Lucky hopped onto a table and sat on his haunches. He looked curiously at Ves and Ketis obsessing over the projection of a mech design.

"...This is a very sober mech design. Even though it's devoid of any gimmicks or extra features, its foundation is quite solid!"

The mech that Ketis had designed in her spare time truly earned his appreciation. Though it was just an Apprentice-level premium landbound swordsman mech design, it not only showcased a Journeyman-level understanding of Mechanics, Physics and Metallurgy, the machine was also focused on making the most out of its incredibly sharp greatsword!

The care, love and attention that his first student had poured over this nameless mech design truly touched him. Similar to Ves, Ketis treated her mechs as precious, living containers of her values and principles.

Though she didn't adopt his perspective that mechs were alive, Ves had definitely influenced her own beliefs to a significant extent, sometimes unintentionally!

This was something that Ves hadn't entirely anticipated. Imitation was one of the best ways to improve, and Ketis enjoyed plenty of opportunities to study and observe his work.

She subsequently imitated many of his methods and maintained a lot of focus while she developed this swordsman mech. This had indirectly caused her nascent design philosophy to affect the mech at a significantly greater degree than other Apprentices were capable of. The sharpness of the blade of her mech design already surpassed the limits of its materials and production method!

Ketis smiled with pride. "To be honest, I followed your lessons and learned from your own mechs. You always emphasize the basics. I did my best to focus purely on the core functions of my mech, making sure that its most important specs are all good before focusing on imbuing my sword will into my design."

"Sword will?" Ves puzzled.

"My superpower!" She clarified. "Sword will is… kind of the goal that many of our Swordmaidens are pursuing. When Commander Lydia still led us, she told us stories on how to transcend mundane swordsmanship. Those who wield the sword as a tool are warriors. Those who have become the sword are true swordswomen!"

Ves raised his eyebrow. He may have seen this phrase a few times when he looked up swordsman mechs, but he never paid that much attention to it. However, now that Ketis mentioned it, perhaps there was actual substance behind this concept.

However, when Ves contextualized what Ketis mentioned with his own theories on design philosophies and force of will, it suddenly clicked.

"You mean there is an obsession with swords. An obsession that has grown so strong that it is capable of affecting reality!"

"Yup!" She grinned. "I always thought that Commander Lydia's lessons on sword will only applied to mech pilots. When you showed that mech designers like us can gain superpowers as well, I knew that I could develop a sword will as well! I put my full effort into developing it! It's thanks to you that I can slice a metal bar with a butter knife!"

Though her story sounded silly, Ves truly admired her persistence. Even if she harbored mistaken assumptions, she only needed to believe that it was possible for her to pour her entire heart and soul in developing her own 'sword will'!

Right now, Ketis basically equated her design philosophy to the concept of sword will that Commander Lydia used to inspire her Swordmaidens. This insured that Ketis would always remain highly motivated and highly passionate about her work!

Seeing that Ves did not have to worry about Ketis slacking off, he smiled and waved his hand.

"Your swordsman mech design is very good for a mech designer at your level. I would have absolutely liked to publish it a few years ago. As it is…"

"It's okay. I know it's not up to your standard. I don't want to impose on you and the LMC. I'll catch up with you someday and design a mech that is worthy enough to sell under your brand!"

Ketis did not mind that she wouldn't be able to sell her mech to the market. As a daughter of the frontier, she did not possess the same reverence towards the mech market than someone who was born in civilized space.

Whereas mech designers like Ves treated the mech market as the ultimate arbitrator of success, to Ketis it was merely a means to earn money. She cared a lot more about designing mechs for the Swordmaidens than achieving commercial success!

"About this sword will, I suppose Commander Dise has formed one as well?"

"Yes! Her sword will is different from mine. We regularly compare ourselves against each other through spars." She replied and sighed. "She's easily able to defeat me in every practice session, whether we compete on strength or technique. I really admire her sword will. Hers is.. changing every day. I think she is close to finding her own way."

"That sounds good. I hope we can welcome a new expert pilot within the Larkinson Clan when she succeeds."

Ves had very high hopes for this expedition. He had brought along every expert candidate in his clan. The Nyxian Gap would provide them with plenty of opportunities to challenge themselves and overcome their limits.

While it was possible for expert candidates to achieve their breakthroughs outside of the battlefield, in practice it was rare for them to do so. True life-and-death combat still remained the most effective method to achieve a breakthrough.

This was why states that engaged in war more frequently often boasted a greater quantity of expert pilots. The quality of their expert pilots were also better because each of them had advanced to their current height through a mountain of mech wrecks!

This was something that the Larkinson Family already understood. It was one of the reason why most Larkinson mech pilots were eager to do their duty and defend the Bright Republic against Vesian aggression.

Perhaps without a belligerent neighbor like the Vesia Kingdom, the Larkinsons would have never developed into a renowned military family!

Ves had long been frustrated by the lack of progress of his available expert candidates. Even though Jannzi Larkinson, Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson and Commander Dise had grown very strong, none of them managed to overcome their bottlenecks.

Rather than waiting for all of them to mill down the obstacles in their way, Ves would rather subject them to pressure so they could punch through their barriers with a single, direct leap!

The only issue that Ves was concerned about was whether he could manage the risks. He needed to surround them with sufficient danger to stimulate their potential, but also had to make sure his enemies didn't actually end the lives of his precious expert candidates.

The loss of even one of them would inflict a huge blow to the confidence of his Larkinson Clan!

The session between Ves and Ketis continued.

As Lucky crawled onto the female mech designer's lap, Ketis showcased some of her other mech designs.

Her most recent work was a light mech that fought akin to a fencer mech. It possessed high mobility and a rapier whose point was so sharp that it could even pierce through the chest plating of a mech as long as her mech applied sufficient force.

The only problem was that it was very challenging to do so. The base strength of the light swordsman mech was so weak that it had to build up a lot of momentum to punch through solid armor.

"This is a mech that requires excellent battle instincts and a high degree of skill in agile swordsmanship." Ketis explained. "Even among my surviving sisters, only a few of them are able to exert the full potential of this mech."

They moved on to a heftier mech design. The machine not only boasted a considerable amount of armor, but also wielded a sword in each hand!

"A duel-wielding swordsman mech?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "So far, you have shown a heavy preference to single swords in your mech designs. Why two all of a sudden?"

"This is my attempt at designing a defensive mech." She revealed and pointed at the thick armor plating covering most of its vitals. "While I can technically design a knight mech, I wanted to develop an alternative that can fulfill a similar role. Due to all of the mass slowing down its movement, I wasn't confident its defense was good enough. Adding a second sword not only allows this mech to defend against attacks from multiple angles, but also make it trickier for a single opponent to overcome its guard."

"That only applies to melee mechs."

"That's why I made the blades strong and thick. If they are able to cover themselves with the flat of the blades, it should be sufficient to defend against some ranged attacks."

Ves shook his head. "It's not good enough. You would be better off pairing the mech with a single broad blade instead, or better yet, an actual shield. Swords are held by their ends. This means that physical projectiles will exert a lot of force close to the center of the blade. There is a considerable risk that the grip on the sword won't be able to hold."

From the glum look of Ketis, she knew it as well. The duel-wielding swordsman mech only offered the same degree of defense as a Doom Guard. While its mobility and offense was higher than a knight mech, it was a fairly awful mech to field against ranged attackers.

"It's a failed experiment."

"Not necessarily." Ves gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "The mech still has a niche, just like striker mechs. It's not a knight mech and doesn't have to fulfill the same role as one. As long as it is fielded alongside other mech types that can cover up its shortcomings, this mech can serve as the cornerstone of a defensive bulwark or the battering ram of any offensive assault."

Even if her vision or mech concept possessed a lot of holes, Ves still praised her work for their various strengths. He himself was a mech designer who liked to pursue extremes, so all of her work was very much to his liking.

Certainly, he could have dissected and magnified the flaws of each of her original mech designs, but there was hardly any benefit to such a course of action. Ketis already appeared aware of the main flaws of her mech designs, so there was no need for Ves to open her wounds.

It was hard for her to hide her shame, though. While her mech designs were good enough to match his Blackbeak and Crystal Lord designs, they were far from reaching the level of the Desolate Soldier and his later works!

Ves raised his hand and plopped it onto her poofy beret.

"Don't compare yourself to me." He gently advised her. "You're much younger than me. Your circumstances are different and you pursue a different path from mine. Compared to many of your peers, you have already reached further ahead. With every mech you've designed, I have noticed that you have become much more proficient in incorporating your specialty. You're progressing by leaps and bounds, and most of it has to do with the purity of your design philosophy. As long as you maintain this trajectory, you will definitely reach the level where you are qualified to outfit the Swordmaidens."

Her depression evaporated as she looked at him with hope. "Really?"

"I have always been grateful to the Swordmaidens. I always had the intention to design a mech for them, but I did not want to do so without your help. As an Apprentice, your design philosophy won't have much of an effect. I'm waiting for you to advance to Journeyman. Once you do, you can either choose to design a mech for the Swordmaidens by yourself, or collaborate with me and Gloriana to design the most impressive swordsman mechs for your sisters!"

The flame burning within her heart suddenly grew hotter! Reaching Journeyman became an even greater priority for her now that Ves made such a generous promise.

"I'll take you up on your offer, Ves! My sisters deserve the best!"