5 Days Later. Auntie is mad!

Back with another chapter.

Now this is where things get poppin'.

Enjoy the chapter.

P.S. I used google translate so don't butcher me in the comments. You'll see what I mean as you read.

-+=[BoG]=+-

Marcus sighed in exhaustion as he lay in bed.

It was the night of the seventh day that he had been in this world; five days since he first used the Rockerboy training module.

His routine was jampacked full of training and gaming. Practicing with the training shard and exercising twice a day, but it had to be done. It was hard work but as he looked at his stats, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Body 5(475/1250)XP

- Brawling 4(600/1250xp)

- Athletics 4(1200/1250xp)

- Shotguns 4(1150/1250xp)

- Heavy Machine Guns 4(400/1250xp)

- Blunt Weapons 4(500/1250xp)

Reflexes 4(1050/2000)XP

- Driving 4(200/1250xp)

- Pistols 4(1150/1250xp)

- Submachine Guns 4(350/1250xp)

- Assault Rifles 4(1200/1250xp)

- Blades 4(450/1250xp)

- Rockerboy 4(200/1250xp)

Technical Ability 1(625/800)XP

- Gunsmithing: Level 1(800/800)XP

Cool 1(200/800)XP

- Throwing Weapons 1(400/400xp)

There were a ton of gains compared to five days ago. His Body went from 2 to 5 and Reflexes 3 to 4. The latter may not seem as impressive but the XP required was significantly more. Getting to Body 6 would require 1250xp while Reflexes 5 took 2000xp. He had his physique to thank for that.

Speaking of physique, he looked down at his naked torso, and he was packing on some size. It also helped that he was very lean and had a complete six-pack with his obliques showing through a bit. His arms and legs also had some nice size to them. It wasn't at the level of even a natural bodybuilder, but he was getting close perhaps even a level or two and he'd be there.

His stamina had also been a huge boon that allowed him to endure the harsh training as his Body attribute leveled up. Athletics helped quite a bit too with that, but as he leveled up, he noticed that simple pushups and situps weren't getting him as much XP anymore unless he did a ton of them.

Luckily, he had been obsessed with fitness content in his last life and went to the gym every once in a while so he knew how to increase the intensity. Pushups with his legs elevated, diamond pushups, archer pushups, planche pushups, and so on. Squats? He just grabbed the heavy ass ammo box and went to town with it.

He definitely needed a gym membership as weights would make gaining experience easier.

This added difficulty naturally included other skills. He had the mannequins in the gun range move around at varying speeds and even using the Combat Range where the mannequins would shoot back at him.

Melee Combat was just fighting the bots and he was able to defeat a Level 5 bot, but the difficulty ramped up after Level 5, so he couldn't beat the Level 6 bot.

He also noticed the XP requirement for level 5, at least for Reflexes, was also larger. Should he expect this after every five levels? Probably, especially since Level 10 is the human level without cybernetic enhancement. This was also the time that he noticed the XP reduction in the tutorial shard. Since he hit Level 5 in Body, he now only gets 25% instead of 50% of experience points.

The knowledge and muscle memory influxes were also great as he felt quite confident in taking down some people with his aim and combat skills. His driving skills were also pretty good as he did a few races. Rockerboy was very fun though. His singing and guitar playing skills were decent enough for simple songs, but he's not ready to bust out any complicated riffs, melodies, or solos any time soon.

Some of his skills are on the edge of getting to level 5 so he wanted to level them up in the morning before heading out.

As he pulled up the menu to sleep immediately, he thought of the skills he wanted to quickly get up. Athletics, Shotguns, Pistols, and Assault Rifles, which worked out for him since he was heading to the 2nd Amendment tomorrow.

He wanted to get up early, so he chose 7:00 am and his vision faded.

-+=[BoG]=+-

Unfortunately for Marcus, the days of peace and training without a care in the world is over.

A loud ringing abruptly woke him up and he violently sat on his bed looking around for the source of the noise instinctually pulling out his Malorian from his inventory. It's better to have a broken arm than a bullet through your head. He didn't even know that he could do that even if it was in the utility belt, but that's not important. 

Incoming Call

Gloria Martinez

Accept/Deny

Oh, here we go. It felt strange she didn't respond to him or most likely she didn't have the time.

"What's up, auntie?" He decided to not be combative and hoped to chill her out.

As if.

"¡¿Qué crees que estás haciendo, idiota?! ¿Quieres morir?!/What do you think you're doing, idiot?! Do you want to die?!" Suffice to say, Gloria is less than pleased with his new career path.

'Oh, I even get a translator with this neural interface? Sick.' You had one in the game too so that's nice. He would at least understand what's being said to him.

He didn't take it personally. Imagine a loved one who wanted to get into the criminal underworld and start killing and doing illegal shit for money, especially since he had a stable job. Naturally, this reaction is normal.

"Come on now, auntie. That's a bit harsh." He replied in a mock hurt tone of voice. Marcus had some confidence in handling himself now, so it's not as bad as Gloria is envisioning it. Not that she could know that.

That seemed to be the wrong move.

"¡¿Crees que esto es gracioso, John?!/Do you think this is funny, John?!" There were several moments of silence, "Why?" A choked sob sounded out.

'...Damn, now I feel bad.' Marcus sighed before thinking of a response. He also noticed that she didn't seem to know his real name, so he should get used to being called John from now on.

"What else is there to do? Work at a restaurant until I'm old and frail? You have David that gives your life meaning and purpose. I don't, so I have to find it." That was the best way he could put it without sounding like a nutcase.

John knew that he would probably die in the next few years, so he'd leave his mark and be unforgettable.

There was a long silence.

"Just...come over so we can talk about it. I have my day off today. Can you head over around 1, please John." She was pleading.

He didn't know what would come of that or what she could do to convince him, but it'd be nice to see his only family members in this world. Maybe he'd even meet David.

"Alright." He responded simply as there was no reason not to.

"See you then, I love you, John." Gloria sounded dejected.

"Love you too." John naturally replied and she hung up.

Damn, now his mood is soured. Perhaps he should've kept it on the hush-hush about edgerunning, but she'd have found out one way or another. She is friends with Maine's crew so she might overhear them talking about him if he makes a big enough splash. The blow-up would've been catastrophic. She'd definitely pull up to his apartment.

Nothing like a smoke and food couldn't fix.

He ate with some uplifting music: I'm Still Standing - Elton John

Once he was done, he started exercising to finish leveling up his near-max skills before heading out.

As he exercised, the conversation with Gloria faded from his mind.

-+=[BoG]=+-

Gloria wanted to break something. She couldn't believe her nephew could ever make such an insane decision and not think it was a big deal. There was no way to see his expression or face since he didn't have any optics. She'd see him soon after so long.

Her rationale forced the notion that she simply couldn't afford to break anything. Luckily, she managed to sell off some cyberware to make rent this month, but tuition fees are another thing entirely. She'd have to work harder to make that happen.

Back to the matter at hand, she knew that Marcus had a point. If she didn't have David, then she didn't know what she'd be doing with her life. She ran with the Valentinos in her youth before meeting David's father in the gang and they let her leave when she got pregnant. Padre helped a lot in that and some farewell gifts helped cover up her tattoos.

Not long after her son's father died in a shootout with the Sixers. Gloria didn't want to raise her child in that environment.

It was around that time she wished she hadn't left her Nomad family for the illusion that Night City was the place of dreams. She was exiled for it and couldn't get into contact with her father when she needed help, nor her cousin, Trace, but maybe he was busy. She knew he had a son named Marcus.

Her worries intensified at remembering the days of her youth of constant violence and only made her more frightened for Marcus.

What could she do? She knew exactly what Night City did to those who wanted their lives to mean something. An unmarked grave if he was lucky or another corpse on the street.

Maybe…

She thought of something and hoped the person would agree and dialed him up.

He answered.

"Yo, Gloria, what's up?" A deep voice answered.

"Hey Maine, I need a favor," Gloria asked.

There was a short pause.

"Why? Someone messin' with ya?" His expression was grave and promised violence.

"No no, nothing like that. It's my nephew. He says he wants to be an edgerunner but I don't think he knows what he's getting himself into. Could you talk to him, please?" Gloria pleaded with hope in her eyes.

Maine visibly relaxed.

"Hmm, didn't know you had a nephew. Alright, I ain't got nothin' lined up today. What time?" Maine had no qualms about doing it. Many people want to be an edgerunner to change their lives and few actually do. If Gloria's nephew wanted in the game, then he didn't mind setting things straight.

"One. Gracias, Maine, really. I owe you one." She exhaled with relief.

Maine waved her off.

"None'uh that now. I'll bring the crew over. See ya then." Maine ended the call.

'Wait, what?' Gloria's mind blanked.

-+=[BoG]=+-

After two hours of grinding, he finally did it.

Body 5(510/1250)XP

- Brawling 4(600/1250xp)

- Athletics 4(1250/1250xp)

- Shotguns 4(1250/1250xp)

- Heavy Machine Guns 4(400/1250xp)

- Blunt Weapons 4(500/1250xp)

Reflexes 4(1125/2000)XP

- Driving 4(200/1250xp)

- Pistols 4(1250/1250xp)

- Submachine Guns 4(350/1250xp)

- Assault Rifles 4(1250/1250xp)

- Blades 4(450/1250xp)

- Rockerboy 4(200/1250xp)

Athletics, Shotguns, and Assault Rifles are now maxed.

He exited the training shard and leveled up Athletics and Shotguns as he got a tingly feeling and gained a bit more mass and his stamina regained faster. Also, the knowledge and muscle memory further cemented his prowess in those skills.

Getting a quick bite and 12 eddies poorer, he is ready for the outside world.

Before that, something important must be done. He has to get fitted out.

Taking off his clothes and throwing them in the wash, he makes his way over to his wardrobe.

He is feeling mighty proud of his developed physique so he picks out a black skintight shirt to show it off. Next is something he was eyeing during his training week but never felt it was the right time to put on. Now it was.

It was a black cloak with a white embroidered design across the arms, front, and back, especially the back as it had the same image from his stash room. Nika is in front of the illuminated moon. It even had "Sun God" in gold stylistic writing. The cloak also had gold buttons in the front from top to bottom if he didn't want it open, but he let it hang loose.

Since he is now John Wick, he also went with baggy black pants to pay homage to the iconic black suit. Can't forget the belt as it was white with a golden buckle. Said buckle had the initials: SG. The outfit ended with some black high-top kicks without any special design.

This was a bold choice, but if he's going to go in a Blaze of Glory, then he'll choose to be whoever he wants. So if he wants to try and liberate the world, then he will damn well try.

What does he have to lose? This second life is a gift and he will do whatever he wants.

Checking himself in the bathroom mirror, he was satisfied. 

Entering the stash room, he grabbed the empty duffel bag under the desk and slung it over his shoulder while unlocking the door.

He stepped out.

-+=[BoG]=+-

Boom. Chapter donezo.

Like the Gloria lore? It was fun to write.

Now it's time to get familiar with Night City.

Thanks for all the support!

See you in the next chapter.

Later!