Chapter 7362: The Second Trial Begins The Larkinsons finally completed their final checks. The second trial had begun. The scenery had changed significantly since last time. Since the consultants from the Ritualist Department had begun to ’advise’ the Larkinsons, the newcomers made many proposals. This was why they especially converted an experimental chamber into a zero-g vacuum environment with a dark, starry backdrop. The illusion was almost convincing to most people’s eyes. The artificial Incubator truly looked as if it was floating in deep space. The Incubator also looked a lot more disturbing than the initial design. Although it was completely mechanical, the Larkinson mech designers simulated the appearance of an organic construct by processing the materials in special ways. This meant that any layman who glanced at this down-scaled imitation would probably be fooled into thinking that it was an actual organic creation! Of course, this was not the case. The escort fleet did not possess the facilities and resources necessary to generate a high-quality biomechanical construct within the necessary timeframe. Ves also did not deem it safe to play with biotechnology at this time. He knew more than most people that blending the power of life with organic matter tended to produce a host of complications, thereby causing the risk factors to balloon. Perhaps it may be a lot easier to create a miracle amidst all of this chaos, but Ves did not necessarily ask for this time. He and his fellow Larkinsons only wanted to achieve their primary objective with as little complications as possible. They could think about fulfilling bonus objectives at a later date. For now, they first needed to worry about whether their work so far was not in vain. Ves truly could not estimate the success rate of the second trial. While everyone harbored varying degrees of awe towards the artificial Incubator, Ves did not share the same sentiment. He had seen, studied and even faced the Incubator and the Ixith Goliath up close. His impressions of the real deal spoiled his appreciation for these crude imitations. The fake Incubator possessed none of the scale and organic power of the original Class I Voribug Original Battle Moon. The ’Goliath’ that it was supposed to incubate was also a fake in many aspects. Although the resemblance between this experimental design and the real event was less than 10 percent, the ritualists believed that they had exceeded their minimum standards. While they cut a lot of corners out of necessity, they did not try to go to the extreme in this case. Minimizing costs was not the main priority this time. They needed to raise the chances of success as much as possible as the conditions allowed, so they went out of their way to simulate a deep space environment, down to artificially generating background radiation and battlefield interference effects. This mix of obvious falsehoods and earnest attempts at realism made it seem as if the entire experiment was suffering from schizophrenia. This was probably one of the reasons why Ves felt unbalanced behind this trial. Nonetheless, he could not think of any improvements. They had all exercised their best judgment at this time. They still had too little data and information to formulate any meaningful improvements. "We are ready to begin, Ves." Gloriana announced as she stood behind her workstation. "Do we need to take any steps to commence the ritual?" "No." Ves shook his head. "We incorporated all of that stuff into the Incubator. We only need to start it up and let it do its job while we feed it bits and pieces of metal. That is the main ritual in a nutshell." There was no need for them to wear dark robes and light up candles and such. According to the Myth Reproduction Theory, what truly empowered rituals were twofold. First, the closer the ritual simulated the process of the original myth, the greater the resonance between the past and present. To put it differently, a more accurate ritual could unleash greater power as it generated a ’stronger’ signal to the myth that had been imprinted in the imaginary realm. Second, the quantity and power of sentient beings who witnessed or participated in the ritual also determined its outcome. It was easier to produce more dramatic outcomes if a large number of people actively took part in the rituals. It was also easier to generate stronger and more specific outcomes if the main participants happened to be strong in mind and spirit. The current ’ritual’ did not involve a lot of people, but it just so happened to include notable individuals such as Ves and Gloriana. To prevent any unintended contamination, the Larkinsons deliberately stationed Saint Rosa Orfan away from the experimental site. Her willpower was too strong. She could easily interfere with the processes and cause the experiment to fail. Other than that, Ves believed that the gathered Larkinsons and other people were powerful enough to fulfill their obligations. The stolen resonance generator did not need to be powerful. It just needed to work at a scale that was strong enough to be measured. If Ves wanted to create a truly battle ready module, then he would have attempted to involve many more individuals in order to raise the power of the experimental product even further. Perhaps he should reserve that suggestion for his needs in the future. For now, the limited involvement in the ritual suited everyone well enough. They all grew solemn as they witnessed the Incubator spark to life. The artificial construct that made a passable attempt of being organic soon began the fundamental process of raising its ’child’. Random pieces of metal and debris started to get tossed in the Incubator’s direction. The device haphazardly attracted each of these broken parts and steadily subsumed them within its structure. The highly advanced processing systems of the Incubator rapidly broke down the ’free’ salvage. The resulting raw materials are directly fed into different systems responsible for converting them into smart metal and other essential components. Ves felt grateful that he was able to make proficient use of first-class technology. Only the first-raters developed a smart metal production system that could be heavily miniaturized to the point where it could squeeze between the outer layers of the artificial Incubator. The relatively thin construction modules were not fast or efficient by any means, but they worked, and that was enough. As the Larkinsons continued to observe the experimental product closely, they invested their earnest thoughts and emotions directly into the statue. They had all been introduced to the Myth Reconstruction Theory, though their understanding of its principles varied considerably. However, the hope of accomplishing the impossible by borrowing the power of ritualism sounded more appealing than the other alternatives. "It looks so disturbing." "Do you think so? It doesn’t look as formidable as that old antique bot." "Do not get distracted by the visuals. What matters is that it undertakes the same actions as the original Incubator." Situated within the center of the Incubator, the embryo gradually started to radiate excitement. Ves grew curious about the life form that was slowly taking shape. Would it turn into an abomination that resembled the original creature in shape as well as thought? "That shouldn’t be the case." Biotechnology was still weird to most people. It had been the cause of many accidents, but also introduced many life-saving technologies. Since the Larkinsons excluded it from the second trial, Ves had given up on overcompleting his goal in favor of producing a stable outcome. Ves still could not tell whether the experiment would succeed, but he felt a strange wave of anticipation coursing through his body. He continued to observe the Incubator as its spawn gradually started to take shape in the center. There were no sensor systems hooked up to the Incubator. They had the option of doing so, but Ves explicitly rejected it. Cooking food without a fire was certainly inconvenient, but it was not impossible. Ves just felt that this decision was right. His intuition certainly insisted that this was the case. He grew suspicious at this point. He thought back on his many successes and what happened to make it all possible. When he studied the data on his past encounters from a detached and analytical position, he found that many lucky breaks may not be so random and coincidental. Perhaps Ves’ actions unconsciously resonated with this higher power, transforming an experiment that was doomed to fail into a success. Luck could not explain this pattern of success. Perhaps one of the true reasons why he had been able to make so many ’lucky’ breaks was because he unconsciously resonated with a past myth. That certainly sounded like a much more logical explanation than any esoteric crap that others could devise in their minds. Of course, this theory did not entirely disregard his own judgment and efforts. Even if Ves received a few nudges here and there, he still completed all of the groundwork and other affairs. This also highlighted the importance of doing the hard work himself. Without putting things together by hand, Ves would grow more detached from his core projects and subsequently make it harder for himself to create wondrous works. The Myth Reproduction Theory also happens to do much to explain why Ves and Gloriana were able to create masterwork mechs on demand in essence. Perhaps their first attempts at creating masterwork mechs were true miracles that had become a part of their personal myths. After that, their subsequent attempts became a lot easier because they were recreating their own myths. It was much easier to follow an established route once it was made. Of course, just because Ves had unintentionally created a myth that he could use to his own advantage did not mean it had turned the act of creating masterworks into an automated process. Ves still needed to commit to his high-priority projects. He had to invest his time into them. If he could not love his own work, they could not bear a greater part of himself, thereby denying them the opportunity to turn into high-grade artifacts. In essence, he still needed to put in so much work and effort into his projects that the differences between the true miracle and the subsequent rituals was not that great in his opinion. It was still nice to understand a bit better how Ves and Gloriana were able to churn out masterwork mechs with greater ease, though. There was true value in earning a masterwork certificate. Just one of them was enough to change a mech designer’s reputation for the better. "The Incubator has made 50 percent progress." Gloriana announced. "The embryo of the end product is taking on a more mature shape. The rapidly-produced nanomachines are following our instructions to the latter. We have yet to notice any significant deviations or error rates." As the experimental device gradually became more mature, it began to exude a subtle pressure that was difficult to perceive by most people. Blinky’s excellent senses managed to detect it the soonest. Ves narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He could vaguely feel the experimental device coming to life, but in a different manner than before. It was as if the artificial Incubator was not a fake, but genuinely tried to grow a new monstrosity for the mutated voribugs! The pressure exuded by the device located in the core of the artificial Incubator therefore radiated a sense of undeniable menace and hostility. Despite its relatively meager size, the incomplete experimental product felt like it was as big as the first and only Level 8 Goliath to exist at this time. This was clearly illogical! There was no way the experimental product could match the heights of the original! Yet Ves and the others increasingly suspected that the ritual may have powered up the process a bit more than expected. The Larkinsons gradually began to worry about whether the experimental device would generate a strong willpower without warning, just like last time!