DING!
~----~
[Incoming Signal: Unknown source – Humanoid signature detected within 1.4km!]
~----~
Leon's eyes snapped towards the exit hatch!
BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP!
For a few seconds, absolute silence reigned inside the underground facility as Leon's heart hammered against his chest even as sweat beaded around his forehead. He almost expected an eldritch horror to burst its way into the underground facility at any moment, but nothing came.
For every second longer that he stared at the exit hatch, he almost started hyperventilating before he forced himself to calm down.
"Calm the f*ck down," he growled to himself, the urgency of the situation forcing his brain into action as he thought. 'The person or creature is 1.4km away, I still have time'.
He heaved a deep sigh of relief. "Bless you System, you really saved my ass from dying from panic this time. I owe you one".
The lack of proximity was all the courage he needed to move as without hesitation, he charged towards the winding staircase leading to the exit hatch.
The distance between them was not the only reason for his confident actions though. Apart from pursuing a career as an engineer which was his life passion, Leon remembered that he also had another passion though he didn't have the luxury of pursuing two careers at the same time.
If there was something that Leon loved apart from engineering, then it was MMA and the UFC.
The excitement and primal ecstasy of watching two men go at each other without restraints in the octagon, it was something that brought him joy. Heck, it was one of the only few things that gave him joy apart from engineering.
The legendary Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier rivalries, the Khabib vs McGregor rivalries, the Adesanya vs Alex Pereira rivalries, oh man…
It was ironic but just like engineering, the primal ferocity of the octagon made him feel alive.
He never tried going professionally, but Leon knew a thing or two about throwing a punch. Besides, after becoming a Mechanist, or what did the system call it again? He felt stronger than ever before, and it fed his confidence.
Talking of MMA and the UFC though, Leon finally remembered something else, something important after over a day since his awakening.
'Earth… that's the name of my planet. Yet, the system says this is Neo-Tokara or what did it call it again?'
His eyebrows furrowed slightly in worry. 'What happened to Earth?'
His guts told him that even if he asked, the System won't answer this specific question, at least not now.
Forcefully putting this worry at the back of his mind, he focused back on the present- the culprit of the unknown signal.
By now, he already discarded the shattered visor. Due to the neon storms ravaging in the sky and the turbulence it brought on the world, Leon resorted to craft another visor for himself later.
Quickly vaulting the exit hatch door, Leon creeped outside and peeped into the distance. The first thing he noticed was that his eyesight was better too.
'Wow, what really happened to me back there?' He thought, amazed.
With his improved vision, he noticed the unknown source of the system ping immediately. He noticed a distant figure standing over a ruined overpass; he/she had a visor on that reflected faint blue reactor light.
From this distance, the culprit seemed to be dressed in leather rags.
But that was not what Leon focused on, what he focused on was the shape. "A-a human?" He stammered in shock.
He saw the system prompt, but still, seeing it for himself hit harder.
Waking up in that stasis capsule, and going outside to see the vast wasteland all around him, and now realizing that he was not on Earth, Leon would be lying if he said he wasn't unsettled.
He was worried. What if he was the only human still alive? What if he woke up in a world of aliens?
Afterall, that crazy Rabbit was alien enough.
His humor was the only thing distracting him from going insane since.
But this sight, the sight of a human, it alleviated his worries as he felt like a burden finally left his shoulders, but not for long though.
It was early dawn, the sky was pale green from residual ADE discharge and as Leon watched from his shelter, the distant silhouette on the overpass soon vanished into the dust as he/she left.
And that was when the System lit up again and he froze.
DING!
~----~
[Signal source lost.]
[Bio-scan anomaly: Human DNA, 47% match to baseline Homo sapiens.]
~----~
"…"
Leon stared.
Just a moment ago, he literally rejoiced that he finally met a human again, and now this? "What the f*ck!"
"What do you mean by 47% match to baseline Homo sapiens?!"
"Holy freaks…! Was that thing a half-human and half-monster? Christ! It's not even 50% human!" His eyes widened in terror.
"Thank heavens I didn't run towards him like a fool". He heaved a sigh of relief, realizing how lucky he may have just been as sweat beaded around his forehead. "Phew, I dodged a bullet there".
At this moment, his engineer's curiosity was spiking again.
Afterall, a half-human, half-monster? Those were stuffs of science fiction; technology was yet to advance to such a level from the little that he remembered.
He wanted to go, he wanted to see, he wanted to inspect, but nah. This time, his caution overruled his curiosity.
"I'm not about to go die a dog's death".
"Haha," he chuckled humorlessly. "This is not Zee World, and I'm definitely not the main character of some generic horror movie. Heck, who knows? I may even be the easily discarded extra, so nah, I'm gonna skip this one, for now".
His eyes flashed. "Even if I'll go, that has to be later when I'm better prepared and I know better".
He still had questions, and he wanted answers to his questions first.
Afterall, as an engineer, if there was one thing that he believed in, it was the power of facts and knowledge.
"Knowledge is power," he muttered.
He returned inside the underground facility. After the encounter that he just had, he realized certain things about this world and a plan slowly started taking form inside his mind.
He tapped his head rhythmically. "First, I have more questions and this bastard better answers them".
His gaze sharpened.
What he was about to ask, others would call it boring but he was not others. In the end, engineering was still his first and foremost passion.
He may not be reckless enough to ride his curiosity and follow that humanoid, whatever it was, but he was curious enough to clarify other doubts that he had so long it was safe to do so.
Well, maybe it was because of Professor Shut the f*ck Up's mentoring.
That old man was a menace back at the Institute, and somehow, he already grew to learn a few bad traits from his mentor over time.
His name was not exactly Shut the f*ck Up, you know. It was just his nickname; afterall, there was no day that would pass by without that old geezer screaming "Shut the f*ck Up!" at somebody.
Leon sighed; the Professor's style was one of tough love in mentorship.
He took a deep breath. "So, System, about my status, I couldn't help but notice those numbers that you put there. The Attributes and Derived Stats, how do they work?"
He rubbed his palms together in anticipation as soon as he asked the question, and like he hoped, the System did not disappoint him.
The familiar HUD screen appeared again, accompanied by the voice.
This time, Leon didn't flinch. He just grinned.
~----~
[Every being with an activated Neural Core is superhuman and is quantified by a set of six major attributes, each representing a fundamental aspect of ADE utilization. These are universal and all classes have them, but the core stat varies by class.]
[STR represents physical power, raw muscle output, cybernetic torque, and kinetic potential. It governs melee damage, carrying capacity, and kinetic weapon effectiveness. It is the core stat of the Cyber Gladiator Class.]
[AGI represents speed, reflexes, motor precision, and neural response time. It governs movement, evasion, and attack speed.]
[END represents durability of body and core, resilience against overload, shock, and ADE corruption. It governs HP, defense, and energy resistance. It is the core stat of the Gene Augur Class.]
[INT represents processing speed, data capacity, and calculation ability. It governs crafting, hacking, and efficiency of ADE conversion. It is the core stat of the Mechanist Class.]
[WIL represents mental fortitude, resistance to hacking and psionic control. It governs control duration, psychic defense, and focus. It is the core stat of the NetRunner Class.]
[ADE represents the "energy stat". It controls how efficiently a person can generate, absorb, and channel ADE. It governs skill power, cooldowns, and energy output. It is the core stat of the Quantum Shaper Class.]
…
Leon's eyes sparkled as he listened in silence.
…
[The stat values are calculated automatically by the System but visible on status screens. It is through these calculations that Derived Stats/Secondary Attributes are derived. These are the calculation formulas:]
[To derive HP (Health Points): END × 50 + STR × 10 – It represents Physical durability.]
…
"Damn!" Leon's eyes sparkled in wonder and genuine respect. "Whoever created this System deserves respect, and maybe a gift, definitely a gift!"
He didn't just listen though.
Afterall, as an engineer, he had the natural instinct of proving theses.
And so, as he listened, he already started making calculations in his head to confirm. 'With this formula… I have 34 END and 28 STR. 34 × 50 +28 × 10 gives 1980. Damn, it's correct!' His eyes glowed in awe.
The System didn't stop; it continued.
…
[To derive EP (Energy Points): ADE × 40 + INT × 15 – It represents the available Aetheric Data Energy pool.]
[To derive ATK (Attack Power): STR × 4 × Class Modifier – It represents Physical/Machine-based attack power.]
[To derive DEF (Defense): END × 3 – It represents Damage mitigation from physical/cyber attacks.]
[To derive SPD (Speed): AGI × 2 – It represents Movement and reaction time.]
[To derive SYS (System Processing Power): (INT + WIL) × 1.5 – It represents the efficiency of System operations, crafting, and multi-tasking capacity.]
~----~
By this point, there were literal stars in Leon's eyes. "Hehe, c'mon! Tell me more! Tell me more!"
"Tell me about the Class Modifier too!"