This unassuming meeting was one of the most impactful events of the Larkinson n.


    It did not look like it, but the gathering of the patriarch along with the leading figures of the Larkinson Army would determine the future direction of the n in its entirety!


    What was at stake was the Larkinson n''s entry into first-ss society. Many nsmen wanted to fulfill their lifelong ambition to be first-raters, and now they finally had an actual chance to be one of the foremost humans in their society!


    Yet the requirements to be a first-ss citizen were so harsh that Ves could only bring along a limited number of people.


    This created a lot of tension as only a tiny proportion of Larkinsons would be fortunate enough to grasp this opportunity in advance.


    Everyone else either had to wait their turn or forgo this opportunity entirely, dooming themselves to remaining as second-raters for the rest of their lives!


    No one wanted to be the ones to decide who got to apany Ves to the upper zones. There were so many possible candidates that it was inevitable for them to disappoint plenty more.


    Ves did not like this either, but as the leader of his own n, he had a duty and a responsibility to make this determination in a manner that was as fair as possible for the Larkinsons.


    Perhaps sensing the growing tension over the dilemmas posed by this issue, The Golden Cat decided to make an appearance in person.


    "Nyaaaaaa!"


    Stationed a short distance behind the position where Ves was seated, Nitaa remained unmoved as the Larkinson Mandate attached to her armor began to glow bright and warm.


    The tension in the conference room quickly faded as the Golden Cat yfully soared above everyone''s heads beforending in the middle of the table.


    The catid down as if she was rxing and started to lick her own intangible fur.


    "Nyaa- nyaa- nyaa-"


    Ves and several other people couldn''t help but smile at the sight. The ancestral spirit of the Larkinson n seemed to convey that there was no reason for them to tie themselves into knots over this issue.


    They should just follow their heart and make the decisions that they thought was necessary to bring the Larkinson n to a greater height.


    Venerable Joshua twitched his lips into a smile. "1 don''t think that any other n in human space can keep its members sane by bathing us in the presence of a cute cat."


    "That''s the Larkinson n for you. Sometimes I wonder if our n is actually run by cats."


    "I don''t think your guess is too far off the mark."


    Ves coughed. "Stop joking around, please. Let''s get back to business. 1 have put a bit of thought on this issue, but before 1y them out, 1 would like to add a few additional circumstances that willplicate this decision. First of, the EdNet is an elerated learning simtion program, which means that it is an extreme application of conventional technology. However, no matter how realistic the mechers have made their simtions, it is ultimately limited by the same constraints that afflict all virtual reality simtion programs. The degree of realism is neverpletely perfect. Itcks all of the novel and unique features that make our MSTS so much better."


    That disappointed a lot of mech pilots. They had grown so ustomed to training with the MSTS that they had eschewed conventional virtual reality simtion training programs entirely.


    It was still necessary to dip into thetter once in a while in order to set up fights against mechs that weren''t programmed in the MSTS and so on, but otherwise the Larkinsonspletely disdained the inferior tech of virtual reality!


    Ves already predicted this reaction from his nsmen. "I do not consider the EdNet to be a full-fledged training device that can rece live training sessions and actualbat entirely. Far from it. However, the single greatest advance that the Neuromancer created and the Polymath improved upon is the elerated learning system. That is a capability that the MSTS cannot match. Therefore, when ites to training and educating people to the standards of a first-rater, the EdNet is by far superior because it simply provides its users with lots of time to learn all of theplicated sciences, theories and basic skills if applicable."


    The people around the conference table nodded in understanding. This was easy to understand now that Ves pointed out this defining advantage.


    "When ites to mech pilots in particr, the EdNet is good at shoring up their theoretical knowledge and their basic piloting skills. They can train as much as the virtual reality simtion scenarios are able to amodate, and no more. What is important to note is that it cannot amodate true resonance of any kind."


    "What does that mean for expert pilots such as ourselves?" Venerable Jannzi asked with concern.


    "The mechers do not rmend high-ranking pilots to make use of the EdNet at all." Ves straightforwardly answered. "Not only will expert pilots such as yourself get frustrated by theck of realism, you will also be forced to fight like standard pilots for an extended amount of time. None of you will be able to meaningfully exercise your resonance strength. This is extremely counterproductive to their progression as momentum is important to your kind. If you don''t make actual progress, you will lose your warrior''s heart. The amount of times it takes for this to happen varies among different expert pilots, but think how much your willpower can regress if you spend 20 years doing nothing but book learning and y fighting with awful virtual mechs."


    The expert pilots all frowned, but they did not remain upset for long. It was already clear to them that they had transcended their mortality and evolved into a different kind of existence.


    The EdNet wasrgely reserved for ordinary mortals who possessed limited capabilities to promote to first-raters on their own. Expert pilots were much stronger and more capable. It was not impossible for them to learn the skills of first-ss mech pilots by relying on their own efforts!


    Ves felt relieved when he saw that his announcement did not impact the confidence of his expert pilots.


    "I intend to make separate arrangements for you all." He spoke to Joshua and the other expert pilots in attendance. "We shall talk after we have concluded this meeting."


    "Understood, sir."


    Ves turned back to the rest. "Anyway, the mechers have conducted extensive studies on the kind of people who make use of the EdNet and what they have gained after they have finished their tours. What I can tell you is that gic aptitude is extremely important for mech pilots. The lower your gic aptitude, the lower the time eleration that you can bear. The EdNet ces so much chronic strain on the brain of a user that brain damage is inevitable. The only difference is the severity of the sequa. Pilots with A and B-grade gic aptitudes don''t have anything to worry about. Pilots with C-grade gic aptitudes have to reduce the time eleration in order to remain within the safety band."


    Everyone knew what that meant. The vast majority of mech pilots who signed up for the Larkinson n weren''t particrly talented.


    Even if the Larkinson n''s recruiting standards made it difficult for pilots with D-grade gic aptitudes and lower to join up, that did not change the fact that most pilots were either average or just slightly above average in terms of aptitude!


    No one in the n really cared about this before because second-ss mechs weren''t too burdensome to pilot.


    While they were definitely more difficult and demanding to pilot than third-ss mechs, most machines remained pretty reasonable. Ves always paid a lot of attention to theplexity of his mech designs due to his many Mastery experiences.


    This was not as easy as it sounded as he possessed an overactive imagination. He often had to restrain himself from overloading his design with marginal features.


    While second-ss mechs hit afortable sweet spot between power and ease of use, it was different for first-ss mechs.


    Theplications rted to the EdNet was just the first of many different barriers that discriminated against mech pilots with average gic aptitudes!


    Suffice to say, General Verle and the other mech officers looked deeply concerned. If the selection was solely based on gic aptitude, then they were afraid that not many Larkinson mech pilots would pass the requirements!


    "There are good reasons why most first-ss organizations only take mech pilots with A and B-grade gic aptitudes seriously. Pilots with C-grade gic aptitudes can only be reservists and serve in rear guard units at most." Ves spoke to them all. "That said, our Larkinson n is different. We are family. I do not want to denigrate the value of most of our pilots just because they aren''t able to make the best use out of the EdNet. I will let you in on another secret. The Red Association has been working on loosening the limitations imposed by gic aptitude for a long time. It is not impossible for average mech pilots to be able to bear the burden of piloting a fully equipped first-ss multipurpose mech in the future!"


    That gave the gathered Larkinsons a bit of hope, though this was not the first time they heard such rumors. Whether Ves'' words were credible or not, it would probably take a long time to make this dreame true.


    At least that was what they thought. Ves couldn''t outright tell them that an experimental solution already existed, but that he had been the one to develop it in the first ce!


    Although the Carmine System was bound to be public knowledge in the future, Ves wasn''t sure how long that would take. He could only apologize to his nsmen in his heart and limit the spread of this secret for the time being.


    "Does this mean that a Larkinson mech pilot with a C-grade gic aptitude can obtain an EdNet quota?" General Verle asked.


    Ves nodded. "Yes. I do not intend to bar their way, but I do not want to waste the quotas either. Much of what the mech pilots will be doing when connected to the EdNet is to learn an expansive amount of knowledge and master multiple sets of basic skills. The study load is extremely high, and the new first-ss augmentations provided by the Red Association can only do so much in increasing your learning efficiency. What I am saying is that only mech pilots who have demonstrated a high degree of intellect and study effectiveness are eligible to earn a quota."


    "So... are you saying that we should hold exams throughout the Larkinson Army and award the EdNet quotas to the top scorers?"


    "Yes." Ves confirmed. "Well, we should add a few other criteria as well in order to refine the selection, but in general priority must go to the smartest mech pilots of our n. I don''t care whether a pilot has an innate talent forbat or is a crack shot with a rifle. If that person is an imbecile when ites to theoretical studies, then he has no business upying an EdNet quota."


    That would doubtlessly disappoint a lot of Larkinson mech pilots, especially the more veteran ones who were originally third-raters. They had already struggled to promote to second-ss mech pilots, but that was probably their limit.


    Ves did not look too upset at this, though. "Don''t worry too much. The E is not the only way for mech pilots to attain greatness. You can still fight as a second-ss mech pilot and try your best to break through. As long as you evolve far enough, the distinction between second-ss and first-ss bes increasingly less important."


    That was true. Ace pilots such as Patriarch Reginald Cross and Saintess Ulrika Vraken had be so good at their jobs that they could meet the standard of aprehensive first-ss mech pilot in record time if they wanted!