"Congratulations, Ves." Jovy said as both of them entered a lounge in order to catch their breath. The meeting with the three enjoys of the faction leader still reverberated in their minds. Ves felt completely out of it for the moment. He did not even notice that a cup of refreshingly hot brew materialized on the table before him. The cup perfectly maintained the precise temperature to optimally enjoy this drink. Ves did not take notice of this because he still could not get over the enormous changes that his companion spirits had wrought. It shouldn't have been much of a surprise for the Survivalists to value his companion spirits and more importantly the trees that enabled mass production. The implications for humanity in the Red Ocean were massive. Countless people's lives were about to change forever once the fruits rolled out in greater numbers. Was he proud? Yes. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 Was he happy? Not precisely. He had plenty of reasons to be happy as a creator. He developed a powerful new product that could benefit almost everyone. Once exotic radiation had done its work and imparted spiritual potential into any red human, each of them could get in touch with cultivation a lot easier so long as they obtained a fruit. Ves deserved a lot of credit for that, but it was not the most ideal way he wanted to be known for. He considered himself a mech designer first and a cultivator second. He did not want his secondary identity to overtake his primary identity! While he did not reject all of the benefits that came from releasing works that did not directly relate to mechs, he had to remind himself not to get lost down this road. He needed to spend a lot of time on designing mechs after this in order to ensure that he did not go astray. He had seen plenty of examples of mech designers who had gotten far too deep into other activities that had ultimately taken away far too much time from their design studios. Fortunately, other parts of Ves were still quietly working on various mech designs at the same time. Both his cyborg leg that he had left behind at the Spirit of Bentheim as well as Veronica back in the Nyxian Gap had spent nearly all of their time in design labs. Even now, they were steadily making progress in progressing the large amount of mech design projects he had taken on as of late. Once he spent enough time on regaining his composure, he finally took notice of his new drink and took a sip that gave him enough of a kick to feel a little more energetic again. "So... you will be accompanying me for the foreseeable time." Ves spoke to the mecher that he trusted the most. "Am I inconveniencing you or anything?" "No. Not at all. It is a great honor for me to escort and accompany a living treasure of your stature. My curriculum vitae will receive a fantastic boost if nothing else. More than that, I genuinely want this. I don't need my Eye of Providence to recognize that you are steadily turning into one of the focal points of the history of our civilization. As you begin to develop more and more solutions from your unique angle and specializations, you will be able to influence the course of the great war as well as trajectories of every human and alien in the Red Ocean. There is no other way I can get into closer contact with anyone else who can compare to you, so this is truly my best posting." The RA Senior Mech Designer indeed looked enthused about this long-term assignment. He did not appear to miss the safety and the plentiful amenities of the Red Association in the slightest. Ves smiled at Jovy. "I will welcome your company if you insist on sticking around my fleet." "I will be doing more than that." Jovy graciously said. "I am not confined to being your babysitter. As your galactic citizenship tier grows higher, you will gain more and more privileges and permissions from the Red Association. The way it works is that the closer you get to the top, the more we want to work with you. What this means in practice is that I will have a lot more room to cooperate with you than normal. This includes collaborating on mech design projects." "What?" Ves straightened his back when he heard this. "I thought that mechers are supposed to be neutral and avoid getting entangled in more mundane affairs." "You are not wrong, but didn't you hear what I just said? The higher your citizenship tier, the more you become a part of our hierarchy and organization. Even if you are not a formal member of our Association, you can be treated as one in many situations that we find convenient. The reason why this custom has come into being is that tier 4 galactic citizens and higher are generally old and highly accomplished professionals who have already made enough attainments in their normal careers. At that stage, they begin to involve themselves more into galactic affairs. Since they have the qualifications to cooperate with us at this level, we are more than willing to lower the barriers so that we can work together with the best of the best." "I see. I guess that makes sense." Ves said. "Does this mean that I can contribute to your mech designs and vice versa?" "Yup. That sounds great, right? I do not think we should collaborate all of the time, but we should explore ideas on how our specialties can synergize together to produce superior results. You can begin to learn what it takes to design first-class multipurpose mechs from me, and 1 figure 1 can learn many lessons from you as well." That indeed sounded great to Ves. It would help his transition a lot if he was able to get into contact with first-class mech design a lot sooner. This was probably one of the motivations why the Survivalists assigned Jovy to his escort fleet. Just as those Masters had already said, Ves was wasting his talents if he remained stuck in second-class. He became more and more eager to move up in society and interact with the Terrans, Rubarthans, mechers and maybe even the fleeters on a more equal basis. Ves called up a list of other rewards that he had put off his mind a while ago. With the shocking announcements from the three envoys, he had almost forgotten that he was supposed to do additional work in order to earn a handsome set of rewards! "I should get this out of the way first so that I can go back to attending more informative sessions." He said. "Good idea, Ves." Both Ves and Jovy stood up from their seats and began to seek out the individual parties who placed the top 5 bids. Not all of them were available as several of them had already chosen to attend other sessions. The patriarch of the Becker-Anson Family happened to be available. It turned out that the older gentleman had waited patiently for Ves to finish his business. "Professor Larkinson. It is a pleasure to meet with you again." The man that screamed old money invited Ves into his assigned berth and shook the mech designer's hand. "I am impressed by what 1 have heard from my contacts on this ship. Is it true that you are due to promote your galactic citizenship to tier 4?" "I cannot say." Ves replied as he began to examine the older patriarch with his spiritual senses. "I think it is a bad habit to count my chickens before they hatch. I prefer to wait until the Survivalists are ready to issue their final verdict." Ves and Jovy continued to step inside until they sat and made themselves comfortable. They did not spend much time on small talk as each of them were busy individuals. The more time they wasted in this compartment, the less time they had left for other productive pursuits. "Please tell me whether my age and health hinders my ability to obtain a companion spirit." The 150-year old silver-haired patriarch requested. Ves gave his client a reassuring smile. "Age generally isn't a concern unless you are already close to reaching the end of your lifespan. Aside from that, your augmentations and overall fitness are both excellent for a man of your age. I foresee no complications due to health and physical problems. Your mind also remains sharp, so that won't be a problem as well. Are you sure you want to reserve this opportunity for yourself? Companion spirits can be excellent investments for your younger generations. Their growth potential is much higher, and they experience so much in the first few decades of their lives that companion spirits can grow much more dramatically as a response." Patrick Becker-Anson resolutely shook his head. "I have made the same considerations. 1 rejected this option in the end. I was unable to bring any of my descendants to this conference, so we will have to seek each other out afterwards, which can set us back for weeks if not months. It is better to fulfill this request straight away. Besides, 1 am anything but close to retirement. A companion spirit will continue to be a useful addition to my family in the decades to come. It is not as if my children and grandchildren will remain deprived. Once your companion spirit fruits begin to circulate within human society, the rest of our family will gradually acquire the same advantages." He was right. After hearing that Patrick was truly certain about his choice, Ves began to discuss options on what sort of companion spirit he should make. "What are my options?" "A companion spirit can provide a lot of assistance in both mundane and extraordinary matters. I think it is best if we narrow down the options by filtering out the choices that you do not want or need. Are you expected to be engaged in combat in any way, whether in person or in command of a mech force?" The older patriarch chucked. "Heavens, no! I leave defense to other capable members of the Becker-Anson family. "Would you like your companion spirit to enhance your self-defense or help you spy on others more effectively?" "No no no. I wish to avoid conflict." Patrick shook his head. "To be honest, I have developed a desire to reconnect our family to our ancient roots. Our bloodline used to be descended from a Divine Blacksmith. I do not have a clear impression of what that means, but it does not take much effort to recognize it as a prestigious title. I would like my companion spirit to help me with deciphering, learning and understanding the meaning of our ancient scriptures. It would also be useful if my companion spirit can utilize what I have learned to practice the old but presumably powerful methods employed by our greatest ancestor." That... was an expansive request. Ves looked hesitant. "Technically, I should be able to fulfill the majority of your demands. However, you... don't have any existing knowledge or experience in blacksmithing or other forms of craftsmanship, correct? Why would you want to obtain a companion spirit that falls far outside your main vocation?" Patrick did not take the hint at all. He stood up and voiced his feelings in a heartfelt manner! "Because it is in my blood! Because our family has diverged too far from its original purpose! Because my ancestor is crying out to revive his forgotten legacy! 1 need this, Professor Larkinson. Did you not explain to us all that companion spirits present second chances? You stated that anyone can pursue a different career at the same time with much fewer repercussions with the help of your invention." "That is true, but you are a bit past the age where that makes sense. This approach is much more suitable for students and young professionals who are still at the start of their careers. They have much more time to explore their new options than an older patriarch such as yourself." "I am not old. I have only experienced just over 150 standard years in this life. I still have several centuries worth of time to restore my family's buried traditions." "...Okay."