The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3522

Chapter 3522: Package Deals

"We'll soon be leaving this central star node." Gloriana stated as she hugged and caressed her daughter. "How much progress have you made in recruiting additional Journeymen?"

"Huuuu… guguuuu…"

Aurelia cutely reached out to her mother. The sight of their little daughter becoming a little larger and more lively brought a lot of warmth to Ves and Gloriana.

When Ves sat down next to his wife and carefully took their baby in his arms, he tickled and kissed his little girl.

"Heeeheeeheee…"

"I love you too, Aurelia."

He couldn't wait until his baby grew smart enough to understand his words! He wanted to teach a lot of lessons to his daughter so that she developed into a healthy, smart and powerful woman.

"Ves?"

"Ah, we haven't managed to attract as many prospects as we wish." Ves answered her earlier question. "Despite winning a mech design tournament and doing well in several other tournaments, not a lot of Journeymen have applied to join our clan. I even took the initiative to send invitations to several former rivals who have impressed me, but most of them are already attached to other pioneering organizations. The remaining Journeymen all know their own worth and would rather join a more powerful and established pioneering organization."

Gloriana remained quiet for a few seconds. She slowly reached out and lifted Aurelia from his grasp. "In other words, you failed to make any progress."

"I didn't say that! We did manage to attract the interest of over a hundred Journeymen! Most of them chose to respond to our offer because they were impressed by either myself or Ketis. When I interviewed them, it became pretty clear to me why they sought to join our clan. They think that Ketis and I have a lot of promise and that we're bound to become Master Mech Designers in the future. The applicants want to bet on us and join us while our conditions are still relatively generous in the hopes that they can benefit from the rising tide."

"You don't sound too happy with this group."

Ves sighed. "Most of them are opportunists to be honest. The Journeymen we're talking about are mostly middle-aged or older who are not that attractive to other employers. They've lost most of their drive for whatever reason. I've met dozens of Journeymen who have either become too comfortable in their own success or have stalled in their research. Their mentalities aren't good enough in my eyes."

Gloriana knew what he was talking about. "We need to recruit mech designers who can keep up with us. These folk definitely won't meet our requirements."

"That's for sure. One of the mech designers who have knocked on our doors is a man called Velroyce Sivance. Don't let his fancy name fool you. He ranked at the bottom in the first tournament I took part in. He's a disgrace of a Journeyman and severely overestimated his abilities if he thought he could compete in the High Tide Tournament. Mr. Sivance actually had the guts to apply for our clan!"

His wife didn't look impressed either. "I hope you turned him away right away."

"I actually took the time to meet with him. We only talked briefly, though."

"Why?"

"Because I want to see if he had any redeeming qualities. It turned out that I shouldn't have bothered."

Ves proceeded to highlight other Journeymen who fell far below his standard. The only reasons why he bothered to interview them was because he did not put all of his faith in records and didn't have to expend too much time in hearing them out for a few minutes.

None of the Journeymen he met were diamonds in the rough. They were mediocre at best, and might perform better if they received a lot of support.

The issue was that Ves did not want to bother with helping these Journeymen regain their drive. If they needed external assistance in order to get back in shape, then what was the point of recruiting them? The Larkinson Clan needed additional lead designers, not overgrown children who needed a lot of handholding! _{freēwebnovel.com}

In truth, Ves hoped to encounter someone similar to Ketis. If someone like Mr. Sivance took a wrong turn and became lost, then he was still worth saving if he possessed a powerful specialty!

They were too rare, though. People weren't stupid. Anyone with promising specialties had either been recruited in advance or started up their own venture. Few mech designers who possessed the courage to pursue a difficult or ambitious specialty were willing to work for a relatively small and young pioneering organization like the Larkinson Clan.

"You must have been able to attract more competent Journeymen, right? Not all of them should be as useless as you say." Gloriana guessed.

"You're right, but they come with their own bag of problems."

"Such as?"

"Well, let us begin with our requirements. One of our non-negotiable terms is that any Journeyman who wishes to join our clan will do so on a permanent basis. Once they become a Larkinson, they aren't allowed to quit whenever they wish. If the applicants aren't willing to commit to our clan on a permanent basis, then why should I trust their loyalty?"

Ves already knew he couldn't rely on the Larkinson Network to instill loyalty in their minds. Journeymen possessed so much mental strength that it was nearly impossible to shake their stances. They needed to be convinced the old-fashioned way in order to change their thoughts!

Just like Gloriana, any Journeyman who joined the Larkinson Clan would largely stick to their own values and principles. While Ves had already managed to bend her personality, there were limits to what he could do. His wife still possessed way more Hexer tendencies than he preferred even after all of these years.

"I can see how this demand can repel most interested Journeymen." Gloriana said. "What about the ones that are left?"

"They all drive hard bargains." Ves grimaced. "No one at our level is stupid. They might have personality issues but they know how much they can contribute to an organization like ours."

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