I panted as I stopped in front of a building.
Athleticism - 100XP
Athleticism levels up.
Athleticism - 2
As you've reached level 2 in Athleticism, you've gained 1 perk point.
Body - 100XP
I panted as I felt the changes in my body. I felt myself becoming a lot nimbler and flexible. I didn't gain any extra knowledge but I gained a perk point. I instantly opened the perk tree as I sat down on a nearby bench to relieve my fatigue.
Perk Names Perk Descriptions Parkour You know the techniques and necessary knowledge to parkour Ninjutsu You gain knowledge on stealth, espionage, and assassination, allowing you to go undetected Perfect Landing You know how to land perfectly, like a cat Swift Reflexes Your reflexes are enhanced, allowing you to dodge and weave between attacks Acrobat Expert Improve your agility and balance, allowing you to use acrobatic maneuvers
Interesting. While Parkour and Swift Reflexes would be useful, I felt that Ninjutsu was even more powerful.
You've gained the perk, Ninjutsu.
Due to your perk, you've unlocked a new skill under Body, Stealth.
Wow, that's possible? I thought to myself as I continued to rest. I didn't notice my body changed but instead, I got another headache. The knowledge this time had a lot of content. It included knowledge of how to disguise, how to sneak, how to silently assassinate people, how to sabotage various small devices, how to lockpick all traditional locks, how to survey an area, how to fight close-quarters combat without weapons focused on grappling, joint-locks, and incapacitation methods, and how to escape. I felt dizzy with all the knowledge. And as I looked around, I constantly saw myself sneaking around. Or rather, a mirage of how I would sneak around. It was like a habit.
I shook my head, I can train my stealth later. Now, this is what I'm here for. I got up from the bench and walked towards the building across the road. It was a gym. More specifically, a corpo gym. Or at least that's what people in this people call it. It was cheap and had good equipment so many people used it in other cities. Not in Darkhaven though. Most people were either in gangs, their own corpos, or secret organizations. And most of those offered an exclusive gym. The corpo gym I was going to was open to the public and there weren't many people here.
Thankfully, the interior wasn't filled with neon lights. Instead, it had a very interesting mix of futuristic and modern aesthetics. To say it simply, it was white and gray with asymmetrical architecture. I walked in, the cool air of the gym hitting me. The place was a direct contrast to the busy street outside. I walked towards the reception. Behind the reception was a woman with heavy cybernetics modifications on her face. She smiled and nodded at me, acknowledging my presence.
"Welcome to Synthetix Gym. Is this your first time here?" she asked, with a smile.
"Yes," I replied, "just moved to Darkhaven."
"You've chosen the right place to train," she said with a smile, handing me a card that looked like a USB stick. "This Crystal will give you access to all the facilities for free for a month. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask me."
I thanked her and moved on to the back. There were many equipments in the back. From treadmills to weights, they had it all. They also had a boxing ring and some advanced robots. I began with stretches. I remembered that stretches were very important to do before any type of exercise because it increases blood flow. After two minutes of stretching, I looked around the place again. What caught my eye were these white robots. I went up to it. I clearly didn't know how to it on because it didn't open no matter what I did.
How do I turn this on? I thought to myself. Then, I remembered what the receptionist said. Hesitating, I plugged the 'Crystal' into the back of my head. After that, I looked at the robot again.
I noticed an option beside it. I clicked it and more options appeared.
Choose mode:
Beginner
Intermediate
Expert
I chose beginner. Suddenly, it whirled on and launched its fist right at my face. Although I wasn't expecting it, I didn't panic. Due to the muscle memory that Ninjutsu instilled in me, I was able to dodge it with relative ease. It punched again. This time, I was able to see clearly. I dodged to the right and went around it, putting it into a chokehold. The robot whirled off, turning it motionless. I sighed deeply as I released my chokehold. I found a problem during the brief time I was sparring with the robot. I knew nothing about the basics. While I knew how to fight, most of the moves were too advanced.
When I got Blade, I got the basics of swordsfighting. The proper footwork, the most effective stance, and all the basics were all there. But Ninjutsu gave me knowledge on a very wide spectrum. While the basics of various things like sneaking around, disguising, and sabotaging, there were no basics on hand-to-hand combat. It seems like I have to get myself a new skill or a perk. I thought to myself as I restarted the robot. This time, I didn't try to neutralize it immediately. Instead, I tried to copy its stances and tried to copy it. I blocked most of its attacks and didn't try to dodge. As soon as I landed a punch on him, a notification appeared in front of me.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Street Brawler Skill XP gained.
Street Brawler Skill not unlocked.
Street Brawler Skill unlocked.
As I was distracted by the notification, I was hit, right in the face. It hurt. And as always, I didn't like the feeling of getting hurt. Still, I restrained myself as it was just a robot. I continued training. I gained XP every time I hit it.
Street Brawler - 100XP
Street Brawler - 100XP
Street Brawler - 100XP
Street Brawler - 100XP
Street Brawler - 100XP
As always, after getting 1000XP worth, I reached level 2. I quickly told the robot to stop.
Street Brawler - 2
As you've reached level 2 in Street Brawler, you've gained 1 perk point.
As expected, the knowledge quickly came. I gained knowledge on how to fight dirty. Yes, the knowledge I gained wasn't anything like Kung Fu or Krav Manga or Boxing. Instead, it was like its name. Street fighting. In the streets, survival is all that matters. Every move mattered. I learned how to fight using unorthodox techniques, how to the environment as a weapon, how to navigate narrow and crowded places during combat, how to identify additional weak points, how to handle multiple targets at once, and how to escape. It fundamentally changed the way I saw a fight. I felt like anything can be used as a weapon. And I felt like I was ready. Ready to go out into the world. But I knew I wasn't. I've read a lot of web novels in my free time in the past. The protagonist would feel overconfident and go out to fight, only to freeze when seeing blood or something. Of course, some authors skip it and make the protagonist cold-blooded but I felt that it wasn't too realistic. So I wasn't going to do anything risky until I felt ready.
I took a deep breath and looked at the perk.
Perk Names Perk Descriptions Pressure Points Knowledge of striking key areas on the opponent's body to quickly incapacitate them. Useful for disabling enemies efficiently Tech-Do A martial art technique that perfectly combines technology with traditional martial arts Mixed Martial Art Gain knowledge in striking and various techniques from various martial arts disciplines, allowing you to adapt seamlessly to different combat scenarios and maintain stamina during prolonged fights. Danger Sense You are alerted when danger is nearby Chameleon Stance Learn to change stances according to the situation... almost like a chameleon
I almost burst out laughing reading the last perk. Chameleon Stance? What terrible naming sense. I thought to myself as I made a decision. I picked Danger Sense as it was the most obvious and useful perk of the bunch. I felt a little bit safer.
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Nova
It's been seven days since she brought Raven to her apartment. And she has learned a lot about her. Raven was a soft and caring person. Not that it was a bad thing... It was just that those kinds of people get killed rather quickly in Darkhaven. Nova found herself inexplicably connected to her. Just like Hyacinth. She sighed as she thought thinking about those sad matters. She left the apartment and into her Toyok Cruiser. It was a black chrome beauty with a custom armor plate around it. She loved it. But she had to go see a cyberdoc fast.
She drove fast, nothing like the time when she was with Raven. On Tyrant Street, she stopped in front of a shop simply named Skitter. She went in and greeted the receptionist, "Hey, Jane. How is it going? Is Doc Skitter in?"
Jane smiled at her, "Hello, Nova. Yes, Skitter is in. What's the matter?" She asked while looking at her broken arm.
Nova rolled her eyes, "As you can see, my arm's broken. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to see doc."
Jane nodded, "He's in the back." She then yelled, "Nova's here doc. Mind if I let her in?"
"Sure." A muffled voice replied.
She went further into the back of the cramped shop. Skitter was lying down, toying around his left cyber blue hand with a screwdriver. He was apparently looking at something on his HUD. He was a man around his mid-40s wearing a doctor's white coat. He looked like he hadn't combed his hair for years now.
He greeted Nova with his deep voice, "What are you here for? Aside from that arm."
She tacitly nodded, "Things never get past you doc. Just claimed Borg's bounty. Bastard left me a neurovirus before he died."
"Hmm," Skitter thought for a moment before saying, "Get on the chair. Let's take a close look at what he left you."
As Nova lay on the chair, Skitter got on the monitor beside the chair. "You have any of the usual symptoms?"
"All that and more. Even got a few malfunction pop-ups."
"Oh dear. That's dangerous. You should come here as soon as possible if this happens again."
"Don't worry doc. I'm getting countermeasures against it."
He nodded, "That's for the best. Gonna have to put you under."
She still looked unfazed, "Do your thing doc."
Then her vision went black.
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After an unknown amount of time, she woke up. Her arm was fixed and she was no longer getting those annoying green malfunction pop-ups. She nodded at Skitter who was back on his own chair, tinkering with his arm again. "Thanks, doc. You're as good as always."
Skitter waved his hand that was holding the screwdriver, "Don't sweat it."
Nova hesitated for a second before saying, "I'll be getting a new eye soon."
Skitter froze for a second before asking her, "Your eyes are militech. You don't need new eyes."
"You're right. It's for someone else."
"I'm assuming you'll be bringing your own cyber as always?"
"Yes."
"Good then. That'll be 987 credits."
Nova's eyes turned black for a second as she sent him the credits. She gained about 90,000 credits from the bounty. And that was after the 10% tax that the USNA collected on bounties. After saying farewell to Jane and Skitter, she drove home.