Performance improvement: 3%
Overall evaluation: A customized design that barely improves on the original. While it is slightly easier to fabricate and repair, this variant offers barely any benefits. Rare among other variants, this design has not butchered the base model's X-Factor. Instead, it has retained a shadow of its presence.
[You have received 50 Design Points completing an original design of a last generation mech.]
[You have received 100 Design Points for designing a mech with a trace of X-Factor.]
"Yes! I did just enough to get it to work." Ves rejoiced, happy for reaching the finish line just as he put in so much work. The windfall of DP he received also helped. At least Ves received some indication from the System that his attempts to recreate the vaunted X-Factor succeeded. "I haven't wasted all of my time."
Ves waited for a moment, but nothing else had happened. "Uh, System. I've completed the mission. Won't you give me the rewards?"
[Please continue fabricating your design in order to complete the mission.]
Regardless of the Nero Redivivus' inadequacies, it offered the possibility to unleash the X-Factor, but evidently the possibility wasn't enough. He had to prove its existence by making the design come to life.
"I'm pretty sure the mission stated that designing a mech should be enough. Do you just want me to finish what I started?"
It didn't hurt to practice. "I might as well do it. But first, let's spend my DP."
Enough time had passed for his Fantasia variants to sell several hundred times, though their sales trend started to decline. And while Ves only managed to sell the Caesar Augustus and the Nero once, their higher tiers resulted in more DP when they were sold. Together with the DP he received as a reward for designing the Nero Redividus, Ves saved enough points to purchase the Mediumweight Armor Optimization I sub-skill in the Skill Tree.
"I'd rather purchase the 3D Printer Proficiency II upgrade since I still have trouble reproducing the Caesar Augustus' parts, but I really need to learn how to work with armor once I receive the new licence."
It was a matter of priorities. Without becoming more proficient in modifying armor, he might fail in adapting the new armor to the Caesar Augustus. He'd be wasting the valuable license if he botched the design.
He checked his Status again to see if anything else had changed.
[Status]
Name: Ves Larkinson
Profession: Novice Mech Designer
Specializations: None
Design Points: 74
Attributes
Strength: 0.7
Dexterity: 0.7
Endurance: 0.6
Intelligence: 1.2
Creativity: 1
Concentration: 1.1
Neural Aptitude: F
Skills
[Assembly]: Novice - [3D Printer Proficiency I] [Assembler Proficiency I]
[Business]: Apprentice
[Computer Science]: Incompetent
[Electrical Engineering]: Novice
[Mathematics]: Incompetent
[Mechanics]: Apprentice - [Jury Rigging I] [Speed Tuning I]
[Metallurgy]: Apprentice
[Metaphysics]: Incompetent
[Physics]: Novice - [Lightweight Armor Optimization I] [Mediumweight Armor Optimization I]
Evaluation: Achieved a step into novice territory.
Surprisingly, he gained some benefits from his focused research. The long hours he spent reading and watching interviews rose his Concentration by 0.1 points. The scattered but varied theories he learned and formulated by himself also gained acknowledgement by the System, resulting in a new sub-skill called Metaphysics.
"Seems like you acknowledge that metaphysics has merit." Ves remarked coyly at the System. It didn't deign to reply.
Shrugging, Ves switched back to his Skill Tree and saw that the Metaphysics sub-trees were under a special condition. He spotted plenty of icons, but fog shrouded their names and descriptions. He also couldn't spend his DP to unlock them. He wasn't allowed to cheat his way into mastering the X-Factor.
This only underscored its value.
Well, he could figure it out later. First he had to fabricate the Nero Redividus in order to prove his assumptions and complete the mission.
"First, I need to get in the right mindset again. I can't treat the fabrication process as a chore."
He began work on fabricating the new Nero whilst keeping a confident, trusting attitude. This wasn't always easy to keep up for hours. Ves frequently took breaks in order to keep his mood fresh. This caused him to take twice as long to finish the Nero Redividus, but when he finally read through the testing and diagnostics of the completed model, he gained a pleasant surprise.
Despite his fumbling, the Nero Redividus had actually improved. Its construction went a little smoother, causing less sub-standard parts to pop up. This improvement helped along the assembly process, where Ves spent much less time wrangling ill-fitting parts into a whole.
"I'm finally done with this." Ves sighed. He visited his store page, removed the first Nero from his catalog, and added in the Nero Redividus to take its place.
The System finally gave Ves what he deserved.
[Congratulations for completing the mission. The road to understanding the X-Factor is long and bumpy. There are many destinations at the end of the road. Believe in yourself and advance towards the end point unique to you.]
[You have received a 10-year random medium armor production license lottery ticket. Please visit the Lottery page to redeem your ticket.]
[You have received a 200 ton medium armor raw materials package. Please visit your Inventory to open the package.]
Ves was already filled with glee. "My luck's been bad lately. The heavens must surely compensate me this time. Hopefully I won't encounter another pagoda."