The Mech Touch

Chapter 7156: The Potential of Exploding Products

The enlightenment fruit did not impart as much knowledge as most other fruits.

This was to be expected as it only really focused on imparting a single method.

However, what the Sacrificial Spear Throwing Method lacked in breadth, it made up for it in depth.

It went deep into the theory, the philosophy, the mindset, the artifact design and the qi manipulation techniques needed to turn any specially prepared spear into an explosive warhead.

Ves gained an immediate boost in his understanding of the fire element, with a particular emphasis on its explosive properties. This was a welcome addition and one that would prove quite handy in combination with the other stuff he acquired.

The enlightenment fruit also taught him very narrow applications on how to design and build the right spears.

While it did not teach him any runes, it taught him how to identify certain properties of exotics and hyper materials that were naturally conducive to producing explosions. By combining them and mixing it with more stable materials as buffers, Ves could end up producing a powerful spear that remained inert unless he pumped it full with fire energy.

Of course, it was not that simple to ’arm’ the spear this way. Doing so would make it way too prone to accidental explosions. Worse, other individuals which also included enemies could pump it full of fire energy and cause it to explode ahead of time!

In order to ensure the spear remained safe to use while also making it possible to prime it on command, Ves had to combine materials into a refined structural arrangement by using special weaponsmithing techniques, only some of which Vulcan already mastered.

These additional processes not only resulted in a more natural and optimal fusion between different exotics and hypers, but also increased the energy capacity of the speartip and in some cases the shaft as well. They could temporarily exceed their normal capacities and become filled with so much excess fire energy that the resulting explosions would be cataclysmic, especially when the inclusion of highly volatile and exothermic exotic materials massively fed these reactions.

Aside from that, Ves valued the fighting techniques that came with the enlightenment fruit. It was anything but complete, but it did teach him a crucial capability: how to throw his polearm.

He could feel his true body shift and vibrate as it rapidly integrated the muscle memory of how to throw his spear with both his left and right hands.

He also learned how to significantly extend the reach of this move by employing simple spear-throwing mechanisms that he could embed into the spear itself.

Of course, this was a primitive solution for a time when ancient cultivators lacked the amenities of modern human technology.

Ves could easily design a more powerful and consistent spear launching mechanism that he could embed within his raiment.

As long as he did not have to throw his spears on a repeated basis, he could easily amplify the power of these launching mechanisms and make sure they propelled his spear as far and as hard as possible.

It would be even better if he amplified this move with the help of compatible phasewater organs!

One idea that came to mind was to use his recently acquired lesser Acris organ to build up a powerful electrical charge in a makeshift mass driver contraption.

The power of electromagnetism could be used to instantly propel the spear forward, driving it out as if it was an extra long and heavy gauss profile!

He had already begun to combine his recently acquired knowledge with his established know-how.

The combination between the two produced surprising ideas and opportunities. Many puzzles that confounded Ves in the past suddenly became clear in his mind.

As Ves completed the initial ’digestion’ of the enlightenment fruit, he opened his eyes and let out a satisfied breath.

"This is a good enlightenment fruit. It is definitely worth 35 Ascension Points. The only regret is that I did not learn how to wield a spear more skillfully in combat outside of learning how to throw it. I could probably give the Divine Harpoon a run for his money on this front."

Knowing how to throw a spear was far from enough to win a duel in his opinion.

He needed to be able to resist such a powerful opponent head-on with martial skill in order to be able to whittle down his or her defenses to the point where the use of a finisher move could guarantee victory.

"Show me." Ketis demanded.

"Now?"

"Yes. I want to see your technique and determine whether your newly gained ability to throw a spear is good enough to be used in a serious duel."

It took a bit of time to get his hands on a rod that could approximate a spear. When Ves held it in his hands, he found himself a bit more comfortable with it. He could easily apply the staff fighting techniques that he learned in the past. If he pretended that one end was sharp, then he could work with that as well, though only with the most basic of moves.

Now, a new tool had been added to his kit. He soon shifted his stance and adjusted his grip on the rod. He looked further ahead and began to run forward in order to build up more momentum.

At the right timing, Ves seemingly hurled his entire throwing arm and torso like a windup toy causing him to impart a lot of force into his weapon!

The rod launched forward and soared through the skies before ultimately colliding against the surface of the mountain!

Ketis raised her eyebrows. She looked mildly impressed. "That is a good throw. Accurate as well. I can definitely imagine that you or rather your alternate self would sink your weapon deep into the body of an injured phase lord, especially if you use the right tech and materials."

Gloriana did not have much expertise in combat, but even a laywoman like her could see that Ves had momentarily looked handsome when he threw that rod with all of his effort.

"The Ascended Giants likely look down on the use of rifles and cannons due to their primitive sensibilities, but they shouldn’t have any complaints if you throw your weapons instead. The Divine Harpoon sounds as if he has even made this his main source of strength, and he is in charge of the largest phalanx. It would be the eight of hypocrisy if your future subjects reject your use of spear throws when they have been fine with the head of the Faceless Giants all this time."

"Hm." If that was the case, then Ves might have to cancel his plans to devise an electromagnetic spear launching device. Such a weapon would inevitably be treated as dishonorable tech. This was problematic as Ves needed to earn their approval in order to take over as their new leader.

He decided to set this matter back and see what he could do later on. Perhaps the use of an old-fashioned atlatl or spear-thrower would not provoke too much alarm, as if it was only a single handheld tool that gave him more leverage onto the spear.

He could even upgrade it in subtle ways, such as integrating a spring mechanism or making the electromagnetic acceleration as low-key as possible.

"Can you pass me the knowledge that you have acquired from the enlightenment fruit?" Gloriana requested.

"I can, but it will just be raw data and information." He said as he already went to work. "You won’t be able to learn all of the theory in an instant, let alone acquire the trained reflexes and muscle memory that make it really possible to employ my new theories and techniques in practice."

"That is fine. What I want to learn are alternate insights towards E energy radiation and studying the principles behind different interactions. I am also interested in studying the associated design schematics. It should definitely hold valuable insights that can help us design better mechs."

"You’re right." Ves affirmed her guess. "My understanding of hyper technology and E-technology has become more refined. I especially know what stuff can cause products to become more volatile. I can also reverse that and make a mech or other product less prone to blowing up in a catastrophic fashion. That may save lives in the future."

"Can you also use your newfound knowledge to induce an entire mech to explode without the use of any obvious propellants?"

Ves hadn’t thought about that yet. He frowned as he thought about it. "Technically yes, but practically I am not there yet. I need to process what I have learned and see how it intersects with mech design. I would have to purposefully design a volatile mech that can turn into a massive explosive vessel under the right conditions. I am afraid that the mech will suffer a performance hit in most parameters in order to accommodate this extra function. The explosion will be really powerful, though I think that there is a lot of room for improvement if I attempt to design and make such a mech on the spot."

He wished he acquired this knowledge before he completed the Final Glory Project. He could already think of numerous different ways to significantly increase the explosive yield of the very basic sacrifice mech that he designed and released a while ago.

"Here you go." He finally said.

He finished packing all of the information granted by the enlightenment fruit and proceeded to transmit the data package to the two women.

He was able to do this because his mind was partially digitized. Much of the gains from the enlightenment fruit consisted of raw information that could easily be converted into virtual documents that he could send to others.

This way, both Ketis and Gloriana received all of the theory on the Sacrificial Spear Throwing Method.

What Ves was not able to transmit was his artificially acquired understanding and mastery of all of the theory.

While he did not understand all of the explanations at the level of a True God who had mastered the knowledge in depth, he could easily match a normal specialist in this specific field.

That was already good enough for Ves as far as he was concerned.

There were other limitations. He was incapable of transferring his increased affinity and comprehension to the fire element.

That was much more mysterious.

Even if he tried to explain his insights in plain standard language, the two women wouldn’t necessarily ’get it’ due to differences in how they perceived the universe.

What he was also unable to convey was the reflexes, muscle memory and technical skill imparted by the enlightenment fruit.

This was one of the qualities that made enlightenment fruits superior to other knowledge transmission systems.

Fortunately, neither Ketis nor Gloriana urgently needed all of that extra stuff. They mainly grew interested in the theories and exploding spear designs.

"Interesting." Gloriana said as her much more superior cranial implant suite enabled her to go through the data package much faster. "This is useful to me as well. It will be much more difficult to combine these theories with archemechs, but it is theoretically possible to turn them into self-destructive machines. The upper limit should be even higher due to their greater material densities."

Ketis had less use for what she learned. "I am not so eager to turn my mechs into explosive munitions. There may be a use case for exploding swords. Perhaps I will design and fabricate a batch of expendable sword fey for the First Sword Mark III. In fact, have you ever thought about combining these methods with superdimensional matter? If you can turn all of that extra dimensional mass into an explosive reactant, you can theoretically create a hand grenade that is powerful enough to destroy a first-class mech in a single massive explosion!"

Both Ves and Gloriana looked astonished. They hadn’t formed this connection yet. Now that the idea crossed their minds, they realized that the swordmaster’s idea was not completely unrealistic!