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Chapter 12: Duo Queue
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The Mech Chapter 13: First Build
The Skill Tree featured a virtually endless amount of skills. With enough Design Points, Ves could become the ultimate mech designer, capable of drafting a complete design in minutes with his left hand while pointing out the faults of someone else's work with his right hand. Naturally, Ves lived in a world where time and resources were finite, so he didn't delude himself into thinking he'd ever reach that point in his lifetime.For all its merits, the Mech Designer System represented an incomprehensible piece of technology. Sometimes Ves felt as if reality itself bent to its whims. He didn't know how sapient the program was or how it determined its own limits. If one day the System's sophisticated AI turned crazy, entire star systems might get embroiled into war.The System in fact always addressed him as a user, not an owner. It acted as if Ves was just one client who conveniently picked it on the ground. If Ves' father hadn't given him the data chip, the System might have found a wa
The Mech Chapter 41: Sale
As the Fusion Cup came to an end, Ves and Charlotte stood at the side of the arena. Despite their exalted status as second-place winners, hardly anyone paid attention to the two. The climax of the evening was about to start, as the two most talented new mech pilots ascended into the main arena.The greatest show in the Bright Republic practically hammered in that the Fusion Cup was a side event in the end. No matter how impressive their winnings, they could expect to receive only one percent of the attention placed on the finalists of the main tournament.As Ves was never a mech pilot, he was indifferent to chasing personal fame. He'd rather build up the reputation of his business in a more sustainable way."I've got some business to do.""Oh?" Charlotte raised her eyebrow. "Bailing out on me, are you? I was planning to bring you out to a sweet place that makes the best spare ribs in town.""I'm kind of in a time crunch. I've started an independent mech design studio and I'm practical
The Mech Chapter 42: Broker
Hans embarrassingly led Ves away from the private room. "Sorry about that. I thought he'd be more respectful.""I've faced plenty of rejection before. It doesn't bother me to get turned away again." Although he said this, Ves sighed with disappointment. "I'm in an extremely difficult position if I can't find a customer for my mech."They both stayed silent for a moment before Hans thought up another idea. "Why not enlist the services of a broker?""I've already thought of it." He replied. "But I need a large influx of cash within two weeks. If the broker takes his cut, I'm not sure I'm able to pay the bills that are due very soon.""Oh relax. I know a woman who might cut a deal with you. Anything's negotiable. You should really think about it since brokers know their clients best."Hans had a point. Many small-scale mech designers often relied on specialized brokers and dealers to manage their sales and customer support. These crafty salespeople spent a lot of effort building up a net
The Mech Chapter 43: Miss me, System?
When Ves returned to his hotel room, he faced two things. First, a cranky gem cat angrily yowled at him for neglecting his pet all day. Second, he received a notification from his bank account that Marcella sent him the seven million advance for his material needs."Sleep can wait." Ves said to himself as he activated a terminal and visited the Mech Trade Association's online market. He already took note of all the materials he required, so after a meticulous check he put all the items in his shopping list and confirmed his purchase. The seven million bright credits vanished from his account like it never existed."At least I paid for express shipping. The goods should arrive at my doorstep by the time I exit from the shuttle."As he laid down on his bed, he reflected on the tumultuous events he experienced in his trip to Bentheim. In just two days, he put his name on the map by winning second place in a side tournament of the Young Tigers Exhibition. While not as prestigious as the m
The Mech Chapter 44: Birth of a Mech
Remembering that Marcella hadn't gotten back to him about a customer, he called up her number."Heya Ves. I know what you're calling for. The deal has just been completed." Marcella smirked as she said her next words. "Guess how many credits he threw at me to order your mech?""Did you manage to sell it at twenty-four million?""Hah! That's chump change. It's much higher!""Twenty-five? Twenty-six?""Nope." Marcella gestured with her hands to bring up an invoice in the projector. "Look for yourself what magic I achieved."His eyes practically bulged out as he saw that Marcella's customer ordered his mech for a whopping twenty-eight million credits. The huge price figure amounted to a gross profit of eleven million credits if he delivered his mech in time and in good condition. It certainly raised his faith in Marcella's ability. Perhaps partnering with her was the best decision Ves ever made.Marcella tapped her fingers onto her desk, snapping him out of his dreams. "Don't get too exc
The Mech Chapter 45: Mech Trade Association
If anyone first heard the words Mech Trade Association, they'd assume it was a nonprofit trade organization. They weren't wrong, but it deeply understated what a massive influence the trans-galactic behemoth exerted in every corner of human space. They regulated the development, licensing, production, sale and disposal of mechs. Pretty much the entire life-cycle of a mech was in their purview, and they sometimes came to blows in order to enforce their self-proclaimed rights.Even a small, tranquil planet like Cloudy Curtain possessed a local branch of the MTA. As even the Greater United Terran Confederation and the New Rubarth Empire acknowledged the powerful organization's supervisory powers, a small third-rate state like the Bright Republic had nothing to say about the MTA's forceful presence within its borders.The association founded branches wherever there was a sizable population of people. Lots of people meant that at least a handful of them piloted mechs. If left alone, they c
The Mech Chapter 46: New Perspective
Ves personally watched on as the shipping company Marcella contracted brought the Phoenix Cry away. The loaders and bots carefully loaded the dark and red coated mech into a sealed and padded mech container. They carried it back to the spaceport and loaded it onto the next transport out to Bentheim.With that out of the way, Ves returned to his workshop with Lucky. The cat enjoyed the time out, but now appeared to laze away for the rest of the day."You're such a lazy bones."The cat drowsily meowed at him, not really paying attention to his words. Ves scratched the gem cat's chin before sinking down into his couch.Before Ves got back to work, he wanted to rest a bit and recover from his high-intensity fabrication spree. He found it exhausting to constantly pay attention to his emotional mood when he shaped the Phoenix Cry. While he thought his mech successfully radiated the kind of aura similar to the best mechs he saw in Bentheim, it still remained to be seen if it generated more s
The Mech Chapter 47: March of Progress
The inevitable advance of science and technology rendered today's machines worthless and turned tomorrow's miracles into everyday goods.One of humanity's better characteristics was the race's insatiable curiosity of the unknown. Nothing better expressed the rise of humanity better than to track its technological advances. From fire and sticks, the race took a scant blink before it mastered more advanced technologies such as agriculture and forging. A few thousand years after that, humanity escaped the limits of their home planet and spread their presence into the greater galaxy. Each time humanity advanced, it was due to a new scientific breakthrough.This dynamic process of introducing new technologies to the market was not an entirely positive experience to everyone. To the people involved in the mech industry, many companies might lose all of their customers if they progressed one step slower than other firms.The earlier years of the mech renaissance was a wild west, with new inv
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