Chapter 63
"Why are we doing this?" I ask because I'm kind of pissed off.
"Because somebody was an idiot during the last fight and got severely injured." Noire responds back to me. If you haven't figured it out yet we're playing the game.
After we opened more presents, Vert said my character should undergo some modifications if I want to fight the bound deities more easily. I thought I was fine but she insisted I get these upgrades.
The others went to do their own thing in this world while I got stuck with Noire leading my blind ass around. I don't even know which country I'm in, it's that bad.
"I don't see what's wrong with the character I already have. Can't I just wait for the game to repair my avatar?"
"Since that's an artificial person you're controlling no. This "game" was designed to use people from your world in an effort to fight Arfoire. The only way to fully heal up is by getting new parts."
"So where are we going exactly?"
"To a specialist who can augment you to be more combat oriented. You're only human after all." I need to start remembering that I am only human. When it comes to physical abilities, the goddesses have the advantage over me.
Now that Vert is back to her full power from the liberation of Leanbox, things should still be flowing more smoothly than ever. And when we beat another one another of my friends will power up as a result.
"Isn't Vert strong enough to beat one now though?"
"Bound Deities are on the same level as a full powered goddess. It's a challenge to beat one when at full strength. The one in my land defeated me after a grueling battle."
"What was it like?" I might be overstepping my boundaries by asking this considering how seriously Noire takes losing, but this could be good information to our fight.
"He was a ruthless fighter who didn't give any mercy during our battle. The suit he wore was advanced beyond our wildest dreams, and his weapons hit harder than any I've ever fought against. His face was hidden the whole time by a visor and mouth guard, the only thing I could see was his bald head."
Noire stops me for a moment so she can recollect herself. I can't see what's going on with her, but it sounds like she's angry at remembering the Bound Deity.
"I won't lose to that monster again. This time I'll be prepared for his insanity. And this time I'll have everyone to aid me in this endeavor."
I shouldn't press this any further, Noire sounds like she's having a hard time dealing with these memories. I'm sure we'll meet this Bound Deity eventually, and Noire will get her revenge.
"Enough of that, we're very close to our destination."
"Then lead the way my lady…" My sarcasm doesn't go unnoticed by Noire. She turns me to face a new direction.
"Ow! What was that for?!" She made me hit a pole.
"You complain too much, now shut up, we're here." She stops me and opens the door to a building. Afterward she guides me in and sets me in place once more.
I stand there shakily and nervous, I don't know what kind of person I'm about to deal with so this is kind of nerve wracking.
"Don't worry, this man is one of Lastation's finest when it comes to augmentation and surgery.
I hear heavy footsteps coming our way slowly before they stop directly behind what I assume is a desk.
"Hello, how can I help you?" A man with a very thick Texan accent speaks to us. I'm still blind so I can't see his face.
"My friend here requires some of your finest augmentations and repairs." Noire's doing the talking while I just stand here doing nothing. This better be worth it Noire.
"Let me just see everything that's wrong with him." The man grabs my hand and places a device on it. I hear a character info screen pop up in front of him while he observes.
"I see… missing an arm, nerve damage, retinas are shot out, and deaf in one ear. This is going to be a very tricky one but I can do what you need. The only thing we really need to discuss is payment. This sort of thing isn't cheap y'know."
"How much is this going to cost me?" I speak to him for the first time.
"670,000 credits or that sword right there." I assume he's talking about the sword on my side. I could swear it belonged to a hero so I can't get rid of it.
Noire steps up and offers him a card. "Here are the credits for your services. I trust that you will get them done today."
The man takes the card from her and checks to see if the credits are legal. I can respect that, counterfeit money can really ruin a business.
"Of course, it's guaranteed or it's free. Come this way sir, you'll be patched up in no time."
Noire lets go of me and I follow the man's lead into another room. Occasionally tripping on something, we stop in one of the far rooms of the establishment.
"Take a seat and we'll begin shortly."
Doing as I'm told, I feel around for the chair that he mention and sit in it. It's very comfortable and I lie back to calm myself before this.
The man comes back momentarily with some new devices and equipment for the operation. He sets down what he has and goes back to get some more things until he eventually settles down in this room.
"Are you afraid of needles?" He asks me calmly.
"I can't feel anything so just stick it in."
He goes over to my left arm and puts an IV in. After a few minutes the drugs in the IV start to kick in and I become more disoriented by the minute.
"Don't worry… I'll take good care of you. Sweet dreams." It might be the drugs talking but he sounded incredibly menacing just now. It's probably just the medicine that's coursing through me.
Everything fades to an even darker shade of black and I fall unconscious as the doctor makes additions to this body of mine.
*Beep Beep Beep Beep*
A cursor is flashing in the upper left corner of my eye. From what I'm guessing the system is booting up now and my implants are getting my data through the doctor.
The cursor begins to move filling out my information.
Name:GunSlinger679 Weapon: Crimson Moon
Sex: Male EX Drives: Burning Crusade
Playtime: 71:26 Implant Compatibility: Confirm
Nation: Lastation
The doctor finishes recording my character data into the system for safety reasons I'm sure and I wake up soon afterwards.
"Argh! Damn that's bright…" At least my new eyes work.
"Take it easy, you just woke up after all. You need to rest for a minute to make sure the implants and augmentations have connected properly."
Looking at the doctor now I can see he's wearing a gigantic leather jacket the covers his entire neck and parts of his chin. He's a bald man with pretty weird looking smile but doesn't seem too threatening.
After a minute or two of waiting he starts to give me instructions again.
"Try moving your arm up and down."
My robotic arm bends up and then down showing that it works well.
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"One, and you're flipping me off." I'm not sure whether I should be angry or amused at him.
"Your eyes and arm seem to be working fine. Now can you feel this?" He takes out a pen and pricks me with it.
"Ow… my nerves are working just fine thank you very much."
"Very good, your body seems to be taking well to the additions. I'm surprised that you can think straight after every thing that's been done to you. It was worth every penny though."
"Aside from being able to see and fight again, anything else I should know about?"
"I went ahead and added some implants to your brain to improve reaction time and the rate signals get to your muscles. In other words, you move extremely quick now. And you can even hear better too. You're like a beast with apex senses now."
I'm not sure if I like the wording on that but it still sounds pretty cool. If everything is in order now then I don't really have anymore reason to be here.
I remove the IV from my arm and get out of the chair. The doctor follows me to the door and then the front lobby where we first met.
As I'm about to leave through the front door he stops me for a second to speak with me. "Come on back if you have any trouble with those implants. And try to not get yourself killed out there."
I nod to him and exit the clinic. Noire is waiting for me outside so I was surprised and jumped back when she appeared.
"Relax it's just me."
"Sorry, still getting used to these heightened senses."
"I take it the operations were a success?"
I nod to her slowly, not sure what she's thinking right now. She places a hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eyes.
"I'm glad that you're better now. It would be a shame if you died in combat now."
"Wait… Die!" Holy shit I can die from this now?
"Since you are connected to the goddesses of this world now, and you and your avatar are physically linked, you will die in real life if you die in here. Despite knowing this risk will you still help us?"
I'm pondering for a moment. If I die here then I kick the bucket for good. And knowing how strong these Bound Deities are death may come soon for me if I'm not careful.
"I'm joking with you." Phew, that's a relief.
"But in all seriousness, if you die in game you will feel pain from it." That still beats dying a hell of a ton.
I don't know how much pain it is but I'm sure it can't compare to seeing Nepgear's face when I die. So yeah, I'll take a little pain if it means keeping my friends happy.
"I'll still fight. So, where's the next Bound Deity?" I'm rearing to test these new puppies out on a strong opponent to see how well they work.
"Sadly we can't just go and fight them. Histoire tracks them down and then tells us their location. Currently we don't know where any others are." Aw… I wanted to kick some ass.
Still, not having to fight is cool too. I'll enjoy the peaceful times just as much as the times when the world is at stake. And I'm sure as long as I'm with the goddesses, I can't lose to some false gods.
"Then lets go meet up with the others and have some fun clearing out a dungeon. We might find a rare item or two that could prove useful." I suggest that to Noire.
"Very well, let's see if there are any unexplored dungeons for us all to clear. It'll be fun, especially fighting along side Martin." Even her avatar blushes at the sound of his name.
I shoot Noire a curious look. I've never seen her talk this way before so it's very weird to me.
"I mean, he'll be an excellent addition to our squad." Noire blushes even more intensely and shoots her vision forward. Do they plan on hiding their relationship for the time being?
"If you say so. Now then, let us advance forward."
A/N: A huge chapter of text but a huge plot point. So now Jack's avatar is on the level of the Goddess', that's pretty neat. And more fun times are sure to come in.
It's getting real close to the Holidays so if I don't post before Christmas I at least want to say Happy Holidays. And any other religious holidays too just to not leave anyone out.
So stay tuned for more of this story, it's only bound to get better from this point and you don't want to miss out. As always, see you in the next update.