The Mech Touch

Chapter 5912  The Divine Sales Guide

Ves did not know why he got transported to this mysterious cloud space.

He strongly suspected that Messier 87 had a lot to do with this. The radiant golden light shining from above was a clear sign that the supermassive galaxy jerked him around again.

Right now, Ves did not bother to examine the clouds or the golden radiance shining down on his illusionary form.

Instead, his attention was solely directed towards the shape of the Subjugation King.

It was rather strange. The God King did not feel nearly as powerful as he did when he manifested in the storm clouds. His current form resembled a diminished shadow more than anything else. The tall and insect-like body of the alien cultivator only exuded a miniscule fraction of his total majesty.

Despite experiencing a sense of fear and awe that was actively being amplified by his soul mark, Ves did not actually harbor any fear towards the manifestation of the Subjugation King.

He understood that this illusionary space was part of the mysterious reward mechanism of the tribulation event.

Ves along with the rest of the Dominion of Man had already endured a lot of pain and suffering to make it this far. There was no way that he would have to endure another life-threatening test in order to get past this sequence.

No. This was a different sort of circumstance. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he decided to step forward until he stopped a short distance from the Subjugation King.

Even in a diminished form, the shadow still loomed over Ves. The apparition might be lacking the power and the domain of a God King, but it still conveyed the physical presence and gravitas of an all-powerful alien being that had managed to fight his way to the upper ranks of the galactic hierarchy.

Just like the clone that Ves once fought against, the God Kingʼs physical manifestation came in the form of 16 limbs and an exoskeleton that was covered with black fur.

The face was a hard surface that did not feature a nose, but was dominated by three glowing eyes and a mouth filled with carnivorous teeth.

When Ves squared off against the clone, the alien appearance of the Subjugation King was so frightening that it was difficult to devote any attention to studying the bizarre biological features.

Now that Ves was able to study the body of the alien tyrant without facing any threat or urgency, he started to pick up a number of clues that he had previously overlooked.

The more he looked at the body of this ʼkrelionʼ powerhouse, the more it looked like a product of bioengineering rather than a naturally evolved shape.

As a mech designer who developed a minor expertise in biomech design, he became proficient in distinguishing between natural and artificial biological traits. There were too many aspects about the Subjugation Kingʼs physique that seemed far too optimized and calculated to be the product of natural evolution.

It showed that the krelion species were not perfect. They were born weak like any other species, and turned to augmentation in order to improve their own physique and capabilities.

This realization enabled Ves to relax even further. The krelions were not all-powerful. There shouldnʼt be too many God Kings among them. As powerful as the Subjugation King may be, his ability to extend his influence to a distant dwarf galaxy had clearly diminished after his clone got defeated.

”Why are you here?” Ves repeated in a tone that did not convey any respect.

The shadow of the Subjugation King responded with an echoing alien noise.

”#&$%&#@$&.”

”I HAVE COME TO CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR SUCCESS. YOU ARE INDEED A CREATOR WORTHY OF MY NOTICE. YOUR CRAFT AND YOUR DEDICATION HAS ALLOWED THE SHIP TO OVERCOME A DIFFICULT TRIBULATION. THIS IS A GREAT DEED, AS EVIDENCED BY THE RADIANCE THAT THE GREAT LIGHTHOUSE HAS BESTOWED ON YOU ALL. I AM PLEASED BY YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ONCE I ARRIVE AT YOUR RECENTLY ALIGHTED COLLECTION OF STARS, I HAVE GREATER CONFIDENCE THAT I SHALL BE ABLE TO CLAIM YOU WITH PRIDE.”

While Ves was glad that the Subjugation Kingʼs speech no longer pounded his Spirituality like a hammer, he did not like the meaning of these words at all! The God King still treated Ves like a pig that had just grown a little fatter than before!

”I am not your slave.” Ves insisted.

”#$&#&$@@.”

”MANY SLAVES HAVE SAID SO, YET THEY HAVE ENDED UP IN CHAINS REGARDLESS. YOU ARE NO LONGER FREE ANYMORE. YOU CONTINUE TO DENY THE TRUTH, YET THE CHAIN THAT I HAVE PLANTED ON YOUR SOUL HAS ALREADY SEALED YOUR FATE. BEFORE I CAN CLAIM YOU IN FULL, I EXPECT YOU TO MAKE GREATER PROGRESS. YOU ARE STILL TOO WEAK AT PRESENT TO SERVE AS A WORTHY SLAVE.”

The soul mark that Ves could still feel for whatever reason throbbed a bit. This caused his mood to plunge even further!

”I donʼt want to hear your nonsense any further. Tell me how to get out of this place.”

The Subjugation King lifted up a limb.

”#&&#@$@.”

”YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED A CHOICE. THE GREAT LIGHTHOUSE THAT SHINES UPON THE STARS HAS RECOGNIZED YOUR EXCELLENCE AND HAS BESTOWED YOU WITH THE POWER TO DECIDE YOUR HEAVENLY BOON.”

Ves temporarily disregarded the fact that the Subjugation King was his mortal enemy and widened his eyes.

”I… can issue my own requests?”

”#$##%&.”

”YES, BUT WITHIN LIMITS. YOU CANNOT ISSUE A WISH THAT WOULD ALLOW YOU TO BECOME AS STRONG AS MYSELF. IT IS BETTER FOR YOU TO INQUIRE HOW MUCH THE GREAT LIGHTHOUSE IS WILLING TO GRANT YOU FIRST BEFORE YOU CONFIRM YOUR CHOICE. TIME IS FROZEN HERE, BUT YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO LINGER UNDER THIS BLESSED LIGHT FOR LONG. ISSUE YOUR DEMANDS. I SHALL OFFER MY GUIDANCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS.”

Ves looked at the shadow of the God King with a dubious expression.

He did not exactly trust the alien tyrant, nor appreciate his advice all that much, but it seemed that there was no other way to proceed.

Besides, the Subjugation King clearly valued his prospective worthy slave so much that his interests had become aligned with that of Ves!

So long the arrogant and possessive God King treated Ves as his plaything, then it might not be a bad idea to listen to the recommendations of one of the most powerful cultivators in this entire galactic neighborhood!

Ves had already put a bit of thought on what he would like from the tribulation storm.

If he assumed that the destruction and creation energies produced by tribulations could change almost anything due to their exceedingly exceptional properties, then he should clearly be asking for rewards that could not be obtained through his own efforts.

For example, it would be stupid for him to ask for any reward that would help him promote his progression as a mech designer or a phase lord. He already possessed other ways to advance in these paths, though the latter one was a lot more ad-hoc the preferred.

Likewise, there was little point in asking for Blinky to advance his own cultivation. Even though it would take a long time for the Blinkyverse to grow to the point of encompassing an entire galaxy, Ves was willing to settle for the long haul.

What he should really be thinking about was upgrades to his fundamental and immutable qualifications.

For example, Ves had a strong feeling that if he asked the Subjugation King to upgrade his genetic aptitude for mech piloting, the heavenly authorities would have a way to make that happen.

His original genetic aptitude already got upgraded once. It went from a hopeless G-grade to an abysmal F-grade.

The tribulation this time was a lot more powerful than the ones that Ves experienced before.

Even if Ves was not the main subject and beneficiary of this tribulation event, he still made enough of a contribution to earn a sizable reward.

He guessed that if he truly requested to upgrade his genetic aptitude, his grade might get upgraded by two major leaps instead of a single one.

That meant that his genetic aptitude may possibly skip E-grade entirely and go straight to D-grade.

This was a massive jump in piloting qualifications!

Potentates with E-grade genetic aptitudes technically possessed the ability to pilot mechs, but their ability to process data was so bad that they were only really useful for controlling slow and foolproof industrial mechs.

Potentates with D-grade genetic aptitudes had it a lot better. Even though they were only really competent in piloting very simple frontline mechs, at least they had the ability to become proper soldiers!

If Ves combined a newly acquired D-grade genetic aptitude with a Carmine mech of his own making, he would be able to pilot an exceptional machine that was always under his control!

Though Ves was already able to fight his own battles as a phase lord, he never really felt comfortable with all of the strange and inhuman traits. He vastly preferred to fight with a mech that he understood from top to bottom than to leverage a highly unfamiliar alien physique.

Yet now that he was stuck with a phase lord body, it seemed redundant for him to upgrade his genetic aptitude.

Besides, Ves had already gotten rid of his desire to pilot mechs. The mech piloting was mutually exclusive to mech design. There was no way for him to transform his willpower and become a high-ranking mech pilot.

Instead of thinking about improving his combat capabilities, he should be thinking about improving his core competences instead.

A situation like this was extremely rare. Ves had no confidence in his ability to provoke another powerful multi-modal lightning tribulation and succeed in the challenge.

Even if he managed to do it again, there was no guarantee that the heavens would be willing to give him the choice to shape his own reward.

He frowned. What should he be asking for? What was the most suitable way to improve his design capabilities?

”I donʼt know how much you have learned about me, but it should be clear to you that I am a creator. Do you have any recommendations on what sort of boon I should be considering?”

Though the Subjugation King did not have an expressive face, Ves nonetheless perceived a sense of approval from the slaving bastard.

”#$&$@$@.”

”THIS IS MY PURPOSE. I HAVE MANY SUGGESTIONS. I HAVE OBSERVED THAT YOU HEAVILY RELY ON YOUR PERCEPTION TO UNDERSTAND TRUTHS THAT ARE HIDDEN FROM THE SIGHT OF INFERIOR SLAVES. YOUR EYESIGHT IS REMARKABLY SUPERIOR FOR A MORTAL AT YOUR LEVEL. THE LIGHT OF THE GREAT LIGHTHOUSE CAN ILLUMINATE THEM FURTHER AND ALLOW YOU TO SEE FURTHER. ORDINARY ILLUSIONS CANNOT DECEIVE YOU ANYMORE, AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LOCATE TREASURES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT CAN ADVANCE YOUR PROGRESS EVEN FURTHER.”

That was actually an excellent suggestion!

Though Ves still felt it was a waste to ask for this reward, he could certainly recognize the benefits of improving his perception.

The Subjugation King was disturbingly astute when he mentioned that Ves relied a lot on his perception.

This tribulation event had made it clear that Ves would have been able to contribute so much if his eyesight wasnʼt as good as it was today.

Improving it further would grant a lot of benefits, especially now that red humanity had entered the Age of Dawn.

Yet… upgrading his perception did not directly boost his ability to design better mechs. At most, he would be able to glean more insights and allow him to deepen his mastery in hyper technology and E technology.

”I think I would rather obtain a boon that is more directly helpful in my ability to design and create better artifacts.” Ves ultimately said, making sure he did not breathe any mention about mechs. ”Can you give me a suggestion that is more relevant to craftsmen such as myself?”

”#$#$@&#@.”

”THERE ARE SEVERAL PARTICULARLY SUITABLE CHOICES YOU CAN MAKE…”