I walk into a narrow hallway, okay now to the elevator, its nice that the elevator is next to our apartment. As I walk into the elevator it creaks, oh please don’t fall, please.
As I think this, I press the L floor. I grip the elevator handles on the walls a little bit harder as it wines all the way to the ground floor. Fuck that elevator should be dead by now with how it wines, why hasn’t anybody tried fixing it?
As the elevator door opens I rush out with hurried steps, id rather not stay in an elevator that’s broken, even if I'm already on the ground floor.
Okay lets go on a walk, just a walk to see how everything looks and maybe a stop to see if I can get this weird optic thing taken care of. I know david said I had to go to a ripper so I can just ask around and get it done… hopefully.
As I walk out of the complex I start walking down the street passing the old guys playing chess still with no pieces.
As I look around I see all over the streets people are walking everywhere from store to building to building and from stall to stall. How is this just down the street? Its like an entirely different place. As I walk down the street looking around I see that almost everyone has at least a little bit of chrome, from arms to legs to even a face I mean it had skin but there were lines on her face that skin should not have.
No one really scared me but I made sure to be away from people with a lot of chrome, they looked fidgety or were just staring at nothing with unfocused eyes, they didn’t look stable or even all the way there so I kept my distance. As I walk down the street I see a little stall that I think is selling cookies as I walk to the stall I see a little old Mexican lady behind the stalls with a smile, pretty much the only smile I’ve seen since I’ve gotten here. I walk right up to the stall and when she looks at me, she just frowns and puts her hand underneath the stall
"I paid my fee for the month so why is some chola coming here” whoa all I did was walk up!! “ahh hey you have the wrong idea miss!!” I pull my hands up as I say this, if it worked in the movies it’ll work for me!
"oh yeah? Tell me how” why is your hand still in the stall?! “I don’t even know what your talking about” I still have my hands up as I say this but I start to put them down as she lightens her facial expressions to a smile again… but her hand, its still underneath the stall!
“oh i'm sorry mija I just had some problems with the local gangs, what can I help you with?” what? Why are you eyeing my… I have a bunch of panther logos on me and the panthers is a gang. fuck.
“I'm sorry, I had no other clothing but this, to wear” “ah so that’s why, I thought you were just some chola going to try and run an old lady away from her business. So what would you like mija?” “actually I would like it if you could tell me where a ripper is”
Why are you looking at me as if I'm stupid!? What's so stupid about asking directions!? No don’t give me a pity look either!! what!!!
“oh mija... look if you go down that road 15 blocks to Glass street and look for a neon sign that says ‘Oscars guns and ammo’ Oscar is a ripper” “oh okay, thanks” I give a small wave even if I'm a just a tiny bit annoyed at the pitying look she gave me. As I walk to the ripper, I keep looking around, the entire point of me walking was to see what its like here, and its pretty nice, only if it wasn’t cloudy, I wonder how it would like, when there’s bright sun light. As I was walking I hear a notification.
100 XP BODY
Nice. I mean sure I'm walking but does that really count? I guess it counts as exercise. I reach the sign that says ‘Oscars guns and ammo’ I still cant believe the person who will help fix my eyes is a person who sells guns but its not like their doctors so ill be fine… right? I guess I’ll see.
As I walk into the building underneath the neon sign I see an empty room, but there’s a window at the end of the room with bars on the bottom of the glass with a drawer handle beneath that, and a very big man who is behind the window with even bigger guns behind him on the wall, and a door on the left side of the room. “hello? I'm here to see a ripper” I look at the big man behind the glass as he steps away and a second later he opens the door that’s on my left and nods his head to the inside of the room. I guess he wants me to follow him.
I walk through the door walking behind the huge man and into a hallway after a few seconds of walking we reach a door, at the end of the hallway. Okay this is giving me some serial killer wacko shit vibes, maybe I shouldn’t do this? He opens the door to a sterile white room with a hospital bed that has a circle at the end and what I think are tools on a metal desk. “sit” okay… I guess I sit. As I sit on the bed he pulls a stool and sits on it facing me “what do you need?” whoa this guy is scary even when he isn't trying to be.
“uhm I have these little icons in my vision and when I try to do anything with it it keeps moving, my brother said I needed to get out of port mode, whatever that is” as I ramble this, he raises an eyebrow slightly “okay. Lay down face into the bed” why face into the bed? Okay breathe lucy he wouldn’t kill you for no reason… right? As I lay into the bed face first into the circle thing at the end of the bed he stands up and goes to the table full of tools and in the corner of my eyes past the annoying icons, I see him picking up a… flathead? Something like it, but sleeker.
As he walks up to me I start to second guess if I should be here but its to late as he walks up to the bed and does something with my neck and a few seconds later my vision of icons disappears and the big man walks back to his stool and sits down facing the bed tossing the flathead thing, onto the table “sit up” okay I guess its done, as I sit up I rub my neck and it feels as if nothing happened. “look up, down, top right, bottom left, two circles clockwise and two circles counter clockwise”
The fuck? Okay… I jump a little as all of a sudden tons of apps flash before my eyes slowly turning into a single app in the top right of my peripheral vision and 5 apps come out of it going below the one app at the top right of my vision.
“you didn’t bring your old optics so I reset it fully” its so nice… I'm almost crying, ‘almost’ being the keyword. Feels so nice to not have. constant. Fucking. Logos. Moving in my vision.
As I look around, I just appreciate the feeling of not having the apps move as I look around. “okay, it will be 30 eddies” oh… shit I don’t have cash… wait what are eddies? Money? “sorry I have amnesia, how do I pay you?” as he raises an eyebrow I just shrug. I don’t know how to pay, so what. “go to the last app in your optics” as I enter the last app in my vision at the bottom of all the apps I see something I didn’t think would open.
______________________
BODY LEVEL: 1
INTELLIGENCE: 1
REFLEX: 1
CRUEL: 0
_____________
SKILL POINTS:3
*skill*
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
------------
*none*
______________
Uh I don’t think this is how I pay… ill just leave that for future lucy. As I back out of the app after a second of figuring out how to. I open the app above this one, I figure out how to pay him after asking how, and I send him the ‘eddies’ that's a nice name for money.
When I check how much eddies I have after paying him I saw I now have 238 eddies, I… think that’s good? As I get up I touch the back of my neck to see what he did and I occasionally pick at the holes in my neck. I swear its like 4 thinner usb’s.
I follow him out of the room and back out to the hallway, I ask “how much would it be to get a gun, or a knife?” ever since I got here, I saw that everyone, Ive seen has had a gun. Some people on the streets had it tucked into their pants with the handle openly out of their shirt, as if to tell others he has a gun, And then the security guard… yeah I want some protection. “go to the front” he doesn't even look at me, man of few words I guess, I roll my eyes at the joke.
I walk out of the door I first took to get in the hallway and I'm back out inside the empty room with a glass window and the man sitting down behind the glass “what gun do you prefer?” I don’t know jack shit about guns, so something easy “do you have anything, for beginners?” oh my god I want to crawl into a hole and die why is he looking at me like that! so what if I don’t know guns!! “Alright” he spins the stool to face the wall of guns and pulls something out of his pocket and presses onto a button. Suddenly the whole wall spins and after a few seconds of dozens of guns spinning he stops and takes a black pistol off the wall and sets it down on the counter behind the window “its a Valk 9” then he bends down underneath the counter and pulls out a knife. It looks like a military knife with a straight blade and a black handle. he puts the knife on the counter and looks to me and says "187 Eddie's" I barely even heard him as I was busy staring at the wall in amazement, and love. I want it.
'cough cough' as he coughs to get my attention I snap back to attention and look at him and he has a small frown "sorry I was just... never mind. how much?" "187" I don't know if that's a lot but I don't have much choice, I cant ask David because he might be worried that his comatose sister woke up and asks him for a gun after a week of being awake. "okay" I send him the Eddie's and now I only have 51 Eddie's... great. He takes the gun and knife and puts them in a metal drawer at the counter that pulls both ways, and I walk to the window and pull the drawer out a bit and grab the knife and gun, fumbling with both of them I trying to put them in my pockets, then I hear a ding.
*Handguns Unlocked*
*Blades Unlocked*
I look at the top left of my vision and see the notification, what? yes! wait what does it do? I mean when I level body my body gets stronger but what would leveling that do? As I put the gun in my pant waist and the knife in my pocket I see the knife handle is sticking out of my pocket "do you have any holster or sheath?" I say sheepishly as I try pushing the knife carefully into my pocket without cutting the pants I'm wearing, or myself "25 Eddie's" damn 25 eddies, really? well I really don't feel like shooting my ass off or stabbing my leg as I walk. As I send him the Eddie's he bends down and grabs a... black harness? and a sheath from the counter.
Fuck how much is in that counter? he puts them in the drawer and I grab them after he pushes it through. I try to put the holster on, it looks like a harness, so I think I push my arms through the holes? as I push my arms through the holes it presses against my back and I buckle the holster over my stomach and the thing that holds the gun goes... under my arm? yeah. it doesn't look to bad. maybe if I wasn't wearing only panthers all over my clothing it would look better. why Lucy, why only panther clothing. I put my gun in my holster under my arm and the knife, I sheath the knife and think well there’s nowhere to put it, so... maybe my boot? I think I saw that in a movie once. "thank you" after I say this, he nods to me, wow you really are a man of few word. as I leave I feel better, I feel better that I can actually protect myself here.
I should walk back. plus I really want to see what that notification meant. As I walk back to the apartment I hear a ding.
100 XP BODY
Nice! I got more XP. As I pass the old lady at the cookie stand I wave to her "thank you!" I yell to her from across the street causing people to look at us but so what, I'm grateful.
After waving to her and thanking her I walk to the apartment. I really don't want to take the elevator, maybe there's stairs somewhere around the building. As I enter the complex I walk behind the building, yesss! Stairs, thank god, as I walk up the stairs I think, I'm not scared of heights but I'd rather not be stuck in an elevator for hours on end. as I reach the third floor I have to walk back to the other side of the building, fuuuuck so much walking just to enter an apartment, maybe the risk of getting stuck in an elevator is worth It. As I reach the apartment I copy what I saw david did and put my hand up against the scanner and get inside. That's cool, and sit on the couch. that... was fun, weird people but it was fun to walk around and see how everything looks I even bought a gun and a knife, I never thought I would do that. actually speaking of my gun and knife. I lean forward and enter the last app in my vision and check it out
______________________
BODY LEVEL: 1
INTELLIGENCE: 1
REFLEX: 1
CRUEL: 0
_____________
SKILL POINTS:3
*skill*
*handguns level 0*
*blades level 0*
------------
*none*
______________
Okay so I'm level 1 for everything besides cruel... wait didn't I level up like three times. that's bullshit!! what, does that mean I was -3 levels in my body!! I mean sure I was weak but was I really that weak? okay then, I guess that makes some kind of sense. Kind of sucks though.
Wait I have more then just body to level? why haven't I leveled it yet then? how do I level it? Whatever ill figure it out at some point. What do my skill points do? well I bet it levels up my skills, Lucy you dumb ass. After berating myself I look back to the levels. Should I level up my skills? I mean it helped when I leveled my strength so I should level up my skills.
*Handguns level 1*
*Blades level 1*
As I level up both skills a surge of information and muscle memory rush into my head and body and by the time it was done I was clutching my head moving my hair out of my face so I don't press hair into my face. fuuck. that was... not as bad as I thought it was weird pressure but nothing besides that.
As I look down at my gun in my holster I realize how fucking stupid I was at holding it and handling it and my knife... I tried putting it in my pocket without a sheath... I was so stupid. After cringing hard, at how stupid I was and practically in a ball on the floor once I realized how I looked when I was in Oscars store. Ohh my god embarrassing. I need to level up more! if only to avoid embarrassing moments like that I need to keep leveling my skills. As I try to level my handgun skill nothing happens, it doesn't change to level two or anything, nothing happens. Why wont it level up? Shouldn't it level up? I have the points. Think Lucy why isn't it working. After thinking for a few minutes I think maybe, just maybe its because I don't have the base levels. I mean everything needs a foundation right? that must be it. So I should level up. How many notifications do I need to level up my body? Like seven, six? Well i guess I should grind. As I think this I start walking back to the front door and leave the apartment walking to the stairs I think I already got like 200 XP so I just need to exercise some to reach the next level. as I walk down the stairs I start to run down the stairs and run out of the complex running out into the street and passing the old men playing chess and as I'm already half way down the street I hear a XP notification and smile. time to grind.
After, four!! hours. all I did was run around the block, for, four, hours. But leveled up after 8 more notifications... 8. I don't want to complain because I did level up but whyyy. I wine. Why was it 10 notifications to level up? It was like, 6 last time. Was it because I leveled up pass numbers below one? As I'm thinking this a car speeds by and almost hits me as I cross the street but I just barely jump out of the way by barely seeing it in the corner of my eye. "what the fuck!!" son of a bitch almost hit me!! DING 100 XP REFLEX "what?" oh shit. I cant believe that counted. I was wondering how the others leveled up. So what, I level up by almost getting hit by cars? That would be funny, stupid as fuck but funny. Ill test it tomorrow its so late and Im sooo tired especially after almost getting hit by that dick. As I open the front door to home I see there are still no shoes next to the front door so I guess david’s still at work. I open my rooms door and fall into bed, almost as soon as I hit the bed I fall asleep.
