The Mech Touch

Gloriana decisively claimed the Maiden Knife as her latest possession.

Even if she identified that the knife could be bought for the price of a first-class fleet carrier if it was put up for auction in front of wealthy ladies from the upper echelon of first-class society, Gloriana never thought of relinquishing it to others!

At least Ves did not have to worry about selecting the right birthday present for his wife.

As Gloriana practically gushed over the knife despite the presence of spikes that could easily prick her vulnerable skin, the woman did not appear to harbor any fear that the weapon would harm herself somehow.

This was incredibly foolish, yet Ves strangely observed that Gloriana apparently did not encounter any meaningful resistance from the Maiden Knife.

The D-arm's behavior had changed drastically.

Ves wondered whether the Maiden Knife had forgotten its identity as a weapon inhabited by a resentful and irrational demon.

When Ves held it in his hands, he could feel the anger and fury that the so-called ancient maiden held towards him. He was the creator of the Maiden Knife, yet it never showed him any gratitude!

Of course, that made a bit of sense as Ves had put the ancient demon through a series of painful transformations before converting her into the unwilling power source of a D-arm!

What was strange was that the Maiden Knife showed clear rejection towards Ketis, but grew unnaturally docile as soon as it fell into Gloriana's palm!

Why did it exhibit such an enormous difference in treatment?

Was it because the Maiden Knife disliked Ketis because she wasn't pretty enough?

Did Gloriana's more classical beauty and excellent hair and skincare earn the appreciation of the ancient maiden?

As twisted and crazy the remnant of the ancient maiden had become, it appeared that she was still capable of playing favorites!

This observation was of great significance to Ves. It taught him that demons were not universally hostile to everyone, and was willing to temper their aggression when coming into contact with more compatible individuals.

This meant that Ves had to pay attention to the nature and inclinations of individual demons. He had to match them up to the right objects and the right users in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the negative side effects.

Shortly after Gloriana claimed the Maiden Knife, she already began to craft a matching pink scabbard for her latest knife.

She did not attempt to create curved caps in order to cover the sharp spikes. She instead took a page out of Ketis' book and designed a floating device that could safely keep the weapon close at hand without risking anyone getting picked by one of the many thorns.

Strangely enough, losing contact with the weapon did not remove the charm enhancing effect right away, unlike what happened when Ves and Ketis held the Maiden Knife.

This made Gloriana more determined to go through with her current plan.

Ves could only lament the unfair treatment. He simply did not understand the thinking of these women.

"Let's leave them alone and have our own little chat, shall we, Lucky?"

"Meeeow!"

The gem cat resisted Ves' hold. Lucky valued his freedom and did not want to get dragged away.

The feline clearly sensed that Ves did not have good intentions when he arrived this time!

Sadly, Lucky had no chance of getting away. His phasing abilities had improved continuously over time, but trying to play around with spatial abilities in front of a phase lord was futile.

Once Ves carried his cat to his own design lab, he sat down on the nearest chair and held Lucky in front of a face as if he was holding up a baby.

"Meow?"

The dark-plated archemetal cat played innocent this time. It was as if Lucky thought he could get away with whatever Ves tried to accuse him of if he acted cute.

It didn't work.

"Lucky."

"Meooww?"

"I have been tolerating your laziness and persistent lack of productive activities for a long time. You have been a good companion for the children, and you generally kept your nose out of trouble, so I have been letting you wander around without care."

"Meow."

"While I am still willing to let you continue to play around, what is different is that I expect you to meet certain quotas."

"Have you forgotten who you are? You are a gem cat! The primary purpose of your existence is to produce gems!"

"Meow!"

"When was the last time you used the kitty litter box? With how many exotics and hypers you have eaten in the last year, I would have expected you to produce absolutely marvelous gems, especially given that you have taken a bite out of EE-343F-00334R! Yet here we are. So many months have passed while you have refused to generate any output! What is going on in your digestive system?! Are you embezzling all of those valuable nutrients into upgrading your functionality?"

"Meeooow...?"

"GIVE ME GEMS!" Ves violently shook Lucky back and forth! "Producing gems is the least you can do after I allowed you to take a bite out of a super-class alloy! If there is any of it left in your digestive system, then get it out right now! I am not going to wait

Any longer!"

"Meeeooow! Meeeoow! Meeeeeoow!"

"What has changed is that I have new use for your gems now! Previously, I needed them to elevate my mechs to masterworks and give my champions an additional boost. in combat. These demands became less important over time because of the shifting focus to ace pilots and Gloriana's god body method. I thought that this would have phased out the value of your gems, but I have recently found a wonderful new application that can make even better use of them than before! Isn't that great,

Lucky?"

"Meeeeeeeoooooow!"

Ves gave his cat a serious glare. "Okay, that's enough talk. It is time for concrete action. You have two choices, little buddy. Either start producing your output now, or wait until I find a piece of B-stone other materials that can 'stimulate' your digestive

Organs. It's your choice."

"Meeeeeooow!"

The gem cat made an immediate choice.

After receiving a serious warning that Lucky needed to abide by a new quota, he went to work right away.

Ves lowered the cat on one of the kitty litter boxes used by one of the numerous cats that prowled Diandi Base.

The members of the Premier Branch did not have a strong tradition of keeping cats and other pets. There were still plenty of people who originally resided in the expeditionary fleet and brought along their existing pets, hence why kitty litter boxes could be found with ease.

Responsibilities and actively stimulated his digestive tract through his own means,

A few awkward minutes passed until Lucky completed his shameful business and

Floated away with an ache on his backside.

"Meoooow..."

"Don't forget that I expect you to produce another set of high-quality gems in the next

12 months!" Ves yelled after his cat. "If you produce more of them, you will earn a bonus. I might even find a way to give you another bite out of a super-class material. You don't want to know what I will do to you if you fail to produce any gems that meet my minimum standard. If your output continues to disappoint me, then do not blame me if I use you as a test subject for one of the experiments I have been dying to start."

"MEOW!"

Lucky dashed away pretty quickly after hearing this ominous threat!

Becoming Ves' test subject was no joke!

Ves didn't care about Lucky's departure. He got what he wanted out of the cat.

Perhaps the gem cat had taken the threats seriously, because he truly made a serious effort to produce a substantial amount of gems this time.

Each of them looked bright and special, which increased Ves' expectations towards

Their attributes.

Due to the large variety of materials ingested by Lucky, the gems came in several different variations, Ves already placed them in different sub-categories. Right now, the so-called dark gems attracted his interest the most. Ves had a feeling that gems tied to negative attributes had the greatest demonization potential. They could be used to create the most powerful but also the most dangerous D-arms!

[Shadow Lord's Betrayal]

The regret of an alien assassin towards betraying his mission and his master is captured in this gem. Greatly increases affinity towards the shadow attribute and amplifies the single attack power of an attack onto a target's rear by 100 percent.

"What a powerful effect."

Ves had encountered much more powerful amplifications in performance, but he had never seen such a strong attack multiplier in a small and handy gem!

This was definitely a boost that was perfect for the Phobos, the Larkinson Clan's only

Expert stealth mech.

However, Ves felt it was wasteful to merge the next iteration of the Phobos with a

Gem. It would only remain useful so long as Venerable Zimro Belson remained a high-tier expert pilot.

If he broke through and became a saint, then his Saint Kingdom would begin to subject his Phobos to willpower baptism.

This would steadily override the extraordinary amplification effect of the Shadow Lord's Betrayal with a persistent boost that originated from the ace pilot himself!

From his examinations of the Dark Zephyr Mark III after Saint Tusa piloted him for a time, Ves already ascertained that the 20 percent boost in agility bestowed by Bastet's Regard had worn away.

The ace light skirmisher retained nothing from the original gem.

Ves did not feel there was anything regretful about the expiration of Bastet's Regard. It

Had served its purpose and Tusa had gotten plenty of value out of the effect during his expert pilot days.

However, Ves would not be stupid enough to squander one of Lucky's gems on a mech piloted by an ace pilot or another individual that was close to breaking through.

Ves speculated that the only way to preserve a gem's effect was if the remnant soul trapped inside retained at least some of the strength of a True God.

Only a higher major cultivation rank was strong enough to resist the willpower baptism of an ace pilot, at least up to a point!

It did not sound likely that Lucky would be able to capture True God-level remnant

Spirits in his gems anytime soon.

That was okay. Ves had studied the Maiden Knife and the tools of the Demoncasting Forge just enough to possess greater confidence in their ability to withstand willpower baptism.

That meant that he could definitely find a way to make this gem useful for the current

And future Phobos.

Ves turned his attention towards an even darker gem that looked related to the previous one.

[Shadow Lord's Mark]

The insidiousness of an alien assassin is contained in this gem. Greatly increases

Affinity towards the darkness attribute and allows a mech to plant intangible marks with every melee weapon strike. If enough marks are planted in the same area, then they can be detonated on command, inflicting instant damage based on the total

Darkness energy contained within the marks.

"Interesting!" What a great effect!

Even if Ves did not intend to integrate it in a gem, he still hoped he could preserve this

Unique function if he integrated it into a D-arm.

It would be best if he employed Demonforging, but since he had no idea how to do

That, he could only resort to Demoncasting.

Ves could see two immediate uses for the Shadow Lord's Mark.

He could either use it to Demoncast a suitable weapon for his own use, or he could

Use it to augment one of the Dark Zephyr Mark III's knives in order to make the weapon useful.

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