The outskirts, as long as I avoided the gonks, was the best place to cool down and just relax. Well, cooling down was metaphorical, in this case. This place was burning hot from dawn to dusk, but as long as I lay up near the fuel tank I was okay. AE3 was an endothermic fuel and acted almost as a jury-rigged AC.

I rested at my go-to spot as I watched the sun slowly slink toward the ocean to the west. The sky was a mess of blues, pinks, and even greens above the partly cloudy sky. My handheld played music loyally into my ear as I sat in the sand and just relaxed. Doc’s orders. Well, not to come out here exactly. Nael had suggested I take a day or two and just find myself once more.

With the beautiful sight of night setting across Aythryn City in the background, I became distracted as the interface came into my view once more.

「Name: Shiro Tsukuyomi

Traits: Fox’s Grace, Quick Healing, Insight

Stealth - 6

* Fox’s Paw

Perception - 2

Driving - 7

* 1 Perk Point

Data Pending - Duration Five Days」

Yeah, I attained another entry to my list. Driving and at rank seven. I personally didn’t think I was all that good of a driver, but the interface had rated me higher than it had Stealth. I also had a perk selection pending.

I dunno if I’ll pick one. I felt half dead after the thing with Fox’s Paw, and had several traumas I doubt I’ll ever overcome. Wouldn’t it be worse with driving? Who knows, maybe the ‘learning’ process would require me to crash and die several thousand times. Wouldn’t I then be too traumatized to drive? Was it even worth the Perk?

Well… that's not to say Perks weren’t effective. I still had yet to make a noise when moving. There was no doubting the effectiveness of Fox’s Paw. Just… was it worth it?

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out to see a message from Mira, my best choom. ‘Great! My entire afternoon is clear. Oh, and Pa’ wants to see you too. Come over for lunch? I’ll make cookies! XD We can go do something else after that.’

A smile traced my lips. ‘Sure. Send me where you’re staying.’

‘:D KK. Here!’ The message was followed by a map pin on the south side of the city in the Oldtown district.

It would be quite the drive, but well… it would be good to see a familiar face. Damn, that also meant I’d have to cut through the corpo zones. No way I was heading through East End on a bike. ‘I’ll be there.’ I sent back.

‘Nova!’

My smile remained as I watched the light fade over the city. Maybe life wasn’t so bad after all…

The next morning I slid out onto the streets further towards Downtown and the corpo districts with a mission. I had half a day, and I wanted to prove some of my other skills to the interface with the time.

I parked a bit away wearing my finest clothes, or at least the ones with the least amount of gang colors, to blend in with the surrounding pedestrians. The people in this area were middle class, so there were far fewer gangers, icons, and graffiti. They were the moderate group, the ones that willingly went to work as corpo drones.

This close to the corpo zones I started to see a lot of flashwear jackets and vests that had hologram projectors built into the very cloth. Most depicted simple art designs or had some kind of company name glowing just outside of the fabric. Flashwear was extraordinarily common amongst corporate drones and had long been the style of choice. It was so common it had almost entirely replaced business casual. Only execs wore suits these days.

Those with more physical jobs tended to stick with techwear. Techwear was… well, it was like someone took a military outfit, and then smacked on random buckles, straps, and pockets all over. It was just a bit out of my price range, but I desperately wanted some techwear due to the sheer versatility of the clothing. Most pants had at least six pockets. The amount of things I could do with six pockets...

There were a few people now and then, however, that were literally walking advertisements. Hockers. I wasn’t alone in my distaste for them. They sold their bodies to their corporate masters for just a few more Rayn. At least the audio variants of Hocker attire had long been banned. It's funny, most of the time you couldn’t even see what product the Hocker was advertising due to how it warped around the body. Definitely an exec decision that no one bothered to check the viability of.

Anyway, with an increase in wealth came an increase in valuables. And, as a klepto- ahem, liberator of such valuables, this area was the prime target. Other spots in the city had their own issues, for instance, the actual corpo zones were too heavily guarded. East End was, well, East End. Even the south of Downtown wasn’t too good of an idea considering it was the seat of governmental power and FSA troops were everywhere.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

An argument could be made for Portside, but I preferred the north edge of Downtown. I had better knowledge of the place and could escape more easily if I was caught. Not that I had been caught anytime recently. After I learned all the tips and tricks, and as long as I stuck to my normal comfort zone, then klepping pockets was easy. Almost too easy. I didn't get the same thrill that bigger B&E jobs gave me.

I casually walked around, eyeing the surrounding people as I listened to music through my earbuds. My targets were those that looked well off, but not too well off. Those with Vizors™ made preem targets since the device blocked most of their view. Then, I simply had to check their pockets. Small devices were preem. Things like my handheld radio and even pocket watches could all be sold.

I had long learned the common areas where people stored their stuff and how to spot the slight bulges. Just as long as I didn’t grab a phone and alert the PA. Grabbing phones was a quick way to lose a hand. At least unless I had a Cleaner-Jack, but those were expensive.

I spent two hours klepping items and concealing them on my body. My usual tactic was to get close, walk beside someone, and snatch an object before walking past. I made sure not to bump into anyone, a mistake of lower-level kleptoids. Most aware city dwellers would automatically check their belongings upon being touched. Keyword, aware. It still worked wonders on those in a rush or with the perception of a snail.

I didn’t just stay on one street either. No, that would be dumb. Squires of the Blue Crusade were out and about in their mess of armor and longswords. This close to the corporate zones they actually cared about petty crimes, and I definitely didn’t want to be caught. They had the power of judge, jury, and executioner if need be, and the most common punishment for pickpockets was amputation. I rather liked my hands right where they were.

I returned back to my bike around noon. The density of the crowds had lowered drastically now that people were at work, so there was no point in sticking around. Just as I mounted it, the interface popped up in my view of its own volition.

「Name: Shiro Tsukuyomi

Traits: Fox’s Grace, Quick Healing, Insight

Tracking - 3

Stealth - 6

* Fox’s Paw

Perception - 2

Sleight of Hand - 7

* 1 Perk Point

Driving - 7

* 1 Perk Point

Concealment - 8

* 2 Perk Points

Data Pending - Duration Four Days」

Interesting… it looked like these Perk Points were given out every four levels based on Concealment. I had already suspected, of course, since the Stealth Perks had their unlocks capped by levels of four. Still, it was nice to have confirmation.

I- I still wasn’t sure if I even wanted to use a Perk Point again. At least not for now… The last one had changed me. I found out when I accidentally touched the thermal side of my bike that even my reactions to pain were different now. I didn’t cry or scream, I just accepted it and moved on with a cool detachment. That's not normal. Not without a Pain Editor at least.

I really didn’t want to use another, but that desire to be better and earn more Rayn ate at the back of my mind… I’ll think about it more later. For now, my tentative reply to Perk Points was not yet. Even I knew the draw to power would eventually break down my holdbacks. Power could corrupt even the most pure of people, and I most definitely wasn't pure.

I slid the klepped items into one of my saddlebags and drove off onto the inter-city. The speed limit was much higher here, so I let loose and enjoyed the wind against my flesh as I sped down the highway. I still wasn’t quite good, or comfortable, enough to drive between cars, so I took my time and just enjoyed the ride.

The Corporate Quarter, as the corpo zone was officially called, in Downtown was the home base of many of the major corporations in the city. The Big 7, or at least the ones with a presence in the city, all had their regional offices here.

Even with just a cursory look, I could spot the big bold letters proclaiming which building was which. Sentinel Corp owned a rather large building with the entire middle cut out into a landing bay of sorts. I could see the militaristic fliers taking off and landing constantly. I was too far out to see the exact nature, but they were probably similar to the one that flew over Viceroy Street.

Medtech Solutions was set up in the largest hospital in the entire city. Their red cross symbol sat proudly on the white building as Medevacs took off and landed with their lights flashing. A massive hologram red cross floated above the building as if it wasn’t obvious enough. Unlike other sections of the city, they had full authority to shoot down anyone dumb enough to fly in their airspace, so it was pretty barren around the hospital.

Raijin International owned the largest tower in the entire city. The building looked like a weird mixture of a lightning rod and Ukiyon temple. Electricity arced all around the building as if to show off their self-proclaimed superiority. From this far out I couldn’t tell if it was actual electricity or just holograms. Probably the latter seeing as the former would cost a lot of money. But hey, it was one of the Big 7 corporations. Maybe they did use actual electricity…

Mystech was the only one I couldn’t see, but that wasn’t a surprise considering how they operated. Mystech went the opposite route of the other three and had a massive subterranean complex. It was all over the screamstream a while ago, which is the only reason I knew about it. Otherwise, I tended to avoid Mystech and all its products. Magic was not for me.

The other three, the Agrican Foundation, KairoTech Global, and Shen Kang Keiji also had smaller buildings out and about, but they weren’t as prominent in Aythryn City as the other four. Together they made the Big 7, our corporate masters in this day and age. When the giants came out to play, even the government would decide to stay.

The only thing with more political force than the Big 7 was BosSpace Solar. They existed on an entire other spectrum from every other force, so it wasn’t even a fair comparison. These days no one even tried to pick with them after they nearly vaporized half of the Varyth continent with their Orbital Piledriver.

It wasn’t long before I left Downtown and entered Oldtown, the seat of governmental power for the city. At least, as much power as the government could show off. Still wasn’t a fraction to the Big 7, but then again nothing was. At least the FSA had a standing army. That was already miles above most other countries. Granted, said standing army was nearly constantly fighting off the Dune Walkers, but hey, at least they were there. And the whole Dune Walker thing was partially their fault to begin with, so...

I stopped at a stoplight and checked my map as I worked my way through the city. Mira’s temporary abode, because it was always temporary, was a few blocks to the west of the primary FSA base of Aythryn City. I wasn't too far now.