The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4706

Mech design tournaments may not be the focus of the festival, but the colonial government made sure to offer plenty of chances for mech designers to show off their design skills.

Not just Journeymen, but also Apprentices as well as Seniors got to show off what they were made off. Whether it was to satisfy their vanity, test their skills in a high-pressure environment or win the fantastic prizes reserved for the top, many mech designers signed up in droves!

This also included the Apprentices who assisted the Journeymen of the Design Department for numerous years.

"Good luck, Catherine."

"You too, Moltar."

"Would you like to team up, Mayer? I still need a teammate." Vela Tovar asked.

Mayer Torto shook his head. "I am flattered, but my specialty does not lend itself well to any competition. It is not as if incorporating better communication systems will directly make my mechs stronger in a mech arena. You should ask Estelle instead. I hear she is looking for a partner as well."

As the registrations increased, Ves did not stop them even if he had little confidence in their ability to do well. Each of them had failed to keep up with the likes of Miles Tovar and Merrill O'Brian.

Regardless if the remaining assistants possessed spiritual potential or not, they wouldn't be able to take a step further if they did not shake up their routines and open themselves up to radical new experiences.

Besides, even if the Larkinson Apprentices performed shamefully, it didn't matter too much as nobody begrudged them for failing. Low-ranking mech designers were afforded a lot more leeway, especially when they were young.

Ves only paid a bit more attention when Maikel Larkinson and Zanthar Larkinson walked up and informed him of their request to compete.

"You don't need to ask for my permission." Ves told the pair of young trueblood Apprentices. "The two of you are no longer under my tutelage. You are your own person now. If you want to sign up for one of these competitions, then be my guest. The two of you are old enough to weigh the pros and cons of performing in public."

"We are certain, sir." Maikel seriously said. "When you were our age, you already competed in a few tournaments yourself. You managed to grow a lot from that. I think we need to go through this process ourselves. We never competed in a serious tournament in front of a live audience before. The most we have been able to do was sign up for those cheap virtual tournaments that aren't a big deal because everything is fake."

Mech design tournaments were not for everyone. Ves never forced his former students to sign up to them. There were multiple ways to become successful. Gloriana for example did just fine even though she never competed in any tournament in her life.

However, Maikel and Zanthar both took after Ves more than Gloriana. They possessed plenty of bravery and they did not exhibit any fear of the possibility of stumbling and falling.

"We can't shy away from challenges if we want to advance to Journeyman as early as you, sir." Zanthar Larkinson said. "Besides, our mech designs shouldn't be weak. We have learned so much after our graduation and our designs have been getting better with every year. I want to show everyone that you are not the only expert in luminar crystal technology anymore."

"Hehehe, if that is the case, then I wish you luck. I truly hope you will perform well enough to make the public remember your name."

"Do you think that my work will be allowed within the rules of the tournaments?" Maikel asked.

Ves shifted to his other former student. "That is a good question. From what I know about your progress, you have been moving further and further in the direction of autonomous and dual-controlled mechs. I am afraid that all tournament organizers have never thought about your specific case. If they adopt the standard competition rules formulated by the MTA without any modifications, then you will have to restrict the autonomy of your mech below a strict threshold. Most people regard self-piloting mechs as cheating."

That bummed Maikel out for a bit, but he already knew that he had a tough struggle ahead of himself.

"I will do my best to work within the confines of the rules."

Ves grinned and patted Maikel's shoulder. "It may seem that every mech designer is like Ketis, but in practice it is a lot more complicated than that. Not all of us have to narrow our focus and limit our work to our direct specialization. I think it would be a good idea if you branch out and study another field in order to expand your range and versatility."

"I am not sure I can do that, sir… It takes a lot of time to become proficient in a different field. I am already spending a lot of time studying subjects related to autonomy and AIs. I don't think I can handle more without taking time away from developing my main specialty."

Maikel was in a difficult situation. Perhaps his dilemma could be alleviated if he implanted himself with a fancy first-class mech design-oriented cranial implant. His learning speed would gain a massive boost, allowing him to pay a much lower price to master lots of new knowledge!

This was an advantage that many first-class mech designers enjoyed. Knowledge came so easily for them that on average, each of them probably learned and mastered at least ten times as much theory as a second-class mech designer!

In fact, this was one of the main motivations why Gloriana wanted to replace her old second-class implant for a first-class version endorsed by the MTA!

She was being truthful when she claimed she felt it was unlikely that she could keep up with Ves if she continued to suffer a handicap in this aspect.

Ves talked a bit more with his two former students. He not only advised them on the tournaments they should apply for, but also offered general advice on how to proceed with developing their respective specializations.

Neither of them had made enough progress to advance to the rank of Journeyman Mech Designer, but Ves was not in a hurry. They would naturally advance when they had earned the right to do so, and not any sooner.

What gratified Ves a lot was that both of his former students managed to develop spiritual potential sometime after their graduation.

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