Chapter 6874 Superdimensional Supplements Ves looked down at the solid bars that he had placed on the metal table. He had spent several days in his design lab trying to study the new materials that he had taken from the vault. So far, he managed to gather very little information that he had not already obtained through other sources. "Superdimensional matter is truly confounding, don't you agree, Lucky?" "Meow…" The gem cat did not hang out with the kids for once. He had dropped by his design lab and stared intensely at the metal bars. More specifically, his gaze was mainly directed towards the two that Ves had placed on the right side of the table. The different bars of matter corresponded to the different variations of superdimensional matter found in the Blue Dimension. The structure-grade superdimensional matter was by far the weakest and least valuable of the set. It basically consisted as a form of ordinary silicates that just happened to gain superdimensional properties. The superdimensional rocks were the most abundant form of matter in the 365th dimension as far as red humanity was aware of. They comprised the vast majority of matter that made up the strange floating islands. Due to their ubiquity, a lot of researchers managed to obtain samples of it. Many researchers managed to find out all sorts of details about superdimensional sand and rocks, but none of it sounded particularly relevant. Superdimensional or not, rock was still rock. It made for a fairly awful material for the purpose of building mechs and most war machines. Currently, most people thought that it was best used to make large fortifications more resistant to bombardment. Perhaps they could be used to make affordable forms of infantry or vehicle armor plating that performed well against transphasic attacks. There was also talk about using it as a cheap way to clad the exterior of starships, but it did not really make sense. That was what hull-grade superdimensional matter was for. This consisted of harder and more metallic substances that also possessed superdimensional properties. It was a bit harder and more resistant to damage than structure-grade superdimensional matter. What was even more important was that it could easily be blended into different alloys that still retained much of the original superdimensional properties while also gaining a lot of other useful properties. Its relative abundance made it so that researchers and developers still managed to obtain ample enough samples of this kind of matter. The RA's internal database already included thousands of new entries on superdimensional alloy formulas. Most of them weren't particularly inventive, but their performance boosts were undeniable. Each of them promised better defenses, greater heat absorption capabilities and other nifty upgrades. The reason why this type of mid-grade superdimensional matter was labeled as hull-grade was because it was abundant enough to harvest in large quantities, but also tough enough to use in starship construction. Unlike mechs which were small enough to warrant the use of the best materials throughout their entire frames, starships were simply too large to warrant such astronomical investments. The Common Fleet Alliance and the Red Fleet had to bow down to economic reality and mostly settle with materials that the Mech Trade Association and the Red Association considered inferior. It worked out most of the time because the fleeters utilized materials that were mostly available enough in large quantities that they could construct a lot of sizable hulls without running into critical resource bottlenecks. The fleeters might decide from time to time to invest the best possible materials to develop an exceedingly rare super-class warship such as the famous dreadnoughts, but such investments did not align with their general fleet doctrines. This was why hull-grade superdimensional matter suited their overall purposes the best. Commodore Zonrad Reze had already mentioned rumors about using the initial harvests to upgrade the most critical compartments and armor sections of several dreadnoughts. If not for the fact that these metal monstrosities used up such an astronomical amount of metal, the RF would have been able to upgrade all of their prized vessels into superdimensional dreadnoughts. Despite the focus on using hull-grade superdimensional matter on starship construction, it was also decently useful for mechs. Hull-grade superdimensional alloys clearly beat transphasic alloys in most cases. Only the limited availability of the former combined with the cost-effectiveness of using it on standard mechs made this combination rather questionable. The mech industry mostly thought that hull-grade superdimensional alloys were too precious to use on standard mechs. However, mech designers also thought that these alloys were a little bit disappointing to use in most high-ranking mechs. This was where armor-grade superdimensional matter came in. The properties of this higher grade of matter satisfied many people's desires when it came to incorporating superdimensional matter into mech frames. The jump in performance between hull-grade and armor-grade superdimensional matter was obvious. Few people would object to using the latter to clad the armor of the most powerful ace mechs and god mechs active in the Red Ocean. The Fist of Defiance had already shown that a powerful God Kingdom could amplify the properties of superdimensional armor plating to such a ridiculous height that it could even resist the monstrously lethal bite of an ancient phase whale! The biggest downside to using armor-grade superdimensional matter in mech development was that it only favored certain types of mechs the most. Mechs focused on direct combat and fighting up close clearly had a much greater need for superdimensional armor systems. That did not mean that ranged mechs and support mechs had no use for superdimensional armor systems, but the probability that they needed the additional protection was a lot smaller. High-ranking ranged mechs generally possessed enough mobility to avoid most attacks before they landed on their mech frames. A battle must go drastically wrong for high-ranking ranged mechs to be forced into fighting back at enemy phase leaders at close range. This was why there was so much chatter in the mech community about skipping superdimensional upgrades for god mechs such as the Auto-Coordinator and the Ragnarok. This was especially the case when there were many peak ace pilots that began to see high-grade superdimensional matter as a catalyst for their own breakthroughs! Ves did not want to get involved in this debate. He had his own opinions on the matter, but he would only attract a huge amount of criticism from the opposing side if he voiced his opinion in public. In any case, armor-grade superdimensional matter happened to be abundant enough to use as the main material for the production or conversion of entire mech frames. While it was difficult to manipulate and work with, the incredible performance of superdimensional armor systems made it more than worthwhile for the Larkinsons to incorporate into mechs. Ketis had already done so, though only with the help of the Red Association. She did not possess the extensive knowledge and expertise required to process superdimensional matter by herself. "Then there is the most valuable piece of all." Ves spoke as he wore a thick glove before carefully picking up the densest and hardest metal bar. Weapon-grade superdimensional matter was the scarcest version that people had found in the Blue Dimension thus far. Its scarcity disappointed a lot of people as it also happened to be the hardest and most powerful variety of superdimensional matter found up to this point. It was still superior enough to cut through armor-grade superdimensional matter with a lot of effort. It would be a dream to use weapon-grade superdimensional alloy to clad an entire mech, preferably a god mech. However, there was so damn little of it that it would probably take Ketis multiple trips through the Blue Dimension before the Larkinson Clan could mine enough of it to build an entire mech out of this miracle metal. That was far too extravagant and unrealistic for the Larkinson Clan and any other group. This was why it was called weapon-grade superdimensional matter. It was a pretty clear indication that it should primarily be used to make weapons as opposed to armor. Ves could see why. It made little sense to do it the other way around. The scarcity also played a big role. It was not as resource-intensive to use the best version of superdimensional matter for weapons and more precisely melee weapons. No one made any suggestions about using weapon-grade superdimensional matter to construct ranged weapons. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖 Most firearms did not need such an extravagance. Perhaps an argument could be made if the weapon was designed with bayonet usage in mind, but what sort of self-respecting ranged mech would get entangled at close range? Absolutely no one was stupid enough to design a kinetic weapon that launched weapon-grade superdimensional projectiles. Perhaps one or two powerful shells could be made for god mechs such as the Ragnarok as a final trump card, but that should be the limit. For now, weapon-grade superdimensional matter was solely reserved for the creation of melee weapons, and that is how it should be. It was better to use the best materials for weapons that could eliminate the most powerful phase lords. There was supposedly a variation of superdimensional matter that was even better. Although nobody had ever managed to detect or obtain any of it, the mechers and the fleeters became increasingly convinced that super-grade superdimensional matter existed somewhere in the Blue Dimension. Ves had no idea what clues they found that caused them to make this conclusion, but they certainly sounded convinced. Perhaps they were hoping that the next couple of jaunts in the Blue Dimension might allow them to stumble upon this mythical prize. Ves did not think this was a likely possibility, though. The chances were great that super-grade superdimensional matter could only be found in areas that were more than simple floating islands. It was far too difficult to find something inside this mysterious dimension. Two explorations in two different locations had only revealed the existence of those strange islands up to this point. Perhaps they needed to move to the galactic center of the Red Ocean or an entirely different galaxy in order to stumble upon higher grades of superdimensional matter. Ves did not dare to hope that he would be able to obtain any of it in the short term. For now, he would base his plans on the known versions of superdimensional matter. "Lucky." The cat instantly grew attentive. "Meow?" "You've been wanting to take a bite, right?" "Meow meow." Ves turned around and waved the bar of weapon-grade superdimensional matter in the gem cat's direction. "Here. Take a bite." "Meow..?" "Yes, I'm serious. I don't think it is worthwhile for you to eat the lower grades of superdimensional matter. We are going into war very soon, and I want you to be in your best condition. This is the best version of superdimensional matter that I have on hand, so you must eat and grow." Strangely enough, Lucky did not pounce on this precious bounty. Though he clearly desired to take a bite, he also acted as though he was facing a great monster. The gem cat eventually overcame his hesitation and began to float forward. He stopped in front of the precious superdimensional bar and sniffed it a few times. As his head slowly came closer, he hesitated for a few more seconds before he nibbled at one of the corners. That was all he did. He nibbled off a tiny piece. As soon as the small chunk entered his mysterious stomach, the cat immediately reacted as if he had eaten an entire shuttle! "MEOW!" The floating cat recoiled and did not show any desire to take another bite! Ves had a feeling that superdimensional matter did not mix well with Lucky's dimensional stomach. "Are you full? Already?" "Meow meow meow!" "I see. Well, I will keep this bar in reserve for when you are ready to take another bite. You need to finish this in order to grow a stronger body. Don't skip your meals!" "Meeeoooow!" This was the first time that Ves had witnessed his cat express his reluctance in devouring a piece of metal! Weapon-grade superdimensional matter appeared to be way too much for him to digest with ease in his current state!