There were a lot of effective ways to make use of the previous two gems.
Though their properties limited the range of chs that they could be utilized to an effective degree, Ves still had a lot of freedom and choice in the specific chs he could choose to impart with additional effects.
Ves did not have the impression that he possessed the sa freedom of choice with the third gem.
[Shield of Sacrifice]
The dying wish of a powerful soul is contained within this gem. Increases the damage resistance of a ch up to 100 percent in proportion to the damage it has incurred.
It was already obvious from the start that there was only one possible ch that was destined to bear the Shield of Sacrifice gem.
"I can't justify the decision to put it in any other ch than the Dullahan Project." He sighed.
The Dullahan Project was not only Venerable Jannzi's next machine, but was also a living ch that would either beco a descendant or a continuation of the late Shield of Samar.
No matter what, much of the spiritual foundation of the upcoming expert space knight would be based on the Shield of Samar.
If Ves added a gem that was undoubtedly related to the sa living gem to the new Dullahan Project, then an unexpected event might take place!
The uncertainty of what would happen if he combined these two elents did not make him feel apprehensive.
Instead, he beca excited at the idea!
Every gem that he utilized before were derived from existences that Ves had never encountered in person. He suspected that many of them were powerful alien personalities that had died long before he was even born.
This was different. It was a lovely coincidence that he had just started a design project that was centered around designing a direct successor of the Shield of Samar while also obtaining a gem that shared the sa origin.
It would be unreasonable if the completed Dullahan Project did not produce a special reaction once it integrated this gem!
Ves happily put away the last gem. If nothing went wrong, he would probably be able to witness this event in a year or so. Even if it did not produce any dramatic results, the effect of the gem alone was quite powerful under the right circumstances!
"If I am interpreting its description correctly, then the more the ch incurs damage, the harder it is to destroy the remainder!"
This was a rather troubleso effect because chs like the old Shield of Samar perford at their best when they were in their most complete and undamaged state.
Once an enemy pressed them to the point of breaching their armor, the damaged machines risked getting crippled or destroyed after every subsequent attack because their internals got exposed.
"What is the use of amplifying the defense of a ch by 30, 50 or even 80 percent if the Dullahan Project is already full of holes?" Ves wondered.
Even if the Dullahan Project received a lot of internal strengthening, there was only so much that these asures could stop a serious attack from affecting crucial ch parts that were essential to the functioning of a machine.
"Still, it is better than nothing, I suppose. If the Dullahan Project is able to redirect incoming attacks from its exposed internals to its remaining armor plating, then that would vastly increase its longevity in battle."
Ves suddenly thought back on the recent Maiden of Adversity that had beco a popular ch model among the Hexers.
Its iconic Battle Skirt System was an amazingly effective modular external armor system. It allowed the new hero ch model to always have access to additional armor plating that it could position where they were needed the most.
"There's no reason to leave this option off the table."
Adapting a higher-end version of the Battle Skirt System to the Dullahan Project added a lot of complexity and additional cost, but Ves thought it was worth the price.
He already intended to make the Dullahan Project lighter, slimr and more offense-oriented than the last iteration of the Shield of Samar.
Adding the Battle Skirt System to the upcoming expert space knight was a way to maximize the value of the new gem.
This was because if the Dullahan Project ended up in a difficult battle against a powerful enemy, it would constantly be able to take hits without succumbing entirely with the help of the Battle Skirt System.
Even if the condition of the Dullahan Project deteriorated to an awful level, as long as enough of the modular armor plating of the Battle Skirt System remained intact, then the improved defense power of these movable plates would beco increasingly more effective at blocking attacks!
Of course, it was extrely unlikely that the Dullahan Project would be able to remain operational when it was 70, 80 or 90 percent damaged.
That was usually the point where a ch turned into a powerless and lifeless wreck!
This was why Ves felt a bit ambivalent towards the effect of the Shield of Sacrifice gem. That part about 'increasing the damage resistance of a ch up to 100 percent' was a bit of a bait because there was no way the Dullahan Project would ever co close to reaching the upper limit of this effect.
If Ves had a choice, he would rather obtain another gem like the Lant of Exod that increased the defenses of a ch against physical damage by 50 percent.
In fact, Ves originally reserved the Lant of Exod gem for the Dullahan Project shortly after he ca up with the design project, but that was no longer the case now that he obtained the Shield of Sacrifice gem.
"Oh well. At least I can save up the Lant of Exod gem for another defensive ch."
It was about ti for the Larkinson Clan to add another powerful defensive ch to its lineup.
Venerable Jannzi shouldn't be shouldering the burden of defending against powerful attacks alone.
Maybe Ves should pay more attention to the training and guidance of defense-oriented expert candidates.
Now that the expeditionary fleet was heading into dangerous regions, the demand for additional defensive assets would only grow higher.
"I'll think about this later."
After he was done with analyzing the properties and possible uses for his new gems, he went back to working on his ch design projects as there were no ways to make use of his new gains right away.
Lucky soon recovered from his weeks-long ordeal and beca healthy again. The cat seed to have gained a new appreciation towards life and began to play and wander around a lot more in the following days.
He had especially taken a liking to playing with Andraste. The energetic little girl regularly accompanied Lucky to one of the open parks aboard the Spirit of Bentheim in order to play various gas.
"Fetch, Lucky!" Andraste called as she threw a small frisbee in the air.
The device did not follow a simple trajectory but began to make various loops and turns as its integrated antigrav module controlled its flight.
Despite the frisbee's crazy maneuvering, Lucky accurately predicted its trajectory and flew at just the right spot to catch and bite the object between its teeth!
"ow."
Lucky arrogantly flipped his tail when he returned his prize back to Andraste, this ti with a couple of extra tooth marks onto the composite surface.
Andraste rely giggled at the sight before she threw the frisbee out once again.
anwhile, Marvaine began to spend more ti with Ves in the design lab.
Though Ves needed to devote a lot of ti to his design work, he was willing to spend half an hour on shaping his boy's views towards ch.
It was never too soon to indoctrinate his own child.
"Aren't chs like these fun?" Ves grinned as he placed a few ch figurines of his models on a table. "Pick one of them up if you want."
Marvaine lifted one of them up with a bit of difficulty. The tal figurine was a bit large and heavy for a boy of his age.
"Ohhh." He said as he took a closer look at a reasonably accurate scale model of the Bright Warrior Mark II. "So warm! Feels like Goldie!"
"That's right." Ves smiled. "Now take this other ch. Is this one just as good?"
He picked up a ch figurine that he had bought in Davute a few years ago. Its design and appearance was exquisite, but Marvaine did not pay much attention to these elents.
He frowned and began to hug the ch figurine of the Bright Warrior Mark II in his arms.
"Not good! It's too cold!"
"That's because this ch isn't alive." Ves explained as he shook the third-party ch figurine. "This is what makes my work different from everyone else's. My chs are warm while the chs designed by others are cold. You like the chs that feel warm and fuzzy to you, right?"
Marvaine eagerly nodded. "Warm chs feel so nice to . I don't want to play with colder chs."
Ves reached out and rubbed Marvaine's head. "I don't want you to play with cold chs either. They're no fun to and you. The reason why my chs feel warm to you is because they are alive. Do you know what that ans?"
"It ans… I can talk to them, right?" Marvaine tentatively replied.
"You can do much more with them, my son." Ves replied and held another living ch figurine in his hands. "chs like these are similar to pets like Lucky and Clixie. They're alive even if they don't look like it at first. However, each of them have the potential to beco your friends and companions in the future. Doesn't that sound nice, Marvaine? As long as you inherit my design philosophy in the future, you can make as many friends as you want! It will be a lot more fun than if you learn from your mother instead."
Marvaine's eyes lit up at the ntion of friends, but they quickly beca confused when Ves ntioned his wife.
"Why not learn from mama?"
Ves lifted up the third-party ch figurine again. "Because her chs are almost as cold and lifeless as this machine. Her works are still strong, but what is the point of making them when they are just as cold and unresponsive as simple dolls? The best toys are always the ones that are able to interact with you. The sa goes for chs. Let show you one of the projects that I am working on and tell you how I plan to make it alive. It is a lot easier than it looks. Maybe you can do this as well one day."
He lifted his son onto his lap and began to work on a couple of ongoing projects.
Marvaine curiously watched and listened as his father explained a few simple actions.
Though it was impossible for a child of his age to understand anything about actual ch design, the boy enjoyed all of the personal attention that he was receiving.
Ves tried his best to plant a seed into Marvaine's mind that tied living chs to all kinds of positive associations.
Living chs were warm.
Living chs were fun.
Non-living chs were cold.
Non-living chs were boring.
Perhaps he was going too far in his effort to 'encourage' his son to inherit his design philosophy, but Ves genuinely believed that he was doing Marvaine a huge favor.
It would be an awful waste if Marvaine opted to beco a ch designer but ended up pursuing a relatively ordinary design philosophy in the future!
So far, Marvaine absorbed everything like a sponge. The kid's frighteningly effective designer baby genes had massively improved his learning abilities, which ant that he was even more susceptible to indoctrination than the average human child!
Ordinary children forgot most of what they heard in less than a minute. Marvaine could recall at least half of his father's words in the sa amount of ti!
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