The Mech Touch

Professor Benedict clearly aimed to center the Mars Project around the Magma Vein System. Though it was only a theoretical concept for now, it promised extreme power and great adaptability as long as he managed to turn it into an effective implementation.

Ves even grew jealous that the Mars Project would enjoy this fantastic energy transmission system while the Larkinson Clan's expert mechs had to make do with more boring alternatives.

The result of this was that the Mars Project would have a definite edge over his own expert mechs in terms of direct physical combat power.

Fortunately, there were areas where the Mars Project could not measure up against the Larkinson expert mechs. His works were all prime mechs on top of expert mechs, so they interacted and synergized with their expert pilots to a considerably stronger degree.

On top of that, many of them also utilized Unending alloy which was incredibly tough and provided his machines with clear defensive advantages.

Even so, Ves already recognized that his expert mechs would be hard-pressed to keep up with the offensive output of the Mars Project!

Professor Benedict's future expert mech might not be able to exceed the single-shot precision of the Amaranto, but its largest weapon system would be able to output shots that would definitely come close to matching the destructive power of the Amaranto's high-powered shots!

Though Ves didn't think the single-shot power of the Mars Project could exceed that of the Amaranto, the difference here was that the expert hybrid mech would definitely be able to fire such intensive shots again and again in quick succession!

This was because the total energy reserves as well as the efficiency of the Mars Project were much superior!

The Mars Project's mech frame was larger as well, so it offered a lot more capacity for components as well. This helped a lot in increasing the offensive might of a mech.

All in all, the Mars Project filled a hole in the Golden Skull Alliance's high-end lineup. It was an assault-oriented mech that was able to deal damage at any range but excelled in mid-range attacks where it could torment melee mechs and destroy them before they could ever get close!

With the help of the Magma Vein System, the Mars Project could turn from a formidable ranged mech into a potent melee mech. By redirecting energy away from its ranged mechs, the expert mech would be able to direct a lot more juice into its flight system and its mechanical systems!

Naturally, there were limits to how far this could go, but in high-level duels between expert mechs, even a slight edge could tip the balance in Patriarch Reginald's favor!

The design budget of the Mars Project was also destined to reach a ludicrous figure. It would probably be one of the most expensive second-class expert mechs built in the Krakatoa Middle Zone due to the use of many different high-end, power-hungry mech parts!

The best part of it was that it also had a lot more staying power as long as Patriarch Reginald managed his expert mech's energy reserves well enough. It could keep fighting in situations where the Amaranto or the Riot were starting to run on fumes.

"This is a mech fit for a leader." Ves sighed in admiration at this design concept. "This mech personifies energy supremacy. I can't think of another expert mech that can come close to how well your Mars Project leverages energy. The might this mech can display in battle will be insane."

The Senior nodded in agreement. "The Mars Project is also designed to inspire friendlies in battle. It is a mech fit for a war leader, which perfectly aligns with Patriarch Reginald's role on the battlefield."

Patriarch Reginald Cross was able to lead his men into battle like a classic war leader of old. He could raise the morale of his fellow Crosser soldiers to a greater height as long as he succeeded in establishing his dominance over the battlefield.

Whether it was crushing weaker expert mechs or laying waste to entire formations of standard mechs, as long as the Mars Project lived up to its codename, the expeditionary forces would gain an immense boost in morale while their enemies would experience the opposite! Naturally, the Larkinson expert mechs were able to do this as well. The Minerva Project was practically made to empower allies.

The difference was that Ves' work relied heavily on glows and other gimmicks while the Mars Project primarily relied on raw martial strength to affect morale.

This was an important distinction as there may be cases where the Larkinson Clan could not count on its glows.

Besides, the Mars Project promised to become an extremely powerful individual combatant on the battlefield. It could fight against other extravagant high-tier expert mechs on at least an equal basis!

As Ves made these realizations, it slowly dawned upon him that Professor Benedict hinted that he was ready to go above and beyond to maximize the potential of this expert mech design project!

Ves narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 1 "The way you talk about and invest your effort into the Mars Project makes me think it is way more than a strategic project for the Cross Clan. This project has personal significance to you, am I right?"

Professor Benedict did not deny it. "You guessed right. It is rare for Seniors such as myself to be able to design a mech with a design budget this high. The mandate that Patriarch Reginald has extended to me has given me the right to procure damn near anything that is within the means of the Cross Clan to design the strongest possible expert mech for him. The Mars Project is an opportunity for me to make some of my cherished dreams come true. It is much harder for me to realize them when I am working under the constraints of much smaller budgets and much less skilled mech pilots. An opportunity like this only comes once every century." 1

This was not a big surprise. Ves would have done the same if he was in Professor Benedict's shoes.

He was quite happy for Professor Benedict in a professional sense. Mech designers who found projects that riled up their passion usually went on to create dazzling new innovations. Passion projects could become some of the best works that they have ever realized in their careers.

Ves only regretted that he would only be a contributor to the Mars Project.

While Patriarch Reginald was impressed with Ves' design philosophy and wanted it to become a prominent addition to the Mars Project, it was impossible for Professor Benedict to stay on the sidelines when it came to the design of a key mech for the Cross Clan.

It was also rather stupid to hand over so much responsibility to an external mech designer when the Cross Clan already had a Senior at home!

Ves was fine with playing second fiddle on this project. He could already tell that he did not need to contribute that much at all because Professor Benedict was already able to do better by himself.

Both of them were smart and passionate mech designers so they quickly entered the same wavelength on this. Ves did not insist on playing a greater role while Professor Benedict did not try to establish his dominance.

They continued to exchange ideas about the Mars Project. Since the design project hadn't even formally started as of yet, many details were still fluid and could easily be changed or supplemented in order to improve its premise.

Though Professor Benedict was clearly confident in the mech concept that he had planned out for years, Ves was such an oddball of a mech designer that his input often made the older mech designer pause in thought!

"I cannot design living mechs such as yourself." Professor Benedict stated with a hint of regret in his voice. "That said, I did not spend the time we have cooperated on progressing the Minerva Project in vain. You have taught me that mech design is more multidimensional than I thought. The material dimensions are not the only ones that I can pay attention to. By seeking out, unlocking and leveraging one of the other dimensions, I can affect and empower a mech beyond what their conventional components can provide!"

The man suddenly stood up from his chair and gave Ves a sincere bow!

"Whoa!" Ves almost wanted to jump on his feet at this extraordinary display! "Why are you doing this all of a sudden?!" The Senior clearly wasn't joking around this time! His posture and his demeanor fully showed that he was being serious!

"I am expressing my gratitude to you. The Magma Vein System is not the only new concept that I have derived from your work. I have also conceived an even greater and more revolutionary idea that no Master has ever accomplished before, at least to my knowledge. It is still too premature to introduce it to you and I cannot say whether I will be able to flesh it out in time to add it to the Mars Project, but regardless of how long it takes for me to perfect it, I have a strong expectation.... that this will be the breakthrough accomplishment that I have spent decades on pursuit."

Ves widened his eyes as he took a step back. "You mean... I set you on the path... to becoming a Master?"

"Yes." Benedict succinctly said as he straightened himself up again. "Mind you, I am not 100 certain whether my hunch is true, but I am far more confident in this latest idea than anything else that I have conceived in the past three decades. When a Senior of my level comes across a moment such as this, he will know whether he has struck gold. It is akin to groping around in the dark before finally finding a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if I cannot realize my ambitious idea due to practical constraints, I can keep accumulating more knowledge, resources and assistance until I am finally ready to implement it in a practical form. As long as that happens... the contribution that I can provide to the mech industry will be so great that it shall be a signature accomplishment that shall propel my rank to Master Mech Designer!" 2

Though Ves still didn't have a full idea on what was needed for Seniors to advance to Master, he did not think that someone who obsessed so much about crossing this gap would be wrong about this matter.

Professor Benedict Cortez may truly become the first person to become a Master in the Golden Skull Alliance!

"May I ask... how my work and design philosophy inspired you?" Ves curiously asked.

He did not feel as if Professor Benedict had stolen from him or anything. He felt honored that he was able to help a struggling Senior find his light.

"As I have stated earlier, my innovations are not directly equivalent to yours. My strength lies in energy transmission. I have no intention of encroaching on your field of specialty. What you have done for me is to help me think outside the box. Sometimes, a spark is all that is needed to start a wildfire. You are that

This did not sound unfamiliar to Ves. It was similar to how Master Huron's neural networks inspired the creation of kinship networks, battle networks and design networks.

Even though they all had the word 'network' in their names, what Ves had created worked on another level of that of the Fridayman Master's signature works!

"I am truly happy to hear that I have been able to help you in this regard." Ves eventually said. "I hope that when you advance to Master, you don't completely throw everyone else to the wayside."

The older man chuckled. "My journey through life has taught me many lessons. Appreciating the value of true friends is one of them. Becoming a Master entitles me to enter an entirely new community, but I may not fit in that circle. I prefer to associate with a different set of friends.."