[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 6: Taking Flight

When Ves uploaded the new Seraphim design on the market, he quickly bought the required. Unlike the 2R-E, the Seraphim boasted a much more complex integration of disparate components. A working model demanded that Ves take much better care of the fabrication and assembly of parts. His increased proficiency in working with the 3D printer helped him in printing out parts with less deviation than normal, which further assisted him in making the assembly occur without many problems.

Ves received a nasty fright once he saw the final bill for the frame.

"I already have to spend 4400 gold on the raw materials alone. If I let Iron Spirit automate its production, then the final price will at least be doubled."

A 1-Star mech that cost 8800 gold to buy was an absolute luxury in the game. It took an average player months to build up such a fortune.

Ves decided to add a credit price to his model. "Since it's a high performing model, I can at least feel justified if I charge real money for the Seraphim."

He set a modest price of 3300 bright credits per model, which was already at the floor of what the game asked of him. If he sold his mechs with bright credits, the cost of materials and manufacturing would also be deducted from the same currency, so in essence Ves earned no profits at this price. 3300 bright credits still put the Seraphim well into the premium bracket. Ves felt a little nervous of competing against more well-designed models that mech pilots could acquire at this price.

"I don't believe my Fantasia will do too badly. It's one of the few flight-capable mechs in this tier after all. That's got to be worth something."

Ves refused to sit on his laurels after he finished putting the Seraphim on sale. There were thousands of customized Fantasia models and millions of other 1-Star variants in the market. Hundreds of new creations popped up every day so Ves had to go the extra mile in order to make his product stand out from the competition.

First he visited all the major mech enthusiast board on the galactic net and shamelessly made some posts exaggerating the Seraphim's performance. He then visited Cloudy Curtain's virtual mech pilot community and exhorted the Seraphim as a patriotic purchase, as it integrated the planet's famed Festive Cloud Generator.

Though his online postings might generate a minor amount of attention, there was really too much crap on the net these days. His pathetic attempts at advertisement might as well be a drop in the ocean. After considering the issue for a few minutes, Ves decided to take the plunge and enlisted a short-term advertising service from the game.

Iron Spirit featured a sprawling market, and the developers recognized that some designers wanted their own creations to stand out. So Iron Spirit's market place offered several methods in which to make a model stand out, such as putting them on top of search results, or putting them on display in the virtual environment.

The cheapest option started at a thousand bright credits a day, and Ves bought a package deal of 9,000 credits for ten days of sporadic advertisement. This only left Ves with 11,000 credits in his accounts, which almost turned him into a pauper.

"Making money comes later. Right now, it's best for me to complete the System's mission. I'll earn much more once I receive a real production license. Peddling thousands of digital mechs in a game just can't compare to making a single sale in the real universe."

After finishing his publication, Ves had plenty of time left so he got back to the designer to come up with cheaper variants. His experience with modifying the Fantasia model helped him figure the areas that could be improved.

"Hm, let's start with up-armoring the chassis."

***

As Ves tinkered with his designs, someone else on Cloudy Curtain logged into Iron Spirit and checked out Ves' profile as a habit.