In 10 minutes, Major Roshfield finally briefed the elite squad.

"You are all experts in your different fields. I didn't bring you here to teach you how to fight, I brought you here to teach you how to fight together not like individuals but like cogs of one machine".

"I'll also be providing specific gadgets to aid in this mission. Within the next few days, I want you all to get used to using them in battle".

"For this mission, I wrote an application to Verdanthold for special Suzuki C19 stealth gear".

"For those of you who don't know about it, it's a high-grade stealth gear mostly used by elite assassination squads of the Synth Order".

"I paid a big price to acquire them for this mission".

"With them, you can infiltrate anywhere".

"They would arrive tomorrow. But before that, I want you to acquaint yourselves with each other. The first step to that is introducing yourselves, your name, your real name," she emphasized. "Your Class, and your abilities".

The Major looked through the 9 soldiers, stopping briefly on Leon's face then she said. "I already decided on a leader for this squad. Captain Raveman, come out and start the introductions".

"Yes Major".

The 8-feet tall Geneform with bald hair and thick brown beard that Leon already set his eyes on before walked out and faced his teammates.

"I am Captain Raveman," he said. "And I am the leader of this squad".

"I am an E Rank Gene Augur. I can naturally harden my skin, boost muscle output, and heal minor injuries purely with ADE".

"My sensory output is also enhanced. I can see extremely far, my nose is more sensitive than a beast's, and I can hear the tiniest noise even when surrounded by multiple distracting sounds".

"My abilities are Bio-Pulse, Cell Repair, Adaptive Tissue, Symbiotic Core, Metabolic Overdrive, and Bio-Scan".

"With Bio-Pulse, my strength and agility briefly surges when activated. With Cell Repair, my vitality regenerates extremely fast".

"With Symbiotic Core, I can store ADE directly in my blood for future use. With Metabolic Overdrive, I gain a 30 seconds burst of movement and regeneration. And with Bio-Scan, I can sense all living forms through pheromones and heat".

"My preferred weapon is a War Axe".

Raveman hesitated, then he turned his head to look at the Major.

Major Roshfield calmly encouraged him. "Hide nothing, it may be what saves your life when it matters".

Raveman nodded, then he said. "I also have an Artifact," he looked at his teammates, his eyes pausing on Leon. "It's a D Rank Gene Augur Artifact of the Bioforger Specialization".

Hearing this, one name rang in Leon's head. 'Parasite'.

Raveman continued. "It has only 1 effect. With it, I can turn my Lung into a poison gland. Every carbon dioxide that comes out through my lungs becomes an invisible poison that is colorless and has no scent".

"It mixes with the surrounding air, becoming oxygen that I can control towards the position of my enemies".

"If an E Rank Ascended breaths it in, unless you're a Gene Augur, it poisons all your internal organs. Death is guaranteed in 5 minutes if there's no treatment".

Leon hissed silently as the manner in which he looked at this massive man changed. 'Just what kind of existences are D Rank Ascended?'

'Just an Artifact is already this strong?'

During the past few days in Leviathan Quay, Leon learned more about Artifacts. In the end, just like he expected, Artifacts could never truly replicate the effect of an Ascended.

Not only are Artifact abilities far weaker than the original ability from an Ascended, the number of abilities are limited too for each Artifact.

For example, if he dies someday and someone turns the essence of his body and ADE into an Artifact, the Artifact may only have 1 or 2 abilities like Construction and Nanofabrication.

This was the limitation of Artifacts, but they were still extremely powerful with the right ability and in the hand of an Ascended with complimentary abilities.

After that, Captain Raveman smiled slightly as he looked at his teammates. "I hope that we can all work together to execute this mission perfectly".

With that, he left to stand among them again.

After him, the lady with silver hair and azure eyes walked out. "My name is Ariande, Captain Ariande and I am an E Rank NetRunner".

"My abilities are…" She explained the abilities that Leon already knew through Talia, then she added. "I also have an Artifact, a D Rank NetRunner Artifact of the Code Phantom Specialization".

"…" Leon was numb. 'All of you have Artifacts?'

'Maybe I should ask for an Artifact if we complete the mission'. His erratic emotions already calmed down after a few minutes though the pain which was the result of his actions lingered; he had no regrets though.

He also had another thought. 'I still don't know much about this specialization thing'.

On one hand it was because there was no information about specializations in the psionic network, once again reminding him of just how few D Rank Ascended were in this world compared to E Rank and especially F Rank Ascended.

D Rank Ascended like Major Roshfield were all mostly higher-ups of factions and organizations that don't casually reveal their abilities in public or discuss them in the psionic network.

'I wonder what her Artifact can do'.

Ariande explained. "My Artifact has only 1 effect too. With it, I don't need to hide inside smartphones and neural networks anymore because I can directly merge with datastreams".

She looked at her teammates. "By burning ADE, I can merge directly with datastreams and exist directly in the psionic network".

"This way, I can travel anywhere I want in the world through the psionic network if hardware devices are not in place to isolate the LAN. I can also get any information I want from anywhere in the world by infiltrating silently".

"For this mission, I shall be the connection between the Major and the squad during the day of execution to ensure that any exchange of information is seamless and as fast as possible".

She played with strands of her silver hair as she continued. "Of course, it's hard to travel to parts of the psionic network that are protected by other NetRunners especially if they're D Rank".

"Also, the Artifact has a clear weakness," she looked at Raveman. "D Rank Gene Augurs. A D Rank Gene Augur's Bio-Scan can detect my presence if he looks carefully enough".

"As for my weapons," she swirled her head to the side as if thinking. "I don't really have a favorite weapon but for melee combat, I prefer my plasma knives. For ranged combat, I prefer my plasma pistols too".

With that, she walked to join the others.

After her, Lieutenant Johnmark walked out next. He introduced himself and his abilities, including the fact that he had no Artifact.

His preferred weapon was his beloved War Axe.

After him, a 7-feet tall and black-haired muscular Geneform with a clean-shaven chin walked out next. "My name is Lieutenant Jones and I am an E Rank Cyber Gladiator".

"My Neural Core converts ADE directly into force, speed, and durability. This is amplified when using cybernetic melee weapons".

"I can also redirect ADE flow to my limbs in real time for different offensive effects- either to increase offensive power or even increase speed".

"My abilities are Impact Surge, Reinforced Frame, Kinetic Absorption, Pulse Dash, Overdrive Mode, Servo Reflex, and Auto-Recoil Compensation".

"With Impact Surge, my next melee attack gains +40% damage. Reinforced Frame is a passive ability, it increases my Endurance and Strength by 10% each".

"Kinetic Absorption when activated for 10 seconds stores 5% of any and all damage that I take as energy for a devastating counterblow. If I'm facing a powerful attack, I can influence the ability and reduce the duration to just 1 second to take 25% of the attack for an instant counterblow".

"Pulse Dash grants me a short 15m extreme burst of speed using kinetic propulsion".

"When activated, Overdrive Mode increases my speed and damage for 30 seconds. Though it causes fatigue to build up with repeated use, when used alongside Pulse Dash, I'm uncatchable". He said confidently.

"Servo Reflex is both Active and Passive. Passively, it activates when my vitality is below 30%. It doubles my reaction speed".

"I can also activate it normally to double my reaction speed but the ADE consumption when used normally is steep".

"With Auto-Recoil Compensation, my aim is always true". Lieutenant Jones declared arrogantly. "When activated, it stabilizes my aim and motion mid-combat".

"I can accurately shoot a target a kilometer away even while stuck inside a wildly tumbling box with Auto-Recoil Compensation".

"With it, my accuracy is 100% direct when shooting from moving vessels".

"My preferred weapon is my dual sabers, but I also use backup pistols".

"I also have an E Rank Gene Augur Artifact that grants me diminished versions of the Gene Augur abilities, Metabolic Overdrive and Cell Repair".

Leon's eyes gleamed. 'I really need an Artifact too!'

He never thought of it before but now that he saw his companions listing Artifacts left and right, he yearned to have one.

With the right Artifact, Leon could easily envision his combat power catapulting again.

Even if all he got was an F Rank Gene Augur Artifact, so long the ability it had was Cell Repair, Leon could see it qualitatively increasing his combat power.

After Lieutenant Jones, Lieutenant Cormier came out next.

This guy was big-boned and built like a tank. He had fat belly that protruded through his brown military attire, but his hefty arms and his thick neck showed that he was no pushover.

After introducing his name and military rank, Lieutenant Cormier revealed that he was an E Rank Gene Augur. His preferred weapon was a War Hammer.

Just like Lieutenant Johnmark, he had no Artifact.

Before, Leon thought it was because of the lack of money but with his current knowledge, he realized something else. 'Maybe it's not due to a lack of money, afterall he's part of the Gene Army'.

'Maybe it's due to a lack of suitable Artifact'.

His eyes gleamed. 'Despite the fact that the Geneforge Clans is the center of cosmetic surgery and Artifact making, I reckon that it's still hard for them to create Artifacts of other Classes'.

'As a Gene Augur, this clearly poses a problem'.

After Lieutenant Cormier, Lieutenant Levi came up next. This guy was lean and short, barely 5 feet tall.

His temperament was cold and taciturn. When he walked up in front of the Major to face his teammates, it looked like he'd rather be in the sewers than be here facing people.

Leon's face became weird. 'This guy looks and moves like a rat'.

His willingness to joke in his mind proved that after his fight with the Major, his emotions and his state of mind was calmer now.

Maybe what he really needed was a good ol' ass-whooping afterall.

According to Lieutenant Levi, he was an E Rank Cyber Gladiator with an E Rank Gene Augur Artifact granting Metabolic Overdrive and Cell Repair.

His preferred weapons were a pair of extremely sharp black daggers.

When it came to his turn, instead of saying it just like the others, this Lieutenant stumbled on his words before awkwardly showing them the extremely sharp black daggers.

'This guy is a social bomb'. Leon's lips twitched. 'F*ck, my mouth hurts!'

After Levi, Lieutenant Piper came up next, the only other female in the squad.

The rugged-looking soldier on a black durag with cold purple eyes revealed that she was an E Rank Gene Augur and her preferred weapon were daggers just like Levi; unlike him though she had no Artifact.

Leon's face turned weird. 'An Assassin-style Gene Augur? How does that even work? You kill targets by refusing to die or what?'

After Piper, Lieutenant Ryan came up next.

This was the oldest-looking soldier in the squad. He is a middle-aged man with brown hair and beards, another E Rank Gene Augur. According to him, he was a Kendo black belt holder.

His preferred weapon was a longsword and he had no Artifact.

With that, the full composition of the elite squad was complete in Leon's head. '5 Gene Augurs, 2 Cyber Gladiators, 1 NetRunner, and 1 Mechanist; it's comprehensive and complete'.

He nodded subtly in approval, then he finally walked out to introduce himself.

Instead of turning to look at his teammates and introducing himself though, Leon looked straight at the Major.

Seeing this, Major Roshfield's face darkened as her eyes turned cold but what came out of Leon's heart was not what she expected.

"After the beating that I took, my brain opened up and I've been thinking," Leon smiled shamelessly at the Major as her lips twitched at his words. "From the words you said, I realized that you're just as clueless as me".

Major Roshfield's eyebrows rose up.

Leon's face turned serious as he looked at her. "With all the preparations that you made, the air transports and the soldiers you deployed, how did the terrorists still manage to attack?"

"I've been thinking". He rubbed his chin.

"I read some of the news on the way here. Some of the civilians that took part in the suicide bombings never showed such tendencies till today, so why?"

"How did the terrorists do it?"

"For you to also be confounded by the means used by the terrorists, I realized that perhaps maybe this is not just some technology or planning, this is something unconventional".

"With that train of thought, I realized that maybe this is a result of some Ascended ability".

"The moment I had that thought, I remembered something".

Leon's black eyes gleamed as he kept eye contact with the Major. "I think I know how the terrorists planned the attacks".

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