The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4117

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Chapter 4117 Anton Mendoza

"Mr. Anton Mendoza." An official female bureaucrat said as she sat behind a wooden desk. "I see you have graduated from your high school with high grades, with a particular distinction in math and physics-related subjects. That is commendable, but that is only the minimum requirement to become eligible to study at our great institution. In order to determine your suitability to study at our fine halls, I would like to ask a few questions to you. Is that agreeable to you, young man?"

A high school graduate wearing a cheap but serviceable business suit nodded. "I am at your service, madame."

"Good. Let us begin by allowing you to explain why we should enroll you into our mech design program."

The pressure on the student was already considerable. Anton could answer the open-ended question in many different ways, but which one would allow him to raise his impression the most?

This was the most important interview of his life. For years, he had sacrificed his time to study everything he could about the sciences. He did this just to be able to reach this desk of this specific university.

Now was the time for him to prove that he did not spend all of his time in vain.

"I can be a useful addition to your school because I am a good learner." Anton replied. "I may not have broken any records at my previous school, but that is solely because the students who scored higher than me on the exams had the benefit of cognitive augmentations. I applied myself in ways that allowed me to catch up to my richer classmates with nothing but my own baseline human ingenuity. If I gain the opportunity to receive similar augmentations, I am confident I can reach the top of my classes once I start my studies at the Martin Hildebrand College of Mech Design."

"I am pleased you are confident in your own abilities, but that does not particularly make you stand out among your peers." The woman stated in a factual tone. "You are the fourteenth applicant that has reached my desk today and I have hundreds more to interview by the end of the week. Many bright men and women who have grown up under similar circumstances such as yourself have presented the same message. What makes you different?"

There were many mech universities in the Friday Coalition. Plenty of good ones could be found in the Vermeer Group.

While Anton Mendoza dreamed of attending the most famous and the most prestigious mech universities of his state, not every student could succeed in getting through.

The high tuition costs and the long and sometimes bizarre enrollment criteria stopped a lot of hopeful students from getting through their pearly gates.

As a high school graduate who already experienced the disparity between himself and those with richer backgrounds, Anton possessed a lot of self-knowledge about his chances.

The Friday Coalition may be a large and powerful second-rate state in the Komodo Star Sector, but the gulf between rich and poor was still as wide in any other region in the galaxy.

Rather than wasting his time by applying to the institutions where he wouldn't be able to succeed, he chose to knock on the doors of one that offered the greatest opportunities for someone like himself.

The Marten Hildebrand College of Mech Design had close connections with the Vermeer Group's military establishment.

Founded and indirectly run by the Blue Cavalry, the institution received a lot of government support and quickly rose up in the upper-middle ranks of mech design universities in the Vermeer Group.

Though its graduates weren't known for achieving high rates of commercial success in the mech market, many of the alumni went on to become solid performers in the many companies and organizations that went on to supply the Blue Cavalry with military mech designs.

It was due to Marten Hildebrand's military background that it was able to offer generous scholarships, loans and subsidies to its less affluent student base.

This presented a problem to Anton because the competition was high. Marten Hildebrand was not particularly large and rejected a huge list of applicants every year.

The young man took a deep breath.

"I want to pursue a dream that can benefit the soldiers of the Blue Cavalry. From the moment I decided to become a mech designer, I studied the problems that mechs persistently struggled with. I found that efficiency was one of the most enduring topics that came up. This was a problem that resonated with me. As someone who wasn't able to afford the best clothes or obtain access to the best learning resources, I had to be more mindful of how I spent my time and money."

The school official nodded. "The remarks your teachers have left behind in your record have commended your diligence."

"In order to achieve the grades that I earned up until now, I planned my time and budgeted my spending down to the last coalition credit. The habits and instincts that I have developed have guided my approach to tech. Maybe it is too early for me to make this claim, but I believe that I am in an excellent position to apply my life lessons to my design approach and ultimately help the Blue Cavalry's mechs be more efficient."

The woman looked a little more intrigued at this point.

"It is not common to hear that you have already decided the direction of your work should you succeed in becoming a mech designer. I should caution you that you have not come in touch with true mech design as of yet. You do not possess the greater knowledge and perspective of what is possible and where you can apply yourself. Many high school graduates have set their sights on one goal only to change it to another in the middle of their studies. That has led to numerous missed opportunities as they have missed out on electives that could have furthered their progress in their new specialties."

"I will never do that." Anton shook his head. "For my entire life, I have endured deprivation and lack of opportunities. My options were few to begin with, so I learned to appreciate the ones that were available to me even if they did not sound exciting at first. I have come to enjoy these simple subjects. Even if I had more opportunities later on, I stuck to my choices because I am already happy and am not willing to waste the time I put in so far. I know what I want to pursue and I know my position in life. Pursuing greater efficiency in all things is the sole area that I am good at accomplishing, so I see no reason to deviate from this trajectory."

While the school official did not show any obvious reaction to his answer this time, Anton guessed that he may have hit the mark.

He had wracked his brains to figure out how to get accepted in Marten Hildrebrand. After conducting a lot of research, he developed a guess on what sort of applicants the mech design school most liked to accept.

He speculated that Marten Hildebrand probably kept an eye out on diligent, solid mech design students who were stable and free from controversy. The school did not especially prioritize geniuses and prodigies as they were usually arrogant, flamboyant or volatile.