[ It was a productive night, ] said the program.
"That it was."
Lucian groaned while stretching out of habit. He wasn't strained, sore, or tired by any means; the action was just a thing of comfort. Besides, it always did feel nice to stretch, didn't it?
Lucian looked at the digital clock in the 'corner' of his vision.
"3 am..."
It was a convenient thing that the program was capable of. It was allowed to generate and track a digital clock and calendar, since one of its primary functions was to work as an assistant AI. If it couldn't do that, then what was the point?
It even had other mundane functions like a calculator, notes, a schedule planner, mapping, and so on and so forth.
Thankfully, Lucian's HUD never got in the way. It would disappear whenever he didn't need to check anything, and then fade back into his vision when he wanted.
On top of that, the program could manipulate the HUD with pretty much absolute freedom, giving Lucian great liberty when it came to interacting with it.
At one end of the spectrum, Lucian could have the program keep everything nice and tight so he only had to use his eyes and mind to interact with it. On the other, he could have the program project the HUD all around him and basically get a whole computer setup — complete with a mouse and keyboard.
Though he would look like one of them crazies if he used the latter setup out in the open.
Well, anyway, it was almost time to turn in for the 'night.'
Lucian stripped off his crimefighting getup, wiped himself down with a wet towel, then went with routine and made himself a quick meal.
It was instant noodles again, of course - this has become a habit for him lately. He thought of it as a comforting nightly ritual to signal the end of a day. This time, he tossed in some toasted cheesedog slices and eggs. It was an incoherent mess of a meal, but Lucian liked it, and that was all that mattered.
While eating, the program started showing Lucian the progress he made during the night. It was called "Patrol Report" before, but since he added ring fighting to his routine, it had taken on a more general name.
[ Nightly Progress Report: ]
[ Criminals taken down: 3 – EXP awarded: 150 ]
[ Money earned: $115 – EXP awarded: 115]
[ Items stolen: 3 (varied quality). – EXP awarded: 35 ]
The thugs that Lucian happened to come across on patrol after fighting in the small ring were pretty broke, so he didn't earn much in the way of money. All he got from them were a kitchen and butterfly knives, plus one airsoft gun with the tip painted black... which was really old and didn't work anymore, so he was pretty disappointed that he couldn't use it for fun.
He did get a duffel bag as well. It didn't come from anyone - he just picked it up. One trip to the back of the restaurant and he managed to rinse it clean.
Additional storage acquired.
[ Rounds won in the ring: 1 - EXP awarded: 100 ]
[ Money earned: $250 - EXP awarded: 125 ]
[ Total EXP awarded: 670 ]
[ EXP to next level: 534 ]
As for Lucian's time in the ring, he only fought once that night because of the awkwardness of being called "The Phantom." He wasn't uncomfortable with the title, but it put him off to say the least. He had to make some excuse about not having much time that night so he could leave right away once his match ended.
Matchstick was a little disappointed, but Gomez was understanding. He could swear Rita wore a satisfied expression seeing him leave after only one round.
Once Lucian was done with his meal, he cleaned up after himself and surrendered to sleep. Or, well, a one-hour-long power nap.
...
A gentle but clearly audible ringtone woke Lucian up from his short slumber. With his energy fully recovered, he went to wash his face, made some instant coffee, and got to work drafting up designs for his claws, boots, and the rest of his costume.
Awfully convenient now that he took up drawing as a hobby in his old life.
Since Blackwhip could manifest anywhere on the wielder even through clothes and armor, blocking the Vestige wasn't going to be an issue. Meanwhile, Float allowed the user to levitate regardless of the weight they carried in terms of clothing, so that wasn't a concern either. Lucian could go all-in on covering every inch of his body in reinforced fabrics, leathers, and actual armor.
Even if this weren't the case, he was sure that progressing with One for All's output would make Float strong enough to handle the amount of mass that he'd eventually put on in terms of protection.
Setting his Manticore mask atop one of the diner's tables, Lucian turned on the lights directly above him to start sketching out plans. He focused only on the aesthetics while working with his cowl as his basis and main inspiration, setting aside logistics and practicality for later.
He peeped the Blacksmith class at some point while ruminating before bedtime, but concluded that it wasn't absolutely necessary for his costuming endeavors. It was a skill that could be learned just like fighting, after all.
Well, everything that the class trees could give him, he could learn through some means in this universe — even the most 'realistically improbable' ones — but the point still stands; it was just easier or more convenient to learn some things compared to others.
With his boosted mental stats, learning from books and videos shouldn't be hard. All he had to worry about were the materials he'd need for practice.
That was the next problem.
If Lucian wanted to get to forging and crafting his own equipment, he'd need to get his own place. That meant that he either had to rent out an apartment, or find an empty location to turn into his hideout.
He came to learn that Mr. Suarez' restaurant sat somewhere between Gotham's Chinatown and Robinson Park during his time running around, so that put him in the southern portion of Somerset, pretty close to Old Gotham. That also meant that he was near Finger River, so a new idea formed in his mind.
'Taking over some abandoned riverside property would be nice,' Lucian thought. 'Even if it's not all that close to the river, I can run that distance no problem. If I'm fast enough or rocking the right equipment, I might even be able to cross the river to reach Old Gotham without needing to swim or use a bridge.'
...
Once Lucian had finished sketching out his costume plans— the beginnings of it, at least —he neatly tucked it away into his beat-up backpack before getting to his pre-opening duties. It was also nearing the time he was supposed to open up for his coworkers, so color him surprised when someone came knocking at the front door.
'Huh... nobody's ever gotten here this early before...'
Lucian lazily got up from his seat. Of course, he wasn't just going to open the door right then. Like Mr. Suarez taught him to, he went around the back to check the camera feeds first— the one showing the front entrance, to be specific.
The display wasn't too clear, but Lucian could at least tell that the woman waiting at the front door was wearing the restaurant's uniform. Well, he says 'uniform,' but it was just a black shirt with their logo sewn on.
Still counts though, right?
He wore the same thing while making deliveries, so it definitely counted.
Lucian hopped over the counter once he had partially confirmed his safety, and made his way to unlock the door. Before opening it though, he had to do one last check...
He tugged on the pull-down blinds and it went right up, uncovering the glass window in the door.
Meeting his gaze through the glass, almost a full head lower, was a pretty face. Well, it was more 'cute' than 'pretty.' Definitely the daintiest face he'd seen in Gotham, even after having already seen quite a few lookers around— they were all more on the 'hot' or 'mature' side of things.
Despite that, there was also a rough sharpness in her features. Lucian couldn't exactly tell what or how, but this woman's face seemed more angular the more he looked.
Was it the hardness in the angle of her eyebrows? Maybe the shape of her eyes themselves? 'Oh, her eyes are green... that's pretty rare, right?'
Her hair probably contributed, too. Glossy bright orange, and it looked healthy... though the way it was cut really gave it some pretty hard edges. Self-styled, maybe?
'Are those freckles? Shit, that's cute—'
The lady in the door's window cocked her head, one eyebrow raised.
'Ah, shit.'
Lucian finally realized that he'd been staring.
Moving fast while not making his action seem hurried, Lucian finally unlocked the door and let her in. "Sorry about that..." He decided to take the initiative. "I kinda just woke up."
"It's fine," said the woman as she entered. "I mean, it's still really early. You're Lucian, right?"
"Yeah," he confirmed, shutting the door behind her. "And you're the new part-timer?"
Nodding, she stated her name. "Maxie. Our boss told me you'd be opening up."
"I basically live here, so..."
"Like, literally?" Maxie couldn't exactly believe that. "Just here, all on your own?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Lucian thumbed over to the corner where his stuff was at. "I sleep over there."
From that point, the two of them engaged in idle chatter and small talk to pass the time. Maxie was a little surprised that Mr. Suarez would just let some random guy basically live in his establishment after hiring him on a whim, but Lucian turned out to be a pretty alright guy in her eyes.
Hard worker, too, from what she's been told. Inigo Suarez basically thought of Lucian as his own kid, which Lucian himself wasn't aware of. Maxie couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
Lucian started cleaning up at some point, and Maxie decided to help out. Lucian didn't try to stop her— most people would be the same if their workload was being reduced.
Eventually, the topic of names came up. Lucian came to learn that Maxie's actual name was Maxine.
When he asked about her nickname, she claimed that her real name made her sound old.
"I wouldn't say it sounds old," Lucian countered upon hearing her explanation.
Maxie raised her brow with a small smile while wiping down a table. "What would you call it then?"
"I'd say it's mature," Lucian explained. "I think it's a really pretty name."
Maxie just snickered rolled her eyes at him.