The Design Departnt of the Living ch Corporation had grown enormously since its humble beginnings.
Starting from the ti where Ves designed his chs all on his loneso back in Cloudy Curtain, the Design Departnt had slowly developed an extensive hierarchy as it continued to fill up with more and more personnel.
Granted, the vast majority of them consisted of young Novices and Apprentices who lacked any particular importance.
Low-ranking ch designers had their place, and Ves could easily na a dozen different nas that had caught his attention over the years.
The issue was that their usefulness to him remained limited so long as they had yet to truly cross the extraordinary threshold.
Whether it was their knowledge base, their affinity to chs or their ingenuity, they simply did not possess the ability to lead projects that could output chs that satisfied the standards set by the Miracle Couple.
Only high-ranking ch designers could satisfy the needs of the Larkinson Army as well as the diverse range of custors of the Living ch Corporation.
The Design Departnt currently employed 11 lead designers if Ves left himself out of the picture.
They brought enough design capacity to lead any small to dium ch company to prosperity!
However, all of them were currently Journeyn. It was not uncommon for ch designers of this rank to achieve comrcial success, but their ability to penetrate the ch market was always limited due to the presence of so much competition.
The dominance of mainstream chs made it far too difficult for Journeyn to compete directly.
Their only choices were to find a niche in a local market that was not being served by the big players, or to be inventive enough to design highly innovative chs that could essentially create a new market all by themselves!
The incredibly harsh circumstances imposed by the ch market only allowed the very best Journeyn to establish a growing ch business.
These were the ch designers who not only possessed the skill and ingenuity to serve the market in very different ways than the general ch industry, but also possessed the finances, infrastructure, backing and other helpful factors to successfully convert their potential into real gains.
Ves was naturally one of the few success cases.
His living chs brought value and fulfilled needs that everyone else did not even think about.
He had managed to design and sell bestsellers since his days as a third-class ch designer.
Now that he was on track to beco a first-class ch designer, his latest products had already reached a stage where the combination of their intangible and tangible performance paraters had reached a height where they could actually challenge the dominance of mainstream ch models!
There was no denying that he was the driving force behind the LMC's teoric rise. He was chiefly responsible for both the highly successful product reveal of the Fey Fianna line and the amazing market potential of the upcoming Supremo Project!
Yet the LMC's overwhelming reliance on its head designer also represented a vulnerability.
After spending so many years shouldering the business ambitions of the Larkinson Clan by himself, Ves grew tired of bearing sole responsibility of paying all of the bills.
This was why he supported the diversification of the Larkinson Clan's revenue streams as well as the developnt of all of his lead designers.
Each of them had the potential to rise above and excel in their own fields. Ves had always been careful about the selection of his external hires. They had to be young, talented and full of potential.
The upside to hiring them was that they were young and inexperienced enough for his teachings and indoctrination to take effect.
The downside was that it took a lot of them for them to realize their potential and live up to his expectations.
So far, only two ch designers had reached the level where they could partially take over the LMC's business and shoulder the Larkinson Clan's extensive financial burdens.
Though her range of output was a lot more limited, Ketis had risen up to beco the best substitute for Ves. Her unique circumstances granted her advantages that enabled her to design swordsman chs that had no equal.
Ves may have played an instruntal role in transforming her into a brilliant swordmaster and Journeyman ch Designer, but her overwhelming passion, her unyielding work ethic and her raw talent enabled her to stand out from her peers.
Her rapid growth and rise ca as an enormous relief to Ves. He knew that if he disappeared tomorrow, the LMC would still be able to earn enough revenue to support the current state of the clan.
Gloriana was also a ch designer who had grown a lot. Although she was unwilling to lead design projects centered around mass production chs, her ability to turn every custom ch into a masterwork over ti was worth a fortune!
Although the Larkinson Clan had yet to utilize her god body thod on a wider scale, Ves knew that even first-raters were willing to pay a fortune to obtain a custom ch that could evolve into a masterwork after a ti.
Alas, this was the extent of Larkinson ch designers who had grown strong enough to share his considerable burden.
The remaining 9 lead designers still needed years if not decades to co into their own. This was nothing unusual among Journeyn, but Ves was not sure whether red humanity would be able to last long enough to give the remaining Larkinson ch designers enough ti for developnt.
Ves was most pleased with Juliet Staros and Sara Voiken. Both of them specialized in mobility and defense. These were two basic but indispensable aspects for any ch design. It was no surprise that the two Journeyn managed to accumulate a lot of practical experience as a result.
Their workloads may be a lot heavier than their other colleagues, but their persistent efforts rapidly polished their design skills and allowed them to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a wide variety of chs!
The remaining Journeyn were not bad either, but they lacked the ti, accumulation or opportunities to shoulder greater responsibilities in the near future.
This was why he encouraged them all to undergo EdNet training. The accelerated simulated learning program was exactly what they needed to speed up their progress and promote the quality of their work in a hurry.
It was partially because he had sent so many ch designers off for EdNet training that Ves had to put special emphasis into recruitnt.
Ves had a habit of making decisions that primarily paid off in the long-term. This usually worked out well enough, but in this case it had hollowed out the Design Departnt in a ti where the LMC needed to refresh and expand its current catalog of comrcial ch models the most!
"I truly hope your batch of new recruits can address the acute manpower shortage in our Design Departnt." Ves spoke to Alexa as he rose up from his seat and awaited the arrival of the first candidate. "How many Journeyn did you manage to bring over this ti?"
"25."
"WHAT?!"
"You underestimate how attractive you have beco as an employer." Alexa smirked. "Aside from the qualities that you have long been known for, the events that recently took place on this planet have elevated your stature even further. The Fey Fianna is arguably the best second-class ch designed by a Senior. Countless ch designers want to learn from you and receive guidance on how to excel so quickly. The fact that every lead designer is entitled to receive a custom companion spirit from you is a powerful bonus."
"It's not so easy." Ves shook his head. "External help can only bring them so far. I can only increase their potential. It is up to them to do the hard work required to surpass most of their peers."
Alexa did not argue against that. "Even if you cannot help them as much as they wish, they can still take advantage of your rapid ascent. The attempted assassination attempt exposed your relationship with the Destroyer of Worlds. While no one knows how close you are to her, even a casual relationship should be enough to propel you to the top of the first-class ch industry within a century. This may be the last chance for second-class ch designers to hitch a ride aboard your shuttle."
That may be the real reason why Alexa experienced much less difficulties in bringing in a lot of qualified candidates.
"I understand. Since we have so many nas to go through, we should start right away. Do you intend for to recruit all of them, or do you expect to filter out a few of your candidates?"
"I have tried my best to make a careful selection based on the needs of our clan and your personal preferences." The forr Terran ch designer said in a professional tone. "In theory, all 25 candidates should be able to earn your approval. However, your judgnt is different from mine. It should not impact our plan too much if you reject a part or even half of the potential recruits that I have selected."
"Hmmm..." Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. "In that case, it is best if I hold the candidates to a higher standard."
He had several ways to do this. He retrieved the Larkinson Mandate and placed it on his office desk for easy access. He also prid Blinky to take a deep look at the spiritualities of his candidates.
"Bring in the first one."
A young man ca in. He looked to be in his early thirties, but possessed a sense of confidence and poise that spoke of superior upbringing.
"Na?"
"Viktor MacMillan." The man answered in a crisp accent.
"Design philosophy?"
"Class III. Close-Surface Energy Shield Systems."
Oh?
Ves imdiately developed a greater interest in this candidate. The Design Departnt had long been lacking in defensive specialists, especially ones who possessed particularly strong attainnts in the developnt of energy shield generators.
While Sara Voiken and Beatrice Hendrix both excelled in designing powerful armor systems, this was not enough to satisfy people's needs anymore.
The rapid advancent in energy shield technology in the last two ch generations had caused them to beco a lot more practical than in the past.
They had always been known as energy-hungry gadgets, but never delivered a satisfying degree of protection until fairly recently.
The rise of phasewater technology and hyper technology had rapidly turned energy shield generators from a luxury to a necessity for many second-class chs!
It was high ti the Design Departnt hired an actual energy shield specialist.
Ves currently wondered whether Viktor was the only candidate that possessed this kind of specialization.
After he sent a silent transmission to Alexa, she discreetly replied through the sa channel.
There was another candidate who specialized in energy shield systems. That ca as a relief to Ves. The Design Departnt truly needed all of the help that it could get to elevate the energy shields of all Larkinson chs to a higher standard.
Right now, Ves was wondering what made Viktor MacMillan's work special.
"Please summarize your design philosophy." Ves commanded.
"I specialize in developing energy shield generators that can project shaped energy shields that can take on much more complex shapes than usual." Victor quickly explained while maintaining his confidence. "This allows my energy shields to follow the contours of a ch much more closely. Dynamic monitoring and rapid adjustnts can prevent the energy shields from colliding with the limbs of the chs and continue to provide effective protection at a considerably lower burden due to lack of wasted coverage."
"Interesting. What else makes your energy shield systems more effective than others?"
"The efficiency of my energy shields can be brought to another level by activating one of my proprietary software programs that can dynamically regulate the activation of my energy shields, thereby reducing the strain to the energy shield generator and energy reserves of the ch by over 70 percent. It is not completely foolproof, but it can activate energy shields fast enough to block over 95 percent of incoming attacks."
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