Despite the novelty of Blinky's design network and its profound effects, the expert ch was far from complete.
The first couple of days flew by in an optimistic frenzy. The ch designers were all full of energy and eager to complete their first actual expert ch while benefiting from an unprecedented state of mind.
The closest equivalent to the special condition induced by the design network was the rare instances where Ves and Gloriana entered into a rare inspired state.
Those powerful and precious monts were sothing that every ch designer sought but few ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Every ch designer and every creator who entered into an inspired state was able to surpass their previous limits and perform their craft at a level that was previously unattainable to them. Many created their finest works when all of the stars lined up for them during these lifeti events.
The ch industry had expended a lot of effort into trying to reproduce this supercreative condition, but yielded very little results. Every drug or other thod of influencing soone's mind only caused the test subjects to enjoy different artificial highs. No matter how good these people felt, the pleasure that coursed through their minds and bodies was always hollow and lacking in substance.
Ves knew from personal experience that a true inspired state went far beyond a purely physiological reaction induced by a complex cocktail of chemicals. The real version affected soone regardless of their physical state because it was mainly a ntal and spiritual phenonon related to creativity.
On the surface, the special state that Blinky's design network was able to induce sounded remarkably similar to that. However, the cause and effects were considerably different. Creativity had nothing to do with the tis when Ves and the others were able to share their talents. The principal reason why they felt so good and improved their output was because they were able to leverage the abilities of other ch designers to co up with better solutions and approaches.
In other words, they were mostly borrowing the strength of others as opposed to drawing out more strengths from themselves. While they were able to absorb and internalize a small proportion of the abilities they borrowed from the other participants in the network, this ultimately did not represent an evolution of their own thods.
"It's a pity." Ves briefly sighed. "For a mont, I thought I found a way to artificially induce an inspired state."
He felt tempted to drag over the Statue of Transcendence and see whether it could help with inducing an inspired state on demand, but he quickly rejected this monuntally dangerous idea!
"I shouldn't dream too much and just get on with my work." He muttered.
Despite the benefits brought about by Blinky, Ves and Gloriana were nonetheless disappointed that they never even ca close to becoming affected by an inspired state.
This was the key to creating a high-quality ch. As long as one of them entered this mystical state, it was practically guaranteed that they would be able to produce a masterwork ch.
During a rare mont of downti where the Journeyn enjoyed a quick lunch, Ves and Gloriana shared their thoughts on the matter.
"I think we all underestimated how difficult it is to fabricate an expert ch." Gloriana explained. "In the tis when Blinky isn't available, all of us are struggling to complete a lot of difficult tasks. Our lack of experience and technical fluency in what we are doing is causing us to stop and think too many tis. It would have been better if we were able to make continuous progress without stopping along the way because we beca stumped by a problem that we have never encountered."
Ves nodded in agreent. "I think you're onto sothing. Inspired states never co about to those who do not possess enough technical ability and fluency. We all need to beco sufficiently competent to fabricate a good ch. If we were working on a regular ch, then I think our chances of entering into an inspired state is much higher. Our masteries in the relevant fields are high enough that it is unlikely that we would crash into a wall during the fabrication run. It's unfortunate that this is not the case at the mont."
Expert chs were ultimately higher-level products that should really be made by Seniors or higher. All of the Journeyn had to work past their regular limits in order to et all of the demands of constructing such a potent machine.
Everyone owed a lot to Gloriana at the mont. If she didn't take it upon herself to fabricate the most technically-challenging components and subcomponents, it was very likely that this run would end in failure!
Perhaps Gloriana's affinity towards these challenges was why Master Willix allowed the Journeyn of the Design Departnt to create the expert ch by themselves. His wife was the only one in the team who was qualified to assu this essential responsibility.
If Ves tried to shoulder this burden alone, he had little confidence that the end product would match the design. The most likely outco was that he would screw sothing up and try to fix it by kludging together a lot of ssy, improved solutions.
While that did not necessarily translate into a defective ch, the performance of whatever abomination he brought to life would definitely be questionable.
In any case, because everyone depended so much on Gloriana to carry them to success, the burden on her shoulders was taking a heavier and heavier toll on her ntal state.
"I don't know if I'll be able to last five whole days." She softly said. "We haven't slept at all and the only tis when we enjoy any breaks is when we have to eat. We don't even have to visit the bathroom anymore as our smart clothing takes care of that."
Technology can solve many trivial problems including the need to visit the bathroom. Of course, many humans were unaccustod to dealing with their bodily waste in this manner. Most stuck to the traditional thod of dealing with it unless it was an ergency and there were no better options.
"We're making decent progress, though. I don't think we should be disappointed with what we have."
They both looked at the neatly-sorted array of parts that they had just produced. None of the ones laid out on the deck fell below Gloriana's standards, though the ch designers were forced to scrap and try again whenever they slipped up in so fashion.
Other than that, the ch designers managed to keep up with the schedule and avoid any major problems that threatened to break the current pattern.
Everyone soon went back to work to complete the long and extensive fabrication phase. With Blinky lending a hand at regular intervals, every ch designer beca more and more adept at taking advantage of the options that the design network enabled.
Finally, almost four days went by until they completed the last part. They only slightly ran behind schedule at the end despite having to fabricate less components due to the smaller size of the Disruptor Project. So of the parts turned out to be so difficult to make that even Gloriana had to slow down and employ a great degree of caution in order to avoid a worse outco.
"We're ready to assemble the ch." She announced with a slightly weary voice. "I know we're all tired, but we have one more day to go. We have already left the hardest part behind us. Just don't grow too inattentive. The Disruptor Project is an exquisite puzzle and not a single piece must end up in the wrong place."
Everyone nodded. They all understood the challenges better after they encountered nurous difficult problems in the previous days.
Soon enough, the Disruptor Project started to take on a concrete form. The internal fra or skeleton went up first in order to provide a base for the components that filled it up and covered it all in a thin but resilient protective shell.
Without any of the ch designers noticing it, Venerable Tusa quietly entered the workshop. He beca fascinated at how the four ch designers all worked together to create his personal new machine.
"These four are truly impressive. Our clan is lucky to have them." He softly said.
"ow."
"Miaow."
Both Lucky and Clixie nodded.
"How powerful do you think it will be once it is complete? Will I be able to win against a Crosser expert ch? Will I be able to put up a good fight against Patriarch Reginald Cross?"
"ow!"
"Miaow miaow."
Venerable Tusa smiled wryly. "Hmm, maybe I'm just dreaming. A hybrid ch is almost as difficult to fight against as a striker ch for light skirmishers like mine."
The Disruptor Project could perform many different roles. It didn't necessarily have to be the strongest duelist, though it would definitely help the Larkinson Clan if it could put up a good fight against an expert ch.
Yet despite listening to so many explanations, Tusa still didn't have a good idea of how powerful his machine would actually turn out. No one dared to say for certain how the true resonance elent would empower his ch beyond its technical paraters.
The expert pilot watched on as the ch gained more definition. A host of bots, lifting cranes and individual ch designers crawled all over the surface of the incomplete work as it kept gaining parts and definition.
The more it approached completion, the more it ca to life. Tusa could clearly feel the birth of sothing indescribably warm and close to him as the light ch soon began to take on its slim and slender shape.
The light skirmisher was designed and built exclusively for his own use. This had profound effects, one of which was that the expert pilot gained an imdiate connection and affinity for the powerful machine in question.
The Disruptor Project was calling to him. The ch was already beckoning for Venerable Tusa to co closer and use it for its intended purpose.
Tusa stayed put. The ch was not done until Gloriana said so and he did not want to interrupt the tired but highly-motivated ch designers in their current business.
"We're almost done! We just need to fit the last pieces together and verify whether our construction is sound."
Assembling the expert ch was easier than fabricating the parts. As long as the quality of the latter was good enough, they should be able to fit in with each other without too many major issues.
Of course, the ch designers didn't settle for average. They either tried to employ the highest precision they could manage or made very minute tweaks on the fly depending on the circumstances.
However, everything must co to an end.
After almost five whole days, Gloriana solemnly affixed a golden plate into the cockpit of the expert light skirmisher. When she exited the cockpit, she slowly floated down to her other three colleagues and turned around to behold their collective work.
Though they had grown so tired that they wanted to collapse into a soft bed right away, they forced themselves to stand upright in order to inspect their completed work and appreciate what they had managed to create.
"We did it." Juliet softly whispered. "We actually managed to complete our first expert ch."
"It's so unique and alive. I can't wait to see it co to life and utilize its unique abilities." Ketis smiled in anticipation.
"The ch is more than just alive." Ves stated as he threw a glance at Venerable Tusa. "It is intricately tied to the expert pilot that is ant to use this powerful machine. The two are already acquainted with each other."
Gloriana remained quiet for a mont. Both pride and disappointnt surged in her mind.
She was proud of successfully concluding a challenging process that ordinary Journeyn had little chance to pull off due to lack of technical ability.
She was disappointed because the quality of the expert ch was rely good. The distance to masterwork was a little bit too far and even Lucky's gems wouldn't be able to make up for the shortfall.
She sighed and let her darker feelings pass. "This is a good first attempt… I expect better next ti we do this. Now that we know what it is like to fabricate an expert ch, we must beco a lot better prepared next ti!"
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