The Mech Touch

He even believed that mastery of both phasewater and prime materials may be the only hope for red humanity to resist the arrival of hostile and overwhelmingly powerful aliens from Messier 87!

Although this little experiment did not immediately produce a readily usable batch of prime materials, Ves still saw a lot of hope in the initial results.

He not only noticed that a lot of materials in the storage compartment had sped up their transformation while under the influence of the Everchanger\'s glow, but that they began to form into more energetic and stronger variations!

Ves discovered that higher concentrations of ambient spiritual energy promoted the formation of higher grades of prime materials!

These versions of materials did not show up when exposed to regular concentrations of exotic radiation!

"I see!"

His mother had once said that as the power of heaven became more abundant, the available heavenly materials became stronger and more mysterious.

This meant that it was incredibly useful for the Larkinson Clan to persist in this artificial production process.

Even when enough years had passed for E energy radiation to complete the transformation of all susceptible metals and other substances, it was still possible to produce higher grades of prime materials through artificial means!

All of this had massive implications to Ves and all of his future work. Though almost no one else around him could understand what he had become preoccupied with, it didn\'t matter. He was determined to prove the strength of prime materials and prime mechs to everyone in the clan in time!

With the success of this latest experiment, Ves met with the members of the relevant research group and instructed them on what they must do for the following weeks and months.

They had to supervise the Everchanger while the living mech was cultivating inside the storage compartment and keep track of the ongoing transformations of all materials.

Ves suspected that certain prime materials would never emerge unless the concentration of ambient spiritual energy had grown high enough, so he also instructed the research group to collect many different samples of other materials and stuff them all in the storage compartment.

"Just because they have not shown any reaction in the past doesn\'t mean that they will continue to remain inert. It may be that the current level of exotic radiation has not yet exceeded a minimum threshold." He argued.

Once he established the new processes, he returned to the Spirit of Bentheim with a lot of expectations in his mind.

He understood that passively exposing random goods to higher concentrations of exotic radiation was only a simple method of producing prime materials.

He would need to do a lot more in order to produce a more advanced prime material such as Unending alloy.

However, Ves still needed to learn how to walk before he could learn how to run. It was much easier to secure an abundant supply of ordinary prime materials before he could think about getting his hands on stronger and more potent prime alloys.

As he settled back in his flagship, he took stock of his current progress.

His cyborg leg and Veronica may have made a bit of progress on a number of his ongoing design projects, but he had yet to find a systematic way to upgrade his Carmine mechs by improving their Blood Pact.

He also failed to come up with any solid solutions to help all of the mech pilots make more effective use of their companion spirits if they had any. Only Venerable Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson and Venerable Isobel Kotin made substantial progress in this area.

"It\'s okay."

While Ves would have preferred to get all of this done before the expeditionary fleet started its next operation against a hostile alien fleet, it was not a big deal to postpone this research for later.

Ves still had to take care of a lot of different affairs.

The starting date of the Survivalist conference had moved closer. It would not take long before a ship of the MTA would come and rapidly ferry him to a central location where he would get in touch with a lot of Survivalists.

He already made plenty of preparations for that. This was the best opportunity for him to form new connections and increase his value to the faction.

"Aside from that, the new school semester has just commenced."

Many children throughout the Red Ocean and the Milky Way for that matter had gone back to school!

None of his classes started on the opening day, but he would have to start his first lectures over the course of the week.

It may even be possible that a scheduling conflict might occur. If the anticipated battle against the yurzen raiding fleet happened during the same time he was supposed to stand in front of a virtual classroom, then that would be incredibly awkward for Ves!

Fortunately, the Eden Institute of Business & Technology had been generous enough to offer allowances to professors who became engaged in vital and patriotic duties such as defending human space from aliens. Ves could apply for leave and have his students come back another day, though they would probably hate him for disrupting their busy study schedules.

Ves spoke with Alexa Striker one more time before his first class commenced.

"You need to make a good first impression on your students." The clever teaching assistant advised him. "They have all decided to enroll in your classes for different reasons, but you can expect many of them to hold doubts over your teaching qualifications and the relevance of your knowledge. If you cannot win them over in their first class with you, then they will continue to remain disengaged throughout the rest of the semester. That will negatively affect their grades and subsequently your teaching evaluation."

Ves nodded while maintaining a serious expression. "I am cognizant of how shaky my position is at the moment. I have no intention of failing in my first formal teaching job. Can you confirm that the specific living mechs and other designated objects will be present in and around the classrooms?"

"The dean approved most of your plans." Alexa responded with a smile. She transmitted an electronic document that went into further detail on this matter. "Master Leila Devos has expressed a lot of understanding towards your individual challenges. She too wishes that you can establish a footing within our academic community. However, she does not approve of the more extreme measures that you have planned."

Ves frowned at that. "What exactly did the good dean reject?"

The young woman awkwardly coughed. "Your request of dumping the students into a no-win virtual training scenario where they are assaulted by alien troops is denied. Your request to terrorize your students by subjecting them to the glows of the Ferocious Piranha and the Valkyrie Redeemer is denied. Your request to bring in real firearms to the classrooms and have them fire over the heads of your students is denied. Master Devos has specifically instructed me to tell you that a good professor should be able to convey his point through words alone."

Ves did not disagree with that sentiment, but he was at a disadvantage at this time. He truly needed to resort to drastic measures in order to capture the attention of a bunch of elitist Terran students and obtain their respect!

He was disappointed that the Eden Institute denied his more radical suggestions. He felt that it would do these spoiled brats a lot of good if they got a good scare and became more personally acquainted with the dangers that red humanity faced in the latest age.

"I believe that you shall do well regardless of these rejections." Miss Alexa consoled him. "I have watched your past public speeches and became impressed by how well you managed to captivate your audiences. Lectures are not much different in that regard. You will just have to make sure to hold the interest of your audience for several hours and be ready to offer correct answers if any of them begin to ask questions."

Ves smiled back. "I am confident that I can do well if it is truly as simple as that. I have a feeling that it will take a bit more effort than that to wrangle all of those Terran students."

"You will do fine."

They talked a bit more about other related matters. It had taken a long time for the Department of Humanoid Mech Design to approve of the expansive syllabi for all of his courses.

Ves was frankly surprised and a little scared for the sheer amount of knowledge that every student needed to master. Baseline humans had no hope in hell of passing courses at this level within five years!

This was nothing new for a first-class Apprentice Mech Designer such as Alexa.

"The cheapest Terran mechs can easily cost millions of MTA credits to produce. Our customer base always demands the best and the sound products from our mech companies. If an aspiring mech designer does not have any hope of meeting the exacting requirements of their customers and clients, then they should make way for those that are more prepared to meet this challenge."

Ves wasn\'t sure whether he would have been able to survive this gauntlet if he was born within the Terran state.

It was not enough for students to obtain a lot of powerful augmentations. They only boosted fundamental cognitive abilities.

A complicated and multi-disciplinary profession such as mech design also demanded a lot of ingenuity as well as advanced problem-solving skills. These were skills that were difficult to impart through implants or straightforward lessons.

Although the Eden Institute was hardly the most renowned or prestigious university within the Terran Alliance, each of its students were undeniably geniuses! They could easily surpass their peers in the second-class mech market if they ever deigned to lower themselves!

It would be a mistake for Ves to underestimate any of his upcoming students.

"Can you send me the records of all of my upcoming students?" Ves asked. "It would be helpful for me to familiarize myself with their basic background and circumstances in advance."

"I have already prepared the relevant package for you. I will transmit it to you now." Alexa immediately obliged. "I advise you not to put too much stock in the materials. Just as how the students may underestimate you based on your background description, you may do the same when you read what is written about them. It is better to reserve your judgment and learn which of your students are more promising when you are teaching them in person."

"Hmm... you\'re right, Alexa. I would probably make this mistake if you hadn\'t warned me about the dangers of developing a bias."

"That said, I took the liberty to mark a dozen names that may be of great interest to you. These students have either attained better results than almost everyone else or possess traits that may cause them to be more receptive to your lessons. I have met many of them in person in one capacity or another, and I have become impressed with their qualities."

That sounded... useful.

"Is it normal for the professors of Terran universities to forge deeper contacts with their students?" Ves curiously asked.

Alexa grinned. "It is completely normal, Professor Larkinson. It is a universal phenomenon that is not limited to Terran institutions. Mech designers such as yourself are especially known for looking for apprentices to pass on your craft. It is completely permissible for you to hold private lessons and tutoring sessions at our facilities in your private time so long as you follow the proper procedures."