to invest in their development than dummies like you. I should probably kill invalid test subjects right away instead of letting you go through this song and dance."

In fact, the best use of weak-minded test subjects was to subject them to a different experiment, but he wasn't working on any other active projects at the moment.

"Waste." Ves shook his head before stepping away.

He examined a number of other test subjects, going by order of mental strength in order to track the differences.

While every individual test subject possessed some uniqueness, in general those who were mentally stronger fared a bit better.

Their minds were still torn, their spirits were still broken and their bodies would have blown up if Ves hadn't utilized the Aspect of Tranquility to douse them at the end.

Yet he could clearly perceive a pattern where those with greater minds and stronger wills managed to preserve a greater part of themselves. Their mental fortitude allowed them to withstand a lot more pressure, thereby reducing the damage done to themselves.

Even after he examined the seventh braindead survivor, he could still perceive plenty of damage. There was no way to heal this kind of damage. He had already tried. Even if he fumbled around and tried to merge the broken pieces back together, what he managed to form at the end was but an echo.

Of course, that could also be because he was still too weak. Perhaps he needed to develop his Spirituality further or develop a better technique before he could restore broken minds and spirits.

Yet even if this was possible, the risks were too great for him to attempt such a procedure on the people he cared about.

"Putting someone on the path of transcendence shouldn't be fatal in the first place! There has to be a better solution."

He wasn't able to come up with one, sadly. He lacked the means to implement his ideas.

Even though he failed to work out a viable solution, all of the bodies he exploded and all of the test subjects he turned braindead still yielded plenty of insights.

For one, he believed he managed to grasp some of the variables that were necessary to ensure success.

"The ideal person to undergo this trial should be young, strong, stable and driven."

Each of these factors were essential. He had gone through hundreds of test subjects, so each of his assumptions were backed by solid data.

First, younger test subjects tended to fare better than older ones. Someone in his twenties possessed a vigorous, flexible mind that was much more 'stretchable'.

They were able to accommodate violent shocks to a greater degree than someone older whose minds had grown firmer but also more rigid.

The younger the person, the more they were open to change, both in mind and spirit!

"It's kind of a bummer that older folk are less likely to succeed."

While Ves didn't think it was impossible to grant spiritual potential to someone in his sixties or older, he guessed that the odds of success were so low that it wasn't worth it to make the attempt.

Perhaps he might be able to find a way to mitigate the factor of age, but that was too far away.

The second variable was mental strength. Both the size and firmness of the mind played a role. Those with bigger heads among his test subjects tended to be biomech technicians. They had the smarts, but that didn't mean their minds were firmer. If they were cowards, then their oversized minds and spirits still broke easily enough!

"Fortunately, mental strength can be trained."

Ves was most confident about this. His mech pilots regularly went through mental resilience training by exposing themselves to the disorienting glows of his Doom Guard and Ferocious Piranha models.

Even without this method, his mech pilots were capable of firming up their minds in other ways, such as fighting actual battles or embracing discipline.

Now that Ves thought about it, these solutions were already correlated to advancing in rank. In order to generate a strong will, these mech pilots must never be feeble!

In situations where others quaked in fear, those with the potential for greatness never turned their backs to the threat!

"It's not easy to train a mech pilot to this point." Ves muttered.

The old family worked hard to make every Larkinson get to this point. The famed Larkinson courage led to the deaths of plenty of relatives, but those who managed to survive would often find success in some way!

The third variable that affected the success rate was stability.

In this context, stability referred to a person's strongest obsession or conviction. Whatever they cared about most definitely influenced many important factors.

Someone who wasn't stable might possess multiple strong interests. The Aspect of Transcendence only amplified one of them, but this selection might not always be correct.

If someone indecisive or unstable became affected, then the mental fluctuations that took place were much more violent and shaky! Ves wasn't able to explain completely why this happened, but he noticed that those who already knew their purpose fared a lot better!

"Uncertainty is bad. Anyone who wants to obtain a chance to become extraordinary can't be indecisive."

The last trait that was essential was being driven. Someone who wanted to become great not only had to be decisive, but also be willing to pursue this journey. Motivation and passion were powerful forces, and as long as someone channeled them, this person should be able to exert more control over his obsession.

"As long as you are willing to do your best to achieve your ambition, then you will be able maintain focus!"

In short, as long as someone ticked all four boxes, the chance of success should be the greatest!

"The best way to meet these requirements is to throw a Larkinson in the room."

Ves felt tempted to do so multiple times, but he always restrained himself in the end. He could not afford to cross this line. As long as his clansmen weren't irredeemable traitors like Dr. Redmont, there was no way he could risk the life of any honest Larkinson."

"Well… maybe Vincent doesn't count, but even that is a step too far for me. The chances of success are too low!"

The biggest problem he faced was that his effective success rate was 0 percent. It didn't matter that he managed to make many useful observations out of his failed attempts. The fact that he failed to imbue spiritual potential to anyone without killing them in mind or body was undesirable!

What Ves needed was a single success! Just a single success was enough for him to draw a multitude of conclusions and know what he needed to work on to replicate the outcome.

He scratched his head. Average thugs and criminals no longer satisfied him anymore. While he was grateful for the contributions they made, they simply failed to score high on the four criteria he set. Only higher-quality test subjects were able to satisfy him, but there was no way he could get his hands on elites!

"Ah, how frustrating!"

He began to suspect that this would be a long-term research project. He might not be able to find a solution in the short term, but as long as he worked on it, he might be able to achieve a breakthrough one day.

It might take years. It might take decades. As long as he succeeded, everything he put into this project would be worth it! Even the MTA would go mad if it got wind of his new solution.

Ves stayed in the testing chamber a bit longer in order to try and gather more clues. Once he was done, he ordered the chamber to be cleansed in order to await the next batch of test subjects.

No traces of the bodies ever left the premises. Every scrap of blood, flesh and even bone would be subjected to an immense amount of heat.

As Ves supervised the burning of the remains of his test subject, Nitaa suddenly passed on an urgent message.

"Your cat is in pain."

"What?" Ves looked puzzled. "Did he get into a fight or something?"

"No, he's uninjured as far as we know. However, he has been meowing loudly and contorting his body for over five minutes. None of the guards and staff over there know how to handle this situation."

Ves grew more and more concerned.

Then, an odd thought entered his mind.

"Wait a second… does he happen to look like he needs to use the kitty litter box real bad?"

"He has holed himself up in the bathroom, if that is what you are asking."

"Hahahaha!" Ves laughed, completely uncaring whether Lucky was undergoing great physical pain at the moment. "I knew it! After all these months, it's finally payday for me! He's been withholding his payment long enough. It's good that he is having a lot of trouble right now. The greater his suffering, the greater the yield! Let's go! I need to make sure that Lucky doesn't ruin my reward!"

He left the workshop as quickly as possible. His gem pouch was awfully empty these days. Hopefully, he could finally fill it up again!