As soon as I got dressed, the interface finally popped into my view. I didn’t look at it though, and it faded to the side of my vision in a more translucent state.

Instead, I took a minute and sat down at my desk with a notepad. This was something I’ve become increasingly aware of, but what was the point of the interface and all this power if I don’t have the intelligence to use it right? Strength didn’t only come from the stats.

I leaned back in my seat and thought back, carefully picking across my actions over this last gig. It was the closest I’ve come to being screwed over entirely since I first got the interface. I shudder to think of what Vio Bously could've done to me if his disgusting claws had the opportunity to sink into my head. Of the things he could've made me do.

I grabbed my notebook, flicking to a new page as I took a drink from Crow’s Canteen of Chaos. Then, I started writing down what happened from the beginning of the gig to the end, carefully noting every detail as my mind kicked into overdrive to analyze.

There were tons of issues with how I went about things in the first place, but before I rag on myself, I want to complain about others. To make myself feel better, of course.

For being a team gig, I rarely interacted with Torren and Feras as a team. Everything was after the fact in our little meetings. I had a solid excuse of almost always working by myself, but at the end of the day, it was just that. An excuse. I should’ve done better about teamwork.

Ah, there I go, ragging on myself anyway. So much for that sentiment… anyway, Feras made for a shit leader. Outside of the initial conversation about the gig, he didn’t step up at all. It's like he was barely even there, which is a bit ironic. I'd think a grifter would make a good team leader. Apparently not.

My most recent memory of working in a team - the truck heist with Shinobu - the Fang had led far better and gave clear and concise instructions. Shinobu had spoken with authority and clearly defined what each of our roles would be to better facilitate communication. Each of our roles during that short gig used us most effectively. The bruisers fought and distracted, I stealthed, the runner ran, and the leader led.

That, and the Fang actually had a plan. I think Feras just threw us into the school without much of a plan at all. Not that I think I could’ve done much better, but still. We were in a bit of a free-for-all the entire time. Or maybe free fall would be better.

Our communication was also terrible. We only really spoke about the gig at our meetings. Sure it was in a school setting so it was a bit harder to actively communicate, but we barely even tried. If we were in constant communication about what was happening, we could’ve helped Feras before he got stabbed and I could’ve gotten help before the principal tried to mind-swipe me. And Torren could've gotten help- no wait, he never actually needed help...

That wasn’t even mentioning the cluster fuck at Mortas Motel… Really, that was the point that we had the best teamwork, and Feras wasn’t even fully present. Torren showed up to kick ass, especially with his weird Transmutation Min Maxing. Definitely didn’t see that coming. Kinda feel bad for making fun of the guy. Clearly, he knows what he’s doing when it comes to a fight.

As for the MVP of the gig? Hmm… I’d say Torren, all things considered. He did his job as a Bruiser perfectly, still managed to get outside his role for critical information gathering over Claire, and was a present part of the team. Not to mention he saved our bacon at the Motel.

Feras on the other hand... Feras failed his job as a grifter and got found out, he did manage to get info, but he was hardly part of the team. There are some serious problems if the team leader isn't actively a part of the team. That wasn't even mentioning the Mortas Motel fiasco.

I also failed at my job since I got caught, I did a decent job gathering information considering I was gathering info for several gigs at the same time and managing to run stuff for personal jobs, and I like to think I was a pretty present part of the team. I wasn't perfect, but I wasn't terrible either. Especially considering social interactions are down there near fighting for my preferred roles. I'd rate myself above Feras, but not by much.

Regardless of how effective the team was, I had my own problems. There were plenty to pick from. First and foremost, I should’ve used Aetherial Perception. If I would’ve just flicked it on, I could’ve realized what happened so much sooner. My only excuse was the effects of the plants messing with my head, but that wouldn’t be a problem if I got in the habit of using Aetherial Perception in the first place.

And that was the crux of the issue. I never use Aetherial Perception outside of the warnings from Insight. Mainly since it made me nauseous and uncomfortable for prolonged activations. I need to get in the habit of flicking it on even if just briefly so I don’t keep getting caught out by Aether shit. This was the second time in recent memory that it has screwed me- back when I was glitching and now.

I also should’ve called in the Inquisitor as soon as I realized the principal was with ‘The Circle’ or whatever. I wouldn’t have been in a position to get mind-swiped in the first place if I had done that. There were two reasons I didn’t, and neither one of them were good: complacency and greed.

The greed part was just to finish up Feras’s gig and get some cool toys, toys I still need to test sometime soon. Greed has been a bit of an issue for a while, but I do need to get better about knowing when enough is enough. Especially considering the crime spree I want to go on sometime soon. It's not my primary stumbling block though.

The insidious nature of complacency was. I noticed this back after the firefight at the Mortas Motel, but I’ve grown complacent since I got the system. I’ve allowed what should’ve been the greatest tool to ever grace my fingers to become a crutch I’m leaning heavily on.

Insight hasn’t helped at all. It’s a catch-all for danger that I’ve allowed to overrule my own senses. Like, I should’ve recognized Mortas Motel was shady and gotten out immediately instead of waiting for Insight to warn me. It was stupid. The place was obviously sketchy. Only one way in should've immediately set my streetrat instincts off.

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I also should’ve recognized the plants were suspicious considering Drew’s stash had plant traps in them, but instead not only did I ignore Insight - magically induced apathy or not - but I waited till I was in mortal danger before my brain finally decided to kick in.

The interface granted me easy mode, and I’d fallen back into it. Only, the world didn’t have a difficult slider and I only screwed myself the longer I tried to coast. It was stupid. I could do better.

That was part of the reason I wanted to start doing this kind of after-action report so I could catch the stupidity and improve. A lot of this stuff I pointed out was the second time it’s happened. I don’t want there to be a third.

I finished writing it all down, looked through the list of things I could do better, and then leaned back. I flicked through the pages of writing, carefully nitpicking every detail further. Then, I ripped out the pages and set it on fire. No point in leaving a literal notebook about all my misdeeds lying around.

Finally, I paid attention to the interface window that had been trying to get my attention since I got dressed.

「Tech - 6>7」

「Stealth - 8>9」

「Sleight of Hand - 8>9」

「Perception - 6>7」

「Melee Weapons - 2>3」

「Intimidation - 2>3」

「Firearm - 3>4」

「First Aid - 3>4」

「Evasion - 2>3」

「Deception - 5>7」

「Criminology - 6>7」

The reward panel was bittersweet. I did a terrible job and got rewarded for it. Substantially. It was almost like the interface was trying to enforce my complacency. It made so much sense how the last owner died, especially if he was a combat junky. It only took a single moment in a fight for everything to go wrong.

'Course, the rewards weren’t all for my actions in school. The interface also calculated everything I’ve done in between the start of the gig and now. I still don’t know how I feel about it working like that. What if I get into a gig that lasts a year or longer? Would I just be shit out of luck? No. I'd just have to rely on alternative methods to strengthen myself like other people.

I sighed and pulled up the whole interface.

「Name: Shiro Tsukuyomi

Traits: Fox’s Grace, Quick Healing, Insight

Tracking - 7

* Stalk

Tech - 7

* Eidetic Schematic

Stealth - 9

* Fox’s Paw

* Cold-Blooded

Sleight of Hand - 9

* Hidden Hands

* Ambidextrous

Perception - 7

* Aetherial Perception

Net - 2

Melee Weapons - 3

Intimidation - 3

Firearms - 4

* 1 Skill Point

First Aid - 4

* 1 Skill Point

Evasion - 3

Driving - 7

* Land Vehicles

Deception - 7

* Honest Face

Criminology - 7

* Cues

Concealment - 8

* Lethargic Presence

* Hidden Weapon

Brawling - 1

Accounting - 1

Request Board - (5)」

Two Skill Points for Firearms and First Aid, which was nice. Not that I would use them quite yet. I finally got a chance to work on some other things, and I really don’t want to give it up for two two-day naps. At least not yet.

I slid over to my printer, booting it up for a moment before shutting everything down and flopping back into my chair. I didn’t want to work. Like at all… there were things I needed to do though. I couldn’t just mope around all day.

I glanced around my apartment, spotting several projects I needed to work on. The KSS Fused Panel vest I had been using sat off to the side, several bullets hanging in the lining. I needed to repair it at some point soon, though I might just be better off buying or obtaining a III+ vest considering the number of ARs around here. My clothes were similarly in need of repairs.

Then there was my mask. Nothing too special there, but I wanted to try and integrate more tech into it. For instance, a commlink so I wouldn’t have to block one of my ears if I needed to use it. Or maybe some kind of LED lighting for the eyes to make them look more intimidating if I needed to. An advanced HUD would be cool, but I don't have the coding skills for that. It would also be nice to integrate ballistic-resistant materials into it at some point like a proper helmet.

Finally, there was the katana I still hadn’t repaired yet. Of the three, the last seemed the most appealing so I could finally pay Torren back for that time at the Motel. I grabbed the broken katana taken from the poser gang’s leader and finally looked it over. The katana’s blade had been well and truly shattered by Torren’s hit, leaving about an inch of the blade sticking out of the hilt.

It took me a minute to disassemble the parts that remained, leaving me wondering just how it all worked in the first place. The thing basically consisted of the battery and capacitors for the weapon, which meant the heating element must’ve been in the blade itself.

I flicked up my deck and surfed the net, sliding through dozens of images of thermal blades mostly by Raijin. Unfortunately, no matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find blueprints for how to make one. Raijin probably pulled some net sorcery to wipe the net of their 'proprietary tech'. Which just left me to guess how it all went together.

From what it looked like, most thermal blades went with a layered approach of some sort. The blade itself tended to have two parts. The front half of the blade - the slicey part that turned red hot - sat mostly detached from the thicker back half. There were long sections of air separating the two from each other with only the occasional connection point for stability

Or at least, that’s what I thought at first glance. My levels in Tech weren’t just for nothing though. The connection points were probably where the heating elements of the blades were as they heated the front of the blade.

This was just a guess, but most blades were detached probably thanks to the ease of heating. It was a lot more efficient to heat the detached part of the blade than the entire thing considering only the front half would need to do the cutting. That, and the electronics in the back section would be safer since they wouldn’t be facing as much direct heat.

I could probably make the backside out of steel or something, but the blade was the important bit. If I had to guess, the last blade was a fairly cheap metal to save on costs, which was why it shattered fairly easily. Then the back side of the blade wasn’t necessarily built to reinforce the blade's structure as much as to hold the electronics, so it also broke right away.

I could do better. Though it would take quite a bit of effort to get everything right considering I don’t have a printer to work metal easily. I’d have to buy roughly the right shape and then hand tool it to get it right… or I could go ahead and invest in a plasma torch now. Hmm…

I looked around the synthwood floor of my apartment. A plasma torch probably wouldn't be the best idea. Which brings me back to getting somewhere else set up as a stash house and possibly a workshop. I could start up a bunch of other projects if I had more space. And I wouldn't have to have my illegal printer out in plain view for anyone to see;

For now, though, I sketched out a pretty simple design for a thermal katana focused on ease of repair and structural stability. I decided to go for a bolted approach so it could be broken back down quickly in case I needed to adjust or change something on the blade.

I drew and redrew the schematic several times, trying to nail down not only form and function but also aesthetics. I dunno about Torren, but if I was walking around with a thermal katana, I would want it to be badass and intimidating, not some foam cutout look alike. Eventually, I settled on a design, packed my bag, and then headed for the door. I still had a lot to do today.