Ves 'sat' down at one of the half-walled wooden 'desks' with a book in his 'hand'.
It was interesting to perceive a virtual setting through this fashion. The partial digitization of his mind allowed him to perceive virtual environnts with much more fidelity than he thought!
It wasn't perfect, though.
Although the MTA did an excellent job, the virtual imrsion still lacked so very subtle details that he couldn't quite describe.
At so points, Ves had an uncanny feeling that he was trapped in a false setting.
This kind of discomfort didn't go away. He always found at least one reason to feel disturbed.
It spoiled the novelty of his first virtual imrsion experience. Ves wasn't sure whether he wanted to enter the virtual library through this thod again. It was a lot more straightforward to browse the portal through a traditional projection.
He looked down and opened the book. He flipped through the pages and ignored his slightly-off sense of touch.
Since the flathrower was critical to his striker ch, Ves decided to start his search by looking through various models of fla-spewing projectors.
In general, the fundantal chanisms of flathrowers weren't complicated. Each and every flathrower model that Ves encountered in the book shared the sa delivery thods.
The ingenuity in them ca from how the weapon designers tried their best to make their weapons as robust and controlled as possible.
Flathrowers had to contain a lot of potentially-volatile substances. Their ability to contain the propellant and oxidizing agent, the amount of heat they were able to bear and how well they prevented the heat from leaking to the ch all distinguished one model from another model.
Certain flathrower models specialized in channeling the fiery output as far as possible. Others attempted to widen the flas so that the striker ch could block every approach from the front in an instant!
All of these aspects and more provided Ves with an endless amount of choice.
After browsing a few dozen different models, he gained a very good sense on what he could choose from. Aside from the weirder flathrowers that tried to achieve sothing exceptional, Ves still had a lot to choose from. Many of them delivered identical performances, so he was free to choose according to his preferences.
He eventually settled on a flathrower configured for more close-ranged action.
By default, the 34F Enison Spreader featured a wide but short-ranged delivery thod that was quite good at occupying a broad front with burning substances!
While the flathrower could be set to narrow its cone of flas, it wasn't as good as increasing the range. More specialized flathrowers were able to reach double or triple the range, but in exchange they made a lot of punishing tradeoffs.
Ves couldn't get everything. Considering the main purpose of his striker ch as a defensive ch, he figured that range wasn't an exceptionally high priority to the ch.
His striker ch didn't necessarily have to defeat a ch in order to fulfill its purpose. As long as the enemy stopped advancing forward, that was already enough to justify its addition to a ch roster.
The large but fairly dispersed spraying pattern of the Enison Spreader might not concentrate a lot of thermal energy in a narrow area.
Still, as Ves watched the footage of the weapon in action, it looked incredibly impressive, especially to enemy ch pilots who were expected to pass through the flas!
The Enison Spreader was a fairly hefty flathrower. It was also a sizable one. Wielding it properly required a striker ch to hold it with both hands.
All of these materials added to the cost of the weapon.
In exchange, the flathrower not only possessed a high heat capacity, but could also resist a few hits without falling apart or exploding in the striker ch's face!
As an extra, while the maximum range of the flathrower wasn't very great, concentrating the outward spray into a narrow beam still increased its lethality to an incredible degree!
All in all, the Enison Spreader checked all of his essential boxes and a couple of the less important boxes as well.
The only caveat was that it was a fairly expensive addition to his ch design.
"Gloriana probably won't like how I've taken such a considerable chunk out of our budget." He muttered.
He believed it was worth it. While a striker ch had to be fitted with plenty of armor due to its role and its place on the battlefield, Ves didn't feel it had to be as tough as a knight ch.
Neglecting the striker ch's offensive power in favor of increasing its defensive power was the wrong approach.
That said, armor still mattered a lot as striker chs simply didn't possess the mobility to rely on evasion to negate incoming attacks. Their heavy reliance on capacity and their defensive-minded roles called for them to stand their ground and take the hits on behalf of more vulnerable chs.
"Well, I can't have everything." He shrugged.
Striker chs weren't supposed to be punching bags, but they could take a few hits. It didn't matter if they weren't as tough as knight chs because they never acted by themselves.
The one of the underlying reasons why he wanted to design this ch was because his forces needed to address a shortcoming that their current ch rosters weren't up to the task.
In many other areas, chs like the Bright Warrior already fulfilled the necessary functions. Adding his striker ch model to the mix would round out the Larkinson Clan's capabilities a bit further.
It was vitally important to patch one of the holes in the ch rosters in order to prevent needless deaths from occurring again!
Once Ves settled on his choice, he recorded the component license in order to discuss its rits with Gloriana.
He stretched his body, only realizing a second later that the sensations of his body were fake.
He looked down at the book. He could return it to its shelf by activating a command, but he figured he might as well see this ritual to the end.
He sought out and retrieved the book the old-fashioned way, so he rose from his chair, picked up the book and walked the short distance to the right shelf in order to put it back.
"Hello."
Ves turned around to see a well-dressed woman in foreign fashion. It resembled a robe in the so-called 'oriental' style, but with a lot of decorative elents that spoke of class and wealth.
This was not an average ch designer. In fact, those who were able to access the MTA's virtual library in this fashion were never diocre.
"Hello." Ves answered back while studying the blond woman. "Why did you approach , miss?"
The woman smiled. "Are you Ves Larkinson?"
"I am. Do you know ? I don't recall eting you. How do you know my na?"
"Do you really have to ask? I watched your interview with the Rimward Star Herald. It is incredibly impressive that you've managed to obtain a masterwork certificate!"
Ah. His fa had already spread to the point where a random ch designer recognized him in a crowd!
He couldn't help but feel a little flattered. He smiled back.
"I didn't do it by myself. I had my girlfriend to lean on, and an unnad benefactor did most of the heavy lifting."
The other woman chuckled. "You don't have to be modest, Mr. Larkinson. If ch designers could coast on the accomplishnts of a Senior or Master, they wouldn't have gotten a masterwork certificate. Only when your involvent is an essential component in the creation of a masterwork will the MTA grant you credit. I'm sure you would have been able to produce a masterwork ch by yourself sooner than later."
Ves nodded. "I don't like to boast too much, but you're right. Anyway, I haven't caught your na."
"You may call Angelique Harcourt. As you may have surmised, I'm not a native to your star sector. I hail from the Heavensword Association, which is one of several second-rate 'states' of Majestic Teal."
So his initial guesses were true! The woman ca from a neighboring star sector, and a very specific one at that!
This was his first ti he talked to a native of Majestic Teal in person, just like how William Urbesh was his first acquaintance from Vicious Mountain.
The star sector she called her ho was rather odd in many ways. It's second-rate 'states' were rather odd in that they seem to change their territories quite very often without waging any full-blown wars. The customs there were so strange that everyone in the Komodo Star Sector simply didn't see any logic in their neighbor's territorial conflicts!
Though Ves wasn't looking for conversation, his first eting with soone from Majestic Teal was enough to arouse his curiosity.
"Miss Harcourt, since you are here, I suppose you are a ch designer. What's your specialization?"
"I am a Journeyman like you, though my accomplishnts aren't as illustrious as yours." She admitted with a soft expression. "I specialize in designing swordsman chs. In particular, I excel at designing the fencer sub-type of swordsman chs. Rather than rely on montum and brute force to hack an opponent, my chs utilize a combination of speed and finesse to inflict targeted attacks onto the enemy weak points while evading as many attacks as possible."
"Ah. So you're designing sothing similar to light skirmishers."
Fencer chs were usually light chs that perford a similar role to their more ubiquitous dagger-wielding counterparts!
Angelique briefly frowned. "Mr. Larkinson. Please do not equate fencer chs to light skirmishers. The Heavensword Association would never tolerate your ignorance. Be careful in what you say. Fencer chs are completely different from light skirmishers!"
The way she emphasized her last sentence hinted to Ves that he had touched a very sensitive nerve!
Ves wanted to scratch his head. Fencer chs were identical to light skirmishers. They were fast, light, lee-oriented and fought their enemies by poking at their weak points.
The only aningful difference was that light skirmishers often wielded dual daggers while fencer chs made do with a single sword!
"Please forgive my ignorance, Miss Harcourt. Could you enlighten what makes fencer chs different?"
"Certainly, Mr. Larkinson. Would you like to sit down at one of the tables?"
"Sure."
It didn't really matter if they stood or sat down since their physical bodies weren't there, but they sat down anyway.
Harcourt stretched a delicate finger and projected one of her ch designs.
"I believe you are very familiar with light skirmishers. Please compare what you know of this ch type with the fencer ch I've projected. This is one of my latest works, and I'm particularly proud of it. I'm curious to hear what an exalted masterwork ch designer has to say about my efforts."
Harcourt's fencer ch design certainly looked impressive. The second-class ch was largely a landbound ch, though it featured a light application of internal flight modules that allowed it to make large leaps or hops or fly in the air at a lower speed. It could also fly fairly proficiently in space.
Still, it was obvious that the ch's main focus was to fight an opponent on solid ground. The machine imdiately scread dueling ch to Ves due to its focus on peak performance over endurace.
Even though the ch only possessed a limited upti, it was able to outshine other comparable light chs! Its speed, strength and most of all precision were unparalleled compared to the likes of the Fliskin, though the comparison wasn't entirely fair since latter had to carry a flight system.
Even so, Ves envisioned the fencer ch as a terror in the ch arenas! As long as the ch pilot was skilled enough to dance around his opponent, he could strike when the probability of suffering a counterattack was low!
Still, Ves didn't see why this ch was any different from a light skirmisher aside from its weapon.
He didn't want to reveal his ignorance, though.
"This is a very well-put together ch." He said. "Though I'm able to envision how it performs in battle, won't you mind sharing so footage with ? Seeing it in battle will help in evaluating your work."
"Certainly! While I've only released my product a short ti ago, it has already attracted a following. Let browse my database to find the most representative battle footage..."
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