The Mech Touch

Ves gained so much during his initial attempt to design a biomech that he gained a lot of enthusiasm for what else he could do in the System Space.

The fact that he had made such an enormous leap in capabilities and expanded his range of mech designs by an entire category had caused him to develop a much greater appreciation of the Mech Designer System.

"Maybe I have been too reticent about making use of the System all this time."

A part of him regretted that he ignored the System for so long. If he studied the Missions more closely and figured out that he could complete them with the help of a cleverly chosen enlightenment fruit, he would have been able to expand his repertoire without spending as much Ascension Points.

After all, he not only spent 30 Ascension Points to buy enough time to study the essentials of biomech design, but he also spent 40 Ascension Points to cover the time needed to design the Blood Knight Project!

"Well, it's not a waste to spend 70 Ascension Points to extend my stay in the System Space. Time is the most valuable resource of all. There are lots of mech designers who would literally kill entire states if they could obtain more time for themselves!"

This was one of the many wonders of the Mech Designer System. Humanity managed to master many forms of high technology, but Ves seriously doubted whether anyone aside from maybe a god pilot could manipulate the power of time!

For Ves to be able to buy extra time for the price of a single Ascension Point a day was extremely convenient, so much so that it could literally change his life!

"This is a potent power and one that I should treat with great respect." He reminded himself.

His ability to earn Ascension Points was still relatively limited, so he could not squander them on buying time alone.

There had to be a greater purpose behind this action in order to justify the expenditure.

"It's much more useful for me to spend my Ascension Points on enlightenment fruits." He affirmed. "Increasing my capabilities and acquiring exotic knowledge that is far out of my reach can immediately boost my career and improve my work."

He had been impressed by how much knowledge he had gained from absorbing the Blood Cult Scarlet Oak Tree Growth Manual enlightenment fruit.

This event had taught him that he shouldn't underestimate the value of any enlightenment fruit, even the cheapest and most unassuming ones!

"It's all about relevance and fit. A single textbook's worth of knowledge on spirituality is much more useful than a library's worth of information on financial management."

One of the more curious effects of absorbing the latest fruit was that Ves not only gained a lot of scientific and mystical knowledge on blood and trees, but also gained awareness of the rituals and ideology of the Blood Cult.

Though Ves could not call himself a card-carrying member of this secretive organization, he knew enough about the blood cultists that he could blend inside their midst for a time!

Ves even developed the urge to seek them out and hold a civilized exchange with them. The knowledge contained in a single enlightenment fruit was only the tip of the iceberg. The Blood Cult's understanding and mastery of the tangible and intangible properties of blood encompassed so much more!

Although the cultists preferred to use the word 'qi' and other strange terms to refer to spiritual energy and such, that did not stop Ves from appreciating all of the theories they developed.

"If I can obtain more core secrets from the Blood Cult, I can improve the effectiveness of the Blood Pact. That will make it much easier to convert average mech pilots into powerful heroes!"

Ves did not think about how odd it was to use the methods of vile cultists to enhance the functionality of mechs.

"It's a pity that there aren't any further enlightenment fruits related to the Blood Cult available at the moment."

He silently decided to pay attention to any further fruits related to this cult in the future.

There were still many other fruits available that were tied to different cults. Each of them possessed names that Ves had never heard of. He suspected that a large proportion of them had become extinct.

"Hm, let's see if these other fruits can help me out as well."

Now that he managed to restore his condition, he became eager to continue his quest to earn more Ascension Points.

He moved to the Mission Hall and studied the 11 Missions that remained.

"None of them are easy. What is worse is that I can only complete a few of them without returning to reality."

He did not let the difficulty deter him. His previous success had given him a lot of confidence.

Now that he figured out the right strategy, he was eager to repeat his success formula and accumulate more knowledge and Ascension Points.

"Let's see what I can choose."

[Divine Artifact Creation]

Mission: Divine Artifact Creation

Difficulty: B-Rank

Prerequisites: Spirituality must be higher than 10.0

Description

As a human attempting to undergo Spiritual Ascension, you must obtain an object that symbolizes the essence of your power and rules. The existence of a material anchor is essential to the continued existence of deities. Without a connection that can tie them to the material realm, they are no different from the dead.

Create or acquire a material object that reflects your traits and symbolizes your authority. Let this anchor be the strongest physical trace that can expand your reach, accelerate your ascension to divinity and allow you to escape the fetters of mortality.

The greater the power of the divine artifact, the greater its ability to facilitate your Spiritual Ascension. However, a stronger artifact also requires a greater sacrifice in order to take effect. Do not overdraw your essence and ruin your future potential.

Reward: 100 Ascension Points

Time limit: 2 Years

Penalty for failure: Lower your Spirituality by 2

Ves grew reluctant as he read this description.

Compared to the previous mission, this new one was a lot more vague about what Ves needed to make this time!

The religious claptrap and the clear warning about the dangers of overreaching had made him doubt whether it was a good idea to accept it in the first place.

"It sounds like creating another totem or an ancestral heirloom, but the difference is that I won't be making them for one of my design spirits this time. If I am interpreting this mission correctly, I have to make an artifact that represents myself!"

Ves furrowed his brows. If this was it, then he could easily make one in a matter of days. He didn't even have to absorb an enlightenment fruit in order to complete the Mission.

He did not think it was that simple, though. The Mission suggested that this was an incredibly important step that might have a profound effect on his future progression.

A poor and shabby artifact would not only be of limited use, but would also drag him down in the future.

A strong and impressive artifact would probably be able to provide him with much more help down the line, but nothing came for free.

The System made it clear that power had a price. Ves would definitely have to make a huge upfront investment in order to create an object that could make a huge difference.

"This upfront investment may be so much that I might end up shooting myself in the foot!"

To be honest, Ves preferred not to get involved in any dangerous affairs. There was plenty of time for him to consider such a matter in the future.

He might not even want to create such an anchor. His goal had always been to become a Star Designer. That was the only way he could design and make the best mechs that could serve humanity.

Ves accepted the previous Mission with a bit more enthusiasm because it did not compromise his ambitions as a mech designer. Even if he initially thought that biomechs were a little weird, he did not regret his decision to branch out as it ended up complementing his design philosophy.

He wasn't sure whether that would be the case this time. This Divine Artifact Creation Mission was clearly related to the more esoteric side of the upgraded Mech Designer System.

What Ves found strange was that this Mission implied that the Hammer of Brilliance didn't qualify as a divine artifact.

After all, the hammer that he had made represented Vulcan in many ways and was even capable of channeling the power of the God of Mechs, Dwarves and Craftsmanship.

"Maybe that's the problem." Ves furrowed his brows. "Vulcan is an incarnation of me, but it doesn't represent me. Vulcan has its own strengths and weaknesses that are only tangentially related to me. When people think of Vulcan, they have an image in their mind that looks nothing like myself."

If Ves was right, then this Mission may be related to a notion that Ves entertained in the past.

"Can I take on the role of a design spirit?"

Ves instinctively wanted to say no. His spirit was completely different from that of Vulcan or any of his other design spirits.

Much of his Spirituality was locked inside his design seed, which provided enormous help to his mech designer activities. It also functioned as a beacon that propagated his design philosophy and the living mechs that he designed.

"Wait a minute. Doesn't that sound similar to how design spirits are able to exert their influence onto mechs?"

He never thought about it before, but once he made the comparison, he could see the parallels.

Of course, the way he tied his design spirits to different mech designs was not that deep.

High-ranking mech designers were passively able to improve the technical performance of their mechs.

The higher their rank, the greater the differences.

If not for the fact that this only worked for mechs, mech designers would probably be able to fool people into thinking that they were gods!

"Maybe this claim is essentially true in the case of Star Designers."

During his only meeting with the Polymath, he managed to get a taste of her enormous majesty.

The power she possessed far exceeded his expectations of the power of a Star Designer at the time.

He was too weak and inexperienced to properly understand the transcendent might of the Polymath. A part of him even became convinced that the secret holder of a fragment of the Metal Scroll had become a god in human form!

Her spirit was so vast and powerful that she had essentially completed her transformation from a corporeal life form to an energy-based life form!

"In other words, her human body is nothing but a symbolic shell that serves as a convenient puppet for her to interact with other mortals."

Thinking about this gave Ves an additional hint on why it might be useful for 'gods' to create a divine artifact.

A human body was too fragile to serve as a permanent anchor to reality.

A being as powerful as the Polymath didn't exactly belong in the material realm anymore. It was much more appropriate for her to ascend to the imaginary realm or another higher realm that Ves was not aware of. It took conscious effort for her to prevent herself from flying away.

At least that was what Ves thought. He might be wrong. He had no idea whether his guess was true since he was working with limited information.

"I will naturally get in touch with these secrets as I go higher up the ranks. There is no need for me to plan too far ahead."

For now, he needed to earn more AP. He needed to decide whether it was a good idea for him to accept the Divine Artifact Creation Mission.

"Do I want to embark on a life-changing project that has major implications to my future growth in the hopes of earning less than 100 Ascension Points?"

Ves couldn't decide for a while.