The Mech Touch

Unlike Ketis and Juliet, Ves was already familiar with the benefits of completing a masterwork mech.

Though he did not expect that they would succeed naturally without requiring him to cheat, he fully embraced the moment and opened up his entire mind and spirit to earn his just rewards.

"It's been too long since I last completed a successful masterwork." He whispered.

Unlike the previous time where he and his wife created the Little Angel, the finished and realized version of the Sentry Project was an authentic masterwork mech.

It did not come 'close' to the masterwork threshold. It firmly passed through this barrier and achieved greatness on its own merits!

The spiritual satisfaction that Ves was able to gain from that was considerably greater than if he created an 'artificial' masterwork by using one of Lucky's gems to push it over the threshold.

He was incredibly happy that he was able to make a masterwork mech under much more difficult circumstances than normal.

Despite the fact that they were working on an expert mech that they weren't entirely qualified to work with, they were able to maintain a consistently exceptional quality by relying on their fantastic moods and Blinky's design network.

It didn't even matter that their sense of ownership in the Sentry Project had dropped twice due to the contributions made by Master Willix and 'Mr. S.'. The overwhelming drive to provide the greatest possible protection to their upcoming daughter drove the Miracle Couple to do their best!

A circumstance like this was difficult to replicate in the future. What worked once would probably not work twice because the novelty was already over. All of the coincidences that went into enabling them to succeed in creating their first masterwork expert mech were so exceptional that it was impossible to make them all happen at the same time again!

Ves did not think so much at the moment. Instead, he kept observing the Sentry Project as it completed its indescribable transformation. He just knew that its performance had not only exceeded its theoretical maximum, but also gained an indefinable quality that was extraordinary by nature.

This was one of the ultimate goals of many mech designers! Too many had tried and failed to make a single masterwork mech in their career, but a small group of young Journeymen managed to do the impossible.

It could not be overstated how remarkable it was for four young Journeymen to violate two huge assumptions.

First, Journeymen weren't capable of developing expert mechs.

Second, Journeymen weren't capable of making masterwork mechs.

While there were always freaks of nature who managed to be the exception rather than the rule, even Ves was surprised that he managed to break both of these rules at once!

Though he did not dare to bet that he and his colleagues were the only Journeymen so far to accomplish this incredibly improbable feat, the amount of mech designers who managed to make an actual masterwork expert mech was probably a miniscule number!

The value and profoundness of a masterwork mech was directly proportional to its power, class, capabilities and other factors.

A masterwork version of a budget third-class mech like the Desolate Soldier was incomparable to a masterwork second-class mid-tier expert mech!

If not for the fact that Ves wasn't able to allocate any Unending alloy to the Sentry Project, this remarkable masterwork expert mech could have been a lot more significant!

Even so, it's more standard armor system was already fit for the purpose. The Sentry Project would have never been able to produce a masterwork mech if the mech design itself was not sufficiently good.

More than ten minutes passed by in absolute silence as the Journeymen were calmly absorbing and internalizing all of the invisible gains they made. The invisible transformation that had acted upon the completed masterwork mech provided all of them with a lot of revelations.

To Juliet and Ketis, these benefits were entirely new. Thus, the impact of this wave was disproportionately high to them. The two women had become completely immersed as they gained inexplicable insights and truths that would definitely allow them to design significantly better mechs going forward.

Ves and Gloriana were old hands at this, but the significance of creating a masterwork expert mech was substantially different from that of creating a regular mech.

Some of the insights they gained were deeply intertwined with how resonating materials enabled expert mechs to align with their expert pilots. Gloriana's interests roused to the extreme as this was highly relevant to her future work!

As for Ves, he was much more interested in another aspect of the Sentry Project.

He directed his gaze towards the luminar crystal rifle.

The Sentry Project was not only an expert mech, but also a prime mech. He strategically embedded several P-stones into the rifle so that it could carry the Illustrious One's spiritual energy.

The remarkable transformation that affected the entire mech did not skip over the luminar crystal rifle. The weapon was part of the design, so it also experienced subtle changes that affected the functioning and soundness of this potent gun.

What Ves found most relevant was how the masterwork transformation caused the rifle to become even more whole and unified than he had previously managed. He thought that he had already done a good job, but evidently he had overlooked numerous shortcomings in the integration of resonating materials and prime materials in the rifle.

He even saw hints of a connection between the two! Though they were responsible for different forms of resonance, they shared a lot in common. This was why Ves had always speculated that it was possible to combine true resonance with prime resonance and achieve a result that was much more transformational than overlapping their effects!

Soon, Ves would be able to see whether his assumption was accurate. The Sentry Project's design spirit was a lot stronger than Trisk and Arnold.

The best was yet to come.

Eventually, the mech designers pulled themselves out of their obsessive fascination. Each of them shared knowing glances at each other. The insights they learned were unique and difficult to describe. Their design philosophies had all advanced in some mysterious fashion and they just knew that the quality of the mechs they developed next would inevitably be better than if they never went through this profound experience.

"We… should take a break." Ves suggested.

"No!" Gloriana shook her head. "I need to see our new baby in action! I can't wait that long to see what we have made. Look! Venerable Stark has already changed into her piloting suit. She's already eager to experience what it is like to pilot our first masterwork expert mech!"

To be honest, Ves was incredibly eager to see the results as well, so he did not resist her suggestion. He quickly made the arrangements, though he did not go out of his way to tell everyone that he had made another masterwork mech.

Those who possessed the right vision for mechs would understand the implications of what they were looking at. Those who did not possess the ability to discern a masterwork mech did not need to know what kind of superweapon that the Journeymen of the Larkinson Clan had inadvertently made.

A sense of exhaustion soon settled over the foursome. Even after enjoying periodic rests, the mech designers had spent almost a week on doing nothing except making the best expert mech possible. There was no way for them to cure their mental fatigue so easily.

Despite that, they did not consider this session to be truly complete without witnessing the performance of their precious work.

While the masterwork expert mech was slowly being moved to the hangar bay, Ves briefly met up with the expert pilots.

"Well, I'm sure you know what happened." Ves lightly said.

"I knew you were good. I have always believed that you're the best mech designer. This is one more piece of evidence that following you was the best decision that I have ever made." Venerable Joshua smiled as if he was as farsighted as Prophet Ylvaine.

Venerable Jannzi was not as blind as her ex-boyfriend. The mild frown on her face caused her to experience a rare moment of puzzlement.

"This is supposed to be impossible. You can't just make a masterwork version of an expert mech. I wouldn't bat an eyelid if you managed to succeed in making one if you were a Master, but you're barely old enough that you need to shave your chin! How is it possible that you've managed to break so many rules?!"

From the way that Jannzi was pinning her gaze at him, Ves had the feeling that she was speculating whether he owed his success due to blood sacrifice. What did she think he was, a cruel and greedy man who revelled in blood and did not hesitate to slaughter hundreds if not thousands of hapless humans just so that he could design and make better mechs?

"Look, I've always been exceptional from the start." Ves shamelessly boasted. "Common sense doesn't apply to me. Besides, I couldn't have done all of this without the help of Gloriana, Juliet and Ketis. They have all poured their entire passion and devotion into this expert mech. The outcome should not be so surprising once you hear how much effort had been put into making it the greatest rifleman mech that we have developed up to this point."

The designated pilot and the eventual recipient of the Sentry Project lifted her arm. "Enough, Jannzi. The process is important, but this discussion is a distraction. We should celebrate this result, not question it. I can already feel that this expert mech is alive and eager to show its light."

The other expert pilots quieted down at that. This was her moment now. After a tormented journey, Venerable Davia Stark would finally be able to become an expert pilot for real.

Ves asked an important question.

"How do you wish to name your expert mech?" He asked. "We designed every aspect of this remarkable machine for you. Just like with Tusa, bestowing it with a name that you fully agree with helps a lot in bringing you closer to your partner."

Venerable Stark fell silent for a few seconds. "I had some names in mind, but… now that I have seen and felt my expert mech, I don't think they fit what you have brought into existence. Let me give you an answer after I've piloted my expert mech. I think it has the right to pick its own name."

"...Okay. Whatever you say."

A name held a lot of meaning. Ves didn't want to pressure her into bestowing the masterwork expert mech a name that would ultimately detract from its majesty.

"I'll head over the hangar bay." Stark stated. "Tusa, come with me, and don't forget to don your suit."

Venerable Tusa began to have a bad feeling about this. "You don't need my help. If you want to exercise your marksmanship, you can just tell the Larkinson Army to set up a lot of practice targets."

"My role on the battlefield is to snipe down expert mechs. What better way to test my accuracy than to put my skills to the test against your Dark Zephyr?"

This argument was irrefutable.

Ves slapped Tusa's back. "Just go already. You've been complacent for far too long. It might be fun to bully around your fellow expert pilots, but that's no way for you to become an ace pilot. If you truly want to go forward, then you need to face a true challenge."

"I.."

"Would you rather test your skills against Venerable Stark, or wait for later when an enemy expert mech tries to take you down?!"

Tusa was still an expert pilot, so he did not hesitate for long. He was just concerned that this test might not proceed as well as everyone hoped. Not only was Venerable Stark piloting a brand-new expert mech with untold power for the very first time, she also possessed considerably greater resonance strength than him! Her damage output would definitely be astonishing!