After finding his way back out, Dex slowly exhaled, standing alone in the neon soaked alley. The air hummed with distant sirens and the static buzz of holograms. Spectre on the other hand had vanished, or well logged off he was wasn't really sure but now, he was left with nothing but a vague quest and a city that wanted him dead.
'Alright, Dreamscape*. Let's see what you've got.'
Swiping open his character menu, the data spilled across his vision.
[PLAYER DEX_MX]
LEVEL: 1 (Baby steps…)
RACE: Cyber-Human (Right Arm: Titanium Alloy / Hidden 8" Blades)
HP: 100/100 (+20 Buff) | CREDITS: 50 (Wow. Broke already.)
[SANITY: 95/100]
"Sanity? The hell does that mean?" He tapped it—no explanation. "Do I glitch if it hits zero? Do I vomit rainbows?"
His abilities stared back, pathetic and unimpressive:
Back-Alley Hack: (60% chance to maybe unlock a trash bin).
Knife Proficiency: (+5% damage….) 'Wow. A whole 5%.'
'The Lucianos bend reality. I bend coat hangers.' He snorted. 'Spectre's right. I'm a walking XP pinata.'
'Well. This is… pathetic.' Dex grimaced as he shakes his head, quite dejected. There were people in the Luicano family who could bend the rules of the game using their powers alone and what did he even have? A back alley hack skill. He needed to get stronger, and as soon as possible. He knew he wasn't safe and he knew Valentina was probably watching his every move like a hawk knowing she could snatch him away at anytime, and by that, the snatching shall be his life.
'One mistake the strong make when against a weakling. Underestimating them and i will use that to my advantage'
With a determined expression on his face, he begins to walk out the alley, time to finally explore the cyber city. Hell he didnt even have time to glance at the other player in this server. But first-
A notification blinked, making him stop in his tracks as he shifts his focus unto it.
A notification blinked:
[NEW OBJECTIVE: FIND THE SCRAP DISTRICT]
[REWARD: 50 CR (Barely a Slice of Ramen)]
"Piece of—"
Footsteps. Close. Too close.
Dex spun—just as a rat-faced NPC scuttled past, reeking of synthetic soy sauce. "Ramen Guy knows. Ramen Guy always knows."
"Who the hell is—" The NPC vanished into the crowd.
After two good minutes of wondering who the fuck this Bicho Raro was, he finally leaves the alleyway and for the first time in..An hour since getting here he finally pays attention to his surroundings, there were alot of players in this server, some wore different types of futuristic costumes and gear, and thre were those who you just knew were high level big shorts judging by the amount of gear they had on them, even their name tags were set to visible, and glowing deep and different neon colors for all to see. They were doing too much.
For someone like Dex, he couldnt afford to stand out much like this, even if he could, he wouldnt.
Dex glanced down at his starter gear: a leather jacket (scuffed), "bulletproof" trousers (probably just stain-resistant), and boots that squeaked when he walked. 'Wow. I look like a discount cyberpunk.' he scoffs.
Around him, High level players strutted in glowing exo-suits, their tags flashing like strobe lights. One guy even had a floating shark as a pet.
'Note to self,' Dex muttered. "Rob a rich idiot later."
'Thats gonna change very soon, i will become the strongest in the world, both worlds even, and destroy those mafia fucks with my own two hands while laughing like a mad man...' Whilst lost in thought,
A hulking player with a robot head shoulder-checked him into a wall. Dex's HP bar flickered: -2.
"Asshole," he coughed—but the guy was already gone.
Dex smirked. 'Keep laughing, cabrones. I'll be the one roasting you over a fire soon.'
'But for now, lets take care of this level one quest i been assigned...'
His HUD pinged:
[DISTANCE TO SCRAP DISTRICT: 1.2 KM]
"Finally."
He'd spent the last hour figuring out the map system—zooming, rotating, even accidentally reporting himself for cheating 'Why is there no undo button?!'. Now, a pulsing blue line guided him through the neon sprawl.
But first—his eyes drifted left.
[PARADISE BROTHEL]
The sign flickered in hot pink, its doors swarmed by horny players. A cat-eared NPC winked from the balcony.
Dex's gaze dipped to his crotch. '…Priorities, pendejo.'
He forced himself away. 'Spectre would literally stab me. . Wait..she isnt even my girlfriend..'
As Dex walks away from the brothel, a hulking bouncer with Luciano tattoos on his neck eyes him with a fixed expression and pulls out a comms device. "Found the kid. Heading toward the Scrap District." He remains silent as he waits for the person on the other line to speak up. A moment later, Valentina's voice crackles back: "Let him play a little first." Her tone had a hint of mild amusement in it.
Dex arrives at the "Junkyard"— which was actually a rusty coliseum where low-level players brawl for CR (Credits) now that he took a good look at it. Maybe this was his chance to level up and gain some money on the way. Pushing through a group of players, he finally signs up to be a participant as well. Killing was allowed, that was the only way low level players could level up here. There was no rules against killing other players in Neo city. None.
A moment later, he receives a private message. Spectre's note glows on his HUD: "Welcome to baby's first bloodsport. Don't die." He didn't quiet remember adding her as a friend and he didnt care how she managed to do that, seeing her name in his friends list brought a smile to his face. Scanning his surrounding for her with his icy blue eyes, he couldnt find her anywhere amongst the noobs. She sent him here for a reason. 'Thought she logged off, guess i was wrong. Is she waiting till tomorrow until she meets me like she said?' He ponders as his heart skipped a beat, his name was called. Time to ramble.
As he steps inside the ring, (A circle made by the people surrounding them), he gulps as a skinny old man with a couple f missing tooth energetically walks in, a mike in hand. Showing an unpleasant toothy grin, he looks around at all the other players spectating and begins his speech. "Hello and welcoming fellow brawlers! You already know the rules in this fight. .There are no rules! The contestants can do anything they want in order to win! Whether by making the opponent surrender, or by bashing their heads to death, it dont matter! Bets can be placed now."
The old man points to Dex who stood to his left. "On my left is the new level 1 rookie of Baby's first bloodsport, 404!!" The old man announces causing a cheer to erupt from the crowd. The old man then continues. "And to my right is our rising star, The Garbage King!!" He announces and the crowd cheers louder.
'What kind of a dumb stage name is that? Mine is much better than that' He shakes his head seemingly looking disappointed as he stares at the level 2 newbie who wielded a trash lid shield in his hands. Not wanting to think too much about the fool standing opposite him, his mind immediately begins to think of ways to kill him.
"Round one, start!" Says the old man as he jumps out of their path, giving them space to ruin each other. Dex and trash man circle each other for a few second before trash man lunges towards him with the lid raised up high, ready to smash it into his head.
Dex may seem like a carefree guy who didn't like trouble, but in-fact he embraced it like a mother embracing a child. And because of Malo, his thug of a friend, hes been in many irl fights before, and hes hurt alot of people before as well, he had experience. If not he wouldn't have been able to successfully run away from the Luciano mansion with Malo yesterday.
Dex simply stands there calmly, staring at the guy who rushed towards him so carelessly.
'So many openings' He smiles as he simply sidesteps when the guy wings the lid down, chuckling, he wastes no time as one of the default hidden swords in his right robotic arm emerges from his robotic wrists, swiftly thrusting his arm forward, the knife sinks deep into Garbage kings underarm making him drop the lid. "Arghhhh!" Garbage king screams in anguish and jumps back, causing blood to gush out of the wound, but Dex was unto him, a moment later, a knife was plunged deep inside of his throat, making him fall down unto the ground, eyes lifeless as his body bursts into tiny sparkles. The place goes quiet for a good moment, and then cheers erupt, mostly from the players who had bet on Dex's victory.
This was the first time Dex had killed someone, he felt nothing, maybe because he knew this was a game. Well, he did feel his knife piercing skin and bone though that was for sure, the games realism was insane. A moment later though. {YOU KILLED A HUMAN. 200 XP GAINED. +1 LEVEL UP, New skill unlocked. "Sticky Fingers lv 1" (5% chance to steal consumables).}
Dex curses his bad luck and the useless skills he kept getting. It was like the world wanted to see him dead!
The next opponent he faced was a muscular Level 3 girl, holding a pair of, shock-nunchucks, who also seeminly goes by the name. Neon-Nun. She had a a weird policy she mentioned to him before they begun fighting. Which was that she never hit downed players. Maybe it was her pride or something? he didnt care and since she was dumb enough to offer this kind of info, he faked a seizure exploiting her no hitting downed players policy as he swiftly wins the match that way.
{+1 LEVEL UP, NEW SKILL UNLOCKED : "Dramatic Flop LV 1" (10% chance to play dead convincingly).} 'Why am i not surprised?' he curses under his breath and looks towards his next opponent, he raises a brow as he stares at this new petit looking girl with a shaggy wolf-cut (sharp bangs,undercut revealing a glowing circuitry tattoo) framed a face with one gold cybernetic eye, her sleek black cybernetic arm humming with pink neon seams as retractable vibro-claws slid from the knuckles; she wore a cropped armored jacket splattered with pink claw graffiti, high-waisted tactical pants lined with throwing knives, knee-high magnetic boots, and a wolf-pendant choker—metal-plated fingerless gloves completing her neon-punk predator vibe.. She was different thats for sure. As the old man introduces them to the crowd, the crowd cheers louder when the girl was introduced. She was named "Pink Wolf" Level 15, and her cybernetic arm looked very unique..But why- oh-
The bell dinged.
Pink Wolf smirked, rolling her shoulders. With a click, her cyber-arm split open—five glowing silver claws slid out like switchblades.
"Let's see if you bark as much as you bite, newbie."
Dex's eyes darted to his pathetic skill list:
"Sticky Fingers" (steal candy bars).
"Dramatic Flop" (play dead convincingly).
'Spectre, if you're watching? Bet on me.'