The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1088

Before Ves underwent military service, he wouldn’t have agreed to let the Avatars of Myth work as mercenaries so easily.

Yet his experiences during the war showed Ves the importance of both reputation and actual battle experience!

Aside from recognizing the importance of acquiring a good reputation, Ves also wanted his Avatars of Myth to become battle tested. Only at that point would he be able to truly put his life in their hands.

"They can’t be like the Honored Ones of the Reinald Republic." Ves stated to the people he invited. "From my experiences during the war, they are just as well-funded as the other mech militaries, but in practice they constantly drop the ball during actual battles because their lack of fighting experience has made them too complacent!"

Real battles always served to teach the forces involved some brutal lessons. Every flaw and inefficiency in their operation painfully magnified their losses, prompting the outfits to address them in order to prevent the same from occurring again!

Though this decision would inevitably lead to larger expenses and even loss of life, Ves stoically accepted these consequences as the price he needed to pay to raise a competent mech force.

In any case, after quickly offloading his vintage nutrient packs from the Starlight Megalodon, Ves wasn’t hurting for money right now! Regardless of how many Blackbeaks, Crystal Lords or other mechs got trashed, Ves would not hesitate to sign off on any replacements.

"Maybe a mercenary corps will bleed if they lose such expensive mechs, but a personal troop is very different." He grinned to Melkor. "The LMC will continue to expand in the future, so it is a given that it requires more protection. I don’t want to rely on SASS forever, you know that. The sooner we can bring the Avatars of Myth up, the better."

Melkor nodded, though Ves had difficulty of figuring out what he truly thought due to his habit of wearing a large over his face. Even on a spiritual level his cousin was hard to read. It was as if Melkor constantly obscured his real self.

It kind of reminded Ves of some of the people who worked for Flashlight, actually.

Still, even with his murky and ambiguous background, what could Melkor really do? Both the LMC and the Avatars of Myth relied upon Ves to bankroll them both. Without his innovative design work, he would never be able to earn the money to keep them running!

After getting up to speed on the Avatars of Myth, Ves moved on to the main reason why he called them together. He activated a projector that showed off his draft design in full splendor!

"It’s time for you to introduce a draft for my upcoming mech design! Some of you may be unaware of this, but I’m not working on this mech design alone! The truth is that I’m collaborating on a joint design project with the esteemed Professor Corus Ventag of the DCTI! In fact, NORA Consolidated will be responsible for most of the production of this new mech!"

The news that Ves managed to score an opportunity to collaborate with a Senior Mech Designer stunned everyone present. Ves had kept the news close to his chest for all the time, so it satisfied him immensely to see the surprise in their faces.

"Are you actually working with a Senior, Ves? How much are you responsible for in this new design?"

"I am responsible for roughly 75 percent of its design. I came up with the mech concept on my own and it will largely be considered my own design. Professor Ventag is mainly responsible for adding some sophisticated touches to the internal architecture of the design!"

This meant that the design would largely conform to his own vision!

Once they got over the shock that Ves had already reached a stage where he managed to score a cooperative venture with a Senior, they moved on to studying the draft. The rough estimates of the mech design’s spec sheet helped offer the mech pilots present a vague glimpse of its performance.

Melkor quickly frowned as he studied the contours of the draft design and inspected some of the core specs. "This is a space knight design, right? Why is it so.. hefty?"

"That’s because a significant portion of its internal volume is taken up by the polarizing module that I managed to squeeze into the design."

"It kind of looks fat for a humanoid mech design." Jannzi commented, looking a bit put out at the prospect of piloting such an ungainly mech.

As a space knight specialist, Ves valued her opinion the most out of the people present!

"It’s not fat. It’s large and in charge." Ves replied, putting a positive spin on his draft design’s imposing bulk. "My new design isn’t meant to look pretty. It’s meant to offer the maximum amount of protection for its size. Let me explain to you all what the polarizing module brings to the table."

He had already run his draft design through some rough simulations to display its strengths to his audience. As he ran several simulations in succession, the skepticism in their eyes faded a little.

"So the polarizing module you added work just like the polarizing modules found in some second-class designs?"

Ves nodded. "Correct. The only problem is that due to cost reasons it’s not realistic for me to incorporate a miniaturized version of the polarizing module into my mechs. That’s why my mechs exceeds the medium weight class. There is no possible way for me to mount the polarizing module component onto a lighter mech."

"Why bother with the polarizing module at all, then?"

"Because I believe that with the correct use, it can make up for my design’s admittedly plentiful shortcomings."

The simulations already demonstrated the potential of his designs. Against energy weapons and against lower volumes of incoming fire, his space knight design performed admirably!

"There’s one other thing I’m wondering about." Ketis said. "What is this mech design called?"

Ah. The name. Ves thought long and hard on it ever since he first conceived its concept. Names imparted meaning to mech designs and defined their unique identity.

He did not want everyone to start calling it the fatty mech. If that name stuck to his design, then the imposing manner of his product would forever be ruined in the public!

In order to reinforce its positive aspects and downplay its negative aspects, Ves wanted to bestow his super-medium space knight with an imposing name. It could even be a grandiose one as long as it increased the stature of his product in the market!

Lately, whenever he tried to figure out a dignified name for his mech, he couldn’t help but harken back to the events he witnessed during his latest Mastery experience.

Witnessing the legendary unity between man and machine in Eloise’s mind was a completely mind-bending sight!

Through accomplishing compete resonance for a short instant, Venerable Eloise Pelican and her Valiant Warden manifested a colossal energy mech that glittered like stars in the murky space of the Dark Sphere!

The energy mech was powerful enough to slay a giant astral creature and cut an entire light carrier in half!

How could Ves not pay homage to that unforgettable event that he had inadvertently enabled with his presence in Eloise’s mind?

"My new design.. is called the Aurora Titan."

It was a simple but imposing name, so much so that everyone present was taken aback by the sheer daring to call it so. This was a name that ought to be bestowed upon a heavy mech!

To them, they thought that Ves must be trying to add some of the majesty of heavy mechs into his super-medium mech design.

Ves had no such intentions in mind when he named his space knight this way. He used the word titan because it reflected the enormous size of the energy mech. He used the word aurora to describe the glittering lights radiated by the expression of resonance in its most complete form!

The Aurora Titan. It was a name filled with meaning to Ves, and one he felt comfortable calling his upcoming mech design.