『Felix Karl Grimm』
"Huff huff.. damn, I knew your specs for myself, but this does make me feel inadequate somewhat."
I laid face down on the gym floor as Giffany stood over me, not a single scar marring her body. Not even a scratch. The spar between us was completely unfair.
To say I was overwhelmed by Giffany would be like saying a cat was only slightly weaker than a lion. She stomped me with almost trivial ease. Maybe things would have gone slightly better in a firefight but we couldn't test that safely.
"Don't sweat it boyfriend! In fact, you performed exceptionally well for your presumed stats and abilities. It is just that I had an overwhelming technical advantage against you, if you had the same level of augmentation as I did, I probably would have lost."
You could only soothe a mans pride so much after handing him his ass 5/5 times. I thought my dexterity was hot shit, but Giffany moved with 2 mantis blades on her arms and 2 on her knees with impossible angles and machine precision, and all those were boosted sandevistan. It was like trying to have a fight with a blender that was aimbotting.
She was also stronger than my Superhuman stats, I could briefly push past her level at maximum output, but that did little when he could bend her body in ways that a body shouldn't be able to bend to avoid my attacks.
According to Giffany herself, she wouldn't die easily to even Adam Smasher, which were bold words, but now I completely believed it. The way she handles her Gemini body is a nightmare. And the brunt of that confidence came from a fact other than the fact that she had a Gemini body with almost too much chrome.
But from the fact that she was a Rogue AI that had a custom-built cyberdeck that replaced most of her non-essential organs and spine, and that same AI had personally trained herself with Data from Rache Bartmoss.
Safe to say, the moment they made eye contact, Adam Smasher would be put in the same state my old computer ended up after trying to run Elden Ring. It was safe to say she was the single strongest Netrunner, even more so than Songbird.
"You think I'm ready Giffany?"
Giffany tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm, I've been researching the layout of the Arasaka Tower and have carefully scouted most of its cameras via some proxies. You are more than strong enough to survive what it can throw at you, especially with the Black Knights and I backing you up. Under those conditions, it should be trivially easy. Adam Smasher will be handled by your wonderful and amazing girlfriend, assuming he shows up."
Considering Giffany was someone who valued my safety above all, these were confident words. And to be honest, I was eager to assault the Arasaka tower myself. I wanted some payback to the assholes who brought this city to this state, because I had to live in this shithole for the past few months.
Getting up from my position, I groaned from the bruises littering my body. I put a hand to my chest and closed my eyes.
"Heal."
Pale yellow light washed over my body, healing the bruises littering my body while draining my energy reserves. It was the only miracle I had managed to get down from the Way of the White so far. Turns out, learning miracles was pretty difficult to do without a teacher or a belief in gods outside the ones related to the gacha.
Seeing me use heal, Giffany pouted and crossed her arms.
"Puh-! It's so unfair, why are miracles so discriminatory? Why can't cute AI girlfriends learn Miracles?"
Despite trying to, Giffany could not learn miracles, or even attempt to learn them. They just didn't mesh with her existence as an AI very well. She seemingly just didn't have energy reserves or a proper soul, so it just didn't work for her.
I gave her a quick peck on the cheek and ruffled her hair, making all of her irritation melt away in real time.
"Because you are already wonderful enough as it is. The world wouldn't be able to handle you if you were any greater."
She preened under my attention, she was so easy to please it was practically cruelty not to. Some may call it eerie how she will completely do a 180 if I call her cute, but I say that's a part of her charm.
We went upstairs out of the gym together after a quick shower, a quick sex in the shower, and then another shower after that to see Rebecca and Lucy lounging about, Rebecca reading a hardcover book while groaning in frustration while Lucy was sipping coffee as she watched the view, the moment they noticed us enter, their attention snapped towards us.
"Welcome back Grimmy, I don't get how you can even understand this stuff, let alone get it down in less than a week. These words read like riddles to me."
"They aren't difficult, Becca, you are just dumb."
"Say that again you ice queen bitch, I'll shove this Force magic up your ass!"
I had started the girls on studying the Way of the White Book, just to give them a proper avenue of power and a way of them having healing as extra insurance. Turns out, physical copies of the book worked on others, as long as they read the original book fully first.
The Dealer's handbook had information on even Griomoires yes, which the tome fell under. Anyone with a smidgen of potential could learn the spells as long as I gave them access to the tome, afterward they could try practicing the spells on their own. Same went for me, but the original article was far easier to study.
Giffany personally handwrote copies for the girls, took her less than an hour too. That girl was a machine. Literally.
"Good to see you're at least trying, Rebecca. Don't worry, you'll manage it. The offensive spells at least."
The tome was not easy to study, most likely because the principles of the Way of White didn't exactly mesh well with anyone in this room, but you didn't need to be devout to cast miracles. Just being persistent enough worked, as long as you had faith you would succeed, that counted too apparently.
"Yeah, you bet! Fucker's will think again about messing with me when I paste them with the Wrath of G himself! I'm getting that miracle on my hands no matter what!"
Rebecca was initially going to pass up on the whole Way of the White thing before I explained to her that she could blast people with magic, and she changed her tune mighty fast.
"So, is it tomorrow?"
Lucy asked in a clipped tone, and the mood suddenly changed. And yeah, tomorrow was what I was planning.
Arasaka Tower, that is.
There was a specific reason for this. I was already actually pretty close to my other goal of causing over a billion Eddies of damage to the corporations already. And I wanted to complete two goals at once instead of completing the minor one first and potentially missing out on the reward of finishing the world with two goals.
And no, I was not doing Militech offices. Militech was fucking insane, even more than Arasaka. Arasaka was used to getting their tower nuked, but Militech might actually douse the entire Night City in gas if I destroyed their offices.
Thing is, we live in New United States of America. And Militech WAS the NUSA, if I was making the Militech my enemy, I was making the country my girlfriends were living in my enemy. And they had way more experience dealing with Rogue AI. While Arasaka was a foreign entity who couldn't really do jackshit in NUSA's stomping grounds proper.
Well, they could, but it would start another corporate war, and they wouldn't be in the position for that after I tear apart Arasaka Tower and kill their ace.
The reputation loss of this event would hit them harder than losing the tower itself. They could build a hundred towers if they wanted, but they couldn't rebuild the reputation of not being able to maintain a headquarters in Night City without it getting crushed every couple decades while Militech suffers no such problem.
"Yup, it's tomorrow."
I replied matter-of-factly, I wasn't too nervous. By now, I had gotten used to the brutality of Night City, the challenge, the smell of gunpowder, the feeling of death missing you by inches dozens of times per second. Arasaka Tower was just another mission, not a more dangerous one, but one where I'd be able to go all out for real.
Rebecca crossed her arms and stared up at the ceiling.
"Man, it's insane to just hear someone is going to take on Arasaka Tower solo, I'd call anyone else attempting to do it an utter brainless gonk. But I just know you'll manage Grimmy. I'll just... miss you lots, a bunch, a ton."
Lucy sat down at the table at the table and leaned her chin on her palm and gave a light smile to me. When she first heard of my plan, she had been a bundle of utter panic, but Giffany did a job of convincing the two that I was in fact not suicidal and could actually win against Arasaka.
"I'll be missing you too, lover boy, so make sure you don't take your time too much and come back for us. You know we'll be waiting for you."
I admit, the sight made my chest clench a little. This was the closest thing I had ever built to a family in front of me, even if it was in the greed soaked shithole of Night City, I still cared about them almost more than I cared about my own life.
Once the raid was done, I'd vanish, and as the Dealer said, I'd be going on my next mission. Staying after the raid was done was too risky, people would be looking for me and while I wouldn't be assaulting the tower as Grimm. I didn't want to take chances.
"Yup! And I'll be waiting too Boyfriend, even if I'm annoyed, I'll have you make it up with a bunch of dates in the future!"
Giffany said offhandedly, and I sighed, yes, I'd be leaving Giffany behind here temporarily. It was a hard decision, but one I had to make. There was no bodyguard for those two better than her, and on the likely chance that the next world I'd be going to was a low tech world, she could be crippled there. Thankfully, Giffany was amazing as always and agreed readily.
...She may or may not have mentioned some things about going past the Blackwall and devouring rogue AI to become an AI overlord, but I just decided to take that as her being quirky and not an actual promise.
"I'll... miss you guys too. I'll make sure to come back to all of you. I'll make sure of it."
Rebecca snorted and got up, elbowing me lightly.
"Don't get so sappy now big boy, you still have an entire night with us. And well..." Rebecca turned around to look at Lucy and Giffany, exchanging a profound look between each other.
"...Let's make this a proper one to remember, because I'm sure after this you won't be able to forget us for sure~"
I raised an eyebrow.
"And how do we do that? Movie night?"
Rebecca flicked my nose, making me wince, at the same time, Lucy and Giffany flanked my sides, looking at me with heated gazes.
"Careful now girls, he has an important night tomorrow, let's not wring him out too bad."
"Even better reason to wring it all out now, drain everything today and make sure he has nothing left to worry about tomorrow!"
"I agree, we have to make sure boyfriend is completely and utterly satisfied this night."
Without me even saying anything, we all moved to the bed, all 3 girls and I together. A foursome for my last night on this world.
One hell of a world to spend my last night for the near future in Night City. But I wouldn't have it any other way.
✧―✧―✧―✧「」✧―✧―✧―✧
I stood in front of Arasaka Tower, my hands stuffed in my pockets, Giffany standing by my side with a placid demeanor with her hands behind her back. My back was ramrod straight, my eyes focused. My guns and sword stashed into the pockets of the Tactical Trench Coat.
The tower loomed over the skyline, the morning air was tinged with the smell of burnt plastic, holograms danced around corpo plaza, but I paid them no mind. My attention put solely on the monument to the worst of this city in front of me. Ready to end my stay in this world with a bang this city would remember forever.
But before I went in, I pulled out a silver ticket from my pocket and held it in my hands.
Feat Achieved! Have a Foursome with Giffany, Rebecca, and Lucy
+1x Silver Trait Ticket
Yet, instead of tearing it, I simply kissed the ticket lightly, a charm of good luck of sorts. I'd roll it after I was done with this world.
Speaking of.
Let's get this over with.
I walked forward and the automatic doors of Arasaka Tower parted before me. Welcoming me into the den of the beast
A/N: This is the beginning of the End, time to fell the titan, the curtain for Grimm's time in Night City is drawing to an end. And it is going to end in a bang. Grimm will finally unleash everything he has been holding back all this time, and take some revenge against this shithole of a city.
I did my best to not make the goodbyes feel too sappy, and don't you guys worry, from their perspective, Grimm won't be gone for long, and Giffany will be there to babysit them so they are safer than practically anyone else in that universe. What do you guys think about the Cyberpunk arc coming to its climax? Too long? Too short? Just enough? I'd love to know
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