The Mech Touch

Chapter 6967  The Evolution of the Second Skin Concept

Gloriana looked genuinely impressed at Ves.

She was already familiar with many of his successes, but now that she had learned about the hidden role played by the Mech Designer System, she finally understood the full context behind his many accomplishments.

It certainly took the shine off his legendary record. Many of his attainments that previously appeared to be impossible to replicate by other mech designers of his level now seem a lot less remarkable.

However, Gloriana did not respect Ves any less now that she became enlightened to the underlying truth.

Ves may have been an opportunist, but that did not change the fact that he had been the first to introduce living mechs, companion spirits, Carmine mechs, kinship networks and other nifty inventions to the masses.

Not every mech designer could make effective use of the Mech Designer System. Ves did far more than barricade himself in his design lab and churn out one mech design after another.

He remained close to the mech pilots who relied on his works.

He risked his life to pounce on opportunities that had nothing to do with the Mech Designer System.

He built up an entire clan in order to help him propagate his work and share his bounty.

Ves still remained true to his creed as a mech designer. His mech designs directly benefited the lives of numerous mech pilots and those who depended on their protection. No Senior Mech Designer in the Red Ocean managed to produce a greater positive impact on red humanity.

This was not just because of the Mech Designer System, but how Ves chose to engage with it. He ignored many temptations in favor of strengthening his competence in one field in particular.

That made Gloriana think about her own plan. If she wanted to be as efficient and effective as him, she needed to rein in her own impulses and focus on developing a strong and unique specialization.

It should preferably be an area that was difficult if not impossible for other mech designers to keep up with her progress.

If this was the case, then neither archetech nor superdimensional tech were suitable choices.

In the case of the former, she was already quite competent in this field. Doing all of the work herself was definitely slower, but it enabled her to master archetech a lot better.

In the case of the latter, Gloriana lacked a deep background in metallurgy and material science.

She could technically spend hundreds of AP on shoring up her foundation in these areas. She could subsequently wait for the related enlightenment fruits to appear.

However, this would cause her to waste a lot of AP just to be able to keep up with the competition.

This was not enough as far as she was concerned. She would much rather imitate Ves and spend the same amount of AP to develop a unique specialization that no one else could replicate.

Only by breaking new ground would she be able to create an unbeatable competitive advantage.

It would also enable her to introduce new ways to improve mechs that other mech designers had never tried before.

This would not only help her stand out in the mech market, but also allow her to make far greater contributions to the mech industry.

Just like Ves.

Gloriana turned to the other mech designer. "What about you, Ketis?"

Ketis smiled. "My strategy is similar to that of Ves. I have already developed my own specialization to a good extent, so I do not need too much help here. What I am truly lacking in is my foundation. It has been dragging me down for years. Being able to skip years of tedious study is the best advantage that I can ask for to be honest. I have been spending the modest quantities of AP that I reserve for myself on improving my understanding of fundamental Skills such as Mathematics, Physics, Mechanics and more."

That admittedly made the most sense to Ketis.

"What do you intend to do after you have strengthened your foundation?"

"I have yet to make up my mind on that." She said. "I have been thinking about trying to get a modified version of Demoncasting to work. Just like you, I do not approve of the use of demons to empower my works. I believe it is possible to use beast souls as adequate substitutes. I am willing to try and see whether my idea is viable, with or without the use of the Demoncasting Forge."

"I am not as pessimistic as you." Ketis responded. "Beastcasting is viable. I can feel it. The resulting mech or arms might not mutate as extensively, but there should still be a good result. I am willing to exchange AP for enlightenment fruits related to traditional blacksmithing and artifact creation in order to realize my goal."

"Demon souls may be steeped with negative energy, but they are also much more resilient for that reason." Ves remarked. "Beast souls are comprised of positive energy. They work quite differently. While I think that it is possible to use them as artifact spirits, I am not entirely sure that you can match the power and versatility of Demoncasting."

"I am not as pessimistic as you." Ketis responded. "Beastcasting is viable. I can feel it. The resulting mech or arms might not mutate as extensively, but there should still be a good result. I am willing to exchange AP for enlightenment fruits related to traditional blacksmithing and artifact creation in order to realize my goal."

Ves was not too sure whether Beastcasting in the style of Demoncasting was even possible.

Fortunately, it was not up to him to find this out. If Ketis wanted to invest so much time and AP into this effort, then she was free to do so. He just hoped that she would not feel as if she had wasted her potential if she was met by failure.

He turned to his wife. "Now that you have a better idea on how Ketis and I are using the System, it is time for you to share your plan. Do you have a defined strategy in mind, or do you need more time to figure out your development strategy?"

She shook her head. "No. I do not require that much time to flesh out a basic plan. From what I have seen up to this point, the Mech Designer System is able to unleash many possible wonders. I have been thinking back on the enlightenment fruits offered by the Tree of Possibilities. There are several of them that can form the basis of a new specialization that our industry has yet to obtain, and will likely not do so for a long time."

Both Ves and Ketis looked at Gloriana in anticipation.

What was her big idea?

What kind of innovation did she wish to bring to life?

Gloriana activated a projection that displayed a piece of battle footage.

It surprisingly showed the Lionheart in action.

The ace command mech glowed like a hero in an action drama. The Lionheart looked so impressive that it made every other mech look as if they only belonged in the background!

The glowing Lionheart absorbed the admiration and worship of millions of observers. Many people in the Davute System fervently prayed or wished that Saint General Ark Larkinson would save them from the threat posed by the latest wave of invaders.

Once the Lionheart was brimming with light and energy, it surged forward and charged straight at a greater phase lord with a shining lance in front.

The collision generated an explosion of dazzling light!

By the time the Lionheart emerged from the other side, it became clear that the greater phase lord had suffered grievously from the impact. Not only had the radiant charge completely overwhelmed his spatial barrier, but the ace command mech also managed to tear off a piece of flesh!

"When you view the performance of the Lionheart, what do you see?" Gloriana asked.

"Ark being useful for once." Ves remarked.

"The Lionheart is putting its target on the backfoot by relying on borrowed power." Ketis voiced her own opinion.

"You are both correct!" Gloriana exclaimed! "What I see is potential. The Saint General and the Lionheart has inspired me. Combined with the features offered by the System, I have suddenly gained confidence in my ability to realize this ambitious plan."

She removed the projected footage and replaced it with a generic mech design. The former Hexer then added the silhouette of a female pilot inside the mech frame.

A connection formed between the two elements.

The mech gently changed in shape. It adopted slightly more feminine contours, as if the machine evolved to better fit its pilot.

"Both of you are familiar with my design philosophy. For many years, I have striven to make the perfect vessel. I wanted to design a mech that perfectly matches the mech pilot. It is my ultimate ambition to give every mech pilot the opportunity to design a mech that is perfectly tailored to them, both physically and spiritually. This is also why I value my partnership with Ves so much. One of the results of our collaboration is the second skin concept of living mechs. Do you follow me so far?"

Ves and Ketis nodded.

"Well, the example given by the Saint General has inspired me to develop an evolution — or mutation depending on your perspective — of the second skin concept. I have always considered our approach to living mechs to be attempts to create protogods. I call them protogods because living mechs such as the Everchanger and the Lionheart only exhibit a handful of traits that are typically associated with gods. In fact, I was unclear how to complete these protogods. The more I learn about the spiritual side of mechs, the more I realize that physical evolution alone is not enough to achieve my goal. That is when your powerful uncle taught me what I have been overlooking all of these years."

She waved her hand. This caused the projection to change. The silhouettes of numerous more human individuals phased into the image. They did not appear inside the mech, but instead floated well outside of the mech frame.

They grew and grew in numbers. A hundred. A thousand. A million.

It was only after they became so numerous that they crowded the entire scope of the projection that the expansion in numbers had stopped.

What happened next looked astonishing. Many small and faint connections formed between these bystanders and the mech in question. While their connections were a fraction as strong as the one between the mech and mech pilot, the quantity was overwhelming!

The mech began to change to a much greater degree. It grew larger. It gained a golden glow. Its shape changed until it took on the contours of a mighty winged dragon!

"Ark taught me not to underestimate the power of the masses." Gloriana said. "He also helped me realize one of the missing links that has hindered my protogods, or at least my second skin mechs, from reaching the next stage of their evolution. It is not enough to make them completely adaptable to the mech pilot. What I am aspiring to create is a mech that also adapts to the worship of others at the same time! My goal is to transform the spiritual feedback of an entire population organization into the fuel that can transform my second skin mechs into open god vessels!"

Both Ves and Ketis finally widened their eyes as they understood the ambitious idea that Gloriana had in mind!

This was much bolder and more ambitious than they expected!

"This…" Ves could see the potential of this imaginative proposal, but also the problems. "What about contamination?"

"So what about it?" Gloriana smirked back. "Where you see filth, I see definition. You instinctively treat spiritual feedback as if it is untreated sewage, and that is understandable. The mechs and mech pilots that we work with usually possess their own character that can easily be ruined if contaminated by outside factors. Yet that is the beauty of my open god vessel concept. What if I design a living mech that is deliberately designed to absorb, process and effectively channel all of this spiritual feedback? What if it can absorb all of this potent energy to induce an evolution that will gradually transform the machine into the god that the people have desired all along?"

What a crazy idea!

Ves had come up with plenty of unhinged design applications, but his wife appeared to be just as good as coming up with inventive surprises!

"If I am understanding this correctly… then your whole plan is to weaponize the power of contamination in order to create artificial gods. You are essentially trying to convert your second skin mechs into totems that actively invite worship in order to power them up to monstrous proportions."

"Exactly!" Gloriana grinned while clasping her hands together! "You comprehend my idea! That is exactly what I wish to realize, Ves! It sounds so exciting! You have been able to create your own gods, but now it is my turn! If I can take advantage of the System, then the Lionheart Mark II will become the first experimental open god vessel. While I believe that other mech pilots will be able to benefit from this new concept, it synergizes especially well with an ace commander such as the Saint General. With both mech and mech pilot able to empower themselves through the power of worship, I am confident that the two combined can exert combat power far exceeding their resonance strength!"

"That… that is absurd." Ketis said in half-disbelief. "You are trying to invent a mech that relies overwhelmingly on borrowed power as its basis of strength. This is a foundation built on mud. The strength of the mech and mech pilot aren't even relevant anymore. Any weakling can pretend to be a god if he pilots one of your so-called open god vessels. I refuse to believe that there are no consequences to the individual. Subjecting the mech to an enormous amount of contamination will create enormous hidden dangers. Such a machine is unreliable to the extreme."

"This is why my open god vessels are not for everyone." Gloriana admitted. "They should only be used by the most ideologically strong, united and cohesive groups. Think of religious organizations and nationalistic states. So long as the beliefs of a population group remain reliably consistent, then the open god vessels that feed on that worship will also stay consistent."

"What if there are other groups that worship the same mech?" Ves asked. "Won't that lead to undesirable contamination?"

His wife began to frown. "A true open god vessel should never be afraid of any feedback, but… what you have mentioned is a valid concern. Perhaps… I can design my mechs to only be receptive to the spiritual feedback of a specific population group. I should call them semi-closed god vessels. It is not exactly what I originally had in mind, but it should be a much more practical option to customers that insist on controlling the variables."

No matter whether it was open god vessels or semi-closed god vessels, both mech concepts represent a qualitative evolution of her original second skin concept!

The leaps were so great that Gloriana may even be able to rely on this shocking invention to realize her design philosophy!

This meant that Gloriana had just found a potential roadmap that could directly lead her to advancing to the rank of Master Mech Designer!

Ves was beginning to feel greater competitive pressure.

He had not been diligent enough in trying to work towards his own breakthrough.

Now that Gloriana not only gained access to the Mech Designer System, but also gained enough inspiration to discover a future breakthrough opportunity, Ves needed to step up his game if he wanted to stay ahead of his competition!

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