The Enlightened Warrior was one of the first variant ch design projects that Ves had embarked upon in quite a while.
Normally, he looked down on it as most chs were better off if they were designed according to a specific vision from the ground up. Trying to adapt a similar but ultimately different ch design to a different vision was like forcibly changing the personality of an individual. Though the transformation might succeed, the repercussions were enormous.
"I really do want to design you from the ground up, but I have to be practical about it as well." Ves sighed as he began to work on his new variant ch design project.
Before he committed months of his valuable design ti on pursuing this idea even further, he felt it was better to start on a smaller scale and produce a trial balloon first.
He could make a much more inford decision once he studied the results of his initial attempt.
His demands weren't too high for that reason. He just wanted to observe whether the Quint could act as a design spirit to another ch design, whether the spiritual feedback process worked properly for living chs and whether the end users of his new ch model actually benefited from piloting it instead of a regular Bright Warrior model.
Still, in order to make sure that his new creation was sufficiently differentiated from the base model and adapted to its new purpose, Ves invested 3 weeks into designing his new variant.
This was a rather generous ti schedule that would allow him to adjust the design to his satisfaction and override much of its original purpose with a new and different mission.
That last one was of great importance to Ves. The Bright Warrior line was centered completely around serving general Larkinson ch pilots. With the Golden Cat as its design spirit, the Bright Warrior was partially ant to serve as a way to assimilate new mbers and increase their sense of belonging to the clan.
That obviously couldn't remain if he wanted to make the ch design more universal. Although Ves still had his own people in mind when he wanted to perform this experint, the need to avoid using Larkinsons as test subjects ant he had little choice but to turn to outsiders to validate his proof of concept.
"It's not a big problem."
He had altered the original identities of his existing ch designs before. He had made chs that were previously exclusive to one group of people more compatible with other groups of people.
"This is my own work, after all. I know them like the back of the hand. I can easily unmake my own solutions and put new ones in their place."
The real challenge was performing these steps while minimizing any potential damage. This was much harder to do if he was working on soone else's ch design. There were so many intricacies in design choices that a single mistake could easily cascade into many other problems in other parts of a ch design.
He didn't have to worry about that here because he knew about almost all of the rationale behind every design choice. Though he had to refresh his mories multiple tis, he still recalled why he set it up the way he did at the ti.
"Gloriana probably won't be happy with ruining one of our collaborative ch designs."
Ves chuckled. While there was indeed a chance that he might screw up her arrangents, the drop in performance shouldn't be that big.
In fact, he had improved quite a bit since he first completed the Bright Warrior Mark I Version B design. He had deepened his knowledge base and gained a lot more experience. He developed many new techniques and expanded his theoretical frawork.
It was not difficult for him to apply his new gains onto the original Bright Warrior design and co up with a major revision.
"That will take too much ti, though."
Ves set a ti limit of 3 weeks because he did not want to get lost in all of the improvents he could make on the base model. He had a narrow goal in mind and was set on completing it within the deadline.
This was important because he would be finishing his Enlightened Warrior design shortly after arriving in the Pellysa System.
There was a bustling marketplace over there that provided Ves with plenty of opportunities to enlist more test subjects.
He smirked. "It'll be easy enough to get them to buy my new ch. I just have to sell them at a discount."
Many people loved to buy bargains! If his custors grew suspicious why he sold his products so cheaply, Ves could just state that he wanted to grow his brand and generate more word of mouth about his living chs.
Of course, the effect would be rather marginal unless he sold them by the thousands, which was far too wasteful and ti-consuming.
"I'll just stick to a couple of hundred or so. That won't take too long to produce."
The only problem with doing this was that Ves would not be able to disclose that his new Enlightened Warrior design was an experintal product that could potentially lead to unexpected ntal changes or another case of exploding head syndro!
"The benefits outweigh the risks. I am confident I can control the latter this ti!"
He did not intend to push the envelope with the Enlightened Warrior design. That could co later when he had a more suitable audience in mind.
As Ves continued to work on his variant, he slowly morphed its character and identity into one that conford with its new purpose.
The Enlightened Warrior revolved around several thes.
First, it retained the high compatibility of the original Bright Warrior. Although this design priority was the main reason why the ch model perford so diocre in every role, right now Ves saw it as a great boon for the Enlightened Warrior.
Ves smiled. "The main purpose of the Enlightened Warrior is to help ch pilots improve. It doesn't have to be the strongest ch model available for sale. Since it is partially a training ch, it is actually good that it can accommodate a broad range of piloting styles!"
It was just like Ketis' Monster Slayer ch in that regard. The difference was that Ketis wanted to turn every ch pilot of her upcoming comrcial ch into a proficient greatsword wielder, whereas Ves sought to produce breakthroughs.
He did not expect his Enlightened Warrior to achieve as much success as the Monster Slayer. It was extrely hard to increase anyone's chances of undergoing apotheosis. Even if his ch was good, Ves realized quite well that he might not achieve statistically significant results until years later!
"It's okay."
Ves just wanted to spread his chs around so that he could accelerate the growth of the Quint. It would be more obvious that the Enlightened Warriors facilitated its evolution if there were more active copies in use. Just relying on 20 MTA ch pilots was not enough!
In order to make it easier to reach out to many ch pilots, Ves retained the four original configurations. The Enlightened Warrior would therefore be able to fight as a swordsman ch, a rifleman ch, a space knight and a lancer ch, which should be enough to cover the needs of at least 70 percent of every ch pilot in the Red Ocean!
He could keep everything the sa though. Not only did he need to make changes in order to differentiate its spiritual character, he also had to replace its older, Hexer-developed ch parts with ones that were more in line with the current environnt.
"So of those Hexer parts require materials that are not easily available in the Red Ocean." He frowned.
Materials such as Kavenit which was ubiquitous in his ho region were much scarcer and more expensive in this part of the new frontier. There were many other examples of that and in ti the Larkinson Clan's stockpiles would run out. This was also why he was so eager to design so many new chs for the Larkinson Army.
"In any case, the Enlightened Warrior should be made out of exotics that are more abundant in the surrounding regions."
Ves also had to swap out almost all of the old components of the Bright Warrior for newer, more superior ones.
This was not just because he wanted to upgrade the performance of his variant ch so that it could beco a more competitive product in the market. He also had to replace the proprietary Hexer-developed ch parts with comrcially licensed alternatives that were specifically designed to be produced with Red Ocean materials.
Although Ves didn't think that any Hexer lawyer would co and sue him for breaching a contract and trying to sell unauthorized Hexer military hardware to private custors, it was disrespectful to go back on his word.
At the very least, he would tarnish his reputation if he went through with such a disrespectful act!
The process of replacing components was a huge endeavor that resulted in plenty of changes, but Ves was able to minimize his workload by picking substitutes that closely conford to the original parts.
Sure, the Enlightened Warrior beca a bit rougher as a result, but as long as the ch worked as intended, he didn't mind if it ca out in a more unoptimized state.
"As a proof of concept, it just needs to work well enough."
If he ever wanted to comrcialize this ch concept properly after he concluded this experint, then there was no way he wanted to sell the Enlightened Warrior en masse. He would start a proper design project.
As he continued to design his new variant, he made sure to put plenty of effort into turning it into a more helpful ch. He constantly emphasized the Quint as a design spirit and tried his best to form an environnt where the masterwork expert ch was able to provide guidance to the ch pilots of the Enlightened Warrior.
Of course, Ves needed the Quint to cooperate on this experint.
YOU WISH FOR TO BECO A DESIGN SPIRIT.
"Yes." Ves spiritually communicated with his old work. "You'll have to assu extra responsibilities, but you'll be able to handle it. The stronger you beco, the better you are able to keep up with the chs you are connected with. The Enlightened Warrior model will beco your conduit to a reality that exists outside the expeditionary fleet."
WHY SHOULD I ACCEPT THIS DISTRACTION?
"Because it will help you perform your purpose better by making you stronger. You've seen our design spirits, right? You've witnessed how Goldie has steadily grown stronger as a result of receiving all of the spiritual feedback from our clansn. I am offering you the chance to beco another Goldie. You'll not only be able to give your users the strength they need to excel in battle, but also be able to leverage the abundant experience you've accumulated from tutoring hundreds if not thousands of different ch pilots."
…INTRIGUING.
Ves grinned at the Quint. "It will help you remain relevant as well. There is less reason for to retire you and put you in a museum if you are useful enough to keep around."
YOU WOULD NEVER RETIRE . YOU VALUE TOO MUCH. I AM AN INDISPENSABLE CH FOR THE LARKINSON CLAN.
"You cheeky ch. Well, if you need another reason to play along, then how about this. What if I tell you that there is a possibility that you will be able to retain your existence even after your physical form is destroyed? Ever thought about that, my Quint? If you are spiritually powerful enough, I believe that you can live after death and maintain your state in an incorporeal form. You'll be able to serve your purpose further by acting as a full-ti design spirit."
The Quint physically vibrated for an instant.
THAT SOUNDS TERRIFYING.
"Oh, co on!" Ves threw his head. "Well, how about this. If your ch fra ever gets destroyed, I'll build you a new one, alright? You can continue your existence as a living ch while at the sa ti performing your job as a design spirit. Does that sound good enough?"
…VERY WELL, CREATOR.
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