The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1288

The quiet journey to Leemar not only allowed Ves to do his homework, but also take care of other matters.

For example, Ves finally judged the Barracuda traveled far enough from Centerpoint to check up on the System. Under Lucky’s vigilant ECM shielding, he summoned his System comm from his Inventory and activated his Privacy Shield.

While he did not have total confidence that these countermeasures would be able to jam state-of-the-art MTA surveillance technology, the Friday Coalition was an entirely different matter. He also activated it during FTL travel, so it was extremely unlikely for their spies to be snooping in on him right now.

"It’s been a while."

Though the System gave him numerous advantages, he did not wish to become too dependent on it. So far, he figured he did a good job of that, though it left him to abandon many opportunities that he could have pursued earlier.

Ever since he met Gloriana, he somehow felt lacking. Ves found himself unable to resist her forwardness and constantly ceded the initiative to her whenever she took charge.

"It’s probably her Hexer background in combination with her current success. Even with her privileged upbringing, she has achieved a lot for a mech designer."

And she did all of that without something similar to the System. Ves couldn’t help but admire her deep down in his mind.

Thinking about her and how weak-kneed he acted in her presence still sent him into an ambivalent mood.

A part of him wanted to be more impressive. He previously thought he was doing quite well enough as a mech designer, so he did not feel much pressure to forcibly upgrade his design abilities.

Yet after meeting Gloriana, the urge to improve himself reasserted with a vengeance. How could he ever take the initiative when he always felt inadequate in front of a fellow peer?

"If I don’t feel confident enough, I’ll just have to improve myself to the point where I can hold my ground when I meet her again!"

Still, another part of Ves wanted nothing to do with Gloriana. He had seen how extreme fanatics could become in order to obtain what they wanted. Falling deeper into her clutches both pleased him and repelled him at the same time!

"What is wrong with me?!" Ves violently shook his head.

If not for her fanaticism, Ves would have wholeheartedly pursued her. She ticked all the right boxes. In her own words, they made for a perfect couple. Yet the way she let herself be controlled by her obsessiveness and compulsions sometimes freaked him out.

"Well, it’s not like I’m much better."

The big question that haunted him recently was whether Ves should accept Gloriana’s affections or close himself off to her entirely.

"I don’t think she’ll like it if I ignore her." Ves grimaced. "All manner of bad things might happen if I scorn such a driven woman."

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, particularly one so capable as Gloriana!

On the other hand, accepting her would not only allow Ves to avoid that unpleasantness, but also enjoy the company of someone he genuinely found attractive and complimented him very well on a professional level.

An important question popped up whenever Ves seriously contemplated growing closer to the Hexer.

"Can I trust her?"

Strangely enough, his intuition was strongly in favor of trusting Gloriana. The woman might have a few screws loose in her head, but her abnormal dedication towards him was definitely genuine!

"The main reason why all those faiths and rebel movements cultivate fanaticism and blind devotion is because it’s the strongest way to ensure loyalty!"

A fanatic was another word for an unflinching loyalist to a certain cause. It simply wasn’t possible to bribe or coerce fanatics to betray their cause.

They were so loyal that most manipulation and interrogation techniques would fail when applied to them. The only way to get them to talk was to employ very harsh or advanced methods, but this usually killed or permanently disabled the fanatic in question.

Although Ves felt a little uncomfortable about it, he did not feel so uncomfortable if he shared some of his secrets with her if their relationship grew deeper.

"It will take a long time before I get to this point. There’s little use contemplating it now."

He turned his attention back to the System.

[Design Evaluation: Transcendent Messenger]

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

Ves merely skimmed it over before dismissing it. The evaluation didn’t tell him anything new. Perhaps the only criteria worth paying attention to was its X-Factor.

X-Factor: A-

"A- huh? That’s a little worse than the Aurora Titan, but not out of my expectations." _{ƒreewebηoveℓ.com}

Any mech design with an A-grade X-Factor was already remarkable. Their only fault was that they were very troublesome to achieve.

He shrugged off the evaluation report and moved on to his Status.

[Status]

Name: Ves Larkinson

Profession: Journeyman Mech Designer

Specializations: Spiritual Man-Machine Symbiosis

Design Points: 276,167

Attributes

Strength: 1.4

Dexterity: 1.0

Endurance: 2.0

Intelligence: 2.2

Creativity: 2.1

Concentration: 2.1

Spirituality: 1.4

Neural Aptitude: F

Skills

[Assembly]: Journeyman - [3D Printer Proficiency IV] - [Assembler Proficiency IV]

[Battle Mechatronics]: Apprentice - [Knight Mech Mastery I] - [Rifleman Mech Mastery I] - [Space Knight Mastery I] - [Hero Mech Mastery I]

[Business]: Apprentice

[Computer Science]: Apprentice - [Mech Hacking II]

[Electrical Engineering]: Journeyman - [Structural Pathway Configuration IV] - [Energy Storage IV] - [Conductors III] - [Ultracompact Energy Storage I]

[Materials Science]: Journeyman - [Crystallography III] - [Crystal Laser Propagation II] - [Lithic Materials I]

[Mathematics]: Journeyman

[Mechanics]: Journeyman - [Jury Rigging IV] - [Speed Tuning IV]

[Metallurgy]: Journeyman - [Alloy Compression III]