The Mech Touch

When Ves introduced luminar crystal rifles to Zanthar, the mech design student immediately became hooked.

Under careful instruction, the younger Larkinson eagerly explored the limitless possibilities of this new weapon system.

With the help of the revolver mechanism along with the possibility to open up the chamber in order to load a completely different set of crystals, Zanthar's eyes grew wider and wider behind his goggles as the weapon in his hand disgorged beams with different effects!

From producing plain old-fashioned laser beams to creating more exotic twisting light streaks, the latest iteration of Ves' crystal testing rifle completely overshadowed any other weapon that the kid had handled.

The exotic appearance of the weapon in question also helped with making it seem special. The fusion between the alien tech base that was responsible for synthesizing the remarkable crystals and the human engineering approach that combined all of these capabilities into a powerful, efficient weapon system completely blew other comparable out of the water!

Though there were plenty of weapons like the Amastendira that possessed much more firepower, the difference in cost and tech level was too great. For someone who never personally experienced the grandeur of first-class weapons, the crystal rifle that he held in his hands was leagues ahead of any kinetic or laser rifle he wielded during training sessions.

"I love this weapon! Why haven't I heard about it? What's with these strange runes? Where is all of the metal?"

Ves patiently answered Zanthar's questions one by one, though he had to dumb down his explanations considerably.

He not only did that in order to account for Zanthar's competencies, but also wanted to entice his student into following up on the material he received.

It was bad practice to just give any mech designer what he needed straight away. Good mech designers achieved success by channeling their own desires to summon the motivation required to delve into difficult studies.

What Ves sought was to entice Zanthar into embracing luminar crystal technology from the bottom of his heart. Since the student already expressed a strong interest in powerful weapon systems, it was not hard to direct him into a specific direction.

Just as expected, the more Ves teased his protégé with the endless potential of luminar crystals, the more Zanthar developed the desire to grasp this tech for himself!

By the time Zanthar had to put the crystal rifle down due to concerns about its integrity after repeated powerful discharges, his eyes burned with passion.

Ves already knew without asking that he succeeded in seducing Zanthar to the wonders of luminar crystal technology.

Compared to other weapons in the same class, the luminar crystal rifle was not only more powerful and efficient, but could reproduce many different damage types and beam effects just by switching out the active firing crystal!

This was the main strength of the luminar crystal rifle system. Even if other advances in weapons technology allowed standard weapons such as laser rifles or gauss rifles to deal twice as much damage, the luminar crystal rifle still maintained its relevance due to its versatile damage output.

Of course, it was not as if luminar crystals couldn't take advantage of the same advancements in weapons technology as well. As an energy weapon, a portion of the innovations that improved the performance of laser rifles and positron rifles could also be applied to luminar crystal rifles!

For any function where conventional human weapon parts performed better, Ves could just employ that in his crystal rifle design. For any function where a specialized luminar crystal could do a better job, he could use that instead!

The crystal rifle he designed was not some sort of mysterious alien enigma. It was just a relatively shallow attempt at adapting luminar crystal technology to existing energy rifle designs. By utilizing the same existing framework that humanity was already familiar with, Ves and any other weapon developers could easily mix and match between different modular components to design their desired weapon models.

Although Ves had the feeling that he was utilizing luminar crystals differently from the luminars, who tended to create bigger, more complex crystals that were capable of displaying full functionality on their own, he lacked the knowledge to replicate these greater accomplishments.

Instead of blindly following the footsteps of these aliens, Ves saw greater value in trying to extract the best and most practical applications of luminar crystal technology in human weapon design.

Whether Zanthar opted to follow this same route or try to delve into the greater mysteries of luminar crystal technology, that was his choice to make. All Ves expected from his student was to obtain stronger, more efficient and more practical luminar crystal weapon systems in the future.

Of course, there was no guarantee that Zanthar would stick to this choice, but Ves felt that was very unlikely. Now that the kid had become hooked on luminar crystal rifles, it would likely be extremely difficult for any other conventional weapon system to drag his attention away from the exotic alien tech!

"I want to learn more about how this weapon works! Can you teach me what I need to know to make them myself?" Zanthar pleaded to Ves.

"Whoa there, slow down, kid." Ves gently raised his palm. "You need to graduate first before I can teach you properly. You'll need to take extra courses in subjects such as physics, crystallography, energy weapon principles, laser rifle design, heat-resistant materials, conductors, energy storage and a dozen other fields just to reach the starting line. After that, I can only help you get ahead for a little while. To be honest, my mastery in luminar crystal technology is quite shallow due to the difficulty of understanding how their internal circuitry works. We're working with genuine alien tech here, so there are no human experts or source materials that can clarify the secrets of luminar crystals."

Zanthar frowned and his eagerness faced a little. "What do I have to do, then?"

"You do what any other mech designer chooses when faced with a gap in existing human understanding. You go ahead and perform your own research!" Ves answered with a smile.

"This… isn't this a job that is more suited to those who specialize in studying alien tech?" Zanthar asked. He had obviously become intimidated by the prospect of diving head-first into this bottomless rabbit hole.

"Technology is technology, Zanthar. It is not a goal in itself, but merely a tool to make the mechs we want to bring into reality. That said, mech designers like us must master all the relevant tools of our craft in order to surpass our competition and bring value to the mech community. Whether you study existing alien technology or a brand new field that is untouched by any sentient in the galaxy, it doesn't matter as long as you can plug it into a mech!"

Ves didn't want the kid he was hoodwinking to get scared away by the challenge of studying alien technology. This was why he took the time to spin a random inspirational story. He didn't want his future helper to stray away from developing new applications of luminar crystal technology!

"While it might seem that humanity has studied every possible field of science, the truth is that there are still plenty of gaps in our common understanding of reality." He elaborated. "Mech designers like myself aren't content with this. We hold dreams and ambitions that are beyond the current capabilities of the mech industry. This means that we inevitably have to step outside our comfort zone and make our own discoveries no matter how difficult it sounds. While I do not know a lot about the luminar race, I can tell you that their signature technology is anything but simple. It will take a lifelong endeavor to reconstruct all of the applications that the luminar race had come up with. It will take an even greater effort to surpass the pinnacle of luminar works!"

Slowly but surely, Zanthar began to pay less attention to the monumental amount of effort and ingenuity required to unlock the secrets of advanced alien technology. Instead, Ves painted a grand picture of a pioneering scientist and mech designer who was able to change the direction of human technology forever while allowing it to advance by leaps and bounds!

In truth, the chances of this happening was almost zero. The more difficult the endeavor, the lower the chance of achieving a groundbreaking success.

Ves did not dare to hold too many expectations on Zanthar. As long as he made some accomplishments, his innovations could be readily applied to any LMC mech armed with ranged weapons.

Perhaps the subsequent generation of mech designers and specialists would be able to build from Zanthar's accomplishments and achieve even greater breakthroughs, but that would probably happen centuries later. For now, it was unrealistic to expect Zanthar to invent something substantially better in the medium term.

After answering a few more questions and assigning a raft of energy weapon-related courses, Ves shooed Zanthar out of his personal workshop.

Though Zanthar's enthusiasm had faded a bit during this meeting, Ves was certain that his approach would still lead his student to dedicating himself to this weapon system.

There was no other choice that was as powerful, as versatile, as exotic and as unique as luminar crystal weapons. It was a braindead choice to delve in for anyone looking to stand out from the crowd of other weapon-oriented mech designers.

Once Zanthar had left, Ves began to feel a bit uneasy.

"Did I make the right choice?" He asked himself.

When he first took Maikel and Zanthar under his wing, he vowed to nurture them in a way that would allow them to discover and pursue their own interests. Strictly speaking, Ves shouldn't have tried so hard to seduce Zanthar into following up on luminar crystal technology.

Ves knew exactly how to package luminar crystal technology in a way that would instantly capture the imagination of an impressionable young student.

Was he robbing Zanthar of the opportunity to find his own specialty? Was he setting the kid on a path that ultimately steered him away from his calling?

Ves shook his head. "I'm merely presenting him with a new option that falls in line with his existing interests."

Before this meeting, Zanthar had already familiarized himself extensively with the standard ranged weapons that were utilized by any second-class mechs. The LMC mechs as well as the large inventory of infantry weapons offered the student an extensive hands-on experience with how they performed and how they worked in reality.

What Ves had essentially done was to add another weapon system into Zanthar's life.

Ves did not literally command or order his student to specialize in luminar crystal technology. In fact, Zanthar could choose another specialty at any point if he wished.

"It would be a pity if he chose to dedicate his life to developing better gauss weapons when he never came in touch with luminar crystal weapons before this point. At least I've expanded his horizons and expanded his options!"

After alleviating his sense of guilt and convincing himself that he had done the right thing, he returned his attention to refining his crystal rifle concept.

At this stage, he was reasonably satisfied with the current state of his framework. What he needed to do next was to scale it up and see what needed to be adjusted in order to translate this infantry weapon into a mech weapon.

"I need to start making bigger crystals."

Ves did not look forward to this time-consuming chore. The larger crystals were also vastly more expensive due to the high-quality materials he needed to use in order to create a weapon system that was suitable for expert mechs.

"Still… as long as the power of this rifle scales in proportion to its size, then the damage it could do is astounding!"

And that was just the rifle in its base form. When augmented by prime resonance and true resonance, Ves could scarcely imagine how high the maximum output of the final product would reach!