I gulped down an orange-flavored smoothie from Crow’s Canteen of Chaos as I rubbed at my head. Studying for two days straight wasn’t fun in the slightest, especially considering the pure density of the topics the interface put through this ti around. I didn’t have any fun practical stuff, like learning to weld, but what felt like years of textbooks, tests, and questions from the interface about theory.
It seriously sucked, especially considering most of the stuff was just entry-level and it was this bad. By the ti I hit level eight, surely my head would feel like exploding if this kept up. Most of the topics were over robotics too as if my recent… acquisition had influenced it.
My back popped obnoxiously as I sat up and tossed the canteen back into the shadows. I could really use a nap… And yet, I barely took ti to take a nice hot shower before I once again threw myself at the interface. More specifically, into the pavilion.
The paper walls gleaming in the sakura-shaded moonlight were as pleasant as always, and the scent of old, aged paper made feel right at ho in the place. Most of the shelves in the pavilion’s small library were cast in shadow. More accurately, all but one: Stealth.
I stared at the ancient-looking wood that ford the shelf. It’s crazy to think that this shelf once stood alone here in the pavilion. In just a couple of months, since I first entered the place, it had grown substantially, flushing out fully to a small library from the lone bookshelf. It was kind of nice to see, like a physical show of how much I’ve grown. Well, more physical than the interface.
I enjoyed the peaceful ambiance for a few monts before starting my search through the shelf. I mostly knew what I wanted, but still, I checked the level eight Perks just in case sothing caught my eye. Most of them were at least sowhat interesting, or at least sounded interesting as I read a small portion of the nas off the scrolls.
「Spine Chill」
「Cold-Blooded」
「Ninja’s Will」
「Urban Environnt」
「Quiet Breath」
「Distortion」
「Burglar’s Bad Break」
「Rookie Respect II」
「Unseen」
「Snail’s Space」
「Robotic Sight」
「Concealed Strike」
「Slight of Sight」
「Observation」
「Fast and Stealthiest」
「Controlled Contrast」
「Hidden Number」
There were definitely so good picks in there, for instance Spine Chill. Or at least, it would’ve been incredibly good if I didn’t have Insight. Others were interesting, like Unseen, which basically made it so that I could hide better if I had yet to be spotted. Or even sothing like Concealed Strike would be good if I was actually an assassin or sothing of the sort.
I read through the rest of the scrolls just in case before settling on Cold-Blooded. I had already planned on getting it so I could unlock access to Illusive at level twelve, and nothing else really seed to catch my eye. Rather they did, but I was more interested in getting the prerequisite for Illusive.
「Cold-Blooded - Gain control of your body heat.」
I picked up the scroll and headed over to the moonlit easel. My hand, half outstretched, froze right before I could put the scroll on the easel. I took a deep breath, and let the easel do its magic as the scroll seed to be sucked onto it and unraveled all on its own. A beautiful rendition of a lizard revealed itself.
Before I could even blink, I was back on my bed… okay, so not one of the learned types… then what kind of-
Icy cold pain shot through my body, feeling as though every bit of my blood froze all at once and yet continued to pump through my body in shards of ice. Stabbing thrusts of ice-cold blood poured through my body, agonizing everything as my body heat leached away from . In a matter of monts, my core temperature dropped several tis.
S-so cold. I stumbled to my feet and nearly tripped as my frozen limbs refused to move. Every part of my body felt like frostbite had crept in as I tripped across the bathroom's doorway. I crawled into the shower and threw the water to full blast at the highest temperature. The water pounded down on , soaking through my clothes with its blessed warmth as I curled up.
———-
I stared out at the city, basking in the warm sand and enjoying its warmth for the first ti in… a long while. My little hideaway in the Outskirts had proved to be a bountiful escape once more, allowing to settle down and just relax. Why had it been so long since the last ti I was out here?
The warm sand felt extraordinarily good underneath as the evening sun slowly dipped below the horizon. The son’s rays, peaceful and tender in their caress, ward my skin as it fell. The warmth oozed up through my clothes.
Cold-Blooded really did a number on . Ha. Cold-Blooded… What a misleading na. Best I could tell? It had nothing to do with the typical cold-blooded animals like I had assud when I saw the perk.
After recovering in the shower, drenched as I was, I tested the Perk out a couple tis. Simply by activating the Perk, my body heat would leach out of rapidly, which I wouldn’t necessarily call ‘controlled’. Then, by deactivating it, my heat would slowly co back.
It seed practically useless outside of the rare occasion of thermal optics or caras, but it was a requirent for Illusive, which was my end goal for Stealth. For now, it was one of those ones that I was better off leaving always deactivated, like Aetherial Perception. It was such a sha, especially considering how good it seed on paper.
Speaking of Perks, they kept... changing . Every bit by little bit they warped my body. Aetherial Perception was my eyes, Cold-blooded my blood best I could tell, and Eidetic Schematic even mutated my brain! Was I- was I okay with that? Did I even have a choice in the matter?
I could just stop spending Perk Points entirely... yet, it felt so good to get that rush of power after spending one. The little bits of pain and agony that spiked through as I mutated were worth the trouble, I think... and it's not that different than getting chipped. At least this way, I was still with all my parts.
So yes. I was okay with the mutations of the interface as the Perks changed my body. For the most part, they even seed better than chro. Chro's effects were very clear to , but these mutations didn't seem to have any ill effects aside from the initial bouts of pain. Hmm... Still, maybe I should stop getting them for now and just observe. Not only my physical but my ntal as well to see if I could notice any kind of ill side effect.
I settled down against the warm part of my bike’s thermoelectric engine, feeling the warmth saturate my jacket. Far off in the distance, several Hawks crested a dune in the sea, sending sand flying everywhere as they seed to fly across the Outskirts. Thankfully, they were headed in the opposite direction from , so I could safely ignore the bolt brains.
The city’s flashing lights and neon drew my eye, as it did every ti I ca out here. And every ti, it looked like a cesspool of neon. The gabuildings, arcologies, and corpo towers stretching for the sky always fell short, their goal always mockingly in sight. The tal and twisting concrete clashed with the reflective glass, looking like one behemoth amalgamation of a monstrosity.
Flashing adverts and flaring holograms seductively sashayed around, an attempt to entice to spend my money on whatever I desired. Money I was sorely missing thanks to rent. I missed paying in person since I was out learning Tech, but the funds had automatically been withdrawn.
Oppressive shadows, cast by the dying sun, seed to make the city warp even further into a monstrous entity. The darkness and neon wrapping around the buildings seed to shift and shimr as a light mist fell on the city. The shadows cracked in the dune sea, separating the land as Hawks and Nomads continued on their eternal rry-go-round.
Oh, this shattered land of desire…
Speaking of desire, what did I want? Outside of my long-term goals, of course. My short-term goal had been to get a place with a shower, and I could safely check that off… Now what though? What did I, in my heart of hearts, really want? Other than more Rayn, ‘course.
I stared at the city for a good long while, trying to find an answer to that question. One ca, but I shoved it away in distaste. Patiently, I waited. Nothing ca to mind, though there were so minor wants that I could try to figure out while I waited for a true goal.
I wanted… friends. Eww… disgusting… but there was no denying that life had been rather more enjoyable sharing it with others. Mira and, I guess, Feras were about all I would consider ‘friends’… should I join a crew or sothing? Get to know so people? It's not like I’m in the best place considering I rarely got out to et anyone outside of a gig…
I stood and shook the sand off of as I got on my bike. I could text Feras at least, see if he wanted to go… what did normal friends do? Sneak through a sewer? That didn’t sound right… Well, I could still see if he wanted to do sothing. Mira too, while I’m at it.
I drove into the city as I tried to think of what I could do. More friends would be an… interesting goal to try and accomplish. I feel like I can’t exactly force a friendship, so there was no easy way of doing this. Maybe I could-
My bike sputtered and coughed just as I entered the edge of Little Yukoto near Talus Tower. The engine squealed, and the entire gear shifter locked up as my bike locked into neutral. A car blared its horn as I swerved into its way, attempting to co to a stop as my montum carried onward.
Thankfully, my brakes still worked. I shifted over to the side of the road, slamming on the brakes as my pitiful bike ca to a skittered across the road. Just as it fully stopped, the engine coughed one last ti and died. I just sat there for a minute, stunned, as vehicles drove by, splashing water up onto my coat.
I looked around to make sure there was no obvious threat aside from the migrant pedestrians. Nothing imdiately stood out. I crouched down and looked over the old bike. After looking it over, I ran my thumb across a still-warm socket on the side of the main engine. As best I could tell, one of the thermoelectric semiconductors snapped off, which was so damn unlucky. I would have to buy another one and replace it if I wanted it to run again for an extended period.
A small tingle of Insight coursed through my body. Not warning of danger, but warning of potential danger. I looked around the street one more ti, catching the glint of eyes in the edges of the shadowed alleyways. They sat just far back enough to hide themselves from view, and yet close enough to act if need be.
For a mont, my heart stilled as my mind jumped to the worst-case scenario. They were hunters finally catching up with for that twenty mil bounty. A Sentinel AT passed by my parking spot, its headlamps briefly illuminating the dark alleyway. The sared faces of teenagers, all wielding so kind of weapon, were illuminated for a brief mont.
Probably just wannabe hangers then. Or maybe even the lowest rungs of a gang? It didn’t matter. As long as I kept out of the alleys and their direct reach, they should leave alone. Most alley lurkers were predators of opportunity more than anything.
Just in case, I checked my weapons. I only had the electro-bolas and my Sidewinder on at the mont, which wasn't ideal. At the very least, my clothing was very protective, and I had on the vest. If I got shot, I might survive to get away.
Okay, first things first, I need tools. And a replacent semiconductor. Should be easy enough. I keyed in the closest chanic shop into the Mapp ™ and started following its directions as I headed sowhere closer to Talus Tower.
I turned down several streets, feeling the occasional tingle of Insight as I passed by the dozens of lurkers settled around this area.
As I drew closer to the shop, a flash of silver drew my eyes to a silver figure standing in the middle of the sidewalk. A familiar silver figure. He stood in his custom-made armor, the eye on his chest seeming to look around with fervent glee as it sought out any kind of mystery. The sleekly armored figure stood crouched over a chanical creation of so kind, kicking it over and over as if that would fix whatever problem he faced.
Imdiately, I made a break for it. Maybe he hadn’t-
“Shquire! What a pleasant surprise!” The cold voice of Ligh Strumgard called out, causing an icy pang of primal fear through before I could even get in three steps.
Fuck my luck.
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