The Mech Touch

n why do I feel my design is incomplete? ” Ves wondered as he zoomed out the mech ’s image in the designer.
He felt a sense of incongruity that prevented him from finalizing his design.
”There is something lacking about my mech. ”

This was the intuition Ves had recently acquired when he crafted based on intent.
It guided his actions and decisions, not necessarily making him choose the most efficient routes, but always one that fit.

When Ves studied the mech ’s crest and the red plumes floating out of the narrow slit, he finally realized it.
”It ’s the paint job. ”

The Caesar Augustus came primarily in white.
Jason chose this color in order to echo ancient marble statues of majestic figures.

The Marc Antony lacked the regal air of a ruler.
Ves instead molded it in the image of an aggressive vanguard.
The stately white appearance felt out of place.

”Luckily the standard paints only cost a couple of thousand credits. ” Ves muttered, and went to work in the Designer ’s painting function.

He choose to dye the mech in black, and accompanied it with red and bronze accents.
It contrasted nicely with the Caesar Augustus, and gave his own design an intimidating, bloodthirsty appearance.
He dyed the shield in red as well, and added a couple of yellow stylized eagle wings and lightning bolts in homage to the historical Marc Antony ’s homeland.

Ves stepped back and viewed his mech in its entirety.
The dark colors, the aggressive contours, the red vapor helmet crest, it all combined together in a mech designed for battle.
It exuded masculinity.
Where the Caesar Augustus stately appearance made it suitable to rally its subordinates in battle, the Marc Antony instead preferred to press upon the enemy.

It was time to finish the new design and let the System take a critical look at his work.

”I ’m ready.
Let ’s hear it System.
Gimme your best shot. ”

[Design Evaluation: CA-1C Marc Antony.]

Variant name: CA-1C Marc Antony

Base model: Caesar Augustus CA-1

Original Manufacturer: National Aeromotives

Weight Classification: Medium-Heavy

Recommended Role: Shock Trooper

Armor: C+

Carrying Capacity: D

Aesthetics: A-

Endurance: D-

Energy Efficiency: C-

Flexibility: E

Firepower: B-

Integrity: C+

Mobility: D+

Spotting: C-

X-Factor: C-

Deviance: 35%

Performance improvement: -35%

Cost efficiency: +60%

Overall evaluation: An acceptable variant of the Caesar Augustus.
Though very lacking in its armor compared to the base model, it has achieved an admirable amount of cost savings over the original model.

[You have received 200 Design Points for completing an original design variant of a last generation mech with significant cost savings.]

[You have received 500 Design Points for designing a mech with a moderate presence of X-Factor.]

The System added a new parameter since the last time he received a design evaluation.
Reducing the cost of Ves ’ first real variant had been a top priority for him, and it was nice for the System to acknowledge his intentions and take the time to judge whether he succeeded.
Considering he made the mech 60% cheaper while only losing 35% performance, he had accomplished his aim.

Ves felt he had tasted what true mech designers called pride.
In order to come this far, he gambled his workshop and his father ’s legacy.
he rejected all other career opportunities and insisted on running his own business.

”This is worth every sacrifice I made so far. ” He said as he inspected the Marc Antony ’s design from every angle.
This was a product of his own design.
He could base his nascent mech boutique on the sales of this new design.

The invisible but potentially influental X-Factor was the single biggest draw of this mech.
Ves devoted almost all of his time constructing his mech with a single purpose in mind.
Though not a mech pilot himself, as its designer he felt the Marc Antony possessed a faint aura of aggression.
His customers might not be aware his design could spark the X-Factor, but it remained a minor benefit even if they remained clueless about the X-Factor.

He was sure the Marc Antony could please his customers.
The variant might not feature excellent specs, but it cost 60% less to build compared to the base model, allowing him to set a competitive price if he wanted to drive sales.

Naturally, he ’d have to pay taxes and license fees for every mech he made and sold.
Yet even the crumbs left over was sufficient to reinvest back in his business, allowing him to upgrade his machines and license more mechs and components.
Even better, he ’d gain more opportunities to earn a lot of DP.

”Hot damn.
700 Design Points.
That ’s more than twice than what I ’m earning in a week. ” And his existing sales also kept diminishing.
The apparent craze about the Fantasia variants had run its course, and every young mech pilot that wanted to own a Seraphim, Phantasm or Nomad already bought them.
This reinforced the notion that Ves always had to keep moving on.
He couldn ’t rest his laurels after designing a successful mech variant.

”Also, I can earn a shipload of DP designing a mech that ’s still in use today compared to a hundred prehistoric mechs. ”

It made sense.
Costs had risen while technology advanced and became more complex.
The 400 year old 1-star mechs exercised the knowledge Ves learned in college, but he hadn ’t truly made any breakthroughs.
In contrast, Ves learned much more about mech design when he worked on what Iron Spirit considered a 5-star mech.

With the points he already saved up, Ves possessed just over a thousand DP.
It represented an unexpected windfall, and opened up many goodies in the System Store.

”Lottery tickets, attribute candies, I can even buy a brand new 3D printer for my workshop. ” Ves muttered to himself as he gulped his saliva.
”There ’s even a time capsule that allows me to slow time by two times.
How crazy is that? The System ’s so powerful it can even affect spacetime. ”

Perhaps the System wasn ’t bluffing when it boasted it was omnipotent as long as it had enough DP.

He shook his head.
”Gotta stop dreaming these fanciful ideas.
I ’ve already budgeted my upcoming DP spending. ”

With a reluctant and painful gesture, Ves bought the Assembly skill upgrade from the Skill Tree.
A whoosh of energy burst in his mind as an explosion of knowledge started to press on his brain.
He screamed in pain as he felt information he once read but never really understood become clear as day.
Outside data also continued to stream in, settling into the deepest parts of his brain.

Ves breathed deeply once his brain stopped stampeding inside his skull.
”I thought I did decently in my studies, but it turned out I was too ignorant. ”

Raising his Assembly skill to Apprentice level deeply impressed him of the power of the System once again.
He imagined he went through school as an average slacker, only to trip on the ground and hurt his head, causing him to inexplicably turn into a genius.
He learned so much about Assembly that it put his previous work to shame.

The benefit of learning a main skill was much more comprehensive than upgrading a single sub-skill like learning how to operate 3D printers.
He filled a lot of gaps that fell in the cracks between his increased proficiencies in operating the 3D printer and assembly machines.

”I ’m ready to bring this design to life. ”

Naturally Ves wanted to fabricate the mech.
It was too risky to build up the mech for real, but constructing it in the simulated environment of Iron Spirit will allow him to test his product and iron out the kinks he missed.