"I-I don't know nothing," Jonas struggled to free himself, but the chair's restraints were designed to keep patients still during surgery. He could barely even budge.

Iris smiled, rubbing some blood off her face. She stopped just beside him with her Ticklers still out. "I think ya' do. How about this? Ya' tell me what I want to know, and I'll let ya' live."

Jonas tensed up and his throat bobbed. "Really? You prom- No! He'll ice me anyway."

Iris rested her Ticklers on his leg. A slight twitch cut through his flesh like it was butter. "He won't be alive for long. Tell me what I want to know."

"He has a pain editor. Torturing won't work." I said from the side.

I rubbed my nose. The scent of death hung heavily in the air. Even just being in the room was starting to make me sick, even if the scents blended in with the surroundings.

"Really?" Iris smirked, punching just one of her Ticklers into the guy's neck, just above the collarbone-

"ARRGGGHH!" The guy immediately started screaming his head off.

"Funny thing about Pain Editors? Most of the time, they're bio mods. The nerve cluster is usually hyper sensitive." She twisted the Tickler, causing the man to go entirely slack and froth at the moth. "Sometimes it's hard ta' find. Most low-end Medeks? All put it in the same place."

She pulled out the Tickler. Jonas immediately started screaming with tears and snot flooding down his face. "I-I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Iris withdrew the blade fully back into her knuckle. "Nova! Who do ya' work for?"

A look of resistance went through his face. It faded before Iris even fully pushed the Tickler back out. "W-we're with the Flashes. It's a gang on the outskirts of the Scath Heights."

Odd name? Unless maybe they call themself that because they use flashbangs during combat like they had with the Inquisitor. Poor idea considering most actual powerhouses had some way of overcoming a bright flash. They were destined for mediocrity.

"Where?" Iris questioned the guy quite a bit more, but I checked out after a while and went to the barber shop to sit down.

Surprisingly, I spotted Jonas still alive when she walked out of the back room. Guess she was a woman of her word? She did promise to let him live if he talked.

"Lux work, tiny! I even got the location of their HQ base after asking politely. Consider the gig complete. I'll let ole burny bunch know." She stuck out her hand, but there were definitely bits of gray matter on it from when she stabbed the shotgun guy.

I pointedly stared at the chunks. "You sure you don't want backup or anything?"

Iris chuckled. "Against a measly gang? Not a shot! If I do though, I'll call in some of my group. You don' seem the combatant type."

Right. Who was I to offer a merc like her help with fighting? She looked like a top dog. Like the top of the pyramid when it came to the gun-for-hire world. "Well… been nice, then?"

Not as bad as I expected when I learned she was tagging along. She bought me a bunch of food too, so not too bad.

were the top dogs, the tip of the pyramid when it came to the gun-for-hire world. "Well, then it's been nice I guess."

Her eyes flashed and a message popped up in my HUD with her contact information. "I like ya', smalls! Tell you what? If I need an investigator again, I'll contact ya' directly. Cut out the pay for pyro pockets."

I sent my own contact to her. It never hurt to have a chum in a high place. Especially considering that high place could probably wipe a gang, albeit a smaller one, by herself. Who knew? I might need that kinda thing one day. What was this called? Networking? Damn, I sounded like a corpo.

"Right, cya!" Then she just walked out of the barber shop as if she wasn't covered in bits of someone else's body.

I moved back to the back room and grabbed the guns. The shotgun, in particular, was of interest to me. Always wanted one. The AR, on the other hand… Well, it was in two parts, so I left it behind. I grabbed all the ammo for the guns and glanced up to check on Jonas. Completely unconscious. Also not my problem.

I glanced around the room with thoughts of klepping something else, but everything here was too low-end to justify carting back. That, and probably not worth pissing off a Medek? Assuming he wasn't pissed about the back room, but that was all on Iris.

I gave one last glance around the place and then headed back to my bike.

「Perception - 3>4」

「Tech - 1>2」

「Deception - 1>2」

「Criminology - 1>3」

「New Requests!」

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I zoned out and stared at the messages. This was the second time I'd gotten bulk messages from the interface. Did it save up and only give me skill levels after I did something? Or was it specifically tied to doing a gig and actually using the skills, not just grinding them? I was beginning to think the latter since leveling seemed to come in bursts around the end of a job.

Or was it just that I hadn't practiced hard enough? I mean, I shot maybe two hundred rounds with my pistol and two hundred more with Mira's new toy. She had the lane most of the time, so maybe I just needed more practice? It wouldn't hurt to practice anyway even if the number didn't go up.

It could even be related to how I use the Skills, and not just using them. It was also possible different Skills had different leveling requirements. Not the end of the world, but it tossed out any ideas of safely leveling to become powerful.

「Name: Shiro Tsukuyomi

Traits: Fox's Grace, Quick Healing, Insight

Tracking - 4

Stalk

Stealth - 6

Fox's Paw

Perception - 4

1 Perk Point

Tech - 2

Melee Weapons - 1

Sleight of Hand - 7

Hidden Hands

Firearm - 1

First Aid - 1

Evasion - 1

Driving - 7

Land Vehicles

Deception - 2

Criminology - 3

Concealment - 8

Lethargic Presence

Hidden Weapon

Brawling - 1

Request Board(NEW)」

「Request - Eye of Avarice - Received

Steal an expensive object (>500 BP) undetected

Reward: Crow's Wheel of Wares」

「Request - Killer - Received

Kill 3 people

Reward: 1 Skill Point」

That- that went from zero to a hundred real quick. How did 'cause mischief' turn to 'kill three people'? What was that leap? I- I didn't have to do a request, right? There was no negative for not doing a request, at least a visible one.

I couldn't go kill three people just like that. It was completely different from self-defense or 'its the job' that I usually protected my sanity with. I would be actively hunting people just to feed my own power. Wasn't that the same thing as the corporations?

Though, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't deny the probability that I'd kill three people at some point. It was life in the city, especially given my position. Heck, just a couple days ago I put down that cleaner duo. Even today, I could've easily done it just a while ago if it hadn't been for Iris.

Taking lives though… I still saw their faces in my nightmares, even if they deserved it. But really, who was I to say they deserved it? They attacked me, so they were evil? Was that right? What gave me the high ground?

A tremble went through my hands-

Probably best I focused on something else that actually mattered. This was a spiral I definitely didn't want to go down again. It was so hard to get out of.

Anyway… the Eye of Avarice Request. Where could I even find something like that on demand? Even low-end assault rifles were only between two and three hundred Rayn. Maybe jewels? But again, where?

The reward was also weird. No clue what Crow's Wheel of Wares was. It sounded like a prize wheel just off the name, but could it be something so simple? And an eidolon's name showed up once more…

Regardless, would I even be able to swipe something like that? Was I even good enough to go unnoticed? Maybe… So far, the majority of my Perks leaned toward disappearing from view. Heck, even my eye had the Blackout augment. So maybe? If I planned everything right.

My thoughts during the entire drive home were on where I might find something valuable. My bike chopped and sputtered fiercely when I came to the occasional stop, but otherwise managed to struggle through. The thing was starting to die on me. Really needed to check it out.

Once I got back home, I went to bed and entered the pavilion for the Perception Perk. It took a while to get through the exhaustive list of Perks. There were so many- almost too many. There was everything from a better sense of smell to my eyes auto-marking objects of value. The latter was tempting if only to complete my new Request.

I was hesitant about the Perks that increase the physical abilities of my eye in such a way. Would it only apply to my flesh eye? What if I lose my entire nose or eye, then what? If I had both chrome eyes, would the Perk stop working?

It was definitely something to think about. Later though, of course. For now, there was one Perk that stood out to me.

「Aetherial Perception - Sense Aether-attuned creatures and effects.」

Normally, I wouldn't take something even remotely related to magic. This, however, would prove to be useful. I kept sensing something with Insight, so it'd pair well to see if it was actually magic or something else. And it had a bunch of benefits without too many weaknesses. Since I wasn't an Adept or Magi, I wouldn't even have to worry about being attacked from the Aether.

My understanding of the magically aligned was rather weak, admittedly. From what I knew, Adepts and Magi basically stood in two realms at once, which gave them their power. By doing something in the Aether, they could cause an effect in the 'real' world, such as that one Adept throwing a sword of ice at me.

It gave them incredible power, yet also exposed them to double the danger of a mundane person. Since they existed in both at once, they were equally vulnerable to both. They would have to protect themselves from attacks of other Aether dwellers and from the attacks of the real world.

I wouldn't have to worry about any of that, and still get the benefit of being able to tell if magic was cast around me. As they say, knowledge was power. Better info would allow me to make better decisions.

I tossed the scroll onto the easel. It unraveled, revealing eerie glowing eyes in the middle of a void. The darkness consumed my vision-

I was back in bed. Was that it? Active type then, like I thought-

"Argh!" A strangled screech broke through my throat. My eye burned as if thousands of fire ants crawled inside of it. I rolled around, rubbing fiercely at it. Wasn't quite on the level of Blackout's overheating. More itchy than anything.

After a period of time, the pain faded to nothing. I guess that answered my question. No, the Perk's effects did not apply to chrome. My left eye, the Advent Phantom, still felt perfectly normal. I'd have to actually be around Magus or Adept to test out the Perk, though. Hopefully, it'll be a long time before then.

I felt incredibly drained, but still forced my self to get up and look at the new weapons. The two SMGs were both alright, but they were put through some serious shit. Neither of their previous owners took good care of them.

One's barrel was so mucked up, it'd be more surprising if it didn't misfire at first chance. The other was crooked. Probably from where Iris slammed it with her shield? Both had their polymer bodies decked with neon graffiti that literally hurt to see. Absolutely no respect for their weaponry.

I would be better off using my pistol than either one of them. I might as well just sell them to a junker… or maybe I should keep them for parts? Tech had opened a new world of possibilities even if I had yet to explore it. It wouldn't hurt to start collecting parts now.

The shotgun was in much better condition. After a bit of research, I found it was an old Rhymer S-32. It was a single-shot break action, so it'd take quite some skill to use it effectively in combat. That, or some good cover. The gun packed a punch though, and would be able to fire through even mid-range ballistic armor point blank.

I cleaned it up as best I could and turned in for the night. As per usual, I sued Lethargic Presence to lull me into fitful sleep.

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