The Mech Touch

His mother provided him with a huge amount of new insights in the context of the Five Scrolls Compact and the supposed immortal gods who masterminded their emergence.

All told, the Sacred Scrolls themselves did not appear to be harmful on their own. There were deliberate reasons why the so-called immortal gods had created two incredibly powerful artifacts instead of mashing them together in a single superdevice.

From what Ves was able to figure out from his mother's narration, the Five Scrolls were designed by their creators to be the best and most comprehensive teaching tools.

Each Scroll was based on a primary element that was mastered by their respective makers. It contained much if not all of the comprehensive knowledge and accumulation of the supposed immortal gods.

The symbols of authority that were associated with the Sacred Scrolls functioned similar to a control system and an enforcement system. It had been created to keep the users of the Scrolls in line. It did so by designating and empowering a single leading figure that could represent the immortal god's interests.

All of it sounded rather convoluted, especially since much of it only made sense in an ancient time period that was unimaginable to Ves. He lacked too much context to properly understand the motivations and methods of these supposed immortal gods.

He couldn't even figure out whether these ancient entities were alive or dead!

While their titles suggested that they still managed to persist to this day, his mother had already disabused him of the notion that immortals were unkillable.

Anything could be killed. Even immortals could be felled. It just took a lot more effort to wipe them out completely.

Unfortunately for Ves, Cynthia Larkinson ceased to share any further details just as her story started to become truly interesting.

"I have already told you enough to develop a healthy dose of caution towards the crown that has come into your possession." The True God spoke with a measure of her authority as she petted the cyborg cat's back. "It is not wrong to say that it is one of the most powerful objects in the Red Ocean. It is a creation that rivals the Metal Scroll that it is paired with. There are many secrets to it that defy convention. Perhaps you will discover these traits later on when you become much more capable of keeping it in check. Maybe one day you will be able to take advantage of its incredible power, just as I have done with the Golden Laurel Wreath Crown."

His mother had been crazy enough to break off a piece of her stolen crown and utilize it in her resurrection ritual!

This alone indicated that the symbols of authority were exceptionally powerful ingredients that could be used in the construction of grand designs at the level of a True God!

Ves deeply understood that he was not ready to mess around with his own crown in this manner. It sounded like a much better idea to save it up and wait until he became a Master Mech Designer before utilizing the crown in the creation of a god mech or whatever.

"Is there a way to keep it contained and prevent it from doing any harm, mother? From what you have described, this crown contains a lot of power. A damaged fragment of the Metal Scroll might not be able to keep it in check. Can the crown hijack my Mech Designer System by relying on the authority bestowed by their shared creator?"

The transcendent woman frowned. "I am unsure about this. You should make your investigation. If there are any indications that the crown is in the process of subverting your fragment and encroaching upon your soul, you should attempt to get rid of it right away. You may not be able to accomplish this on your own. I advise you to seek the assistance of the Xenotechnician. There is no harm in admitting defeat and passing on an unsolvable problem to a more qualified problem solver."

That sounded great at first, but then Ves thought about how the crown may have corrupted the Polymath herself.

Who could tell whether the Xenotechnician would do any better? Just because he was a lot older and more experienced did not necessarily mean he could resist the seduction of a remnant of an immortal god!

Ves could easily imagine the Xenotechnician growing more and more despaired about red humanity's rapidly deteriorating situation in the coming years.

If the Deep Strike Plan that had just been adopted by the Survivalist Faction took too long to get off the ground, then a desperate Star Designer might as well decide that it was better to sell his soul to an ancient devil than to let red humanity go extinct!

The fact that the Polymath probably relied on the same excuse to rationalize her radical takeover attempt was profoundly ironic!

"You're not leaving me with any good options."

Cynthia snorted. "It could be worse. The Golden Laurel Wreath Crown has been trying to escape my grasp non-stop. The Five Scrolls Compact has mobilized much of its forces to the Nyxian Gap in order to take it back. Your crown is much less dangerous. It is essentially an unowned object in more ways than one. While it has shown signs that it can still think for itself, the shattering of the Metal Scroll has likely impeded its strength and purpose. That does not mean that you should take it lightly. It will behave in a manner consistent with its maker. It is adept at maintaining a low profile and seeking growth through cooperation. Its threat is insidious. Once you realize that you have fallen into its trap, it is already too late."

That sounded swell.

Back within the Khamatar Reign, Ves ostensibly spent his time on reading a lot of documentation. There was little for him to spend his time on while the Survivalist Faction dealt with higher priority concerns.

Even though he knew that he was being monitored in every direction by the most powerful sensors and scanning systems that the mechers could muster, Ves simply couldn't hold himself back any longer.

He activated the silent command that supposedly launched a part of himself inside the System Space.

Once he had arrived, he immediately moved to the Vault of Eternity and checked on the condition of the infamous crown.

He relaxed and let loose a bit of tension when he saw that the crown obediently remained in stasis.

Though Ves did not have much confidence that the Vault would be able to keep it in place, for now the crown actually looked as if it had gone inert.

Ves wasn't fooled. His mother had given him plenty of pointed warnings about that. The crown was dangerous. It was just a matter of time before it began to exert its nefarious influence.

To be honest, it was a huge risk to keep the crown within the System Space. No matter how much the Mech Designer System deviated from its origins, it still possessed an undeniable relationship with this old and insidious item!

Ves could already imagine how the crown might slowly contaminate the System and work to subvert its mechanisms.

It did not even have to work that hard to make the System its new home. Ever since the latest upgrade, the System Space gained a lot of cultivation-related functions. These additions align pretty closely to the crown!

Though Ves felt tempted to err on the side of caution and toss it to the Xenotechnician, he ultimately did not follow through with this impulse.

The prospect of unleashing another crown-corrupted Star Designer to the Red Ocean was too frightening!

Although Ves did not consider himself more qualified to hold the crown, he at least had more confidence in his ability to handle it. He could always count on the help of his mother to build a better containment method and watch out whether he was being corrupted by this ancient relic.

With that thought in mind, Ves retreated from the System Space and tried to put his mind on other matters.

It took another hour before the Survivalists finally had time to deal with Ves.

Jovy briefly stopped by and gave Ves an update as well as a choice.

"You are scheduled to meet with the Xenotechnician and the Mace of Retaliation in turn. Both of them have a lot to say to you. It is important that you come to an accord with them on future plans and matters of import. However, before that happens, the Polymath has specifically requested to meet with you in total privacy. You... do not have to oblige her, but it would be great for everyone if you do. She is treating this as a bargaining term. As long as she is satisfied, she is willing to make more concessions in return."

The thought of meeting the Polymath in person no longer caused Ves to feel a mixture between wariness and great respect.

He had managed to pierce through her rational facade and uncovered the monster underneath.

It was not a pretty sight.

Knowing that she had lived under the thrall of an insidious throne and conspired to elevate her own version of the Five Scrolls Compact to power did not leave him with a good impression of the Polymath to say the least!

"What's going on with her, anyway?" Ves directly asked his friend. "Is she a traitor, or is she a faction leader who had only made a light misstep? Will you keep her in power or will you force her to account for her actions? It would be great if you can clarify these questions for me. I get the feeling that she isn't about to get executed."

Jovy did not even deny this. "You should have spent enough time around us to know how we think and act. The Polymath... played the game and lost. Sure, she may have stretched the boundaries and broken a few rules here and there, but what is important is that her plot is foiled. She surrendered promptly to spare us from any further damage and even made a major concession by sacrificing a large component of herself to rapidly restore and expand the Red Kingdom. All of these actions are clear signals that she is willing to compromise and start over again."

"..."

It sounded like the Survivalist Faction had no intention of exacting true punishment on her. In other jurisdictions, her plans and actions would have made her guilty of high treason, which automatically condemned her to death!

However, the Survivalists were way too practical and unprincipled for their own good. They were so obsessed with doing whatever it took to help red humanity survive that they were even willing to pardon the worst criminals so long as they offered enough compensation!

Ves couldn't even fault the Survivalists for this stance. Keeping the Polymath around and useful was far more beneficial to red humanity than the opposite. Killing her might placate the other human groups and strengthen the rule of law, but it was not worth the permanent removal of a powerful True God!

For better or worse, red humanity still needed the Polymath!

"At least tell me that there are real consequences to her actions."

"You don't need to be concerned about that, Ves. I don't have the details, but the Polymath has agreed to offer a huge amount of compensation to every injured party. This also includes you. Just meet with her, okay? It's just talk. Perhaps you can convince her to pay greater compensation to you. It is not every day that you get to blackmail or guilt trip a Star Designer. Ugh. I can't believe I just said that. The Polymath isn't as powerful as before, but the influence and resources at her command are still titanic. This is your chance to earn extra profit."

The mention of profit eventually won Ves over.

"Fine." He said with evident reluctance in his tone. "I am not sure if anything good will come out of this talk, but I suppose it is best if I talk to her one last time before I go back."