Chapter 6965 Gloriana's Future Works Now that Gloriana became familiar with the functions of the Mech Designer System, she had to devise a strategy to make optimal use of its benefits. The System offered so many different options that it was difficult to avoid the temptation of trying to have it all. However, that required so much AP that Gloriana could be stuck trying to ramp up for a very long time. In an era where red humanity was in the throes of war, Gloriana needed to find a way to make a difference sooner rather than later. That did not mean that betting on long-term development had become detrimental, but it should not come at the cost of more immediate gains in the near future. As a mech designer who specialized in designing high-end mechs, Gloriana was much different from general mech designers such as Ves and Ketis. The latter two had no problem with designing mechs for the masses. Their most successful mass production models earned widespread appreciation and acceptance from the mech market. This made it inherently easier for them to affect the war effort. Whenever Ves or Ketis developed a powerful new design application, they could incorporate it into their next works, thereby boosting the combat effectiveness of millions of mech pilots! Even if their combat power only increased by around 5 percent on average, as long as this improvement was widespread enough, the new mechs would definitely make a mark on many battles going forward! Gloriana could not make use of the same strategy. She may have worked together with Ves to design a number of mass production models in the past, but that was because she did not have any high-ranking mech pilots to cater to at the time. This time was different. The Larkinson Clan continued to pile up on expert pilots over time. Ace pilots also began to emerge every once in a while. All of them demanded high-quality mechs that required time, dedication and the best tech available to the Larkinson Clan. Only a few mech designers in the Design Department could design excellent high-ranking mechs. Whether alone or in collaboration with Ves, Gloriana had become so good at designing high-ranking mechs that it had become the basis of her value in the mech industry. She lacked competitiveness in all other forms of mech design. Her ability to make an impact on society largely rested on the expert pilots and ace pilots that received her works. Only Ves and Gloriana could be truly counted upon to design ones that not only satisfied the more ambitious desires of their clients, but also produce works that reached masterwork quality. This was one of the key reasons why they were called the Miracle Couple. Their combined expertise enabled them to produce works that far surpassed the works of other mech designers at their rank. Whether alone or in collaboration with Ves, Gloriana had become so good at designing high-ranking mechs that it had become the basis of her value in the mech industry. She lacked competitiveness in all other forms of mech design. Her ability to make an impact on society largely rested on the expert pilots and ace pilots that received her works. For now, almost all of her clients consisted of Larkinson champions. There was nothing wrong with that. She had most definitely played an indispensable role in making them all more famous and powerful. Their many successes on the battlefield changed the history of the Larkinson Clan for the better, which indirectly helped red humanity stem its losses and fare better in the Red War. However, it was a bit difficult for Gloriana to make a wider impact on the war effort so long as she kept servicing the Larkinson Clan. The expeditionary fleet was filled with high-ranking mechs, many of which had come from her hand. All of that concentration of power actually generated a lot of overlap. Each additional expert mech that carried her touch struggled to stand out and make a meaningful difference when it was already in the company of so many excellent machines. The best way for Gloriana to make a significant and recognizable impact on the war effort was to design mechs for other parties. The more her works spread out across the frontlines, the easier it was to compare her own stellar works to other high-ranking mechs. In fact, this already happened on a small scale. The Lionheart piloted by Saint General Ark Larkinson and the Mars piloted by Patriarch Reginald Cross still captivated the imagination of many soldiers and observers! Even if many people attributed the power of those mechs to their amazing ace pilots, the more knowledgeable individuals would definitely not forget about the difference that a good ace mech could make. It was for this reason that Gloriana sought to pursue a slightly broader development strategy. "I still intend to design expert mechs and ace mechs for the Larkinson Clan." She said after she thought over her options. "However, the upgrades to our more powerful and established set of high-tier expert pilots and ace pilots should not be enough to completely occupy my time, especially if I spread out the design projects. If I want to round out my development, I become more accustomed to designing high-ranking mechs outside of our clan. Every group employs their own style and preferences to the design of their expert mechs and ace mechs, and I need to be able to experience them for myself if I want to increase my mastery of these machines even further. Committing too much to the Larkinson Clan will only cause my designs to grow increasingly more insular and out of touch with industry-wide trends." Both Ves and Ketis nodded in understanding. Both of them had designed numerous mechs for the mech market in the past few years. That enabled them to maintain a good pulse on the latest developments in the mech industry. The necessity of competing against all of the new machines that other mech companies released on a regular basis forced the Larkinson mech designers to invest in their own ingenuity in order to keep up with the competition. However, Gloriana largely isolated herself from this source of pressure because her high-ranking mechs only ever served the Larkinson Clan. It was much harder to do comparisons when no other mech designers could design a high-ranking expert mech that competed directly against her own works! Of course, Gloriana no longer wasted her time on designing most low-ranking expert mechs, but she had long stopped caring about these starter machines. The only real competition to her machines was the First Sword Mark III. She had been involved in the design of the previous iterations, but Ketis had unceremoniously booted her off the team when designing the third iteration. Even then, it was hard to compare the First Sword Mark III with the Minerva Mark II or the Dark Zephyr Mark III because they were radically different mech types. There was also the superdimensional factor to consider. The First Sword Mark III was so much stronger than all of the other ace mechs due to her full superdimensional conversion! Gloriana remained confident that once a living mech such as the Dark Zephyr Mark III completed his own superdimensional conversion, he would not necessarily be weaker than the First Sword Mark III! While the emergence of the First Sword Mark III gave Gloriana a bit of competitive pressure, it was far from enough. She longed to compete against all of the Master Mech Designers that were responsible for designing famous high-ranking mechs such as the Black Lord that was piloted by the Wind of Destruction. Each of them possessed much greater expertise and also benefited from many more years of work experience. Even if they did not specialize in designing expert mechs and ace mechs to the exclusion of all else, their high-level works should not be underestimated! "I think it is a good idea for you to branch out." Ves said. "Will other parties be willing to accept your designs? Accepting your input means that they will become more dependent on your work. It will be difficult for them to iterate on their mech designs going forward." Gloriana smiled. "I think that my existing track record should be enough to convince plenty of small to middle-sized powers the benefits of using my works. I will not even insist on applying archetech to the mechs delivered to external clients. This will not only make it easier for them to repair their own machines, but will also allow them to improve their machines without my intervention. My god body method, my impeccable quality standards and my extensive experience in designing high-ranking mechs should be enough to win over a handful of clients." "You mean the Hex Federation." Ketis said. "Your brother is waiting for an upgrade, and so are the Handmaidens of Death." The former Hexer did not deny this guess. "I do intend to upgrade the mechs of the Hex Federation first. I do not intend to commit too heavily to upgrading the Valkyrie Krista and the Valkyrie Ursa to the latest standards. I do not intend to convert them into archemechs, so that will enable me to complete their upgrade projects much faster. The pair of expert marauder mechs are so similar to each other that designing one automatically means designing the other. I only have to spend a little extra time on personalizing them to ensure they maintain a high fit with their respective expert pilots." That indeed sounded like a good way to quickly deliver upgraded expert mechs that conform to some of the latest developments of the Hyper Generation. "What about superdimensional tech?" Ketis pressed. "I do not believe you will leave this amazing development out of the picture entirely." "I intend to apply a light degree of superdimensional alloy to the two expert mechs." Gloriana admitted. "The Hex Federation is not qualified to obtain superdimensional matter, but I think that the expert mechs that are dedicated to the Daughter of Death deserve a modicum of special treatment. I think it will be enough to apply hull-grade superdimensional alloys onto the tip of the spear and the outer layer of the physical shield. I also want to wrap the cockpits of the two expert Valkyrie mechs with a thin layer of superdimensional alloy as well." These were the places where the use of superdimensional matter could make the greatest difference. The combat effectiveness and survival rates of the Handmaidens of Death wouold surely skyrocket after the Larkinson Clan only expended a modest quantity of mid-grade superdimensional matter! Ves nodded in approval. "That is a good idea. I am sure that Helena will be happy if we can pamper the Handmaidens of Deaths to an extent. The hard part will be convincing the new patriarch or matriarch that this is a good investment. I am not in charge anymore." "I know. If Saint Commander Casella Ingvar becomes the next matriarch, then I am confident that I can convince her of the benefits of my proposal. She has led the armed forces of the expeditionary fleet many times, so she is thoroughly aware of the value and the significance of the Valkyrie Krista and the Valkyrie Ursa. Strengthening these two mechs will directly increase the combat power and fault tolerance of the expeditionary fleet." Once the Handmaidens of Death got their hands on the upgraded mechs that Gloriana had in store, it would not surprise Ves at all if the pair of expert pilots broke through shortly afterwards! "What about your brother's mech?" He asked. "I do not want Brutus to die." Gloriana stated. "Although I am aware that it is less justifiable to apply superdimensional matter to a ranged expert mech, I still want to give him better protection. I not only want to convert the Star Dancer Mark III into an archemech, but I also want to cover the exterior of the cockpit as well as the mech frame with a modest application of hull-grade superdimensional alloy. In addition, I want to cover the rifle in the same material and add a sharp bayonet at the end of the barrel to give my brother more options at close range." Ves thought about her proposal. The Larkinson Clan definitely would have rejected this proposal if she demanded the use of high-grade superdimensional matter. Even if Venerable Brutus Wodin was married to a legion commander of the Larkinson Clan, he was still an outsider. The Larkinson Clan could never justify the decision of using up its limited reserves of armor-grade and weapon-grade superdimensional matter to benefit an external party as opposed to its own champions! There were many Larkinson expert pilots and ace pilots that waited for the superdimensional conversion of their own machines!