~----~
[You have completed System Mission: Talia Venn's Benefactor]
[Mission Summary:]
*You participated in the Siege of the Cargo Trailer.
*You didn't just participate, you played an important role in helping the crew survive the siege. You showcased the innovation and ingenuity of a Mechanist, improvising under pressure to jury-rig a bomb to save your crewmates.
*You saved your crewmates, Jakor and Daren from a sure-death situation against the E Rank Jaguar. Your bomb singlehandedly eliminated the E Rank feline Neon Beast, eliminating dozens of other Neon Beasts alongside in the process.
*You played a role in the battle against the E Rank Ostrich. And once again, your ingenuity to create a pit trap played the biggest role in entrapping and eliminating the E Rank Bear.
[Mission Completion Rating: A+]
[You have received a Choice Reward: Choice rewards are the type that gives you the option to choose between two different rewards.]
[Reward Choice: +20 Data Points or an F Rank Blueprint.]
>Blueprint: QX-07 Air Gun.
…
[You have unlocked Data Points Market!]
*Data Points is the currency of the System, and they are used to purchase blueprints, resources, and products from the Data Points Market.
*The criteria for rewarding Data Points is always under the System's discretion.
*At F Rank, only 3 goods are available for sale at the market at a time. This figure will increase at later ranks. The reset time for goods available at the market is 3 days, and the countdown starts now.
[Countdown: 2 days; 23 hours; 59 minutes]
[Available Goods:]
>Blueprint: Megabook S990 Computer.
[Blueprint Type: Computer]
[Rank: F]
[Price: 68 DP]
…
>Product: Basic Power Reactor.
[Rank: F]
[Price: 115 DP]
…
>Product: K19 Sniper Rifle.
[Rank: F]
[Price: 85 DP]
…
[Current DP: 47]
~----~
Leon finally learned the use for Data Points.
He took a deep breath as he stared at the HUD screen that hovered in front of him. 'I have two choices'.
Before making his choice, he thought back to all the experiences that he had since his awakening. In summary, through this period, the most significant things that he did was building and fighting against Neon Beasts.
After experiencing that siege, Leon once again confirmed that alone, he could not survive the dangers this world. At least not at F Rank; right now he was still too weak.
Despite that, Leon still trusted himself most.
He didn't believe that every combat situation would be as convenient as the siege of the cargo trailer where not only was the crew complete and intact, but Kain already set up a defense grid ahead of time.
Those factors plus the individual determination of every one of them was why they all survived the siege.
But what of situations when he was alone? What if he was stranded? What if he was isolated from his allies? Leon was already thinking ahead.
And since he already realized and learned a few rules of his Class, his current priority was equipping himself with enough weapons and gadgets to survive another encounter like this even if he was stranded.
Self-ammunition was the specialty of Mechanists.
With this as his direction, he analyzed the two reward choices that the System offered again.
Of the three goods available in the DP market, he directly ruled out the computer blueprint. He already had an F Rank computer blueprint, and he guessed that the one he had was even better than the Megabook series.
As for the basic power reactor, it was useful but Leon could think of multiple alternatives to get a reactor.
After eliminating the other two options, the K19 Sniper Rifle undoubtedly attracted his attention the most, especially after seeing what Ghostwire could do with a Rifle. 'I doubt this Rifle is as powerful as Ghostwire's though'.
He rubbed his chin in thought. 'On one hand, I need training and practice, but still, with a Sniper Rifle, I'll feel a lot safer exploring this world'.
Despite his desires though, Leon was grounded in reality. 'Getting a Sniper Rifle is not urgent. I can always craft my own weapons later'.
Besides, there was an even more urgent problem: the cost.
If he choose Data Points, adding 20 to his already existing 47 DP would push his balance to 67, and the Sniper Rifle cost a whopping 85 DP.
'Besides, these 3 goods will only last 3 days before they change. I've not arrived at the Wastes yet, so I don't know if I'll get chances to earn DP easily'.
'Hoping on it when I don't have the currency at hands or the means to earn it quickly does not sit right with me'. And that influenced his decision.
Leon took a deep breath again. "I choose the QX-07 Air Gun blueprint".
The reason for his choice was simple.
The K19 Sniper Rifle would eventually change to another good in the DP market, but once he had the blueprint, no matter how long he took to gather the materials, he would always have a way to arm himself, and creation would also help him in practicing his Mechanist abilities.
The K19 Sniper Rifle could be destroyed one day. His Flux Crystal Spear was a great example, meaning that it was finite.
But with a blueprint, he could always create an Air Gun so long he had the materials and resources needed at hand.
Finally, he wanted to conduct an experiment. He wanted to know if getting a blueprint from the System would also increase his Ascended Counter.
If so, it meant that the blueprints that Kain bought also increased the Synth Mechanist's Ascended Counter.
The ChronoSystem registered his choice.
DING!
~----~
[You have been rewarded with a Blueprint: QX-07 Air Gun]
[This Blueprint has two prototypes: Air Gun- Pistol, and Air Gun- Rifle]
[Weapon ADE Skills:]
>Air Projectile: When activated, by sacrificing a tiny fraction of ADE, the Air Gun sucks in air and compresses it to extremely high densities before shooting it out as a violent and powerful air projectile. This process takes less than a second.
>ADE Storage (Passive): The Air Gun has an ADE module that passively absorbs ADE from the atmosphere, storing it for future use. Absorption rate is slow.
…
[You have gained a new Blueprint: QX-07 Air Gun]
[You have gained +65 Ascended Essence]
[Ascended Counter: 798/1000]
~----~
Leon's eyes twinkled.
His brain whirred. '+65 Ascended Essence… it's less than what I got for creating a blueprint… that means creating blueprints gives more Ascended Essence, but in the end both still gives Ascended Essence…'
He heaved a sigh of relief. 'That means Kain is not stuck at 0 Ascended Essence since becoming a Mechanist, but since he doesn't have many blueprints, his counter must be low'.
Talking of blueprints, Leon finally decided to take a look at all the blueprints that he'd amassed since awakening.
~----~
[Blueprints – F Rank: Portable Energy Cell, C-5 Drone, Leon's Cloak, Flux Crystal Spear, Onyx-05 Computer, Jury-rigged bomb, QX-07 Air Gun]
[Blueprints – E Rank: Electromagnetic Pulse Gun]
[Incomplete Blueprint: VX-09 Emberfist – 34% complete]
~----~
Adding the incomplete VX-09 Emberfist blueprint meant that Leon had a total of 8 blueprints!
This was despite becoming an Ascended and Mechanist just a few days ago!
Despite being mentally prepared already, Leon was still taken aback when he saw the figure. He was not clueless like before after interacting with Kain and Rex.
Through their interactions, he knew that Kain had already been a Mechanist for 3 years or more, and he only had two blueprints. This emphasized just how much of an outlier he was in the world of Mechanists.
He was stunned. 'Is this not a little bit too exaggerated?'
He calmed down as he noticed that the other members of the crew were finally coming out of the cargo trailer.
They were all ready for the return journey through the wasteland.
Talia was garbed in her familiar tattered black coat that was reinforced with metal thread and fiber cabling. Despite its poor condition, it did its job of hiding all the essentials, including all the weapons that the NetRunner hid underneath.
A familiar layered leather harness was strapped across her shoulder, and inside it were more hidden weapons- her magnetic coils and uplink discs.
She also wore a familiar black undertaker hat. Talia covered her neck and half her face with an old brown scarf; pairing it with the undertaker hat managed to hide most of her facial features.
Just like her, the others except Rex also wore a similar long black coat that covered their whole body, concealing their hidden weapons.
There was a bulge on the back of Ghostwire's black coat- his Rifle.
Rex didn't wear the same black coat though. This stocky Geneform was in his familiar green overalls. His hands were covered by his thick black gloves, and his googles now rested on his eyes, protecting them from the dry wind of the wasteland.
He wore a yellow engineer hard hat, and he also had a leather harness strapped across his shoulder that carried the crew's first-aid kit and his own mechanical repair toolkit.
Just ahead of them, Leon was also ready to leave in his thick black joggers, tarpaulin cloak, and a spare visor that Kain gave to him.
Talia looked at him, nodded, and then led the way into the wasteland.
They started their return journey.