[You have received 50,000 Design Points for designing a mech with a high presence of X-Factor.]
"Damn. I hoped for more."
He felt a little disappointed at the grades he received. They were adequate, but far from the point of earning a compliment from the System.
Ves cared more for the X-Factor. His design philosophy was especially geared towards this criteria, so it was by far the most important grade to him! Scoring higher had always been his aim!
It was too bad the System didn't think his Doom Guard's glow reached another tier of performance.
The spiritual counterbalancing method he applied to the Doom Guard was something different, but not necessarily better. While Ves still believed he gained a lot by innovating this new method, it merely added one more tool to his toolbox.
In order to break through the bottleneck of an A- grade, Ves needed to find some way to impart a qualitatively superior glow to his mech design!
He still didn't know how he could accomplish that. He didn't think it was as simple as waiting for his design spirits to grow. If that was the case, then a powerful spiritual entity such as Qilanxo should have been able to impart more strength to his mech designs!
His eyes widened in realization. "It's not the design spirits that are holding me back. It's my implementation that is holding me back!"
He had been focusing too much on borrowing the external strength of other spiritual entities! This caused him to neglect the other factors that determine the expression of life and spirituality in a mech!
Though Ves had improved the effectiveness of his mechs to a massive degree ever since he switched over to basing his mech designs around living design spirits, he suspected that he might not be able to break through his bottleneck at this rate.
Ves needed to explore other methods of empowering his mech design. Pursuing alternate options such as transforming the spiritual foundation of his mech designs or developing the concept of imaginary mechs became a considerably higher priority!
"The only problem is that I don't have enough time." He shook his head.
The fact of the matter was that he possessed a to-do list that was way too long! There was so much he needed to do, and the worst part about it was that he could only rely on himself!
The downside of holding so tightly onto the secrets of his design philosophy was that he couldn't pass on his work to anyone else! If he raised a couple of competent disciples, he would have been able to explore multiple opportunities at the same time.
"It's too early for that." He sighed. "Besides, I don't have anyone I can trust to this degree."
Not yet at least.
Once Ves sobered up, he moved on to inspecting his Status.
[Status]
Name: Ves Larkinson
Profession: Journeyman Mech Designer
Specializations: Spiritual Man-Machine Symbiosis
Design Points: 332,342
Attributes
Strength: 1.6
Dexterity: 1.6
Endurance: 2.0
Intelligence: 2.4
Creativity: 2.1
Concentration: 2.1
Spirituality: 1.9
Neural Aptitude: F
Skills
[Assembly]: Journeyman - [3D Printer Proficiency V] - [Assembler Proficiency V] - [Masterwork Mech Assembly II]
[Battle Mechatronics]: Apprentice - [Knight Mech Mastery I] - [Rifleman Mech Mastery I] - [Space Knight Mastery I] - [Hero Mech Mastery I] - [Light Skirmisher Mastery I] [Custom Mech Design III]
[Business]: Apprentice
[Computer Science]: Journeyman - [Mech Hacking III] - [Programming IV]
[Electrical Engineering]: Journeyman - [Structural Pathway Configuration V] - [Energy Storage V] - [Conductors IV] - [Ultracompact Energy Storage I] - [Power Reactors II]
[Materials Science]: Journeyman - [Crystallography III] - [Crystal Laser Propagation II] - [Lithic Materials I]
[Mathematics]: Journeyman - [Simulations V]
[Mechanics]: Senior - [Jury Rigging IV] - [Speed Tuning IV] - [Mechanical Fault Detection I] - [Fine Motion Control I]
[Metallurgy]: Senior - [Alloy Compression IV] - [Fixed Armor Specialization IV] - [Flexible Armor Specialization I] - [Smart Metal IV] - [ASMAS III] - [Internal Structure Specialization I]
[Metaphysics]: Apprentice - [X-Factor IV] - [Spiritual Senses II] - [Spiritual Exploration I] - [Spiritual Manipulation II] - [Spiritual Engineering II]
[Interfacing]: Novice - [Neural Interface Optimization I]
[Physics]: Senior - [Directed Energy Weapon Optimization III] - [Gamma Laser Weapons I] [Lightweight Armor Optimization II] - [Mediumweight Armor Optimization IV] - [Melee Weapon Optimization IV] - [Polarizing Shielding II] - [Rapid-Fire Laser Weapon Operation II] - [Optics III] - [Ballistic Weapon Optimization IV]
[Propulsion]: Journeyman - [Flight Systems IV]
[Salvaging]: Apprentice - [Field Repairs III]
[Signals and Communications]: Journeyman - [Anti-Stealth Detection II]
[Stealth and Cloaking]: Novice
Abilities
[Superpublish]: Unavailable. Can be activated once a year.
[Inventorize]: Unavailable.
Evaluation: A qualified Journeyman Mech Designer whose products gained prominence for their unique and distinctive glows.
He hadn't looked at his Status for a long time, so there were several notable changes.
First, his Spirituality score had improved by 0.1. While Ves still didn't know how these specific scores were measured, any improvement was welcome. Due to his chosen specialty, he relied so much more on this attribute than any other mech designer.
Second, he managed to make up for his previous DP expenditures. He spent a hefty amount of Design Points to redeem all of the attribute candies for the Larkinson seeds. The 100,000 DP he earned from designing the Doom Guard came at a good time.
"I could have earned more if I didn't Superpublish the Bright Warrior."
Ves believed it was necessary at the time, but it caused him to miss out on a good chunk of DP. The System also denied him a radiant lottery ticket after he created his second masterwork.
He didn't deserve it. Simple as that.
The only benefit the System couldn't deny was the boost to his affinity for mechs. Masterwork Mech Assembly reached the second rank, which reflected the reality that he had become more in tune with mechs after creating the Quint.
Ves smiled and rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "Even if I resort to the same method in the future, it's still worth it. Improving my mech affinity is the most reliable way to increase my output of masterwork mechs. As long as it's high enough, every mech I make can become a masterwork!"
Aside from these notable observations, Ves also noticed that several of his Sub-Skills had improved. He hadn't spent any Design Points to upgrade them. They naturally improved as Ves regularly referenced the textbooks originally owned by Lady Curver in order to develop new solutions to the problems he encountered during his work.
With the partial digitization of his mind, his learning efficiency had skyrocketed. Ves no longer felt the need to purchase any mundane Skills or Sub-Skills from the System. He could easily acquire what he wanted by studying the right textbook!
"Still, some Skills cost way too much time to improve."
This was what he came for. In response to the mounting technical problems he faced in his remaining mech design project, he sought to quickly boost his capabilities so that he could overcome some of the challenges!
Ves not only wanted to solve the immediate problem. This was just the start. In the near future, he planned to design a lot more second-class mechs, each of which would likely incorporate a lot of advanced components!
Once he got in touch with more and more high technology, the demand on his knowledge base would continue to increase. Therefore, improving his fundamental capabilities would go a long way in improving his efficiency!
"It's time to improve some of my Main Skills. I should elevate more of them to Senior-level!"
He wasn't going after the small fry this time! He sought to upgrade his understanding in a comprehensive and holistic manner!