[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 35: Main Stage

Despite turning on the charm, Ves only managed to generate noncommittal interest for his mech. He expected it to be a challenge, but the soldiers and mercenaries all treated him like a fly. Oh, the potentates were polite about it, but the disdain and dismissal was clear in their eyes. His status as a promising young mech designer who just got through the qualifiers meant nothing to them. He lacked the opportunity to show off the Marc Antony as they brushed him aside after a minute of polite talk.

"My apologies, my department is not in a hurry to procure a new mech."

"Our budget is tight. We don't make a lot of profit per operation. We can barely keep our mechs afloat. I'll look into your products a couple of years later when our current fleet of mechs needs replacements."

"The crew I'm running already trained in a specific configuration of mechs. Introducing a different type of mech will disrupt the balance."

"I'm not specialized in melee combat. A mech that uses a mace and shield is not suitable to an unskilled pilot like me."

The excuses sounded the same no matter where Ves tried to find a customer. As the people left the venue in order to grab a bite or visit the main event in the central stadium, Ves was left with empty hands.

"Hello there Ves."

He turned around to see an unexpected sight. Hans came up and addressed him personally. "Hans! What brings you here?"

"I just want to let you know that out of all the mechs I've piloted today, yours is one of the few who took the comfort of the pilot into account."

Ves raised his eyebrow. This was definitely the X-Factor at work! "I design my mechs with the user in mind. My products are more than the sum of its parts. I put my heart into each of my designs. I've refined my craft by designing and producing many mechs for Iron Spirit, where I've enjoyed a substantial amount of sales. I'm currently trying to branch out my real world business."

That sounded professional enough, right?

The pilot nodded, and looked interested. "I'd like to see more of your work."

"Ah." Ves quickly activated his comm to swipe his virtual sales page to Hans. "My digital storefront is here. Please feel free to browse my wares, though I advise you to look at my Marc Antony variant first. It's based off the Caesar Augustus, but I've reworked it extensively with more affordable armor. This is also the design that I'm offering for sale from my real universe workshop."

"You are able to produce a variant of the Augustus?" Hans sharpened his eyes a bit at that news. "I don't know much about the business, but I do know that the production license alone must cost an incredible sum of money. How could you get a hold of such a premium license?"

"I've been fortunate to attract the attention of some people who took note of my talent in mech design." Ves said as he shamelessly weaved a tale of bullshit in order to cover up the existence of the System. "A renowned Rubarthan grant institution even granted me a couple of production licenses to give my startup a push."

"That is impressive. It is not easy to attract the attention of the Rubarthans."

"Ah, don't misunderstand me. The institution is only based in the New Rubarthan Empire, probably for financial and privacy reasons. The real owners probably have a more modest origin. As for their exact identities, I'm not sure, but with such deep pockets they certainly have clout."

Ves chose to steer the conversation in a risky way. By not-so-subtly talking about the non-existent rich people behind his back, he was weaving an illusion of having the support of a mysterious and powerful backer. While rich people often like to waste their money, they never threw away their wealth to useless people. Ves therefore implied that he possessed a unique talent in mech design that distinguished him from the hundreds of other contestants who took part in the qualifications.