The Mech Touch

In the end, Ves' confidence in the Bulwark Project was not misplaced.

It was far from guaranteed that he and his team would succeed in turning the Shield of Samar into a masterwork expert mech, but there were simply too many factors that triggered this crucial evolution.

As Ves and the other Journeymen closely observed the invisible changes that qualitatively lifted up the Shield of Samar to the second rung of Senfovon's Ladder of Craftsmanship, they each collected another batch of insights.

Each of them felt closer and more attuned to not just the Shield of Samar, but also other mechs as well. This was the clearest indicator that their affinity for mechs received another bump.

This time, both Ves and Gloriana played a pivotal role in elevating the Shield of Samar into a masterwork mech.

They already improved their mech affinities before and were able to reach the second rung of the ladder much more proficient than in the past.

Their chances of turning the Shield of Samar into a masterwork would have been lower if not for their previous successes.

Ves guessed that only entering into a genuine inspired state would have allowed them to turn the Shield of Samar into a masterwork.

"We didn't need it, though."

This success taught him that it wasn't necessary to chase after this rare and mythical state of mind in order to make a masterwork.

His previous ȧssumption might be wrong. Before, he thought that better mech designers gained the ability to put themselves into an inspired state on demand. This was why these renowned Masters were able to pump out one masterwork mech after another.

Now, Ves believed the truth was much less dramatic. A greater mech affinity, a greater comprehension of the nature of masterworks and a personalized method of improving the quality of a mech also made a difference!

Just recognizing that masterwork mechs were actually extensions of their makers gave Ves a massive advantage. Now that he found a solid direction, he could apply all sorts of targeted solutions to increase his chances of success.

Ves concluded that as long as he continued to improve those aspects, he wouldn't even need to rely on his hammer to climb up the second rung of the craftsmanship ladder!

"The Shield of Samar has become so beautiful now." Gloriana sighed.

For once, she did not complain about the flaws and imperfections of her work. Despite breaking through the masterwork threshold, the Shield of Samar was not a technically perfect mech.

A masterwork was never equivalent to a flawless mech. It was much more about increasing the sum of its parts and improving its effective performance beyond the limitations of its design.

A large part of why the Shield of Samar became so much better was because of how closely its components and its ȧssembled whole aligned with the three key concepts behind the mech. This deliberate change in approach had made a far greater difference than Ves thought.

When Ves recalled the expert mechs he encountered before, he realized that some of them were developed along similar lines. Particularly noteworthy expert mechs such as the Charlemagne, the Bolvar Rage, the Erin Tear and the Gatecrasher all possessed shadows of the same emphasis on themes.

It just wasn't obvious to him at the time. Patriarch Reginald viewed expert mechs as diminished versions of ace mechs, and their relatively lower power level made it difficult to distinguish their more subtle traits.

The differences only became abundantly clear when Ves confronted an actual ace mech up close.

Would he have been able to make this realization without falling into Emperor Rion Aaden's trap? Probably, but it might have happened decades later.

In fact, learning this crucial insight shouldn't have been relevant to him as he wasn't qualified to design an expert mech in the first place. If he hadn't made a deal with Master Willix, he wouldn't have learned so much about high-end mech design throughout the entire year!

What gratified Ves a lot was that he could apply many of his gains in his other work. They remained relevant even if he went back to designing standard mechs.

He already grew eager to start the next round of design projects! His upcoming solo projects were great opportunities for him to perform new experiments and validate his theories!

While Ves continued to immerse himself in his improvements, Gloriana continually showed her appreciation for her new spiritual pet.

"You're the greatest contributor to our success, Alexandria. Without your persistent design network, we would have never been able to share so many benefits with each other. You are the queen of the cats!"

The tired cat enjoyed the pampering. All those lengthy sessions of maintaining the design network with only a few hours of rest in between had taken a toll on her as well. She soon returned to Gloriana's mind in order to enjoy a well-deserved vacation.

Her mind already became filled with hopes for the future. She already valued the gift from her husband highly, but the actual results were far more optistimistic than she hoped! The ability for mech designers to share so much during their work sessions produced a greater amount of synergy that significantly improved their results!

Gloriana felt a lot more valued now. Alexandria's existence provided the Larkinson Clan with a crucial and enduring advantage.

"Hehehe… I don't have to worry about being sidelined with my new pet." She grinned.

Aside from feeling grateful about her cat, she also internalized all of the lessons she learned in the last nine days.

What stood out the most to her was the challenge of upgrading an existing mech. Her work on the Shield of Samar was akin to giving the former prime mech a second life. She still hadn't been sure whether it was even possible to turn the Shield of Samar into a masterwork through this convoluted process, but the unique mech's metamorphosis provided conclusive proof that it could be done!

"What is even more important is that we don't have to wait to become a Senior or a Master in order to accomplish this feat!"

This gave her a lot of hope that she would be able to upgrade the Dark Zephyr or the Riot to a masterwork mech too one day.

Of course, the Larkinson Clan might opt to start from scratch and supply its expert pilots with brand new expert mechs instead. She could think of a couple of scenarios when this was a more appropriate choice.

"Even so, I can just focus on turning their new expert mechs into masterworks."

She already collected three masterwork certificates and would soon be awarded with another one. With so many successes, it would become easier for her to make subsequent masterwork mechs. Whether she created them from scratch or upgraded an existing one, it hardly made any difference as long as she continued to continue her string of successes!

Different from the mech designers, Venerable Jannzi didn't think about making other masterworks.

All she cared about was the fact that one of her dreams had finally come true today. She had experienced the optimism and the enthusiasm of the Larkinson Journeymen, but she didn't dare to hope that her Shield of Samar would finally be able to stand on the same level as the Amaranto until her partner finally unleashed its victorious outburst!

"Congratulations." She smiled towards her mech.

Her happiness was indescribable. She always thought her Shield of Samar deserved to be a masterwork a long time ago, but technical limitations had long held it back. Now that it had swapped out its prime mech frame for an expert mech frame, her living mech finally received the opportunity to unfold its true power.

She wanted to take the reborn Shield of Samar as soon as possible. In fact, she would have wanted to take it out for a spin straight away, but she knew that the others needed a good rest before they were ready to preside over the initial testing sessions.

"Just wait." She whispered to her mech. "We will show our new capabilities soon enough."

The living mech seemed to reach out and respond to Jannzi's hopes.

"It's over." Ves said as he turned to his cats. "We can finally go back to our grand stateroom and enjoy a good night of rest."

"Meow." Lucky yawned.

"Miaow." Clixie lazily blinked her eyes.

Unlike Alexandria, the two older cats could do nothing but act as mascots during these sessions. They were more than willing to leave this boring place.

Just as Ves headed towards the exit, an alarm suddenly sounded by his side.

Gloriana paused in her steps and began to utter a brief cry. She held her belly as if she was suffering from a cramp.

"Ves!"

'What is it?!" He worriedly replied as he rushed to her side.

"Meow!"

"Miaow!"

The two cats instantly became alert as well!

"My water… my water is breaking!"

"Huh?!"

Ves was stunned for a moment. He quickly grabbed her wrist and checked the info screen projected by her comm.

According to the readings of her physical condition, she was truly about to go into labour!

His mind completely froze as he had difficulty shifting his thoughts from internalizing his latest mech design insights to realizing that his first child was about to be born!

"Ves!"

Before he could turn sensible again, the bodyguards along with a team of doctors on standby had quickly approached the woman in labor.

"Quick, put her on the floating stretcher!"

"Inform the specialists on standby if they haven't already been alerted!"

"Clear the route to the prepared delivery room!"

Ves still stood rooted on his feet as the prepared team of Lifer doctors efficiently placed his wife and rapidly moved her out of the workshop.

"Congratulations, Ves!" Ketis impishly smiled and patted his shoulder. "You're about to become a father!"

"The Superior Mother will be pleased to become a grandmother." Juliet offered her own congratulations.

"I need to get out of here!"

"Meow!"

"Miaow!"

Ves set aside everything related to his work and completely became obsessed with greeting his upcoming daughter! He exited the workshop and chased after his wife.

Soon enough, he reached the entrance to a medical bay on the same deck. Ordinarily, this compartment was meant to treat work-related injuries as there were many fabrication halls in the vicinity.

However, the doctors already anticipated that Gloriana was close to giving birth. They had prepared a number of compartments like these to provide the best possible birthing facilities that the Larkinson Clan could provide under the circumstances.

The only location that was more ideal for Gloriana was the Dragon's Den, but it would take far too much time to move her over to the bioresearch vessel.

It didn't matter too much. Unless truly unexpected complications took place, the facilities aboard the Spirit of Bentheim were more than adequate.

A large team of doctors constantly studied and monitored Gloriana and her unborn child's condition to anticipate or prevent any unfortunate circumstances from arising. The Larkinson Clan hardly spared any expense to ensure the coming delivery proceeded as smoothly as possible!

"My child... my first child will soon be born!" Ves nervously uttered as the magnitude of this event sank in. "I'll soon be able to hold my own daughter!"