Half a day after finding her new home, Sophie woke up from the first, comfortable sleep she had experienced in Night City. It wasn’t good; the lack of a bed and the constant nightmares saw to that, but the sense of safety was welcome.

Tucked away in her corner, the young teen yawned and rubbed her eyes.

“More nightmares, huh,” she whispered to herself. Mia’s death and her experiences under the ‘care’ of the scavs had left deep scars, adding to the ones she possessed from her time in the military. However, the girl knew that it wouldn’t change anytime soon.

She rummaged around in her bag, laying hands on a large burrito. Her breakfast. This will do, I guess. The taste was nothing special. In fact, it was pretty bad. The filling was just mush and the flavours felt somehow saturated, yet it was food. After surviving on scraps for so long, she’d eat pretty much anything, especially because she needed to put some meat on her bones.

Once she polished off the last of her burrito, her attention turned to what would likely be the most important choice she’d make, at least for the foreseeable future. Her class.

Due to the situation she’d been in with the scavs, picking a class had felt like a terrible idea. Firstly, it would have to be a combat class if she wanted to escape. However, none of her options would allow her to immediately take out over 30, decently equipped adults. The constant guard presence also meant she wouldn’t have been able to train her skills until she could do so. Thus, only after escaping the scav den could she properly choose the class that would fit her.

There were a few that interested her. Thief, for example, seemed all about stealth and infiltration. Sophie assumed that it wouldn’t provide any kind of combat skill, considering the name of it. Gunner was another that she was intrigued by. It seemed to focus entirely on, as the name suggested, guns. However, there was one class in particular that seemed to call to her, especially after she decided to hunt down Night City’s scum to gain power. Huntress.

Huntress, from what Sophie assumed, was a combat/stealth hybrid class. Admittedly, it was a bit of a gamble, considering the name didn’t exactly give any direct clues like the others but something about it just felt right. She wanted to become a hunter. In some ways, even a monster.

System, I’d like to choose the Huntress Class.

Confirm Class Selection: Huntress

Y/N

Mentally pressing yes, Sophie’s mind was instantly flooded with a massive amount of knowledge. At the same time, a number of system messages also appeared. The teen waited a moment for the knowledge to settle in before checking the messages.

Huntress Class Selected

Skills Unlocked: Stealth, Basic ??? Combat, Investigation

“Huh? What’s with the question marks?”

Please select what type of combat skill you would like.

Following those words, a new menu appeared.

* Basic Ranged Combat

* Basic Bow Combat

* Basic Unarmed Combat

* Basic Magic Combat

* Basic Blade Combat

* Basic Gun Combat

* …

There were a lot of choices. Some were incredibly specialised, such as the Basic Rapier Combat while others were significantly more general, like Basic Ranged Combat. However, there was really only one proper choice.

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Basic Gun Combat selected.

Sophie then pulled up each of the skills, along with the corresponding descriptions.

Stealth [0/100]: Grants knowledge of stealth techniques and manoeuvres.

Basic Gun Combat [0/100]: Grants basic knowledge regarding the effective use of guns in combat.

Investigation [0/100]: Grants knowledge of tracking techniques.

Note: Previous gun combat skills being integrated…Significant degradation of skills detected…Skills integrated.

With that message came a small amount of new knowledge, rushing into her mind and settling down with the previous information that came from her new skills.

Basic Gun Combat [0/100] → [5/100]

“Whoa whoa whoa. What just happened?”

The host possesses previous knowledge and experience wielding guns in combat. These skills were integrated into your proficiency rating for the new skill.

“Okay…So is the number next to the skill my proficiency level? And why did my proficiency only go up by 5 points?”

Correct. The number next to the relevant skill is your proficiency level. A skill will reach max proficiency at [100/100]. Some changes will occur to this feature at higher levels. The long absence of combat, lack of practice and generally mediocre skill during and after your time in the military has significantly reduced your proficiency with guns. A 5 point boost is already good.

“Mediocre!?” Sophie squawked in outrage. “I was good! I could hit a bullseye every couple hundred shots!” There was no reply despite her indignation. She sighed in defeat. “Fine. Let me see my status then.”

Name: Sophie ??? (Awaiting Host Choice)

Age: 14

Class: Huntress [0/100]

Passives

Iron Resolve [Max]

Skills

Stealth [0/100], Basic Gun Combat [5/100], Investigation [0/100]

Cyberware

Basic Cyberoptics (Common)

Store: Available

L-Coins: 1500

Eurodollars: 2000

Her eyes caught on two things. Firstly, the Passive ability that was awarded after she escaped the scavs.

Passive: Iron Resolve - Boosts willpower and pain tolerance. External negative mental effects are less likely to affect you.

Mia’s face flashed through her mind, along with the promise she had made. “Is that why you gave me this?” She whispered quietly.

Yes.

“I see.” She focused on the other thing that caught her attention. Her name. Previously, she simply had no ideas for a surname. It felt important, considering it would be the way people identified her. With the constant weight of her promise, to grow stronger and bring death to those that deserved it, there was a simple but fitting name. Morrin. Inspired by the Celtic goddess of death, war and vengeance, the Morrigan.

Name selected: Sophie Morrin

Y/N

The teen accepted. At the same time, there was a faint, almost imperceptible sense that she had truly taken up a mantle of death. However, Sophie was aware that in her current situation, she had no strength, no way of accomplishing her goals. Thus, she had to plan and train. To become strong.

-----------------------

Half an hour after picking her class, Sophie had gotten ready to start working on her plan for the next few weeks, if not months.

“Y’know, I actually kinda like this place,” she said aloud, running her eyes over the maintenance room she had slept in.

It was, in essence, a concrete box. There was only one entrance, which was perfect and it was large. Empty too. “Hmm. Apart from the pipes and electronics on the right hand wall, I’ve got a lot to work with…Still, I wonder if there’s anything similar deeper into the pipe system. Alright. I’ll go exploring everyday to try and map out these pipes. If I find anything better, I can always move over there.”

While that decision was made, there were a few more things that required her attention.

“I can’t actually make many plans considering I don’t know the date. I assume I’ve arrived prior to 2077, considering the Electric Corp facility is still operational but that doesn’t tell me much. Finding the date will be my first order of business once I go out then. What else do I need?” Sophie paused her musings and emptied her bag, full of loot from the scav den.

“I’ve got my Nue, the knife and my Copperhead. According to the system I have around 2000 eddies as well. A couple days worth of food and…not much spare ammo. Okay, I can work with that.” The assault rifle she had taken was, admittedly, not super helpful. It would really only prove useful if she had to deal with someone that had lots of chrome.

The most important resources the teen needed were food, ammo and money. Money hopefully wouldn’t be too hard to get. Anyone she hunted, as long as she could loot them, would hopefully have some. It’d be slow, but it would accumulate over time. Alternatively, she could try and get work with a fixer. The girl wasn’t super keen on that idea, though, at least not to begin with. She’d only contact one of the city’s fixers once she had the ability to protect herself. Although, the Mox might not be a bad idea. I’d trust them a little more than someone like Wakako, considering what they stand for. All depends on what year I’m in right now.

The bigger issues she had were food and ammo. Sophie was well aware that her body, while not injured anymore thanks to the system’s healing item, was weak and malnourished. Food, and lots of it, would go a long way to providing her with the muscle she would need. Even if she’d eventually get cyberware for that.

Ammo was similar. If she didn’t have it, her only combat skill, Basic Gun Combat, would be useless. She wouldn’t be able to train it, nor would she have any combat power. So how do I get my hands on some ammo?

“I can steal or loot it from my targets, I guess. That won’t help me stockpile it considering I’d have to use some to get anything but at least I’ll have something. Buying it is another option. I’m just not sure how much it’d cost. Ugh. So many things I have to do.”

The teen girl looked around her little hideout. “Definitely gotta make this place more secure as well. And homey. First things first though. Skills. Let’s see what kind of knowledge I’ve got.