'Year 714 A.G…'
Leon took note of the year and month that he woke up.
He still wasn't sure if he really was someone who came from the past, or if he reincarnated into this strange world, so he was more inclined to view it as him waking up till he finally found clues to dig out the truth.
'At least I'm no longer clueless,' he consoled himself. 'At least with Talia's crew and the Freegrid Collective, I have a clue to start my findings'.
He took a deep breath and repeated in his mind. 'I woke up in June, Year 714 A.G'.
He already had a guess, but still, he looked at Talia and asked. "What does the A.G stands for?"
"It means After Genesis".
Leon nodded in thought. "Does that mean Project Genesis took place exactly 714 years ago?"
'Going by this logic, if I didn't reincarnate and I'm really someone from the past, does that mean I'm over 700 years old?' The thought made him freeze as he instinctively looked at Talia for an answer.
Talia didn't look at Leon, she looked at the wasteland ahead of her in deep thought. "History is muddled. No one really knows the true year that Project Genesis took place, maybe only the higher-ups of the various factions would know".
"Maybe it really took place 714 years ago, or maybe the new counting system started years after Project Genesis and after the new races grew into their new bodies and adapted to the world with ADE".
Talia looked at Leon seriously. "If you truly want to dig out the vestiges of history and the past and put together the pieces, you have to get strong, far stronger than you currently are".
"You also have to get strong if you really want to recover your memories".
"But getting strong is not easy. Despite my preparations for years, I barely survived my first Trial". She sighed in melancholy.
"The thought of challenging another one in the future genuinely leaves me shivering in fear," she smiled faintly. "Who knows, maybe I won't have the courage to challenge a second Trial in the future".
"Maybe," Leon carefully observed her expression, then he also looked at the desolate wasteland ahead of him.
In that moment, he set a new goal for himself. 'If I truly want to understand this world and my past, I have to proactively learn the history of this world'.
His black eyes gleamed. 'I'll start by following them to the Wastes'.
Leon remembered something else and looked at Talia. "During the siege, I discovered a lot of weaknesses of the Mechanist Class, including its strengths".
"It's a class fully reliant on its creations, but I feel that just relying on creations is a waste of the potential of being an Ascended".
"With the enhanced stats that being an Ascended brings, I think relying on only mechanical creations to face the dangers of this world is naïve".
"I saw you fight," he looked at her. "Can you teach me how to fight?"
From the moment that Talia woke up after becoming a Neo NetRunner and he saw her fight, eradicating all the Neon Beasts that almost took all of their lives with such ease, Leon developed a different yearning apart from engineering.
He knew that the ease was mostly because of her superior rank, but he still recognized the skill and experience hidden beneath the surface.
This developed a new yearning in him.
Despite his fragmented memories, he knew that apart from engineering, a passion of his from his previous life was MMA.
But due to a combination of different reasons, he never had the opportunity to pursue this career, but now…
Leon felt that as an Ascended, he had a chance now. Afterall, with his enhanced stats, he now had the talent.
'I want to see how far I can push my enhanced body'.
He looked expectantly at Talia.
Noting the clear desire in his eyes, Talia chuckled. "I thought you were only interested in engineering. You're truly a puzzle box with so many sides to you".
Leon shrugged.
She nodded. "Of course, I'll teach you what I know. Let's hope you have the talent to bear the pain and learn. Afterall, you're now part of my crew. You becoming stronger will also benefit the crew".
"We'll start after we leave the fringe".
Leon immediately smiled. "Thank you boss".
During the siege, Leon didn't just discover the strengths and weaknesses of his Class, he also discovered the strengths and weaknesses of the other Classes through his crewmates, except the Quantum Shaper Class.
He already used the Snoop function of the System on the other members of the crew long ago to understand their abilities in preparation for the future.
~----~
Name: Jakor Demet
(Nickname: Brick)
Faction: Freegrid Collective – Wraith Cell-9
Race: Synth
Class: Gene Augur (Proto Gene Augur)
Rank: F (Initiate)
[Attributes:]
STR – 39; AGI – 44; END – 55; INT – 34; WIL – 37; ADE – 41
[Derived Stats:]
ATK – 187; DEF – 165; SPD – 88
{HP – 3,140/3,140}
{EP – 2,150/2,150}
[Traits:]
[Racial Trait- Synth:] Synthetic Body (Passive): +15% END, immune to toxins, but -10% WIL (emotional influx).
[Abilities:]
>Bio-Pulse: When activated, triggers brief +20% STR/AGI surge.
>Cell Repair (Passive): fast HP regen.
>Adaptive Tissue (Passive): +5% resistance to first damage type suffered.
…
Name: Daren Kovak
(Nickname: Spitfire)
Faction: Freegrid Collective – Wraith Cell-9
Race: Geneform
Class: Cyber Gladiator (Proto Cyber Gladiator)
Rank: F (Initiate)
[Attributes:]
STR – 58; AGI – 51; END – 40; INT – 31; WIL – 34; ADE – 36
[Derived Stats:]
ATK – 371; DEF – 120; SPD – 102
{HP – 2,580/2,580}
{EP – 1,905/1,905}
[Traits:]
[Racial Trait- Geneform:] Bio-Enhanced Physiology (Passive): +15% END, +10% STR, -10% INT.
[Abilities:]
>Impact Surge (Active): When activated, next melee strike gains +40% damage.
>Reinforced Frame (Passive): +10% END and +10% STR durability buffer when activated.
>Kinetic Absorption: When activated, stores 5% of damage taken as energy for counterblow.
…
Name: Leroi Vale
(Nickname: Ghostwire)
Faction: Freegrid Collective – Wraith Cell-9
Race: Synth
Class: NetRunner (Proto NetRunner)
Rank: F (Initiate)
[Attributes:]
STR – 31; AGI – 39; END – 35; INT – 47; WIL – 51; ADE – 40
[Derived Stats:]
ATK – 74; DEF – 105; SPD – 78
{HP – 2,030/2,030}
{EP – 2,305/2,305}
[Traits:]
[Racial Trait- Synth:] Synthetic Body (Passive): +15% END, immune to toxins, but -10% WIL (emotional influx).
[Abilities:]
>Ping Scan: Detects nearby neural devices when activated.
>Ghost Line: When activated, it grants temporary invisibility on digital sensors.
>Firewall Bypass lv. 1: Brute force low-tier cyberwall security.
>Cognitive Buffer (Passive): reduces mental overload from ADE streams and when interfacing or surfing the psionic network.
…
Name: Kain Rhea
Faction: Freegrid Collective – Wraith Cell-9
Race: Synth
Class: Mechanist (Proto Mechanist)
Rank: F (Initiate)
[Attributes:]
STR – 33; AGI – 34; END – 35; INT – 48; WIL – 44; ADE – 42
[Derived Stats:]
ATK – 106; DEF – 105; SPD – 68
{HP – 2,080/2,080}
{EP – 2,400/2,400}
[Traits:]
[Racial Trait- Synth:] Synthetic Body (Passive): +15% END, immune to toxins, but -10% WIL (emotional influx).
[Abilities:]
>Deconstruct: Breaks down any non-living mechanical object to extract material data and schematic fragments.
>Construct: Builds known schematics using stored resources.
…
Name: Rex Mallow
Faction: Freegrid Collective – Wraith Cell-9
Race: Geneform
Class: Mechanist (Proto Mechanist)
Rank: F (Initiate)
[Attributes:]
STR – 27; AGI – 33; END – 31; INT – 45; WIL – 39; ADE – 42
[Derived Stats:]
ATK – 86; DEF – 93; SPD – 66
{HP – 1,820/1,820}
{EP – 2,355/2,355}
[Traits:]
[Racial Trait- Geneform:] Bio-Enhanced Physiology (Passive): +15% END, +10% STR, -10% INT.
[Abilities:]
>Deconstruct: Breaks down any non-living mechanical object to extract material data and schematic fragments.
>Construct: Builds known schematics using stored resources.
~----~
Leon took a deep breath. Keeping up with all the information was honestly a bit dizzying.
Looking at all these System status again, he could not help but lampoon. 'Geneforms are really the worst race to be a Mechanist. With your racial trait draining 10% INT, it's a literal hindrance to growth and efficiency…' he sighed.
'In the same manner, a Synth being a NetRunner is a similar type of trash combination. With -10% WIL due to their racial trait, it weakens a NetRunner in a cyber-war'.
'I bet every Synth NetRunner that dies in a cyber-war must be cursing their race for the weakness,' he silently chuckled to himself.
'Sigh, I need to take note of all these tiny details'.
'Thankfully, I'm a pure human. The racial trait is literally tailor-made for Mechanists'. He smiled involuntarily.
With these and what the System already showed him about the 5 Classes, including what he learned from Talia's promotion, Leon made a few inferences.
While INT is the core stat of a Mechanist, ADE and WIL are likely the secondary stats, while the others are peripheral to the Mechanist Class.
As for NetRunners, while WIL is their core stat, Leon inferred that ADE and INT are likely their secondary stats, while the others are peripheral.
For Cyber Gladiators, while STR is their core stat, he inferred that AGI and END are their secondary stats, while the others are peripheral to them.
For Gene Augurs, while END is their core stat, he inferred that AGI and ADE are their secondary stats, while the others are peripheral to them.
Leon knew the least about the Quantum Shaper Class, but with the System already pointing out that their core stat is ADE, from his little understanding of the Class, he guessed that their secondary stats are INT and WIL based on their slight similarity to the NetRunner and Mechanist Class.
'The power system of this world is really detailed and complicated,' he softly rubbed and massaged his temple. 'It feels like I'm living inside some fantasy'.
'If I really want to survive in this strange world, I need to know a little bit of everything. I need to know every Class, learn everything I can about them, how they work, their advantages, strengths, and weaknesses'.
'That way, when I encounter them in the future, I won't be caught off-guard'.
His eyes gleamed. 'I still stand with knowledge is power'.
The encounter with the myriad types of Neon Beasts during the siege reinforced this belief even more. If Neon Beasts were already that varied and complicated, he could not imagine how much more complicated facing Ascended would be.
'I have to be prepared'.
At that moment, Talia finally turned to enter the cargo trailer to tell the others to pack so they could embark on their return journey.
While Leon waited for them outside, he glanced at the HUD screen hovering before his face and navigated back to a System notification that he'd shelved since.
~----~
[Mission Completion Reward…]
~----~