[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 19: Reborn

Jason obviously hadn't been modest in his demands. However, he possessed one thing many other mech designers lacked. "He was incredibly passionate when he designed the Caesar Augustus."

The heir to National Aeromotives made a bet that he'd produce the design in a month. If Jason spent only one month to come up with a completely original design with so much pressure hanging over him, the emotions that he carried over in his creations would be immense.

"I've done a disservice to the Caesar Augustus." Ves realized as he recalled the times when he fabricated the virtual versions of the stock model and the Nero. Even though he crafted them in a simulation, the life-like circumstances meant that the frustrations and difficulties he felt must have bled over to his end products.

"I need to adjust my mood. Redesigning the new Nero without emulating Jason's passion will just deliver another half-assed result."

Ves felt as if he was forced to go up to a stage and begin acting while he had zero experience. The only thing he could do is recall the times when he was still young and bright, before his moody teenage years set in. He used to dream of following in his father's footsteps and become a mech pilot.

"I was naive back then. Naive but happy." Much like how Jason felt thirty years ago when he just graduated from Estelon.

While he didn't succeed in summoning up a youthful and arrogant mood, Ves somewhat managed to instill confidence in himself. "I don't have anything great to draw upon in my past, but with the help of the System I can still dream of the wonders I'll experience in the future."

The Caesar Augustus' main attribute was exuding absolute confidence. Jason believed the mech he designed was the best of the current generation. It surpassed any frontline or elite mech within the same technological boundary.

Only the most advanced nextgen models carefully developed and kept hidden by the first-tier states could beat it in a fair fight, and those mechs were usually kept hidden from the public, employed only in the most frigid battles by the geniuses of the largest empires.

In other words, the Caesar Augustus had reason to be arrogant.

After matching his confident mood with the arrogant and narcissistic mindset behind the Caesar Augustus, Ves went to work making adjustments to the Nero. Naturally, in the perspective of improving the Nero's physical capabilities, he only had limited options. He hadn't learn any new sub-skills since the time he designed the Nero, after all. He also couldn't undo all of his work in the misguided intention to emulate Jason.

Instead, he sought to bring back the charm of the base model. Ves had originally smoothed out the minute incongruities Jason incorporated in CA-1's armor. He used to regard them as sloppy flourishes that added nothing of value. Now he noted the seemingly useless contours enhanced its domineering image.

Next, he payed attention to its internals. The changes he made to produce the original Nero were minor optimizations. They reduced the risk of catastrophic faults and made the mech easier to maintain, but the underlying idea behind the changes was that he made the mech more timid.

Jason designed the CA-1 to be a showstopping elite, focusing purely on its martial prowess and not nearly enough attention to its practicality. Ves somehow had to reconcile two opposite intents. One was the need to make the Nero more practical to maintain and repair. The other was to retain the Caesar Augustus' aggressive edge.

The way Ves decided to go about it was to revert a couple of changes and implement a couple of new ones. The Caesar Augustus emphasized confidence to the point of recklessness. The Nero emphasized self-preservation to the point of timidity. Therefore, the Nero Redividus should be focused on competence that its systems could take a better beating. Essentially, Ves left out much of the arrogance embedded in the base model.