The Mech Touch novel Chapter 87

Now that many mech designers and their followers left the premises, the temporary living area received a much-welcomed renovation. The cheap and convenient apartments made way for compact villas that contained room for up to twenty residents. The LIT also stocked the villas with all kinds of amenities, from the rarest teas to the most sophisticated entertainment centers.

Ves only met up with Dietrich briefly before a student guide approached him from above.

"Mister Larkinson?"

"Yes, that’s me."

"Good. Our institution invites you to attend a banquet together with your fellow designers."

That sounded interesting. Ves accepted the invitation and followed the guide towards a palatial hall floating in the distance. A floating conveyor brought up guests like Ves who lacked antigrav clothing to the entrance. As he looked around, he noted that a lot more walkers had made it through the qualifiers, though he reasoned that most of them got carried by their groups.

Still, even if they got knocked out tomorrow, they still benefited from the honor of presenting themselves to trillions of people. With their status as a past contestant who made it through the qualifiers, they could leverage that prestige into wealth and status. No one despise the Leemar Institute of Technology, especially its famous annual competition.

The dining hall was resplendently large. Calm and relaxing music extended from the instruments of a handful of musicians. The main tables offered ample space for all the guests. A larger and more extravagant set of tables sat at the front, reserved only for the masters and the most eminent visitors.

Though the hall appeared simple, Ves recognized the precious materials built into the furniture. Even a cannon shell couldn’t blast them apart. The subtle extravagance impressed all of the designers who came from humble backgrounds.

A small projection lit up in front of him and guided him to his seat. As a noname designer from a remote third-rate state, his seat was near the end. He looked around and spotted Barakovski near the front.

If their seat positions were ranked, she easily entered the top 20. As for Ves, he was clumped together with the walkers and freeloaders. He sat onto his seat without fuss and waited for the rest to gather around.

"Mr. Larkinson?" A woman called from behind.

He turned around to see a familiar face. "Patricia Schneider?"

He had not expected to meet an acquaintance from the Bright Republic. Patricia had always been an enigmatic figure back when he studied at Rittersberg. She was a genius who excelled in every field. Every classmate sighed that it was a pity that she hadn’t gone to study at Leemar or some other famous second-rate institution.

To see her here was a remarkable turnaround. Ves looked around and did not spot any other former participants of the Bright Republic’s Fusion Cup.

"Don’t bother looking around. We are the only ones from the Republic who qualified." She said and took the seat next to him. "I do have to say that I thought you had potential, you’re still a few years too early to compete in Leemar. It’s quite a pleasant surprise to see you grow so much."

Unlike any other designer in the room, Ves sensed Patricia had nothing but goodwill to him. He appreciated her willingness to approach him. He missed the casual candor he was used to in the Republic.

"I’ve grown a lot since the last time we met each other. I always thought my last victory was more due to luck and circumstance. Now that I’ve caught up in my studies, I’m confident I can beat you in a straight fight." _{fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm}

"Is that so?" Patricia smiled mysteriously at him. "Maybe we can find that out tomorrow. You never know. I still have to pay you back for knocking me out before I reached the finals."

"Haha, I had no choice really. My career was at stake."

Somehow, Ves acted a lot more confident around Patricia. Before, he always saw her as an inviolable goddess, whose talent in mech design outmatched anyone else at the Rittersberg University of Technology. With the help of the System, Ves improved so much that his confidence gained a massive boost. He no longer regarded himself on a lower level to the former class princess.

Patricia raised her eyebrow. "I’ve heard you’ve started up a new mech workshop on a rural planet. That takes remarkable courage. Without a large investment, it’s very difficult to start an independent business."

"Thankfully the MTA provides independents like me some space to do business. Without the licenses, I have to do everything from scratch."

Licensing became a popular way to earn income from technology in the mech industry upon the establishment of the MTA. The behemoth organization practically coerced every tech company into releasing their non-cutting edge developments to the market. Also, industrial espionage was widespread at that time, so the inventors decided to legalize and monetize the acquisition of their technology.

The distribution of technology eventually benefitted the entire industry. Everyone had access to a uniform minimum standards. No one was forced to reinvent the wheel anymore. It also lowered the barrier of entry to startups like Ves’ workshop and restrained larger companies from dominating the industry.

After a few minutes of chitchat, they quieted down when the masters entered the hall. Everyone stared with hopeful eyes at these eminent masters. Of the five masters who expressed interest in taking a new apprentice, only four were present. Master Null had declined to attend, probably in order to avoid letting spies record his gestures. Even the most hidden fugitives can be identified if they showed up in public too many times.