The Mech Touch Chapter 5711 Stepping Into His Shoes

5711 Stepping Into His Shoes

Now that Alexa had beco a Journeyman, her job and responsibilities needed to change.

She was not like all of the lead designers in the Design Departnt. She was his direct protege, and had demonstrated at least basic competence in living ch design.

While the sophistication of her products was not comparable to that of Ves, she could already serve as a substitute in cases where his intervention was normally required.

Once Alexa and Ves cleaned up the workshop and transferred the newly fabricated chs to an available hangar bay, they settled down in a nearby office where they could discuss all of the changes.

Though a part of Alexa was still distracted by all of the new ideas and possibilities that beca available to her, she was still attentive enough to discuss her altered place within the clan.

"In most large organizations, Journeyn are treated as more junior personnel who just happen to possess better future prospects." Ves began. "I think it is obvious to you that we do stuff differently. We don't have any Masters in our midst, and only a relatively short ti has passed since I advanced to Senior. Journeyn are therefore the mainstays that do much of the work needed to progress the projects of our Design Departnt. Now that you have beco one as well, it is ti for you to step up and undertake more serious work."

"I understand, sir." Alexa nodded in a manner that made it clear that she did not intend to object to his arrangents. "I hope you can give ti to ease into my new rank and capabilities. I need to learn what I can do and adapt my mindset on ch design now that I have reached this level of dedication. It will take three or four months before I am ready to work full-ti as a Journeyman."

"That is reasonable. I know what you are going through. I will give you all of the space you need to get a grip on your new strength. I am also aware that you also need to go on a pilgrimage to the regional headquarters of the Red Association in the Agamnon Upper Zone. I'm not really sure what sort of secrets the chers have decided to pass on to newly promoted Journeyn in this day and age, but they have probably prepared a different spiel than what I have heard."

Ves broke through in a different ti. The chers still tried to repress any knowledge of cultivation as much as possible and disguised everything through the lens of psionic power.

That approach had beco redundant or even counter-productive in the Age of Dawn.

Everyone and their grandmother had already beco aware of E energy, so a Journeyman making a pilgrimage to a major stronghold of the Red Association did not need to receive a lot of lessons anymore.

However, the chers never abolished this obligation, which showed that they still expected ch designers to co and learn who was truly in charge of their profession.

The Terrans usually took a dim view of the domineering approach of the Association, but they had no choice but to play by the rules.

"What kind of responsibilities do you expect to fulfill once I return?" Alexa asked.

Ves smiled back. "I have been thinking about your future for a while. I have tried my best not to bring this topic up to you because I did not want to add too much pressure onto your shoulders, but that is no longer a concern anymore. Once you have picked up your stride, I want you to receive additional lessons on the more advanced aspects of living ch design that I have yet to pass on to you. This includes the core principles of second generation, third generation and fourth generation living chs."

His student looked shocked as she knew exactly what that ant. "That… that is everything that defines a living ch of your design! Anchoring design spirits to ch designs, establishing orders of life, opening up the possibility to acquire Ascension Runes… have I missed anything?"

"Yes. There is design spirit creation, living ch cultivation, Carmine chs, battle networks and a bunch of other stuff that are not included in the package. I am not able to pass them on to you for various reasons, but I would be glad to teach you about everything else. You don't need to be as proficient in these aspects as myself, but I expect you to be able to reach a basic level of competency in designing fourth generation living chs by the end of the year."

This was a big move. Ves was essentially willing to pass on most of his core trade secrets to his student.

It was an enormous gift to a Journeyman ch Designer who was still relatively new to living chs!

Although Alexa would undoubtedly get influenced by his direction, as a Journeyman she should be able to preserve her own design philosophy and cling onto her existing style and approach.

"I will try my best. Given that you are eager for to learn how to design a fourth generation living ch, are you trying to train as your substitute in living ch design?"

Ves nodded and smiled. "Yup. It has been a growing burden for to make sure that the Design Departnt outputs a high quantity of living ch designs each year. It is impossible for to reduce it as our clansn and the market both hold high expectations for my works. Living chs are both my brand and a part of my identity. It is unacceptable to deliver chs that are not alive all of a sudden. This is where you co in. It would do a lot of good if you can partially take over on my behalf."

His student understood his demand. "I cannot promise you that my living chs will maintain the sa style and possess the sa level of strength as yours, but I will try my best to maintain consistency to avoid disappointing your custors."

Ves felt relieved to hear that. "Good. Redundancy and split responsibilities are essential to a growing ch operation. In the past, we used to rely on Sara Voiken to et all of our defensive needs. It was only later that we hired the likes of Beatrice Hendrix and Viktor MacMillon. Their specialties may be different, but that does not matter as long as they can improve the defenses of our chs. I want you to take on a similar position with regards to living chs. Not only do I want you to relieve so of my current work burden, but I also expect you to supervise my other ongoing projects if I happen to go on a trip and fall out of contact for a while."

She knew what he was thinking about.

"You still wish to proceed and put your life on the line by participating in a possible future deep strike expedition? I do not think the chers are eager to let you go forward."

"The chers don't control my entire life. This is a matter of principle. My Journeyman days may be over, but that does not an that I am no longer an explorer. I still need to live through different experiences in order to obtain the inspiration I need to produce new innovations. I'll sort this problem out with my minders. You just need to be prepared to step into my shoes during the tis I beco indisposed for whatever reason."

Alexa recognized that there were nurous problems with this plan.

"If I am expected to spend most of my ti designing living chs according to your style, I will not be able to allocate as much ti on designing chs that conform to my own vision."

"I know that this is not ideal, but the actual workload of turning a ch design alive is not that great so long as you do not invest too much ti into the technical aspects. You will still have sufficient ti for you to conduct your own research and lead your own design projects."

That placated Alexa for a bit. "I see. If that is the case, then I should be able to handle this responsibility. How much latitude will you give to diverge from your design philosophy and add my own traits to your designs?"

"I don't want you to turn all of our existing ch lines into living legacy chs." Ves responded in a firm tone. "They are still my products unless I say otherwise. Other than that, I will allow you to apply other, less drastic design solutions to them so long as their overall identities remain the sa. I do not want my custors to obtain a completely different living ch after they have placed an order. Our brand must remain consistent."

"Understandable. This is your ch company, not mine."

"That leads to your newly developed specialization." Ves continued. "The vision that you have shared with makes it clear that your design philosophy is not conducive to designing products with mass market appeal. Unless you retool your approach, it is a given that your living legacy chs will always remain a niche product. I cannot imagine that many people are willing to take your products seriously. They will think it is a giant joke to release chs that can physically interface with each other in order to produce a miniature ch that is supposed to organically grow into a mature machine after a while. There are so many aspects about this that sound crazy that it is impossible for you to do well in the public arena."

Even Ves questioned whether Alexa had gone overboard, but the woman clearly saw little issue with her work.

"I have already taken this into consideration, sir. I proceeded with my plan because I am confident that there are still custors who appreciate the potential of my own brand of living chs. I believe that over ti, the disapproving majority will co to regret their ridicule. If they embraced living legacy chs sooner, they would have been able to grow their own living ch dynasties by that ti."

There was no guarantee that this would happen, but it did not hurt to dream about it. Alexa may have her life a lot more difficult for herself, but if she was able to fulfill all of her promises, then the power of her living legacy chs could definitely exceed the more standard living chs designed by Ves!

"It would help if I can begin to prove myself by designing chs for the Larkinson Clan." Alexa said. "Do I have permission to design living legacy chs for the Larkinson Army?"

"Granted. I won't convince any of the legion commanders to add your works to their ch roster. You will have to convince them of the rits of your specialty products by yourself. I think you are being too hasty, though."

"Oh? How so, sir?"

"The Larkinson Army is our main fighting force. It is risky for a fresh Journeyman like yourself to et their intensive needs. It is better if you try to convince the various branches of the Larkinson Clan to adopt your machines instead. Their standards are lower and they are less critical about the quality of their chs. They may also be led by more adventurous leaders who are more open-minded about all of the cumberso requirents that they have to et in order to make the most out of your products. I hope you don't attempt to push Project S2 on them though. Its performance is simply not up to par."

Alexa responded with a reassuring smile. "Project S2 was never ant for mass production. I will make sure to design living legacy chs that best reflects the needs of the various ch units."

The Larkinson Clan as a whole was not ready to embrace this crazy living legacy chs business.

However, there were plenty of branches that might hold a different opinion towards Alexa's design philosophy.

They did not even have to replace all of their existing living chs with the ones designed by the woman. Just a few living legacy chs in a ch unit was already enough to make Alexa satisfied!