“I-I don’t know nothing,” Jonas said as he tried to free himself, but the restraints were too strong.

Iris smiled, rubbing some blood off her face as she moved to him with her Ticklers still out. “I think you do. How about this? You tell me what I want to know, and I’ll let you live.”

Jonas tensed up and his throat bobbed. “Really? You prom- No! He’ll ice me anyway.”

Iris rested her Tickler in his leg, easily cutting through his flesh like it was butter. “He won’t be alive for long if you tell me what I want to know.”

“He has a pain editor. Torturing him won’t work.” I said from the side as my nose curled up at the scent of death. It wasn’t pretty. Without the person being alive, the bowels always loosened upon death. Even just being in the room was starting to make me sick, even if it blended in with its surroundings.

“Oh really?” Iris didn’t bother to stop as she punched her Tickler barely into the guy’s neck around the collarbone. I thought nothing would happen, but then the guy started to scream. “The funny thing about Pain Editors is the nerve clusters that make up the bioware become extremely susceptible.” She twisted the Tickler, causing him to go slack in sheer agony. “Sometimes it's hard to find the nerve cluster, but most low-end Medechs install it in the same place.”

“S-stop! I-I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Jonas screamed as tears and snot flooded down his face.

Iris withdrew the blade. “Great! Who do you work for?”

A look of resistance went through his face. It faded just as quickly. “W-we’re with the Flashes. It's a gang on the outskirts of Scath Heights.”

Odd name? Unless maybe they call themself that because they use flashbangs during combat like they had with the Inquisitor. Poor idea considering most actual powerhouses had some way of overcoming a bright flash.

“Where at?”

Iris questioned the guy quite a bit more, but I checked out after a while. Surprisingly, she left Jonas alive. She had made a promise, so I guess that's why? Or maybe she sensed my discomfort with the bloodshed. Anyway, I, with Iris’s permission, snatched the SMGs and the shotgun. More weapons were never a bad idea, and I could just sell them if I decided not to use them.

“Preem work, kid! I even got the location of their HQ base after asking politely. Consider the gig completed. I’ll let ole burny bunch know.” She stuck out her hand, but there were definitely bits of gray matter on it from when she stabbed the shotgun guy.

I pointedly stared at the chunks. “You sure you don’t want backup or anything?” One woman against a gang was… well, she was an Edgerunner.

Iris chuckled. “Against a measly gang? Not a shot! If I do though, I’ll call in some of my group. You don’t seem the combatant type.”

Right. Who was I to offer an Edgerunner help fighting? They were the top dogs, the tip of the pyramid when it came to the gun-for-hire world. “Well, then it's been nice I guess.”

Her eyes flashed and a message popped up in my HUD with her contact information. “I like ya’, kid! Tell you what, if I need an investigator again, I’ll contact you directly. Cut out the pay for pyro pockets.”

I sent my own contact to her. It never hurts to have a choom in a high place, especially considering that high place could probably wipe a gang, albeit a smaller one, by herself. Who knows? I might need that kinda thing one day. What was this called? Networking? Damn, I sound like a corpo now.

“Right, cya kid!” Then she just walked out of the barber shop as if she wasn’t covered in bits of someone else's body.

I glanced around the room with thoughts of klepping something else, but everything here was too low-end to justify carting back. It wasn’t worth the hassle of having to juggle three guns and a box of stuff on a motorcycle. That, and it probably wasn’t worth pissing off a Medech? Assuming he wasn’t pissed about his back room, of course.

The rational part of me said it was probably a bad idea to go back and see the scene of mayhem. Something about seeing torn corpses didn’t sound particularly fun. That, and Larry could return at any moment. That would be one awkward conversation I’d rather avoid. Or at least that's what I was thinking as I left Larry’s Custom Cuts.

「Perception - 3>4」

「Tech - 1>2」

「Deception - 1>2」

「Criminology - 1>3」

「New Requests!」

I zoned out as I stared at the messages. This was the second time I had gotten bulk messages from the interface. Did it save up and only give me skill levels after I did something? Or was it specifically tied to doing a gig and actually using the skills, not just grinding them? I was beginning to think the latter since leveling seemed to come in bursts around the end of a job.

Or was it just that I hadn’t practiced hard enough? I mean, I shot maybe two hundred rounds with my pistol and two hundred more with Mira’s new toy. She had the lane most of the time, so maybe I just needed more practice. Well, it wouldn't hurt to practice anyway even if the number didn't go up.

It could even be related to how I use the skills, and not just using them. I was hoping it was a lack of training, cause otherwise I would have to do stuff to level up my skills at all. Not the end of the world, but it tossed out any ideas of safely leveling up and becoming super powerful.

「Name: Shiro Tsukuyomi

Traits: Fox’s Grace, Quick Healing, Insight

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Tracking - 4

* Stalk

Stealth - 6

* Fox’s Paw

Perception - 4

* 1 Perk Point

Tech - 2

Melee Weapons - 1

Sleight of Hand - 7

* Hidden Hands

Firearm - 1

First Aid - 1

Evasion - 1

Driving - 7

* Land Vehicles

Deception - 2

Criminology - 3

Concealment - 8

* Lethargic Presence

* Hidden Weapon

Brawling - 1

Request Board - 2(expand)」

「Request Board

Eye of Avarice

* Steal an expensive object (>500 BP) undetected

* Crow’s Wheel of Wares

Killer

* Kill 3 people

* 1 Skill Point」

That- that went from zero to a hundred real quick. How did ‘cause mischief’ turn to ‘kill three people’? What was that leap? I- I don’t have to do a request, right? There was no negative for not doing a request, at least a visible one.

I can’t just go kill three people on the request of an interface. That’s completely different from self-defense or ‘it the job’ I usually protect my sanity with. I would be actively hunting people just to feed my own power. Wasn’t that the same thing as the corporations?

Though, as much as I want to, I can’t deny the probability that I’ll kill three people at some point. It was life in the city, especially as a merc. Heck, I could’ve easily done it just a while ago if it hadn’t been for Iris.

I really hated killing people though. The thought of taking life was just… I still occasionally see the slain in my nightmares, even if they deserved it. But really, who was I to say they deserved it? What moral high ground did I, a petty kleptoid, have to snuff out someone’s life? They tried to attack me, so they are automatically evil?

A tremble went through my hands.

Probably best I focus on something else that actually matters.

Like the Eye of Avarice request. It was… weird. First off, it would be incredibly difficult to find something worth five hundred Rayn and yet still be a size at which I can cart it off. Rather, the difficulty would be finding something that I could pull off. It would have to be a device or magic item of sorts. To put into perspective, a low-end assault rifle would be worth between two hundred and three hundred Rayn, so I would either have to steal a weapon from a heavily armed group, or something similar. Suicidal at that point. Maybe I could go for jewelry? But most jewelry these days is pretty cheap...

The reward was also weird. I had not a clue as to what Crow’s Wheel of Wares was. It sounded like a prize wheel just off the name, but could it be something so simple? And an eidolon’s name showed up once more…

Regardless, I would probably have to get a fixer to sell me information about one… or steal it for the fixer. It doesn’t say I need to keep it, just steal it without being noticed. Was I even good enough at Stealth to go unnoticed? Maybe. So far the majority of my perks were leaning toward disappearing from view. Heck, even my eye had Blackout.

I thought about where I might find something valuable as I drove my bike home. It chopped and sputtered as I came to the occasional stops, but otherwise managed to struggle on through. The thing was starting to die on me. I really need to check it out.

A short stop by an electronic store for a holo mask was also in the cards. It was rather uncomfortable being around Iris with my face out on display. It was a quick route to getting shanked in my sleep until I upgraded housing. My poor money, already disappearing.

I stared at the shelf for Perception, my brain feeling tired purely from reading through the exhaustive list of Perks. There were so many, almost too many compared to the other shelves. Everything from a better sense of smell to my eyes auto-marking objects of value.

I was hesitant about the Perks that increase my physical abilities in such a way. Would it only apply to my flesh eye? What if I lose my entire nose or eye, then what would happen? If I had both chrome eyes, would the Perk then become obsolete?

Something to think about when those perks actually became available. For now, my decision was relatively easy.

「Aetherial Perception - Sense Aether-attuned creatures and effects.」

Normally, I wouldn’t take something related to magic. This, however, would prove to be useful considering I would get the benefits without the negatives. Since I’m not an Adept or Magus, I wouldn’t have the weakness of being attacked from the Aether.

My understanding of the magically aligned was rather weak, admittedly. From what I know, Adepts and Magus basically stood in two realms at once, which gave them their power. By doing something in the Aether, they can cause an effect in the ‘real’ world, such as the Adept throwing a sword of ice at me.

It gave them incredible power, yet also exposed them to double the danger of a mundane person. Since they existed in both at once, they were equally vulnerable to both. They would have to protect themselves from attacks of other Aether dwellers and from the attacks of the real world.

I wouldn’t have to worry about attacks from the Aether since I wouldn’t be attuned. It would also give me the added benefit of being able to tell if magic had been cast around me. Prior knowledge regarding the magically aligned would allow better decision-making.

As soon as I picked it up and activated the scroll on the easel, I was back on my bed. “Argh!” My eye felt as if thousands of fire ants were crawling inside of it. I rolled around, rubbing at my face in irritation. It didn’t hurt nearly as bad as having my eye liquefied in my skull, but it was far more itchy.

After a period of time, the pain faded to nothing as I sat there rubbing at it. I guess that answered my question. No, the Perk’s effects did not apply to chrome. My left eye, the Advent Phantom, still felt perfectly normal. I’d have to actually be around Magus or Adept to test out the Perk. Hopefully, it will be a long time before then.

Before I went to bed, I also took a look at my new weapons. The two SMGs were both alright, but they had been through some shit. Their previous owners didn’t take good care of them. One’s barrel was so mucked up it's a surprise it didn’t misfire, and the other's barrel was crooked. It's a surprise they were even used in the first place. Both had their polymer bodies decked out with neon graffiti that literally hurt me to see. Have some respect, you damn gonks.

I would be better off using my pistol than either one. I may as well just sell them to a junker… or maybe I should keep them for parts? Tech had opened a new world of possibilities even if I had yet to explore it.

The shotgun was in much better condition. After a bit of research, I found it was an old Rhymer S-32. It was a single-shot break action, so it would take quite some skill to use it effectively in combat. That, or some good cover. The gun packed a punch though, and would be able to fire through even mid-range ballistic armor point blank.

For now, though, I was quite tired. My questions hadn’t been answered for years, and they likely never would be. With such a thought, I laid down for some much-needed sleep.