What up. Back again.
Enjoy the chapter!
-+=[BoG]=+-
John stared at the ceiling deep in thought.
Misty was very sweet and quite perceptive. Not like he made any effort to hide it, but he really didn't feel like talking about it, especially after the great news about his system getting a boost and the restrictions being lifted for 24 hours. Why would he want to dampen his spirit after being hyped up?
He'd go and see her tomorrow. Talk about what happened and all that. Perhaps he could even read with her a bit. That'll be fun. Some social interaction for the soul and going back to his apartment for the holy art of the grind. He wondered how he would divide up the 24 hours, but he needed to get to bed.
The day wouldn't feel right without his morning workout, so he'd have to wake up around 6. With his elevated Body attribute, he could afford a little less sleep every once in a while...probably. He had never actually done this, but it sounded intuitive to him. The Body attribute enhanced a lot, so perhaps some missed Zs wouldn't be a big deal.
He opened his system and set the time to 6:00 am and it put him to sleep.
-+=[BoG]=+-
Feeling himself wake up once more, John sat up in bed. Checking the time it was 6 and got up.
Walking up to the washer and dryer combo, he grabbed a plain shirt and pants getting ready for his workout.
He grabbed his duffel bag full of weapons and tightened it so it stayed mostly in place.
Pushups, situps, lunges, and the many variants of exercises made his heart rate increase. It also started showing some results.
+100 Athletics
+100 Body
It was incredible. What was the Chinese idiom? Giving a tiger wings or something? Whatever.
He didn't stop there as he also went into the stash room and grabbed the ammo box to do some press work and squats.
+100 Athletics
+100 Body
At the end of his workout, his jaw dropped.
Body 5(1240/1250)XP
- Brawling 4(1100/1250xp)
- Athletics 5(500/1500xp)
- Shotguns 5(200/1250xp)
- Heavy Machine Guns 4(800/1250xp)
- Blunt Weapons 4(900/1250xp)
He gained four notifications in Athletics and the same in Body. Along with the new XP gain for attributes from stats being +50 now. It's a total of 1000XP in an hour. It was mindboggling. The weights definitely did the heavy lifting in how fast he got it, but still.
It's like the Body attribute and Athletics are completely synergistic. Now that's busted.
His meetup with Misty is in 30 minutes, but he's too much of a perfectionist.
John had to get that final 10XP. After 15 minutes, he finally got it and he leveled up his Body attribute.
Perhaps he was a bit hasty since he hadn't sat down and he dropped to the floor in agony. How familiar. He almost missed it as the results spoke for themselves.
After a short while, he stood up and quickly took everything off, going back to the washer to put on his iconic fit, but first, he peeped his physique. His muscles looked a bit bigger and his obliques had more definition as he was a little more shredded. What surprised him was the development of what looked to be two more abs lower down on his torso. An 8-pack.
Most people don't know or don't really care, but there wasn't much known about the functional differences between 6, 8, or even 10 packs. Some believe that it helps with a greater range of motion but nothing concrete. How do you even get that many? It's all genetics and he lucked out with picking Gyomei once again.
For him personally, he would only want an 8-pack anything further than that looks fucking freaky even for a lover of bodybuilding, but he might have fucked himself picking Gyomei's perfect genetics. He can only pray at this point.
He puts on everything quickly and runs out the door. This time he had his Nue and Unity strapped to him while his main guns were in his inventory.
Racing towards the elevator, he presses the button to wait before it arrives shortly after.
Making his way to the ground floor, he raced through the streets running at full speed. He got looks, but he didn't have time to give it any thought.
Finally, he was right outside her shop with a few minutes to spare.
John stepped inside as he saw Misty at the counter. She visibly perked up and before he could even move over towards her, she came around and hugged him burying her face into his stomach.
Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her before they separated.
"Come on, I'll show you a place." She smiled before leading him out of the store.
They walked for a bit in silence before she broke it.
"How was your morning?" She asked.
"Good, got my morning workout in." He smacked his stomach as she looked briefly before making eye contact, "What about you?"
"Also good, painted a bit. Looks like we both have a morning ritual." She smiled.
"Well, it helps me wake up and feel good first thing in the morning. Painting sounds fun. Got any other cool hobbies?" John didn't know this about Misty. The only artsy thing he remembered was Jackie and his mandala that Misty suggested.
"I like making mandalas, painting as you know, reading, meditating, and researching more about spirituality, and you?" Misty stood closer by him wanting to be near his bright energy even if it had dimmed a bit.
"Working out and training, a bit of gaming, and playing the guitar, also singing." John listed off his hobbies before continuing, "didn't know I was in the presence of a lady with refined tastes."
Misty giggled a bit at the last comment.
"Sounds like a fun time. You sing? How about putting on a show for me sometime?" Misty was interested in what he could play.
"Of course, I'll be sure to knock your socks off." John laughed.
"Oh? That's the only thing you want off?" Even if they're about to engage in a heavy conversation, Misty is drawn to his magnetic charisma and can't help to tease.
"Careful, otherwise I'll throw in a complementary stripping performance." He grinned.
She blushed.
"Gonk," Misty mutters as he laughs harder.
They finally made it and John was surprised where he was at.
Tom's Diner.
Nice place, probably.
"Come on." Misty tilted her head as she took him by the hand.
They sat in a booth as a server came up to take their order.
"What can I get for you both?" The waitress asked, noticeably eying up John.
The man in question couldn't help but feel helpless. 'Not specifying the height thing is biting me in the ass time and time again.' Bro was suffering from success.
"Just a coffee," Misty replied as she wrote it down.
"And you, handsome?" She asked. Misty's lip twitched.
"A burger and fries with whatever soda you got" He responded as she wrote it down too.
"Alright, it'll be up soon." She walked away with a small smile sent his way.
"Seems someone is popular," Misty stated dryly but he could tell she was messing with him.
"What can I say." He held his arms up with a 'what can you do' gesture.
She took on a more soft expression as she grabbed and held his hands.
"What happened, John?" She asked sympathetically looking into his eyes.
With a combination of the words, her touch, and gaze, he sharply inhaled before slowly exhaling.
"It went like this…" He started to explain the entire encounter.
-+=[BoG]=+-
"Why?" David had a confused look on his face.
It was the weekend so he didn't have any schooling today, so he was surprised by something his mother said as she was leaving for work.
Yesterday they spent the day together but he could tell something was seriously wrong.
"Just listen, please, mijo/son. I have to go. Don't contact him." Gloria exited the door.
He was bewildered at why his mother would suddenly cut contact with his cousin. Thinking of yesterday, he knew that it had to be related.
It was strange.
His mother wasn't going to tell him, so he'll just find out for himself.
'He lives in H10, right?'
-+=[BoG]=+-
"And that's about it." He finishes his recollection of events that took place yesterday.
Misty frowns.
"I'm sorry. That must've been difficult." She squeezes his hands.
He smiled slightly.
"Thanks. It is what it is." John shrugs.
"I have to ask, though. Why is it so important to you?" She asks.
"What is?" John raises an eyebrow.
"Taking down the corps. Why is that important to you?" Misty clarifies.
He thought he made it pretty clear last time.
"Because of the suffering and tyranny. That they feel that they can do whatever they want with us with no repercussions." John explained.
"I understand that, but why does that matter so much to you?" Misty was digging.
John was getting more and more confused. Was he not being clear enough? Is he not explaining it well?
" I don't understand what you're asking," John admits.
Misty had wide eyes before she had a deeply saddened expression.
"The corps has done nothing to you, is that right?" Misty asked.
"No, but what does that have to do with anything? It doesn't change that what they do is horrific and unforgivable." John held his ground. It's true that he personally hasn't experienced the cruelty of the megacorps, but does that matter? He was unconvinced.
"You're not wrong about that, but is that really your dream? What you want to do with your life?" Misty pressed.
John was about to immediately respond with yes, but the wording through him for a loop. His dream? He recovered.
"Of course, what else would I do with my life?" John shook his head.
"That! That right there. 'What else would I do with my life', or before when you said that somebody had to do it. Why?" Misty was asking the hard hitting questions.
John couldn't speak on that though. He was on the Blaze of Glory path and to be remembered, with his system he could pull it off.
"Is there a reason to want to do good? To free everyone from tyranny?" John got a little defensive.
Misty cut through the bullshit.
"And is that what you want? To live in the service of others?" She dropped that bomb.
John blurted out his answer before he got a chance to think.
"No."
Misty softly smiled as she felt she was getting deeper into John's psychology.
"John, I hope you don't take this the wrong way and I want to remind you that I care for you, but look at how you're dressed, who you look like, and while I haven't read One Piece, I know enough from what you told me. Those two people have done remarkable things, unforgettable things, could it be that you don't know what you want to do? Nika was a savior could you have unknowingly mistaken his purpose and ambition for yours? Instead of inspiration, could you be rather imitating them?" Misty squeezed his hand in comfort.
His mind blanked.
Could he have...no there's no way. Sure, he is a huge fan of One Piece and loves the story and community along with it, but an imitator?
Yes, his ambition is pretty much identical to his in a different context. He dresses like him but it's more funny and to pay homage. His straw hat that had inherited will all the way back to Joyboy's time…okay maybe he had been imitating, but is that such a bad thing? That last thought felt unpleasant as soon as it appeared in his mind.
Did he want to be an imitator? He had John Wick's face, the straw hat, and Nika's memorabilia along with the smartframes in his apartment.
Could he have really mistaken inspiration for imitation?
But even then so what? He has a test to complete. He must be remembered and go down the Blaze of Glory route. No quiet life for him.
He thought he might as well do some good along the way and free the people of this world, but the longer he thought about it...
Did he even give a damn about it?
If he wasn't being tested, and he ended up in this world...
Would he care?
The answer was haunting.
No.
He wouldn't.
Then what? How was he to be remembered?
"I...think so. The only thing I know is that I want to be remembered." John spoke with raw honesty.
"You just have to find your own dream. One that embodies who you are. You don't need to come up with an answer now, but to find out what you want to do, you must find out who you are first." Misty smiled.
That was not easy.
He is John Wick. Sure he is Marcus, but he can never use that name. Not yet anyway.
That last thought sent a shiver down his spine.
His birth name is Marcus John Linder. He was also Marcus in his previous life.
Perhaps one day once he's strong enough, he'd show the world who he was.
He will never be John Wick. A character that wasn't even him; just like he'd never be Nika or Joyboy. He had always been Marcus in this life and the last. If he passes, then he'll be Marcus in the next!
The food came and they ate in silence as Misty could see that he was working through it.
How does he want to be remembered? How would he show the world who he was?
Marcus didn't know, but he was done pretending to care about things he didn't.
Was the suffering in this world brutal and unfair? Yes, but is that his problem? Is he obligated to step in just because he could?
No.
The ambition of destroying the megacorps to free everyone was something he picked because it sounded grand and unforgettable. Such a legendary feat would have never been forgotten just like with Rache Bartmoss destroying the net or Johnny blowing up Arasaka Tower.
He came to another realization.
His goal hadn't changed. Why did he pick obliterating the megacorps in the first place out of anything?
He will still destroy the megacorps, but not for altruism that he didn't truly believe in.
Why then?
It sounds like fun.
Whether he'd be remembered as a savior or the devil for unleashing something far worse in this world, he didn't care. How the world would react to chaos didn't matter to him.
Originally, he thought that he could train up his own faction to uphold moral beliefs, but since he didn't truly care about that, and was rationalizing the altruism that he never truly had, then why bother?
Let the world figure it out for themselves.
Humanity is quite known for its adaptability.
For anyone who wanted to stop him, let them try.
Marcus John Linder from this point forward served no one, bowed to no one, and the only two things he cares for are having the best and most fun life imaginable and the few friends he has already managed to make.
Especially this wonderful woman sitting in front of him.
Her smile increased as she saw the clarity in his gaze and his energy became even brighter than what she first felt.
"You've already figured it out?" Misty was amazed.
The longer he sat there after his realization, the more uncomfortable his cloak and hat became. He couldn't stand wearing it anymore.
His face looks like John Wick's now felt more similar to Johnny Silverhand's, his grandfather, isn't it natural to have some resemblance? Marcus no longer associates himself with John Wick or thinks of himself as such. He is real.
He suddenly laughed loudly attracting the other diners before they minded their own business.
"Misty, I fucking love you. Thanks for that, I really needed it. Come on, I'll walk you back." Marcus felt incredible and grabbed her hand to lead her out as he paid for the meal.
He may have gotten too excited when he noticed her atomic red face, as he remembered what he had said.
Marcus didn't care though. Not like he didn't mean it.
Now he knew who he truly was thanks to her. He was too blind to see the trap he had dug himself. No more.
Night City wasn't ready for the madness he'd bring.
And that sounds like a great time to him.
-+=[BoG]=+-
Finally, we are here.
A major revelation of true motives.
I had gotten a ton of criticism for his hero-like goal, but I also sprinkled in some foreshadowing. Like him thinking that it's the craziest thing he could be remembered for and helping people along the way would be cool too.
I then started digging deeper into his psyche to where he actually cared about helping people when he really didn't.
Maybe I didn't explain it well or execute it well, but this is my first story where I'm trying more complicated character traits. My bad if I butchered it, but I thought I was cooking. My previous stories only had very generic MCs. It fit with the vibe of those novels, but I didn't want that in a complicated place such as Cyberpunk.
Or maybe I just burnt down the kitchen.
Either way.
It's time to lock in.
See you in the next chapter!
Later!