The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4881

As Ves continued to chat with Jocasta Clive, he became increasingly more confused by what she actually knew about him and his contentious relationship with Davute.

It did not sound as if she was anywhere close to the core decision making structure of the Clive Consortium.

However, Ves did not believe that Jocasta was as ignorant and 'naive' as she sounded. He could always sense a subtle air of calculation and utilitarianism around her. She did not engage him in conversation for trivial reasons. She talked with him because it was a worthwhile activity in her opinion.

Still, after talking with Jocasta a bit further about topics pertaining to the tournament as well as Davute as a whole, Ves figured that she was primarily a mech designer who did not spend much time on other matters.

This should not be a surprise. Any mech designer that became too distracted by mundane matters would not be able to channel sufficient passion and interest in their work. It was highly unlikely for descendants from rich and powerful organizations to make it far in their mech design careers if they became too entangled in their family businesses. _{freewebnσvel.cøm}

His wife Gloriana was the same. She had spent much of her time since she was young on learning how to design mechs. Even if she received lessons about the Wodin Dynasty, there was never any heavy expectation that she would take up any major responsibilities within her family organization. Her mother and her other relatives understood that she needed to pursue her passion without too many restraints in order to maximize her success.

Once he realized this, he briefly turned his attention to himself.

There was no doubt that Ves had already become heavily entangled in the clan that he had founded through his own efforts. He fueled its growth and continued to set a lot of policies and standards that had profound effects on the lives of a growing number of Larkinsons.

While he definitely gained a lot of satisfaction with seeing his homegrown organization swell to greater heights, he also could not help but recognize that he had taken more time off his design schedule than he should.

Had he truly gone too far and let all of his responsibilities drag down his work?

Ves didn't entirely think so. The time he spent on managing and growing his clan was not entirely unrelated to his mech design work. A stronger and wealthier clan provided him with much greater support than one that was hollow and lacking in resources.

Many Journeymen who attended the afterparty enjoyed much less support compared to the likes of Ves. They lacked the funding, the manpower, the facilities and the connections to freely engage in research and design their mechs.

It was not that easy to become a successful mech designer. Ves had successfully built up a prosperous organization around him that liberated him from all sorts of mundane concerns that restricted him in the past.

That made him feel a lot better about himself.

He was different from the travelers who came from afar and had no means of starting up an independent business in a highly competitive mech industry.

He was also different from the likes of Jocasta Clive who had access to a huge amount of resources but also became beholden to their family organizations.

In any case, as Ves grew more familiar with Jocasta Clive, he no longer found her worthy of suspicion.

"Where will you work in the future?" He curiously asked. "Has the Clive Consortium made any special arrangements?"

Jocasta smiled. "I have numerous options that I can choose from. Given my prior work at numerous classified research facilities, I can continue my work on important and strategic projects, though I will not have much opportunity to work on my own mech designs. It is a great honor to work for the Seniors and Masters that have earned the trust and approval of our colonial state. They have taught me much, though evidently not enough seeing that I have only been able to attain third place in this tournament."

This was a sector in the mech industry that Ves was not familiar with. His past experiences in the Bright Republic were hardly representative to the much more impressive research facilities owned by a second-rate colonial state.

"It sounds as if you do not think you want to persist in this kind of work." Ves observed.

"I would much rather follow your example and start my own business, but…" Jocasta trailed off her words.

There was no need for the two of them to talk about the many challenges of going independent.

"What can you do, then?"

"I have received an invitation from Master Elroy to become a teaching assistant and junior researcher at the Davute University of Technology." Jocasta Clive regained her proud smile again. "My work and my ranking has caught the eye of the professors of this institution. I can climb the academic track if I wish as long as I accept this invitation."

Academic mech designers spent far more time on research and experimentation than on designing mechs for the market. They also had the opportunity to work with numerous affiliated mech companies to incorporate new technologies into nextgen mech designs.

If Ves already hadn't achieved a lot of success in the commercial mech market, then he would have probably made for a good academic mech designer. He possessed the drive to push the boundaries of knowledge and investigate all kinds of interesting new ideas.

However, academics who were bound by a mech design university also had to follow the rules and the arrangements of that very same institution. Ves could not stand other people dictating what he should work on. He found it even less acceptable for him to become dependent on sources of funding that were outside of his control.

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