The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4644

Of the 1.3 billion MTA merits that the Golden Skull Alliance was about to gain, at least a third of it would go to the Larkinson Clan!

Last Ves checked his record, he still had around 129 million MTA merits to his name. This already represented an incredible sum of wealth, but if he added a couple of million more MTA merits to his account, he would truly become truly loaded!

Ves mentally salivated at all of the goodies he could exchange for. Obtaining a vial of high-grade life-prolonging treatment no longer sounded as ludicrous as before! _{freewēbnoveℓ.com}

However, he quickly sobered himself up. There was no need for him to spend so much MTA merits on a product he already had in his possession. It would also take many years for him and his little family to grow old enough to actually require life-prolonging treatment.

As Ves thought about Master Vayro Goldstein's encouragement, he realized that he should be thinking more strategically about his MTA merit spending.

It was not appropriate for him to hoard hundreds of millions of MTA merits. Letting them rot in his account was no different from self-sabotaging himself!

The much smarter option would be to spend the majority of his MTA merits on goods and services that could strengthen his clan and accelerate its growth. Of course, he could not forget about investing in his own development.

Ves was in the rare position of having much more MTA merits at his disposal than he knew what to do with it. He could easily squander the majority of his gains on a useless purchase, so he was under a lot more pressure than before!

One of the reasons why having a lot of MTA merits was a burden was because it was a high-end currency. Even though it was a made-up token that the mechers created out of nothing only to receive it again at extremely favorable rates to themselves, that didn't stop Ves from playing along.

The company store was the only venue in town. The Mech Trade Association ultimately exploited everyone who made use of MTA merits due to its exclusive and monopolistic nature. Unless pioneers honestly submitted 16 tons of phasewater to the Association, they would never be able to retrieve their souls from its grasp!

"Can you advise me on where I should spend my MTA merits, Master?" He politely requested.

"I can certainly do that for you, Mr. Larkinson." Master Goldstein smiled as if he was waiting for this request. "Let me start by giving you a special offer. We have been made aware that you are looking for better schooling for your children. As a parent, it is only natural for you to wish the best for your offspring."

Ves immediately grew a bit more vigilant as soon as the MTA Master mentioned his children. As their father, he was quite protective of them and he did not want anyone to mess around with their lives!

"That is true. What of it, Master?"

"As you are doubtlessly aware of, our Association occasionally recruits its members among the greater human community. Our criteria are highly variable. Occasionally, we recruit third-raters in order to increase the diversity and representation of our ranks. Other times, we extend invitations to the best pupils of first-rate states to inject fresh blood in our pool of future leaders. Right now, there is one child of yours that I am willing to induct into our ranks."

It did not take much time and effort for Ves to guess which child that Master Goldstein had in mind.

"Are you offering to allow my son Marvaine to become a mecher?"

"Yes." Master Goldstein replied. "I would like to induct him into our ranks without any requirements, but since this is an invitation that falls outside of our regular recruitment rounds, you will have to spend MTA merits to make this happen."

"How much?"

"It depends on how far you are willing to go to invest in his development. Our Association offers different support programs. If you only spend around 10 million MTA merits, then we will induct him into our normal ranks. There is nothing wrong with that. As long as he excels in his studies and displays enough talent at an early age, he will earn greater opportunities and receive the opportunity to become a seed that receives more focused attention. If you are willing to spend more, say 100 million MTA merits, you can not only provide him with additional learning resources, but also give him a cushion against failure. If he happens to fail a number of important exams, we will not eject him right away, but use up one of his cushions first."

"That…"

"The more MTA merits you spend, the more attention your child receives." Master Goldstein grinned like a cheap used shuttle salesman. "If you are open to spending 500 million MTA merits, we can arrange for him to be apprenticed to one of our Master Mech Designers. While this sum of merits is not enough for him to become my personal student, I can refer him to many younger but accomplished colleagues of mine who can take him under their wing. There is no limit to how much MTA merits you can submit to arrange for a better teacher. It is even possible for your son to become an apprentice to the Polymath herself as long as you are able to cover her entry fee."

Ves had no interest in asking how many MTA merits it took to get a person apprenticed to a Star Designer.

He was afraid that by the time he struggled to gather an astronomical sum of MTA merits together, he probably would have degenerated into a complete slave of the Association by that time!

That said, Ves didn't even have any interest in taking up the cheapest option.

"Your offers certainly sound compelling, but… inducting him into your Association will mean that he will no longer be able to stay with my family, right?"

"I am afraid so. From the moment he becomes a mecher, he will have to follow a highly regimented life. We do provide allowances for members to contact their old families over the galactic net. Your son may even be able to go on leave to visit you as long as either of you are willing to spend enough MTA merits."

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