Ves felt a headache coming on because of Gloriana's obstinate stance.

Unlike previously, this time she firmly stood her ground!

"This is serious, Ves!" She angrily stated as her physical projection poked him in the chest! "I let you have your way when it came to most of the mech designs that came before. I'm aware that I'm not suited to design mass produced mechs. This is different! Custom mechs have to be designed according to different principles, and between you and me, I know more about personalising mech designs to individual mech pilots than you will ever achieve!"

Though she sounded incredibly arrogant when she made this claim, Ves could only lower his head in response.

The two had collaborated on enough mech design projects to become familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses. Projects such as the Adonis Colossus design fully let him see the disparity between him and her when it came to designing and tuning a mech until it almost completely fit an individual mech pilot like a glove.

This was not a difference that could be overcome with studying and working hard. Gloriana excelled in designing custom mechs because she centered her entire design philosophy around it. By dedicating herself completely to this discipline, she gained a frightening degree of intuition and feel towards these designs.

This was something that Ves could never surpass unless he too dedicated himself entirely to designing custom mechs!

Obviously, he could never make such a decision. Ves wanted his designs to be used by as many people as possible who appreciated mechs as more than disposable tools. The Larkinson Clan also depended on his clan-exclusive mech designs such as the Bright Warrior and the upcoming Chiron to gain a competitive edge over its rivals.

He was different from Gloriana. While he adhered to his own principles, from a general standpoint, he was a bit of a generalist. He wanted to design many different kinds of mechs and refused to exclude any of them. His curiosity and yearning for new experiences constantly drove him to explore new ground.

Mech designers such as Gloriana and Ketis were different. They purposefully concentrated all of their passion into a chosen pursuit, thereby attempting to reach greater heights in their field of specialty. As a consequence, their competence in matters outside of their specialty did not progress as fast.

This must be what Master Willix meant by growing trees. Gloriana was committed to growing a tall and narrow tree while Ves was the opposite. His tree grew considerably more branches than hers, but the price for directing his growth in this fashion was that its vertical growth wasn't as impressive!

"I'll take charge of this matter." Gloriana bossily said. "I can still contact my old teachers to obtain some guidance. A project as important as this has to be done as correctly as possible right from the start. Don't talk any further about adopting an incremental approach or any of that nonsense. An expert pilot deserves better! Expert mechs not only enable them to channel their full power, but are also vital to their growth!"

"This is why I think we should provide her with a quick stopgap solution."

"You're not getting it, Ves! Expert mechs directly shape the future growth and development of their exclusive pilots. Why do you think it is so important for Seniors or ideally Masters to develop their expert mechs? It is because the better the mech designers, the better the expert mech! The better the expert mech, the faster the growth of the expert pilot in question!"

"What?! Is this true?!" Ves gasped.

"It's not as strong as you think, but it is a definite factor in the development of an expert pilot." She stated. "Masters are simply able to design expert mechs that accommodate the needs of expert pilots to a much greater extent. That is the simple truth. Therefore, if we want the best for Venerable Jannzi, it's not enough to involve a Senior Mech Designer. We need to invite an honored Master to collaborate with us! Only then will we be able to do right by her. Don't you want the best for your cousin?"

He did want that. However, he did not wish to let other mech designers take over one of his cherished designs.

The argument put forward by Gloriana put him in a very difficult bind. It wasn't easy to invite a Master Mech Designer to design an expert mech for Jannzi. Such august personalities would definitely want to take charge of the design project. With their superior methods and strong design philosophies, neither Ves nor Gloriana would have much room to contribute to the expert mech design.

At best, the pair might be able to get enough work in to qualify as contributing designers. At worst, the Master in question took care of so many aspects of the mech design that Ves and Gloriana could barely squeeze in any work, thereby relegating them to assistant designers!

This possibility was absolutely unacceptable to Ves, and Gloriana knew that. She patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry, Ves. I know how much you care about your Aurora Titan design. I'll make sure to find a Master who is amenable to some of your conditions. Just wait! With the help of a great Master, the expert mech version of the Shield of Samar will fully unleash Venerable Jannzi's potential! This is what she deserves!"

After a bit of discussion, Ves finally ended the call. He felt conflicted. Though he deeply wanted to maintain total control over the development of Jannzi's future expert mech, he simply wasn't capable enough to accept this responsibility.

There were multiple reasons why mech designers had to attain the rank of Senior before they were ready to design expert mechs. Even then, resorting to Seniors turned out to be the inferior options. For machines that were destined to become the future partners of expert pilots, it was a lot better if a Master took charge!

It was this last condition that caused Ves to be stuck in a dilemma.

On one hand, he wanted to maintain as much control as possible. As long as either Gloriana or him became the lead designer of the expert mech project, Ves was confident that they could preserve the original essence of the Shield of Samar.

On the other hand, Ves wanted the best for Venerable Jannzi. The clan also benefited if their first expert pilot received an expert mech that was just as good as the expert mechs fielded by the Friday Coalition and Hexadric Hegemony!

What mattered the most to Ves and the clan wasn't elevating her immediate battle power. Instead, the true long-term benefit they needed to prioritize is accelerating Jannzi's progression!

By pairing Venerable Jannzi up with a high-quality expert mech, she could make considerably more progress in developing and increasing the utilization of her resonance abilities. Not only that, a well-designed mech also accelerated the growth of her resonance strength.

Resonance strength was the foundation of an expert pilot! Greater resonance strength not only allowed expert pilots to perform stronger resonance abilities in battle, but also increased their endurance in battle.

Having witnessed several expert pilots in action such as Venerable O'Callahan, Ves already knew the importance of fostering their fundamental growth.

If their growth rate was fast enough, then they might have a decent opportunity to advance to ace pilot!

This was a completely different level of strength, and one that was almost exclusive to second-rate states!

"Perhaps this is why the emergence of ace pilots is almost non-existent in third-rate states." Ves hummed. "Third-class expert mechs are not only weaker than second-class mechs, but they are also designed by Seniors for the most part."

Such a gulf could not easily be overcome with talent and other endowments.

In other words, the degree of investment in an expert mech directly affected an expert pilot's growth prospects!

These realizations only made Ves feel more frustrated.

"When it comes down to it, I'm not ready yet." He sighed.

While Ves always wanted his expert candidates such as Jannzi and Joshua to undergo apotheosis as soon as possible, now that it actually happened, a part of him actually regretted this desire.

If Jannzi advanced to expert pilot a decade later or so, Ves would have been much better equipped to design a worthy expert mech for her! Even if he hadn't advanced to Senior yet at that time, he could still offer her something that was not that much worse!

"Maybe it's not a bad idea to let Gloriana take charge this time." He muttered. "She has always tolerated my design choices despite her own thoughts. Maybe it's time for me to learn how to tolerate her decisions. This is her specialty, after all. She truly knows better."

Ves knew he was being selfish when he revealed his desire to maintain his ownership over the Shield of Samar's design. Now that he reflected back on his stance, he felt as if he acted a bit too childish.

Properly speaking, mech designers existed to serve mech pilots. When Ves stubbornly put his foot down and insisted on designing a quasi-expert mech, he prioritized his own interests rather than his client's interests.

As long as the Shield of Samar did not change to the point of alienating her, Venerable Jannzi shouldn't have much of a problem getting used to a slightly different style of mech.

He remained indecisive as he exited the isolated chamber. Though he understood it was in the best interests of Venerable Jannzi to equip her with a proper, high-quality expert mech designed by a Master, he still felt unwilling to commit to such a decision.

"Maybe Gloriana can obtain something better." He muttered.

For now, he decided to wait and see how his partner dealt with this problem. She obviously wanted to advance her ideas, but Ves hoped she also took his own priorities into account.

In the meantime, Ves decided to visit the clan's first expert pilot in person. Enough time had passed for Venerable Jannzi to recover from her previous exertion.

Accompanied by Nitaa, Ves boarded a shuttle and traveled to the Redfeather. Once his shuttle docked at the light carrier, Ves stepped and greeted Commander Melkor.

"Hello, Ves." Melkor greeted him with a subdued voice. "I've been expecting your visit. Venerable Jannzi is ready to meet you in the medical bay."

They began to walk to the sick bay while they discussed the state of the Avatars.

"The Battle of Ulimo Citadel has been hard on us." Melkor remarked. "We can handle fighting regular pirates. It's the enemies we faced when we became trapped in the anomaly that is difficult for us to stomach. You can't imagine how many Avatars and other clansmen are confused by what we have lived through. What we witnessed and what we had to fight against aren't normal. None of us have ever imagined the Nyxian Gap is capable of producing such terrors."

Ves glanced at his cousin. Even if he covered most of his upper face with his new visor, Melkor's discomfort was evident in his body language.

Conventional science couldn't explain the ghost mechs and the abomination mechs. None of the scientists or engineers in the task force could wrap their heads around powerful spiritual manifestations such as the giant avatar of the Unending One.

It was completely alien to them! Only Ves and a crackpot like James were able to understand the nature of the foes the Larkinsons had fought against!

He found it a bit depressing that not even the best intellectuals in the clan were stumped by the artificial anomaly.

"I can't really explain what we have witnessed either." Ves said. "However, we don't have to understand everything we see. Enemies are enemies. We just need to beat them. There is no need to think too deep about the methods of our enemy, especially when they are so abnormal. No matter what power they possess, we just have to rely on our own strength to gain the upper hand. This applies to every battle."

Melkor mulled over his words. "I suppose you're right. I'll do my best to help the Avatars get over this battle, but it will take some time before my men get back to normal."