The Mech Touch

While Ves talked with the seeds selected by the Larkinsons, his girlfriend approached William Urbesh.

Her analytical gaze made William uncomfortable.

”So you are William of the Urbesh Clan.” She harrumphed. ”Well, Ves hadnʼt been lying when he said you were lacking. How can such good stock be ruined by an inability to face opponents?”

Before William could even open his mouth to defend himself, Gloriana signaled a bodyguard who took the hapless mech pilot and dragged him over to one of the lab machines.

She wanted to get to work on examining Williamʼs condition thoroughly! The custom mech she prepared for the Urbesh clansman still needed more adjustments to achieve a better fit!

”Help me! I donʼt want to go into this machine!”

”Donʼt complain and sit still!”

”Um, sir…” Maikel raised.

”Donʼt mind what they are doing. Youʼve heard about William Urbesh, right?”

They all nodded. Who hadnʼt heard of the cowardly mech pilot the Larkinson instructors had been trying to beat into shape?

Ves quickly moved on and began to lecture the seeds. He wasnʼt really interested in getting to know them better until they proved themselves. For now, they were just high school students who had a lot to go before they became qualified mech designers.

”Mech design is a great profession to those who have a passion for mechs.” He began. ”Designing mechs is more than a science. Itʼs also an art. Studying the sciences merely serves as a foundation that makes you eligible to design mechs. It does not guarantee you will be able to succeed. While you should mostly focus on learning at your stage, donʼt neglect your creativity.”

He activated a table projection and quickly summoned up the design schematics of his current commercial mech models.

”A good mech designer is an inventive mech designer. All of my commercial mech models have sold by the thousands because they are unique in some way. Do you think itʼs easy to compete against the oversaturated mech market? The competition is incredibly intense. Unless you develop a specialty that is both rare and valuable, you wonʼt be able to cut it as an independent mech designer. If you canʼt be an independent, youʼll have to work for someone else, which means you wonʼt be able to earn a fraction of what my mech company rakes in per day!”

He carefully studied the gazes of the four young Larkinsons. Each of them admired the complicated design schematics projected over the table while at the same time dreaming about earning as much money as Ves. This was what every prospective mech designer dreamed!

Ves smirked at their eager faces. It was fine for them to dream. The problem was that it took more than wishful thinking to get to this point.

”To those who enjoy success, designing and selling mechs is incredibly lucrative. Letʼs take my latest mech model and its variant for example.”

He waved his hand, causing every projection except the Desolate Soldier and Holy Soldier.

Now that the two schematics had been isolated, the four seeds faintly sensed the X-Factor contained within.

”Do you know how many Desolate Soldiers the LMC expects to sell within the first two months of release?”

”Ten thousand?” Rennie guessed.

”No, you dolt! Havenʼt you kept up with the latest news? The Desolate Soldiers are selling like hotcakes right now! The model will probably sell over fifty-thousand times!”

The other two Larkinson seeds gasped.

Ves rapped his knuckle against the work table and smiled. ”Itʼs more than that. Our current estimates have reached 100,000 copies! We had to revise our projections upwards because my mech model is more popular than weʼve anticipated!”

A huge shock ran through the seeds. All of them knew how much they sold for, though they werenʼt sure how much profit the LMC made per sale. However, with such a huge sales volume, the total profit shouldnʼt be small!

He smirked. ”Thereʼs more. Even if my mech company isnʼt selling any mechs, my design work is already valuable in itself. Do you know how much money the LMC earned from licensing the two designs? More than 200 billion bright credits.”

This unimaginably vast sum exceeded the thinking capacity of the young seeds. When money reached this kind of height, no one could keep a clear head anymore!

As Ves studied the expressions and emotions of the interns carefully, he mentally shook his head. He bet that all four of them were imagining themselves in his place!

Ves slapped his palm against the table, forcing the Larkinson students from their delusions!

”Do you think itʼs easy to get to this point? Do you think Iʼm earning all of those hundreds of billions of credits with ease now that Iʼm a Journeyman?”

”Itʼs not?”

”No! Even a Journeyman can fail! No matter how well they design a mech, if it doesnʼt bring any added value compared to competing designs, it simply wonʼt sell! Donʼt think of this as a single-player game. Every mech designer is participating in the biggest multiplayer game in the galaxy, and that game is called the mech market.”

Every kid played games. The Larkinson seeds instantly understood his simple analogy.

”Think about how many mech designers are operating in the galaxy.” Ves said. ”Almost all of them are deadweight. Do you know why? Because they donʼt have the guts to design something different from the norm. Everyone needs to take some risks to distinguish themselves from the crowd.”

Ves patted his chest with pride. ”I hope you donʼt forget what it means to be a Larkinson. One of the biggest reasons I made it this far is because I am a Larkinson. Donʼt think that courage is only relevant to mech pilots. There are plenty of times in your mech design career where you will need to go above and beyond and take some risks in order to achieve success!”

His appeal resonated with the seeds. They were all Larkinsons who grew up in a family that highly prized courage.

When Ves mentioned how their Larkinson heritage could help them become better mech designers, their fires started to get lit!

”Good!” He exulted. ”Donʼt forget this sensation! What you are feeling right now is passion! As long as you are able to summon this sensation again, Iʼm confident that youʼll be able to reach my level in time!”

Perhaps there was some hope for these seeds after all. Of course, his brilliant teaching played a huge role in stoking up their passion.

”Let me give you your very first lesson of the day.” Ves gazed at their eyes in a challenging fashion. ”Dare to design.”

The words contained a profoundness that the Larkinson seeds barely comprehended after listening to what Ves previously said. The succinct phrase neatly encapsulated his beliefs on how a mech designer should develop themselves.

”A mech designer has to be bold!”

”A mech designer has to be daring!”

”A mech designer has to be innovative!”

”Certainly, taking risks is not always healthy. Sometimes, you lose, but so what? At least you tried your best! Caution and incrementalism wonʼt get you anywhere in the cutthroat mech market! If you want to stand taller, then youʼll need to push yourself and surpass your potential!”

Ves continued to lecture the seeds along this refrain for the next couple of hours. The seeds attentively hung on his words as if they were starving chicks gobbling up the food their mother bird regurgitated.

He made a very deliberate decision to shape their perspectives on mech design. They already learned the basic sciences at school and from their tutors. There was no need for Ves to waste his time on such a trifling matter.

What mattered more was their mindset and principles. If they didnʼt develop a perspective that allowed them to survive the brutal mech industry, then they wouldnʼt be able to accomplish anything even if they absorbed a lot of learning.

Ves had constantly grappled with this dynamic ever since he obtained the System.

As blank slates, Ves wielded a lot of power. The Larkinson seeds all worshipped him because he was a rare and esteemed Journeyman. He made use of the authority he gained from his status and accomplishments to indoctrinate the seeds with a particular set of values.

In the back of his mind, he knew that he would invite a lot of controversy if other mech designers heard what he said. Ves had deviated from the orthodox path by emphasizing risk-taking a lot more than was prudent.

A lot of mech designers were actually very risk-averse! The best that could be asked of them was to take careful, calculated risks every now and then. What Ves currently taught significantly differed from what he learned at school!

It was very difficult to push a cautious mech designer into taking risks. That was why Ves addressed this matter in their very first teaching session.

If the seeds internalized his lessons, then they might end up like little Vesses in the future.

Was that a good thing? Not entirely.

Unlike the actual Ves, the little Vesses did not enjoy his advantages. Lacking the System meant that they would likely fall to ruin if they lost a big bet!

Yet what did it matter to Ves? Let them fail! As long as one of the little Vesses succeeded, then the gains would definitely be bountiful. A single overwhelming success was far more preferable than four mediocre results.

In short, Ves was basically turning his teaching responsibility to the Larkinsons into a high-stakes bet. He wanted the little Vesses to push themselves to the limit and adopt an innovative mindset from the very start!

Even if Ves ended up leading the seeds to ruin, so what? The Larkinsons would probably keep sending him hopeful mech design students who could shoulder the burden of supporting the increasingly voracious Larkinson Family.

If his first four bets failed, then Ves would simply repeat his gamble! Eventually, one Larkinson seed would bloom into a flower. He just hoped that he wouldnʼt ruin too many seeds to get to this point.

In any case, the Larkinson seeds had it much easier than Ves. When he initially started his business, he didnʼt enjoy any backing from the Larkinsons.

It was different now. The Larkinsons finally came around to mech design and supported anyone smart enough to pursue it. Those who succeeded would become pillars of the family, while those who failed or fell short could still lean on Ves and the Larkinson Family to mitigate their losses.

Ves didnʼt mind wiping their butts if it was convenient for him to do so. This allowed his little Vesses to take more risks, thereby increasing the odds of achieving massive success!

”Donʼt ever think that mech design is easy.” He wrapped up his lecture. ”In order to stand out from the crowd, you need to swim against the current. At this stage, most of my words donʼt apply to your current situation, but you should never forget them. You are Larkinsons. Donʼt forget that. Becoming a mech designer does not mean you have to go against your nature.”

The little Vesses all looked dazed as Ves had given them an abundance of instruction, many of which they had never heard.

Ves let them stew over his words and walked up to Gloriana.

Ketis had joined her as well to act as an assistant while they examined Williamʼs properties.

The mech pilot wearily underwent numerous tests, some of which pushed him to exhaustion, while others inflicted a lot of pain.

Gloriana needed as much data as possible. A lot of lab equipment she brought in werenʼt dedicated to the study of exotics or anything directly related to mechs.

Instead, they were dedicated to examining mech pilots.

”How is it going, Gloriana?”

”I still need another day.”

”You may have to wait.”

”Why so?” She turned to him with a questioning eye.

”Because I intend to start his treatment immediately.” Ves grinned.

”Oh? How can you possibly treat his condition? Even the Rim Guardians failed!”

”I have my ways. You may not be aware, but I happen to possess a fair amount of experience in experimenting with peopleʼs heads.”

His eyes carried the familiar glint reserved for test subjects.