THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 6838  Backstage

Resonating materials had long presented a lot of mysteries to mech designers.

They possessed the unique property of being able to resonate with extraordinary willpower of high-ranking mech pilots on a large scale.

Resonating materials therefore formed the foundation of expert mechs, ace mechs and even god mechs.

Without resonating materials, mech pilots had no practical way to tread the path of godhood.

"When the Great Severing took place, each of us understood that our capital to conquer the Red War had turned from an absolute certainty into a long shot." Master Laila Rebecca Devos frankly explained to Ves. "Each of us understood how little territory, manpower and development are in our possession. The native aliens possess too much industry and population for us to realistically defeat. One of the few advantages that we can count upon is that our champions are generally superior. This is why it is essential for us to improve their advantages and enable them to defeat several times their number of phase leaders whenever possible."

"To do that, you need to develop better resonating materials." Ves stated the obvious.

The old woman nodded. "Precisely. We are fortunate that when the greater beyonder gates got cut off, we happened to have the best authority on resonating materials in the new frontier. The Resonance Smith had originally relocated to the Red Ocean in advance because he had become interested in developing resonating materials that incorporated phasewater. Now that our dwarf galaxy has been displaced in the same cluster as Messier 87, he has entered paradise as far as he was concerned. The emergence of all kinds of new hyper materials has opened up many new combinations of resonating alloys."

"Is Mindstorm Alloy one of his products?" Ves questioned.

Master Laila Devos nodded, though not as firm as before. "I am almost certain that he has a personal hand in its development. If he did not lead this development project himself, then one of his many disciples or specialists has developed it in their own labs. The Resonance Smith is a literal miracle worker, but he does not work alone. He has built up an entire network of disciples, retainers, employees, business partners and other allies. Each of them are promoting his cause of developing and producing better resonating materials that can give our high-ranking expert pilots greater possibilities."

"So you are saying that we would have been in a much worse position if he was not stuck in the Red Ocean."

"That is correct, Ves. It is due to the Resonance Smith and his highly developed R&D institutions that our mech industry has been able to gain access to an abundant variety of next generation resonating materials. This is one of the greatest contributions of the Star Designer to our civilization. He has enabled our champions to kill more phase lords and win more battles through his presence."

Her description was not an understatement. High-ranking mechs were one of the few pillars of support of red humanity.

The local aliens may be slavishly devoted to their native gods, but humans were not so different from their enemies.

People were already accustomed to treating their high-ranking mech pilots as demigods or gods!

Even secularists who firmly believed that the universe was made up of logical and immutable laws automatically made an exception in their minds whenever they thought about an ace pilot or a god pilot.

This form of cognitive dissonance was so ingrained in society that nobody recognized that it was a problem and a contradiction.

In the end, it was material scientists such as the Resonance Smith that supported and enabled the high-ranking mech pilots.

While the Fist of Defiance was responsible for smashing ancient phase whales like punching bags, he did not get to launch continent-destroying punches just by slapping raw pieces of superdimensional matter onto his god mech.

It took a Star Designer to develop the right means to enhance the god mech with superdimensional matter in record time!

The Resonance Smith was undoubtedly responsible for processing armor-grade and weapon-grade superdimensional matter into a processed alloy that enabled the god pilot to fight a hearty battle while outnumbered!

The Star Designer's contribution was not as obvious as that of a flashy and powerful god pilot, but the former definitely received the recognition that he was due from the people that mattered.

"The reason why I brought up the Resonance Smith is because any product that is released under his watch is not simple." The Terran Master told Ves. "Mindstorm Alloy is the first resonating material that incorporates the power of rare mind-attributed hyper materials. Even if they do not consist of Mentalist Crystals, any hyper material that directly affects the mind has interesting properties, much of which we do not fully understand. This may be why the Resonance Smith has developed an interest in its usage."

Ves picked up a clue from her words.

"Are you saying that the Resonance Smith may pay attention to the Minerva Mark II?"

"I would be surprised if he ignored this wonderful ace mech of yours. The combination between Mindstorm Alloy and an ace commander may produce multiple unexpected interactions and synergies. You have made the correct decision to include it into Mark II."

Interesting.

If Ves was lucky, the Resonance Smith would begin to develop a better appreciation of him and his clan.

It was not unusual for mech designers to become 'fans' as they continued to track the exploits of their favorite mechs and mech pilots.

This sort of behavior was no different from people supporting their favorite mech athletes or sports teams.

So long as the fans in question developed a strong enough emotional connection to the objects of their admiration, these people were willing to provide plenty of support in order to win!

Perhaps the Minerva Mark II may be a way for Ves to establish contact with the Resonance Smith.

On his own, Ves was still not qualified to speak directly to Star Designers. He had to rely on special measures in order to communicate directly with them. He was confident that he could extract benefits from them so long as he had an opportunity to make his case.

It was a pity that Star Designers deliberately kept their distance from him. They were doing it for his own good, as receiving too much help from the top of the mech designer progression may cause him to stall in his own progression.

Ves did not entirely agree with this premise. His specialization was so different from that of anyone else that he doubted that any Star Designer could substitute his work.

Receiving help from Star Designers may cause him to stagnate in other ways, but he was willing to take the risk if it strengthened his chances to survive and thrive in the turbulent future!

After Ves concluded his insightful chat with Master Laila Devos, he bid her goodbye and moved over to the most important people in the busy workshop.

"Are you guys ready for the big show?" Ves asked.

Alexa pointed off to the side. "As you can see, Gloriana is proceeding with her own pre-work ritual."

Just like before, Gloriana spent her time to shower her children with love and also pray in front of an altar of the Superior Mother.

Ves rolled his eyes when he saw her bend her knees in order to worship the avatar of Cynthia Larkinson.

He just could not understand the logic behind worshiping the Superior Mother when Gloriana should obviously know better.

"Hexers." Ves said in an exasperated tone.

Everyone else tactfully ignored that remark.

"Viktor, Beatrice." He called up the names of the two Journeyman Mech Designers who participated in the Minerva Mark II Project. "The upgrade project will require substantial contributions from the two of you. Are you familiar enough with archetech to be able to assist us in our work?"

Both Viktor MacMillan and Beatrice Hendrix appeared a little nervous.

This was not the first time they had been entrusted with greater responsibilities in the Larkinson Clan, but they were still relatively inexperienced and lacking in confidence.

"We have spoken extensively with Gloriana on the limited work that we are responsible for doing." Viktor explained. "We are mostly tasked with the limited fabrication of non-archemetal components and assembly work. She will pay close attention to our work and may decide to increase or decrease our workload depending on how well we perform."

"Are you confident that you can do the work that is expected of you?" Ves asked them both.

Beatrice nodded. "Yes. My familiarity with archetech has improved. Since I started work on the Battle Skirt System of the Minerva Mark II, I developed an increasing interest in archetech after learning how well it synergizes with my design philosophy. Gloriana has personally taught me the comprehensive knowledge needed to become proficient in archetech. I have yet to digest all of her lessons, but I am further ahead than most in the Design Department. Mastering archetech has become one of my new goals."

Ves was glad that Beatrice had developed a strong interest in archetech. Perhaps she might be one of the growing number of mech designers that could share Gloriana's heavy burden in the future.

Viktor MacMillan sounded less confident than his fellow Journeyman. "I will do my best, but do not hold high expectations. My studies in archetech has progressed slowly. I am not that interested in mastering a new alien mech architecture because it bears no direct relation to my specialization. I am an energy shield specialist."

"That is okay, Viktor. We do not hold high expectations for your work. Just do what you can, and tell us if you think you are getting overwhelmed."

It was not reasonable to ask anything more from Viktor. Archetech was undoubtedly useful, but the difficulty of becoming proficient in it was too great.

Only mech designer who benefited directly from the advantages of archetech had the motivation to overcome this massive obstacle. Gloriana was one of them and it sounded as if Beatrice would follow suit.

Ves turned to Alexa. "What about you? Your specialization doesn't directly relate to archetech, but you should have enough time to get started."

"I have studied it for the purpose of being able to participate in projects like this." She responded. "Do not expect me to do more. Archetech will only complicate my personal mech design projects. Rather than trying to master archetech myself, I am better off if I cooperate with those who have stronger reasons to design archemechs. Speaking about this, I would like to talk to you in private about a project that we have discussed not too long ago. A new development has taken place that presents our clan with a risky but promising opportunity."

"Is it about the juggernaut?" Ves guessed.

"Yes. Ordinarily, I wouldn't mention it in order to avoid distracting you, but given the circumstances, it is better if you can issue your response with minimal delay."

That sounded important enough for Ves to address it right away. He trusted Alexa not to waste his time on trivial matters.

"If that is what you want, then let's head to one of the nearby offices and talk."

They did just that. Neither of the two bothered to sit as they knew this wouldn't be a long conversation.

"Tell it to me straight." Ves commanded as he crossed his arms.

"Do you remember that my proposed refit for the Otalon Sprius includes the Doomaxe?" Alexa asked. "My sketch for this weapon was still rudimentary when I showed it to you. In order to develop a proper version of this weapon, I contacted Venerable Kolak Glendale and solicited his advice on the requirements of an axe that is suitable to be wielded by a 350-meter juggernaut."

"How did he respond?"

"He wants in." The former Terran replied.

"What?"

"He wants… to pilot an axe-wielding juggernaut." Alexa explained. "He doesn't want to consult on my refit project. He wants to claim the Otalon Sprius for himself. In his words, he wants us to merge his Greenaxe with the Otalon Sprius and pilot the resulting fusion into battle!"

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