Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

Chapter 704: How Do You Even Use Those Things?

"And why the hell would I do that?" Riot asked. "I got a Titan Forge piece, you know? Those aren’t so cheap that you can just swap them out whenever you feel like it."

"It’s an Ares IronPulse, one I have been using until a few days ago." Dante said. "There is something I want to try, so..."

"You’re giving me your heart?" Riot’s frown deepened. "No wonder people think you’re gay."

"Keep that up and you’re gonna need a lot more than a new heart."

As he spoke, Dante was looking at the big guy’s soul using Absolute Awareness. As expected, the hole surrounding his bionic heart was far from closing. Riot had a heart disease at one point, requiring him to get the implant. That likely put an end to his martial arts journey and led him down the path of a ruthless gang boss.

"Anyway, I’ll schedule your surgery. Will send you the details later."

"Hey! Who the heck do you think you are!? Don’t go deciding this stuff on your own!!!"

Ignoring Riot’s protests, Dante made his way to the gym upstairs. The noise in his mind was getting worse a little bit at a time, and it felt like his mood was going to continue its free fall for a while.

"Hey, Bella. How’re you doing?"

Apparently he had arrived just as she was done running a few miles on the treadmill, seeing the way she chugged from a water bottle while covered in sweat. He clearly should have waited until she was done, having startled her into a coughing fit.

"B-Boss!? What are you-..."

"Relax and breath. I just came to check on you." He said. "Seems like your motor functions are back to normal."

"Y-yes, for the most part."

"Boss! You have an SRE as well, right?" Clay, another one of Bella’s teammates, raised his hand high as he asked the question. "How do you even use those things? Does it need a NIM app?"

"Idiot! Couldn’t you have just looked it up online!" Mia, another member of the team, smacked him on the head.

"It’s nothing complicated." Dante replied. "You could say it responds to your thoughts, so once you figure out how to activate it, it’ll become just like giving a mental command to your NIM."

"Ooh, I see, I see." The young man nodded a couple of times. "Then, is it true that activating it makes it look as if time had stopped?"

"Only if you have an MLP with a good Exocore." Dante replied. "In Bella’s case, she would be able to move a lot faster, but it’ll take a lot of training before her mind starts keeping up with the acceleration."

Dante hadn’t faced that problem, since he received both MLP and SRE at the same time. He also had Volcan to act as his Exocore, making it possible to accelerate his perception to match his reflexes. In the case of a cyborg with only an SRE, they would start by planning one simple move ahead and accelerating while performing it. With time, they would chain more and more until their mind catches up eventually, learning how to act at higher speeds.

"I... I wanted an SRE to help with my aim." Bella said. "The aim assist doesn’t require an Exocore, so..."

"I see..."

Now that she mentioned it, that was one of the main methods people use SREs. Dante hadn’t been relying on guns as much ever since he got his hands no VOLCAN, even more less once he got his SRE and MLP. Because of that, he never had the chance to test aim assist.

’Probably wouldn’t have anyway...’

Though he was fine with using the implants to accelerate his reflexes and perception, Dante wasn’t too keen on handing control over his actions to them. If he went down the route of allowing the implants to dictate his actions, he would be no different from the losers who pretend to be martial arts master while relying entirely on behavioral matrices.

Realizing that he had been staring at his raven haired subordinate while deep in thought, causing her to feel a bit uncomfortable, he quickly made up his mind and went ahead with what he came there for.

"Since you seem to be making decent progress, I guess it should be fine if we try something."

"Ooooh! Is it fast martial arts training like-" This time, Clay didn’t get to finish, receiving another smack halfway through.

"For now, you should head home and get some rest." Dante said. "I will contact you later tonight."

"I... I understand."

~[ ]~

It was only 18:00 by the time Bella made it back to her apartment. The silence that met her was as depressing as usual, but today, it failed to affect her. Rushing inside, she immediately hopped into the shower and washed away all the sweat clinging to her body, going so far as to use some of the expensive products she bought and never got to use.

Done cleaning herself, she went into her room and tore off the doors of her closet only to freeze a moment later. Just like any other girl her age, Bella had a collection of clothes that always ensured that she has something to wear. However, now that she was standing before it, her mind was suddenly convinced that she had nothing to wear.

"Calm down." She told herself, backing away while taking a deep breath. "It’s definitely not what you have in mind."

They were going to meet for a secret training session and nothing more. Just because he didn’t want to do it in front of the others didn’t suddenly make it a date. She needed something comfortable and easy to move in, but going with another track suit was out of the question. It has to be something cute and stylish but also casual and matches her usual vibe. Skirts were out of question, and there was no way she would wear that dress she bought on a whim.

"Alright. This should do."

After fighting the urge to go on a shopping spree, Bella chose one of her usual outfits: cargo pants, a right crop top, and a slightly oversized jacked, wish she left hanging over her arms, leaving her shoulders exposed. After checking herself in the mirror several times, she sat down and waited. It was only an hour later that she realized that he said he would contact her tonight, but didn’t specify exactly when. Since he told her to rest, she feared their meeting would occur before midnight.

[

Dante: Are you ready?

]

Surprisingly, her wait didn’t last long. The message caused her to jump, and before replying, she made sure to check herself first. Fixing her hair one more time, she nodded to herself and typed her reply. Another message arrived soon after.

[

Dante: Brace yourself.

]

Confusion halted her thoughts, but the next moment, her heart jumped to her throat. Somehow, the floor disappeared from under her feet, and the room flashed before her as she seemed to fall in an instant. The horror took hold of her, but before she could scream, her back hit a soft surface. Opening her eyes, she quickly checked her surroundings only to realize she was in her room, and on her bed.

Did she fall asleep? That was the first question that popped in her mind, but the message that arrived right after told her that was not the case.

[

Dante: Come outside.

]

Soon after stepping out of her apartment, Bella couldn’t help but notice that something felt very off about the world around her. The silence, the strange lighting, even the air felt different. She lived on one of the upper floor of her megacomplex, so she was used to the sense of isolation imposed by such structures. The problem was that it didn’t disappear even as she arrived at the street below, and when she looked up.

"The sky..."

It was entirely black.

"In case you’re wondering, this isn’t Neo-Vatra, or Hollowgrid."

Startled by the voice, she whipped her head around to find her red haired boss walking over, his hands in the pocket of his jacket as if he were completely undisturbed.

"We’re currently in a pocket dimension based on the latter. I call it Hollowstreet."

"Hollow... street?" Bella muttered.

"That’s right." The Red Demon answered. "We don’t have to worry about anyone spying on us in this place, so I decided to use it for your training."

The way he was acting so nonchalant about the whole thing caused Bella’s min to lag behind. She was still stuck on the fact that he called place a pocket dimension, her mind struggling to understand what that meant. One thing was clear, however. In that moment, the two of them were the only one in that world, and that left her with a lot of complicated feelings.

"Alright." Clearing his throat to draw her attention back to him, the Red Demon held her gaze as he spoke. "I will now install a small update on your NIM. Once it’s done, we will begin testing your new abilities.