Chapter 7100: Heavy Gift The time had come for Ves to recraft the Flower Parasol. It was already a fairly powerful high-level artifact when it emerged from the Wishing Fountain, but it was designed to accommodate a different wielder in a different time. The object was based completely on ancient ’technology’, if you could even call it that. It contained no modern technological marvels that could have vastly expanded its power and utility. Although that could be an advantage in certain circumstances, Ves felt it was a waste of potential. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖 This was why he had been thinking about reforming it for a long time. The biggest problem was that he wanted to do so in a way that preserved as much of its original features as possible while changing it enough to massively upgrade its performance. Trying to balance these two demands was a nightmare. Ves knew that the most important priority was to preserve the rune structure that was embedded onto the surface and possibly the underlying structure of the wooden shaft. This meant that he could not replace it for anything else. That was a big constraint, but one he could work around. As Ves entered his workshop, he took a seat and called up a projection of his current design. It had gone through a lot of changes and evolutions. The latest version already incorporated a lot of new tech and materials that he managed to obtain during his stay in Yernstall. The new umbrella should give his daughter all of the essential features she needed in her daily life. The goal was to turn the revised version of the Flower Parasol into a life relic of sorts that could grow stronger and evolve as Aurelia continued to grow older. The new umbrella had to provide her with a lot of protection as well. This was non-negotiable even if his daughter could already rely on other forms of protection. It never hurt to add redundancy! Ves mainly wanted to rely on the Flower Parasol existing mystical defensive features to bear the brunt of the burden. However, he also wanted to integrate a small personal azure energy shield generator in order to provide an additional layer of defense. Ves had to find a way to integrate the components into the artifact without making it too long, thick and unwieldy. He also sought to add other tech to the artifact such as a sensor system, a communication system, a jamming module as well as a few other electronic components. He also attempted to add other modules such as a compact luminar crystal gun, but he failed to add it to a design that met his standards. Oh well. Ves believed that the upgraded umbrella would definitely serve an excellent companion to Aurelia. Not just because of its hard features, but also its symbolism. The new umbrella needed to look distinctive enough to become a recognizable artifact when viewed by outsiders. It would be best if Ves changed the canopy images from exotic flowers to a more majestic and relevant theme. Should he place embroidered images of cats instead? What about mechs or something even more pretentious? A good symbol conveyed the right meaning without relying on words or exposition. People who became skilled at understanding and interpreting them could glean a large amount of information despite the absence of any spoken or written words. Ves had been struggling with trying to figure out the artistic direction of the birthday present. He could settle for the default choice to adopt cats as the dominant theme. However, this was a decision that appealed more to Ves. If Aurelia wanted to build up her own brand, then she needed to rely on a symbol that he would never choose on a voluntary basis. "Maybe I should change as little as possible and stick to the existing theme of flowers." This was the safest choice, but not necessarily the most born other hidden dangers. He still failed to make up his mind on selecting a theme, so he chose to set this matter aside and wait until he discussed this issue with others. Ves checked the materials that he reserved for this project. He intended to layer weapon-grade superdimensional alloy over the original shaft of the FLower Parasol. He also intended to create a decorative handle that should look elegant as well as functional to an extent. What was important was that the superdimensional matter should also host electronic components inside of it all. There was no space to do it the regular way. Of course, this was an extremely difficult technological feat. Red humanity’s grasp on superdimensional technology had barely advanced to make this possible, and Ves could only create a device that ran on electronics hidden in the higher dimensions if he manually assembled it by hand. Doing so would be worth it, though. The new umbrella had to remain light and fairly delicate in appearance. It would never serve as a good companion to Aurelia if it looked like it could only be lifted and held by a giant of a human! Ves worried about the long-term stability and reliability of multidimensional electronics. He was not entirely certain whether the results would remain stable over time. He had little choice but to take the plunge and use this instance as a test case on whether he could build electronic artifacts that were much smaller than what their capabilities ordinarily merited. After studying the design and examining most of the concrete steps he needed to take, Ves decided it would be best if he called in additional assistance. Ves briefly thought for a moment before he chose to summon his direct disciple. He thought about calling in additional mech designers such as Zanthar Larkinson, one of the EdNet graduates or even Hugo Fournier. Yet he ultimately rejected all of these options in favor of summoning the mech designer he trusted the most when it came to their specialization. When she entered his temporary design laba and workshop, she quietly presented herself to Ves. "You’re here. Good. Have you done what I have requested?" Ves asked as he continued to study and make very fine tweaks to the design of the reformed artifact. Alexa held her hands behind her back as she relayed her findings. "I have done my best to research the mystery surrounding the frozen ’wood elf’. I have consulted both modern and ancient sources. I have accessed the libraries of the Red Association, the Red Collective, the Terran Alliance and more. I did not have the time to conduct a thorough search, but even with the assistance of AIs, I truly found no description that matches what the Cybers have gifted to you. I have become more and more convinced that they have made a mistake when they handed over such rare and precious prize." "The Cybers did not make a mistake, Alexa. The Polymath most definitely authorized this decision in person. A woman of her intellect most definitely understood the insanely high research value of this, yet that did not stop her from giving it to us. Have you considered the reasons why she handed over a prize that the Cybers won at a grand auction at great cost?" This question caused the former Terran mech designer to furrowed her brows. She had been trying to search for the logic of this decision for multiple hours, yet still failed to come up with a plausible explanation. "I am sorry, Ves. I tried my best to uncover the truth, but it still does not make sense from my perspective." The woman responded with clear frustration in her voice. "Either the Polymath did not have all of the facts before her when she made the decision to designate the wood elf as a gift, or she holds us at an unusually high regard. Personally, I refuse to believe that the Polymath has made a misjudgment, so the latter explanation is more likely than the former." Ves slowly nodded as well. "I like to believe that she has based her decision on exclusive information." Now that he thought about it, the Polymath’s gift only made sense if she knew about the Mech Designer System and its insane potential to accelerate the progression of its users. Out of all of the outsiders that could have guessed that Ves and maybe other Larkinsons took advantage of such a priceless boon, the Polymath ranked at the top of the list! Only a holder of the fragment of a Metal Scroll understood another holder of a similar fragment the best! Instead of using this information to blackmail Ves or put him into an uncomfortable position, the Polymath instead chose to make a very strong gesture of goodwill. This action conveyed her goodwill towards Ves. Ves took this to mean that she intended to keep the secret related to his own fragment of the Metal Scroll. Of course, she did not intend to ignore this crucial piece of information. The wood elf would serve as an excellent bribe to make Ves more inclined to share the good stuff at his disposal to her Cybernetic Empire. Ves felt as if all of the pieces fell into place. This was the most likely explanation that had driven the Polymath to select such a priceless second gift. He did not truly know whether he was even close to the truth, but it was the best he could manage under the circumstances. Ves moved beyond the Polymath’s motivations and focused on the frozen specimen itself. "What have you found out when you conduct lab tests on the tiny bugger?" "Far less than I would have liked, Ves. The scans detected ordinary wooden structures that are consistent with a typical tree branch or slender trunk. If we did not know any better, we could have mistaken it as an exquisite wood carving." "It is anything but an ordinary carving." Ves said. "It is very young, yet has already taken a form that only makes sense if it is already capable of higher-level thinking. I have felt tempted to unfreeze it and let it move freely." "That is a terrible idea. We do not know the means this wood elf has at its proposal. Perhaps she will instantly teleport away as soon as she regains her consciousness. There is great potential for collecting additional information, but it is not worth the risk of letting it fly out of reach." Alexa was right. Ves truly could not afford to take this chance. It was a frustrating reality because they would never be able to obtain an answer from the mouth of the mysterious wood elf. Assuming that it was intelligent and familiar enough to talk, Ves and the Larkinsons could potentially discover a lot of facts and educated guesses about her kind, but only if they unfroze the small life form! Ves hesitated for a moment before he released a sigh. "I have a feeling we may be doing a great injustice to the scientific community of our race, but we shall keep the wood elf frozen up to and maybe including the procedure where we incorporate it into my new design." "The umbrella will devour it until it disappears entirely, just as it had done with other high-quality wooden constructs." Alexa reminded him. "The wood elf may disappear entirely as a result ,thereby forever denying us valuable research initiatives." Ves was reluctantly willing to bear this loss. Despite all of the recent changes to the geopolitical landscape, he never got rid of his sense of urgency. There was still an argument to be made about sacrificing long-term benefits to secure more immediate short-term benefits. "I truly hope that Aurelia will be able to appreciate all of the sacrifices we intend to make in order to fashion this personalized gift." Ves began to hold a more substantive discussion on how to tackle the upgrade run. He mainly wanted her to prep the materials, which needed to reach the highest standards. "Do you need my help when it comes to shaping and carving all of the alloys?" "No. Leave this to me, Alexa. Unless you become a phase lord yourself, it will be difficult to control all of the variables."