The Mech Touch novel Chapter 5241

Ves had no idea how many benefits he could extract from the Polymath.

He was suffering from a major case of information asymmetry. He did not even know whether the Polymath had been instructed to provide compensation or whether she voluntarily agreed to do this in order to satisfy her own principles.

Whatever the case, the Polymath did not intend to make life too difficult for the young tier 3 galactic citizen.

The Polymath leaned forward. "I can provide you with many possible benefits to compensate for any damages that you have suffered at my hands. The Survivalists will permit me to satisfy your requests within reason."

"And what does that exactly mean?" Ves furrowed his brows.

All of this sounded awfully vague so far. He had little idea on how much he could ask for. Perhaps this was why the Polymath took the lead in this conversation.

"For starters, do not ask me for any boons related to the Red Kingdom. The shade of the Seleucid... has permanently deprived my right to enter the Red Kingdom. I assume the same applies to the Kingdom of Mechs. You are correct in that my conduct was in direct opposition to the original intentions of the Progenitors of Mechs. I accept that a price has to be paid for my transgressions. If I succeeded in my plan, then I would have been able to dictate the rules of the Red Kingdom instead."

That was interesting news. Ves wondered how extensively this impacted her work.

"Will you become any less of a Star Designer after getting exiled from the kingdom?"

"Not in the ways that matter. The kingdom helps with managing disciples, propagating realized design philosophies and more, but these benefits are limited and dispensable to a Star Designer. The life of a mech designer does not end once you have reached this rank." _{freewebnσvel.cѳm}

Ves leaned back as he tried to get back to the topic at hand.

"That is nice to know. Anyway, I have been thinking... is it possible for you to arrange a Battlecruiser Token for me? I am sure you are able to trade a lot of favors with the Red Fleet for this reward."

This request sounded so absurd that the Polymath immediately shot it down!

"Do not even think about this, young man. The Warship Quota Program is under the management of the Red Fleet. The more significant tokens are firmly out of your reach."

Well, at least Ves tried. Perhaps he could lighten his request and get away with a Destroyer Token, but that did not sound too appealing.

"What do you suggest, then? I am not too familiar with what you have and what you are permitted to offer."

"I can award you with a wide variety of smaller benefits if you are undecided. I can also offer you one major boon within my power if you are more discerning. 1 highly recommend you take the latter. The Survivalists who are supervising my action will not mind it if 1 grant you a significant but selective reward. According to my analysis of your career and organization, you are working hard to become a first-class mech designer, correct?"

"I am. I can accomplish this myself, though. I am aware that Senior Mech Designers have to learn a huge amount of advanced knowledge, but 1 am confident 1 can absorb the required knowledge in a number of years."

"The Red Association and possibly our entire civilization cannot afford to wait that long." The Polymath critically responded. "The immense contributions that you have made combined with the promise of greater advancements has turned you into a subject of great focus to our Association. There will be a great drive to help you gain the qualifications you need to become a serious first-class mech designer. This must happen for the good of red humanity. The only uncertainty is how we can fulfill this objective. Independent self-study is the least desirable solution that you can choose. There are much more efficient methods at your disposal."

"You mean... the EdNet. I already exchanged 10 permanent quotas to this impressive service."

"Correct. You should be familiar with its functions. It is one of our Association's many advantages. If you are willing to submerge yourself into the EdNet for four continuous years, then you will be able to emerge with twenty years worth of study."

"Unacceptable!" Ves strongly pushed back on this suggestion. "I am not the kind of mech designer who works best when isolating myself in a virtual environment. My design philosophy can't even properly function inside one. I am much more effective when I am operating in the field. I also cannot afford to make myself unavailable for such a long period of time. I do not have many years to raise my three children, with possibly more on the way. I want to enjoy these precious years to the fullest."

The Polymath's disapproving expression said enough of what she thought about this reason.

"You can reduce the submersion time to two years if necessary. That will allow you to return sooner. You can also bring your family along as well."

Ves shook his head. "Still not acceptable. I don't like what I am hearing about how the EdNet stresses and damages the brain."

"There are methods to compensate for it. One of my breakthroughs is centered around mitigating the damage accrued by increasing the perception of time inside the network. I can spend additional time on applying the latest advancements on our best iteration of the EdNet. I can also apply custom modifications to it that will allow you to push your cognition to the limit to gain the highest benefits from connecting to it. The listed time multiplier of 5 is far from the technical limit of this device. It is possible to increase this factor to 10 if you and your chosen candidates can endure the pressure. Only mech pilots should refrain themselves from using the EdNet at this extreme setting."

That... actually sounded impressive. It could make a huge difference for a lot of Larkinsons if they could quickly get up to speed while only sacrificing a couple of years of their lives.

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