Ves had to be careful in answering this question. If he said sothing sensational, his words might be splattered all over the galactic net. It might even get back to Patricia herself, who doubtlessly had little appreciation for controversy.
He employed the most important trick Marcella’s notes had taught him. Evasion.
"I am only casually acquainted with Miss Schneider. She is a talented ch designer who excelled in her studies since day one at Rittersberg. We walk in different circles and it’s a complete coincidence that we both reached the finals at Leemar."
"I see." Jast said, her tone colored with scepticism. "The two of you make a natural pair. Have you expressed any interest in pursuing your rival?"
"I’m devoting all of my effort to growing my nascent business. Running a workshop and designing chs on my own eats up all of my available ti. I hardly have a mont’s of rest."
Fortunately for Ves, the questions that followed turned into a decidedly neutral direction. Jast began to ask the questions Ves expected a business reporter to ask. He answered questions concerning whether he was committed to doing business in the Bright Republic, whether he sold chs to foreigners, if he planned to scale up production, and more.
"No, Master Olson has not involved herself in my business activities in any way except for gifting with so goodies. All of the assets that I’m in possession of is in my own na. I have not given her any shares to my business. She is an incredibly busy ch designer and has no ti to hover over my shoulders."
Jast paused for a bit as she checked her internal notes again. Ves sat patiently, waiting for the questioning to resu.
So far, Ves did a decent job in portraying himself in a decent light. Certainly, he could have navigated through the suspicions more elegantly. He might suffer from repercussions to his clumsy answers.
In any case, Ves rather preferred that others thought he was a Rubarthan or Coalition plant. It beat people getting ideas that Ves possessed a piece of reality-defying technology. The ch Designer System had to be kept secret at all costs.
"Let’s talk about your product." Jast resud her questioning. "Most of your ch designs are early works that already seem dated. Your sole production ch is an underperforming variant of a lastgen ch. Why have you decided to release a virtual ch instead of updating your physical ch line?"
"Co now, Jast. You know as well as I do that Iron Spirit is the biggest battlefield in the galaxy. Certainly, it’s all virtual, but plenty of pilots have polished their skills in these kinds of imrsive gas. I do not share the disdain that most professionals have for taking part in this active ecosystem."
"Ah, your latest virtual release appears to be a variant based off the famous Hoplite. Please tell what prompted you to design a plain sword-wielding knight."
Ves repeated the standard marketing spiel Marcella originally prepared for him. He emphasized that the Young Blood possessed characteristics that made it a great training ch for the younger crowd.
"So might say that the Young Blood’s special features act as cheats. The strengthened dash gives the knight more mobility than it ought to, while the enhanced shield bash allows it to easily push away chs that co too close. Won’t trainee pilots begin to rely too much these crutches?"
"That can certainly happen, but I think you underestimate their resolve. The young still have to pass their courses with their boring academy-assigned models. The Young Blood is explicitly designed as an offensive knight, allowing it to keep up with its compatriots in fast-paced battles. The extra mobility and flexibility also allows the knight to take the initiative, which provides pilots with many more options."
"When we compared your variant to the best-selling sword-wielding knights, we found its specs are rather underwhelming. Why should players even consider buying your ch when nurous amounts of better models are available in the ga?"
Ves coughed a little and tried to maintain his smile. "My ch has its own rits. A dry list of numbers can’t fully express a ch’s capabilities. You’ve already ntioned the augnted dash and shield bash. There’s also the fact that I’ve spent a lot of effort improving the Young Blood’s ergonomics. Piloting my ch should feel significantly more comfortable."
"Do ergonomics even matter when you’re talking about a virtual ch?"
"Oh, it should be. I’m talking about more than a comfy seat. My ch features many internal adjustnts that makes it smoother to move its limbs."
The X-Factor also played a large role, but Ves left that out.
"Your rebuttal hardly sounds convincing. All of the anities you’ve ntioned are luxuries that does not substantially affect the core performance of your model. The Young Blood simply can’t stand on an equal stage to the best-sellers."
"It has never been my intention to compete against the top models in the first place. If you look at the bottom of the spec sheet, you’ll find that my ch charges a good chunk less than the mainstream designs."
Indeed, the Young Blood held its own when placed in the budget segnt. Ves had purposely skimd a small amount of mass from its design in order to lower its cost.
After asking a few more questions about the virtual ch, Jast turned to the future.
"Now that you have finished a virtual design, do you intend to continue exploring this market or do you have so other projects in mind?"
Ves anticipated this question. It was a good opportunity to pimp his soon-to-be-redesigned ch. "As you know, I only own two production licences. I have not yet plowed the depths of these two fascinating licenses. Preparations for a rework of my Marc Antony design is already underway."
He kept the details mum, only hinting that the redesign was going to be a sea of change. Even the price will see a bump due to the expected increase in performance.
The journalist did her best to tease out the pros and cons of his first and only production ch. The cheap mass production armor remained a sore spot, but custors could easily afford two Marc Antony chs instead of a single Caesar Augustus.
Jast closed the interview with a question whether he had any plans of moving to the Friday Coalition.
"While I am officially apprenticed to a ch designer from the Verer Group, I repeat that my relationship with her does not extend beyond matters of teaching. Any assistance Master Olson throws in my way will co with no strings attached."
"So you have no intention of moving to a larger state with a highly developed ch infrastructure? It is customary for talents like you who erge from a third-rate state to move up to a better environnt. Why not do the sa?"
"The Friday Coalition is not my ho. It’s as simple as that. My father brought up in the Bright Republic and taught to respect and reciprocate the care and love I received from my state. I am still a Larkinson at heart, and we have always served the Republic with unswerving devotion."
"There you have it folks. Straight from the mouth of one of the youngest stars of the ch industry." Jast closed the interview and smoothly summarized the interview in a couple of sound bites. "His latest virtual ch is on sale starting tomorrow! Be sure to check out Iron Spirit’s catalog if you are interested in piloting an affordable knight!"
Ves left the hotel and returned to his workshop wondering whether he did okay. Marcella hadn’t lied when she stated that the RSH wanted to poke into his closet. He underestimated the amount of mystique he inadvertently accumulated with his sudden rise to prominence.
The next day, the Young Blood variant officially went on sale. Instead of sitting behind his terminal checking his real-ti sales figures like an obsessive recluse, Ves very firmly stayed away. He only briefly entered the galactic net to check on the Rimward Star Herald’s news portal.
The Herald worked quick. They already edited the interview and published both a recording and an article embellished with supplentary information. The news organization filed the interview under their financial section, though the military affairs section also hosts a copy.
In order to avoid fretting about his design, Ves distracted himself with work. He read through the dense repair manual of the Dortmund industrial printer. He taught Carlos how to overco the most difficult hurdles in his way to mastering the Marc Antony. He accompanied the consultants from SASS and agreed with most of their upcoming construction plans.
He went to bed with a fretful cloud hanging over his head and woke up the next day with hardly any rest. He scratched his ssy dark hair and finally had enough. "Okay, alright! I’ll go and check my numbers."
After washing up and putting on his antigrav clothes, he approached his terminal and logged into his Chasing Clouds account. He slowly summoned up his sales tracker.
[HPL-100S Young Blood - silver label] - Amount Sold: 2194
[HPL-100S Young Blood - gold label] - Amount Sold: 1
Ves blinked his eyes. He rubbed them gently then saw as the figure changed to 2195.
To a mainstream virtual ch model, a sales volu of two-thousand chs in the first day represented a flop. To a solo ch designer in the early stages in his career, his current sales blew his previous efforts out of the water.
Ves did not yet call up his Status. If he knew how much DP he already earned, he might go crazy.
The ga’s sales tracker allowed Ves to glean more insights from his custors. According to the model’s sales history, the initial buyers of his chs all ranked fairly high in the ga. Most of the players who bought the model shortly after it’s release qualified for the Gold or Platinum League.
Half of the buyers ca from the Friday Coalition. A smaller proportion originated from the Bright Republic. The remainder of the sales ca from the rest of the Komodo Star Sector.
"These are probably professional ch pilots in the service of industry insiders who are keeping an eye on . The interview also helped attract a lot of attention."
A very strange marketing effect occurred when five-hundred highly ranked players bought a model upon release. Iron Spirit’s automatic market systems designated the recently released Young Blood as a hot property and a trending product in the Star Sector.
Players who were already predisposed to buying a new ch got saddled with the image of the Young Blood. While not everyone wished to purchase a knight, those that did eventually gave his ch so serious consideration.
Reviews and comnts already poured in from the casual players who picked up the variant. Ves couldn’t help but smile when he read how many players appreciated the ’feel’ of his ch. Even if the ga’s automated production system degraded a copy’s X-Factor, much of it still stuck to the duplicated ch.
So renowned influencers even bought the ch to showcase it on their online streams. This led to a growing interest in his design, to the point that ch portals started to review the quaint little Hoplite variant that appeared out of nowhere.
Ves called Marcella in order to hear her perspective. The ch broker praised him for a successful debut, but warned him not to expect too much.
"The virtual ch market is oversaturated in designs. The Young Blood is a decent ch, but it will only peak in the first week, and only in the local star sector. Once the ga pulls your product from its recomndation page, your sales will likely plumt. You can expect a constant trickle of sales from that point, but not enough to get excited about."
Her realistic outlook on the situation sobered Ves into regaining his calm. While he indeed struck gold by releasing a good design, in the end he was still an Apprentice ch Designer. His skills could not compare to the established crowd of designers who released superior chs in their sleep.
"I understand." He replied. "The virtual community is not my primary market. It is rely a ans to an end. My true purpose remains selling physical chs."
"That’s good. For a mont, I was worried whether I made a mistake in contracting you. How soon will you finish your redesign?"
"I’ll start working on it next week." Ves responded after a mont. He wanted to milk the DP streaming in from his ongoing sales bonanza as long as it lasted. "I’m still in the preparation phase. The longer I wait, the better the end product."
"Don’t turn your delay in an endless hiatus. You know what happens to designers who constantly put off their work."
Ves already knew the dangers of such behavior. Leemar spent a lot of effort hamring the lesson into him. "My titable hasn’t changed too much. I can afford the extra week."
After discussing so business, Ves ended the call and proceeded to plan his schedule for the week. "There’s not much I can do to prepare for the Dortmund project without further docuntation. Perhaps I can check into the Clifford Society. It’s been a long ti since I visited their Mission Hall."
He still sought to obtain an alloy compressor and a chemical treatnt machine. Besides taking another costly credit loan, he could also exchange them for rits. Unfortunately for Ves, rits were rather hard to co by.
User Comments
0 comments from readers