It had been around three months since Sophie began learning netrunning. With the combination of multiple factors, she was able to finish the Amateur Netrunner class in that timeframe.
Amateur Netrunner has reached level 100!
Class: Amateur Netrunner has reached maximum level.
Amateur Netrunner Trait: Enhanced Mind has been unlocked
New Class available!
Trait: Enhanced Mind - All facets of your mind are enhanced, allowing you to process things faster and gain a better memory.
As soon as she got the message, her brain felt like it was set on fire, then frozen, only to continue burning. It was a horrible sensation and the young mercenary was glad she had her Iron Will trait to get through it all. Once the pain faded, it felt as though she was able to see the world in a completely different manner.
The time it took her to make decisions had decreased and when she tried to hack something, it was far faster and smoother than previously. Sophie was sure it would show more advantages in the future.
She had also picked up her next class, Brawler. It was an unarmed focused class and there was one main reason she had chosen it. Vik was an incredibly skilled boxer. After learning from her experience with Sasha that learning from someone can increase how fast a class progresses, she decided to ask Vik for help learning unarmed combat. Sophie figured it might come in handy if she wasn’t able to use her guns for some reason.
Class selected: Brawler
Skills Unlocked: Striking (Basic), Grappling (Basic), Environmental Combat (Basic), Flow
Flow: Lvl.1
Your movements and actions are smoother during combat.
Striking (Basic): Lvl.1
Grants basic knowledge of Striking.
Grappling (Basic): Lvl.1
Grants basic knowledge of Grappling.
Environmental Combat (Basic): Lvl.1
Grants basic knowledge of Environmental Combat.
Flow and Environmental Combat were incredible skills. Admittedly, it would be hard to level up the latter by training with Vik but that just meant she had to invest some time into it during her gigs.
Now, she was being put through her paces by the old boxer. A punch sent her back to the canvas of the boxing ring and she groaned, rubbing her tender nose.
“Come on kid, get those hands up next time.” Vik motioned for her to get up and she begrudgingly did so. Not even 10 seconds later, she was back on the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. “Hmm. You’re definitely not a boxer.” He paused for a moment, “Let me check if I’ve still got those shards.” The man wandered off, leaving Sophie to turn and stare at someone desperately trying not to laugh.
“Not. A. Word.” The younger girl said, staring straight at Sasha, who immediately burst into giggles.
“But it was so funny! You kept standing there and then suddenly, wham! You’re on the floor!”
“Your time will come, Kitten, your time will come.”
“Hey! Don’t call me that! I’ll be forced to come up with a nickname for you!”
“Go ahead, try me. I’ll take anything you can throw at me.” Sophie flashed her a smug smile. Before the older girl could respond, Vik returned, this time carrying a shard.
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“This is the only one I can find. It’s a martial art called PanzerFaust, designed specifically to combat ‘borgs. You probably won’t be able to use it properly, considering you’re not a ‘borg yourself but it might still help. However, you can look at it after. For now, let's see if I can’t help you develop a better style than boxing. Can’t make any promises though.”
“That’s fine Vik. I appreciate you teaching me what you know.”
“Good. Come on, let's see you throw some punches this time.”
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The following day, Sophie and Sasha both arrived at Vik’s clinic. It was time for some upgrades, which the younger girl had been looking forward to.
“Alright Soph, here’s what I’ve got for you.” He waved his hand at the pile of cases, each containing a new piece of chrome. “Firstly, your skeleton. The highest grade Titanium Bones I could get my hands on. They’re extra special because they come with a DNA adjustment. I’ll be taking a few drops of your blood and putting it in them. Once they’re installed, they will grow like normal bones until the height you would naturally reach with your genetics.”
Sophie nodded, pricking her finger with the offered needle and dropping the blood into a vial.
“What else have you got for me?”
“Well, as expected, there was a significant amount of military grade chrome that hit the market after the Unification War ended. You’ll be getting a set of lungs that even the NUSA SpecOps wouldn’t ignore. Same thing with your Lynx Paws. Additionally, your ligaments, tendons and ankles will all be replaced. You’ll be able to jump higher, run faster and endure more stress in your legs.”
“Sounds good doc. Can’t wait to see how good it all feels.” She turned to Sasha, “you staying?”
“I might as well. I’ve still got a heap of netrunning knowledge to cram. I can’t afford to have slacked off when you come begging for more lessons.” She smirked at the younger girl, who rolled her eyes in response.
“Alright Vik, let’s get to it.”
“Sure thing kid.”
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Sophie looked at her new status page as she rested at her apartment. With all the recent improvements, it was the best time to have a look.
Name: Sophie Mortimer
Age: 11
Class: Brawler - Lvl.5
Profession: Engineer - Lvl.20
Traits
Ghost, Thief’s Instinct, Ambidextrous, Recoil Reduction, Structural Intuition, Precision Shooting, Iron Will, Escape Artist, Enhanced Reflexes, Enhanced Mind
Class Skills
Thief’s Hand: Lvl.10, Parkour (Advanced): Lvl.10, Stealth (Advanced): Lvl.10, Thievery (Advanced): Lvl.10, Rapid Reload: Lvl.10, Shooting (Intermediate): Lvl.10, Gun Combat (Intermediate): Lvl.10, Gun Knowledge (Intermediate) Lvl.10, Breach Protocol: Lvl.10, Programming (Basic) Lvl.10, Cyberwarfare (Basic) Lvl.10, Quickhacks (Basic): Lvl.10, Flow: Lvl.2, Striking (Basic): Lvl.2, Grappling (Basic): Lvl.1, Environmental Combat (Basic): Lvl.1
Profession Skills
Problem Solver: Lvl.50, Mechanics (Basic): Lvl.50, Driving (Basic): Lvl.50, Vehicle Combat (Basic): Lvl.50, Designer: Lvl.10, Engineering (Basic): Lvl.10
Cyberware
Chronos Sandevistan: Available (1 short use (5 seconds) per 3 weeks. Further body modifications will increase limit) (God)
Kiroshi Mk.3 Optics (Rare)
Raven’s Claw Cyberarms (Legendary)
Subdermal Armour (Epic)
Militech SpecOps Lungs (Epic)
MoorE Simple Liver (Common)
Titanium Back (Epic)
Titanium Skeleton (Epic)
Reinforced Tendons (Uncommon)
Reinforced Ligaments (Uncommon)
Fortified Ankles (Uncommon)
Soulbound Weapons
Talons (Mythic)
Store: Available
Inventory: 10m x 10m x 10m
M-Coins: 800,000
There were a lot of changes, all of which Sophie was very happy with. The fact her Chronos Sandevistan had once again reduced in cooldown made her incredibly happy. There had been no opportunity to use it since the Barghest incident, something the young girl felt incredibly grateful for.
Her eyes fell on the amount of M-Coins she had. 800,000. I could do quite a bit with that. But I may need them. I’ll keep saving them for now.
She decided to pull out the PanzerFaust shard Vik had given her. She slotted it in, immediately being transported to a small virtual world. In it, a mannequin began to perform the various movements of what Sophie assumed was PanzerFaust. It seemed to revolve very heavily around grappling and manipulating the immense force ‘borgs could produce.
After watching the demonstrations performed by the mannequin, Sophie went looking for Sasha. As expected, the older girl was lazing around in bed. With her new Lynx Paws helping muffle her footsteps, the thief crept up on the netrunner, who remained painfully oblivious to the girl behind her.
With a shout, Sophie leapt at her prey.
“Ah! Sophie! What are you doing?”
The thief didn’t reply. Instead, she began trying out some of the non-lethal movements of PanzerFaust, making sure to include a healthy dose of tickling. Sasha immediately broke into a fit of laughter, unable to handle the rapid assault.
“I told you that your time would come.” The younger girl spoke triumphantly, standing over her defeated friend.
“You…little…shit!” The netrunner spoke between gasps, still trying to get her breath back. Sophie giggled in response.
“Wanna come with me to test out my chrome?” She said, offering Sasha a hand up.
The cat-like girl’s eyes lit up. “Absolutely!
-----------------------
The pair found themselves in an abandoned industrial warehouse in Watson. There were plenty of platforms and things that Sophie could climb.
“Go!” Sasha cheered. The younger girl sped off, her new leg modifications allowing her to reach double her previous maximum speed with ease. Her eyes locked onto a stack of crates and the metal beam above them.
Her new ankles allowed her to skip all of the lower crates, directly taking her to the top of the stack. From there, she was able to leap up and grab the metal beam, quickly pulling herself up. Sophie continued to bounce around the warehouse, far above the ground. Once she felt like enough time had passed, she dropped straight down.
She landed in a crouch, her legs absorbing the impact with ease. The girl ran over to her friend, who was looking at her with shiny eyes.
“You have to teach me how to do that! Do you know if Vik’s got any more of the chrome you got?”
“No idea but I’m sure he’d be able to find it easily enough. Going for the full set of cat abilities?”
“Yeah! It’d also be really cool to join you when you’re running across the rooftops and stuff. Opens up more possibilities for our jobs too.”
“Well, let's go and ask him. I’m supposed to be training with him today anyway.”