[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 50: Hunter

Ves looked at the fifth iteration of the Octagon's radically redesigned armor scheme. He spent a week to come this far. The main changes he made involved setting plates in certain oblique angles that made it easier to deflect damage instead of taking it head-on. The use of subtle angles and a ribbed pattern made the mech appear as if it wore a crocodile's skin.

Incorporating such an unusual armor scheme came with a major disadvantage. By stacking the armor plates at an angle, Ves needed to incorporate more armor in the same surface area than if he stacked the plates at a flat angle.

It was like using a pack of cards to make a house of cards instead of just placing them side by side. One method maximized the surface area, while the other method increased the density. In order to keep down the Octagon's weight, Ves was required to shave off the amount of SquarePlate armor layers and skimp down on the FlexiPlate.

"After all this work, I don't think the mech's armor has improved very much." Ves sighed. The dramatic improvements he anticipated hadn't come true. Physical limitations simply couldn't be bypassed no matter how many tricks he employed.

"Still, it's impressive enough that its ability to absorb damage is improved by 5% or so without impacting its agility."

It came at a significant cost. The SquarePlate armor that he liberally used was more expensive than the Octagon's stock armor while actually providing a slightly lesser amount of protection. If Ves wasn't insistent on using a modular armor system, he could have made much higher gains with alternative armoring.

Through his work, Ves felt he was missing an ingredient to make his ideas work. An invisible wall stopped his efforts in completely harmonizing the armor with improved protection while avoiding too many speed reductions.

"This is a more complex problem than I thought." He concluded, and admitted that he underestimated the difficulties in conjuring up a magical solution that no one had ever thought about. "I'm too burned out to work any further on this design."

He noticed a difference when he worked on the Octagon. When he worked on his two best products, the Fantasia 2R Seraphim and the CA-C1 Marc Anthony, he worked on them with a great amount of passion to the point of ignoring difficult-to-solve defects in their design.

That was especially the case concerning the Seraphim, which he whipped up in record time very early in his career. If Ves revisited the Seraphim, he might just die from embarrassment from all the faults he left in the design. Yet Ves felt none of his pride for the design diminishing. The Seraphim was a successful product, and a handful of young Bronze League players enjoyed their time with it. The design possessed a spark of life.

Could he say the same for his latest project? Ves estimated if he forcefully grinded out a new variant off the Octagon, he'd end up with a pile of junk. He learned something new today. No matter how much you focus your mind on a single intent, it didn't replace real capability. His skills needed to keep up with the image in his mind.

He revisited the image he kept in his mind. He wanted to design a hunter, a predator of the streets, one that could match the range of motion of apes while being able to fight like a human. He eluded all pursuit and instead chose to pursue his enemies. None could survive a blow they couldn't see coming.

"It's missing a stealth option." Ves realized, then scratched his head.

The 2-star generation of mechs offered more mature options for stealth, but they still had their flaws. It cost a lot of credits to purchase a license that was only effective in a very small range. He couldn't justify the expenditure in a pure cost to benefit judgement.

"But my feelings say it needs this option."

The original Octagon made due without stealth. In highly urbanized environments, metal was everywhere, from the structures to the vehicles and even the pipes running underneath the streets. All these obstacles severely hindered certain sensors but not all of them. If an Octagon managed its heat and footsteps well, it could sneak up behind its prey or let them pass its hiding spot without detection.