Westbrook
January 26th
2069
A few hours after her meeting with Rita, Sophie stood in the centre of her hideout, ready to experiment with the new knowledge her Basic Bladed Combat had provided her.
She stood in what seemed to be the most basic stance, her feet shoulder-width apart, her weight balanced evenly between them. Her left foot was slightly forward, her knees bent just enough to allow for a burst of movement. Her right hand gripped the tanto somewhat loosely, allowing it to be spun into a reverse grip if needed, and the blade was angled forward. Her left hand was held a small distance away, to be used as a distraction or deflection.
Sophie breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, steadying herself. Everything was silent. Her mind was focused on the movements that the skill provided her; a basic thrust and slash. When she felt ready, she stepped forward, beginning her first movement.
She thrust the tanto straight ahead. The blade pierced through the air with a satisfying swish. She frowned. “That didn’t feel right.” She reset her stance, corrected her balance, and tried again. This time, she focused on keeping her balance and not overextending. It was better, but she still reached too far. “I feel like I’m overcompensating for the small blade.” She decided to try something different.
Sophie practiced a slash. She raised the blade slightly higher and swung in a wide arc, towards where her opponent's throat would be. She was careful not to overextend herself, instead allowing her arm to reach only the furthest extension possible. “Hmm, the movement of the attack felt better there.” She tried again, this time adding a small step forward. “That’s much better.” She kept going, keen to improve her attacks. The first few felt awkward, but after a dozen poor attempts, she started to find a rhythm.
The slash felt much better, much the end of the movement still felt off. She tried adding a second slash, back in the direction of the first. “Aha! That feels good.” Sophie continued her experiments.
Occasionally, she paused to critique herself, mimicking how her moves had looked and felt. "Too much arm. Not enough body," she muttered. She increased the amount of twist she added to each strike, ensuring that the energy produced by her hips was pushed into every attack.
A few hours later, her efforts were rewarded.
Basic Bladed Combat Proficiency +1
Basic Bladed Combat [2/100]
The feeling of new knowledge appearing in her mind, connecting previously unconnected information, was exhilarating. “Hmm, am I gonna turn into a training maniac?” She paused, thinking for a moment. “Oh well, it doesn’t matter too much. I’ve still got a couple of hours until evening, so let's keep going!”
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Sophie checked her system mission as she followed her target through the streets of Japantown.
New Mission
Hunt a Tyger Claw grunt.
Difficulty: Hard
Rewards: 500 L-Coins, 500 Eurodollars
It seemed that every time she went hunting she would be receiving a relevant mission, which was fantastic news. It would allow her to accumulate funds and resources much easier. However, she actually had to complete the mission, thus she returned her focus to her target for the night. She’d picked someone that looked much more dangerous, mostly because she wanted to prove to Rita that she could handle herself.
Her target was a massive, sumo-looking Tyger she had spotted harassing a handful of stores. She’d started following him until he entered a gambling den tucked behind a fancy restaurant. Sophie was hoping that the man would leave the den drunk, making her ambush significantly more effective. Obviously though, she had to make sure he didn’t meet up with other members of the Tyger Claws.
With her target in the safety of the gambling den, Sophie settled in across the street. She tried to make herself look as similar to the typical homeless people she had seen around Night City, as it would reduce the chance the Tyger would see her as a threat.
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It was over two hours later that her prey finally left the building. As she had hoped, he completely ignored her. At the same time, she received a notification.
Stealth Proficiency +1
Stealth [4/100]
“What the fuck??” The teen murmured. The information she received from the extra level answered her confusion. “So Stealth also has elements of disguise in it? Or is it more about blending in with the surroundings? I guess it doesn’t matter too much.”
She began following the Tyger, making sure to stay some distance away while still keeping an eye on him. At the same time, she put her Investigation skill to work, ensuring none of his gear had changed. Doesn’t look like he’s got a gun, unless it’s in his suit. No knives…So it’s just the massive club? I think I can work with that. Aside from the large Kanabo, she tried to spot any pieces of combat cyberware or any clues that would suggest how he fought.
He was massive, his broad shoulders stretching the seams of his suit jacket. Tattoos snaked up from his hands, disappearing into his sleeves. Looks like a normal brute. All strength, no speed. Unfortunately, that was all she could see considering his clothes covered almost all of his body. If I don’t kill him in a single shot, I’ll just have to avoid getting grabbed. Hopefully that’ll be easy.
With her inspection done, the huntress needed to find a place to ambush her prey. She sped up, quickly overtaking the Tyger. She ducked into an alley a few dozen meters ahead, then peeked her head out to watch him.
Sophie’s hand tightened around the grip of her Nue as she waited for him to pass the alley’s entrance. He was completely unaware of her presence as he walked past. She raised her weapon and lined up her shot. The Nue barked once, the muzzle flash illuminating the alley for a split second. The bullet struck true, embedding itself in the man’s thigh. Again!? I really need to practise my aim! She thought, despairing slightly at her poor gun skills.
The Tyger stumbled with a growl, clutching his leg as blood seeped through his pants. But instead of going down, he turned toward Sophie with surprising speed for his size, drawing the Kanabo from his back with one hand. Shit! Why’s he so fast!?
“You’ve got a death wish, kid!” he roared, his voice echoing off the narrow walls. The sounds of confrontation had clearly scared off all the regular pedestrians, as the area had fallen silent after the initial gunshot.
The young teen’s heart hammered in her chest as she fired again, this time grazing his shoulder. The man lunged forward despite the injury to his leg, swinging the Kanabo with a ferocity that forced Sophie to dive to the side. The weapon smashed into the alley wall, sending chunks of brick and dust raining down.
Rolling to her feet, Sophie reached for her tanto with her free hand. The Tyger Claw charged at her again, his cyber-enhanced strength turning each swing of the Kanabo into a brush with death. She narrowly dodged another blow, this time countering with a reverse grip to slash his side. The blade cut through his jacket but didn’t sink deep enough to draw blood or slow him down.
The flaws in her ambush location clearly revealed themselves at that point. The alley was too tight to give her much room to maneuver, a feat only achievable due to her small size. On the other hand, the man’s brute strength and reach made every movement of his dangerous. Sophie ducked under another wild swing, closing the distance between them and slamming her shoulder into his stomach. The man staggered slightly, giving her just enough time to thrust her tanto toward his ribs.
The blade struck true this time, sliding between his ribs and eliciting a pained grunt. But the Tyger didn’t go down easily. He dropped the Kanabo and grabbed her wrist in a vice grip. Sophie yelped in pain as he twisted her arm, forcing her to let go of the blade.
“You’re dead!” he snarled, yanking her closer. His other hand shot toward her throat, but Sophie twisted her body just enough to avoid the attack, planting her knee into his injured leg. He howled, and the grip on her wrist faltered just enough for her to break free.
Scrambling back, Sophie snatched up her pistol from the ground and aimed. The Tyger Claw bent over and tried to charge at her but she fired twice in quick succession. One bullet struck his chest, the other his neck. He staggered, his hand clutching the wound as blood poured out, before collapsing to the ground, still twitching. Panting, she stumbled over to him, retrieved her tanto from his ribs and slammed it into his eye socket, ending his last struggle.
Exhausted, Sophie stood over the body, her hands trembling as the adrenaline coursed through her. The fight had been far closer than her last encounter. Once again, the only reason she had won was the initial ambush, though it had once again failed to actually take him out. She had underestimated his speed too, along with the sheer resilience of his body and the hidden chrome he obviously possessed. She checked her arm where he had grabbed her and winced; bruises were already forming and there was a sharp pain in her muscles.
After a moment to catch her breath, Sophie knelt and began searching the body. The Kanabo was too heavy to carry and wasn’t her style at all, but she found a large stash of eddies in his jacket, along with a shard. She wasn’t sure what was on it but there might be something valuable.
She retrieved her tanto, wiping the blade clean on the man’s jacket before sheathing it. She was slightly disturbed by the fact she felt no guilt in killing the man. In fact, there was a twisted enjoyment in it, partly brought about by the fact he was clearly a piece of shit. He was a Tyger Claw after all.
She didn’t forget to take a photo of the corpse with her optics. When she was satisfied with the image, she shipped it off to Rita, with a caption: ‘Is this enough proof?’
After receiving a system notification, informing her that the mission was completed, Sophie left the alley and hurried back to her hideout. She needed to recover a bit after the back-to-back hunts.
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Rita was bored. Her shift had ended a while ago and she was lounging around at the front desk of Lizzie’s. That was the case until she received a message from Sophie, the girl she had met early in the day. She opened it, instantly being greeted by the photo of a very dead Tyger Claw. “What the fuck!?”
It wasn’t so much the fact she’d killed one and more the brutality of it. Multiple bullet wounds and a couple of injuries caused by a blade. If that wasn’t enough, it was one of the massive, sumo-inspired Tygers. They were notoriously hard to put down, constantly being pumped full of drugs and often sporting heavy chrome.
She took a moment to calm down before replying to the small killer she had made acquaintance with.
“Yeah kid, that’s enough. Sending your payment now. Oh, and I’m looking forward to seeing more dead Claws. Good luck.” With that, Rita shook her head and wandered off to get a drink. She had a feeling Sophie would be causing her a lot of headaches in the future.