Chapter 714. Why Does It Matter? (1/2)

In the proceeding day, Ves carefully tested out his supercharged stealth detector and signal jammer. Well, he merely tried them out in combination with his new ultracompact batteries. Because he couldn't flood the ship with potentially damaging energy fields, Ves merely the output of his supercharged gadgets to a fraction of their potential.

For the stealth detector, Ves didn't have any working samples of stealth tech available to test its functioning. However, the readings all looked promising. The high-quality materials that Ves had utilized in its second iteration insured the entire device didn't blow up when subjected to so much power.

One outcome that Ves had predicted despite his hopes was that the stealth detector didn't work at all on his uninvited guests. He started testing the stealth detector well outside its effective range, but slowly moved within its area of effect, ostensibly to confirm that it posed no threat to human bodies, but what he really wanted to do was to drag in his persisted stalker.

No dice.

The invisible and perhaps intangible form of Acolyte Villis proved that his stealth detector didn't do squat against the Church of Haatumak's form of stealth.

Interestingly enough, when Ves activated his spiritual vision, he observed nothing visible emanating from his device. It didn't possess the capacity to affect anything on a spiritual level.

He needed to correct this deficiency in the future, though he had no clue where he could obtain the relevant knowledge to achieve such an exotic effect.

Testing out his signal jammer proved the same. It interfered with the working of every kind of sensor or transmission device in range, exactly like the device that Calabast once used on Harkensen I.

Ves predicted that this newly created gadget might even save his life if the current mission went awry! There was no better way to escape a hunt than to block every form of electronic observation in his vicinity. People tended to trust in their machines more than their own eyes when hunting for distant targets. This meant that as long as Ves ran far enough away, he'd be safe from pursuit.

”Hm, in fact, these effects are remarkably similar to something that I used to own and make use of quite frequently.”

He recalled the times when he activated his System-bought Privacy Shield and Stealth Augment. It cost him a significant amount of DP to obtain the most preliminary versions of these functions, but they worked like a charm.

While the System-bought upgrades to his personal comm worked best, Ves enjoyed crafting his own versions that copied some of their functions.

Ves realized that this might be a better strategy going forward. Instead of purchasing expensive but powerful functions at rip-off prices from the System, he could instead spend his DP on purchasing the requisite Skills that were necessary to design and reproduce the functions on his own!

”Tch! I'd be ideal if I can make that work, but my mind is not an endless repository for knowledge.”

Ves couldn't endlessly accumulate knowledge without end. Spreading himself too broadly into too many unrelated fields would strain his design philosophy and generally muddle up his cognitive functioning.

Besides the Polymath and her proteges who somehow made it work, no other mech designer dared to accumulate an endless amount of knowledge!

In any case, he now that he finished upgrading some of his gear, he felt a lot more secure against any surprises that might pop up one day.

As he strapped his deceptively simple-looking gadgets to his toolbelt, he glanced at the Mark I versions of his toys. He may not have a use for them anymore, but he might as well cheer up someone else. He shoved them towards Ketis.

”You can have these.”

”Really?!”

”Yep. Just don't break them or throw them around. They're more fragile than you think.”

Ketis had been watched with jealous eyes as Ves increased his personal capabilities. As a Swordmaiden, she cared a lot about increasing her personal prowess.

Ves must have been infected by her compulsion because he took over her habit wholesale.

The Swordmaiden eagerly gasped the two gadgets and toyed with them as if she was a kitten. She quickly passed over the stealth detector, figuring that her chances of encountering something under stealth was low, and directed most of her attention to the signal jammer. Despite its short range, it proved to be effective at blocking many kinds of signals and sensors.

Any woman yearned for moments of privacy in their lives.

”I finally get to block out all those nasty monitoring devices.” She muttered with a grin.

”Alright, we're finished here. Let's go back to the office. I've got another lesson in store for you.”

”Noooo!”

Now that he completed his first important side project, he directed his spare attention to his second side project, and arguably his most important. In his obsessive rush to design and fabricate his ultracompact batteries, he left his original goal of figuring out stealth tech in the corner like a neglected child.

Ves felt a little guilty for being unable to treat this important project with the respect it deserved, but now should be different!