After an action night with Lix, which didn't make me unlock a sex-related skill surprisingly, we decided to continue to keep in touch but have nothing serious, we both don't want to get attached only to have to attend each other funerals the next day.
Judy even gave 100 Eddies for saving Lix's life, and a new revolver that packed enough damage to price most low-quality subdermal protections, so the night went spectacularly.
But night city things can't always go your way, and things were going too smoothly, so my paranoia was warning me that some time of apocalypse event was about to ruin my whole life.
Before I could continue listening to it though, I arrived at Mama's bar and got hugged by someone at least 2 times my size.
"CHOOM, HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?" A voice breaking with excitement asked me while ruffling my hair.
" Jackie? Where the hell have you been?" I asked him while freeing me from the bear hug.
Honestly, he can be considered one of the best people I have met in two lives, kind, always speaks the truth, tries to keep everyone safe, but most of all, he can kill someone if they hurt you.
" Oh you know, Wakako gave me a job that me go to the Center for a while, took me two weeks to find them and make them go to sleep, but let's not talk about me, I heard Padre made you into a Merc."
" Yeah, I did only two jobs for now, but at least I finally have some chromes on me."
" I can see that, remember not to exaggerate though ok?"
Honestly, I don't know how to feel about the whole Cyberpsycho thing, thanks to Gamer's mind I always stay calm, and since from what I know cyberpsychosis is mainly caused by a shaken psyche, I don't think I will ever go psycho.
" Yeah, will do, how about we go talk over some food though? I just arrived and I am starving." I told him while pointing at the kitchen.
" You know how to cook?"
One quick download later, I gained the skill of cooking with the mentor boost.
" Kind of."
" Good for you man, then let's grab something."
.
.
.
" Do you think you can introduce me to Wakako?" I asked him during our conversation.
" Why? Don't you already have Padre?"
" Yeah, but befriending another Fixer never hurts, am I right?"
" You are, I'll ask her then I will tell you how it goes," Jackie said while taking a bite of the synthetic omelette I had made, even though these eggs aren't natural, they somehow still taste like eggs, the future I guess.
" Hey, how about you give me that boxing lesson you promised me?" I asked while smiling, now ready to have a spar with him, I am not sure if I can beat him, but I still want to test out my Lv.20 Martial Arts skills against an expert Boxer.
He smirked, ate the whole Omelte in a single bite and signed me to head outside, to the spot where he usually trains.
The days started to go by, more gigs, more level-ups, new skills, new implants, I was growing every new job becoming harder than the previous, rewarding me with more XP and Eddies.
Without even realizing it, two months had passed, and like the others, after I came back home from a "session" with Lix, I received a notification that made me realize how close I was to the start of the downfall.
" Cyberpsycho James Norris caused dozens of deaths before being put down by MAX-TAC."
It finally arrived, the start of the Edge Runners, the start of the ascension to power of David Martinez, and the death of his gang.
But am I ready? Honestly, I have 0 chances to kill Smasher, but can I stop them from even getting there? Killing Kiwi, knocking Maine and forcing him to remove some implants, preventing David from going psycho.
I have several ways to help them, and maybe with my current skills, I can help them.
---
Name: Akira
Titles: Rookie ( Until you reach level 10, all your skills will grow 10% faster), Talented Mercenary ( All combat-related skills will grow 20% faster until level 60)
Age: 18 Sex: M
Job: Apprentice Assassin ( Improves stealth by 15%, boosts sneak damage by 10%, while sneaking you receive +5 Per, +5 Dex)
Level: 9 5675/9000 XP
HP: 150/150 Hp Regen: 1.1/min
Ram: 11/11 Ram Regen (1+25%+50%)1.75/ min
SP: 2000/2000 SP regen: (End +50%)30/min
Strength: 15 Increases carrying weight, maximum speed, and physical power
Constitution:12 Increases the hardness, density, and weight of your body
Vitality: 15 Increases health regeneration, and its total.
Endurance: 20 Increases regeneration of stamina, health, and their totals.
Dexterity: 20 Increases ease of movement, flexibility, and reflexes.
Intelligence:20 Increases memory, critical thinking, and information absorption
Charisma:10 Increases likeability, and persuasion, and decreases shop prices.
Perception: 15 Increases comprehension, the five senses, and awareness.
Perks: Gamer's Mind, Slippery, Come Back Kid, Killer Instinct (+25% Sneak Damage using Silenced weapons and melee weapons, lets you know if the hit will or will not kill the enemy), Optimization ( +25% RAM recovery rate)
SP:18 ( 2 Every level)
PP:0 ( 1 every even level)
Skills:
Active: Observe Lv.40, Sprint Lv.30
Combat: Knife Mastery Lv.40, Martial Arts Lv.30, Throwing Lv.20, Shotgun Mastery Lv.20, Pistol Mastery Lv.40, Assult Rifle Mastery Lv.40, Sneaking Lv.50, Sniper Mastery Lv.10,
Mind: Focus Lv.28, Programming Lv.30, Hacking Lv.15, Engeniring Lv.15, Biology Lv.20, Chemistry Lv.20, Surgery Lv.10, First Aid Lv.20, Crafting Lv.20
Charisma: Bartering Lv.15, Acting Lv.30, Intimidation Lv.15, Persuasion Lv.30, Charm Lv.10
Auxiliary: Running Lv.50, Physical Conditioning Lv.20, Balance Lv.50, Card shuffling Lv.10, Parkour Lv.30, Gun Repairing Lv.10, Driving Lv.20, Kissing Lv.10, Cooking Lv.20, Linguistic Lv.20(Spanish, Japanese), Guitarist Lv.10, Singing Lv.15
Demons: Ping, Short Circuit, Reboot Optics, Take Control
Eddies: 12431 €$
Current Cyberware:
Basic Kiroshi Optics (Modified)
Quality: Good
Effects: Zoom ( x2/x4/x6) during aiming or quick hacks, cameras won't see your face, and you can connect your eyes to your quick hacks menu to decide which demon to use.
Arasaka MK.3
Quality: Good
Effects: You can store information from the net in your brain, and you can quick-hack, either with demons or by simply passing the firewall through a direct connection, 50% Ram regen, slows down time by 0.85 during quickhacks.
Syn Lunges ( Biotecnica) Model 2076
Effects: Improves stamina regen by 50%, when your lunges get hit, the damage won't be considered as crit damage.
Subdermal Armor ( Carbon Nitride)
Effects: Reduces blunt damage by 50%, reduces piercing damage by 25%, reduces damage from elements by 10%
---
'One last problem, how do I meet David?'