Night City Timeline!
{Apartment 0923, Megabuilding H10, Little China, Watson}
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[Knives Lv 0 {100/500} *Reflex attuned]
[The ability to handle sharp blades like an extension of your arm.]
...
'I need 400 more EXP to gain the skill. What does Reflex attuned mean? Is there a bonus depending on my Reflex stat?' The thought stayed in my mind as I debated if I should focus on getting the skill first, but I pushed the thought aside for now as the knife vanished from my hand.
'Yeah, with this inventory magic, I'm definitely going to focus on the {Knives} skill. Sneaking up to someone and pulling a knife out of thin air would be OP, but then again, so would a pistol. A silenced... they do have some weird names for guns here, right?'
I looked at the last option on the screen. The [Map] option gave me a map similar to the game's. I was in Watson, where the same 3D holographic projection showed me somewhere in the building. I swapped the map around, and I was able to move outside of the City; at least, I wasn't restricted to Night City. However, traveling by road would be a mistake as the city is surrounded by wasteland. The map worked as I wanted. I zoomed back in on the building and stared at it for a moment.
'What apartment was V in? Fuck I don't remember. I wonder if I can hack into the building's resident list and find out.' It was an idea for the future; right now, I don't know shit about even using the net in this world, let alone hacking something.
The [Map] allowed me to see the whole of Night City, with plenty of access to different shops marked on the map. I closed the interface again, came back to the view of Night City, and looked at the minimap attached to my HUD.
'A macro map that shows the whole city and a mini-map for close surroundings.' I liked that setup. At least it was another boon in my book. While I can't just run around and kill people like in the game, a little more idea when hostiles are around me is a godsend.
'And that's everything, not much, but I'll take it.' I looked at the red icon on my minimap and at the only unexplored place in my apartment. The weapons stash was hidden behind a door. The lock next to it had a glowing green light, and as I looked at the panel beneath it, the option to open the door was glowing blue. As I clicked it with my index finger, the door slid open.
The door slid from left to right, which felt a little off since the lock was on the right, but there was nothing to be too concerned about that. I looked at the empty spaces in the wall that had indents for the guns to be stored and sighed. I was expecting a single gun to be there, but no worries, the last thing I have to be worried about is not owning a gun. The streets are filled with them; there is a shop called the 2nd Amendment literally in this building.
With nothing to see there, I backed out of the room. I went to close the door, but it closed automatically once I was fully out of the room. I stared at the door for a moment before I moved on; this whole experience had been revitalizing. If only the future world smelled better, I wouldn't have minded this experience as much.
Even still, I felt a little lost, the background music that was still blaring through the apartment.
'What now? Should I go out?' I thought before quickly shooting the idea down. I now had the safety blanket of the game-like powers, but the world of Cyberpunk was not something a normie like me could deal with. With a thought, the knife once again appeared in my hand. I adjusted my stance to make myself more comfortable before I started slashing the air in front of me.
Thankfully, the door was closed, and I held relative privacy; there was no way of knowing, considering the fact that this was a world with a broken net. When I first played the game, the quick hacks and stuff you could do with your eyes and cyberdeck were the things that impressed me the most. It was my most trusted tactic. Ping something, get x-ray vision, and then, with a silenced pistol, I could distract and pick off everyone one by one.
...
[100 {Body} Exp gained]
[100 {Reflex} Exp gained]
[100 {Knives} EXP gained]
...
The notification once again interrupted my thoughts for a moment before I continued back on my routine. While I wasn't perfectly capable of playing the stealth route in my playthrough, sometimes I had to start blasting. With my own life on the line, I'm perfectly capable of being patient.
'There is no point in going outside the apartment without at least some means of making sure I won't be shot? robbed? slashed?'
The monotonous effort did help me calm down. At first, I had been depressed and panicked at having to live in the cyberpunk world. Then with the knowledge that I had a cheat-like system that would make my endorphins flow. Being a gamer, the ability to increase your skills and stats just means that much to me.
...
[100 {Body} Exp gained]
[100 {Reflex} Exp gained]
[100 {Knives} EXP gained]
...
'Calm down; there's no need to rush. However, I need more information, even though the news section of this world is controlled by the corps. At least I'd have some information right.'
I walked over to the couch and looked around. There wasn't any remote lying around. In the game, you had to sit on the couch and look at the TV. Unless there was a pressure sensor on the couch, that didn't make sense, so instead, I focused on the TV itself. I was hoping for an unlock icon like the one with the mirror to pop up, and it worked. The corner of the TV lit up with the power on button, and I pushed it with a mental command.
The TV lit up, with 54News' logo flashing across the screen. I walked back to the open area and went back to the routine of slashing thin air, but this time, I focused on the news.
"...the reason behind the death of the founder of Militech, Antonio Luccessi, who passed away last week still remains unknown. Militech had still remained silent over any indications on who would take over the company as the next CEO, while at the same time, violence between Militech personnel has been at an all-time high. We here at Channel 54News would advise everyone to stay safe and keep their distance from establishments..."
The news went on, but I had already stopped swinging my knife around. He didn't know whether this happened during the game, but for now, he needed more info. One zoomed-in look at the TV revealed that it didn't show any date, and I had to pull up my interface for that.
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[1 Jan 2076]
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"Happy fricking new year..." I muttered as the news program finished and was replaced with another segment.
"...With the Militech leadership in turmoil, Arasaka has made its move. A press conference is scheduled at the end of the quarter to showcase their new technological breakthrough. According to inside sources, they have managed to take one step closer to immortality, whether this is the truth or simply a wave of hogwash to take over the growing influence of Militech in Night City..."
As the program went into conspiracy mode, I watched as they introduced several guests with flashing credentials as they dissected Arasaka's claims. I listened to the pointless dissection even though I knew how far they were from the truth. Another notification of skill EXP gained appeared in front of me, but it quickly went away when I wasn't focused on it. The intuitive nature of the neural implants impressed me as my thoughts went back to the date.
'It's 2076, which means I have at least a full year until the Relic bullshit happens in the original world. That also means that V should either be a nomad, an Arasaka Corpo, or somewhere in Atlanta.' I have always been a cautious person, and I would adhere to those beliefs in this life. But at the same time, with how cruel this world is, not trying and just hiding would not do me any good.
'Any fucking psycho would not think twice before unloading a round into my brain. I need to get stronge-' I froze as a screen appeared in front of me, along with the sudden presence of new knowledge being forced into my mind. I took a step back, going back from my wrong stance, and shifted my weight perfectly between my feet. My legs bent slightly as I then shifted forward.
I twirled the knife in my right hand as I looked down at the comfortable backhand grip I now had instead of holding the knife like a sword. I followed the unfamiliar muscle memory that I now had ingrained into my brain and kept the knife close. With my left hand forming a fist for my right hand with the knife ready to attack.
...
'Whooa!' I thought as I took a step back. My body managed to maintain my balance even when I should have stumbled perfectly. Still, I dropped out of the stance and looked at my right hand instead. This grip looked comfortable, and with a thought, I slashed the knife upward, my legs moving along. With my left hand grabbing the end of the knife, I stabbed down with the combined force of both of my hands.
My new knowledge told me that what I took was the most efficient combo move, as it generated the most force to cut through metal, cybernetic implants, and skin weaves. As I got accustomed to this new knowledge, I looked at the notification screen in front of me.
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[100 {Body} Exp gained]
[100 {Reflex} Exp gained]
[100 {Knives} EXP gained]
[Passive Skill: {Knives} levelled up]
[200 {Reflex} Exp gained]
...
'...Wow, that was a rush. Not only do I have a catalog of moves in my brain to do with a knife. I now also know how corresponding muscle memory goes along with it.' The thought was exciting because it opened up so many options for me. The plans to go out and explore Night City need to be put on hold because one idea that I had already pushed aside has now become viable.
I quickly opened up my messages again and scrolled through the list; I opened the message by the Militech agent and mentally clicked on the link that was written there. My excitement was dimmed as the new message popped onto my interface.
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[No terminal Detected]
[Jack in to a secure Terminal to visit an encrypted link]
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'Huh... so no scrolling porn directly into my eyes.' I thought. My eyes worked like a phone, but it seemed like they had not been given the capabilities of a smartphone. Or something or the other. Still, I knew just what to do. A couple of quick steps took me back to the terminal in the small office space. I looked around for a port and quickly found one on the left side of the screen.
It felt a little weird to pull a wire out of my hand, but I quickly jacked in and navigated to the Net tab next to the messages option. I went back to my messages on my phone and quickly scrolled back to the message. This time, clicking the link worked as though through the transparent panel of the message, and I could see the Terminal flicker.
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[Entering secure Netspace]
[Welcome to Militech Academy]
[Checking Access shard]
[Credentials matched]
...
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AN—I decided to delay exploring Night City as, without any assurances, I don't think anyone would dare venture out into the streets. Nooa would go out, quite possibly at the end of the next chapter, and as you can tell, this story would slowly progress. The timeline I had selected is almost a year and a half before the heist!
I'll be explaining the NET, NETspance, and terms like that soon, so don't worry, as I have to invent some shit to tie some of the things together!