“Very well,” I replied, slowly ramping up my haughty tone in my voice to lean a bit more into the scion-of-an-important-family look. “When can I leave this place, then? And where am I, anyway?”
I figured that I might gain some information or, at the very least, some [Deception] experience if I played my cards right here.
“Unfortunately, we will require you to stay with us for at least a day, in order to make sure that there are no adverse effects from the surgery and your injuries are on the right track for healing up properly, Miss Vildea. My sincerest apologies,” the doctor replied with a deep, apologetic bow.
“As for where you are, Miss Vildea, I am afraid I can’t disclose the exact location without explicit authorization, but rest assured that you are safely located on the 78th floor of Delta. Once you are discharged, you will be able to return to your residence post-haste.”
It was honestly extremely embarrassing and awkward to be treated like this, but I tried my best to hide my discomfort as much as I could. Having the dingy-old apartment be called a “residence” especially felt completely out of relation.
It almost felt like a strange sort of roleplay experience in a theme-park of sorts, more so than a real-life encounter with another human being. ‘I guess that’s just how it is for those rich people, huh…? They just live their lives while everyone around them RPs subserviency for them?’
I exaggerated a sigh, making it seem like this whole ordeal was a major inconvenience, though in reality, the prospect of a medical check-up was somewhat comforting after the battering I endured. There was no telling the extent of the damage I had endured from Kenzie’s brutal onslaught.
"Very well, it can't be helped, I suppose," I said, dismissing the situation with a flick of my wrist, though inside, I was curious about the medical findings.
Then, an idea sparked.
Locking eyes with the doctor, I ventured, "I trust arrangements have been made to ensure I won't succumb to boredom during my convalescence here?"
His eager nod encouraged me to push further before he could even detail the room's amenities, which I presumed were the standard, uninspiring fare—and I really did not want to spend even another second watching Cyberpunk television.
"In that case, I'd appreciate access to a selection of info-shards, particularly those covering legal, corporate rights, accounting, and negotiation tactics. Really, anything you can get your hands on would suffice. It seems like an opportune moment to continue my studies, since I’m already confined to this room," I suggested, already diving into my cerebral interface, my eyes emitting the familiar blue glow of cybernetic activity.
Caught off guard by my abrupt pivot to scholarly pursuits, the doctor hesitated only for a moment before recovering.
Recognizing the implied dismissal, he chose not to challenge my request or disturb my feigned preoccupation with research, and promptly excused himself.
I really hoped that manoeuvre worked.
Snagging some of those info-shards would be a game-changer. Sure, it might mean needing to juggle my Skill slots again, but the possibility of diving into [Law] or [Corporate Rights] seemed too good to pass up, especially given the current circumstances.
I had also toyed with the idea of requesting shards on anything regarding Spirits, but had quickly shelved it.
Given that Spirits hadn't popped up in my prior gaming experiences with Neon Dragon’s playthroughs or in this reality, until Miss K's cryptic mention, it seemed like a topic I wasn't meant to dive into just yet. Kenzie's vague hints, courtesy of her sister's forbidden knowledge, had only solidified my decision further.
'Considering her casual drop of info, Kenzie's background must be leagues beyond mine too. No need for discounts for dojo entry in her world… So if even she doesn’t have access to that kind of info, I doubt I could simply request it without raising major flags,' I pondered, the System's interface hovering before me.
A sudden realisation hit me then—I should've inquired if my family had been notified.
Gabriel, in particular, would be on edge if I vanished without a trace for days on-end. Given Sera’s...my track record, his concern would be well-founded.
Deciding to keep everyone in the loop, I quickly shot off a message to the rest of the family, just to ease any potential worries.
[“Just so you know, I'm at an Ether Labs hospital for a quick once-over. The Arkion Dojo doesn't mess around, but I'm all good! Planning on bouncing back home tomorrow, barring any weirdness from the docs.”]
Oliver's response popped up almost instantly.
[“Awesome to hear you're okay! Val and I were clued in about your hospital visit, but it's good to hear it straight from you. Take care, Sera! Love ya!”]
I mentally rolled my eyes.
'Of course, they'd know already...' But it was always better to play it safe, particularly with Valeria in the picture. Crossing her accidentally? Definitely not on my list of to-dos.
As I awaited the doctor's return, curious if my slight performance had nudged him to fetch the info-shards I requested, I let my gaze wander more thoroughly through the room.
It was quite similar to any hospital room I'd ever encountered, but familiarising myself more with the space seemed wise.
My attention was quickly caught by the bedside table, however, the very spot the doctor had sourced that intriguing mirror-cube from, where I noticed an unknown data-shard resting.
"Huh," I voiced softly, curiosity piqued as I reached out, the shard feeling cool and substantial in my grasp.
I inspected it closely, flipping it in my fingers, pondering its purpose. 'This couldn't have been left here by mere chance, not with the meticulous attention to patient care evident here... But then, what is it for…? And who left it for me?'
Despite my scrutiny, the shard bore no visible clues or identifiers whatsoever.
'I remember the cardinal rule against indiscriminately using found USBs, but surely this scenario is different, right? After all, it seems intentionally left for me to find...'
With a mix of caution and curiosity, I tentatively aligned the shard with my neck-slot, contemplating the leap of faith.
Considering any potential side-effects, which could range from data-breaches to daemons, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
‘There’s no way this is a malicious shard, Sera. You’re inside some kind of high-tech hospital owned by Ether Labs. The shit-show that would be kicked off if a scion of some rich family got a daemon from such a facility would be insane,' I rationalised, trying to calm down my anxiously beating heart.
It still wasn’t the smartest thing to slot in a random data-shard, but there were definitely levels of “it’s probably safe” here that I couldn’t simply ignore. Also: I was extremely curious what might be on it.
With a swift motion, I slotted the data-shard into my neck, feeling a brief surge of heat as the in-built ICE of my slot scanned the shard for anything malicious.
Naturally, it was an extremely rudimentary check, considering the low-quality of the slot I had, but feeling the ICE go to work was definitely a big help in calming down my anxiety about this whole operation.
A moment later, the shard cleared as expected and I was greeted by a small slew of files.
The moment I laid eyes on the file names, realisation dawned on me. The initial file was clearly labelled [Contact Details: Selene Kanis], straightforward in its purpose.
Opening it, Miss K's contact information seamlessly integrated into my cerebral interface.
The intrigue deepened with the next file, [To Sera].
Opening it revealed a personal message:
[Sera, following our intense training session, you've been taken to Ether Labs ExoClinic on the 78th floor.
Rest easy knowing you're in capable hands, ready to address any and all damages from today. Your performance was nothing short of remarkable for someone without augmentations, and I'm keen to see your progress in the sessions ahead.
Kenzie has expressed a wish for her contact details to be shared with you, facilitating communication outside of our training environment. This gesture is purely optional and not a prerequisite for your continued participation at the Arkion Dojo. It's merely a step towards fostering a camaraderie between you two, should you choose to take it.
I implore you to take your recovery seriously. The most sophisticated treatments at the ExoClinic will only go so far without your cooperation.
I will not go easy on you, should you have wasted this chance at a full recovery before your next appointment; and I doubt the other students will either.
Aside from that, do consider thinking about the fights you’ve had with Kenzie and try to figure out where you might have gone wrong.
The amount of damage you have sustained would not be sustainable in a real-life scenario, so focus on what defensive or evasive actions you could have taken and how you can improve upon that in the future.
That is all for now. Do let me know if anything comes up or if you have any to report in regards to our agreement, whenever.
I have attached my own contact details in a separate file on this shard.]
The message simply ended abruptly at that and bore the signature "Grandmaster Martial Arts Instructor, Selene Kanis," prompting a mix of surprise and admiration from me.
The revelation of Miss K's title genuinely took me by surprise.
Until now, she had modestly omitted any mention of her rank, making the discovery of her being a Grandmaster rather than a Master, which in itself was already extremely impressive, both awe-inspiring and startling.
In the world of Neon Dragons, titles hadn’t just been honorary; they had signified achievements loaded with tangible perks and were notoriously tough to obtain.
Achieving a Master title was a feat I had yet to witness firsthand; the let's plays I had seen never ventured deep enough into the game's progression for such an accolade, the requirements being dauntingly high for most early to mid-game characters.
Titles spanned a hierarchy of expertise across nine distinct levels: Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Adept, Expert, Master, Grandmaster, Legend, and Transcendent.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Each level not only came with its own set of rigorous challenges and achievement criteria but also unlocked unique rewards and privileges, escalating downright exponentially in value and impact as one ascended the ranks.
Discovering Miss K's rank as a Grandmaster was an absolute bombshell.
In all of Neon Dragons, the only character I'd ever heard of reaching Master or beyond was Kill Joy, who had risen to the ultimate rank of Transcendent through his groundbreaking contributions to netrunning, programming, and hacking.
He was a literal living legend in the game, and aside from him, I hadn't even been aware of any Master-rank NPCs, let alone interacted with one.
And here was Miss K, not just a Master, but a Grandmaster in Martial Arts.
That was not just impressive; it was downright frightening.
‘I’m extremely glad that I didn’t mess up when she cornered me about the System’s weirdness. That could have ended up being far worse than I had initially thought… Losing out on instruction from a Grandmaster would be downright churlish,’ I thought to myself.
Reeling from the revelation that my instructor was a Grandmaster, my brain buzzed with one persistent question that I just couldn't shake off. 'How on earth did Valeria get Gabriel and me into this dojo? Just what is her role at Ether Labs that she can casually wield such insane levels of influence? As her daughter, I'm entirely clueless about her job, which seems off. Shouldn't I have at least a basic idea of what she even does…?’
My musing was interrupted by the sudden opening of my room door, which made me quit out of my interface in surprise.
“Miss Vildea, I have brought the requested info-shards for you,” declared a young man, poised at the doorway, blending expectation with deference in his gaze.
It dawned on me embarrassingly late that he awaited an invite to enter, a social nicety I hadn’t really taken to seriously exist outside of TV dramas.
Attempting to stay in character as a distinguished scion, I magnanimously gestured for him to come in, closely watching his reaction to gauge if I pulled off the demeanour convincingly.
He promptly approached, keeping his eyes close to the ground as he did so, placing a tray with three data-shards on my desk, then executed a deep bow and made a swift exit.
Pausing momentarily at the doorway, he added, “If there is anything else you require, Miss, please do not hesitate to summon me. Your Multi Tool directly connects to me for any needs during your stay.”
And with that, he was already gone, the door whispering shut behind him.
Pondering over the young man's parting words, I scoured the room for anything that might fit the description of a "Multi Tool." The room wasn't exactly brimming with objects, leading my gaze to swiftly land on the sleek, black mirror cube the doctor previously used to show me my reflection.
'This must be the Multi Tool then, right?' I mused, recalling its initial appearance, that had later morphed into the mirror-like object it now was.
I picked up the cube, which I had nonchalantly tossed aside into the blanket folds after inspecting my repaired features.
Delicately exploring it for any sort of interactive feature, I jumped a bit when a connection request suddenly popped up on my interface. With a tentative confirmation, I was introduced to an app-like interface brimming with functionalities the cube offered, far beyond its initial use as a mirror.
'Aha, this must be the way to make requests around here.' I quickly scanned through the myriad of available services.
From gourmet food delivery, a selection of entertainment mediums, scheduled medical examinations, to the more luxurious offers like massage therapy and even psychological counselling—this place had it all.
'Incredible... Had hospitals in my previous life offered even half these amenities, maybe their stupid fucking fees would have seemed slightly more reasonable... Staying occupied for a day here shouldn't be a problem at all. Honestly, I wouldn't mind extending my stay for a bit longer either, given these perks...'
As I sifted through the data-shards delivered by my attendant, a surge of anticipation washed over me. The shards were meticulously marked, aligning almost perfectly with my earlier requests: [Corporate Rights], [General Law], and [Accounting].
The absence of anything on negotiation tactics slightly dampened my spirits, but the bounty before me was more than enough to quell any real disappointment. After all, it's not every day you find such a wealth of knowledge readily available in a hospital setting—places not exactly renowned for doubling as educational hubs.
With an enthusiasm bordering on zeal, I eagerly slotted in the [Corporate Rights] shard, immediately after integrating Kenzie's contact information into my database and clearing out the shard from Miss K.
I was immediately inundated with a deluge of texts, videos, and diagrams, each beckoning with the promise of arcane knowledge yet simultaneously daunting in their complexity.
‘Oh Jesus christ… What the fuck was I thinking?!’ I couldn’t help but lament my poor decisions. ‘Why exactly did I think that corporate rights, of all things, was going to be the thing I should get into studying while I was here for a day? Am I actually insane?’
My previous life had taught me well; any aspect of law was a labyrinthine beast, notoriously difficult to tame.
With the added complexity of a world literally governed by omnipotent corporations, I had inadvertently set myself up for an intellectual Herculean task by choosing corporate rights as my first avenue of attack.
Confronted with a seemingly inscrutable web of legal principles, I dedicated a few moments to filter and sort the deluge of information into a more digestible format, using the filter options available in the shard.
A semblance of order emerged, offering a trio of introductory files as potential springboards into the vast sea of corporate legality.
However, a realisation dawned on me immediately: 'One day is hardly enough to even begin to scratch the surface on this stuff...'
The depth and breadth of just the introductory materials made clear that a thorough understanding of corporate rights would be a long-term commitment, far exceeding my temporary access to these resources.
Feeling somewhat deflated, I swapped the overwhelming legal shard for the [Accounting] one, hoping for a simpler entry point. Switching to [Law] didn’t appeal, of course, as it would likely have just been a repeat of the prior disappointment.
This new shard, however, unfolded into a slightly more navigable flowchart right off the bat, easing some of my apprehension.
'This might be doable...'
Encouraged by the structured layout, I quickly pinpointed where to begin my self-study after a few filters had been applied.
Nestled in the hospital's surprisingly plush bed, I immersed myself in the principles of accounting, deliberately avoiding use of the Rest Function to prevent any premature healing that might prompt unwanted questions; questions that I had no way of answering this deep in Ether Labs’ territory.
With countless hours at my disposal and confined to the clinic, I was determined to unravel the mysteries of [Accounting], beyond mere budgeting basics, while awaiting further medical evaluation and my eventual release…
----------------------------------------
Over the next several hours, I dove into the surprisingly complex world of accounting, far removed from my initial assumption of it being mere budgeting.
Accounting, I discovered, was an intricate tapestry of financial strategy, tax planning, and resource management.
It was like saying jogging was just moving faster than walking; true on the surface but missing the vast depths beneath.
As the final piece of experience clicked into place, unlocking the first level of understanding and the wave of new knowledge flooded in, I couldn't help but mentally extend my sincerest apologies to every accountant I had ever underestimated.
This exploration had revealed a thoroughly rich and nuanced field, one that wove through the fabric of both personal and corporate finance with surprising depth and sophistication, even at the very basic level that I was still sifting through.
As the System’s Notifications appeared, I felt the Knowledge Download barge its way into my brain.
[System]: 600xp gained for [Accounting] Skill.
[System]: [Accounting] has reached Level 1.
The very foundation of this download was the principle of double-entry bookkeeping, a revelation in itself.
This method ensures that for every financial transaction, two entries were made: One debit and one credit.
It was a dance of numbers where every step was mirrored, ensuring the accounting equation remained balanced at all times. This wasn’t merely a method of tracking; it was a system designed to maintain the integrity of financial records, a concept I had clearly vastly underestimated before.
Another, similarly striking concept introduced was cost accounting, an area focusing on calculating the true costs of business operations, products, and processes.
This wasn't about jotting down expenses or tallying up costs on a superficial level as I had been doing so far.
Instead, it delved into analysing these costs and truly understanding where the costs came from to make informed, strategic decisions aimed at improving efficiency and boosting profitability.
Here, accounting transformed from a simple ledger-keeping task to a critical tool for decision-making, offering insights into how resources could be optimised, whether for a business or an individual's financial management; even within the limited confines of a megabuilding such as for myself.
Contrasting sharply with my prior assumptions, accounting revealed itself to be a thoroughly multifaceted discipline, intertwined with strategic planning and operational management.
I quickly realised that I could likely apply these types of cost accounting principles to even my daily expenditures, potentially identifying areas where savings could be made or investments optimised.
‘It will probably take a while to really get a grasp on this, but anything that can save me Creds is an absolutely top-tier investment in my books… It’s like unlocking a permanent discount for every store in a video game, of sorts.’
Moreover, the concept of accrual accounting introduced the notion that financial events were recognized by matching revenues to expenses at the time the transaction occurs, not when payment was made or received.
This perspective could radically change how I viewed my own financial transactions within the megabuilding, enabling a more accurate representation of my financial status over time.
Essentially, instead of waiting to have the Credits on-hand, I could leverage the debt incurred by me providing a service as the Credits themselves, if I went about it the right way. This could help alleviate some of my short-term monetary shortcomings, if I managed to find enough ways to provide value to a large enough subset of people; even if they didn’t necessarily pay up immediately.
Armed with this initial swath of knowledge, I began to see [Accounting] not just as a mere task or a necessary evil of financial management but I started to see it more as a powerful lens through which the world’s financial intricacies could be understood and navigated with more freedom, if I was willing to put in the effort required.
The Skill was not just about numbers; it was about the strategic allocation of all types of resources in a way that maximised their utility and efficiency, I know recognized.
Whether planning my budget within the megabuilding, evaluating the cost-effectiveness of various expenditures, or simply managing day-to-day finances, the basic principles of accounting now finally appeared as invaluable tools in my arsenal going forward.
‘That was a lot…’ I thought as I closed the interface displaying the shard’s information.
I knew that I had barely scratched the surface of what [Accounting] had to offer, not simply because I hadn’t even finished the first document on the shard, but also because the initial level of the knowledge download had broadened my understanding wide enough, that I now realised just how little I actually knew about it.
‘I’ll have to try and smuggle these shards out with me,’ I resolved, looking at the two info-shards still laying on the tray next to my bed. ‘Trying to learn all of this on my own would take months, if not years. At the very least, I should try just walking out with them. I can always feign ignorance, if somebody stops me and asks me about them. Nobody specifically said I couldn’t take them with me once I left, after all.’
As I stashed the two shards securely within the folds of my hospital gown, ensuring they were close at hand should any unforeseen circumstances arise, a subtle rumble of hunger echoed through the quietude of my room, breaking the somewhat eerie silence that had dominated the room over the past hours.
Leveraging the capabilities of the Multi Tool, I decided to indulge in an eclectic mix of dishes, casting a wide net in my culinary choices while simultaneously summoning the room's entertainment system to life.
The sudden immersion in deep, pulsating beats sent a wave of surprise coursing through me; this room's sound system was unparalleled by any I had encountered in my previous life, an unexpected luxury in a hospital setting.
Navigating through the musical offerings took a brief moment, but I eventually settled into the familiar yet always intriguing Cyberpunk-esque melodies that had been my soundtrack since arriving in this new world.
The vibrant rhythms infused me with an invigorating sense of vitality, a much-appreciated boost considering the marathon study session I had ahead. With a significant portion of the day still unfurling before me and my usual temporal shortcut via the Rest Function off the table, I knew I had to make the most of the time available.
My impromptu dinner soon made its way to me, and with nourishment guaranteed to be on its way, I plunged back into the depths of the [Accounting] shard.
This time, however, I approached it with a renewed vigour and a sharper understanding of the concepts it presented. The terms and principles now resonated with a clearer meaning, thanks to the foundational knowledge recently embedded in my mind.
My objective was clear: To absorb as much [Accounting] expertise as possible while this trove of information was still at my fingertips…