The Mech Touch novel Chapter 645

"A test, huh?"

After his conversation with Mayra, Ves wasted little time. He dove into the design documents and identified five different mech designs. All of them appeared to come from the Skull Architect’s hand.

"Compared to the test I’ve given to Ketis, this one is a lot harder."

Because Ves only needed to fill in the gaps, he didn’t have to spend too much time on this test. Yet the missing areas all happened to represent the key structures in the design schematic. Filling them in directly tested his understanding and his style on the functioning of key components such as the engine, the power reactor, the internal architecture and more.

Every mech designer formed their own brand of solutions to the problems. Even though the exact parameters of their proposals might vary a little depending on what time they took the test or what their mood was like, in essence any single attempt would serve as a decent snapshot of their ability. The details might vary, but the broad strokes would always be the same.

Even if a pair of mech designers attended the exact same classes and studied the same textbooks, their design outcomes definitely differed drastically due to differences in their background, attitude and preferences.

"A mech designer’s imagination isn’t limitless. But it’s enough to design billions of mechs, if not trillions."

To design a mech was to make a choice out of those nearly limitless possibilities. Knowledge expanded the range of possible design outcomes, but it took skill and experience to pick the better ones from a crowd of bad ones.

Before he tackled the test, he considered the nature of the test. Ves didn’t forget about his primary objective. "I need to impress the Skull Architect in order to gain his favor. I can’t go too far, otherwise he’ll develop an unhealthy interest in my specialty. However, if I want to pry off his research on stealth tech from his grasp, I have to stand out from the crowd."

He grew a headache at the thought of balancing these opposing concerns. If he held too much back, then the Skull Architect wouldn’t waste his time with Ves. If he revealed too much, then the next thing his brains might be cut from his body and be put in a jar for the Skull Architect to interrogate at his leisure!

It sounded like hyperbole, but Ves knew that the Skull Architect was truly capable and willing to resort to such extremes!

"This is the problem with obsessive researchers. You can’t predict when they’ll tip over from obsession into madness."

Ves regarded himself as a minor authority on this matter. Not only did he escape from Doctor Jutland’s care, he also developed an early onset of obsessive behavior. So far, it was harmless to Ves, but it might grow to a serious compulsion in the future.

He had a theory that all the mental attribute changes was to blame.

In any case, his familiarity with this issue gave him a good insight on the Skull Architect’s perspective.

"The Skull Architect cares more about his projects than his relationships with others. He’s even impatient to one of his former students."

This spoke of a personality that emphasized efficiency and utility. This wasn’t unusual among mech designers. They needed to be fast and meticulous in their work.

Usually, balancing the two was impossible. One could either be fast but sloppy, or slow but meticulous. It took pure skill and dedication to elevate both at the same time. Someone who reached the rank of Senior was definitely a hard worker.

"Still, it sounds like the Skull Architect is severely affected by this condition. He sounds much more unreasonable than some of the others Seniors that I know of. Not that I met many of them, but the contrast is stark."

Two Senior Mech Designers stood out in his recent memory. The first one he had a conversation with was Horatio. The man should have enjoyed a lot of renown with his rank and ability, but for some reason he was content to play butler to Master Olson. Unlike the Skull Architect, Horatio always acted friendly and patient.

The second Senior he came into touch with was the old and faded Professor Velten. As the only Senior Mech Designer of the Flagrant Vandals, she was long past her prime and she had no business of leading the mech designers of an entire mech regiment by herself. Still, she was better than nothing, as hardly any Seniors wanted to work with the Vandals.

While Professor Velten treated her time as if it was a precious commodity, she wasn’t too stingy about spending it. Ves frequently got in touch with her to report on routine matters and to obtain some assistance on how to service certain complicated mechs.

Comparing their personalities to the Skull Architect only accentuated his eccentricities. This was a man who cared a lot about efficiency. If Ves incorporated anything unnecessary flashy, costly or time-consuming, he would likely fail the test.

"I’ve got to be efficient and economical in my design choices."

He moved on to the incomplete designs at his disposal. All of them seemed to be lastgen designs, and represented the Skull Architect’s older works that have lost relevance in this day and age. Exposing them to those he wished to test wouldn’t harm his current business activities.

Nonetheless, back then he was still a Senior, so the complexity and abstruse concepts that suffused the designs exceeded the upper bounds that Ves could cope. Strangely though, he didn’t feel too pained when he studied the designs.

It wasn’t due to the gaps.

"These designs are derivatives of more sophisticated versions. They’re dumbed down to Journeyman-level!"

The changes the Skull Architect made for these test designs shouldn’t have been dramatic. It was hard to achieve perfection, but easy to mess it up. The deliberate disorder broke up the inexplicable harmony of the designs, causing them to fall within the range of understanding to Apprentices and Journeymen.

This thoroughness spoke of the Skull Architect’s dedication to detail. He already took every detail into account, and probably expected the same from those who wished to approach him. This wasn’t anything radical, but it told Ves that it wasn’t enough to make a good attempt. He had to do it right without falling flat.

"Hmm, if I want to impress the Skull Architect, I shouldn’t be messing about with things I don’t understand."