DING!

~----~

[Congratulations! You have completed an upgrade to your retrofitted construct- Temporary Shelter!]

[Name of construct has been changed from (Temporary Shelter) to (Leon's Shelter)-]

[Structure Registered: Leon's Shelter v0.2 – Stability 78%]

[Congratulations! You have completed a major crafting milestone!]

[You have been rewarded with +30 Data Points]

[Current Data Points: 285]

~----~

"Finally". Leon muttered with a satisfied expression on his face as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at his work of art.

Compared to 2 weeks ago when he just awakened inside the derelict SpaceX facility, this underground facility could no longer be described as derelict.

Now, it was not just a facility but a true shelter, a fortress.

Within the past week since becoming an E Rank Neo Mechanist, Leon didn't leave as he stayed holed up inside the underground facility, determined to make the most of the large scrapyard around him.

Now, the shelter was complete.

The last time before leaving the facility for the first time to explore the wasteland, he simply cleaned the underground facility, banishing the stale air and dust and making it barely livable.

Now, he made it comfortable to live in.

With the Basic ADE Converter v0.1 then, he managed to create a power source that converted ADE into electric energy to power the facility.

Now, Leon already constructed v0.2 of the Basic ADE Converter.

Its operation was smoother now and its capacity was much higher, meaning it could power more things with the electricity that it generated.

There were multiple LED light bulbs illuminating the central chamber of the facility where Leon awakened and where the stasis capsule was.

The stasis capsule was in the middle of the chamber, attached to a thick pillar. Around it, Leon already transformed the central chamber of the facility into a living area, a computer base, and a forge area.

In the living area, there is a simple but practical wooden bedframe.

The only thing lacking from it was a bed since Leon didn't have materials that were soft enough to create a bed yet.

Still in the living area, there is a simple wooden desk and chair illuminated overhead by an LED light bulb.

By the side of the bed, there is also a wooden wardrobe. There were sets of metal hangers inside, and only two of the hangers were occupied. One of them had Leon's Cloak, the OG tarpaulin and aluminum-armored garment.

As an E Rank now, the cloak no longer met his standards. It was far too weak to play a role in E Rank combat but Leon still kept it out of sentiment.

Apart from the familiar cloak, there was also a full black leather attire on the second hanger in the wardrobe. On the wooden inner floor of the wardrobe, there were two sets of boots, one made from leather and the other made from metal while the inside was lined with tarpaulin.

At this moment, Leon was shirtless and only wore his thick black joggers, the one he woke up in inside the stasis capsule.

In the computer base area of the central chamber, there is another wooden chair and table, and on top the table sat a slim-sleek black laptop.

~----~

[Onyx-05 Laptop]

[Specs:]

>Processor: Bio-synthetic neuro-core processor.

>Storage: 120 petabyte.

>Holographic display.

>Reinforced Graphene Shell.

>Miniaturized Fusion Core.

~----~

Having extracted the material components of the computer system previously in the data vault, with his current knowledge as an E Rank Mechanist, Leon simply altered the design blueprint to construct a laptop with the materials.

The laptop was not the only thing on the table, there were also 3 incomplete C-5 drones.

They were incomplete because though they were constructed with the same blueprint, they didn't have the technology to turn invisible without the input from a NetRunner.

And compared to the previous C-5 drones, these were far smaller, all 3 of them were palm-sized but not only did their performance not reduce, the specs of these 3 drones were higher than all of Leon's previous C-5 drones.

There was multiple virtual projections hovering in front of the wooden desk carrying the laptop and drones.

These were live footage from the cameras that Leon installed outside.

They showed the wasteland outside, the scrapyard that seemed to stretch endlessly, and the distant neon storms in the skies.

As for the forge area, it was the area where he worked.

It wasn't really a forge since a Mechanist didn't need fire and mundane tools to work. All a Mechanist needed was ADE and a blueprint, fire and forges were only needed by mundane mechanics, not a true Mechanist.

In the forge area, apart from the corner where he worked, he demarcated another corner which was his kitchen.

There, he managed to construct an electric stove that could cook by directly taping into the power of the ADE Converter.

There was also a storage corner in the forge area where his constructs of the past week lay: there were multiple C-5 drones, strange sword-shaped gadgets, daggers, two long Rifles, and a few Flux Crystal Spears.

The sword-shaped gadget was one of Leon's most important invention in the last week after becoming a Neo Mechanist.

It was the result of his crazy idea to create a sword-shaped drone.

Due to his new unlocked ability at E Rank, Drone Control Matrix, after returning from the Trial, Leon finally decided to create a combat style that was exclusive to himself.

The lessons that he learned from the strange lucid dream stuck with him, and all 3 lessons ignited his imagination and creativity in a unique way.

It all started with a simple thought. 'What if I can modify the C-5 drones to become weapons that I can use to attack?'

Leon felt that using the Drone Control Matrix ability for just surveillance was a massive waste of the ability's potential. And once the first thought came, everything from there just needed his ingenuity to work out.

'Drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) 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'.

'A drone doesn't necessarily have a fixed shape'.

'So long I have the ability and with the right materials and design, I can create a sword-shaped drone!'

Not just a sword-shaped drone, Leon wanted sturdy swords that were strong and sharp enough to fight alongside him in battle.

Watching Parasite fight with his Zweihander was part of his inspiration for the sword drones.

And of course, the same idea could be applied to weaponized drones with sophisticated guns and weapons but Leon did not have the materials to craft a weaponized drone from the scrapyard in this wasteland.

For that, he needed a lot of money to buy processed materials through which he could craft a weaponized drone.

Leon didn't want to wait till after he left the wasteland, and it was this necessity that gave birth to the idea of a sword drone.

He implemented the idea to create his first sword drone and it was a massive success. The only problem is that compared to the normal C-5 drones, a sword drone that is sturdy, sharp, and intricate enough to be used in combat is too energy-consuming.

The sword drones could only last 10 minutes at full throttle.

But Leon was not deterred. 'I just need to buy a powerful battery cell for it and I'll be able to use them for more than 10 minutes at a time'.

The portable battery cell that he could craft was not powerful enough for the sword drone to last more than 10 minutes.

Even at that, the ability to use a sword drone for 10 minutes is something people won't naturally expect from a Mechanist.

Leon flashed a proud grin and tapped his head with his index finger. "Think outside the box".

As for himself, apart from the drones that he crafted in the past week, he finally upgraded his weapon catalogue in preparation for leaving his shelter again.

He had an excess of Flux Crystal Spears in his storage crafted in the past week, and every one of them was stronger than the ones he crafted in the past not just because of his upgraded craftsmanship ability but because he could process and use stronger metals now.

In the past week, Leon also meticulously crafted 5 jury-rigged bombs.

After seeing his bombs deal damage to a D Rank Neon Beast, Leon knew that till he became D Rank, his bombs would remain his magnum opus in terms of raw power despite the fact that it could also kill him if he was careless.

He still had the QX-07 Air Gun Rifle and most importantly, after over a week since he became a Neo Mechanist, he finally crafted his first true E Rank blueprint weapon, an Electromagnetic Pulse Rifle.

He named it the Terra Nova 71.

The Pulse Rifle had only a single ADE attack skill, the ability to shoot out an electromagnetic pulse.

But the weapon had a regulator just like Ghostwire's Rifle with 2 slots.

The first slot can shoot a physical red pulse beam that's hot enough to deal devastating damage like a plasma beam.

When regulated to the second slot, the Pulse Rifle shoots an electromagnetic pulse that can heavily damage robots and disrupt electronics. It's especially deadly against NetRunners in their psionic state.

Also, in the past week, Leon finally completed his attempt to modify Daren's main weapon, the VX-09 Emberfist gauntlets.

He didn't have the materials on hand to craft the unique gauntlet yet, but he already modified it enough to be usable by a different Class Ascended other than Cyber Gladiators.

Leon rubbed his forehead in satisfaction before walking towards the wooden chair in his forge area and plopping down in a leisurely manner.

The moment he sat down, he interfaced with the System and immediately a familiar HUD screen lit up in front of him.

DING!

~----~

[ChronoSystem Interface- Online]

Name: Leon Ardent

Race: Human (Extinct Line)

Class: Mechanist (Neo Mechanist)

Rank: E (Adapted)

DP (Data Points): 285

[Attributes:]

STR – 107; AGI – 115; END – 131; INT – 182; WIL – 144; ADE – 167

[Derived Stats:]

ATK – 342; DEF – 393; SPD – 230; SYS – 489

{HP – 7,620/7,620}

{EP – 9,410/9,410}

[Traits:]

>Adaptive Analysis (Passive): Gains 10% faster blueprint comprehension when observing unknown tech.

>Temporal Anomaly (Passive): Immune to ADE corruption; System growth uncapped.

[Racial Trait- Human:] Adaptive Cognition (Passive): +10% learning rate across all skills.

[Abilities:]

>Deconstruct.

>Construct.

>Nanofabrication.

>Miniaturization.

>Drone Control Matrix.

>Neural Overclock.

>Enhance.

[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.

~----~

Like expected, all the blueprints that he learned in his Trial returned with him to reality.

Leon stared at his System status with a satisfied expression on his face.

Compared to when he was F Rank, almost all his primary attributes more than tripled at E Rank. The same applied with his derived attributes.

At F Rank, Leon felt that he already broke parts the limits of mortals as he gained superhuman attributes and strength. Now though, he felt that the divide between him and a mortal just widened significantly.

He looked at the wall of the facility. Despite the fact that he already reinforced the wall, he still felt like he could punch through it with a single blow.

Thinking of this, he immediately felt surreal.

"It's been just 2 weeks but it feels like a whole year already".

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