~----~

[You have displayed the ingenuity of a Mechanist!]

[You have created a work table and a signboard!]

[You have gained +23 Ascended Essence!]

[Ascended Counter: 821/1000]

~----~

Leon grinned, then he asked. "What should we name our mechanic shop?"

Silence reigned for a few seconds in this tiny corner of the open market as Leon's 3 companions stared at what he just crafted in silent awe.

The two new creations that Leon made were fairly simple. He didn't need to use his Mechanist's Construct ability, afterall, he was making a very simple and mundane creation. But that was what made it special.

Kain's face twitched as he stared at the two objects.

Seeing the smug look on Leon's face, he felt like punching the human. 'Why are you acting so smug? It's just a carpenter's creation'.

In this era where Mechanists thrive and the Omnicore Federation rule with an iron feast, it was rare to see wooden constructs.

And as a Freegrid agent who mostly operate in the cities, Kain's chance of working with wood in a year was less than 1%. Only in the Wastes and Lost Zones were there opportunities to work with wood.

But which Mechanist would even willingly decide to work with mundane wood? 'Maybe only this smelly bastard'. Kain answered his own question.

Despite his thoughts though, he could not help his mixed feelings. Once again, Leon showed a kind of ingenuity with his imagination and creations that left him in awe though he didn't want to admit it.

'Is this the so-called natural disposition of a Mechanist?'

The table was about a meter tall; it was four-legged. The surface was cut from hard wood, ensuring that it wouldn't break even when placed under immense pressure.

Daren and Rex did a good job in their choice of wood for the creation.

As for the signboard, the wood was more than two meters tall, making sure that it was long enough to display the contents of the board to prospective customers far and wide in the open market.

Leon practiced his aesthetic flair on the board, painting a metallic gray background before drawing an image of the work table that he created on it.

Since no one answered, Leon asked at them again. "We forgot the name. What should we name the workshop?"

"The signboard has to show the name of the workshop". He added seriously.

Rex thought before blurting out. "Leon's Mechanic?"

Kain quickly shook his head. "We're doing this together!" He emphasized, clearing not willing to lose out to the newcomer.

Leon chuckled. "There's no need to be so uptight about it Kain, it's just a name. And since it's just a name," he grinned mischievously before picking up the paint brush and drawing a name on the signboard.

[Leon and Son's Mechanic Workshop]

Kain's cybernetic dull gray eyes twitched. "L-Leon and Son's?"

"Yes". Leon smiled brightly. "You're right, it's not just me. Since it's so, instead of just writing all our names, why not just write Leon and Son's? I'm not saying you're my sons, I'm just saying the board doesn't have enough space to accommodate all our names".

Daren nodded thoughtfully, feeling like he finally understood.

Kain's eyes twitched even more as he threw a blank glare at Leon. 'I'll kill you one day, I swear! Ahh!'

Leon could not read minds, but he could tell exactly what was going through the Synth's face from the look on his mechanical face.

He chuckled before sitting down on the ground like most of the other sellers in the open market.

As soon as he sat down, he was taken aback as he remembered something. 'Why didn't I think of crafting chairs too?'

'F*ck! I forgot'. He palmed his face.

He was also influenced by the choice of most sellers around the workshop.

After they settled down, while Rex and Daren started a random argument about who played the more important role during the siege of the cargo trailer, Leon focused on the HUD screen that was in front of his eyes.

Staring at his Ascended Counter, he nodded slightly. 'This confirms it'. He thought. 'It's not just about getting blueprints and crafting things, it's also about acting as the nature of the Mechanist Class, an artisan'.

'All I did was do a little carpentry and painting job, but it still increased the counter by a whole 23'.

'A good artisan does not just create, he also innovates'. His eyes lit up. 'This is another clear way to increase my Ascended Counter'.

'Using this same train of thought, as a Cyber Gladiator, Daren who loves battle a lot is naturally piling up his counter points right? Afterall, the whole premise of the Cyber Gladiator Class is explosive might and combat'.

'In the same way, Talia and Ghostwire who love tinkering with networks and hacking systems are also unknowingly acting as the nature of the NetRunner Class'.

'Maybe that's what helped Talia complete her Trial'.

He heaved a sigh of relief.

Pairing this with his previous conjectures about the Ascended Counter, Leon felt that he finally understood the full gist.

On one hand, this meant that his crewmates' chances of passing a Trial if they attempted one was high. And on the other hand, he thought of ways to make Rex and Kain fully embrace these principles to pile up counter points.

While these thoughts went through Leon's head, time moved as he patiently waited for the first customer of his mechanic workshop.

Unfortunately, things don't always go according to plan.

For the next few hours, not a single customer approached their open stall to ask for their services, leaving Leon a little depressed.

It got worse.

Leon yawned as he instinctively looked at the neon skyline. The distant neon storms were already beginning to hide themselves as from the horizon, sunset approached and with it came the encroaching darkness.

Night was coming.

"F*ck, I didn't get a single customer". He grumbled with a gloomy look on his face as he stared at the large open market that was gradually turning deserted.

A few minutes later, just as Leon was about to give up for the day and tell his companions to leave with him, a man approached.

This man was a Geneform. He was clearly middle-aged.

He had a square-shaped face with a barren chin; he also had a receding hairline. His brown eyes glimmered like the surface of mud.

As he approached, he looked at them with curiosity. "Is this a mechanic workshop?"

Leon's eyes immediately lit up.

"Yes". He answered immediately. "We're the best in all of Community G. You doubt me? Give me a job right now and I'll prove you wrong". Leon smiled confidently at the man.

Kain's mechanical lips twitched. 'So f*cking shameless'. He also looked at this man, silently scrutinizing him.

'…clean clothes… a clean boot… a protrusion by the side of his waist, likely a gun… hmm, this guy's not simple, he's likely an Ascended'.

The man was slightly taken aback by Leon's words. "You're confident".

Leon nodded. "Of course, that's the confidence of being good at your job".

The man finally flashed a gentle smile. "If you're really as good as you say you are, then help me fix this".

Thud!

He placed an object on the table.

Leon looked at the work table, and his eyes briefly constricted. On the table were the scraps of a gun- a pistol.

The barrel was disconnected from the grip like it broke at some point. The cylinder was also disconnected. In essence, it was a pile of trash.

It was unusable.

Leon's expression froze. 'Is this guy looking for a mechanic or a miracle worker? How is a normal mechanic supposed to fix something like this? Magic?'

Despite his thoughts, he didn't reject the man. Afterall, this was the first customer of Leon and Son's mechanic shop!

It would be a shame if he rejected his first customer.

Leon flashed a smile. "Sir, as you can see, this is a kinetic pistol and it's heavily damaged. Not just damaged, it's literally fragmented".

"But fret not," he grinned confidently. "I can fix this. The only thing you need to do is pay".

"Really?" The man showed skepticism and that spurred Leon on even more.

"How much?" The man finally asked.

Leon opened his mouth, then paused. He just realized that despite learning about the currency of this world, he didn't have a comparison to know how much to charge for his mechanic services.

With an awkward smile, he turned his head to look at Kain.

Kain rolled his eyes in disdain before responding as he looked at the man. "2 pounds".

The man looked at Kain. "That's slightly on the expensive side".

Kain was unfazed as he stared back at the man's brown eyes. "We're a legit mechanic workshop".

"Ok, let me try and see. It's just 2 pounds".

'Just 2 pounds…' Kain's eyes constricted but he said nothing.

Majority of tramps in the Waste communities who work hard don't make up to 5 Cents after a day of hard work.

At that moment, the man pulled out a leather wallet with a digital holo-interface on its surface before pulling out 2 paper notes.

1 pound was written on each note, and on both notes was the image of a Geneform with white hair and azure blue eyes. He had a stern look on his face.

Apparently, this man was George the First, the ancient leader of Neo-Tokara who was part of the few who led humanity from the Tectonic Convergence Era to the Hope Era.

At that moment, Kain threw a glance at Rex, and knowing what to do, the Mechanist quickly walked in front of the work table, facing the customer.

"Thank you for your patronage sir". He picked up the two paper notes like he was checking for their authenticity, whereas he was actually blocking the man's direct line of sight to Leon who already started work behind him.

Construct!

Maybe it would have been hard for a normal mechanic to fix these gun parts, but Leon was not just any mechanic, he was a Mechanist.

Within less than 10 seconds, he was done.

Since he was not creating something entirely new with a blueprint but only fixing a damaged pistol, Leon needed only a few seconds to get the work done with his ADE and Mechanist ability.

At that moment, Rex got the signal from Kain and left the man's line of sight. When he looked at the work table again, his eyes widened in clear surprise.

"You're already done?"

"Of course". Leon flashed a smile. "I told you I'm the best mechanic in Community G!"

The man didn't answer, instead, he took the pistol and carefully inspected it. A few seconds later, he smiled. "You're legit".

"Of course".

The man extended a hand to shake Leon, and Leon took it. "My name is Cain, I have a feeling that I'll be visiting your workshop a lot".

"Cain?" Leon flashed a smile. "You almost have the same name as my friend here. I hope to work with you again in the future, and don't forget to tell your friends about the best mechanic in Community G".

The man revealed an amused smile. "I will".

With that, he left.

Leon whistled. "First customer of the day bagged!"

"More like first and last customer". Kain added as he threw a provocative glance at Leon.

Leon chuckled. "I don't mind. Afterall, Rome was not built in a day".

"What's Rome?" Daren looked at him.

Leon froze as his brain became blank; he scratched the back of his head. "I don't remember".

After that, they didn't stay.

They quickly packed up and a few minutes later, they returned to the inn for the night.

Seeing them enter the bar area, Brick waved his hand at them. "Hope you guys earned some money, I have a bill to settle".

"…"

Leon was speechless.

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