The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5710 A New Legacy

Alexa Streon-Larkinson fabricated her first true living mechs by herself.

She combined both skill and passion to bring her vision to life one part at a time.

She worked on both mechs concurrently so that she completed them both in quick succession.

As the male and female variants of a special second-class rifleman mech design took shape in front of Ves and their maker, the two machines immediately radiated the characteristic presence of living entities.

"They are alive." Ves quickly concluded. "Congratulations, Alexa. You have fully graduated from my class on how to design and make a true living mech. The effort that you have put in your work in the last few days has fully proven your ability to understand the essence of my design philosophy and adapt it in a way to make it yours. This shows that you have the qualifications to proceed forward in your chosen direction. It is not enough to master my theories and techniques. A true mech designer is a pioneer, a visionary and an explorer who does not hesitate to push a new direction in our industry, not because it will bring you glory, but because you believe with all of your heart that your grandfather and many other mech pilots will benefit endlessly from your unique contributions."

As her mentor spoke, Alexa continued to undergo a subtle but profound spiritual sublimation.

This was the first time Ves was able to witness the breakthrough of an Apprentice Mech Designer so close and in such an intimate setting.

It was fascinating how a mysterious force drove the transformation of Alexa's design philosophy from a set of intangible ideas to a real spiritual seed.

Ves had experienced this transformation himself, and it was magical to see it happen to a student under his tutelage.

The process was the same. Though Ves could not perceive the mysterious force, he knew without needing to guess that it was the Red Kingdom exerting its influence over a mech designer it had deemed worthy according to an unknown set of criteria.

It may have been possible for Alexa to break through as a Journeyman Mech Designer if she tried to do it herself.

However, there were way too many variables that could go awry in the process. Alexa had never engaged in active cultivation in her life, and even if she was able to perceive the imaginary realm through her companion spirit, her lack of knowledge and experience in this dangerous sphere increased the likelihood that she would botch the process and suffer cultivation deviation.

The existence of the Red Kingdom made these breakthroughs a lot easier and safer. People only broke through when they were absolutely ready, and the powerful assistance was far more competent and proficient in helping people attain a higher life level.

Ves learned numerous useful insights about mech designers and the operation of the Red Kingdom through his observations.

As Alexa continued to undergo her silent sublimation, Ves also noticed that parts of the thoughts and emotions in her mind got sucked into her growing design seed as well.

This reduced its purity, but also bound it closer to Alexa.

Ves used to believe that the absorption of irrelevant factors contaminated the design seed in an undesirable fashion, but now he held a different opinion.

The Red Kingdom shouldn't be so stupid to overlook this factor. Since it had allowed this process to happen, then there had to be good reasons why this was the case.

The moment mech designers broke through was often one of the best moments of their lives.

By absorbing the prevailing elements that were lingering in their minds, their design philosophy became intertwined with the factors that closely aligned with their passion, their drive and their sense of accomplishment.

Mech design was both an art and a science. It was more than a clinical approach to designing a mech. Ves believed that it was also an art in which the creator's desires and emotions infused a spirit of their own making into a work.

No AI or set of algorithms were able to replicate this unique ritual that was intrinsic to life. It was the key factor that justified the existence of the mech designer profession, and now Alexa had become a part of the exclusive gathering of people who shared a common goal and interest.

As the formation of Alexa's design seed came to completion, it began to radiate invisible energy waves that propagated her design philosophy.

The only beneficiaries of this effect were her newly fabricated copies of Project S1. Both the male and female variants of her most representative work so far seemed to gain a small infusion of life and awareness.

Of course, the effect was pretty weak when compared to the living mechs designed by Ves. They were still comparable to his earlier first order living mechs.

While Alexa was still trying to collect her thoughts, Ves continued to study the characteristics of the S2's that looked both common and different from what he was accustomed to seeing from his own works.

"Interesting."

Ves had only witnessed a few other living mechs designed by other mech designers.

Ketis for example had a penchant for designing first-order living mechs that could serve as effective carriers for her extraordinary sword styles.

Glorian had never independently designed a living mech as far as Ves was aware of, but she had learned enough from him to be able to do so. Her work would probably be a lot more generic and devoid of any special traits due to her lack of specialization in this subject.

The works of Alexa were different from the other two women.

Ketis may have been his first student, but she had already chosen her own path that was radically different from his own. Her swordsmanship and focus on sharpness were the true sources of her passion. Living mechs only served as a supplement to her primary goals.

Gloriana partially cheated her way into learning living mech design. She had little appreciation of the work and effort needed for other people to do what she took for granted most of the time.

Her main reason for becoming familiar with his theories was not to design living mechs herself, but to be able to coordinate better with her husband whenever they engaged in any collaborative work.

That made Alexa stand out more. She was his first 'direct disciple'. Even if Ves had yet to realize his design philosophy, the former Terran woman had nonetheless put in an unreasonable amount of dedication and hard work to successfully develop a living mech without any outside assistance!

This was amazing because it showed that Alexa had the capacity to develop a method on how to design a living mech even if Ves never entered her life.

While the probability of success was much lower than if Ves actively taught her all of his basic theories, her many favorable qualities still demonstrated that she was the real deal.

She was a true living mech designer.

The implications of this statement were massive.

Ves was no longer alone. From now on, he could share his greater ideas with a like-minded mech designer. He could bounce ideas off her that only made sense for them both.

He no longer had to bear the responsibility of carrying the torch of living mechs alone. Even if he died or became indisposed, Alexa would still be able to inherit all of his existing living mech designs and keep them up to date, though she would definitely put her own spin on them to claim her ownership over his old works.

That was not the extent to which Alexa's successful elevation changed the game.

Not only did she add much-needed redundancy to the Design Department, she also became a part of a great endeavor started by her mentor.

As long as Alexa remained productive, she would blaze her own trail and develop their shared field in a different direction!

Living mech design was no longer a spurious diversion of mech design anymore.

Now that Alexa proved beyond doubt that the field of living mechs could be practiced by multiple mech designers, it had gained a lot of legitimacy and gave hope that others might master it as well one day!

All-in-all, Alexa's successful elevation was not only a day of celebration of a woman who sought to fulfill her cherished dreams, but also bestowed a huge present to Ves!

The newly advanced Journeyman finally opened her sparkling green eyes. The light of her strengthened spirituality seemed to shine through them, enabling her to see and experience the reality around her through a different lens than before.

"Myah myah myah!"

Alexa felt so jubilant that her companion spirit sprung free from her mind and celebrated this long-awaited breakthrough!

Ves did not fail to notice that Maia had grown a lot stronger as well. Now that Alexa had formally surpassed the extraordinary threshold, her companion spirit automatically became more substantial and more capable of channeling E energies.

"Is this everything that you have hoped for?" Ves asked.

"It is." Alexa smiled as she cradled her own companion spirit. "I already had an expectation of what would happen if I broke through. I have read through numerous records that described the breakthrough process. Now that I have actually become a Journeyman, I find that I have underestimated the expansion of my senses and the strengthening of my instinctual understanding of mechs. I no longer view my mechs in the same way anymore. Now that I can see the fruits of my labor, I have the urge to go back to my old design and optimize it in numerous different ways."

Both of them stared up to the male and female variants of the S2.

"Your living mechs feel… young." Ves noted as he analyzed the newly fabricated mechs. "Not in the sense that they are just a few minutes old or that they are really weak compared to my own living mechs. They give me the impression that they are… babies."

His student grinned when she heard his remark. "That is deliberate on my part. One of the factors that I think are missing in your theoretical framework of living mechs is a more defined life cycle. I think that the process of aging can add more depth and development to the evolving characters of our works. Your products always start their lives as 'mature' living mechs that are ready to go into action straight away, and I have no objections to that. You are doing your best to meet the demands of the market. Your customers will not necessarily appreciate a living mech that is not able to tolerate action shortly after they are built and deployed."

Ves appreciated her compliment, but it did not do her own approach any good.

"Your works are different. If these two living mechs are going to be representative of your products going forward, then every living mech that you design will start as babies. I don't know about you, but I don't think it is a good idea to put the mech equivalent of babies on the battlefield."

His student did not seem to mind this circumstance. "Then don't. I am aware that they are essentially babies that have been put into the bodies of adults, but this is only a characteristic of the first generation of my living mechs. My works… are not meant to be used by their human partners in the same way as other mechs. They are an investment. As long as my clients and customers understand the true value of my legacy mechs, they will gladly spend the time to raise them, mold them and ultimately allow them to procreate."

Alexa believed so strongly in her vision that Ves admired her willingness to go against the prevailing standards and insist on pushing her own ideals.

However, it was questionable whether her eccentric works would be able to appeal to the masses. There were so many complications to her so-called living legacy mechs that only the most ardent believers in living mechs would become attracted to her specialty products!