The Mech Touch

Blinky didn't know what was going on, but a part of him seemed to resonate with the energy cycle somehow. Whatever he was doing was causing the energy cycle generated by his Jutland organ to fluctuate.

It was starting to grow unstable for some reason!

"Damnit, of all of the events that could go wrong, how come I got this?! I didn't prepare for this possibility!"

Throughout many of his adventures, Ves never had any issue with his Jutland organ and the energy cycle it established.

Though it was disconcerting to run around in this state, after months and years of no notable activity, Ves had instinctively begun to dismiss their existence and peculiarities.

The high-level energy generated by his Jutland organ was not spiritual energy and something he was able to harness. Since that was the case, it might as well not exist.

Yet this time was different. Ves couldn't explain why Blinky was able to interact with this energy cycle, but he knew that it was critical that he prevented the situation from going out of control.

Yet how could he do so? Blinky was clueless at what was going on and Ves instinctively felt that cutting the odd spiritual connection would lead to very unpredictable consequences. What other means did he possess that could allow him to get this energy cycle under control before it burst his chest apart or something?

A forgotten idea came back into his mind.

"Nitaa!" He yelled!

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"Yes, sir?" His loyal bodyguard stepped forward.

"Go back to the Spirit of Bentheim and retrieve the Worclaw crystal from my vault. Wait, that's too slow. Just order someone trustworthy to enter the vault and retrieve it on my behalf. I remember that the Cross Clan traded it to us months ago, but I never had the time to study it. Move quickly!"

Since the private lab they were in right now prevented transmissions from going in and out, Nitaa had to leave the compartment in order to execute her orders.

While the bodyguard went outside, Dr. Ranya became increasingly more puzzled at the odd reactions that were taking place within Ves' body. There was no explanation for what was happening! The heat and pressure seemed to come out of nowhere. While the patriarch's Jutland organ absorbed some of the energy building up within the chest, not all of it was solved this way.

While she had not been able to provide any meaningful assistance during the earlier event, this was different. She might not be able to affect the cause for the current incident, but she was confident she could relieve the symptoms!

"Sir, with your permission, I would like to relieve the buildup of heat and pressure from the center of your body."

Ves thought about it for a moment and didn't think it would cause an adverse reaction. "Do it! Keep me informed of any dangerous signs."

A pair of robotic arms extended from the ceiling and began to press on opposite sides of his chest. They did something that gradually directed the harmful heat and pressure out of his body, causing him to feel a lot more at ease.

This was not a permanent solution though. When Ves studied the energy cycle with his extraordinary senses, he noticed that it was flowing faster and growing in power.

"Patriarch Ves, your Jutland organ has become 28 percent more active compared to its normal state. It is continuing to grow active as we speak."

The Jutland organ that had pretty much replaced his heart had always presented a lot of mysteries to Ves. Even if a considerable amount of years had passed since the insane researcher planted it into his body, the doctors who examined it never managed to figure out all of its mechanisms.

Though Ves managed to obtain some relief in the form of gene optimization treatments and a couple of other measures, the source of the problems still remained.

It was difficult for him to pass the time it took to transport the Worclaw crystal from one capital ship to another. This was one of the downsides to choosing to perform this procedure aboard the Dragon's Den.

"Blinky, you're related to this issue. Is here any way you can stop yourself from disturbing my energy cycle?"

The Star Cat blinked his luminescent eyes. Ves already knew that his companion spirit had made no progress at all.

Blinky wasn't doing anything in his perspective!

That meant the root of the problem was tied to an intrinsic factor of his companion spirit. A part of Blinky's existence was somehow related to the abnormal phenomenon in his chest.

Ves urgently needed to find out which part of Blinky was responsible for his current predicament!

Behind the observation window, Dr. Ranya grew increasingly more distressed as she tried and failed to come up with a solution to the current problem.

She was smart enough to know that she was dealing with a situation where she wasn't able to perceive all of the interactions. The longer she worked alongside Ves, the more she became aware of special interactions between forces of nature that were not commonly known in the general scientific community.

It frustrated her that none of her personal abilities or lab machines was able to capture all of the interactions!

"I need to find a way to solve this problem." She muttered in determination.

Until then, she could do little else than to treat the symptoms.

She still had some questions, though.

"Sir, why do you believe the Worclaw crystal can solve your predicament?"

"If you are familiar with my condition, then you should know that CFA doctors managed to identify that the energy generated by the Jutland organ resembles that of the energy wielded by the Alshyr race."

As an exobiologist, how could Ranya be ignorant of who the Alshyr were? These giant avian aliens used to be one of the dominant alien powers of the galaxy!

"I recall that the Alshyr grew up on a very remarkable home planet called Worclaw. This planet is notable in that it was littered with huge deposits of a crystalline exotic that is vital to their biology."

The Alshyr physique was so powerful that the members of their race were able to ascend into space and even travel at FTL speeds without relying on any technology!

While Ves wasn't entirely clear of all of the abilities that the Alshyr race were able to perform, it was undeniable that their natural advantages made their empire very formidable.

Unfortunately, this powerful alien race suffered from the same problem that afflicted other powerful aliens.

Their race was only able to grow and multiply if they had access to Worclaw crystals. Their properties were so essential that a population of Alshyr aliens simply wouldn't be able to survive in any regions of space that lacked this exotic!

While the Alshyr were capable of mining and transporting Worclaw crystals from one location to another one, there was never enough to go around once their population had grown to a certain point. As long as the total supply of Worclaw crystals did not increase, there was no feasible way for this alien race to expand the borders of its empire any further!

Dr. Ranya gradually widened her eyes as she recalled these details. "Do you suspect that your Jutland organ caused you to turn into a similar existence as that of an Alshyr alien?"

"It makes the most sense." Ves sardonically replied as he continually tried to cope with the disturbances in his body. "The so-called Worclaw energy running through my body didn't come from nowhere. Dr. Jutland absolutely had a hand in this somehow. If I was an insane scientist who got kicked out of a deranged cult for being too crazy to their liking, I too would have wanted to develop an organ that could emulate the powers of one of the most powerful apex races of the galaxy."

As Ves engaged in more and more innovative research, he began to develop a greater understanding of Jutland's motives and objectives.

Though he still didn't agree with what the insane scientist had done to him, Ves had to admit that Dr. Jutland was still brilliant in his own way. He could have contributed a lot of useful discoveries and inventions if he hadn't taken the wrong turn in his life.

Yet the fact of the matter was that Dr. Jutland was a huge bastard who exhibited no restraint at all and did not hesitate to experiment on innocent people. He was a heinous criminal who fully deserved to get impaled by a giant mech weapon!

Time passed by as the heat and pressure generated inside Ves continued to escalate without any signs of slowing down. The energy cycle had become a little more unstable, but Ves could barely do anything to affect it in any way!

"Nitaa suddenly returned with a lockbox in her possession. "The crystal is inside!"

"Great! Put it beside me so I can pull it out. I am sure it can help me somehow!"

Dr. Ranya did not like this idea. "Wait, sir! Let's not be too hasty. We don't know how Worclaw crystals interact with your unique condition. If this unstable cycle that you have described is suffering from an excess of energy, then attempting to use a Worclaw crystal that likely holds even more energy might make your conditions worse! We should cautiously perform some tests in order to verify that this will not lead to any life-threatening consequences."

Ves shook his head. "Too slow! I can't wait that long. I can feel my body growing more unstable by the minute. Don't worry. I don't think a single crystal will cause me to blow up or something."

He unlocked the lockbox and retrieved a murky-looking white crystal that looked quite rough. It looked like a piece of cheap quartz, though it looked a little more remarkable.

For some reason, Ves felt as if there was something very special about the Worclaw crystal.

Mrow!

Blinky suddenly reacted as well. The light patterns around his spiritual body became more energetic and his eyes glowed brighter as he developed a strong desire to grasp the Worclaw crystal!

Through his intimate connection with his companion spirit, Ves finally learned the reason why Blinky developed this reaction.

"It's the wildcard ingredient!"

For some reason, Ves used the Illustrious One as a minor ingredient in Blinky's creation. There was no logical justification for it, yet he still pushed through because he treated it like a gamble.

Ves felt quite a bit of regret at this reckless choice. He didn't know why he decided to go through with this unexplainable decision, but it was far too late to question himself. He had to solve the immediate crisis first!

"Blinky! Since it appears that you have inherited a portion of the abilities of a luminar alien, you must know what to do with this Worclaw crystal. Please help me with figuring out how we can leverage it to stabilize the energy cycle in my body."

Mrow mrow!

The companion spirit had already begun to study the interesting crystal. Though it did not possess any intrinsic knowledge on Worclaw crystals, it was still a type of exotic that had a high affinity with the luminar race.

For the first time in his brief life, Blinky left Ves' mind and materialized right outside.

"Ah!" Dr. Ranya uttered in surprise as she saw yet another inexplicable sight.

The Star Cat floated right above Ves as he held the Worclaw crystal in his hands.

Relying on this trait that Blinky had partially inherited, the light show on Blinky's body grew brighter as the companion spirit managed to attune himself with the odd crystal.

Just as Ves thought that Blinky was slowly getting a handle on the precious object, the center of the Worclaw crystal suddenly glowed so bright that it brightened the entire private lab!

"The crystal! The crystal is disappearing!"

Mroooooow!

Even Blinky reacted with surprise. Even as he attempted to pull back his connection, the Worclaw crystal somehow broke down only for its pieces to enter another phase and gather onto the head of the hapless companion spirit!

MROW! MROW!

Fortunately, the strange transformation did not last long.

A tiny diamond-shaped crystal appeared on Blinky's forehead!

Mrow. Mrow.

The Star Cat cautiously lifted his paws and touched the miniature crystal, only to wince as it felt as if he was poking his own eye!

Mrow!

Vs frowned at this latest development. "I'm not sure what happened either, but we can find answers later. Right now, we can assume that since your body managed to absorb the Worclaw crystal and turn it into this form, you should be able to control it. Can you try and see if you can dampen the increasing energy cycling in my chest?"

Blinky snapped out of his stupor and did was he was told. The cute Star Cat concentrated on Ves' chest.

This time, the companion spirit wasn't as clueless as before. The crystal on his forehead glowed a bit before an immediate change took place.

The buildup of heat and pressure had finally stopped growing!

"Great job, Blinky! You're on the right track. It seems that the Worclaw crystal is truly the key to solving this problem!"

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Mrow!

Blinkly proudly swished his black-tipped tail.

"It's not over yet, though. Can you try and reduce the fluctuations in my body? We don't have to be in such a hurry now that you have relieved the immediate danger. Let's adopt a more steady approach."

It took a few minutes of fumbling before Blinky was able to use his new capabilities to calm the energy cycle.

Ves was saved!