A super computer enables Kris Harrison to transform to his characters from an online game

Into darkness and living in the perpetual shadow of death, only a brave heart whose blade will never dull in the face of the extraordinary can win in Supernatural Simulator.

I felt a mild headache as I groggily opened my eyes and found myself in the same white room where I had fought a few moments ago.

I rubbed my eyes and stood up realized that my left and right hands were perfectly fine.

As if the fight that occurred a few moments ago never happened.

As if all the wounds I suffered were nothing but a figment of my imagination.

It made me feel a bit sad but I was a realistic person and realized that my wounds were fatal and if this was a real world and not the Battle Simulator then I would have been long dead.

I pulled myself off the ground and looked around and realized that the room was white a before the fight started.

It was in pristine condition and devoid of any blood or corpse or anything in general.

'Well, this is a simulator after all.' I thought and chucked at myself.

"You did well Ashok Singh Rana." I stopped chuckling at once and turned around to come face to face with the white glowing ball which seemed to pulse even faster now.

"In fact, you did far better then I had expected." She said "I expected you to fall somewhere around the 16th or 17th stage or even before that. But you completed 19th stage. And in such a… unique manner at that. That is most admirable."

"Thank you… I guess." I said "Does that mean that I passed your exam."

The ball pulsed even faster and glowed even brighter for a moment before she replied "Oh! That you did my dear. And with flying colors at that."

"Does that mean that I can evolve now?" I asked and felt a bit excited.

"Yes yes. If you can survive the process that is. But looking at your determination with which you fought, I think you have more than enough will power to complete this evolution process."

I looked at her as she finished speaking and then we looked at her for a few moments like that before I said "Umm… Is there anything else I need to do."

"Oh! How forgetful of me. You've done admirable in your test, so your reward must match that as well. Here… Select one of these options and you can start your evolution." She said and a screen appeared in front of me.

It read:-

EVOLUTION OPTIONS:-

1. Enhanced Human II(*):- The next stage of 'Enhanced Human I'. Most of the humans who complete their third evolution are Enhanced Humans. It is a well rounded evolution and the one that's closest to a normal human.

2. Elite Human I(**):- A step above Enhanced Human is Elite Human. They are all rounded and quite similar to Enhanced Humans in every way. In a battle between an elite and enhanced human with same stats and same skills, the elite human would win every time.

3. Berserker I(**):- An evolution that's heavily focus on offensive. A berserker has far more strength, agility, perception and stamina than an elite human. But they pay for that by losing their mana forever.

4. High Human I(***):- A step above Elite Human is High Human. They have higher Perception and a lot higher mana than an Elite Human.

5. Fiend I(****):- A 5 star evolution that has been degraded to 4 star because of it generates a lot of change in the human body. This evolution is only available to people under certain circumstances. A Fiend has higher strength, agility, perception and stamina than even a berserker while their mana usage remains as high as a High Human.



Ashok re-read the options a few more time after which he finally smiled.

There were so many choices in front of me. But in truth, there was only one choice that I would accept.

"I choose to evolve into a Fiend." I said and looked toward the glowing ball who started to pulsate even faster after listening to my words.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

"Of course. It was a 5 star evolution originally. So there is no reason why I would not choose this evolution."

"You do realize that it might change your body in… many ways, right?"

"I do." I replied.

"And you're still sure that you want to go ahead with this evolution."

"I am." I replied.

After a long pause she finally said "Very well then."

"Initiate evolution of Ashok Singh Rana from 'Enhanced Human I' to 'Fiend'" she said and I felt everything around me go dark as immense amount of pain consumed me.

"Good luck Ashok." Were the last words I heard before everything went dark.

—————

Despite having immense will power and despite the fact that I was used to suffering a lot of pain, I still lost my mind when the evolution started.

Quite a few moments passed when I almost thought of letting go and getting free of the pain but I remembered my family and held on.

After a indefinite amount of time, which was filled with immense pain, the pain finally subsided.

I took deep breaths and wondered if my evolution was particularly painful because of the 5 star evolution or if everyone will feel the same amount of pain when evolving.

I hope it's the former or a lot of people would die in their 3rd evolution.

As the feeling of pain subsided from my body, I heard loud howls and barks of mutant beasts and opened my eyes just in time to come face to face against the jaw of a mutant bear.

Before I could react, I was jerked back and heard it's jaw close just as I reached out of it's reach.

After that, I was flung back and because of the fact that I just gained consciousness, I was not able to control my body and fell a good twenty meters before I came to a stop.

I stood up wobbly and felt a bit dazed about my surroundings until I heard a pain filled scream and my head snapped in the direction of the scream.

There, in front of me stood Neha with one hand in the jaw of a 3rd tier Mutant Bear as she tried to stop it from advancing at me.

And then I saw red.

On that day, the world we knew came crashing down.
80% of the entire human population was wiped out.
The ones who survived mourned. But it would have been better if those who had died, remained dead.

But all hope was not lost, as a Strange Black watch was gifted to all the survivors. With the help of the watch, those who were brave and deserving, gained incredible powers that surpassed the realm of humanity.

In this strange and dangerous new world, Ashok tries to survive along with his Elder brother and Little Sister while at the same time, aims to become the strongest that he can be.

In the large command cabin, Rachel Chou told Pard Lynch that the opponent had a red spider mark on its body.

Pard Lynch meditated for a moment, and said to himself, "The largest mercenary group in the chimeric galaxy? By the way, there is a conversation recorded by Rain secretly, Rachel, let's listen to it." He opened the recording.

After listening to it, Rachel Chou's look on her face was surprised and she said, "Oh my god, it looks like what we take samples this time ... it may be the evolutionary liquid, and they have been staring at us for a long time ... I must contract the Institute for Science and Technology Evolution and report our findings ..." But she suddenly hesitated again.

Pard Lynch asked, "What's wrong, Rachel?"

"I'm not yet sure that this sampling is the evolution liquid," Said Rachel Chou.

Pard Lynch understood the meaning of his wife. If it was not the evolution liquid, then she would make a fool of herself.

Over the years, countless people had claimed to have found the evolutionary liquid, but none of them was true. As a first-level academician of the academy, Rachel Chou could not publish news without confirmation.

Lathan Taylor said: "Rachel, you had better contact first to see if there is any news."

Rachel Chou hurried back to the laboratory, and soon she returned to the command cabin.

Pard Lynch saw her face very badly and asked with concern: "What happened?"

Rachel Chou said: "Two academicians were missing from the academy, and the first academician Michael Dim was murdered, but no remains were found. His information was looted ... I have reported the situation here."

"Who is Michael Dim?" Pard Lynch was unfamiliar with the people in the academy.

Rachel Chou looked sadly and she said: "He is responsible for the military's evolutionary agent research, specializing in super evolutionary agents, that is, advanced evolutionary agents. He was once my assistant, and we cooperated for a period of time ... He is a very upright person. I didn't expect that."

Pard Lynch walked over and gave her a gentle embrace, comforting her: "Relax, no one could hurt you because of me."

Lathan Taylor joked aside: "Leopard, don't stimulate me, I'm a bachelor, I can't see the intimation of others ..."

Rachel Chou said: "Lathan, you are going to die, how dare you laugh at your sister-in-law."

Lathan Taylor quickly raised his hand and said, "Sorry, I'm sorry!"

The dreary atmosphere in the command cabin was broken. Tiger Trier and Zen Green laughed non-stop. Tiger Trier said, "No one doesn't know that Commander Pard is a great lover! He is a good example for our juniors and is our role model.

Pard Lynch's eyes glared: "Pay attention to driving. you have numerous useless talks!"

He was very proud of himself. At the beginning, in order to pursue Rachel Chou, he tried his best, and the difficulty was no less than that of assassinating the general in the army.

He was only a small captain at the time, and Rachel Chou was already a budding Interstellar Alliance scientist.

Zen Green said, "Look! They're back."

Three heavy patrol ships gradually disappeared from the screen.

Lathan Taylor laughed and said, "It is useless even if they follow me. They can't keep up with our speed."

Pard Lynch shook his head: "It's not that simple, we must be be cautious ..." He felt intuitively that those people would not leave easily, especially those who involved with Rachel Chou, which made him be more careful.

Lathan Taylor cancelled the alarm and called: "Tiger Trier, Zen Green."

They got up and said, "Yes, sir!"

Lathan Taylor said: "You go down to tell Swan Turner to check the spacecraft, scan the hull, and I suspect the spacecraft has been tracked."

Tiger Trier saluted, "Yes! Sir!"

Pard Lynch said, "Rachel, you've worked hard these days, you should take a break."

Rachel Chou shook her head and said, "I'll wait to check and take a sample to see if it is an evolutionary liquid. Alas, I can't sleep at all, Pard, you have to be careful."

Pard Lynch was not a stubborn person. In fact, there was no need to remind him, but they were affectionate. Her remind showed that Pard Lynch was more important than anything in her mind.

Zeff Kerr rushed into the command cabin, panting: "Come on, Rain is unconscious!"

Pard Lynch's face changed drastically, he yelled, "Lathan, you are in charge of the spaceship. Rachel, let's go."

He took Rachel Chou' hand and ran towards the medical cabin, as fast as a whirlwind.

After three days of treatment, Rain Lynch's condition finally stabilized.

Rain Lynch had an ordinary person's physique. After launching out of the mech ship, due to the damage of the protective light armor, the body could not resist the pressure in space, causing internal bleeding, and the condition was very fierce.

Rachel Chou was a mastered doctor who specialized in the evolution of the body. She knew that there was not enough medical equipment on Sliver Leopard spacecraft, and Rain Lynch had to be sent back to Earth for treatment.

Rachel Chou's eyes were red and swollen. She was a very tough woman, but this time the hit was too great. She knew that Sliver Leopard spacecraft could not have enough time to rush back to Earth.

Pard Lynch's consolation was of no avail. In the end, Rachel Chou thought of a way, and she quietly discussed with Pard Lynch.

Rachel Chou said, "Pard, if it doesn't work, we'll inject Rain with an evolutionary agent, um ..."

Pard Lynch was startled and said, "Rachel, can evolutionary agents be used this way? Rain is not yet 18 years old, and his body is not strong enough, and now life ... this ... is not stable. It would be very dangerous to use evolutionary agent. Yes ... I am not good at this, do you really want to take risks? "

Rachel Chou choked with sobs and said, "I don't want Rain to take risks, but the way back to Earth is too far away, and Rain can't bear the space jump. Do you want me to watch ... watch him ..." Her tears flew out.

Pard Lynch felt as if a knife was piercing his heart. He was red-eyed and whispered, "Rachel, I support you no matter what happened, I think Rain will understand."

Rachel Chou said, "Pard, I'm thinking about how to make the evolutionary agent easier to be absorbed by Rain. Well, by the way, I'll go to the laboratory right away. If the liquid I got this time is an evolutionary liquid ... I will have confidence in finding out new recipe ... "

After that, she hurried to the laboratory.

In fact, Rachel Chou was messed up. Even if she got the evolutionary liquid this time and was able to successfully formulate new evolution agent, Rain Lynch could only be regarded as the first white mouse.

No experimentally proven evolutionary agent applied to his so weak body, God knew what will happen.

Rain Lynch's was lively after he was born, so he was tired just lying on the sickbed. He could bear that his body was sore and his limbs were weak. What he couldn't stand was he was not able to get out of the bed, which made him restless. Rachel Chou had to let his thinking enter the virtual zone, and his body went into a dormant state, which could extend his life to the maximum.

After thinking entered the simulator, Rain Lynch no longer felt pain, he could only enter the learning library to learn.

He was usually only interested in weapon systems. He also liked to simulate combat. But due to serious injury, he could not participate in the combat of the simulator, which would involve his motor nerves.

This serious injury made him realize the importance of the body. The body without evolution was too fragile. He began to search for information about evolution.

Entering the virtual database, Rain Lynch went directly to the evolution zone.

Rachel Chou was the authority on human evolution, so there was so much information in this area. He stood in the virtual library, and did not know where to start for a moment.

A virtual humanoid emerged, gradually condensing into the appearance of a little angel, petite and exquisite, beautiful, only the size of a newly born baby, with small white wings flapping gently, very cute, and there was a ring of light on the head .

Rain Lynch came to grandma's database for the first time. He did not expect that grandma had designed such a little angel as a guide. Just hearing the voice of the virtual little angel which liked a cream in milk, "Please show proof of identity, this is Grandma Rachel's information area."

Rain Lynch's own virtual area was a warrior-like warrior. He knew that grandma always wanted a little granddaughter, so it was not surprising to see such a little angel.

Rain Lynch said, "I'm Rain Lynch."

He waved a virtual keyboard and quickly typed a combination of numbers, which was his identity proof. Every Interstellar Alliance citizen had a set of numbers from birth. This was the most important thing for a person to identify.

The halo on the little angel's head lighted up and said, "Identity confirmation, you can enter the basic database, and the advanced database is not allowed." After that, she flapped her wings to the upper left of Rain Lynch, and said, "Rain, is there anything you can inquire about? Sweet Cutie can help. "

Rain Lynch laughed and said, "You're Sweet Cutie?"

Sweet Cutie flickered with disproportionately large eyes, and said, "Yes, grandma calls me Sweet Cutie."

Rain Lynch was amused, this little guy was indeed cute.

He said, "Sweet Cutie, I want to learn about evolution."

He had been haunting his grandma asking for injecting an evolutionary agent before, because he was envious of his two brothers' excellent physical fitness after evolution. For example, Rain Lynch could draw a tie with each of his elder brothers and even beat them occasionally while fighting on the simulator, but in the real world, he could not hurt even a little bit while his elder brother just stood and let him beat, which made Rain Lynch frustrated.

He knew very well that it was impossible for him to compete with his elder brother without evolution.

But Rain Lynch didn't know what would happen after evolution, so he first asked about the physical changes after injection of evolution agent.

Sweet Cutie frowned and looked surprised, saying, "Rain, there have been many changes after injection of evolution agent. Which change do you want to know?"

Rain Lynch scratched his head and smiled bitterly: "I don't known anything, is there any difference in the injection of evolutionary agent?"

He always thought that everyone injected the same evolutionary agent, how did he know that there were different types of evolutionary agents.

The halo on Sweet Cutie's head flickered, and she twitched its mouth, which was a sign that Rain Lynch's question was too stupid. As an intelligent person, although she had to answer questions, she also showed some disdain.

She jumped onto a row of bookshelves and turned over to sit on the partition. Her two thin white legs swayed back and forth, and she said: "Evolution agents are divided into many types, the most common one is K14, the so-called No. 14 evolution agent, now It has been gradually phased out. At present, the most popular in Interstellar Allianceis L17, which is the 17th evolutionary agent. The vast majority of people have been tested and injected with this evolutionary agent. "

Rain Lynch said: "The 17th evolutionary agent ... In other words, some people are not injected with this evolutionary agent, are there other evolutionary agents?"

He ignored Sweet Cutie's disdainful eyes, he knew that grandma had deliberately set Sweet Cutie like this, in order to make people think that Sweet Cutie was unique.

Sweet Cutie continued to explain: "The 17th and 14th are the most basic evolutionary agents, and most people can use it to evolve to more than layer 3. The 14th is synthesized on July 14, 3969. It is the most commonly used and most used evolutionary agent. The 17th evolutionary agent was synthesized by grandma Rachel 50 years ago and is also the most commonly used evolutionary agent in Interstellar Alliance."

Sweet Cutie flew up from the partition, a small magic wand appeared in her small hand, and she slightly clicked it in the air, a slender glass bottle appeared in the air, and there was a blue liquid in the bottle.

In 3669 AD, an exploration spacecraft found a strange liquid substance on a distant unknown planet. After testing, scientists were surprised to find that this liquid could not only be absorbed by the human body, but also allow the human body to evolve automatically! Two hundred years later, another spacecraft sailing toward the vast sky carried an unknown combat fan—Rain Lynch. He was the only person on the spacecraft who had not been injected with an evolutionary agent, and was also the key protection person of the entire ship. However, it was him who was mischievous and finally evolved into an invisible three-color celestial favorite, which started a super evolutionary process that humans have never had ...

After the constant progress of technology, on the 22nd of February 2022, hardware- and game-developer 'New Life Technologies' released the first-ever Virtual Reality device with 'Full-Dive-Technology' – Called: 'The VR-Force'.

But only two and a half years later many people started to complain about health-issues, which seemed to be caused by the high-density microwaves that the VR-Force created in order to simulate senses.

One of the major 'Anti-VR-Force-activists' was Matoba Etsuya, which reportedly lost his daughter through the VR-Force. After he joined the 'Anti-VR-Force' movement, everything went more than quick, because people were afraid that anyone could die, like Matoba Etsuya's daughter did.

Now it's the 5th of March 2025, the last day of the first, and last remaining, VR-Force-Game; Age of Swordsmen.

The other two available VR-Force-Games games, 'Rapid Fire', an online shooter and 'New Life Online', a world-building simulator, were both shut down earlier this year.

Kyazuto Mochizuki, or how everyone calls him: Kyaga, was a passionate VR-Force player since Day 1. He was highly talented in AOS and grew to one of the best Players really quick, despite his young age.

His high Skill brought him to a lot of Fame in the AOS Community, and he quickly started to neglect society, and escape in the VR-World.

He played hours upon hours daily and lost himself completely in AOS. But not only to get better at the Game or get better Items. He played it because it was a better reality for him.

Let me ask you a question.

        Did you ever play a game so passionately, that you were able to play it for hours and hours, without even noticing how the time passed by?

        And then imagine being stuck…

        But you’re not only stuck because you can’t get any further, but you are also stuck because you can’t get out anymore

        This is the story of gamers, or should I say brave swordsmen who fought to clear the game, to beat the boss, to be alive. This is the story of a game, the story of…

        The Age of Swordsmen

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Author's Note: First Novel I ever published here. May remind some of SAO, but yeah... It actually isn't really like SAO at all. I would appreciate any corrections of grammar/spelling errors since I'm not a native English speaker.
In addition to that, this is a 'First Draft', so I may edit a few things in old chapters when I feel like it.

A few other groups of military cadets aside from Kyam's were wandering around the conference as well, Gray thought this was strange for a game conference but considering the game it made some sense.  Gray did his best to maintain a low profile around these groups in case someone else recognized him. The rest of the conference ended up being uneventful for Gray and the rest so they went home.  Gray dragged his feet by the entrance hoping to run in to Felicia one last time, but sadly she was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh well, guess it wasn't meant to be." said Gray to himself before finally leaving the conference and go home for the rest of the night.

__________

The next morning Gray had his usual instant meal, good old bachelor life he thought.  After breakfast Gray felt like taking a nap as Monday mornings were the best for napping.  Something about climbing back into bed while the rest of the world just finished their weekend that made Gray enjoy it all the more.  Still, he actually really wanted to get back into the game, but was afraid that most of the players wouldn't be online due to it not being the weekend.

As Gray logged in, he was happy to see his whole team was already online.

"Whew, I thought it would only be Geoff and myself." Gray thought since he remembered that Geoff also took time off from work to play but didn't know what the others had done.

Gray opened up the team chat window on his HUD and asked where everyone was.  The chat window quickly filled with replies:

'Stacia:  We are by matchmaking'
'Geoff:  Waiting on you asshole!'
'Yurika:  Hurry up!  I want to shoot things!'
'Caleb:  I thought you were more reliable than this'

Gray sighed inwardly.  "Nobody told me we were waiting on each other."

Gray hurried over to the matchmaking board to find the other 4 staring anxiously at him.

"Gray!  Where were you?  We agreed 10am would be our meeting time!" said Geoff angrily.

"10am?  I don't remember that..." said Gray honestly.

"We talked about it yesterday!  Caleb, didn't you say you meet him earlier in the real world and would send him a message about our agreement?" asked Yurika to Caleb.

Caleb pretended to not pay attention and said  "It doesn't matter anymore, let's just begin!" as he walked over to the simulator pods.

Gray, Geoff, Yurika and Stacia looked at each other and rolled their eyes as they all came to the conclusion that Caleb didn't send a message.

"Random again?" asked Gray to everyone else.

"You're the leader, we'll let you pick what we do when we're doing matchmaking as a team." said Stacia.

Gray really enjoyed objective games like Capture the Flag so he decided to be a little selfish and selected Team Capture the Flag once everyone was in their simulator pods.  After a few minutes of waiting, a match was finally found.

A different arena than any of the Team death match spawned for them and the 5 of them were standing around a blue flag with their team name on it.  Inside their HUDS a picture of the enemy flag came in to view, it was red with the name "Grizzly Lords" on it and an emblem of a roaring grizzly bear on it.

"Awww, how come they get an emblem?" asked Yurika

"Because it costs merits to add and I'm trying to be frugal" replied Gray.

"Quit being such a cheap ass!" Yurika yelled back

"It's frugal!  Not cheap!" countered Gray, although he admitted it was a weak counter.

"Gray, for team unity, I do recommend an emblem as in the future it will provide us with a symbol to rally behind." said Caleb.

"FINE, I'll take care of it when we take a break!" Gray said while pretending to surrender to the masses.  Truth was he really didn't know about it because he never really explored the team setup part nor did he read the manual that thoroughly.  "Let's focus on the match now!"

Gray was a little surprised that when they spawned into the map, they weren't given a mech selection screen or even a loadout selection screen.  It seems that everyone has the same basic mech, a Capture the Flag variant for the standard Phalanx Mk 01 as well as an assault rifle  strictly for the CTF mode.  Inside everyone's HUD was an indicator with a full green bar in it that said "Hit Points:  10/10".

"Hit Points?" asked Gray

"Yes Gray, Capture the Flag uses hit points to determine the life or death of your mech.  The weapons we have are basically paint guns that merely mark on the mech where it has been hit.  You lose hit points depending upon where you get hit.  When you run out, your mech is destroyed and will respawn after a set timer back at your base." said Caleb.

"Oh, that sounds good!  Respawning isn't realistic, but that is also what makes it kind of fun since we can fight without worry!" said Gray.

Gray looked at the map provided and saw that it was a long and somewhat narrow map.  This didn't leave much room for guesswork as the amount of routes to the flag was very limited due to the smaller map.  Gray was hoping this would be as fun as  these types of games were Gray's personal favorite. Not wanting to waste any more time, Gray started to excitedly give out orders.  "Let's find out what they're trying to do first, it's better to counter than to rush in blindly even if we can respawn."

__________

Felicia was wearing a military uniform similar to what the cadets of the academy wore, a dark blue skirt and matching coat with an Alterra Corporation visitor badge clipped to her breast pocket.  The insignia on her upper sleeve indicated she was a 1st Lieutenant.  Currently Felicia was having a meeting with Drake and a virtual presence of a man dressed in a uniform similar to Major Valen of Alterra Online.

"Lieutenant Stone, what is the results of the players you've been assigned to monitor?" asked the virtual presence.

"General, sir, I have determined that none of the current players understand the purpose of the Alterra Project.  I have flagged a few names that I believe could potentially hinder our efforts, but I believe we are able to proceed with phase 2." replied Felicia.

The General, as Felicia called him, appeared to be in his late fifties with graying hair and a streak of white on each side.  The dark blue slacks matched the blazer and fit perfectly on his large framed body.  The insignia of a general on his shoulders with 2 stars indicated he was 2 star general and thus high ranking.

"Excellent, we'll consider closely monitoring the players you have flagged." said the General.  "Mr. Teach, we would like you to reduce the amount of character customization allowed for the beginning of phase 2.  Cosmetic changes weren't the problem, and thank you for being far-sighted and not allowing gender changes, but the body mass and structural changes were almost beyond our capacity with just the test batch of 800."

"Understood sir, we'll say it was a Diamond-tier exclusive then."

"Frankly, some of them were disturbing.  One player tried to give himself squirrel vision by moving his eyes to the side of his head as much as possible.  Should've let him keep it just for the amusement honestly." said the General while laughing to himself.

"Sir, I do have one suggestion" said Felicia.

"Yes Lieutenant Stone?" replied the General.

"I suggest we keep an active listener on one of the players instead of the standard passive.  His intelligence may be beneficial to us, but we don't want him to learn what our intentions are."

"Wise decision, Mr. Teach, does Alterra have enough staff to spare to allow another active listener?" asked the General to Edward.

"Yes, I can have them start once the target is known."

"Good, now who is the target?" asked the General to Felicia

"Caleb Waldowski"

A hundred years from now the Earth is now reduced to several domed cities after the last war raised the temperature across the planet thus raising the sea level.

The most common escape for everyone is virtual reality.  A new game, Alterra Online, is set to release and promises to be the most realistic mecha/military/political simulation to date as well as the first full dive virtual reality game.

Gray Wilhelm, like so many others, wants to be one of the first to play.  What is Alterra Online's secret?  Why do players feel more alive in the game than in real life?  And why is the government and Alterra Corporation working on it together?

Features:
- NO Systems, Reincarnations, Supernatural Powers, harems, or brain dead females that chase after MC.
- Monty Python references and many others.
- Believable characters



11/9/2019 - Slowing down release rate temporarily as I edit and clean up the first volume extensively.  Wow was I bad!  Doesn't quite need a rewrite thankfully.

Memiliki kewarganegaraan Kekaisaran Gunung Naga Hitam mempermudah pembukaan rekening. Setelah membayar 17 dolar Ganwu, semuanya terselesaikan.
"Tuan, 10 rekening yang tidak bisa dilacak bersama dengan 10 helm sensor kesadaran, ini adalah kembalian Anda, terima kasih atas pembelian Anda." Wanita itu tersenyum. Luo Feng dengan santai menempatkan 10 helm di ruang cincin penyimpanannya, mengikuti instruksi Babata dari sebelumnya ... dia boleh menunjukkan cincin penyimpanannya di Bintang Naga.
Namun, dia harus berpura-pura seolah-olah ruang penyimpanannya hanya seluas 10 m. Dia tidak boleh menyimpan sesuatu yang lebih besar daripada itu di dalamnya.
Lagipula…
Peralatan ruang penyimpanan dikategorikan ke dalam beberapa level. Untuk dapat naik kapal naga hitam, dengan penjaga perak cair sebagai pengawal, memiliki ruang penyimpanan kecil adalah normal. Tentu saja, ruang penyimpanan Luo Feng yang panjangnya lebih dari 600 m, lebar 500 m, dan tinggi lebih dari 100 m adalah barang mewah, jika ditemukan, dia akan dengan mudah kehilangan nyawanya.
Bagi Luo Feng, kapal Planet Yun Mo, mayat Makhluk Abadi dan senjata mereka adalah harta berharga, potongan esensi tembaga hibrida dan cincin penyimpanan sangat mahal.
Bahkan bulu-bulu kaki kecil pada master Planet Yun Mo lebih kuat daripada pemimpin Penguasa Sektor Bintang Naga!
Namun, bagi Luo Feng, murid Planet Yun Mo, jika dia berani mengungkapkan harta karunnya, konsekuensinya akan fatal.
Kota Naga, di dalam restoran dengan gaya unik, ada banyak hal yang mirip dengan yang ada di Bumi.
Bahkan di planet yang berbeda, manusia masih memiliki banyak kemiripan. Misalnya, menghormati privasi, mendapatkan rasa hormat, dll. Restoran yang lebih tua di Bumi memiliki kamar pribadi, bahkan restoran perkotaan yang lebih baru memiliki kamar pribadi! Dan tempat yang sangat canggih di Bintang Naga ini, memiliki ruang pribadi tingkat tinggi yang sama.
Tentu saja ... harganya berbeda tingkat.
"Baiklah, kamu bisa pergi." Luo Feng memesan segelas jus buah dan meminta pelayan untuk pergi.
"Tuan, jika Anda butuh sesuatu, cukup tekan tombolnya." Pelayan itu tersenyum, menutup pintu di belakangnya.
Ka!
Luo Feng segera menutup pintu dari dalam kamar pribadi, memerintahkan kedua penjaga perak cair untuk melindunginya.
"Babata, masuk ke alam semesta virtual." perintah Luo Feng.
"Haha, aku sudah lama menunggu hari ini," Babata sangat bersemangat, sudah sejak lama ingin membuka rekening. Namun begitu dia memasuki jaringan, kesadarannya akan berada di jaringan itu sendiri. Meskipun dia dapat melakukan banyak tugas, dia tidak memiliki kemampuan untuk membagi kesadarannya. Karena itu dia perlu menemukan tempat yang aman.
"Alam semesta virtual mengakses ..."
Suara nyaring bernada rendah terdengar dalam kesadarannya.
Kesadaran Luo Feng menjadi hitam semua.
...
Ini adalah kota kuno, bongkahan besar batu dengan ukiran di mana-mana, orang-orang di jalanan tampak aneh, tinggi mereka berbeda, ras berbeda. Namun sebagian besar dari mereka mengenakan pakaian abu-abu sederhana, dan di atas bahu mereka ada tanda roh kecil.
Shua!
Seorang pria tiba-tiba muncul di tengah-tengah semua orang di jalan, itu adalah Luo Feng. Dia mengenakan pakaian abu-abu sederhana, di bahunya duduk roh kecil seukuran kepalan tangan, iblis Babata, dia juga mengenakan pakaian yang sama, tetapi berwarna hijau. Dia tampak menggemaskan, seperti roh kecil.
"Ini, ini adalah Jaringan Virtual Alam Semesta?"
Luo Feng berdiri di jalan, memandang lalu lintas sambil tertegun.
"Tentu saja." Suara Babata bergema di Luo Feng, "Kita saat ini berada di benua Ganwu di dunia maya, di perbatasan, sebuah pulau kecil Kekaisaran Gunung Naga Hitam."
"Pulau?" Luo Feng mengedipkan matanya.
"Semua yang berada di bawah Kekaisaran Gunung Naga Hitam, ketika masuk ke dalam Jaringan Virtual Alam Semesta, akan muncul di Pulau Gunung Naga Hitam." Babata menjelaskan, "Meskipun namanya pulau, tetapi lapangan bintang Kekaisaran Gunung Naga Hitam memiliki lebih dari 8.000 galaksi, dan planet-planet yang tak terhitung jumlahnya memiliki banyak manusia online. Itulah sebabnya, penampilan pulau ini, sebenarnya lebih besar dari planet manapun di alam semesta."
Luo Feng tercengang.
"Siapa pun yang memasuki alam semesta virtual akan memiliki asisten." Babata berkata, "Yang dimana berbentuk roh kecil di pundak semua orang."
"Tingkat kecerdasan asisten, secara langsung terkait dengan penggunaan helm sensor online kesadaran orang, komputer kuantum, sistem kecerdasan buatan. Roh kecil pada helm, tidak bisa berpikir sendiri, mereka hanya bisa menjawab pertanyaan dan perintah sederhana. Apapun yang Anda perintahkan, mereka akan menjalankan." Babata menjelaskan.
Luo Feng mengangguk.
"Di alam semesta, kamu bisa mengobrol dengan teman baikmu dari jauh. Kamu bahkan dapat menggunakan uang untuk menyampaikan bahwa kamu ingin bertemu di suatu tempat di dunia maya." Babata menjelaskan. "Juga, hal-hal seperti saham dan obligasi, keuangan, bisnis dan semacamnya semua dapat dilakukan di alam semesta virtual."
"Kamu bisa membereskan rekening bank dari sini."
"Kamu bisa belajar dan berlatih seni bela diri dari sini!"
"Kamu bisa berdagang atau membeli dan menjual barang di sini."
"Kamu dapat memainkan game virtual. Ini adalah 100% game virtual yang disimulasikan, sangat hidup seperti kenyataan. Ada banyak jenis game juga ... Kau bisa mengatakan, apapun yang terpikirkan olehmu, perusahaan game pasti bisa membuatnya."
"Permainan, makanan lezat, wanita cantik, perbankan, transaksi, duel, belajar ... semuanya ada disini!" Kata Babata. "Alam semesta virtual, adalah pasar yang lebih besar dari planet manapun. Semua elit alam semesta dikumpulkan disini, apapun yang tidak mungkin dalam kenyataan dapat terjadi di sini."
"Ada beberapa orang yang bahkan memperlakukan game virtual sebagai kenyataan, bermain selama ratusan hingga ribuan tahun. Bahkan menikah dan memiliki anak dalam permainan. Syarat utamanya adalah ... Anda harus punya uang untuk dimainkan! Lagipula, sebagian besar dari mereka yang bermain adalah mereka yang membayar uang. Hanya beberapa yang ekstrem yang dapat uang dari game."
Luo Feng sangat terkejut.
Itu terlalu luas!
Dibandingkan dengan alam semesta fisik, alam semesta virtual lebih modern dan memikat!
"Namun, virtual tetap virtual." Babata berkata dengan serius, "Tidak peduli berapa lama kau tinggal di alam semesta virtual ini, kamu tidak bisa melatih tubuh fisikmu! Bagi yang kuat, jaringan ini hanya jalur yang nyaman. Anda dapat bertemu dan berkomunikasi dengan sesama pejuang yang kuat melalui jaringan ini."
"Kau dapat membeli dan menjual barang-barang yang sebenarnya tidak akan pernah bisa Anda beli."
"Dan jika kamu terjun ke dunia maya dan menghabiskan seluruh waktumu di game virtual, kecuali seseorang tanpa stres atau ambisi dan memiliki kekayaan dalam jumlah besar, biasanya berakhir dengan tragedi!" Babata menekankan.
Dia sangat jelas pada daya pikat game, maka dia perlu mengingatkan Luo Feng.
"Tentu saja, jika kau memainkan beberapa game pelatihan kelompok, atau game pelatihan tunggal, mereka mirip dengan simulator pelatihan Bumi, itu tidak masalah." tambah Babata.
"Pelatihan simulator?" Luo Feng terdiam.
Itu disebut permainan juga?
Itu adalah pelatihan murni.
"Babata, tolong cek, kelompok logam yang diperlukan oleh Binatang Buas Bertanduk Emas, dan kelompok logam yang dibutuhkan untuk melatih <Dewa Dunia>." Luo Feng berkata. Di alam semesta virtual, tetap aman untuk berkomunikasi dengan Babata melalui pertukaran pikiran mereka. Perusahaan jagad maya dijamin tidak akan pernah membocorkan pesan pribadi siapapun atau informasi pribadi mereka.
Dua absolut, ini adalah dasar dari perusahaan Jaringan Virtual Alam Semesta.
"Luo Feng, tingkat bintang Binatang Buas Bertanduk Emas, pengelompokan optimal logam untuk dilahap adalah logam murni kelas B 325, mereka dapat meningkatkan kecepatan pertumbuhan dunia internal hingga 89 kali ... hm, aku sudah mengumpulkan informasi tentang 325 jenis logam ini, mereka tersedia di alam semesta!" Babata segera memindai semua berita dan data online.
"Bagaimana, berapa banyak uang yang kita butuhkan?" Tanya Luo Feng.
Delapan puluh sembilan kali!
Dari tingkat Bintang 1 ke tingkat Alam Semesta, yang paling lambat adalah 100 tahun. Saat dia mulai melahap logam, kurang lebih setahun dan dia akan bisa melangkah ke tingkat Alam Semesta.
Tingkat Alam Semesta, bahkan di planet seperti Bintang Naga, adalah seseorang yang berstatus tinggi.
Di Bima Sakti, bahkan lebih sakral, hampir seperti seorang kaisar.
"Bernilai satu tahun, membutuhkan lebih dari 60 miliar dolar Naga Hitam." kata Babata.
"Mengapa sangat banyak? Satu ton jiwa besi hitam kelas B, bukankah hanya 9 dolar Naga Hitam? Meskipun mereka adalah pengelompokan logam, memakannya akan lebih baik. Tapi seratus ribu ton selama satu tahun adalah maksimum! Bagaimana itu masih lebih dari 60 miliar?" Luo Feng bertanya. Seratus ribu ton jiwa besi hitam, hanya bernilai beberapa juta dolar Naga Hitam.
"Luo Feng, pemikiranmu salah!"
"Meskipun logam A kelas dan B kelas lebih murah, kelas B lebih murah daripada kelas C, namun kelas C lebih murah daripada kelas D ... ini adalah situasi normal. Namun, masih ada beberapa logam yang sangat istimewa. "Babata berkata," Misalnya, perak cair kelas C, yang digunakan untuk membangun penjaga perak cair!"
"Satu penjaga perak cair, kira-kira menggunakan sekitar satu ton perak cair."
"Satu ton itrium hitam kelas C, hanya sekitar 3.000 dolar Naga Hitam."
"Untuk satu penjaga perak cair, apakah kamu tahu berapa biayanya?" Babata bertanya.
Luo Feng tertegun.
Benar, bahkan pejabat tinggi dan personel pemerintah bereaksi berbeda ketika mereka melihat penjaga perak cair ... jelas penjaga perak cair sangat mahal! 
"Satu penjaga perak cair dihargai 280 juta dolar Naga Hitam! Satu ton perak cair dihargai 160 juta dolar Naga Hitam. Dibandingkan dengan logam itrium hitam kelas C yang serupa, harganya jauh lebih mahal." kata Babata. "Itu karena perak cair adalah logam khusus, sangat jarang ditemukan, karenanya sangat mahal! Ini lebih mahal daripada sebagian besar logam kelas D."
"Dan pertumbuhan dunia internal Anda, membutuhkan 325 jenis logam kelas B yang dikelompokkan bersama. Tiga dari mereka adalah logam jenis ruang, bahan yang digunakan untuk membuat item penyimpanan ruang. Karenanya harganya lebih mahal, selain itu Anda juga membutuhkannya dalam jumlah besar." jelas Babata.
Luo Feng hanya bisa tersenyum.
Itu adalah bahan yang digunakan untuk membuat cincin luar angkasa dan barang-barang lainnya, bagaimana mungkin harganya murah?
Dan dia perlu melahap hingga 100 ton setiap hari, dan melanjutkannya selama satu tahun?
60 miliar dolar Naga Hitam, tidak mahal!
Tapi dia tidak punya uang!
900 dolar Ganwu, hanya setara dengan 900.000 dolar Naga Hitam. Masih jauh dari 60 miliar dolar.
"Tentu saja, ada pengelompokan logam lain yang jauh lebih murah. Namun, Anda masih tidak mampu membelinya." kata Babata. "Misalnya, ada jenis pengelompokan logam, yang akan Anda habiskan sekitar 10 miliar setiap tahun, meningkatkan kecepatan pelatihan hingga 39 kali. Yang lain menggunakan sekitar 3 miliar dolar Naga Hitam setiap tahun, kecepatan pelatihan akan meningkat 20 kali lipat. Dan yang lain yang menggunakan seratus juta dolar Naga Hitam, meningkatkan kecepatan Anda sebanyak 5 kali."
Mencari logam untuk Binatang Buas Bertanduk Emas merepotkan.
Tetapi sebagai manusia, menemukan logam ini jauh lebih mudah. Membeli di alam semesta virtual, apa yang tidak bisa dibeli?"
Namun…
Tetap membutuhkan uang!
"Binatang Buas Bertanduk Emas makan terlalu banyak, ton demi ton setiap hari." Pikir Luo Feng.
"Sedangkan <Dewa Dunia> dan pengelompokan logam yang diperlukan, bahkan lebih mahal ... Kau harus melupakan itu untuk sekarang." Kata Babata langsung.
Setelah Luo Feng melepaskan pikiran-pikiran ini, dia mengajukan pertanyaan penting kedua, "Babata, jika aku ingin menempatkan Bumi di bawah namaku, aku bisa menjadi pemimpin planet ini! Bagaimana persyaratannya?" 
Menghentikan orang dari planet lain untuk membeli planet ini dan memperbudak orang-orang di Bumi ... cara terbaik adalah menjadi menjadikan diri sendiri sebagai pemimpin!
Mendapatkan pengakuan dari kekaisaran dan berada di bawah kekuasaannya! Tidak akan ada orang yang berani bertarung melawan planet dengan seorang pemimpin!
"Menjadi pemimpin Bumi? Coba aku cek dulu... "Babata berkedip.


Tahun 2056, di sebuah kota di area Yuan Jiang Su Jin. Di atas reruntuhan, Di atas apartemen perumahan enam lantai yang hancur berantakan, duduk seorang remaja  dengan rompi tempur, celana militer, dan sepatu tempur campuran. Di punggungnya terdapat perisai heksagonal dan dilengkapi dengan pisau pertempuran darah-bayangan. Dia duduk diam di tepi atap. Pada saat itu, langit  bersinar dan ada udara menyegarkan yang bertiup ke arahnya. Namun, hanya ada keheningan di dalam kota yang sepi dan hancur, dengan sesekali terdengar suara lolongan anjing melolong yang membuat jantung berdetak kencang. 

Zhao Yao came back to Cat Wonderland and wanted to activate the evolution.
He chose to complete the task and watched the mission panel for the collection of meteorite fragments disappear. There was an additional evolution panel on top of the basic mission panel, diamond hall, and lucky draw.
Zhao Yao clicked on it and realized that he had already signed a contract with 8 cats. Matcha, Elizabeth, and Ares were all included.
He chose Matcha and saw an evolution button. He pressed the button with anticipation and saw a line of red words.
"Level is insufficient. Unable to activate evolution."
Zhao Yao was stunned and then he noticed the small line of words behind underneath. Evolution can only be activated when Level 10 is reached.
"It has to be Level 10?" Zhao Yao was glad that he did not spend his experience points randomly. He took a look at the panel. 
BOOK: Level 8 (70207/100000)
Matcha: Level 8 (13010/50000)
Elizabeth: Level 9 (6800/100000)
Dust Ball: Level 9 (6100/100000)
Ares: Level 8 (6100/50000)
Lucifer: Level 8 (1200/50000)
Sphynx Cat: Level 7 (6200/20000)
Catherine: Level 8 (1200/50000)
Diana Level 8 (500/50000)
He looked at all of the experience points and sighed. "I cannot activate the evolution. I need a hundred thousand more experience points. Even though Elizabeth and Dust Ball both have the highest Levels, they have not reached Level 10. Looks like I have to collect more experience points.
Thinking of this, Zhao Yao stood up and looked at the three cats, who were scratching and sniffing at the canned food. "Stop eating. There is something important to do."
"What?" the three cats asked. "Don't you already have all the meteorite fragments?" 
"How is collecting meteorite fragments enough? We have to do more meaningful things." Zhao Yao waved his hand and said to Merlin, "Predict, which supercat in this world needs our help now."
Upon hearing Zhao Yao, the three cats looked at each other and thought that the Zhao Yao in front of them was a fake. Even Sheriff thought that his powers malfunctioned as he heard Zhao Yao's thoughts of wanting to help.
Zhao Yao shook his head. "It is not easy for you to predict if there is too little information right? Then…" He took out his phone and logged into the Cat web.
"There are many supercats and apostles here. We can see who needs help and we can predict accordingly."
Soon, Zhao Yao started shouting. "Look, this cat posted that he is troubled that he can't slim down. We should help him."
The post wrote, "Are there any other cats like me, who do not want to get up after lying down and sleep more than 18 hours? Recently, my weight has been getting out of control and I can't slim down. Are there any recommendations?"
Anthony hesitated, "This is too little information. Merlin can't be precise about the location."
"It's okay." Zhao Yao clicked on his profile picture and said, "We can look at the post he has posted. The more we scroll, the more we will know."
While Zhao Yao brought the three cats with him to do good deeds, Matcha sneaked into the gym on the third floor of Cat Wonderland.
The orange cat stuck his head out from behind the wall and looked at Bai Quan, who was exercising.
Although he could no longer borrow Sphynx cat's powers, Bai Quan had already gotten use to exercising everyday. He would come to the gym everyday just for fun.
Matcha looked at Bai Quan and typed in his phone, "Second choice is Bai Quan. He has a good temper, gentle personality, and can cook great cat food. He never mistreats cats and does not bring stray cats home, extort them, threaten them or kidnap."
Matcha listed a whole list of Bai Quan's qualities and nodded. "It should be safe for Bai Quan to adopt the kitten." 
While Matcha was observing, a few men walked up and looked at Bai Quan with envy. "Great muscles."
Bai Quan laughed and said, "You guys aren't that bad too."
"How are we comparable to you?" The guys continued. "Look here, look at your great waistline."
Bai Quan patted them on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Mao, you have to work on your back muscles."
"I have been too busy with work. Why don't you teach us how to use this equipment?"
"Wow! The strength! You must be really powerful!"
Matcha's sweat dripped as he watched them touch each other and compliment each other. "It feels weird."
"Bai Quan… Out!" 
Matcha looked at the list on his phone. "Next is Zhao Xue. I hope Zhao Xue will not disappoint me."
…
In the United States.
Transmigrating in consciousness dimension, Amakusa laid on the sofa and looked at his new body. Then, he said, "This planet is interesting."
Amakusa sat in front of the desk and controlled the computer. "What a weird civilization. The race here seem to revere us greatly and even bred a large amount of subspecies. These subspecies evolved to become supercats.
Amakusa said, "Forget it. I should just control their leader, dominate their army, and rule the planet!" 
Giggle looked at the computer screen and said, "What is fun about ruling the planet? I have a better idea."
Amakusa asked, "What is it?"
Giggle said, "Have you seen the online games here?"
"Online games? What is that?" Amakusa said excitedly. "Oh ya, I just watched the Avengers. It was so funny. Do you want to watch it with me again?"
"Can't you use your energy for something more meaningful?" Giggle said. "Come let's figure out how to play this game together. I think we can use this to dominate the planet."
Amakusa answered, "There is nothing interesting about that. I shall watch it by myself then. It is so funny."
Then, a female voice sounded, "Jordan! David Beckham! It is time to eat!"
Amakusa was possessing a British Shorthair. He jumped up and licked his lips. "I've got to go. The humans are about to offer their offerings. I wonder what is there to eat." 
Amakusa jumped off the table causally and walked to the kitchen with his tail held high. "I need to be more graceful. These primitive people treat us like gods. We should maintain the pride and grace of gods so that they will continue to revere us."
"You should really try the online games. They are very useful for my future plans of ruling the planet."


"Let go of that kitty cat!"

A shooting star whizzed through the sky, causing countless super powers to appear on Earth.

However, the main characters that awaken during this phenomenon aren't humans, but cats...

During this event, this same thought appeared in the minds of countless cats: "Am I a god?"

Zhao Yao, an ordinary human, is the only person that can control these super cats.

Zhao Yao: "Am I a god?"

………………

TL's Intro：

Zhao Yao, the protagonist of the story, is the most ordinary man you could possibly imagine. Since graduating from college, he had been engulfed by his bureaucratic workplace and its toxic environment. To make things worse, he has neither a car, money nor a girlfriend. The only silver lining was his fat and lazy cat, Matcha, which provided a semblance of company and friendship.

However, things were about to change drastically for Zhao Yao and Matcha. One shooting star will transform their lives into anything but ordinary.

Setting the right price mattered a lot in the mech industry. The MTA maintained a public record on every certified mech sold by a mech designer. Potential customers often looked up his recent record to get an estimate on the value of his products.

The initial price often set the standard.

Consider coming up with a mundane product like a pair of shoes. These days, modern manufacturing techniques have turned these articles of footwear into a cheap commodity that could be bought for rock-bottom prices. Some of the more affluent consumers even fabricate their own if they own a household 3D printer.

Most shoe manufacturers saw little future in trying to compete on price and volume. Instead, they went into the opposite direction, coming up with something fancy by employing famous fashion designers and incorporating trace exotics in their products.

All of that cost a lot of money, so the shoe manufacturers charged a higher premium for their fancy shoes. Sometimes they charged fifty times the unit cost of a single pair of shoes.

It sounded like a scam, right? Yet many shoe manufacturers sold out their most exclusive and expensive products the moment they released them on the market. They painstakingly built up a brand for excellence that consumers trusted.

Put in a cynical way, a strong brand effectively brainwashed the market. Consumers believed that the high prices the manufacturers adopted represented genuine value.

Sometimes, this even turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. As brands grew in recognition and value, people who owned them earned more social recognition. Clothes made the man and woman.

Every company in pretty much every sector aimed to built up a brand like this. Unfortunately for Ves, the Living Mech Company hadn't reached this level yet. It barely got off the starting line.

To charge a twelve million credit premium for the Mark II Eternal Edition could be considered arrogant and premature. Neither his company nor his design achieved a strong enough brand to let him get away with such an outrageous price hike.

At least according to conventional wisdom.

"Then again, nothing what I do adheres to conventional wisdom." Ves said to himself.

Ves faced two main hindrances to getting his audience accept his higher prices.

First, he barely started operating a year ago, and the LMC only came into existence a couple of months ago.

While he built up his company's brand on Cloudy Curtain, extending it to the vast and limitless Bentheim market required an even greater investment than before. Throwing a couple of billion credits on ad campaigns would barely be able to bump his company's profile from zero percent to one percent awareness.

Second, the true value of his products lay in the X-Factor, which had a definite effect on people but could not be measured directly. In addition, since Ves wished to keep his knowledge of the X-Factor a trade secret, he couldn't even direct the audience to take note of its effects.

Buyers had to trust in their gut feeling to appreciate his mechs enough to fork over the extra premium.

Yet they weren't always stupid.

The more credits at stake, the more they started thinking with their brains instead of their guts. When they looked at the Mark II Eternal Edition and inspected its specs, they would know that its performance simply didn't match its price.

If there was one thing consumers hated, it was being made aware that they were overcharging for a product. A strong brand blinded consumers to this occurrence, but Ves didn't enjoy such a luxury at the moment.

A purchase should feel good. Ves hoped that anyone who decided to buy his mechs felt happy that they went for his designs. He'd leave a bad taste in their mouths if he appeared to be overcharging his products. This explained his current lack of sales.

As visitors kept pouring into the convention center, Ves still hadn't made a sale. The few potential buyers among the crowd soundly rejected his greedy prices and turned elsewhere to satisfy their cravings.

Even his neighboring booths sold a couple of mechs. Ves didn't think much of the mundane-looking mechs neighboring his booth, but their mech designers joyfully appealed to the crowd milling in front of his show models.

The prices of their mechs ranged from ten to twenty million credits. From what Ves could see, the desperate mech designers didn't even charge much of a premium for their mechs. They'd barely make more than half-a-million credits after deducting their production costs and license fees.

Still, as poor as they behaved, at least they made some progress. Ves on the other hand sat with empty hands while the first day of the festival already progressed halfway.

"It comes down to feeling." Ves realized after musing about this point. "There's got to be a way to make the feeling more poignant."

He turned his head to the nearby simulator pods. Marcella's organization brought ten pods to his booth to allow the guests to try out the virtual versions of his show models.

They loosely set a limit of ten minutes per guest so that every potentate got a turn. Even then, around fifty eager guests waited in line.

Ves noted that everyone who wanted to try out a simulation consisted of average festival goers. While that helped leave a good impression behind, the mass of people blocked his potential customers from accessing the pods quickly.

Ves immediately turned to Antje. "I think it's best to encourage our potential customers to try out the simulators. Let's cut back on access to the pods to the general public."

"Hm. Good idea. While not everyone who expresses interest in our mechs is a potentate, there are enough that it's worthwhile so set some pods aside."

The sales manager immediately went to work. She set three pods aside and instructed the sales representatives to encourage their use by anyone expressing interest in the mechs.

Half an hour went by as the new policy went into effect. Ves sat back and watched as the potential customers got an opportunity to experience the mechs up close. Their attitudes of his products changed once they got a taste of piloting the mechs.

While the experience paled in comparison to entering the actual cockpits, the rules forbid the practice out of safety concerns.

"I still need an extra oomph to get across the idea that my mechs are different."

He looked at his models and compared them to the simulated footage displayed by the various projectors at his booth. The projected mechs looked a lot more vivid due to their motion and something else that Ves had overlooked.

"The Festive Cloud Generators are inactive."

Ves declined to add the generator to his lightly modified Caesar Augustus, he did add them to his variants. The Mark II Eternal Edition featured a striking red vertical head crest while the Marcus Aurelius as a rolling purple cape. When both modules turned active, it made the mech seem larger than life.

However, the organizers strictly prohibited the activation of any show models. Even turning on the lights posed too much of a risk. Still, Ves wanted to try and see if he could get an exemption on this rule.

He summoned up the hall manager. A round-bellied man with a moustache showed up. He dressed in a weirdly formal costume that emphasized the girth of his belly. In an age where various weight-reducing treatments existed, being fat was more of a fashion statement than a sign of obesity.

"What a wonderful trio of mechs!" The hall manager exclaimed as he arrived at his booth. A couple of security officers had to shove the crowd aside to allow his portly body to get close. "I love what you did to the Caesar Augustus! It's one of the best I've ever seen! You could apply for a masterwork certificate from the MTA with this beauty!"

Ves awkwardly laughed. "I'm still too junior to think about such a thing."

Mechs had to meet a lot of strict criteria before they became eligible for a masterwork certificate. Generally, only Senior and Master Mech Designers possessed the skills to reach this standard.

"Then what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm looking to turn on a function of two of my show models." Ves replied and guided him to a projection that showed the Mark II Eternal Edition and the Marcus Aurelius in action. "The Festive Cloud Generator injects minute particles into harmless water vapor to achieve these visual effects."

"I do admit the mechs look dazzling when the so-called cloud generators are active, but the potential risks are numerous. The main reason why we don't allow mechs to run any systems is because their reactors have to come online. Even at their lowest operating level, they generate a significant amount of heat and energy. If anything goes wrong with these reactors, the consequences could be catastrophic to the nearby crowd."

The hall manager gestured to the pressing mass of people who became enchanted by his mechs. From a public safety standpoint, the man had a point. From a technical standpoint, the chance the reactors malfunctioned and exploded was virtually nil.

"These are brand-new mechs that have gone through certification. The MTA insured they're safe. What's the harm in turning on a couple of vapor generators? Think of how much better my mechs will look like. The festival will be better off if the crowd can see my mechs at their best."

His arguments slowly persuaded the hall manager to the merits of letting his mechs appear at their best.

Ves figured out that the shrewd man in charge of this side hall competed against the managers of the other halls to attract the most visitors. The manager never told him this directly, but his responses hinted at this dynamic at work. The more he talked, the more he honed in on these benefits.

"My mechs are already one the biggest draws in this hall. I know you have reservations for turning on those cheaply-built mechs, but my products are different. I didn't cut any corners when I designed and fabricated these mechs. I can truly guarantee you that nothing will go wrong if I'm allowed to turn on the generators."

It took five more minutes to squeeze an exemption out of the reluctant manager. At the end, Ves had the feeling he was merely providing an excuse for something the manager actually wanted at the beginning. His training and instructions prevented him from complying right away, but talk long enough and even the steel-hearted started to waver.

When Ves quickly entered the cockpits and turned them online at their lowest level, the entire crowd held their breath. Since he received an exemption to run his mechs at their lowest activity level, he sneakily bent the rules and turned a few more lights on as well.

The difference became apparent right away. A low murmur of appreciation ran through the crowd as the two models underwent a transformation.

The exclusive Marcus Aurelius especially appeared dramatic. Its rolling purple cape reinforced the regal quality to his eternal mech. While it always became a hit with the older folk, even the kids and teenagers started to admire the sage-like model.

As the only two mechs that received permission to come online, the spectacle instantly doubled the crowd. Ves didn't care about that but instead directed his attention to an affluent visitor who just exited a simulator pod.

When the man entered the pod, the mechs still remained dormant. Only when he got to enjoy the simulations for ten short minutes did he emerge with an entirely new view. His gaze admired the aggressive contours of the Mark II and the ethereal ambiance radiated by the Marcus Aurelius.

He turned his attention back to the Mark II after a while. It appeared his budget only allowed him to consider the cheapest offering. Even if Ves planned to auction the Marcus Aurelius, its high production cost ensured that it would not come cheap.

Eventually, the potential customer made a choice. He caught the attention of a sales representative. "I'd like to purchase a copy of this design."

Ves smiled when he heard those words. If everything went right, he just made his first sale.

"This is just the start."

Humanity has conquered half the galaxy and the Age of Mechs reigns supreme!

Ves Larkinson lacked the genetic aptitude to become a famed mech pilot. Fighting against his fate, he studied mech design in order to express his love for mechs as a builder instead of a soldier.

When Ves graduated from college, he returned to a new but empty boutique. Left with a small, newly founded mech workshop that his father painstakingly built with a mountain of debt, Ves somehow needs to make ends meet with the bank breathing down his neck.

In the midst of his despair, he found salvation from another legacy his father had left.

"Welcome to the Mech Designer System. Please design your new mech."

--Join The Mech Touch's unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU

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