Chapter 2: This Damn Charming Night City!
"Night City."
"An Arasaka company dog."
"What an irony."
Arthur exhaled deeply, the weight of his rebirth settling over him.
His nerves—once coiled tight from the disorienting realization of time travel—finally began to relax.
This wasn't like last time.
When he had first woken up in 2077, there had been shock, excitement, confusion—that rush of stepping into a new world, an unfamiliar body, an uncertain future.
But now?
There was no novelty left. Only the heavy burden of experience and regret.
The past that he thought had burned away in nuclear fire was alive again, woven into the very fabric of his being.
He was 100% certain now.
He was truly reborn.
Memories from his past life surged through him—gunfights in abandoned factories, neon-lit chases through the streets, the cold operating table where cyberware replaced his flesh.
All of it was still there, deeply embedded in his mind.
His brain remembered.
His muscles remembered.
Even in this weaker, non-augmented body, he knew—give him a gun, put him behind the wheel of a car, throw him into a fight—he would not falter.
And now, as his new body fully synchronized with his memories, Arthur returned his focus to the updated system interface.
---
[System]
[Name: Arthur Winters]
[Condition: Healthy – No Cybernetic Enhancements Detected]
[Innate Skill: Hyper Spatial Perception] – Grants extreme sensory awareness, allowing Arthur to perceive motion, spatial changes, and micro-expressions with near-superhuman precision.
[Acquired Skills:]
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced - Adjusting) – A lifetime of combat experience, honed through countless battles. Without cybernetic augmentations, reaction time and strength are slightly reduced, but his technique remains razor-sharp.
Firearms Handling (Advanced - Adjusting) – Expert-level marksmanship and gunplay. No smart-link assistance means aiming and recoil control rely purely on natural ability.
Corporate Negotiation (Advanced) – Expertise in deception, persuasion, and high-stakes corporate maneuvering.
Cyberwarfare Tactics (Advanced) – Mastery of hacking, infiltration, and counter-surveillance within digital networks.
[Life Points: 1] (Details)
[Fusion Ability: None] (Details)
---
Arthur's gaze narrowed.
His Life Points had changed.
Before, it was zero. Now, it was one.
"So, rebirth itself altered my fate… and in return, I gained a Life Point."
Curious, he tapped on the details.
The game mechanics of his system had completely changed.
Before, when he had first arrived in Night City, his attribute system had been identical to the Cyberpunk 2077 game mechanics.
Kill enemies, complete missions, gain attribute points, and enhance his skills.
He had specialized in hacking, dumping most of his points into Intelligence, Tech, and Cool—maximizing his efficiency in cyberwarfare while embracing advanced prosthetic enhancements.
By the time he reached the peak of his past life, his cyberware integration had exceeded 80%.
Without a high Cool stat, his mind would've collapsed.
Arthur chuckled darkly.
"I used to call Johnny Silverhand a lunatic."
"But looking back… I might have been worse."
Even Johnny, the infamous terrorist, hadn't turned himself into a walking machine.
Arthur had.
And now?
His system wasn't about grinding levels anymore.
It was about changing fate.
By altering the lives of legendary figures, he could earn Life Points—a currency to unlock Fusion Abilities.
---
[Fusion Ability: None]
By changing the course of a legend's life, he could simulate their original path and extract a skill, talent, or ability they either had mastered or would master in the future.
---
Arthur's eyes gleamed with understanding.
This was his advantage.
He knew Night City's history.
He knew who the legends were.
If he played his cards right… he could steal their power.
A low chime in his communicator snapped him from his thoughts.
A familiar name popped up.
Arthur Jenkins.
Arthur's old boss.
The man who would be dead in less than a year.
He answered.
Jenkins appeared on-screen, his brown hair slicked back, his high-end suit impeccable, but his expression tense.
"Arthur, where the hell are you?"
Jenkins' voice was sharp. "You should've been at Arasaka Tower half an hour ago."
Arthur responded calmly.
"I'm on my way."
"The mission at the border is nearly wrapped up. Why am I being recalled so suddenly?"
Jenkins scowled. "What, you don't know? It's that damned Abernathy."
Arthur's expression didn't change, but inside, he wasn't surprised.
Susan Abernathy.
The woman who would become Jenkins' downfall.
The woman who had him assassinated.
Jenkins continued, clearly pissed off.
"She's the one who pulled you from the field. She convinced the board that you were mentally unstable, citing your refusal to undergo full-body prosthetic augmentation as a security risk.
Arthur remained silent, piecing everything together.
Abernathy had always been ambitious—a rising star in Arasaka's Special Operations Division.
She had targeted Jenkins for years, and Arthur—as Jenkins' top agent—had been an obstacle in her path.
Pulling him off the border mission was just the beginning.
Jenkins sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Look, just get back to HQ. I have a new assignment for you."
Arthur nodded. "Understood. See you at the tower."
As the call ended, Arthur leaned back in his seat, lost in thought.
In his past life—
He had been fired from Arasaka.
Jenkins had been assassinated shortly after.
Abernathy had seized power… only to die later in corporate infighting.
Now?
Arthur was back in the game.
And Abernathy was still the biggest threat.
"She wants me out of the picture."
"But this time, I'm not playing by her script."
His Hyper Spatial Perception flared—something caught his attention.
The rearview mirror.
A pink off-road vehicle was approaching fast.
Arthur's eyes locked onto the hood emblem—a snarling beast.
The Animal Gang.
There were only three cars on this entire highway.
His Arasaka sedan.
A random old junker.
And that off-road vehicle.
The target was obvious.
Arthur exhaled, a slow, knowing smirk forming on his lips.
Still the same damn smell of gunpowder.
This damn charming Night City.