~----~

[Available Goods:]

>Blueprint: Standard Plasma Knife<

[Blueprint Rank: F]

[Price: 75 DP]

…

>Blueprint: Smoke Grenade<

[Blueprint Rank: F]

[Price: 69 DP]

…

>Mechanist Knowledge Scroll: Advanced Energy Science<

[Type: Ascended Knowledge]

[Purchased]

…

[Current Data Points: 81]

~----~

The moment Leon purchased the Mechanist Knowledge Scroll, unlike the other two which still glowed in a green color, it quickly became grayed out meaning he couldn't purchase it a second time.

And now, he looked at the last 2 goods available for sale.

His brain whirred. 'Which should I buy next?'

What influenced his decision was a single belief that he had which solidified after the battle in the train, the belief of the true potential of the Mechanist Class.

After fighting against that terrorist, Leon finally completed a tour to experience battle against 3 of the 5 Ascended Classes in this world.

The only Class that still eluded him was the rare Quantum Shaper Class.

After all these experiences, Leon finally felt confident enough to call himself a slightly seasoned Ascended.

He'd been in this world for just a little more than 2 weeks but in this period, he already fought battles against Ascended that most people or even Ascended in this world would never get the chance to meet or survive an encounter with.

Through these experiences, he created a mental map of the 4 Classes that he was familiar with- NetRunner, Cyber Gladiator, Gene Augur, and Mechanist.

Through Talia, he knew the abilities of an E Rank NetRunner. Through Daren and now the terrorist, he knew most of the abilities if not all the abilities of an E Rank Cyber Gladiator.

Through Parasite, he knew all the abilities of an E Rank Gene Augur. And through himself, he knew all the abilities of an E Rank Mechanist.

At F Rank, Leon truly believed that the Mechanist Class was the most useless Class when it came to combat potential, second only to the NetRunner Class.

Even though F Rank NetRunners were just as useless as Mechanists when it came to combat-related abilities, NetRunners were still a menace in cyber warfare even at F Rank.

At F Rank, all Mechanists could do was construct and deconstruct, and unless a Mechanist was like him with his innate experiences and instincts from his past life, being a successful Mechanist was not easy.

It was hard to get blueprints, it was almost impossible for a normal F Rank Mechanist to create a blueprint.

Deconstructing complete blueprints was also extremely hard, all these reasons and more made Leon conclude that the Mechanist Class was definitely the most underwhelming Class at F Rank.

But at E Rank, the game changed.

At E Rank, the NetRunner Class was definitely the most slippery and bizarre Class. With their catalogue of abilities, not only can they deal mental damage, but they truly become as slippery as ghostly assassins.

In a city as big and as rowdy as Leviathan Quay with almost every civilian having a smartphone, the last enemy Leon wanted to face here was an E Rank NetRunner.

But just like they had clear strengths, they also had clear weaknesses.

Unlike other Classes at E Rank, NetRunners don't have abilities to deal devastating burst damage at once, and physically they were the weakest of all the Classes that Leon had seen so far at E Rank.

If you could somehow create an environment with no smartphones or implants and isolate an E Rank NetRunner, it was easy to kill them.

As for E Rank Gene Augurs, these guys were the perfect definition of 'even if you can beat me, you can't kill me'.

E Rank Gene Augurs were literal Tanks, they were unkillable.

Leon still shivered in his sleep when he had nightmares of just how much effort it took to bring down a single E Rank Gene Augur, Parasite. If not for his jury-rigged bombs, they would have all died.

But just like NetRunners, an E Rank Gene Augur's weakness was obvious.

They had no means to deal long-range damage, and if an enemy wanted to escape, they had no means to lock him down or restrict movement unless they had access to Artifacts but Artifacts are rare.

In essence, Gene Augurs are a one-dimensional Class.

Even if Leon cannot kill an E Rank Gene Augur, he could see himself easily escaping unscathed 100 times out of 100.

As for E Rank Cyber Gladiators, these were the true battle freaks. These guys had abilities to increase endurance, agility, strength, speed, reaction speed, reduce damage taken, increase damage; they were the quintessential combatants.

In a 1v1 battle, Leon knew he had zero chances against an E Rank Cyber Gladiator, but this was if they were fighting a fair rule-based battle.

But in reality, most battles never follow rules and this is where Mechanists at E Rank come into the game.

At E Rank, not only are Mechanists more knowledgeable and capable of crafting myriad constructs now, with Enhance, they gain direct lethal combat capabilities. With Drone Control Matrix, they gain another battle advantage.

And with Miniaturization, Mechanists became undoubtedly the most unpredictable Class at E Rank.

Leon's verdict was that Mechanists were the most well-rounded Class at E Rank, this is if the Mechanist is smart enough.

All the abilities of an E Rank Mechanist boil down to a single factor, the constructs of the Mechanist. They determine everything.

With the right constructs, Leon believed that an E Rank Mechanist was invincible. His ability to injure the terrorist while Lieutenant Johnmark could not land a single hit proved it.

With the right constructs, a Mechanist can deal devastating damage.

With the right constructs, a Mechanist can restrict the movement of any enemy as evidenced by Rex's masterpiece, the ADE Nullification Shackles.

With the right constructs, a Mechanist can be just as slippery as a NetRunner.

Leon didn't have the relevant knowledge now but the deeper he understood his Class, the more ambitious he became. Seeing how developed Leviathan Quay was proved his theories before coming here.

'This world definitely has spatial technology'.

'What of when I gain the knowledge to harness spatial technology? I have the potential to create teleportation portals to be just as slippery as an E Rank NetRunner!'

'What of after I craft the VX-09 Emberfist gauntlets? With Enhance plus the combat lessons I learned from Craig Mayweather and Umar Numargomedov, melee combat will no longer be my weakness!'

'What of when I begin to craft robots?'

Yes, robots. It was an idea that Leon conceived after becoming an E Rank Mechanist and unlocking Drone Control Matrix.

For the past week in his shelter, locked in and alone, even as he constructed and experimented with his abilities, he also had philosophical debates with himself about his Class, his System, and his abilities.

To a Mechanist, is the definition of a drone linear?

Drones or UAVs are simply just flying robots without a pilot on board, controlled remotely or flying autonomously using pre-programmed software and onboard sensors like GPS and cameras.

But what if you remove the A in UAVs?

What if to an E Rank Mechanist, the definition of a drone is not simply restricted to aerial vessels and constructs?

What if Drone Control Matrix can also control other robots without a pilot on board? Constructs like land robots.

When Leon had this sudden thought and realization, though it was still just a conjecture, he felt that he was right and in that moment, he felt like a bomb exploded in his head.

This was one of the reasons that pushed him to go to Leviathan Quay.

Constructing a robot was not a project that he could complete through scavenging the scrapyard in the wasteland.

To construct a robot, he needed sophisticated raw materials and certain materials that he could only buy and not craft himself.

It was a big project and it required a lot.

First, he needed money, a lot of money, and he needed a channel to buy the raw materials he needed to engage in engineering.

One of his biggest worries coming to the city was how to get the right connections for raw materials but after the incident in the train and meeting Lieutenant Johnmark, Leon felt that he already solved this problem.

With all these reasons, though this world didn't seem to realize it yet, Leon was convinced that the Mechanist Class was the strongest Class at E Rank.

Imagine a Mechanist controlling two powerful heavily-armored and armed land robots, 3 sword drones, wielding a myriad of constructs, able to deal devastating long-range and melee damage, and also restrict enemy movement.

To Leon, this kind of Mechanist was the quintessential combatant at E Rank, not Cyber Gladiators and definitely not Gene Augurs.

This was what influenced his decision to decisively spend his DP again.

'The more blueprint variety and constructs that I have, the stronger I am as an E Rank Mechanist'.

DING!

~----~

[69 DP has been deducted!]

[Congratulations! You have purchased the Blueprint: Smoke Grenade!]

…

[Current Data Points: 12]

~----~

The reason why he choose the grenade over the plasma dagger was simple.

He had an alternative for the plasma dagger in his own hand-crafted daggers, but he didn't have an alternative for the smoke grenade.

And considering how a smoke grenade could once again evolve his combat style, the choice was a no-brainer for him.

Seeing only 12 Data Points remaining, Leon felt a bit depressed but he also felt satisfied. 'That was money well spent!'

He sipped from the soft beverage and leaned against the chair in satisfaction.

His reason for coming to Leviathan Quay in summary was simple: fight in the combat tournament, get paid and also increase his Ascended Counter which was killing two birds with one stone.

By the time he realized these goals, Leon was confident in his ability that his catalogue of constructs would have grown enough to make him the quintessential combatant at E Rank.

And then, he would return back to the Wastes to his shelter and attempt the Trial to become a D Rank Ascended.

The reason why he decided to return to his shelter was simple.

A week ago, after Leon completed his Trial and became an E Rank Mechanist, when his consciousness returned to his shelter, he found not a single scratch.

This meant no Neon Beast attacked the shelter!

And this directly went against the rules of this world that every Ascended believed in, once again telling Leon how unique the ChronoSystem was.

With his System, not only did he not have to go look for a Trial Catalyst like others, but he could directly avoid one of the greatest dangers of attempting a Trial, the threat of Neon Beasts being attracted to devour you.

Leon sipped the soft drink again and muttered. "If things go according to plan, I should be ready to advance again in weeks and at most a few months".

Still idle, he decided to check all his blueprints again after his latest acquisition.

~----~

[Blueprints:]

*F Rank: Portable Energy Cell, Modified C-5 Drone, Sword Drone, Leon's Cloak, Flux Crystal Spear, Onyx-05 Computer, Jury-rigged bomb, QX-07 Air Gun, Titanium Spear, Titanium Longsword, Titanium Dagger, Titanium Battle Axe, Titanium Mace, Titanium Halberd.

*E Rank: Electromagnetic Pulse Gun, ADE Nullification Shackles, Light-armored Transport Truck.

*Modified Blueprint: VX-09 Emberfist.

~----~

Leon clicked his tongue again in satisfaction.

A few minutes later, he finally finished the soft drink and he became even more bored. After a few more minutes, he dozed off.

…

Hours later…

Ring! Ring!

Leon was jolted awake.

The first thing he did was pick up his smartphone and look at the time.

[06:17pm]

After that, he focused on the name calling him.

[Incoming Call from Lieutenant Johnmark…]

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