A part of Ves was thankful that Merril O'Brian was the only rational mech designer in the Larkinson Clan as far as he knew.
Mech designers of this ilk were very rare outside of the MTA because it was much more difficult to advance up the ranks with such an exotic design approach.
Ves had always remained fairly possessive of his unique design solutions, so he instinctively rejected any instances where other mech designers could copy the reason why he was able to beat the competition.
However, another part of him felt that it was regrettable that there weren't more mech designers like Merrill in the clan.
As Ves continued to grow and expand his design capabilities, he gradually became less insecure about his own worth and competence.
Even if others succeeded in copying his living mechs, so what? Ves had developed many other advanced design solutions that gave his work an even greater edge in battle!