The wise fellows Busemannen an g0lb0r have seen fit to ascend the ranks and learn the secrets of the machine, rejoice in their toils!
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The Kabuki Roundabout was a pretty unique place, as far as Night City went.
A squat round structure with oriental roofing going up multiple floors of shops and kiosks and connecting to the surrounding buildings via high walkways.
There was simply sothing satisfying about the whole arrangent, despite the usual detractions.
A sight I'd almost dare call beautiful, if not for the usual blinding spam of neon signs.
The sheer pretention of those, and the idea they could hide the filth beneath always managed to bring my mood down.
Shaking my head at the constant childish bitterness of my thoughts, I returned to the present and resud my stride, keeping it slow instead of satisfying my growing urge to see just how fast I could go, bystanders be damned.
But no matter how much I wanted to revel in the simple pleasure of superhuman movent, I was cursed with the peculiar ailnt of not being an idiot.
There would be ti to smash into a wall later.
My walk up the roundabout was not a waste of ti either, as my eyes were quickly drawn by the nurous shops dotting its surface.
A quick scan of my Cyberdeck, and an even quicker banish quickhack on all their ad spams, and I had the approximate idea of what they all had on offer.
My earlier talk with Vik was nothing if not thought provoking, and finally I was able to stop worrying about the present and think about the future. For a mont at least.
And the future I wanted was as simple as it could be. Cyberware was my passion, and my path to power.
Not the soft power of money or influence but the power of simply being greater than those who stood against you.
And to reach that power I decided on a few reasonable (to ) initial objectives.
The first was to get my hands on quality ripper equipnt. Dedicated bioscanners, operating chairs, better 3D printers, specialized storage, and a reliable source of dicinal supplies.
Second was far more simple but ironically far more demanding. I needed to expand my living space, preferably while keeping it within 'my' territory but also to the point it could contain both my ho and future business.
It went without question that both ventures would require money, and lots of it.
And while I did not share the rest of the city's obsession with dying a 'right nova death', I knew rcenary work was the simplest solution to my question.
Netrunning was also a consideration, but the dangers of that line of work were ironically far greater than just walking out on the streets and shooting soone, especially since bullets were usually more of a suggestion to than an actual danger.
One was infinitely more likely to be caught and have their brain fried by a defensive corporate AI than they were to et sothing like a war cyborg on the streets, and despite my dislike of the subject, the math was quite simple.
I might be good but I will never be AI good.
The choice was ultimately as easy as it could get.
I'd just need to run the edge until I could set up my clinic, and then I would retire from the violence and focus fully on my true passion.
That a competent edgerunner's reputation would also help advertise my work to my 'like minded individuals' was just a nice little bonus, of course.
Sothing in the back of my head told it would not be that easy, but I didn't expect it to be in the first place.
Before long, I had already marked down a few interesting places to visit on my return trip, and even marked a shop that sold training chips among other things (mostly BD smut because, of fucking course they did)
Having to walk everywhere was a chore I could do without.
But that was for later, first I had to deal with an old woman's pestering.
I walked into the EdgeNet shop, the light jingle of so Japanese tune playing in the background as a few patrons were sprawled out on their netrunning chairs, fully out of it.
"Greetings." The heavily accented voice of the proprietress welcod , drawing my eyes to a short bespectacled woman with black hair tied back into a bun "How can I help you today?"
Instead of answering I activated my Cyberdeck and the net overlapped with reality, revealing the admittedly plain older woman to be my 'friend' as her ICON was visible despite her being only half online at the mont [Magos: Hello Yoko.] I sent.
Her eyes widened slightly and she smiled as she leaned against her counter "Maggy chan! You actually ca!"
Her suddenly happy expression shifted to a more serious one as she looked at over "You really weren't kidding, huh?"
"I gave my word" I shrugged as I leaned against a wall, the shop was quite small after all "And yes, while I wanted to make so more modifications the situation called for a rush job."
"I feel like you just said sothing completely ridiculous so I am just going to pretend made perfect sense and forget about." She nodded to herself.
"Wise." I drawled.
"So serious" She chuckled and then sighed dramatically "You are too big now though, my kuudere fantasy is ruined, ruined I say!"
I just stared at her for a long mont before my drawl returned "Woe."
"Ach" She flinched back "So cruel."
"Dammit, Yoko" I sighed, palming my face.
She grinned, steepled steepled her fingers, and made her glasses emit a childish flash of light "Settle down, Maggy chan, deep down you know you just can't get enough of your great sensei."
"Sensei?" I repeated and rolled my Optics "You are sowhat useful, and that is all the good I can say."
She slumped her shoulders dramatically and pouted "Gah! So rciless! That will teach to help ungrateful kohais..."
God damn it but she was right. I sighed and inclined my head "My apologies."
Her amusent left her as she gave an annoyed look "I was joking you know."
"But you were also right." I said in turn "Without your help I might not have been able to save the most important person in my life. If you ever need help or a favor, do not hesitate to call."
She placed a finger against her chin and tapped her foot for a long mont before nodding "So earnest!" She cheered "I like it."
Keeping my voice in a complete deadpan I droned "The local kitsune nace has been pacified, how felicitous."
"Don't get peppy with now, and it's Yoko-Sama to you!" She wiggled her index finger playfully.
I just stared blankly.
Satisfied (for now) she clapped her hands "Anyway, now that you are here, interested in a new Cyberdeck? A Netrunner chair?"
And there it is.
"I have built all I need." I said simply.
Once more, her happy expression evaporated as she gave a chiding look "You shouldn't say that to just anyone, Magos."
"Don't pretend you haven't already scanned it." I rolled my Optics again "Besides, if you can lure in here as little more than an advertisent" She smirked smugly "Don't bla if I flip the table."
She rose her eyebrows and began tapping her chin rapidly "Interesting... And just what are you offering?"
Having already brainstord so designs for my future business, I forwarded her the specifications of two Cyberdecks.
One ant for maximum safety, effectively a set of high grade training wheels, while the other focused on high performance and heat efficiency while sacrificing a good chunk of the usual streamlining effect.
Both had ergency heatsinks of my own unique design and were a step above their generation of cyberware, naly the second for the first deck and the third for the second.
And despite it they were still not my best, not by a long shot, as those were reserved for the worthy alone.
"These are solid if they work as you say but the prices..." Yoko muttered and looked up to et my eyes "Are you sure you don't want to make it more accessible?"
"I do not plan on mass producing these as so patent" I answered, utterly certain "I am not trying to beco a corpo, but an artisan worthy of the na. All of my work is personalized, and the price includes both perfect installation and integration."
"Ambitious" She noted after a mont "You talk a big ga but how do I know this isn't just so gonk's delusion? How sure are you you aren't just going to waste my ti with this?"
Instead of imdiately answering I just pointed at myself, saying nothing.
She waited for to speak but seeing how I wasn't going to say a thing she turned contemplative and went through the whole conversation, her eyes narrowed in realization as she lowered her voice "You built a full body conversion... by yourself."
"For the most part." I nodded, pinging the surroundings just in case "It allowed , a completely inexperienced combatant, to take down an entire den of Scavengers with only one gun to watch my back."
I leaned in, Optics shining "Now just imagine what I will be able to do with the ti and resources my new form affords ."
Before she could answer, my ping warned of soone approaching and I took a step back, just a mont before the doors of the shop opened up and a blonde woman wearing a red coat and with her mouth replaced by a sleek rebreather entered.
"Hello Yoko." She sounded almost bored.
"Kiwi" The older woman nodded "Here for your order?"
Before she answered, she gave a sideways look, tensed, and I imdiately felt a slight probe on the net.
One that I swatted away with just enough force to sting "Do you try this with everyone you see, or am I just especially pretty?" I deadpanned, earning a light chuckle from the fox.
'Kiwi' did not back down however and rely rose an eyebrow "Not every day I see a military grade borg in my favorite shop. A girl might worry."
"Awwww" Yoko cooed.
Both I and the new arrival groaned, sharing a quick look of pained solidarity.
This only served to amuse the fox nace further.
"Don't say it." Kiwi quickly warned.
"Say what?" Yoko smiled 'perfectly innocent.'
"We all know it, Yoko" I deadpanned and shook my head "And before I can get dragged into your newest attempt to live vicariously through , I will leave you to your business. Call whenever you want to continue our conversation."
"Yes, yes" She waved off, pretending to be annoyed that I was leaving so quickly "Don't be a stranger Maggy-chan!"
The doors shut behind .
The Spider
"Who was that?" Kiwi asked as she lit up a cigarette.
"Oh, just a hopeful little kouhai of mine." Yoko Tsuru, one of the most infamous Netrunners in Night City smiled "You might have even heard of him, goes by Magos."
Kiwi's eyebrows went up to her hair "That was him?"
"Even scarier than his reputation, no?" The Japanese woman smirked.
Kiwi just shook her head and filed that information for later, staring at the retreating figure through the net, and pulling back only when the red robed specter stared back at her in warning.
"So, how are things with your boss?" Yoko asked, a fresh tinge of irritation in her voice.
Kiwi sighed and began talking.
Michael 'Magos' Sobronov
For the second ti in a row, I returned to my apartnt hauling the day's spoils behind . Everything from training chips to food supplies and stupid trinkets I did not need but still felt like buying anyway.
I may have spent most of my imdiate savings today but I wasn't poor by any ans.
Most important of all of my purchases was of course the middle grade driving chip, one I inserted the mont I got into my apartnt after ignoring the curious onlookers.
The night flashed by as I crashed a hundred imaginary cars.
The following day found exploring the floor, talking with so of my 'custors' and so other people who were simply lucky enough to live in the area as I tried, and failed to be subtle in my quest to find out what a normal person should do with their day.
Ultimately I settled with visiting the local gun store, run by one Lily Adams, a far too foulmouthed young woman with bright pink hair, and an obsession with the 'Legends' of Night City.
Hours went by as I made myself at ho in her shooting range.
I tried out most of the weapons my mother kept in storage, and even so of the ones I took from the Scavs, and quickly found out I preferred the shotgun to everything else.
There was just sothing viscerally satisfying abut pointing an ancient double barrel and making things disappear with the twitch of your finger.
Of course, my previous experience with fighting showed that relying on one weapon was a gonk move, and so I also made sure to learn how to shoot better with my Copperhead, and even tried out the Burya that took my arm off.
Damn thing felt like it wanted to do it all over again with how hard it kicked.
Thankfully I was no fleshling, so it only made it twitch.
Five hundred eddies lighter, I left the gun store, and the now mildly disturbed owner, behind .
The rest of the day I spent sipping on so shitty Nicola and listening to that irritant Stanley on the television as he droned on and on about so new scuffle in Pacifica.
Sothing about a fixer fucking up so badly he needed to flee from Night City while the new Vodoo Boys tried their best to murder his fat ass.
Just another day in Night City.
The next day found calling Vik first thing in the morning, and after suffering the self-inflicted results of asking questions I already knew the answer to, I distracted myself with crashing even more cars in the training shard.
A few hours later I got a call from Jackie, and soon enough one of his Valentino friends stopped by to check the loot we gathered and buy it out, after nearly pulling his iron upon seeing , of course.
That RealSkinn might not be such a terrible idea if this crap continued...
I sold everything except the Burya and the chro I personally scavenged and both and the Latino got just under three thousand eurodollars each, sothing that made him unreasonably happy.
A bit confusing since he wasn't actually low class like most rcs of his reputation but whatever, not my problem.
It was the third day since my mother's rescue, and I found myself slowly driving my shitty brown Mahir Supron through the streets of the Watson Industrial Zone, getting many an irritated beep for my lack of suicidal speed.
Naturally, one good staredown was usually enough to dissuade anyone from... pressuring further but the truly enthusiastic ones needed to have a shotgun pointed at their face to desist.
None went further than that, thankfully.
At one point I had driven a bit too far out into the Industrial Zone and saw a group of three gangoons who had replaced the upper portions of their face with a set of five glowing red optics, and wisely decided to turn around before I provoked a bunch of Maelstrors into chasing down for my chro.
The whole gang was little better than Scavs, and that was only because they rely did business with the lowlives instead of scavenging by themselves.
Usually.
Sothing told my chro would have been far too tempting not to at least try.
But just as I (hopefully) left the sights of the chroheads, I received a call on my Internal Agent, once more displaying the familiar eyepatched face of Regina Jones.
[Regina Jones: Magos.]
Eager, wasn't she?
[Magos: Miss Jones, I hope you are well.]
She raised an eyebrow.
[Regina Jones: I could be better.] She said neutrally [You told to give you three days to settle things.]
Already knowing what this is about, I simply nodded.
[Regina Jones: Good, I have a ti-sensitive gig waiting.]
[Magos: What's the job?]
[Regina Jones: Client has a eting set up at 6 PM near the docks, they learned their contact plans on betraying them and want to send a ssage. Your job is to go there and kill everyone waiting for him. Payout is 14k]
Not your usual starter rc's gig, that much I knew.
Was it faith, or a gamble, I wonder?
[Magos: And who am I killing?]
Regina's face twitched slightly, revealing an almost imperceptibly light smirk.
[Regina Jones: Maelstrom.]
Small world.
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Your overlords generously demand all of your powerstones, imdiately.
Failure to follow corporate protocol will be seen as reason for termination and repossession of all corporate-registered chro.
The moste terrible locale of the Patreon is possessed of 16 chapters of Sorcerer's Tale and 12 chapters of Shiny and Chro should you decide to rise above the rabble and eat more than re soup (at patreon / Rastislav156)
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