[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 11: Cash Woes

Though Ves knew these linkages could produce a catastrophe, he lacked the skills and resources to fix them. He could only document each fault he came across and come back to the problem later. Ves spent the rest of the day combing over each and every component, to the point of dismantling the engine even if he understood little on how the advanced component worked.

Ves took a deep breath when he finished going over the Caesar Augustus. If he wanted to understand the model deeper, then he needed to fabricate the stock model. He took a minute to log into the in-game market and inspected the model's market conditions.

"Damn, that's expensive!"

An average CA-1 sold for about fifty thousand credits, and that was for an in-game item! 5-star mechs belonged to an entirely different market segment than 1-star mechs. The latter catered to kids while the former was sold to professionals.

The raw materials required to fabricate the mech likely cost tens of thousands of credit as well. Since Ves had set bottom prices to his virtual mechs, he hadn't earned even a single credit or gold even after selling over a hundred models.

"I'm earning a decent amount of DP from every sale. If I raise the price, my mechs won't be able to stay competitive in the market. It's better if I don't change the prices."

The Caesar Augustus represented a marvel of its time. In order to solve its many puzzles, Ves required learning many new skills.

But while he needed to save up a lot of DP, he also couldn't go without credits. Ves switched to his mail and was relieved the game's support approved of his request to claim the CA-1's virtual license. After loading the mech's stock model in the in-game workshop, he received an unpleasant bill.

"So it costs about forty thousand credits in raw materials to build the base model. Even if the gold price looks a bit friendlier, it's not like I have a bag of virtual gold either."

The lack of cash on hand stymied Ves' progress in researching the Caesar Augustus. There was only so much he could do to play around with the mech's design in the designer.

Ves had learned one important lesson when designing the Fantasia variants. A passionate mech designer needed to get hands-on with his own creations. Just making a few doodles in a design program didn't turn you into a veteran designer. A real expert got his hands dirty, putting each and every part together to see how it works and where any problems might arise.

With only about nine thousand credits on hand, Ves needed to scrounge up at least 31,000 credits from any source he could squeeze. He first checked the System, but couldn't find any option to convert his DP to credits. Perhaps he could buy a few knick knacks from the Shop and sell it for a tidy sum, but that option wasted too much valuable points.

"Should I call Melinda?" Ves wondered out loud.

Family stuck together. If Ves took the time to explain his plans and difficulties to his cousin, he was sure she'd lend him the credits.

"It's not right. It's due to my own poor planning that I'm facing a shortage on credits."

If he cried and went to his family to bail him out, then sure, they might lend him a hand. It would also prove that he'd been in over his head. His aunts and uncles already disapproved of his career path. He wanted to avoid giving them ammunition.

Perhaps sell Lucky's gems? Ves had dug out half-a-dozen of these little shinies, and they all provided minor benefits when installed onto any mech. Any expert would love them if they realized they could improve their mechs by just installing a single jewel.

Shaking his head, Ves discarded the idea. "Nah, that's a last resort."

If he introduced these gems to the universe, a lot of powerful players would want to know their source. Ves lacked the strength to isolate himself from the connected universe he lived in. It was child's play to track him down once he revealed any oddities.