Chapter 3374: Gradual Metamorphosis The influence of Vulcan primarily affected Ves. Whatever power flowed to the other Journeymen only gave them a fraction of the boost. Yet this relatively minor change granted the female mech designers another perspective that was mainly based around craftsmanship. How Vulcan perceived the quality and the intrinsic nature of objects was radically different from that of any human. Though Alexandria's design network wasn't able to convey much of this, what little it managed to pass on was enough to open their eyes. The most important impact of this change on them was that they became faintly aware of certain higher-level variables that were normally out of reach for mech designers at their level. All of them gained a crucial amount of clarity on the importance of sticking to specific themes when they work on their mechs. The Bulwark Project was designed around the concepts of defense, shielding and gravity. In order to make sure it embodied them to the best possible degree, they all needed to perform their work with this awareness in mind! By maintaining a cohesive mindset towards their work, the mech designers infused their specific interpretations of these concepts into their work. In practice, the difference it made was relatively minor. They were still Journeymen and needed to progress a lot more to yield greater results. The current effect was already sufficient, though. The direct improvement was rather small but just a change in mindset was enough to make their work more cohesive! As Ves immersed himself in his false inspired state, he tried to make the most of it by fabricating crucial and critical components such as the shield generator and some of the parts that incorporated GT-535. The reason why these parts stood out from the rest was because they were strongly associated with the themes of the Shield of Samar. Venerable Jannzi would definitely depend heavily on these systems in the future and Ves wanted to maximize the fit and compatibility between the expert pilot and expert mech as much as possible! What amazed Ves was that he was able to do this a lot better than before due to Venerable Jannzi's participation in the design network. Her influence had already affected him and the other mech designers by drawing upon her thoughts and ideas on piloting her Shield of Samar. The benefits the Journeymen gained was akin to a highly relevant Mastery experience. Since Gloriana, Juliet and Ketis never directly accessed the mind of a mech pilot before, they gained a lot of eye-opening insights. Ves already had a couple of Masteries under his belt, so his gains were more marginal. What he truly valued was how he was able to directly attune Venerable Jannzi's force of will to the parts he was making. This not only increased their compatibility to the expert pilot, but also warned him of any discordant elements that might make it more difficult to resonate with the final product. "This is actually quite amazing!" Ves eyes lit up as he realized the implications of this discovery. The compatibility between Venerable Jannzi and the Shield of Samar was already insanely high. The two practically grew up together. Not only that, but Jannzi experienced each of her breakthroughs while piloting the same mech, which not only made it stronger, but also brought them closer! One of the persistent concerns that Ves possessed was that the mech would diverge from its pilot due to replacing most of its old components. Yet by actively drawing upon Jannzi's presence in the design network, he was able to prevent this negative outcome from happening. "I can even increase the attunement between pilot and mech!" Such a direct improvement excited Ves beyond words! His design philosophy centered around man-machine symbiosis, so this solution was extremely relevant to him. The same applied to Gloriana! As the mech designers continued to overhaul the Shield of Samar, Ves made more interesting discoveries. Not all of them were significant, but each sign of progress increased his motivation. However, increasing the fit between Venerable Jannzi and the Shield of Samar was only one of the factors that could help elevate the latter into a masterwork. So was making sure the mech embodied its core concepts. Excellent craftsmanship encompassed a lot more ground, but the most critical factor was to consistently produce high-quality parts that were adapted to their specific circumstances. This was much more difficult to accomplish and even Gloriana could not meet this standard much of the time. Yet with the help of Vulcan's direct influence, Ves was temporarily able to bridge over this gap and improve the quality of his output. He immersed himself in his false inspired state and even hoped that he could gain even greater inspiration that could prolong his improvement. However, borrowed power ultimately had to be returned, so after five hours of intensive work, the effects of Vulcan's boon had finally receded for the most part. Ves only retained a fraction of the special state by actively leveraging his permanent bond with his own incarnation. This was an exhausting process, though. Ves accelerated his mental strain whenever he tried to embody his design spirits, and this time was no different. Vulcan had already increased his grasp over his own abilities over the past few months, but he was still far from mastering his full power. The amount of help he could provide to mech designers was still limited. "It's enough, though." Ves murmured as he looked at the current state of the Shield of Samar. The skeletal frame already exhibited a lot more renewal than before. The crucial internal frame that supported all of the other components had already been swapped out. Other new parts had been installed as well. They looked quite incongruous when they were placed next to the older and more worn parts of the prime mech incarnation of the Shield of Samar. Still, throughout this extensive operation, the Shield of Samar not only retained its full identity, but actually seemed to undergo a gradual metamorphosis. The drastic changes of structure actually sparked an evolution in the life state of the living mech! "An expert mech is a lot different from lesser mechs." Ves recognized as he made yet another new discovery. "The Shield of Samar has actually been restraining itself for all this time. It was quite amazing how many new discoveries and insights that he and his fellow Journeymen harvested so far. This was the fifth expert mech design project they were completing, but their current gains made it seem as if they were just making an expert mech for the first time! All of this led to a comprehensive rise in mood that persisted for multiple days. Optimism remained high as everyone became more engrossed in their own work. The novelty of the discoveries and insights they gained this time caused the Journeymen to feel as if they were breaking new ground and making an expert mech that was unprecedented by any other machine! Ves felt more clearer that the Shield of Samar was a transformative expert mech that not only exceeded the value of the Dark Zephyr, Riot and the First Sword, but also came closer to catching up to the Amaranto! "We're doing great!" Gloriana grinned. "Venerable Jannzi will definitely be happy with her new Shield of Samar regardless of what happens. We only have four more days to go. Let's strive to elevate our work further so that we can increase our chances of success!" More time passed by. Though the mech designers no longer made any drastic new discoveries, they were still in high spirits and hardly made any slips. Everyone was trying their utmost to make the Shield of Samar their best mech to date. No one wanted to disappoint the expectations of the others, especially when their connections to the design network let them know how much everyone cared about succeeding. As the neared the end of their run, the mech designers already had a lot of reasons to be satisfied with this experience. Each of them harvested so many new insights that they would be able to upgrade their design and fabrication approaches once they digested their gains. However, that was something to consider for the future. Right now, they still had a responsibility to complete the Shield of Samar to the best of their abilities! Venerable Jannzi had stayed in the workshop as long as possible. Her presence in the design network was crucial and her absence was clearly felt by the mech designers. She had taken stimulants in order to reduce her sleeping hours. She constantly kept her mind focused on the Shield of Samar and her experiences in piloting it. Above all, she conveyed her love and trust towards her chosen mech. "Please." She whispered. "Give my Shield of Samar a chance to rise." The stakes were high for her. After witnessing how much a masterwork expert mech strengthened Venerable Stark, Jannzi wanted one as well. She wished she could do more to improve the Shield of Samar, but she was ultimately an expert pilot, not a mech designer. As for Ves, he was holding his hammer yet again. Enough time has passed for Vulcan to regain his ability to induce a mech designer into another false inspired state. At this late stage of the upgrade process, the value of entering this condition was much greater than before. The mech designers had already fabricated and installed most of the new and powerful internal components. They were mostly working on the external parts such as sensors and armor plating. When Ves was considering the current state of the Shield of Samar, he did not believe that putting himself in another false inspired state would yield much of a difference. He had already maximized the compatibility, fit and alignment of the expert mech due to his earlier discoveries. He seriously doubted that he could apply his design philosophy much better this time. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖 Ves looked towards Gloriana. "It's fine, Ves." She said. "I'm already happy with my improvement. If you really want to boost someone, go seek out Juliet. Installing the new flight system on the Shield of Samar is a crucial step." "I'll do that." When Ves presented this option to the Penitent Sister mech designer, she was open to trying it out. She had already felt how much Ves had improved when he whacked his head with his hammer a few days ago. When Juliet's head glowed with Vulcan's blessing, her perception and ability to discern the deeper properties of the Shield of Samar jumped a lot! As a mech designer that specialized in mobility, her boost was different from that of Ves. To her, an excellent mech was a machine that was able to do its utmost to squeeze more speed, acceleration and agility from its frame! Juliet became engrossed in tweaking and perfecting the parts that were relevant to her design philosophy. Although the Shield of Samar was never meant to be swift, the Penitent Sister did not want to play a marginal role in the design and creation of the expert space knight. "Even a small improvement in speed can save more lives!" Although Juliet's improvement was less applicable to the other Journeymen in the design network, they became infected by her elevated passion and enthusiasm. This ensured that they ended their 9-day upgrade program on a high note! When Gloriana put the finishing touches on the large and exquisitely assembled space knight, its completed form already exuded a vastly stronger vibe than before. Venerable Jannzi became more intense as she stood next to the waiting mech designers. Her eagerness and anticipation flooded through the design network. Her force of will blended with the strengthened glow of the expert mech. "Is it…" She trailed off, as if worried that her words might interrupt Gloriana's final effort. "Just wait. It will all become clear in a few minutes." Ves softly said. When Gloriana finally completed the last step, the completely renewed Shield of Samar seemed to come alive! Its glow became more active as the mech seemed to celebrate the end of this crucial transformation! As Gloriana quickly floated away from the upgraded machine, the Shield of Samar finally completed its metamorphosis! For a moment, the shadow of a giant lizard hovered above the large and heavily-armored expert space knight. "Qilanxo!" Ves gasped. The sacred god unleashed a silent roar that reverberated across the entire workshop. At the same time, Shield of Samar seemed to undergo a second and more drastic transformation. It was a change that delighted Ves, Gloriana and Venerable Jannzi! Each of them had been working hard and trying their best to reach this outcome! "The Shield of Samar… is truly worth its name now…" Ves reverently said. "From today onwards, defense will have a new meaning in the Larkinson Clan!"