2131 Touring the Star Cluster

Once Master Willix and Jovy Armalon greeted their hosts, the procession began to move towards the secure workshop where the purpose of their visit rested.

Neither Master Willix reacted to the greeting party of Bright Warriors standing stoically on both sides.

Despite the huge and menacing weapons held by the mechs, none of the mechers showed any concern.

The Larkinson Clan would be crazy to lay a hand on the envoys of the MTA. Even if the Bright Warriors went out of control and attacked them out of the blue, their myriad of defenses could easily handle such attacks!

Rather, the various mech designers, engineers and other technical experts all reacted with varying degrees of shock, fascination or interest at the glows impacting their minds.

Despite walking in the middle of an entire company of Bright Warriors, none of the elite internal personnel of the MTA exhibited too many changes in their demeanor.

All of them were quite mentally resilient! Master Willix certainly hadn't brought anyone weak!

Most notably, Jovy Armalon observed the resplendent Bright Warrior with great interest! His glowing yellow eyes raked over the entire lengths of the four different configurations of the modular mech platforms as if he encountered a fascinating new toy!

"How intriguing." The young man with his neat, silver hair didn't even sway in the wind. "It is impressive how much you have accomplished with so little. I can hardly notice any flaws."

Gloriana beamed at that. "Though we had some help, it was quite a challenge to design this mech in the span of a couple months. The Bright Warrior design is just the precursor to our latest design."

"Mhmm." Jovy momentarily closed his glowing eyes. "So this is Mr. Larkinson's renowned 'glow'. Interesting. There are no components in the Bright Warrior design that can induce this effect. How can the Bright Warrior accomplish this feat?"

"What you're feeling comes from our proto-god, silly!" Gloriana replied as if it was no big deal. "Our Larkinson Clan is watched over by the Golden Cat. As long as you bear no ill will towards us and the clan, the Golden Cat will always welcome your presence!"

The mecher raised his eyebrow and turned to Ves, who nodded as naturally as possible.

By now, he had already worn his crazy hat!

"My girlfriend is correct. The Bright Warrior design is blessed by a proto-god that we have created for the purpose of protecting the Larkinson Clan. In a short moment, we will introduce you to another proto-god that we have summoned from the beyond. She is quite formidable, so be prepared."

"I cannot wait." Jovy smiled, though his expression turned a little strained.

Ves figured that Jovy had likely studied his record and had already heard from Master Willix about what the MTA knew about his design philosophy.

However, receiving second-hand knowledge about Ves' whacky design philosophy was different from hearing it direct from the source!

Jovy peered at Ves intensely as if trying to figure out whether he actually believed in the nonsense he just spouted!

Heh. Ves did not take any offense at Jovy's rude stare. With his current spiritual mask, he could match Gloriana in terms of craziness right now. There was no chink in his armor for Jovy and Master Willx to exploit!

Even so, Ves did not appreciate being scanned by Jovy's ocular implants. Their tell-tale glows made it very clear that the mecher sported an upgraded pair of eyes.

On account of Jovy's affiliation, Ves could only bear with the indignity without any word of complaint. He mentally patted himself on his back for smuggling all of his 'contraband' on the Scarlet Rose before sending the ship off. Who knew what Jovy would pick up if he still carried his gems and serum.

In fact, Ves wasn't even sure his pair of Synthra Umbra underwear was strong enough to block Jovy's powerful scanning methods!

Eventually, the staring had gotten so bad that Master Willix couldn't help but make a remark.

"Mr. Armalon, what did we tell you about your conduct?"

"The indigenous—"

"—are humans as well." Willix cut him off. "You have spent too much time in the confines of the MTA. If you have traveled farther and wider, you would have comported yourself in a different manner."

"My apologies, Master." Jovy sincerely bent. "I will endeavor to abide by your lesson."

As the group continued to walk, the mood between them remained cordial. Jovy stopped staring at Ves and instead began to look around the base. He stared curiously at the LMC mechs piloted by the Avatars, Sentinels and other forces and began to ask small questions about their designs.

Ves did not mind answering them. When he heard those questions, he quickly learned that Jovy was frighteningly intelligent. There was no doubt that he possessed a formidable implant! The amount of knowledge he carried rivaled that Ves. In fact, in many areas, the young MTA talent brought up knowledge that sounded completely unfamiliar!

Even so, both of them discovered that in terms of knowledge base, they both had their own strengths.

Jovy possessed a lot of knowledge about high technology and incredibly advanced applications, but he spread his attention too wide. His grasp on all of those fields weren't entirely solid, though he still mastered the basics to an excellent degree.

In contrast, Ves may not know or possess a deep understanding of exotic and powerful fields, but his Senior-level Skills imparted him with a rock-solid foundation!

This gave the both of them a good measure of respect towards each other. Ves had been afraid that the Journeyman that Master Willix brought along would be some snobbish elitist who wanted to rub his superiority in the faces of the so-called 'indigious people'.

While Gloriana continued to regale Master Willix with her exploits, the two male mech designers continued to probe each other.

In truth, Jovy was not that bad. He came across as a sheltered mech designer who spent most of his time in the familiar confines of his lab or the resplendent halls of the MTA.

At the very least, once Ves displayed his competence, Jovy no longer looked down on him as much!

"So where do you come from?" Ves casually asked.

"I'm a native of the Winged Serenade Star Sector. I was born at the sector headquarters and grew up there. After I have advanced to Journeyman, my parents encouraged me to go on a journey and experience the design and use of mechs in different star sectors."

That was hardly odd, especially for highly-promising mech designers like Jovie. He was just as old as Ves and Gloriana and had already proven that he was a solid Journeyman. This man's mech designs must certainly be formidable!

Usually, Journeymen traveled at least some point in their lives. It was just that few of them had the luxury to cross through multiple star sectors like Jovy. Either they were bound by existing commitments, or their company needed their presence too much for them to tour the galaxy without worry.

That was not a problem for the mech designers in the employ of the MTA. The powerful organization cultivated its own mech designers, and as the most formidable authority of the mech industry, the Association was well aware what Journeymen had to go through in order to unlock their full potential!

Up until now, Jovy had only visited a few star sectors, each time staying for a couple of months before moving on. Right now, he had just arrived at the Komodo Star Sector and coincidentally caught Master Willix' attention as she assembled a team to visit the Cinach System once again.

"What star sector interests you the most so far?" Ves curiously asked.

"Hmmm.." Jovy paused. "I would say the Vicious Mountain Star Sector has made the strongest impression on me. The way the Garlen Empire and the surrounding states have descended to.. barbarism.. is intriguing from a sociological standpoint. In practically every other part of human space, good leadership is often equated to intelligence and wisdom. Not so in Vicious Mountain. There, only a strong leader is qualified to lead the people, and I'm not talking about political strength."

"Yeah, Vicious Mountain is weird like that. We have heard plenty of stories here. It is rather to think that expert pilots and ace pilots of all people are put into a position of real power and leadership over a state!"

Jovy truly disliked what he had seen in that star sector! "It's a step backwards in our perspective. The progression of human civilization can be characterized as a gradual upwards progression from barbarism to civilization. Brute force can only strengthen you so much. It is not the caveman who wields the club, but the caveman who develops the bow and arrow that will reign supreme! In this advanced stage of the human race's history, I thought it was already very clear that the best thinkers of the people should be in charge. Putting the strongest brutes on the throne is a grossly-outdated tradition that should have never been brought back from the dead!"

The mecher couldn't contain himself and continued to express his contempt of Vicious Mountain. Though Ves did not necessarily disagree with the elite Journeyman's opinion, he wouldn't have put it in such an undiplomatic fashion.

If Jovy spoke like that in Vicious Mountain, then some local wouldn't hesitate to punch him in the face!

Ves coughed. "Vicious Mountain Star Sector indeed follows a different tradition. I think you MTA love seeing that, right?"

"At the very least, Vicious Mountain serves as a direct example where their path leads. The endless wars and competition for glory has left the star sector in a perpetually-unstable state."

As they talked, they soon reached the secure workshop. Once they passed through the entrance, the glow of the Superior Mother began to impact the MTA delegation.

The statue of the Superior Mother entered their sight first. The tall, marble-like statue possessed an indescribable allure to the other-wise stoic MTA specialists.

For some reason, ever since it had been struck by lightning, the statue acquired a mysterious charm. Though Ves didn't think much of it, the fact that the elite MTA envoys all halted in their tracks was rather alarming!

"So this is the statue that has made such a stir in the local news." Master Willix commented with interest. "It bears your glow, yet it is not a mech."

Ves smiled. He was already prepared for this question.

"How do you think our proto-gods are born? They are fueled by worship! The Superior Mother is my greatest divinity to date! With the confluence of 6 proto-gods, 66 formidable Swordmaidens, 666 Penitent Sisters, 6,666 coffins, 66,666 local men and 666,666 remains of sandmen, I have managed to bring the ultimate Hexer deity to life!"

Jovy directed an incredibly odd look at Ves. Before, they talked normally, not revealing much that was out of the ordinary.

For Ves to suddenly turn into a raving fanatic was too much of a shock to the inexperienced Journeyman!

Master Willix looked unfazed but put a hand on Jovy's shoulder. The younger mech designer's expression quickly schooled back to normal.

Obviously, the two had silently communicated with each other through their implants. Whatever the Master said, Jovy no longer looked like he wanted to open his mouth and challenge the absurdities he heard.

Soon enough, the delegation moved on and finally reached the mech that they had been waiting for. The Little Angel finally graced their sight.

A number of envoys including Jovy sighed and gazed upon the masterwork mech with admiration.

"We can already draft the masterwork certificates." Jovy said as he meticulously studied the superb craftsmanship of the Blessed Squire copy. "There is no doubt that it's a masterwork!"

If Jovy was already this bad, then Master Willix and the women in her entourage were worse!

"This mech… this mech is extraordinary!"

It didn't take long for Master Willix to leave the group and ascend into the air in order to study the mech up close!

Even her formidable self-control had lost against her urge to study the Little Angel!

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