Lucky hopped onto a table and sat on his haunches. He looked curiously at Ves and Ketis obsessing over the projection of a ch design.
"...This is a very sober ch design. Even though it's devoid of any gimmicks or extra features, its foundation is quite solid!"
The ch that Ketis had designed in her spare ti truly earned his appreciation. Though it was just an Apprentice-level premium landbound swordsman ch design, it not only showcased a Journeyman-level understanding of chanics, Physics and tallurgy, the machine was also focused on making the most out of its incredibly sharp greatsword!
The care, love and attention that his first student had poured over this naless ch design truly touched him. Similar to Ves, Ketis treated her chs as precious, living containers of her values and principles.
Though she didn't adopt his perspective that chs were alive, Ves had definitely influenced her own beliefs to a significant extent, sotis unintentionally!
This was sothing that Ves hadn't entirely anticipated. Imitation was one of the best ways to improve, and Ketis enjoyed plenty of opportunities to study and observe his work.
She subsequently imitated many of his thods and maintained a lot of focus while she developed this swordsman ch. This had indirectly caused her nascent design philosophy to affect the ch at a significantly greater degree than other Apprentices were capable of. The sharpness of the blade of her ch design already surpassed the limits of its materials and production thod!
Ketis smiled with pride. "To be honest, I followed your lessons and learned from your own chs. You always emphasize the basics. I did my best to focus purely on the core functions of my ch, making sure that its most important specs are all good before focusing on imbuing my sword will into my design."
"Sword will?" Ves puzzled.
"My superpower!" She clarified. "Sword will is… kind of the goal that many of our Swordmaidens are pursuing. When Commander Lydia still led us, she told us stories on how to transcend mundane swordsmanship. Those who wield the sword as a tool are warriors. Those who have beco the sword are true swordswon!"
Ves raised his eyebrow. He may have seen this phrase a few tis when he looked up swordsman chs, but he never paid that much attention to it. However, now that Ketis ntioned it, perhaps there was actual substance behind this concept.
However, when Ves contextualized what Ketis ntioned with his own theories on design philosophies and force of will, it suddenly clicked.
"You an there is an obsession with swords. An obsession that has grown so strong that it is capable of affecting reality!"
"Yup!" She grinned. "I always thought that Commander Lydia's lessons on sword will only applied to ch pilots. When you showed that ch designers like us can gain superpowers as well, I knew that I could develop a sword will as well! I put my full effort into developing it! It's thanks to you that I can slice a tal bar with a butter knife!"
Though her story sounded silly, Ves truly admired her persistence. Even if she harbored mistaken assumptions, she only needed to believe that it was possible for her to pour her entire heart and soul in developing her own 'sword will'!
Right now, Ketis basically equated her design philosophy to the concept of sword will that Commander Lydia used to inspire her Swordmaidens. This insured that Ketis would always remain highly motivated and highly passionate about her work!
Seeing that Ves did not have to worry about Ketis slacking off, he smiled and waved his hand.
"Your swordsman ch design is very good for a ch designer at your level. I would have absolutely liked to publish it a few years ago. As it is…"
"It's okay. I know it's not up to your standard. I don't want to impose on you and the LMC. I'll catch up with you soday and design a ch that is worthy enough to sell under your brand!"
Ketis did not mind that she wouldn't be able to sell her ch to the market. As a daughter of the frontier, she did not possess the sa reverence towards the ch market than soone who was born in civilized space.
Whereas ch designers like Ves treated the ch market as the ultimate arbitrator of success, to Ketis it was rely a ans to earn money. She cared a lot more about designing chs for the Swordmaidens than achieving comrcial success!
"About this sword will, I suppose Commander Dise has ford one as well?"
"Yes! Her sword will is different from mine. We regularly compare ourselves against each other through spars." She replied and sighed. "She's easily able to defeat in every practice session, whether we compete on strength or technique. I really admire her sword will. Hers is.. changing every day. I think she is close to finding her own way."
"That sounds good. I hope we can welco a new expert pilot within the Larkinson Clan when she succeeds."
Ves had very high hopes for this expedition. He had brought along every expert candidate in his clan. The Nyxian Gap would provide them with plenty of opportunities to challenge themselves and overco their limits.
While it was possible for expert candidates to achieve their breakthroughs outside of the battlefield, in practice it was rare for them to do so. True life-and-death combat still remained the most effective thod to achieve a breakthrough.
This was why states that engaged in war more frequently often boasted a greater quantity of expert pilots. The quality of their expert pilots were also better because each of them had advanced to their current height through a mountain of ch wrecks!
This was sothing that the Larkinson Family already understood. It was one of the reason why most Larkinson ch pilots were eager to do their duty and defend the Bright Republic against Vesian aggression.
Perhaps without a belligerent neighbor like the Vesia Kingdom, the Larkinsons would have never developed into a renowned military family!
Ves had long been frustrated by the lack of progress of his available expert candidates. Even though Jannzi Larkinson, Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson and Commander Dise had grown very strong, none of them managed to overco their bottlenecks.
Rather than waiting for all of them to mill down the obstacles in their way, Ves would rather subject them to pressure so they could punch through their barriers with a single, direct leap!
The only issue that Ves was concerned about was whether he could manage the risks. He needed to surround them with sufficient danger to stimulate their potential, but also had to make sure his enemies didn't actually end the lives of his precious expert candidates.
The loss of even one of them would inflict a huge blow to the confidence of his Larkinson Clan!
The session between Ves and Ketis continued.
As Lucky crawled onto the female ch designer's lap, Ketis showcased so of her other ch designs.
Her most recent work was a light ch that fought akin to a fencer ch. It possessed high mobility and a rapier whose point was so sharp that it could even pierce through the chest plating of a ch as long as her ch applied sufficient force.
The only problem was that it was very challenging to do so. The base strength of the light swordsman ch was so weak that it had to build up a lot of montum to punch through solid armor.
"This is a ch that requires excellent battle instincts and a high degree of skill in agile swordsmanship." Ketis explained. "Even among my surviving sisters, only a few of them are able to exert the full potential of this ch."
They moved on to a heftier ch design. The machine not only boasted a considerable amount of armor, but also wielded a sword in each hand!
"A duel-wielding swordsman ch?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "So far, you have shown a heavy preference to single swords in your ch designs. Why two all of a sudden?"
"This is my attempt at designing a defensive ch." She revealed and pointed at the thick armor plating covering most of its vitals. "While I can technically design a knight ch, I wanted to develop an alternative that can fulfill a similar role. Due to all of the mass slowing down its movent, I wasn't confident its defense was good enough. Adding a second sword not only allows this ch to defend against attacks from multiple angles, but also make it trickier for a single opponent to overco its guard."
"That only applies to lee chs."
"That's why I made the blades strong and thick. If they are able to cover themselves with the flat of the blades, it should be sufficient to defend against so ranged attacks."
Ves shook his head. "It's not good enough. You would be better off pairing the ch with a single broad blade instead, or better yet, an actual shield. Swords are held by their ends. This ans that physical projectiles will exert a lot of force close to the center of the blade. There is a considerable risk that the grip on the sword won't be able to hold."
From the glum look of Ketis, she knew it as well. The duel-wielding swordsman ch only offered the sa degree of defense as a Doom Guard. While its mobility and offense was higher than a knight ch, it was a fairly awful ch to field against ranged attackers.
"It's a failed experint."
"Not necessarily." Ves gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "The ch still has a niche, just like striker chs. It's not a knight ch and doesn't have to fulfill the sa role as one. As long as it is fielded alongside other ch types that can cover up its shortcomings, this ch can serve as the cornerstone of a defensive bulwark or the battering ram of any offensive assault."
Even if her vision or ch concept possessed a lot of holes, Ves still praised her work for their various strengths. He himself was a ch designer who liked to pursue extres, so all of her work was very much to his liking.
Certainly, he could have dissected and magnified the flaws of each of her original ch designs, but there was hardly any benefit to such a course of action. Ketis already appeared aware of the main flaws of her ch designs, so there was no need for Ves to open her wounds.
It was hard for her to hide her sha, though. While her ch designs were good enough to match his Blackbeak and Crystal Lord designs, they were far from reaching the level of the Desolate Soldier and his later works!
Ves raised his hand and plopped it onto her poofy beret.
"Don't compare yourself to ." He gently advised her. "You're much younger than . Your circumstances are different and you pursue a different path from mine. Compared to many of your peers, you have already reached further ahead. With every ch you've designed, I have noticed that you have beco much more proficient in incorporating your specialty. You're progressing by leaps and bounds, and most of it has to do with the purity of your design philosophy. As long as you maintain this trajectory, you will definitely reach the level where you are qualified to outfit the Swordmaidens."
Her depression evaporated as she looked at him with hope. "Really?"
"I have always been grateful to the Swordmaidens. I always had the intention to design a ch for them, but I did not want to do so without your help. As an Apprentice, your design philosophy won't have much of an effect. I'm waiting for you to advance to Journeyman. Once you do, you can either choose to design a ch for the Swordmaidens by yourself, or collaborate with and Gloriana to design the most impressive swordsman chs for your sisters!"
The fla burning within her heart suddenly grew hotter! Reaching Journeyman beca an even greater priority for her now that Ves made such a generous promise.
"I'll take you up on your offer, Ves! My sisters deserve the best!"
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