The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5726 Luminous Fire Fey

[Luminous Fire Fey

Developer: Tristan Wesseling, Journeyman Mech Designer

Category: Offensive, Utility

E Energy Attributes: Fire

Summary: A reimagined luminar crystal cannon fey that combines luminar crystal technology and Mr. Wesseling's signature gemstone amplification technology. The resulting integration of the two technologies has significantly increased the potency of the luminous fire fey's damage output while also bringing a myriad of other benefits that synergize particularly well with living mechs.]

The description of the Luminous fire fey did not do it justice. It possessed much more benefits than simply increasing the damage output of the luminar crystal cannon.

Ves did not blame the staffers and assistant mech designers who had been tasked with evaluating tens of thousands of fey design submissions. They could only determine the worth of a third-party fey model by looking at its specs and observing its surface characteristics.

The luminous fire fey defied simple analysis. Ves did not know how he managed to do it, but Tristan somehow managed to develop hyper gems and partially integrate them into his existing luminar crystal weapons!

The consequences were far-reaching, and Ves could not wait to introduce all of the benefits to his audience.

As Tristan looked up, Ves met his old friend's gaze and gave an encouraging smile.

This simple exchange was enough to convey that Ves still harbored goodwill towards Tristan.

Although their status had grown further apart than ever before, Ves still remembered the kindness and goodwill that he received from the second-

class mech designer. It was no trouble at all to give Tristan a larger stage to introduce his work to a wider audience.

Besides, the luminous fire fey deserved to be recognized. It was a rather ingenious example of technology integration, and granted benefits so profound that Ves suspected that not even Tristan understood the consequences of his own work!

"Mr. Wesseling." Ves spoke down from above. "Please introduce your contest submission in your own words."

"I would be glad to, Professor Larkinson." Tristan said and made a short bow before he turned towards the audience. Confidence welled up in his body as he knew his moment had come. "As you can already see, the luminous fire fey is an extensive modification of the luminar crystal cannon fey that comes standard with the Fey Fianna. Despite possessing the same mass and volume of the original, my product outperforms by almost every important metric, from firepower, temperature, beam cohesion, E-energy amplification and more. My proprietary gem technology is largely responsible for this. They can significantly boost the firepower of the modified fey through three distinct effects, which I will briefly explain with the help of this diagram."

Tristan activated a command that caused a projection to appear that displayed a simplified schematic of his luminous fire fey.

Numerous points embedded close to the center lit up in red.

"These gems are the heart of my new fey. They are comprised of a special version of my positive fire hyper gem. Due to their closely matching consistencies with Professor Larkinson's luminar crystals, their addition to the weapon system produces little to no interference. They can exert their effects at full efficiency, which cannot be done if you merely add one of my off-the-shelf crystals to a standard luminar crystal weapon."

The red gems in the projected diagram began to release a soft red glow that encompassed the entire weapon system.

"The first effect produced by my modified positive fire hyper gem is a relatively straightforward increase in the firepower of the weapon. The mechanics behind this effect are… esoteric, but the measurements do not lie. Just a handful of these crystals can already increase the damage potential of this luminar crystal weapon by roughly 5 percent, and that is without considering other factors."

A 5 percent increase in firepower was nothing to scoff at. It might not make much of a difference if a mech force used just a single luminous fire fey, but what if there were 20? What if there were 200?

The performance boost would be equivalent to adding several more offensive fey to the lineup, which was enough to alter the balance of a difficult battle!

Tristan transmitted another command that caused the red gems in the diagram to attract a lot of energy particles from the surrounding environment.

"The second effect of my positive fire hyper gem is that it can increase the attraction of fire-attributed E energy. The luminar crystal cannon fey is already designed to take advantage of this specific exotic energy type, so a greater concentration of fire energy will directly increase its firepower through other means. My gems may look small, but they are so powerful in their concentrated forms that they can potentially double the concentration of fire energy if enough of them are embedded in a single fey!"

That was quite a significant improvement! Although E energy was not the sole variable that determined the damage output of a relevant weapon, having more of it around certainly helped to add a lot of extra oomph.

The gems in the projection began to glow even brighter as its two separate 'glows' interacted with each other.

"What is important to note about my hyper gems is that the first and second effects are not isolated. They interact with each other. The second effect amplifies the first one by a considerable extent, enough to increase the original 5 percent boost into a 10 or maybe even a 15 percent amplification depending on the circumstances."

Perhaps most people would think little of a 5 percent increase in firepower, but 15 percent sounded a lot more serious!

The difference in results became a lot more obvious at that point. Stalemates could be converted into outright victories with such a substantial firepower boost.

A lot more people straightened their backs as they became more attentive to Tristan's lecture.

The previous fey models already aroused their interest as they were all useful in different ways.

However, the third place winner of the Fey Shaper Contest clearly existed on a higher tier compared to all of the lower-ranking entries!

Tristan transmitted another command that caused blue gems to light up in the schematic. The odd gems had been placed closer to the exterior to the weapon frame, making it look as if they were working as a shield.

"The final piece of the puzzle is the negative water hyper gem. While it is partially made out of water hyper materials, the effectiveness of this negative gem is opposite that of a more conventional positive gem. It induces a reverse flow effect towards water-attributed E energy. In other words, it repels exotic energy of this specific attribute and prevents it from contaminating the luminous fire fey."

The projection showed the concentration of water-attributed E energy in the environment.

Unlike its fire counterpart, the water energy particles simply couldn't get close to the fey. The negative gems embedded across the device slowed down their progress and caused them to get repelled instead!

The only disappointment was that the negative gems weren't as effective as the positive gems. The negative water hyper gem was unable to prevent all water-attributed E energy from penetrating the luminous fire fey.

That did not mean the negative gems failed. They cut back the contamination of undesirable E energy to such a large extent that the luminous fire fey was able to embrace fire energy to an even greater extent!

Tristan smiled with pride as he elaborated on his negative gems.

"As you can see, my negative water hyper gem can repel the antithesis energy of my luminous fire fey. This is highly relevant to the Fey Fianna because its base mech and its energy shield fey are both embedded with water hyper materials. They always attract significant flows of water energy, which is not desirable for any fey that leverages the fire element. The standard luminar crystal cannon fey therefore always underperforms to an extent unless it is deployed at a much greater distance from the base mech than usual."

That was not a desirable solution. Not only was it a lot harder to aim the offensive fey when it was placed further away, the data connection between the fey and mech could also get cut off by enemy interference.

If the use of negative hyper gems could reduce the need to keep incompatible fey separate from each other, then this was a handy solution!

Tristan wrapped up his shallow technical explanation. "Together, these three effects can comprehensively increase the firepower of what is already regarded as an effective fey.

Professor Larkinson's luminar crystal weapons are already renowned for their efficiency and their myriad of useful effects. Combining them with my hyper gems can augment their existing properties in at least three different ways, all without taking up too much space or expending any conventional energy. The only major disadvantage that I have to mention is its price. My gems are powerful, but it is for that reason that they do not come cheap. While I am working hard to reduce the production cost of my luminous fire fey, it is still at least 3 times more expensive than a standard luminar crystal cannon fey."

Three times. Many potential customers became a lot less enthused about the luminous fire fey once they heard that.

Was it worth it to gain a 50 percent increase in firepower but pay 300 percent more as a consequence?

The answer to this question was different for every mech force, but most of them struggled with their finances far too much to afford this extravagance.

The high price tag was the main reason why Ves ultimately ranked Tristan's work at third place.

The luminous fire fey was most certainly effective in combat, but it was a luxury product more than anything else.

The Larkinson Clan and other elite mech forces were more than willing to pay a lot of money for a slight increase in combat performance, but there were many other groups that needed to count every MTA credits that passed through their hands.

While the fey were supposed to be a lot less expensive than a full combat mech, it sort of defeated the purpose to make the former as pricey as the latter!

Only those who were lacking in carrier vessels and placed a huge premium on quality over quantity would be attracted to the luminous fire fey.

Ves for example had already ordered the Larkinson Army to look into adopting Tristan's work, though only when the luminous fire fey could be upgraded to quasi-first-class standards.

Not only would the mech legions that made use of the Fey Fiannas be able to burn and vaporize their targets a lot harder, but Tristan would also earn a massive amount of revenue, all without impinging his honor!

As Tristan completed his speech on the effects of the luminous fire fey, Ves took over as he was not done yet with explaining the benefits of this fantastic product.

"As comprehensive as his explanation sounds, Mr. Wesseling has not given you the full story of its remarkable properties. As a specialist in E-technology, I have managed to identify a fourth effect produced by his hyper gems. You see, each fey is alive when paired with a Fey Fianna. This is significant because the power and the growth of every living fey is highly dependent on the concentration of E energy. The favorable circumstances produced by the hyper gems places the luminous fire fey in a much more supportive environment. It can harness much more fire-attributed E energy at once, and it is able to grow faster while it is saturated in this environment."

A few people who possessed a good understanding of the growth properties of living mechs looked shocked!

They understood the implications of this revelation a lot more than the uninitiated masses!

Ves grinned as he faced Tristan yet again.

The former Fridayman looked genuinely surprised as the living mech aspect had been a blind spot to him! Tristan never thought about how his gems would affect the E-technology elements of his living fey!

"This is a fantastic benefit in my opinion. The use of Mr. Wesseling's hyper gems can effectively speed up the growth of any living fey or living mech for that matter! While I am not entirely clear how much faster my living products can grow, the effect is not small!"