The Mech Touch

The Red Three undoubtedly benefited the most from the unexpected opportunity to harvest resources from the Blue Dimension.

What they could not stand was how Ketis just decided to reveal this capability and open up a gateway to another dimension without warning!

If the mechers, fleeter and collies received advance warning of what Ketis was about to do, they could have made much more extensive preparations.

They could have transferred in professional mining personnel from other star systems.

They could have designed better mining shuttles and mechs before producing them in large numbers.

They could have developed a much more thorough flight plan and schedule in order to optimize the use of the small 20 meters by 5 meters portal.

They could have sent in a lot of scientists and high-end survey shuttles to delve into the many mysteries of the Blue Dimension.

"If we called in the Dimensional Architect and the Spacelock, then we may have easily been able to harvest a hundred times more gains." The RA representative shared one of his theories. "Their combined expertise and power over dimensions would have given us a much greater understanding of the nature of the dimensional portal generated by your Heavensword. They may even be able to extend the duration of the breach or even keep it open on a more permanent basis."

Though the mecher did not outright say it, she and the others who spoke on behalf of the Red Three all blamed Ketis for going about this in such a haphazard way!

She didn't even inform her own clan in advance of what she had in mind!

This had definitely contributed to a disappointing harvest of superdimensional materials for the Larkinsons. It was painful to be unable to harvest enough armor-grade superdimensional material to construct a whole mech out of it. The amount of weapon-grade superdimensional material was also only enough to build one short to medium-sized mech sword.

If the Red Three hadn't easily agreed to exchange the original war merits award with additional weapon-grade superdimensional ore, Ketis wouldn't have been able to secure enough of it to reforge the Decapitator!

What could she say to all of the accusations?

"Would you have believed me when I told you that I can open up a portal directly to the Blue Dimension?" Ketis said. "Would you have diverted so much people and stuff during this difficult phase of the Red Tide Offensive just because I told you that I may or may not be able to open up a temporary gate into a dimension where scientists have only theorized the presence of superdimensional materials? Do I have enough credibility that you would encourage the Dimensional Architect and the Spacelock to drop everything and travel to my location just to see if they could study and prolong a supposed breach between dimensions?"

"..."

"I find it hard that no one would take my claims seriously." The swordmaster spoke. "The Red Three have much bigger concerns on their mind. Even if you think that I am convinced I can open a portal to another dimension, would you truly think I am credible enough to bring over so many people and mining vehicles?"

"Your patriarch would have convinced us to take your claims more seriously. Why did you not inform him in advance?"

Ketis shrugged. "Do I need to tell him everything I do on a daily basis? He is not my father. I don't know how you do it in your own organizations, but here in the Larkinson Clan, Ves trusts me to do what is best for us without micromanaging us all of the time. He is too preoccupied with his own projects anyway. I did not have a good idea of what to expect. Can you blame me for not fully believing in the capabilities of my new blade? I don't even understand how swinging it can result in opening up a gap between dimensions. It is not as if I can actually control it. I just felt like trying it out to see for myself whether its claims are true. Well, it turned out that none of it was an exaggeration."

Though her audience believed that she was referring to the Heavensword, she was actually talking about the Dimension Blade.

This was one of the word tricks that Ketis had learned from studying and observing Ves' speeches.

Though a part of her felt conflicted about the use of misdirection, she knew it was for the better.

She could already feel the wheels turning in the minds of the three first-raters. They all developed a rather negative impression of Ketis.

She was a mech designer but also a swordmaster. She was doing her best to channel the latter without being too obvious that she was putting on a charade.

In fact, everything she did was deliberate. Even the random and haphazard way she opened up the first dimension breach was intentional!

By opening up a portal to the Blue Dimension in such a random and unprepared fashion, Ketis cemented her reputation as an irrational, whimsical and impulsive individual!

Even if she was a good Journeyman Mech Designer, she was unable to temper her irrational side as a swordmaster!

There was no rational explanation why she fearlessly entered the Blue Dimension and remained inside for 20 straight hours while doing nothing aside from standing on top of her shuttle!

It was stupid, pointless and exceedingly risky, yet Ketis did it anyway out of a misguided sense of bravery or other unexplainable reasons.

All of this reinforced the narrative that Ketis was not that thoughtful and reliable outside of her mech design responsibilities.

Ketis actually felt regretful that her deliberate plan caused the Larkinson Clan to miss out on harvesting a lot more superdimensional materials, but she knew that this was the only way to make her narrative convincing enough.

So far, it seemed like her deception worked. The way the three representatives patronizingly advised her to be more considerate next time indicated that they were truly worried that she would open up another dimensional portal without any forewarning!

"How soon can you next open up another entryway into another dimension?" The RF representative asked.

"You can forget about taking a trip to another dimension anytime soon." She said. "From what I know, creating a tear in space like before is very costly. Don't ask me the details, I don't know myself. I can't give you a schedule because I don't know how long it takes to gather enough energy to open up another dimensional portal. I can only tell you that if and when it is ready, I will give you a few days of warning in advance. At the very least, I don't want my clan to miss out on the gains."

"Can you control the target destination, or does the Heavensword decide on your behalf?"
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"I can at least make sure of that." She said. "Right now, I think the Blue Dimension is a really good destination, but if any of you are able to find dimensions that are filled with even better resources, then feel free to pass on your information to me. I do have to tell you that whatever is responsible for opening up portals between dimensions can't reach every possible destination. There are dimensions that are so high that they are currently beyond our reach."

"Does that mean that it is possible to reach these higher dimensions in the future?"

"Probably."

As the meeting finally wrapped up, the RA representative made one more important declaration.

"I have just received confirmation from my superiors. Congratulations, Swordmaster Ketis. Several god pilots and Star Designers have unanimously voted in favor of raising your galactic citizenship to tier 3. The contributions to society that you have already made is considerable enough to give us a significantly better chance of reducing our losses in the Red War. When we factor in the contributions that you are likely to make in the future, we do not rule out the possibility of promotions."

Ketis already expected that the Red Three would raise her galactic citizenship. She was previously just a tier 8 galactic citizen, which was pretty remarkable for a Journeyman like herself, but this was completely different!

"Ves will be jealous if I become a tier 2 galactic citizen before him." She said.

The mecher ruefully smiled. "To be honest, the contributions made by your patriarch have long earned him a promotion to the next tier, but each application to make this happen is vetoed by very powerful individuals. It is possible that you will receive similar treatment because you are still a Journeyman and swordmaster. If you are able to promote to a sword saint, there will be much fewer objections to promoting you to a tier 2 galactic citizen."

Ketis inwardly sighed. She used to laugh at Ves whenever he complained about the Evolution Witch blocking his attempt to improve his galactic citizenship.

Now, she had joined the club as well!

It was all because those damn human gods couldn't stomach the idea of turning a mere Journeyman and swordmaster into a tier 2 galactic citizen!

Ketis really wanted to walk up to them and give them a piece of her mind by chopping at them with the Heavensword, but she quickly stuffed this impulsive thought in the depths of her mind.

She coughed instead. "Understandable. I am making considerable progress in my swordsmanship ever since I devised my new theory. That said, I am single-handedly pioneering a route to becoming a sword saint. It will take time for me to succeed."

"Will you be able to open a portal to another dimension more frequently if you successfully advance to the rank of sword saint?" The woman from the RC inquired.

"Definitely." Ketis confidently answered. "Taking one step closer to becoming a sword god grants me greater mastery in everything involving swordsmanship."

That was true, but her actual meaning was quite different from what her audience thought.

Ketis merely believed that she would be able to complete a lot more Missions and more lucrative ones at that once she became a sword saint.

Her AP income would rise. This would enable her to redeem more expensive upgrades to the Dimension Observatory and create dimension breaches more frequently than when she was still a swordmaster.

The three representatives exchanged glances with each other.

"The Red Collective is happy to designate you as a senior associate." The RC representative said. "This comes with many benefits. For example, we are willing to provide you with greater support and access to cultivation resources in order to assist your progress. We are also preparing to open up a new division within our superorganization that will assist you in promoting and disseminating your reformed swordsmanship."

"We already have the Red Swordsmanship Federation."

"That is true, but it does not have enough connections with the Red Collective, Swordsmaster Ketis. Do not underestimate the value of our initiative. This new division will enable cross-pollination between reformed swordsmanship and other fields of systematic cultivation. It will be easier to obtain complementary sword artifacts from the Industrial Department. We can also consult the cultivation scientists of the Cultivation Method Department to systemize and improve the progress of sword practitioners. Everyone will benefit from our cooperation."

Ketis felt a bit ambivalent about the RC swooping in and exerting more direct control over the development of reformed swordsmanship.

She had to admit that the Collies had proven to be remarkably competent so far. They could truly boost everything related to the warrior profession by relying on the synergies with other departments.

However, once the RC inserted its hooks into the swordsmanship community, it would become impossible to separate the two from each other!

Unfortunately, this was an unstoppable trend. The Red Collective possessed a legitimate mandate to regulate all forms of cultivation, and that included extraordinary swordsmanship.

It was better to accept the new reality than try to resist it. Besides, Ves already wielded considerable influence in the RC, so she was not without insider allies.

"Very well. You can do what you want."