The Mech Touch

The fifth design round was of great significance to Ves and the others.

The previous one was all about enhancing the Larkinson Clan's direct combat power. In this regard, the mechs that emerged during its run clearly succeeded. Even though the Larkinsons weren't able to produce too many copies of the new models, their power and capabilities invigorated the Larkinson Army and gave the soldiers hope of wielding greater power in the future!

This time, Ves wanted to address the clan's economic and diplomatic foundation.

The Larkinson Clan had only made tentative moves to integrate into the regional economy. The release of a couple of products such as the latest iteration of the Ferocious Piranha or the recently completed Monster Slayer had little effect on the Living Mech Corporation's brand awareness.

If Ves wanted his mech company to shine in the Red Ocean, then it was essential to start with selling at least one killer product and multiple staple products!

One design round was not enough to complete his goal, but the Larkinsons had to make a start.

Ves already planned to lay low for five years. This was more than enough time to complete four additional design rounds.

With the impending expansion of the Design Department and the comprehensive upgrades to every design facility, the LMC could easily release over a dozen different commercial mech models a year!

Even accounting for the need to upgrade outdated models to modern standards, this was a horrible release date, especially when the addition of glows and the unique functionality of living mechs boosted their value and desirability to greater heights!

Unless Ves and his fellow Journeymen were all donkeys, they would surely be able to design at least one breakout success during this five-year period!

As Ves thought of how many MTA credits the LMC could earn at that time, Gloriana interrupted his musings by asking an important question.

"Aren't you trying to do too much this time, Ves? You are already obliged to participate in the design of the Cross Clan's Mars Project. You have also chosen to lead the Firestarter Project and contribute to the C-Man Project. Those are all expert mech design projects. Can you even manage the Tutor Project, the Buzzy Bee Project and the so-called Voribug Nemesis Project as well?"

Ves frowned. His wife had a good point. He wanted to execute a lot of different ideas for the next design round, but he had far too little time to explore them all at once!

On top of the projects that his wife had mentioned, he also wanted to work on the Fearless Project as well as other side projects. It sounded increasingly more unrealistic for him to get everything done by this year.

He quickly started to think on how he could manage so many projects at once.

"It's not as bad as it sounds." He told his wife. "The Mars Project is Professor Benedict's passion project. He will definitely be responsible for the bulk of the design work on this high-tier expert mech. We don't need to make too many contributions to apply our own specialties to the mech design. The C-Man Project will mostly be your responsibility. In fact, I don't think I need to spend much time at all on this project. Only the Firestarter Project will take up a lot of time."

"What about the other projects?"

"The Tutor Project is fairly important to me and will also require a lot of work in order to live up to its promises, so I will probably spend a lot of time on it. The Buzzy Bee Project is not as radical, though I will probably need to collaborate with an ECM specialist to make it compelling enough. The Voribug Nemesis Project is much smaller and simpler than the others. I can easily hand over much of the design work to our design teams without losing too much quality."

As long as Ves delegated as much work as possible, he believed he could manage the workload. Sacrifices were unavoidable but he felt that it was worth it to compromise a bit in order to increase the quantity of mech design projects he could work on at the same time.

His wife still looked skeptical, but she knew he couldn't be persuaded anymore. He needed to see for himself whether he had bitten off more than he could chew for this design round!

Once Ves was done with introducing his projects, it was time for the others to propose their own initiatives.

"I don't think I will be designing any custom mechs for this round." Gloriana said as she gently rubbed her belly. "I am already committed to leading or contributing to the Mars Project, the C-Man Project, the Firestarter Project and the Blade Chaser Mark II Project. I don't have time to manage any additional projects, especially when I have to discharge my duties as a mother as well."

She not only had to raise Aurelia, but also had to carry her second child to term. Her chances of falling behind schedule was not small, especially when Ves also took on a lot of obligations.

In fact, one of the main reasons why Gloriana was so concerned about his busy schedule was that he wouldn't have enough time to watch over Aurelia!

It was extremely important to give Aurelia the attention she needed from her parents. Even if she was smarter than ordinary children and even if Clixie did much to watch over the baby, there was no substitute for parental affection and guidance!

While Ves wanted to spend more time with Aurelia as well, the coming period of the Larkinson Clan was just too important to everyone. The LMC needed to enter the regional mech market with as many strong offerings as possible. Everything he did during this year would have a profound impact on everyone's future!

"It's okay." He told his wife. "While we have gained a bunch of expert candidates, they don't necessarily have to obtain their own custom mechs. Any of our living mechs will facilitate their growth."

She nodded. Gloriana enjoyed the process of designing custom mechs, but expert mechs were a step up in every way!

She especially looked forward to working on the Mars Project! Even if Professor Benedict did not allow her to provide too much input, she was confident that even minor exposure to the design process of such a powerful, high-end expert mech would provide her with a wealth of insights.

Any Journeyman would feel blessed to be in her position! She was already living her dream by being able to work with expert mechs every year!

Now that Gloriana declared her intentions, Ves turned to the next Journeyman.

"What about you, Ketis? Your Monster Slayer has shown that your specialties have commercial appeal. What challenges will you tackle next?"

The only swordmaster in the compartment tapped her finger against the surface of the meeting table. "You already know that I will be leading the Blade Chaser Mark II Project. Considering my pregnancy, I think I will only have time to dedicate myself towards designing one or two additional mech design projects at most. I have decided to design one swordsman mech in collaboration with another Journeyman and one additional product for the market."

Ves sat up straighter in his chair. Ketis hadn't mentioned her plans to him at all in these last few weeks. He was curious what she had in mind for this design round.

"Please tell us what you have in mind."

Ketis raised her finger, causing the center projection to display a different draft design.

Ves quickly scrutinized the sketch and realized that Ketis was only partially responsible for making it. The draft design bore foreign elements that did not conform to Ketis' style or design choices.

At first glance, the swordsman mech depicted in the draft looked like a Monster Slayer on a starvation diet. It was a landbound mech that was even lighter and thinner than Ketis' first commercial success.

However, Ves could see how slimming it down and shaving a lot of armor off its frame could make it even lighter and more agile. He wouldn't be surprised if this light swordsman mech could perform a pirouette on stage!

Aside from the swordsman mech's skinny frame, the other element that stood to Ves was its primary weapon.

Instead of wielding one of the long and heavy greatswords that Ketis and the Swordmaidens favored, the draft design carried a bladed weapon that was nearly the opposite!

The long and thin fencing saber was so slim and delicate that Ves questioned whether it was sturdy enough to stay intact after performing a single slash.

The appearance of a fencing mech reminded Ves of a young and lovely woman he once met during one of his past virtual forays.

His eyes lit up as he realized who Ketis was collaborating with for this project!

"Did you hook up with Miss Angelique Harcourt?" He directly asked.

Ketis nodded. "Yup. You gave me her contact information a while ago, remember? I talked to her a few times and befriended her. It's really nice to exchange with a fellow swordsman mech specialist, especially one that grew up in the Heavensword Association. I already planned to collaborate with Angelique once I finished my Monster Slayer design. Now is as good a time as any to see what we can accomplish together."

The combination of two different swordsman mech designers should definitely yield a good result! Ketis possessed a lot of flair while Angelique accumulated a lot more experience and insights in fencer mechs.

Both of them would be able to learn from each other. They could also cover for each other's weaknesses. Ves was happy to see Ketis or any other mech designer collaborate with a third-party mech designer because it was a great way to get exposed to other perspectives on the same mechs.

This was a win-win collaboration that was only marred by the fact that Angelique Harcourt was still based in Majestic Teal.

Ves frowned when he thought about the last part. Collaborations between mech designers who were located in vastly different regions were much less practical!

"If I recall, you left a PP behind, so your works should retain all of their strength in the Yeina Star Cluster. I suspect that Miss Harcourt is much more limited where she can propagate her mechs. Does she have any influence in the Red Ocean?"

"No." Ketis straightforwardly admitted. "Angelique hasn't entered the Red Ocean nor bought any PPs. We only plan to release our finished product to the Heavensword Association. There is no point in marketing our Jabber Project anywhere else because there isn't enough demand in other regions."

In other words, the amount of revenue it could bring would undoubtedly be limited. It made little sense to design this fencer mech if Ketis wanted to maximize her earning potential for this design round.

However, that did not mean it was a waste of time for her to spend her time on the Jabber Project. This was an excellent learning experience for Ketis and a necessary process for her to learn how to work with external mech designers.

"Don't worry, Ves. The Jabber Project won't be a niche product, not when my name is attached to it." Ketis confidently said. "My unique identity carries a lot of weight in the Heavensword Association. As long as I release the Jabber Project in the mech market of my second home, I can guarantee you that my new mech will sell like hotcakes! If not for the fact that I have already traded away most of the rights of my Monster Slayer design to the Wild Fighter Association, it would have already turned into a bestseller back in our former star cluster!"

That was indeed a missed opportunity, but it couldn't be helped. The Larkinson Clan needed to make sure they added in a provision that addressed this gap in her next cooperative venture with the Wild Fighters.