A week had passed since the first day of school. Mark had been struggling with the tight schedule. By day, he was a student with a successful virtual workshop. By night, he managed the Ravens and the recycling business. On top of these, he had to attend multiple meetings about the production of his mechs by Parker Technologies.
After seeing his new designs, both his father and Rowan carefully examine the specs of both machines. They decided it was a worthwhile investment; in fact, they were eager to produce the real versions. Even if their Humphrey revival project failed, the two men were confident that Mark's designs would launch the company into a golden age.
The people from the Conclave had also reached out with a response to his demands. They would start providing the items he demanded. In exchange, Mark would provide blood samples and allow the Technologist faction to distribute his mech designs in the virtual world. If they wanted to distribute the real versions of his machines, they would have to make a deal with his father's company.
Being cautious of the secret organization, Mark took certain precautions. With a lawyer now on his payroll, Mark drafted legal documents to prevent GACT and the Technologist faction from handing out production contracts without his consent. The young man would be damned if he let them do as they pleased with his work.
On the Ravens Nest, production of the Raven's Claw had begun. The organization had five units so far, and the Ravens were loving their new tools. Jack and Bart had been training the members in the proper use of these machines. The production of raw materials had increased by nearly 200%, and with each new demi-mech, production would increase further.
At the Grease Monkey workshop, the testing period Mark had planned ended. Both designs needed a few minor adjustments, but overall, they were sturdy and reliable machines. Tonight, there would be another event where Mark would submit both variant designs for A.M.S. review. He expected a similar result from the McCain Reaper.
With the test pilots' feedback, the young man prepared several roles for the new machines. The Outlaw had a total of four possible roles, while the Nova Star had six. Being a light mech, the Outlaw had less flexibility in terms of applications than the Nova Star. The patrons of the workshop had been waiting with bated breath for the machines to be launched.
Mark woke after about 4 hours of sleep. As he prepared for the day, the young man ignored the usual system notification. After GACT began producing his mechs, the TP amount had become tedious to count. With the sum now well into the billions, the system's state of disrepair was the only thing hindering its use. Hopefully, this issue will be solved by the materials in the Conclave's deliveries.
Mark moved to the kitchen. There, he enjoyed breakfast while catching up with his family members. Marcus was putting the finishing touches on the first production of Mark's mechs. His company began a marketing campaign to promote the McCain Reaper. They even had several buyers lined up, eager to get their hands on the mech that caused a revolution in the virtual world.
Rachel and her friends had been working hard on the Droid Boutique. They had managed to recycle the old inventory that was stored in the second-floor warehouse. In recent days, production of the Mimi droids and Warren sweepers had begun. The models were well received, but the competition in that market was fierce. While sales were slowly climbing, Mark's droid designs were far from matching the same success as his mechs.
Melly was in a good mood today. She had been playing a lot with her new friend Nyxy. Mark had not met the player yet, but he was looking forward to it. However, Melly would be starting classes today. She will not be able to play as much as before. Yet, she was eager to start her classes because Nyxy had encouraged her to do so.
After breakfast, Mark left for school. This time, however, he had a smaller entourage. The young man had managed to convince his parents that the measures they were taking were excessive, especially in a secure place such as the Institute. The ostentatious transport was replaced with a standard Sky-car, and the number of bodyguards was reduced to three. Just the same as Alex. He was glad that there was no commotion now every time he went somewhere.
As he arrived and moved towards his classroom. The usual group of girls followed him around. Mark saw them as carrion birds waiting for their prey to die. He chuckled to himself as he recalled Livia's new term for these girls. Since they were only after Mark's lottery money, she called them the prospectors. Considering how they treated him before, when he had nothing, Mark was inclined to agree.
He entered the classroom and sat in his usual seat. Miss Justus, the home room teacher, arrived. She announced that a new student would be added to the classroom. The teacher urged the classroom to treat the new addition well and make her feel welcome. The woman asked the student to enter.
Mark's eyes opened in surprise as he looked upon the new student. Alex stood in front of the class, her shy demeanor evident. His denim jacket covered her like armor.He saw that she was looking down, using the jacket to cover her face. The young man decided to give her words of encouragement. "You can do it, Alex. I believe in you."
The moment Alex heard his voice, she steeled her resolve. As she looked towards Mark, her doubts felt smaller. The girl lifted her face, showing her angelic beauty. The class fell into silence, admiring her. She spoke, letting out her soft voice. "Hello... My name is... Alexandria Sorel Lambert. I am... pleased to be here." Even though she spoke in a low voice, the students in the back could hear her. With the sudden silence, one could even hear a pin drop.
Miss Justus broke the silence. "Thank you, Alex. You may take a seat now. Let's see..." She looked around the classroom, spotting the empty seat next to Mark. This seat used to belong to Derick, Mark's bully. After the assault, he was sent to a correctional facility for minors. The seat was now vacant. With a pretentious smile, she pointed at the empty seat. "You may sit there, by Mr. Warren. If you can, Mr. Warren, help Miss Lambert get up to speed."
Something told him the events were not coincidental. As he turned his head to glance at Livia, her mischievous smile let her know who the culprit was. While he was not angry, he had to find a way to get even. Remembering the way Steve and the lively teen had been acting, a plan was brewing in his mind. For the moment, however, his priority was Alex.
The desk assigned to the silent teen had been deactivated due to the lack of a user. The terminal embedded in the piece of furniture was not functional at the moment. To solve this, Miss Justus asked Mark to move his desk beside Alex and share his terminal. The young man enthusiastically agreed.
The morning passed blissfully without incident. Mark and Alex felt very comfortable in eachother's company. The rest of the class looked at them with envy. The boys wanted a cute girl like Alex nearby, and the girls envied the silent teens' closeness to the handsome, rich guy. Livia smiled, looking at the prospectors, who had to search for another meal ticket.
The technology laboratory started the second week of class. It was a long-standing tradition for the last-year students to form groups and participate in a technology competition. Each group would select a category. They will later build a machine, and at the end of the year, all classrooms within each classification will compete to determine the winner.
Mark smiled. He had already selected the members of his team. The young man knew the team of the Grease Monkey Workshop would work well in this project. All that was left was to choose the category they would compete in. Steve pointed at the mech categories; however, these were not combat mechs, which were forbidden in the competition. Instead, there were a few different choices in which to compete.
After a vote, the group decided to enter the flying mech competition. This category would require the team to make a mech with a flight system to compete with other flying mechs. However, Mark could not shoulder the entire design process. All team members were forced to participate. Whether designing a new machine or refurbishing an existing one, they all have to participate in the designing and building of the project.
After settling the details of the special project, the rest of the day went by uneventfully. The group of teens decided to use Mark's VR arcade once again. They were getting all the details ready for the event surrounding his new product review and grading. If all goes well, Mark will have one or two new cash cows.
Even though his TP and cash had grown exponentially, Mark could not rest on his laurels. The first use bonus will eventually subside. To keep his numbers up, the young man needed to design and invent constantly. That was the nature of the system. In his old life, however, TP did not come as easily at first. While Starship technologies are widely used, they are expensive and hard to fabricate. By using the mech industry this time, Mark found that his products were being distributed faster. Additionally, he was reaching a larger number of people with ease.
Mark and his team decided to have the event earlier this time. It was a weekday, and most of his patrons had to attend classes the next day. As always, they reunited at The Waiting Room. The event started with the girls from Colours singing and dancing. The patrons enjoyed themselves as they moved their glowsticks to the song's beat.
Once the crowd had let out some steam, the presentation began. Like the last time, all of the members of the Grease Monkey Workshop were present on the stage. Mark began with a little demonstration. On the back screen, images appeared. The images shown were taken during the testing phase of the two designs. Unlike before, this was footage of the designs in action. The young man began explaining the specs of each mech and the different roles they had planned for the models.
First, it was the turn of his Gunslinger Outlaw. The light mech had four configurations to choose from. The first one was the default light harasser. This configuration was the standard role the variant design had inherited from the base model. Along with the stinger pistols, the testing showed the mech to be sturdy and reliable. With the changes Mark had made, the design was now easy for anyone to use.
The second role was a light scout. This configuration came equipped with a sensor pack. However, the added equipment will reduce the unit's agility. While it was not recommended for direct confrontations, it was an Ideal model for aim assistance. The stinger pistols also provided a good deterrent against enemies.
Mark presented the third role, The Infiltrator. This setup came equipped with a cyber warfare module attached to a backpack. With this, the mech could hack into enemy systems, opening access to strongholds, or take control of defensive systems with the use of this mech.
The young man announced the Outlaw's final role. The assassin configuration. This role came equipped with a stealth module, allowing the unit to sneak around the battlefield and target key personnel and facilities. Mark felt the need to warn his patrons that this was a difficult role to fulfill. In the real world, this role was assigned to the best of pilots.
Next came the Nova Star. The standard configuration was a rifleman mech. Mark then introduced several of the new roles. The mech had a lot in common with the McCain Reaper; this meant they shared some roles. Besides the standard role, the Nova Star also had the hero role, the harasser, and the duelist. However, since the mech design was less sturdy than the Reaper, roles such as the Sentinel or the Edelfrei were not a good fit.
Instead, Mark added a Sniper configuration. The young man added this role at the behest of Rowan's daughter, Hanna. Unexpectedly, the mech performed very well in this role. As a bonus, the Nova Star had more durability than the standard sniper mechs. Plus, with the added sensor backpack, it could double as a sensor mech.
Lastly, Mark introduces a variant he designed with Alex in mind. He had secretly designed a Flight module for the Nova Star. He modeled the design after one of Alex's sketches. Unlike the rest of the roles, there was no actual footage, just simulations. But the silent teen loved the design.
It was finally time to submit the models for A.M.S. review and grading. Mark's VR menu was projected on the back screen. As he submitted both designs, the crowd fell into silence, waiting with bated breath. There was an unintentional accumulation of tension as they all waited with expectation.
A few minutes passed as Mark received the messages sent by the A.M.S. review board. The list showed one message per design submitted. First, he opened the one for the gunslinger outlaw. The result was as he expected. The mech was given an S-grade from the first to the third pilot level. It was pretty much the same as the McCain Reaper. However, since the mech was a light machine, the durability rating tended to decrease. This difference meant that even if both machines had the same grade, the Gunslinger Outlaw was of higher quality.
The crowd went wild as they saw the grade of the light mech design with their own eyes. The Marked Guardian had done it again. He proved that the success obtained with the McCain Reaper was not a fluke. The Mech engineer had demonstrated real talent in designing S-graded mechs.
Next, it was the turn of the Nova Star. Mark opened the message. The first thing that greeted him was an A.M.S. notification. It read as follows: To protect the A.M.S. economy, the system has determined that this model cannot be sold for less than 50,000 A.M.S. vouchers or 150,000 L-credits.
Mark had received the same message with the Reaper design. However, the sum then was 20,000 A.M.S. vouchers. The young man opened the message and looked at the grading. It was S-grade from the first pilot level up to the fifth pilot level.