The Mech Touch

The demonstration successfully made an impact on Jovy.

Blinky's attack did not have a chance of overcoming the Simile Halifax's protective measures. His Alshyr energy attack might be sufficient to put a dent into a mech, but the power level of an MTA energy shield was much more formidable!

It didn't matter. Blinky successfully made his point. The companion spirit was able to unleash his exotic energy attack without relying on any tech or solid objects.

If he wanted to, Blinky could act like a lethal assassin that could phase through any obstacles and launch an energy beam right in the face of an unsuspecting victim!

One of the greater implications of Blinky's existence and capabilities was that he served as an inseparable companion to Ves. Wherever the mech designer traveled, he would always possess a means to protect himself.

Though Ves felt a bit conflicted by how much he revealed to Jovy and possibly other elements of the MTA, he believed it was an acceptable risk to take.

His use of spiritual applications had gradually increased over time. The changes to the Larkinson Clan were quite obvious and the expeditionary fleet even hosted a batch of guest pilots from the MTA!

There was no way to hide everything, so Ves decided to open up a bit and trust that at least certain mechers were deserving of his trust.

The biggest advantage of this was that Ves could direct attention away from his more sensitive secrets. He didn't mind exposing his companion spirits, but he definitely did not wish to expose his ties to the Mech Designer System!

Of course, even if he did claim to possess the Metal Scroll, the MTA wouldn't believe him. The damned System had gone dormant after swallowing a bunch of Timpala Steel and had yet to wake up after all these months!

Mrow…

After unleashing his impressive attack, both Blinky and Ves became a bit weary. Though the cat did not use up too much power this time, he still had to display enough strength to make a statement.

Seeing how Jovy fell silent after this demonstration, Ves figured that he had achieved his purpose this time!

"This is only what a single companion spirit can do." Ves said as he cradled Blinky in his arms as if he was holding a body. "Gloriana and Ketis possess their own unique companions that complement their own individual needs. I don't know what kind of capability serves you best, but together we can come up with a solution that can substantially ease the bottlenecks that can hinder you from realizing your difficult design philosophy. This is especially the case when I have designed the companion spirit to be able to grow over time and adapt even better to your needs."

Mrow~

Blinky cutely whipped his black-tipped tail around as he licked his intangible furry paw.

What Ves just said resonated to Jovy in a way that few other outsiders had accomplished.

One of the greatest challenges an ambitious mech designer had to overcome was to find a way to realize a design philosophy.

This was an intricate and difficult process that Ves did not fully understand but hindered a lot of Seniors from taking the crucial step.

Just seeing people like Professor Benedict agonize so much over his own stalled attempts to become a Master Mech Designer was a telling indicator how difficult it was to overcome this infamous hurdle!

It was generally known in the mech industry that a broader, more radical and more ambitious design philosophy was much more difficult to realize!

More modest design philosophies might not be so revolutionary, but mech designers stood a much higher chance of realizing them due to their limited scope and lower requirements.

If Ves had to classify Jovy's probability manipulation in one of those categories, then he would firmly place it in the bucket that corresponded to difficult and nearly impossible to realize!

Just getting started on it was impossible, and making progress was probably at least several times more difficult because there was nothing comparable in the mech industry.

Jovy was a pioneer in his own field and had to tread new ground by himself. The MTA might be able to provide a lot of convenience to him, but he still needed to rely on himself to achieve all of the important breakthroughs.

Even the MTA probably wasn't that optimistic about his chances. It was probably willing to give Jovy a try because it didn't cost much to encourage talented mech designers to pursue radical design philosophies with high potential.

As long as just 1 in 1000 of these human lottery tickets drew a prize, it was worth it in the end!

From what little Ves had managed to glimpse from Jovy's mind, the young man wasn't as complacent as he appeared on the surface.

Jovy was actually enduring a lot of pressure. His parents, his friends, his faction and the MTA itself held a lot of expectations towards him, but that was contingent on his good performance.

As long as Jovy continued to make progress, he would receive a lot of support in the form of tutoring, resources, augmentation and research assistance.

If he ever began to stall and stop making any further progress, then the MTA would eventually treat him as a lost cause and withhold much of the resources that Jovy needed to push his design philosophy to the next level!

This was why he was quite keen to travel around. Gaining inspiration from outside stimuli was an important way for innovators to develop new solutions. There was a strategic purpose behind his decision to accompany Ves for a time.

Ves sympathized with Jovy. The MTA mech designer was born and raised into a life where he constantly had to perform better, similar to Gloriana.

Though Jovy was handling his situation rather well, the fear of failure and the fear of wasting all of the extravagant effort and resources the MTA put into his development weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Now, an eccentric mech designer had come along and offered Jovy a potential way to substantially increase the probability of breaking through to Master. How could he not feel moved by this offer?

Though all of it sounded crazy at first, Ves showed that he wasn't kidding when he used Blinky to demonstrate the power of a companion spirit.

What actually convinced Jovy the most was the brief moment when Blinky's design network connected his mind to Ves for a brief moment.

Just as Ves gained a better insight in the person known as Jovy, the MTA mech designer also gained a relatively intimate view of what Ves thought about.

Sure, Blinky filtered out a lot of irrelevant details and Ves made sure to lock his truly sensitive secrets deep within the depths of his mind, but what he put on display showed that he was being absolutely sincere about augmenting Jovy in a metaphysical manner.

Of course, Ves didn't hide the selfish motivations behind his actions. He wasn't helping Jovy because he wanted to be a good friend. He wanted to perform a transaction where both sides could get what they needed from each other.

There was nothing disgusting or dishonest about it. This was simply an effective way to get things done.

After a time, Jovy suppressed his excitement. He faced Ves with a measured look.

"Let me be honest. I'm interested in what you have to offer. I can see how your so-called companion spirit can help me in several ways. I don't have a habit of making drastic, life-changing decisions on the spot, though. There is no hurry to proceed at the moment, so I will take my time to weigh my options, perform more research and consult with others. I also cannot promise that I can persuade the higher ups to give you special dispensation to continue with the Fearless Project. I need to sort this all out before I can make my decision."

"Ah. I'll be waiting for your answer, then." Ves replied. "If you need more clarification, feel free to ask. I can't tell you everything, but I'm willing to share a few more details provided you keep it confidential."

He did not assume that Jovy would keep this secret just to himself. That was impossible. Ves just hoped that his friend would not spread it out too much and only share it among the people he trusted.

This was a request that Jovy was more than willing to oblige. "You can rest assured. The MTA always handles trade secrets from mech designers such as you with utmost care and discretion. Word of it will not spread to the public."

Ves would have to be satisfied with that answer.

"Good. Please keep in mind that it is quite costly and resource-intensive to provide anyone with a companion spirit. Power doesn't come out of nowhere and relying on your own mind is not enough to create a strong mind partner. I'm only willing to do this favor for you but no one else. You'll also have to trust me as I will literally have to access your mind in order to make radical changes to it. If I want, I can mess up a lot of stuff, so you will have to take a leap of faith if you seriously wish to proceed with this course of action."

"Thank you… for being honest. I figured as much, but it is good to hear it from you." Jovy said.

The two chatted a bit further, but Jovy soon ordered the Simile Halifax to teleport Ves away from the frigate.

The young MTA mech designer had a lot to think about. The conversation about the Fearless Project did not proceed according to his expectations at all today.

Rather than accepting the will of the MTA, Ves brazenly offered Jovy a bribe that sounded so attractive that the issue of granting the Larkinson Clan permission to utilize heavy luminar crystal weapons no longer seemed so important!

Was Jovy attracted by the possibility of gaining a ‘companion spirit' that was not only powerful from the start, but could also grow even further over time?

Yes!

He didn't think many mech designers would reject this possibility.

"It's still experimental, though." He reminded himself.

It did not escape his attention that this was an experimental procedure that was not yet proven to be safe. Aside from all of the immediate problems that might occur, companion spirits may very well lead to repercussions that could hinder or even stop Jovy from advancing to Master!

Of course, the fact that Ves was confident enough to go through with it showed that he believed it was beneficial, but who knew whether he was right.

"It's a big gamble."

Jovy wasn't a stranger to gambles. As a specialist in probability manipulation, he gambled with reality whenever he designed his mechs. He had won and lost a lot of gambles over the years, and that gave him a lot of perspective on how to handle this kind of matter.

"I shouldn't be making a bet I can't afford to lose."

Anything that had to do with the human mind was profoundly dangerous. What Ves suggested was akin to implanting an extremely powerful but barely tested cranial implant.

Only the reckless or the desperate would agree to such a procedure!

Though Jovy did not consider himself to be a reckless mech designer, he was not so sure about the desperate part.

It all came down to an important question.

"Will I be able to realize my design philosophy if I proceed as always, or is the probability of success too low for me to bet on myself?" He asked himself.

He recalled the statistics. The MTA's success rate of nurturing Masters with higher grade design philosophies was abysmal! Even if he limited his selection to mech designers who successfully advanced to Journeyman, their odds were not good!

"Heh. I am just another gamble…" Jovy depreciatingly said. "The MTA may be able to afford losing on a lot of bets, but if I lose, my life's work will come to nothing!"