The Mech Touch

Too much excitement took place in the Larkinson Clan in a short time.

Even as many Larkinsons celebrated the completion of both the Minerva and the successful breakthrough of Venerable Imon Ingvar, the mech designers responsible for making all of this happen had become bone-tired.

Although their physical exhaustion was easy to solve with enough sleep, their mental exhaustion was not so easily solved.

Ves gave himself and the other Journeymen involved in the Minerva Project a well-deserved vacation.

Each of them needed the break in order to reset their mental states and process the humongous gains they had made during the extremely successful fabrication run and the astonishing field test of the Minerva.

Both Ves and Gloriana shoved aside their work and responsibilities and enjoyed a quiet afternoon in their grand stateroom.

"Mama!"

"Aurelia!"

A boisterous baby girl almost stood up and walked with the help of her mother, but didn't seem to have the strength to support her weight.

"Miaow~"

Clixie lied down at the side and watched Aurelia attempt to walk. She looked forward to seeing the little girl succeed.

Once Aurelia learned how to walk properly and grew a few years older, they could move on to much more exciting places!

Ves approached the girls and sat down next to them. Aurelia quickly noticed her father and eagerly stretched out her arms in an attempt to invite a hug.

"Papa.. hug!"

"Sure thing, cutie!"

He firmly grabbed Aurelia away from her mother and began to hug and kiss his daughter before studying her current state.

She had grown a little bigger and cleverer compared to before. Ever since she learned how to speak her first word, she expanded her vocabulary at a steady rate.

Of course, she was far too young to understand more complicated concepts, but Ves and Gloriana already discovered that their child was a little sharper for her age!

The greater advantages of designer babies finally came into play. Ves did not agree to pay 4000 MTA credits to Witshaw & Yeneca for nothing!

Ves even learned that Venerable Joshua and Ketis were so impressed by Aurelia that they sought to purchase a designer baby of the same tier!

He knew this because Ketis had recently approached him for an advance.

Although Ves hated the thought of giving away so much money at once, the recent monetary gains from selling all of the unwanted salvage derived from the pakklaton refugee fleet were quite substantial!

It was not a big problem to divert a portion of the proceeds to fulfill the prominent couple's wish.

He eventually agreed to Ketis' heartfelt request because of several reasons.

First, he wanted to maintain good relations with two of the key figures of the Larkinson Clan. Even though they already owed him a lot of gratitude, they might not be so fond of him anymore if he acted stingy in a matter that was incredibly important to their hearts.

Children were the foundation of their love! As a father himself who adored Aurelia enough to conduct an unprecedentedly risky and extravagant experiment on her to grant her a powerful companion spirit seed, he knew exactly how parents could become irrational if their children became involved!

Second, the money wasn't a gift but rather a loan. Once Ketis finished the Monster Slayer Project and commercialized her work with the help of the Wild Fighter Association in accordance with their contract, the money would flow in soon enough.

Ketis had already promised to relinquish her share of the proceeds until she had fully repaid her debt.

Therefore, Ves and his clan weren't suffering a meaningful loss at all. From what he knew about the Monster Slayer Project, the commercial swordsman mech model possessed several unique selling points!

There was no way that no one would lack interest in a mech designed by the only dual Journeyman and swordmaster in existence!

All of these reasons and more convinced Ves to give the lucky couple the money they need to become another client of Withshaw & Yeneca.

"Mech!" Aurelia said as she crawled over her plushy mech and presented it to her parents.

"Yes, that's a mech." Ves smiled. "Are you interested in them, sweetie?"

"Papa! Mech!" Aurelia yelled before she began to chew the arm of the plushy mech.

Gloriana frowned a bit and pulled the plushy mech from the baby's grasp. "Mechs are not for eating, dear. You shouldn't gnaw on anything that you can grab."

"Mech!"

Aurelia instantly began to tear up and cry!

"Don't cry, please! Gloriana, give her back her toy!"

"You can't indulge her like this, Ves! She needs to learn how to behave. Now let's focus on soothing her first."

Despite the various bumps, the couple enjoyed spending time with their daughter. It was a lot more relaxing to keep Aurelia company when they weren't distracted by their work.

As Aurelia expended much of her energy and began to take a nap by cuddling with Clixie, her parents began to talk about more serious subjects.

"Once we complete the current design round, I want to commission another designer baby." She told Ves.

He winced. "Are you sure you want to go at it again so soon?"

"Yes. I already told you that I have been preparing for my second pregnancy. I visited the Dragon's Den numerous times to hasten my recovery and make sure I can safely bear a child again. I don't want to delay this matter too long."

He knew that he could not stop Gloriana once she set her mind on this decision. He just lamented that he would probably have to spend another large sum of money in order to fund the development of a customized designer baby.

"Do you have a formula in mind?"

Gloriana grinned. She had already done her research. Since she was an existing customer of Witshaw & Yeneca, it was easy enough for her to contact the renowned genetics company's representatives and receive help with finding the right designer baby package.

She reached out and placed her hand on his leg. "You don't need to worry too much about the cost. I am okay with spending as much money as we did to obtain Aurelia. I am incredibly happy with our firstborn daughter and our secondborn child should be just as good as long as she receives the same treatment!"

Even Gloriana couldn't ignore the laws of diminishing returns when it came to designer babies. The next substantial tier that was objectively better than a 4000 MTA credit designer baby was probably at least ten times more expensive.

Ves could buy an excellent brand-new superfab with that kind of money!

Although raising an excellent child could definitely pay off in many different ways, Ves could not afford to hollow out the foundation of his clan and his personal ambitions just to raise another money pit.

This was only their child! Gloriana intended to raise at least four more children before she was willing to stop, and it was conceivable that those future brats would all demand a lot of money to support their upbringing.

Kids were expensive!

Still, they were worth every credit in the end!

Ves gazed lovingly at their sleeping baby. She looked especially cute when she was cuddled up in Clixie's soft fur.

"You know that Aurelia is a lot better than designer babies of the same tier because of my spiritual augmentations, right?"

"You're wrong." Gloriana shook her head. "It's not just you who is responsible. Have you forgotten about the blessing the Superior Mother bestowed to her granddaughter?"

"Ah. Yes. That happened as well."

His wife smirked. "This is also why I am okay with settling for a designer baby that is worth around 4000 MTA credits. So what if our child is cheaper than those birthed in prosperous first-class households? The Terrans and Rubarthans will never be able to have children like ours! When Aurelia and our other five children grow up one day, they will become the envy of all parents."

Though Gloriana was a bit too confident for her own good, Ves happened to agree with her this time. Both of them had already experienced the amazing benefits that companion spirits could provide.

It was a lot harder and more cumbersome to implant them in children before they were born, but this was only a trifling price compared to the potential benefits. Seeing how much more remarkable Aurelia had already become at this age, Ves was certain that he could use this as the foundation of his family's rise!

Gloriana activated her comm and projected a document that outlined one of the many formulas developed by Witshaw & Yeneca.

As a long-standing biotech company that had bred an uncountable amount of children to clients throughout human space, Ves couldn't even count how many formulas W & Y had developed over the centuries.

Most of the formulas they developed were probably flawed, cost-inefficient or uncontrollable, but as long as even 1 in a million formulas succeeded, then that could easily recoup all of the extravagant research spending!

The formula that Gloriana had picked out was one of many random attempts that W & Y initially did not place much hope in. The company merely came up with a base formula but tweaked its parameters in thousands of different ways.

For example, one variation substituted one key ingredient for another. A different variation changed the proportion of valuable ingredients. Another variation altered the genetic programming of the designer baby to increase the metabolism of the child.

The formula that Ves was studying was vastly different from the one used to make Aurelia.

According to the short description, Formula K-356666-EKT was primarily geared towards raising elite mech pilots and military officers.

It was the kind of product that propelled many mech pilots in first-rate states to prominence!

Although it was not necessary for children to become excellent first-class mech pilots by relying on advantages bought before their birth, it made their journey a lot easier!

Although Ves was attracted by the many advantages promised by Formula K-356666-EKT, he was not blinded by all of the positives of this designer baby package.

There were downsides to every formula, and this one possessed a greater issue than the one they utilized before!

"All of these advantages sound nice to someone who aspires to become a mech pilot." Ves waved at the list of benefits. "Increased physical strength, more resilient nerves, enhanced protection of the brain and central nervous system, much denser bones, better endurance, more efficient organs, an adrenaline stimulation system, high metabolism, accelerated cellular regeneration, strengthened immune system, enhanced combat-oriented cognitive functions, minor social and of course a better appearance. All of this is great if our second child not only possesses the right genetic aptitude, but also chooses to become a mech pilot. However… what if these conditions aren't favorable?"

His wife kept smiling. "That is regrettable, but that doesn't mean Formula K-356666-EKT is wasted on our second daughter. She can still rely on most of her enhancements to excel as a military officer with the help of her modest cognitive improvements such as better memory and better combat deduction capabilities. Besides, you haven't read the most prominent advantage of this formula."

She scrolled down the document and pointed her finger at an impressive claim!

"This… this formula can improve the emergence of the right genetic aptitude for mech piloting by 10%!"

Ves was shocked! He had heard whispers of solutions like this, but he did not expect that it would be available at this price tier!

Even though the military-oriented designer baby package only promised a modest increase in probability, this was already a price worth paying!

Whether his second daughter could become a mech pilot or not, it did not hurt to give it a try.

"So? Do you think this is an acceptable formula?" Gloriana grinned.

He did not immediately say yes.

"It is a little light on the cognitive enhancements, so if our child doesn't have the right genetic aptitude, then much of these physical enhancements are wasted. Can you give me a look at similar formulas to this one? I need to understand the differences and see whether you have truly made the most appropriate choice."