Though Ves had 'discovered' hundreds of odd applications of luminar technology, the crystals he made with the help of the crystal cube still failed in one aspect.

They broke too easily.

The MTA must have figured out a way to synthesize harder crystals that were at least comparable to other second-class materials, but Ves didn't have access to that know-how.

He felt tempted to contact Master Willix in order to beg her to grant him access to this crucial research, but he had a very strong hunch that he would return empty-handed.

She rejected his request before and had little reason to think it would be any different this time.

In general, the MTA did not like it when humans dabbled with alien tech.

It was one thing to develop technology derived from alien theories and applications.

It was another thing to directly make use of alien technology without understanding their fundamental mechanisms!

Right now, luminar technology was like a black box to Ves. The crystal cube along with the indecipherable crystal circuitry were so different from human tech that he would probably need centuries to understand all of its principles!

The most valuable component of luminar tech was how it seamlessly integrated and interacted with spirituality.

Ves was quite greedy to unlock this secret, but he did not intend to devote all his time to do so. He did not specialize in energy weapons or crystal technology. The only reason luminar technology was relevant to him was because of its relation to spiritual engineering. Yet that was not enough for him to single-handedly transform luminar technology into something that could be mastered by other humans.

"Fortunately, I don't have to achieve this much." He reminded himself. "I just need to make enough progress to add something of value to our ranged expert mech designs."

He was moving closer. Every day, he managed to synthesize crystals that were a little tougher. Even if only five out of five-hundred improved on this aspect, this was still a step in the right direction!

The only annoying part of it all was that Ves had no idea when he would be able to reach his goal. The Illustrious One was obviously able to manipulate luminar technology to a degree. Yet his theoretical understanding was still too spotty to provide consistent answers!

"Maybe I shouldn't have used up the fragment of the Blinding One." Ves muttered. "If I still retained a piece of the original dark god, I could have preserved his knowledge to the highest degree!"

The fact that he used it up as an upgrade material to another design spirit meant that much of that accumulated knowledge and memory became lost.

The Illustrious One was a separate entity from the Blinding One. It did not carry over most of the memories of the Blinding One because they defined one's personality. Ves did not want to resurrect the hostile dark god, so he made sure to cast those irrelevant bits aside in order to obtain his desired result.

"Perhaps I threw away too much, though."

If he knew that luminar technology became a lot more powerful and practical when combined with spirituality, he would have taken a different approach!

"Well, at least I'm making some progress. That's better than many other people. I doubt the MTA researchers are able to match my speed if they don't have my advantages!"

From the research documents that Ves had previously received from Master Willix, he did not get the impression that the MTA research team assigned to study luminar technology possessed anything comparable to the crystal cube. The elite researchers likely also lacked the ability to harness spirituality, thereby causing them to miss much of the potential of this powerful tech.

It was a mistake to underestimate their research prowess, though. Spirituality or not, the MTA's mastery of the sciences was so great that they were probably able to deepen their mastery of the more physical aspects of luminar technology!

As Ves continued to tinker with different crystal formulas, one day Calabast interrupted his current preoccupation.

"What's up?" He frowned as he faced her projection.

He didn't like it when someone came and interrupted his flow. He had already lost his previous mood. It would become a lot harder for him to get back into the groove for today.

The news she presented to him wiped away all of his annoyance.

"We've reached an agreement with the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan about imparting them with your so-called 'networks'. Both are willing to provide us with both immediate and ongoing concessions in exchange for your help. I think the deal we've settled upon is very favorable for you, but you should take a look at the terms."

"I'll be there right away!"

When Ves left his personal workshop in order to head over to Calabast's office, she had already prepared a brief presentation.

"My networks are absolutely unique, you know that?" He told her. "While I cannot guarantee that they will be able to discover crown terrorists that are already within the ranks of those organizations, it has at least proven to be effective at identifying those who mean harm when they attempt to join. Our two allies won't have to be so careful about recruiting new people anymore."

To be honest, Ves wasn't so eager to empower his allies. Why should he give up his advantage and share one of the core strengths of the Larkinson Clan to them? The most important consequence was that the Glory Seekers and Crossers would be able to catch up to the Larkinsons and gain more weight in the Golden Skull Alliance!

Yet the situation wasn't as simple as that. With the Crown Uprising still going strong, human space continued to deteriorate. The amount of incidents throughout the galaxy had exploded and even the most peaceful and prosperous states were beginning to experience difficulties.

The Larkinson Clan couldn't shoulder all of the future burdens alone. For better or worse, his clan would be better off if the rest of the alliance flourished as well.

Of course, Ves didn't want to give away his networks for free. Far from it. If he was about to grant his allies such a powerful capability, then he better get his money's worth!

"So what does the deal look like?" He asked as he sat down in front of Calabast's desk.

"Squeak."

Arnold noticed his arrival and rose up from his bed below the desk and scurried behind Calabast's boots. The exobeast wasn't comfortable whenever Ves was around for some reason. Perhaps it had to do with how the mech designer fantasized about performing experiments whenever he looked at the eight-legged beast.

A brief smile appeared on Calabast's face. She was not annoyed at her new pet's antics at all. She even allowed the alien critter to lick the surface of her boots.

Ves briefly wondered how much alien saliva had already covered her footwear. It must be hell for her cleaning bots to scrub Arnold's donations away every day.

"I've tried my best to put your priorities first." Calabast stated as she appeared unaware that Ves was staring at her boots. "First off, several terms of the treaty of the Golden Skull Alliance will be adjusted as long as the deal goes through and your networks are able to deliver on their promises."

"Tell me about the ones that matter."

"Let's talk about the capital ship quota." She said. "Right now, out of the 20 slots that are available, our clan has claimed 8, though technically we only have access to 7. We gave away one slot to the Glory Seekers so that they can bring their Indigo Tremor along. The Cross Clan are entitled to 6 slots."

Ves raised his eyebrow. "Six? I thought they only secured five."

"The Cross Clan's guest designer has been busy lately. Professor Benedict Cortez supposedly completed a big mission for the MTA and received at least 6 million MTA merits as a reward."

"Damn! And he did all of that while staying aboard the Hemmington Cross?"

Calabast nodded, which caused Ves to feel even more pissed.

The only way for him to earn that much merits was to complete high-risk missions in dangerous areas like the Nyxian Gap or somehow manage to convert 12 mech pilots into expert pilots!

No matter how Ves looked at it, he had to go above and beyond to earn so many merits in a relatively short amount of time.

Meanwhile, the man who used to be called the Skull Architect probably earned his merits by sitting behind his desk and working on some kind of advanced mech design or something!

It was too easy!

If Ves was able to earn merits in such a relaxed manner as Professor Benedict, he wouldn't have gotten involved in so many dangerous incidents!

"We're not the only ones who are making progress, Ves." The spymaster reminded him once again. "The Glory Seekers have absorbed a large batch of Hexer refugees while the Cross Clan has forced itself to open up to recruitment as well. In fact, the Cross Clan are finally beginning to enjoy the benefits of hosting a Senior Mech Designer. The Crossers have already swapped some of their older mech models with improved ones. The merits that Professor Benedict is able to contribute is also critical to the Cross Clan's reconstruction. I've heard that he is already paying for the clan's next capital ships."

This was just the beginning. Though Professor Benedict was anything but a conventional mech designer, now that the former pirate lord was settling down in civilized space, his formidable design capabilities were finally starting to be felt.

If not for the fact that Ves' design philosophy was so unique and irreplaceable, Professor Benedict would have become the highest-earning mech designer in the Golden Skull Alliance by now!

"Let's get back on topic." Ves said as he shook aside his worries concerning the rise of a rival within the alliance. "What was that about capital ships?"

"The Cross Clan is willing to give us 2 of their capital ship slots."

"..That's all?"

"Don't look down on this concession." Calabast snapped. "The Crossers are quite ambitious, and they know that entering the Red Ocean with as many capital ships as possible is vital to starting off on the right foot in the dangerous new frontier. Now, they have not only given away the equivalent of 10 million MTA merits worth of ship slots, but they have passed it on to us! The effect is therefore double of what is obvious at first glance."

Ves understood what she was getting at. This modest-sounding concession practically ruled any opportunity for the Cross Clan to become the dominant partner in the Golden Skull Alliance!

In this context, giving away 3 ship slots sounded rather excessive. That would weaken the Crossers too much while making the Larkinson Clan too dominant. From a neutral perspective, it was not good if the Larkinsons became strong to the point of never getting challenged or pressured by their rivals.

"This is far from enough to matching the value of my networks. What else do I get?" He asked.

"The complete component license libraries of both the Hexers and the Crossers. You will gain near-complete access to all of their exclusive component designs, at least the ones that they still retain. Please note that this also includes several tech that is usually hard to come by in public such as heavy mech weapons, stealth technology, starship systems, production equipment and other sophisticated designs that are not necessarily related to mechs.  The only tech that they have excluded is either related to very fine applications of high technology or trump card designs for high-tier expert mechs. The rest is untouched. In short, what they have promised to us is almost the entire technological foundation of their states!"

This was a far more interesting concession to Ves! As a mech designer, how could he not be attracted by the prospect of gaining access to more tech?

The best part was that the transfer would be permanent! The Larkinsons were actually at a huge disadvantage in this aspect because it was too young and never enjoyed any sincere backing from any state.

Though the Larkinsons were able to make up for this shortfall by borrowing from the Hexers, this was a temporary and unstable arrangement. Ves felt a lot better now that he wouldn't have to knock on the doors of the Hegemony each time he wanted to design a mech that made use of advanced Hexer components!

"I'm not surprised that the Cross Clan doesn't value its technological base as much anymore now that it has almost fallen, but what about the Glory Seekers? Is the Hegemony okay with this offer of theirs?"

"We've already cleared it with the Hegemony, Ves. I wouldn't have presented it to you if this wasn't the case. It's all okay. The Hexers pretty much treat you as one of their own by now. With the Fridaymen about to enter Hexer territory, the matriarchs have much bigger problems on their hands than worrying about whether you'll misuse their tech."

This was still a very generous concession regardless of the thoughts of the matriarchs. This was exactly what the Larkinson Clan needed in order to advance its engineering activities and form an immediate foundation and increase its independence!