The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4692

By the time that Ves was ready to end his stay at the LMC's flagship store in the Commercial District, he was more than satisfied with the gains he made.

While it was easy for him to browse the galactic net for opinions and reviews on his commercial products, interviewing his customers in person was much more insightful and closer to reality.

Ves knew that once he completed his latest batch of projects, he should spend more time on rounding out the LMC's mech catalog even further.

Although his Design Department also needed to spend a lot of time on revising its existing second-class mechs into quasi-first-class mechs, he and his colleagues should be able to do both at the same time as long as he hired an additional batch of mech designers.

Both he and his wife shared knowing glances. The Living Mech Corporation was still the main foundation of their clan. Although their recent expeditions provided them with much more profit, these gains were incidental and far too volatile to rely on, especially in the long term.

Before they left, their children briefly visited the gift section of the store and eagerly browsed all of the mech figurines, dolls and plushies on sale.

"Wow, this cat plushie is so soft and furry."

"These mech figures suck. They're not alive and they don't have any glows. The ones that papa makes are much better!"

"Look, look! That's you, papa! There's a doll that looks exactly like you! It's so cute!"

"Wait, what?!"

All three children converged in front of a display stand that sold semi-realistic looking figurines that were modeled after every heroic figure in the Larkinson Clan.

Most of them were based on the expert pilots of the clan. They were the most prominent mech pilots among the Larkinsons and each of them performed dazzlingly in much of the battle footage that got posted on the galactic net.

However, aside from these obvious heroes that many people aspired to become, the display stand also featured figurines based on two different mech designers, namely Ves and Ketis!

Ves was the head of the Larkinson Clan and he looked suitably dashing and larger than life in his Unending Regalia.

Ves could see that the materials used to make this figurine came quite close in matching the look and feel of Unending alloy. Once he picked up one of the toys modeled after himself, he became satisfied with its heft.

"At least they did a good job at conveying the density of my armor. It's a shame they opted to make these figurines look a bit cartoonish."

The realism was fairly good but not to the point of being able to pass as an actual version of himself.

"Why doesn't the store sell a figurine based on myself? Ves! You need to call the Marketing Department right away and tell those idiots over there to correct this injustice!"

"Not now, honey."

If the toy based on Ves already looked impressive, then the one based on Ketis was much more exciting!

Andraste had already tossed the Ves toy aside and grabbed the one based on Ketis.

The swordmaster looked like a noble techno-barbarian in her own combat armor. No one would be able to imagine that she was a mech designer when she was armed and ready to chop up aliens with her Bloodsigner greatsword!

"It can even fight!"

Andraste pressed a hidden button and activated a few commands before setting it down on a surface.

She then picked up the doll based on Venerable Dise and did the same.

Just like the Ketis figurine, the toy based on Venerable Dise did not depict her in a piloting suit. Instead, the expert pilot wore a custom suit of armor Swordmaiden combat armor and wielded a greatsword of her own!

The toys began to speak their lines as soon as they activated.

[My Bloodsinger yearns to amputate your arms!]

[I am the ultimate hunter of exobeasts!]

Tiny projectors and other devices caused the toys to glow as if they were cartoon heroes. Their swords looked especially flashy as they glowed with the illusion of power.

The toys soon began to fight and spar against each other!

Although their moves weren't as sophisticated as that of real Swordmaidens, the fighting skills and acumen demonstrated by the AIs controlling the figurines were surprisingly accurate and realistic!

"Dise is going to win." Marvaine said. "She's older and has more combat experience."

Andraste objected to that and slammed her hand on the top of his head. "NO! My teacher is a true swordmaster! She's a much better fighter than Dise! I've seen them spar before!"

While this was going on, Ves looked on with a bemused and befuddled expression. He did not know what he should feel about the fact that his own stores sold toys based on himself and other Larkinson personalities.

He understood the logic behind it, but he did not really feel that this was appropriate. What the hell were the product designers thinking when they tried to make an action figure of their own patriarch!?

"Alright, that's enough, kids. We are on a schedule. We need to get back to our shuttle and head over to the next stop."

"The fight isn't over yet! Ketis is just about to beat Dise!"

"Papa, I want this and this and this and this! Oh this too!"

"Mama, please tell papa to give us these toys!"

"Miaow!"

Once Ves finally gave in and bought a couple of toys for them, he and his family headed back to the roof where they boarded their armored shuttle.

Their next destination was not too far away as it was located in the same district, so the vehicle soon touched down on a different landing pad.

The room was a little larger and broader than the previous one. This had to do with the architecture of the structure.

Compared to the time when Ves last visited the headquarters of the Creation Association, it became clear that almost everything had been transformed!

Gone was the clean interior with gunmetal gray walls. Gone were the diverse and random works of craftsmanship that numerous master craftsmen had donated to the Creation Association. Gone were the rooms and floors that made this place feel like an actual trade association that was centered around different crafts.

Instead, whoever planned this renovation decided to knock down a lot of walls and remove entire floors to create an enormous hall with an exaggeratingly high ceiling!

The interior had been remodeled to accommodate bronze-like metal walls and floors that had been deliberately antiqued to convey a greater sense of age and solemnity.

The interior also gained a lot more complexity by shaping it with a combination of gothic and fantastical elements that made this hall look like a set out of a fantasy drama!

If that wasn't enough, the interior designers also amped up the religious vibe by borrowing a page out of the Vulcan Faith that once dominated a defunct dwarven state!

Murals, statues and ornaments centered around hammers, craftsmanship and most importantly Vulcan was everywhere!

"You could have at least used the human version of Vulcan." Ves grumbled.

Pretty much every depiction of the God of Dwarves, Mechs and Craftsmanship was a bearded dwarf who liked to hold a hammer!

Although Ves felt repulsed by all of these radical architectural changes, he had to admit that it succeeded in making an unforgettable impression to those who stepped into the cathedral-like hall for the first time.

He was most impressed by the interplay between light and shadow.

Curiously enough, much of the lightning in the hall was muted. The stained windows that depicted Vulcan engaged in different acts of crafting were not that large and did not illuminate much.

Projected candles that radiated soft light prevented the hall from descending into complete darkness, but the weight of shadows was still heavy.

This made the pockets of light that much more precious and dramatic!

Specific holes in the walls and ceiling shone much brighter and more concentrated light, allowing specific areas to look blessed and radiant.

From the enormous statue of Vulcan that was prominently placed in front of the pews to the hammer symbols that represented the forces of creation and destruction, each of them gained an enormous air of reverence.

The sights were enough to compel many visitors who had signed up to become members of the Creation Association to pray and prostrate before these religious symbols!

"Hmph! I told my friends that papa was a god." Aurelia arrogantly stated.

Ves wanted to palm his face. "I am not a god! Don't believe in the lies that others tell you! I am just a human!"

"Wow… you're so short." Marvaine said as he tugged Ves' hand. "Did you change your body so that you grew taller?"

"I am not a dwarf, Marvaine! In fact, Vulcan isn't supposed to be a dwarf either. Only a certain sub-section of dwarves believe that he is part of their own kind. He's traditionally a human, especially in the ancient myths!"

"Where is the Superior Mother? Where is Helena? More importantly, where are my statues? This church is not complete without its women!"