Gamer trait unlocked!
"What the fuck?" I said, looking around as my girlfriend moaned on the bed, her hands on my chest as she rode me slowly, looking at my face so lovingly.
Maybe it was just in my head. I had been feeling tired lately with all the work from the big boss, no reason to trip ou-
Updating system!
System Override!
[Thief] path selected
The Path has been chosen!
"What is it Mon?" My girlfriend asked, pausing as I groaned ever so slightly.
I'd never been interrupted by an automated voice in the middle of sex before, but I suppose there's a first time for everything.
"Nothing, Nothing, keep going," I urged her, smiling softly as I cupped her cheek.
I never thought it would last, but Lydia had grown on me the past few months we'd been dating.
'Who is there? I'm in the middle of something,' I said in my head, placing my hands on Lydia's hips as she continued to ride me.
All of a sudden my vision changed, almost like I was... In a game.
I had a settings icon to the upper right, a clock in the middle top, which had the date right under it, and in the upper left was a blacked-out icon of a man.
Check your stats to get started on your journey young gamer!
"Mph!" I groaned as Lydia slammed down on me, my eyes widening a bit as I came inside of her, creampieing her for the second time in the night. After a few moments, she pulled herself off.
She looked down at me, smiling sweetly as she leaned down and kissed me, our lips meshing together passionately as I wrapped her up with my left arm, letting her lay beside me.
But my heart wasn't in it, I was too focused on this... Game thing.
'How do I check my... Stats?' I thought, looking at the man icon. If it was anything...
I clicked... Thought? Actually, I don't know how I clicked on things with the system, it seemed to be based on intention, and it just tracked my intention to click the holographic button.
Status
Name: Filmon(Favored by God)
Age: 18
Lvl: 1
Job: Thief
Str: F
AGI: D
DEX: F
CHA: A
Money: $12,456
SP: 0
Skills:
Parkour(D-) Slight of hand(F+) Sneak(D)
Abilities:
[Snatch], [Eye on the prize], [Snake's Tongue] [Divine Mind]
[Snatch]-
Gives you the ability to own and steal anything, nothing is unobtainable, not in this omniverse
[Eye on the Prize]-
Allows you to see the 'Value' of any item or person in a numerical system 1-100. The higher the number, the more valuable the thing is.
[Snake's Tongue]-
The natural ability of all manipulators. Your words flow in a way where you gain the upper hand in social situations, your lies are hard to decipher, and your truths are irresistible.
[Divine Mind]-
The ability to completely block any form of mental torture or magic. Your mind is an indestructible fortress that can't be broken into, things that should make you terrified will not affect you.
'Now... What the actual fuck?'
Third Pov
A few days passed since Filmon had unlocked the game.
That was what it called itself, anytime he asked what it was, it would simply answer with the same pre-recorded automated message.
I am the game, and you are the gamer.
The message was ominous, yet he never reacted much to it. He felt uneasy about the whole thing, but it didn't faze him the way it should.
By all means, this was a crazy experience, yet, most likely due to the [Divine Mind] ability, he realized it felt almost normal to him.
He wasn't some numb unfeeling monster, but he felt as if he looked at everything logically now. And what was logical about being scared of the unknown?
"Filmon!" Big boss yelled, slamming his fist onto the table as Filmon glanced up, looking into the faces of about a dozen mafia executives.
"Ah, boss, no need to break anything on my behalf," Filmon said with a smile, causing the big boss to sigh.
"Enough with the jokes, do you have the location of the shipment this Thursday?"
Filmon stood up, walking to the front of the room with a smile on his face.
"You mean the millions of dollars being transported by a food truck in secret by those computer nerds' brokenfall? Yes of course," Filmon said confidently.
He wasn't sure if the game was good or bad, but it sure helped him with nerves.
He was always like this, but this time he wasn't talking out of his ass and putting on a facade. The mafia executives didn't scare him, which was a nice change.
Filmon gave them the route and then went back to sit in his chair as they discussed amongst themselves how to proceed.
/Quest Unlocked/
'Hm?'
Quest-
BrokenFall
Objective: Take down the Hacker Gang BrokenFall
Penalty: Disbandment of the Caprione Family and imprisonment
"Disbandment of what?" Filmon said aloud, realizing after he finished as his superiors looked at him.
"Filmon... Your presence is unneeded, go check in on granny or something kid," One of the executives said. They shook their head, muttering something about him being talented but immature.
Filmon nodded and left the room quickly to look back at the game.
'So this is real? Like a real game? Damn, I was hoping it was just for show...'
Filmon didn't know what to do. Take down BrokenFall? They'd been controlling the city's online information for years, and surely the mafia wouldn't just disband if they weren't taken down... Right?
This was a game... Right? But he could feel the guilt building up inside him like he knew the true answer.
The game was real, and if he didn't destroy BrokenFall... His family would be over.
/Quest Unlocked/
Quest-
Preparation Quest
Difficulty: D
Objective 1: Steal The Warp Dancer Sandevistan
Objective 2: Bring back one person to join your guild
Penalty: None
Reward: Sandevistan{Warp Dancer}, Guild function Unlock, 1,000 SP
'Sandevistan? Isn't that from-'
Filmon dropped to his knees, his vision blurring and a sudden pain erupting throughout his entire body. One second he was standing perfectly fine, loving life, and then the next he was laying in the middle of the street, sirens blaring as people ran about.
"Huh, he doesn't have insurance, leave him," He heard someone say as a bright light flashed in his face.
As he began to get his bearings he realized there had been a massive wreck.
Two cars were smashed next to him, both of them completely pulverized.
He looked down at his body, it seemed fine, what had that pain been?
"What the?" He heard someone say behind him.
He looked, seeing a paramedic standing there, shocked as they looked at him. "You... You were just broken apart... How?"
"Dunno must be a glitch..." He said sarcastically, but the person didn't laugh.
Filmon looked around, seeing a crowd forming, trying to get a good look at the wreck.
'Huh... I should probably get the hell out of here and figure out what the fuck is happening,' He thought, standing up and dusting off his silver blazer, turning away from the paramedic.
"See you!" He said with a wave as he rushed off, speedily walking as he looked at the time.
22:06
October 23rd, 2075
"Cyberpunk, all the hacking, tech, bullshitty things you could have sent me to, and you sent me to Cyberpunk?" Filmon complained as he leaned against a wall, wrapped by a brown blanket as he kept his head down.
"Forget about the Sandevistan or a guild or whatever, how am I supposed to survive!?" He thought aloud, mainly complaining.
"I don't think I'm cut out for this game... Can I change the difficulty?" he muttered to himself.
No answer.
He had come to this district looking to find somewhere familiar to what he knew back when Cyberpunk 2077 had first come out, but nothing looked the same.
He couldn't leave though, that much was confirmed by the game.
You are in the tutorial stages of the game, so many functions and freedoms are locked until you are familiar with the game. You must complete the current preparation quest to leave World-489221.
So yeah, he was basically stuck here indefinitely. It would take an utter miracle to get his hands on the Sandevistan. The only thing he knew about that thing was that people would brag about having it after that one cyberpunk anime came out.
Other than that, it was just another stupid made-up word.
He was lost in a crazy advanced world with no resources...
Well, except for the game.
"At the very least, I still have my skills..." Filmon said, feeling a little better as he looked at the game. After all, the game was what was keeping him alive.
[Divine Lungs]-
Gifted to you by the game due to your weak constitution and vulnerability to the toxic air of Cyberpunk. Allows you to breathe anywhere and anything as if it were oxygen.
At least it cared about its players.
He smiled and took deep breaths, coughing violently before he looked up again.
'I don't even know what I have to do, or where to start.'
"Ah... Come on Filmon, get the fuck off your ass," He said to himself, throwing off the blanket and standing up. "So you're at the bottom again? Who cares, everyone starts at the bottom... I'll just work my way up..."
He walked out of the subway, ignoring the people around him, and took a sharp left to walk down a road filled with people and music.
"Hey kid, do you want to buy-"
"No thank you." Filmon interrupted, walking on through the crowd.
His eyes were fixed on the game, thinking about the quests he needed to complete to progress, but his hands weren't idle.
He'd always been talented when it came to stealing, and he got away with nearly all of the heists he'd been on.
There was just one problem... No one had anything.
Even the richest-looking people didn't have a wallet, one man had a small pistol with pink paint splattered all over it(Which Filmon quickly pocketed) but nothing he could use for money. There were a few chip flash drive looking things, but he wanted money, not chemistry notes.
It was a strange concept, having so much technology around him and not being able to use it to make money.
He looked around, wondering where he was going to get something to sell to earn money to make some progress in the world.
He needed upgrades immediately, Cyberpunk was a place that wouldn't be merciful to the weak, and he was weak.
He looked at his surroundings, seeing the buildings all tall and intimidating, with neon lights blinking in every window.
"Night City huh..." Filmon said, sighing to himself as he stopped trying to steal, simply walking through the crowd.
"Outta the way kid," A large man said, shoving Filmon to the side.
Filmon let it happen, figuring this man must have been drunk or something.
'Maybe now isn't a great time to test my luck against cybered-out bastards..' He thought as the large man walked past him, heading toward the doors leading to a restaurant, pushing people out of the way.
"Fucking Jackie's at it again huh? He needs to chill out on the drinks."
Filmon turned around, noticing a man who appeared to be looking at him. "Oh is he always like that then? I was hoping he was just having a bad day," Filmon said as the man laughed, walking up to him and holding out his hand.
"Yeah, old Jackie's been like that for a few months now haha, he lost a team a while ago, hasn't been the same since haha..."
Filmon nodded. "You know that guy? Man I was starting to hope you were someone normal, that'll be hard to find here I guess huh?"
Filmon shook the man's hand, looking him right in the eyes.
"Normal? Things haven't been normal since 2020 kid, you new to the world or something?" The man joked, causing Filmon to freeze for a second before laughing it off.
"You could say I was a sheltered child..." He muttered, getting a silent, knowing nod from the man.
"Name's Ares, don't worry about not wanting to share much, in fact, it's probably for the best around here..."
Character Data available for {Ares}
'Hmm...'
"Let me buy you a drink kid, you're clearly new to night city, wonder why an outsider like you would come here..." Ares said, looking the boy up and down.
He clearly thought he had Filmon figured out, but the boy didn't bother to say anything to deny his obvious assumption.
Filmon wasn't here to do any solo work, but hey, if it got him money and some upgrades he'd go along with it.
{Ares}
Relationship: 12
Mood: Suspicious
Info: Born in Night City, Ares grew up surviving the streets by not getting attached, has a nasty reputation of selling out any team he does work with.
Dominant Trait: Liar
Level up to be able to see locked data!
Ares smiled, seeing the boy wasn't going to speak.
"Alright then, let's get some drinks!" He said as he led the now silent Filmon into the bar.
Ares sat back on the couch, sipping from his glass as he watched the boy look at his drink as if he wasn't paying attention to anything happening around him.
"So? Where you from then kid?" Ares asked Filmon as the boy read over the quest again.
He needed a guild member, whatever that meant, and also the Sandevistan. What he needed more than anything though, was some upgrades.
"You keep shitty company kid," The bartender whispered, eyeing Ares distastefully.
'Yeah, trust me I know,' Filmon thought as he turned toward Ares.
"I'm not from Night City if that's what you want to know, but that's all I can tell you..."
Filmon took a sip of the drink. It was bitter, with a sweet and tangy aftertaste. It was unlike any drink he'd ever tried.
"Well, you bought me a drink, I think I should be on my way, these upgrades won't buy themselves..." Filmon muttered, standing up.
"Ah, so you need some upgrades? Why didn't you just say so, kid? I know plenty of guys that will operate for the cheap... I could introduce you to one, though I don't think it should be free..."
Filmon groaned. He hated this type of guy the most.
Bottom feeders, who fed on newbies and oblivious people to suck them dry of any use they had.
But did he have another option? It wasn't like he had any connections to ask for jobs or anything... Plus who knew when someone would give him a chance like this?
'Fuck it.'
"What's your price?" He asked, sighing inwardly as Ares's face brightened.
"Well, I was talking to a fixer the other day, he was asking around for some people to steal the blueprints for Rayfields upcoming Aerodyne model Excalibur... If you're up to it, I already have a few takers, need one more, to be honest..."
'Excalibur? The fuck, I had that shit in the game... Well, I'm in the game now huh? Fuck this shit's hurting my brain.'
"I'm in," Filmon said, "I assume the pay is going to be split well?" He finished, looking at Ares as the man laughed heartily.
"You really are fearless huh kid? I'm already starting to like you, reminds me of my son... Yeah, you'll get about 150 thousand euro bucks give or take, depending on how many people show up tomorrow," With that Ares got up and walked away.
"Meet in the alley outside of the bar this time tomorrow, it's fine if you flake, means more money for the ones who aren't pussies..."
Filmon scowled as he waited a bit before leaving, "He's trying so hard to bait me... And it's working," Filmon said shaking his head as a notification from the game made his mood brighten.
/Side Quest Unlocked/
Excalibur
Difficulty: F
Objective: Steal the blueprints for the upcoming Excalibur Aerodyne vehicle.
Objective 2(Bonus): Find the Excalibur prototype and steal it.
Penalty: Loss of life by Ares
Reward: 150k Eurobucks, 100 SP, Bonus- {Vehicle: Excalibur}
Filmon smiled at the side quest, he was starting to get excited about the possibilities of the game. It was just like his childhood...
"Damn, kid! I wasn't expecting you to show up to be honest! I even invited this little street rat because you seemed soft, I'm surprised!" Ares yelled as Filmon walked up to them.
He hadn't gone anywhere since the day before, just camped out by the bar.
He didn't want to get risked getting lost in Night City, or anger some cyberupped bastard and get smiled before he could do anything.
Filmon looked at the woman Ares had pointed at.
"Well it's fine, Polo didn't show, so I guess we're still fine with the money split... Unless you two would like to fight for it?" Ares said, looking between the two.
Something about her was familiar, but he couldn't place it.
Looking into her eyes though, he could see she was just like him, she knew Ares was trying to manipulate them, but clearly she needed money.
"That's the streets for you I guess Ares, always wanna fight but never want to share," Filmon said, shrugging his shoulders as the woman shook her head, turning back to Ares.
"Well, probably for the best you two stay calm, I'd hate to see my new little pal murdered right in front of me..."
Ares chuckled at his joke before turning to the other three people standing there, guns in their hands as they were clearly ready to steal the blueprints by force.
'Never been on a heist I guess... Well, I don't care about those blueprints for real anyway...'
Filmon had decided to betray Ares. It wasn't anything personal, but the man was too friendly, it was clear he was planning something.
So Filmon decided to steal the Excalibur in secret, hopefully, then he could get in contact with Ares's fixer and go ahead and bribe them for connections with the car.
Either that or sell it back to Rayfield as a blackmail type thing.
Ares was talking about what they'd need to do to get the blueprints, which sounded easy enough.
The group moved out from the bar, grouping up and going to their spots halfway across the city, surrounding the Rayfield industrial building.
"Ah, looks like we just wait huh?" Filmon said to the woman from before, eyeing her as he sat down, watching the others sneak into the building.
"Yup, we wait and hope for the best, since we're just the throwaways meant to be sacrificed to the police..." The woman replied, pulling out a cigarette as she leaned against a wall.
"Huh, I assumed he had something planned, it didn't make a lot of sense to grab a kid off the street like that, so what are you going to do?" He asked, nonchalantly looking back at her.
"Hah... You seem to know a lot for some kid... What streets you grow up in?" The woman asked, blowing out smoke as Filmon shrugged.
"I don't know if you've heard of it, but I grew up in Bakersfield, got taken in when I was twelve for stealing... Managed to get out of that haha..."
Filmon stopped himself.
He had accidentally gotten too comfortable with the woman, and that led to oversharing.
The woman walked over to him, sitting down and letting her legs dangle off the building as he did.
She held the cigarette toward him. "It's not the stronger stuff, but it's a lot more potent than any bullcrap they sell, They're basically Dorph in cigarette form, nostalgic huh? A... Friend made 'em for me..."
Filmon could tell she was surprised at her details as well. It seemed his snake's tongue ability wasn't just for show.
"What's your name?" Filmon asked as he grabbed the cigarette. It wasn't the first time he had smoked, but it definitely wasn't a habit he wanted to pick up.
Out of kindness though, he took a short drag on the cigarette before handing it back.
"V, you can call me V."