"When I arrived at this conference, I expected to learn a lot of useful insights from the fellow experts invited by your faction. I did not expect to be stuffed back into a mech workshop and be told to go to work again." Ves felt quite annoyed at being forced to deviate from his plan. He wanted to keep learning more about alien technology, the nature of phasewater and all of the amazing discoveries that people had made about E energy radiation. Though he already attended enough sessions to come away with a lot of helpful guidance going forward, there were still many sessions related to restricted subjects that could offer even more information! It pained Ves so much that the secret panel abruptly ordered him to fabricate a bunch of Carmine mechs for them. Couldn't the mechers show a bit of patience and at least wait until the conference had come to an end before they saddled him up with homework. The three sub-leaders did not even bother to give Ves time to think or accept his new assignment. A teleportation system directly plucked him out of the secure chamber and brought him to a mech workshop! At least Jovy came along as well. Having a familiar and friendly face around helped a lot with acclimatizing to his new circumstances. "This is an opportunity, Ves. The higher ups wouldn't have bothered to give you time to produce your works if they found your speculative claims to lack substance. During the questioning, they pressed you on the versatility and limits of the Carmine System because they are interested in how extensively your work can change the mech community and the rest of our civilization for the better." Ves calmed down a bit more as Jovy provided his insights on what just happened. "I guess... it is better for people to take my words into serious consideration rather than dismiss my claims out of hand." Ves admitted. "I think I still need time to adjust my cognition. I came in expecting those big figures to look down on my work. After all, the claims 1 have made are a bit wild considering I have made little progress after I have completed my first two Carmine mechs. A sample size of just two is hardly sufficient to back up my predictions about how it can make anyone pilot a mech regardless of genetic aptitude." Jovy smiled at his friend. "Perhaps you are right to expect to receive a skeptical reaction from an ordinary audience. We are different, though. You just came away from an inquiry led by three tier 2 galactic citizens that lasted for two whole hours. Do you know how few people ever get to present their work to such a distinguished panel? You have moved up in our society, Ves. If your work on companion spirits had already put you on the map, then your work on your Carmine System will cement your place among the leaders of our civilization!" Ves felt both gratified and worried about that. He already anticipated that he would get to raise his profile and earn more recognition during this conference, but this was too much. What frustrated him the most was that his actions would come under much greater scrutiny now. He had caught the attention of the likes of Master Xena Wintress and the Mace of Retaliation. There was no way they would let their eye off him now that they discovered the amazing potential of his work! Even if Ves was still too far away from realizing his design philosophy, that did not prevent these great figures from piling up a lot of expectations on his shoulders. Once he became a higher tier galactic citizen, there was no way he could go back to the life he led once before! He felt as if his situation was spinning out of control. There was no way he could calmly return to his fleet and merrily continue his Trailblazer Expedition as if little had changed. As long as the Survivalists went ahead and increased his galactic citizenship tier, then Ves would not only attract a huge amount of attention from a lot of humans, but also the aliens! Given that the aliens were already monitoring major movements taking place within red humanity's society, they would definitely be keen on taking out any human leaders or elites. This meant that if Ves actually became a tier 4 galactic citizen or higher by the end of the week, the aliens would definitely not miss the opportunity to launch a decapitation strike on his expeditionary fleet! Although the mechers promised to provide Ves with an escort force that consisted of numerous powerful RA mechs and warships, it was still short of a proper warfleet. A full-blown assault from an alien warfleet could easily roll over a smaller protection force by relying on heavy firepower and the advantage of numbers! The likelihood that the aliens would divert one of their strategic warfleets for this task was not high. However, if the aliens thought they had a window of opportunity to whack a freshly promoted tier 3 galactic citizen who happened to be located close to the frontlines, then any ambitious alien commander would take the shot! As much as Ves hated the thought, he might have to put serious thought into putting his expedition days behind him. He would just be setting himself up for assassinations and ambush attacks if he kept strolling through the deep frontier while red humanity was in the middle for a war that determined the future of the Red Ocean! Once he was done with adjusting his mentality, Ves began to take a serious look at the workshop. What struck him first was that it was a modern and incredibly high-end facility. Ves did not know what kind of mechers made use of this place, but it was definitely reserved for a Master Mech Designer. The place had been cleaned up and few objects looked out of place. Ves did not recognize the models of any of the instruments and production machines, but he could already tell that each of them were much more expensive and capable than the entry-level first-class production equipment in his own personal workshop. To be honest, Ves did not recognize the purpose or the functions of over half of the machines in this compartment. "I can help you with that." Jovy offered. "I might not have worked with many of these advanced devices in a serious capacity, but I have studied their basic operation during my classes. Each of these devices excel in one job extremely well. They can save you a lot of time and reduce the probability of defects if you want to fabricate particularly demanding components." Ves shook his head. "That won't be necessary this time. I only have less than 20 hours to complete this assignment. I can't waste my time on mechs that are too advanced and finicky to design and fabricate. Speed is of the essence. If those panel members expect me to fabricate a bunch of first-class multipurpose mechs for them in this timespan, then I am afraid that they are overestimating my abilities." His friend chuckled at that. "Oh, they are not that unreasonable. I have a list that contains a more detailed set of specifications and requirements. You are permitted to design and build second-class mechs. You can also choose to develop third-class mechs if you think that is necessary to complete your work in time. This is anything but ideal, though. The more you distance yourself from first-class mechs, the more it hinders the investigation of our higher ups. You should stick to designing second-class mechs if possible." "Give me the list." Ves' eyes widened shortly afterwards when he went through all of the conditions. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 "I have to deliver at least 4 vastly different Carmine mechs!" "Is that a problem for a tournament winner such as yourself?" Ves slapped his palm towards the projected document! "Look at this! It's not a big deal to quickly whip up 4 Carmine mechs that are otherwise normal in other aspects, but that is not what 1 am supposed to do. Aside from developing at least 1 somewhat conventional medium mech, I also have to come up with a demimech, a medium mech specifically designed to be piloted by a norm and a HUGE JUGGERNAUT!" Jovy's smile grew strained. "I have to admit that this is not a normal assignment, but Master Wintress and Master Goldstein wouldn't have imposed this demand on you if they thought you were hopeless. Don't forget that they have detailed access to your record and other intelligence by our Association. As Master Mech Designers themselves, they have likely built up an excellent understanding of your current competencies. Instead of complaining about it before you have started to embark on this project, you may as well start your work and see how far you can go. Once the deadline has come, you can tell the panel members that you have tried your best." He was right. Ves was wasting too much time on unproductive behavior. The clock had already started to tick since he showed up in this mech workshop. He needed to commence his work right away! "Oh, before I begin, are you allowed to help me develop my Carmine mechs?" Jovy nodded. "I have been told that I can assist you in any capacity. The only conditions are that I must not taint your work with my own design philosophy and that I cannot do anything that weakens your own work." That caused Ves to let out a huge sigh of relief. "If that is the case, then I might actually be able to fulfill this assignment in a reasonable timeframe. I understand what your bosses want from me. Let's start with drafting the first three designs." "You don't want to draft the juggernaut mech as well while we formulate the concepts for all of the machines?" Ves shook his head. "This is an entirely different beast. I want to accrue more experience with developing the other three Carmine mechs first before I tackle this big beast. Is the Khamatar Reign even capable of fabricating an entire juggernaut mech from scratch within the span of a couple of hours? The humongous network of organic tissue that makes up the Carmine System will probably take weeks or months to grow! This workshop probably isn't even equipped to fabricate a construct of that scale." "Hmmm. You are correct. Give me a second. I need to contact Master Goldstein." It took half a minute before Jovy received his answer. "What did Goldstein say?" "He told us that you don't need to concern yourself about the juggernaut for the time being. It is enough to deliver a complete design of one to us. Other mech designers will be tasked to fabricate the juggernaut at a different facility. What matters is that you complete at least several Carmine mechs of your own design while the conference is still ongoing." Ves scratched his head. "Alright. I can do that, 1 guess. Let us start with designing the simplest and most conventional medium mech first. Do the Masters mind if I copy design solutions and design elements from my previous mech designs?" "They do not mind." Jovy readily replied. "You can make any decision you want if you think it will speed up your work. We are not judging your craftsmanship, your creative vision or your design skills. We only require mechs with working Carmine Systems for us to test." That was good news! Ves could easily cut down his workload by at least 30 percent if he could reuse elements of his older designs! Ves actually started to grow excited now. The Survivalists exerted a lot of pressure on him. Designing mechs was what he did best. There was no reason for him to fail this assignment! "Alright, let's do it like this. Let us start with designing a fairly broad and simple knight mech..."