The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3138

3138 /7079

Chapter 3138: Yearning to Succeed

Once the seemingly-ordinary second-class frigate left the star system in a seemingly normal fashion, life on the Larkinson fleet went back to normal.

Work on the expert mech design projects still proceeded as normal. Master Willix's visit hadn't fundamentally changed any of the projects and most of the plans related to them. The Larkinson Clan was still allowed to field these powerful weapons, though any thoughts about selling them went out the airlock.

Ves felt quite ambivalent about what had happened. A part of him actually wished that he hadn't created such a powerful means to strip an expert mech of its resonance shield. Without the light beam attack phase, he guessed that he would have never tripped the MTA's alarm.

"Oh well. At least my clan won't have to be so afraid of expert mechs anymore."

Master Willix's judgement had removed a cloud of uncertainty over his head. He had always felt a bit nervous about increasing his reliance on luminar crystal technology. Now that he received official sanction from the MTA, he did not have to worry about losing the right to use it as long as he did not do anything excessive.

The biggest downside was that Ves, like any technological contributor, was expected to continue to supply the MTA with any significant advances he made. Though the mechers promised to grant him additional merits for each significant contribution, he still felt irked at how extensively the Association took advantage of him. The entire scheme reeked of a scam.

He couldn't imagine how much knowledge the MTA received from all of its contributors every day!

"At least I've already gotten merits out of this arrangement."

After spending a long time without completing any missions for the MTA, Ves finally managed to alleviate his need for merits.

His personal account now held over 44 million MTA merits!

Together with Gloriana, the Larkinson Clan essentially held 45 million MTA merits, which was enough to claim 9 out of 20 capital ship slots of a beyonder ticket.

This reward alone was enough to wash away all of his lingering sourness.

"Together with the two free ship slots that the Cross Clan exchanged with me, my clan has a total of 11 ship slots!"

This was more than enough for the Larkinson Clan to get off to a decent start in the Red Ocean. Ves was particularly happy that he had room to add additional capital ships to his fleet if he could get his hands on a couple of them. As long as he stumbled into an opportunity to obtain a fleet carrier or a mass conveyor, he would definitely pounce on it as the fleet urgently needed to reinforce its combat capabilities!

"This doesn't mean I should stop finding ways to earn more merits, though." His expression turned serious. "45 million MTA merits isn't quite enough to grasp the majority of the rights in the Golden Skull Alliance."

Ves wasn't sure how many merits the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan would be able to earn in the next year or so. If they weren't as good as he hoped, then the expeditionary fleet might end up arriving at the lesser beyonder gate without all of the merits needed to leave the galactic rim!

The best way to prevent any delays was to keep finding more opportunities to earn additional merits. Besides, Master Willix was right that they didn't become useless once he reached the Red Ocean.

Aside from offering the usual rewards such as exclusive knowledge, rare exotics and most notably life-prolonging treatment serums, the Big Two also offered many precious goods and services that were difficult to obtain in the current state of the Red Ocean.

Merits never lost their relevance! The MTA and CFA certainly made sure of that!

Once Ves processed all of the changes, he paid a visit to Gloriana.

Ever since Master Willix told her that she needed to contribute to the MTA in order to get what she wanted, his wife had become incredibly invested in her work!

"Ves!" She said as she noticed his arrival. "I need you to refine your work on your luminar crystal rifle further! What you sent to me yesterday is too rough. Even though I don't understand this tech as well as you, I can easily spot more than a hundred significant issues. I've already transmitted my list to you, so get to work and don't come back until you've addressed my complaints!"

"You're working too hard, Gloriana." He said as he approached her back and massaged her shoulders. Her flowery scent already began to tickle his nose. "I know you're in a hurry to please the MTA, but there is only so much you can do as a Journeyman."

"I'm not working hard enough in my opinion." She growled. "I can't settle for as many compromises anymore, Ves, not if I want to earn the MTA's appreciation."

"How do you intend to do that? Tell me you have a gameplan. As far as I know, you aren't versed in any field that the MTA has not mastered as of yet. I managed to luck out by gaining proficiency in a tech that the MTA hasn't cracked, but I doubt you have a similar opportunity."

Gloriana merely shook her head. "You're right. I am not familiar with any alien or exotic tech. I don't excel in researching new tech. So I won't."

"Then… what are you trying to do, then?" Ves puzzlingly asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I might not be as good at researching new tech, but I am confident in my ability to apply existing tech. I intend to work as hard as possible and turn one of our upcoming expert mechs into masterworks!"

Ves widened his eyes. "That's almost impossible! Expert mechs are in an entirely different league from normal mechs. The difficulty is so great that it is unrealistic for us to expect that we'll be able to succeed in our next attempts."