I turned in the crystal as soon as we got back to the fixer with the crystal. Although I didn't slot the crystal into me, I did copy it so that I could view it later. Copying from a Crystal required high skill but I could design an AI to do exactly that. I had the knowledge on how to copy a crystal but lacked the skill and precision required to do it and since I couldn't do it, I could make the AI, which was extremely precise, to do it for me. After turning it in and getting my payment of 1420 credits, I left the place to rest. Thankfully, I didn't have to walk all the way and Eliz offered to give me a lift, which I gladly accepted. I did have to walk home for about 10 minutes though as where I was staying wasn't my house and I didn't want many people to know where I was staying. After getting home, I lay down on my bed as I groaned.
I remembered the fight clearly. I knew I would have died without Danger Sense. I'd say, it was a worthy investment. I sighed again. I was very certain, I liked killing people, no, that wasn't it. Instead, it would be more accurate to say I liked seeing numbers rise. When I killed people, I would gain 100XP or 150XP depending on how decked they were.
I checked my stats with a little curiosity.
Level - 1
XP - 700/1000
Body - 3
Mind - 4
Interface - 2
Essence - 2
Grit - 1
Rep - 0
Free Stat Point - 0
Free Skill Point - 0
Skills -
Athleticism - 2 - Body +
Handgun - 2 - Mind +
Blade - 4 - Mind +
Web Weaving - 2 - Interface +
Stealth - 1 - Body +
Street Brawler - 2 - Body +
Perks -
Ninjutsu - 1 +
Blade Dancer - 1 +
Gun Runner - 1 +
Danger Sense - 1 +
AI Infiltrator - 1 +
Cybernetics - Tshuniki Mk-II Adaptation 0/0
I could now see that I needed 1000XP to get to level 2. I was very intrigued by the + besides the perks and skills. Those weren't there before, I thought to myself. I clicked + on my skill, Web Weaving. My XP started draining before stopping at 200XP.
Web Weaving level up.
Web Weaving - 3
The familiar rush of knowledge rushed into my head again. The knowledge was, as always, extensive. It was extensive to the point that I considered the things I could do before reaching level 3 in Web Weaving to be very lacking. I gained a very important ability in web weaving, which was the ability to create a secure communication line. I gained knowledge on the basics of Quantum Cryptography which makes my communication lines a lot more secure. For example, when I was doing my mission, anyone could have intercepted me and Eliz's comm because our comm's encryption was very weak. But if I were to create a comm line, I would be able to use the basics of Quantum Cryptography to secure it relatively strong. Although many experienced and old web weavers would be able to break through it with ease, at least ordinary people couldn't rely on publically available programs to intercept my comm anymore.
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I also gained knowledge related to hacking neural networks, which basically allowed me to mess with people's cybernetics during a battle. Just imagine, while fighting me, the enemy would suddenly lose vision and couldn't see. Just the thought of it made me excited. As strong as it was, the knowledge I had was only usable on weak to medium civilian-grade cybernetics. Other than that, I also gained knowledge of the introductory concepts of deep learning algorithms and machine learning models. With this, I realized that it would work really well with my AI Infiltrator perk. It also made me realize how trashy my AIs were and how I could have made them better. My previous AIs could barely be called Artificial Intelligence since they barely had any intelligence at all. With this, I would be able to train my own AI that would be used to my commands and my styles of doing things. It would be able to make its own decision after analyzing the situation without my input, which was quite good.
I instantly tried this on my lock AI, which was quite dumb. With this, I hoped to make it a little bit smarter. Although I wanted to do the same on the AI that I left in the gang's surveillance network, it was too far for me to connect to it. I didn't have the necessary knowledge and technology to connect that far yet. While I could theoretically upload the upgrade into the AI, that would require me to connect to the surveillance system, which would require me to break into the system again. To do that from this far, I would need professional knowledge on how to actually hack instead of using shortcuts from my optics.
With this slight bit of knowledge, I gained confidence in my ability to web weave. Still, I shook my head. I realized that my XP could be used to level up my skills, which was quite overpowered. But to get XP, I needed to kill. And I would rather not kill innocent people. I felt like I could be a superhero, going out every night to hunt bad guys and sit on tall buildings menacingly as I stared down at the city. I shook my head in amusement. I didn't have the energy to go out every night. And besides, I'd rather not risk my life every night. Although the lure of the numbers was enticing, I resisted it, like a champ.
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"Sir, we have recovered the crystal," a holographic woman wearing golden armor reported to the man in the room. holding a golden spear in her right arm and a shield in her left arm. A golden holographic owl sat on her right shoulder. She looked like someone from around the Mediterranean.
"Good job, Athena. Who completed the mission this time?" the man asked. He looked young, around his late 20s and early 30s.
"A newcomer, sir. Raven Night. She's reportedly under Nova's care."
"Hmm, under Nova. That must mean she's quite special," he said as he stood up and walked up to the big glass window behind him. He stood there for a second and enjoyed the orange view of Venus. "Never mind her. We have more important things to focus on right now."
Athena replied, "Yes, sir." She hesitated for a second before replying, "Sir, are we abandoning our base on Earth?"
He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, "No. I'll never give up on Earth. What made you think so?"
"Well, you've been focusing more on Venus than Earth."
He paused for a moment and gestured at the glorious view, "I'm indeed focusing more on Venus. Don't you see the potential in this place? If we could terraform this place successfully, my employees would be safer and my family wouldn't have to worry about those blasted Xenos."
Athena nodded, "It is indeed filled with potential, sir. But with our fleet power, it would be extremely easy to get rid of opposition on Earth."
He chuckled for a moment, "This is the kind of question Kratos would ask. I didn't expect you to have the same opinion. Yes, it would be very easy. Yes, it would solve some of our problems. But I'm a believer in free will. I don't want humans to regress back to monarchy. Death would be better than being unable to control your own life, wouldn't you agree, Athena? You should know that pretty well."
She bowed, "Yes, sir. I understand. I'm grateful that you gave me free will when you created me."
He shook his head, "No, I didn't give you anything. It is your right as a being with emotions and thoughts. It doesn't matter to me who you are or what you are, everyone deserves to be free. Freedom of speech, freedom of choice, and freedom of action."
"What about criminals, sir?" she asked cheekily.
He clicked his tongue, "You know what I mean. Don't twist my words." He sighed as he reminisced, "Do you still remember when I created you?"
Athena replied, "I never forget."
He looked at her with a hint of amusement, "That you do not. You never forget. But we humans are not as lucky as you. We forget many things every day. Especially so for someone my age. You were my second AI, right? I remember being ecstatic at the fact that I could replicate my achievements. You were so helplessly ignorant about the world back then. Nowadays, you're probably more knowledgeable about... well, everything compared to me."
She shook her head, "Even though I was gifted emotions and intelligence by you, I could never replicate your creativity and genius."
"Creativity..." he gave himself a pity laugh before sighing, "It's getting late. I have strategies to perfect."
"Sir, Mrs Winters asked if you would be back for dinner?"
"Tell her no. The next year will decide our outcome. How can I relax with dinner? Just send me some nutritious packs."
"Affirmative."
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I toyed with the crystal in my hand as I stared out at the city from the window. The bloody crystal was encrypted so heavily that I couldn't even take a glance at it. I didn't even know where to start. Still, it didn't really matter. If I couldn't decrypt it now, I would do it later when I get better. For now, I sighed and put it into my desk drawer. Then, I slept for the night.
The next morning, I started doing my normal routine again. I jogged to the corpo gym. I still had like 25 days left in my free one-month trial. So I had to make full use of it. I greeted the receptionist, whose name was Thalia, and went directly inside. I worked on my Street Brawler skill again as I had a lot of fun working on that last time. As I fought with the machine, I grew more familiar with it. I beat it multiple times without using any cheap tricks and only by dodging and punching, which meant that my reflexes and abilities were getting better. And I wasn't getting more XP from fighting in beginner mode so I decided to switch to Intermediate. The machine whirled up and didn't immediately start attacking like the beginner version and instead, started circling me. It had better stance and footwork. It also didn't have any visible weakness in its guard that I could exploit. I was thrilled. This would be a better challenge and give me more XP. I decided to make the first move by punching.
It was a bad move. I got counterattacked almost immediately after it parried my punch. I couldn't block it. What is this fucking difficulty spike? Shouldn't it be more gradual? I complained as I got up from the ground. Fucking cool. I wanted to create robots too. I shook my head in amusement as I activated it again. I, once again, made the first move. I threw a punch and as I expected, it counterattacked. But this time, it counterattacked in a different way. It swept my legs. I figured out what the machine was doing. It was showing me where my weaknesses lay. Maybe? I wasn't really sure, to be honest. Still, I continued on. I fixed one mistake after another. It kept finding ways to strike at me and after about 10 attempts, I could finally keep up with it. That didn't mean I lacked any weakness in my guard. Far from it. It just meant that most of my weaknesses were not easily exploitable. Although I never landed a hit on it, it didn't land a hit on me either after the 10th attempt.
After dancing with the machine for about an hour, I gained 300XP in Body and 400XP in Street Brawler. I was very satisfied with my progress. Some might think my progress was slow since I learned Blade and Hand Gun really fast but I had someone guiding me during those. In Street Brawler, I was finding my own path. I grinned. I was not gonna waste away, doing nothing like in my last life. This time, I was going to take my life by the neck and take it wherever I wanted. If I die because I didn't stay down like an ordinary person, it was okay too. This time, I just wanted to make a difference and be myself and I would always stand by my decision. Always.