I needed to know how much I'd lost, so I called up my status,

  [ Name: Ryan Crestwood

  Class: Arch Druid of Renewal / * / * / *

  Level: 1

  XP: 0

  Race: Kaldorei (Azeroth 1,358,374)

  Racial Traits: Swift, Increased Senses, Shadowmeld, Unbroken, Primal Heart

  Stats - Body: 5 / Reflex: 10 / Tech: 4 / Intelligence: 5 / Cool: 8 / Will: 7 / Spirit: 12 / Psi Resonance: 9 / Divinity: 1 (Faith:50)

  Cyberware: None

  ( Nature's Blessing effect: + 4 to all Stats, increased energy ) Not Active

  Abilities - Sense Mana / Ley Line Sight / Shape Mana / Shapeshift: Serpent / Shapeshift: Lesser Treant

  Skills - Rituals: 6 / Concentration: 10 (Evolving) / Firearms: 7 / Bargaining: 9 / Administration: 6 / Leadership: 5 / Mechanics: 8 / Engineering: 5

  Auras - Life Crafting: 3

  Druid Spells - Life Crafting: 5 / Purify: 8 / Nature's Blessing: 10 (Evolving) / Renew the Cycle: 1 / Reincarnate

  Free Points: 0 / Company Points: 100,000 / Task Points: 0 / Eddies: 27,000,000

  Curses: Soul Damage, Lost Thoughts, Broken Heart ]

  Honestly, I was surprised to see that I had been left with that much. Oh, a nice pile of Eddies stood out, though how I was supposed to access them without a neural interface, I couldn't say.

  The thing that stood out the most right now, the confirmation that I'd somehow gained the body of a Night Elf. That seemed like a huge advantage, though I as yet had no clue what any of those traits would do, they sounded quite interesting. Shadowmeld was probably like what happened to the Probes once they became Wisp Infused, but that was not certain. Experimentation would be required.

  Hmm. My mana also seemed much more potent despite the lower stats. I cycled it through my body a few times. Yes, much thicker though that was probably not the right way to put it. Denser, maybe. Another benefit of the Kaldorei?

  The addition of Curses was discouraging. Soul Damage was plain enough, that was the odd gaps in my soul, left over from the process of removing my former classes. I shuddered, remembering the torment of those moments. "Never again." I growled softly. Could I find a way to add new ones? Maybe seal the holes?

  Lost Thoughts was probably from whatever had screwed with my memory. Lethe Water? There were still gaps in my life here and there, also vague faces and names I couldn't fully recall quite yet. Time might solve that problem though.

  Broken Heart was the most troubling. Was that about Sally and Megan... Ingrid and Velma. Did that really fuck me up so badly that it registered as a curse? Or was it something else entirely?

  Well, it wasn't all bad, at least I had gotten out from under the influence of Voice of the Emperor. Other than still possessing a stat related to Divinity.

  'Try to stay positive, Ryan.' I thought to myself. For example, I was positive I was going to break my foot off in someone's ass over all this. Heh. I shook off a growing sense of melancholy.

  "Move forward, even if you don't know where it will lead. Standing still makes you a target," John said that to me once, while we were training. It made far more sense now, then It had at the time.

  I reached out to the vined covered Pillar.

  [ Ryan's Hub Options

  Mana Density: 3

  Time remaining until mandatory expulsion: 5 hours 15 minutes

  Current Stay Duration Limit: 24 hours

  Current Cooldown between Entries: 96 hours

  Raise Level

  Merge Classes

  Merge Skills

  Merge Abilities

  Initiate Task System

  Ransom Allies ]

  ...

  When I saw that last entry I roared, "Fuckers!" My eyes narrowed and my lip pulled back into a snarl, even my ears tensed up. IT was all I could do, not to punch the pillar and probably break my hand. The Company dared hold my people for ransom. Red creeped into my vision and my heart sounded like a battle drum in my ears. How I wanted to holler and rail against the whims of my antagonizers.

  'Deep Breaths.' I started counting the leaves on the Jasmin vines, until I started to be able to think clearly again.

  I was on a clock, if I understood the time remaining properly, and I needed to get equipped before being tossed out. No time for wallowing in my own rage.

  A few moments later, I pulled up their "Ransom" list. I knew I shouldn't but morbid curiosity guided my hand.

  [ Jaina Proudmoore - 100,000 Company Points

  John Wick - 10,000,000 Company Points

  James Raynor - 2,000,000 Company Points

  Tassadar - 1,000,000 Company Points

  Probius - 100,000 Company Points

  Corusaltusvermilliondeku - @$*@(#$^

  Meadran - 1,000,000 Company Points

  Faergin - 500,000 Company Points

  Korvaith - 500,000 Company Points ]

  I forced myself to read it again. And then a third time. My eyes kept traveling over the list until it stopped hurting so much that I could barely breathe.

  I could tell a few things from the list, that might not seem obvious at first glance. They didn't seem to have any of the Nomads, or Mith. Because they wouldn't hesitate to throw them on the list to stick in my craw. That was some good news, if I could find them, though I worried about how Mith was doing right now. We'd barely started to bond, but I could tell we'd be lifelong friends.

  Alina being absent was likely due to her nature as an AI, and remaining locked to a Nexus. No reason to worry too much there. I just had to get back to the Valley.

  John was bleeding expensive, though that was no surprise. Anything with a brain was scared of him.

  I wasn't going to think about the little Dragon's entry, they were never likely to let him near me again. The Case Worker was really upset about him.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Even the Treants were there. I sighed.

  They had left me with enough points to Ransom Jaina or Probius. A cruel joke, though what was one more cruelty now? If I was forced to choose, at this moment it would probably be Probius. Though without a Nexus or Forges his usefulness would be limited. Though, Jaina would likely still have her status as an Adjutant. Meaning she'd have to stay behind when I left. But I'd hold off on that for right now. I saw no need to rush, and I knew enough about Night City now, that I should be able to get by on my own for a while.

  No one should be able to recognize me anyway, after my makeover. Thankfully, Biosculpting was a very diverse practice, so no one should think much of my new appearance. Though it might get me a few more attempts of gangers rolling me for eddies. Only the rich, used much biosculpting. I shrugged, I'd probably welcome the attempt.

  There was no adding of a Class on this list, but I could merge them. This implied I could get more somewhere else. Maybe the store?

  The Task System, looked interesting. Might as well see what that was about. My BTC shook,

  [ Welcome to the Task System

  Complete basic Tasks for Points

  Spend Points in the Store ]

  [ Task 1 - Ongoing, Repeating

  Heal 10 people

  Reward: 1,000 Task Points ]

  [ Task 2 - Ongoing, Repeating

  Kill 10 people

  Reward: 1,000 Task Points ]

  [ Task 3 - Ongoing, Repeating

  Fix or Adjust 10 Devices

  Reward: 1,000 Task Points ]

  [ Tasks depend on Classes and Skills ]

  [ You have Quests ]

  [ Quest 1

  Find the Aldecaldos

  Reward: 1,000 Company Points ]

  [ Quest 2

  Meet Rogue in the Afterlife

  Reward: 10,000 Company Points ]

  [ Quest 3 - Ongoing, Repeatable

  Meet Certain People

  Rewards: Varies ]

  [ Quest 4 - Ongoing, Repeatable

  Kill Certain People

  Rewards: Varies ]

  Bloody fucking hell. Generic busywork. Why must I be forced into these kinds of meaningless job? Alright, sure, I'm probably going to do a lot of those tasks anyway. Might as well get paid for doing them, but it still pissed me off. The micromanaging busywork nature of it, it's why I wanted to work for myself in the past.

  I shook my head. Focus. I still needed to check out the other two sets of buildings, before exploring the Value Tree for gear.

  The one across the road from Treeside was called Utilitree. Ugh. Who named these? It was a bizarre amalgamation of a Water Works and Waste management plant along with being a Power and Distribution Station. It was like some AI generated image of what those things should look like all smashed together.

  Across from the Value Tree was a giant warehouse, named Storage Tree. It was, unsurprisingly, empty. I stared nonplussed at the name. Really?

  Beyond them was another purple grass covered field, and off in the distance, I could see another Moon Well. No help there.

  Well then, I guess it was time to go shopping.

  This time when I entered the Value Tree, I was greeted by a list of departments. Some were more general, like Standard Groceries (U.S.A. 1950 - 2019). Some were very specific, like Goblin Horticulture (Terra 73,629,602,678,476). Goblins on Earth, imagine that. I wonder what that place is like?

  It took me a few minute to get used to the lists' controls, but I found I could search for what I wanted pretty quickly.

  When searching for Guns, I still got a huge list of departments. I narrowed it down to Terra (100,000 - 62,000,000) Though some of those other options were quite fascinating. There were listings for things like The Old Republic Era and the familiar The Imperium of Man and countless others. I'd a feeling though that it would be best if I stuck with things found in Night City, so I tried to enter the Omaha as a reference.

  I was left with Terra (1,746,843 - 3,264,915) Good enough, I selected that option and the whole store shifted, or maybe I was teleported. It was impossible for me to say which. Suddenly, I was standing in front of racks and racks of rifles and carbines. The smell of REM oil filled the air. Everything was so gleaming and new, and the prices weren't out of line with my experiences at NC vendors.

  I minimized the department list and started looking around. There were brands I'd never seen while I was running around NC before, like ARES, though their weapons look somewhat similar to the ones I had seen before. I decided to stick with what I was most familiar with and hunted around for pistols. There they were, thousands of cases full of every type of pistol I'd ever seen and then some. I found the Omahas. They had a huge selection, even ones I suspected were futuristic to the models I had previously handled. I found one I liked the look of...

  [ Militech Omaha Type XX

  Ammo type: Caseless .50

  Capacity: 10 rounds extended magazine or 25 round drum magazine

  Damage: 10

  Included Modifications: Recoil Compensation, Baffled Barrel, Reflex Sight, Anti-Tamper Software Suite ]

  [ Price: 100,000 Eddies / 1000 Task Points / 500 Company Points ]

  It's black dull matte finish and diamond textured grip called to me. It whispered to me that it could ventilate all my problems. Sure fucking Militech made it, but I didn't care. All the more irony if I flatlined their huscle with it. Yes, I bought it and the Eddies somehow came out of my BTC. I guess it had integrated NET Agent abilities now. Convenient. Or maybe it just worked that way here? I'd have to check with a vending machine or something, so I didn't embarrass myself if it didn't work that way in NC proper. I hoped it did work though, I'd like to forego cyberware this time, at least until I can get access to the Khalai tech again.

  Then my new baby was in my hands, and it felt so nice I spent a full minute playing with it. Then some new screens popped up offering ammo and accessories. I got a tactical harness and belt combo with a adjustable holster setup. Ten spare extended mags. And then as I when to put them on I finally realized I was still fuckin naked. I was playing with my gun while I was nude. I couldn't help but laugh at the image that conjured up.

  Thankfully the screen now offered related department. Clothes and Armor, Survival Gear and Footwear. Soon enough, I was clothed in a simple black skintight undersuit. It was an armored netrunner suit. Which I picked up not for netrunning, but because it could regulate my temperature under all my other armor. A plain green button up and black slacks over that. An armored vest similar to the one I had before came next and then an armored navy blue trench coat with some temp control lining. A pair of heavy and, yes, armored combat boot were in the process of adjusting to fit my feet. They had a squishy comfort gel foam inside. My feet were very oversized even for my new form. Which given how things felt in my hands was any indication was larger than my last one. Yup, everything bought here was one size fits most, each with some magical ability to shape themselves to the wearer. At least the first time they were put on.

  I snagged two hard cased belt packs full of various bits of survival gear. Most of which felt a bit pointless right now but you never know. Better to have it and not need it... I also picked up a sleek hard cased minifridge backpack to pack fill with some decent food, because fuck eating that NC scop again. It covered my whole back and fit nicely under my trench coat.

  I asked my BTC how much time I had left, 1hour 15 minutes. Time flies when you are shopping for guns, but I still had plenty of time left to pick up some decent grub.

  Then I had an idea. I pulled up the department list and entered Classes. I got Education Departments of all kinds, however there was a marked standout. The Token Store. I selected that.

  Now, I found myself in a small 30' by 30' shop, all done up in a cozy café style. Floor to ceiling glass cases full of Tokens. There was a section labeled Heroes, and one labeled Themes. I checked a few out. Unlike before where Token were random, these were specific.

  [ Malfurion Stormrage Version 524,387,152

  Price: 100,000,000 Eddies

  1,000,000 Task Points

  500,000 Company Points ]

  O-kay. Hundreds of other Heroes were available at similar prices. No Raynor, no Wick, no Jaina. Thank goodness, that would have been too weird for me. With the Themes it was the same,

  [ The Galactic Empire version 6,253,384,620,967,453,946

  Price: 10 trillion Eddies

  100 billion Task Points

  50 billion Company Points ]

  Holy fucking hell. Just how many versions of things are out there? And those prices... Welp, not getting any of these anytime soon I guess.

  Then I found a small case by itself. It only had three Tokens.

  [ Class Gunslinger version 10

  Price: 1,000,000 Eddies

  10,000 Task Points

  5,000 Company Points ]

  [ Class Jedi Knight version 10,537

  Price: 10,000,000 Eddies

  100,000 Task Points

  50,000 Company Points ]

  [ Class Rockerboy version 196

  Price: 500,000 Eddies

  5,000 Task Points

  2,500 Company Points ]

  I'd wonder what they based the prices on? How useful? How powerful? I eyed the Jedi Knight with a certain childish longing, but I probably didn't want to deal with any of the headaches the mindset of a Jedi would place on me. Still...

  No. Better to let it go.

  Now the Rockerboy was interesting because I had heard the term when I met REV/DEV. I always did want to be in a band, on the other hand I don't know that I want to deal with that level of public scrutiny.

  Gunslinger while utterly generic sounding, was probably my best bet for a quick combat boost. Though I had no idea if this was like a Wild West version of a Gunslinger or something else. Hmm. I had the money and if I didn't like it I could merge it with something else later, probably.

  Alright, Gunslinger it is.

  As I picked up the Token it vanished and I felt it settle into me. No pain, thankfully. In fact, I felt a lot better instantly. I checked my Status. (AN: See Below)

  Looking good. So more of a Weird West kind of deal? Smooth like a Snake looked neat. Repeated actions became more fluid. Double Shot was less about shooting twice, and more about conjuring a another bullet per shot. It used mana though, interesting. Reload was exactly that, you could add ammo with mana.

  I checked the time. 25 minutes left. After a quick run through the Grocery section, I realized I'd have to come back for all the treats I hadn't seen in years. Ooo, were those Cheddar BBQ Cheetos? Score! Old school glass bottle sodas, awesome! A selection of candies I had never even heard of before. I felt like a kid again.

  Instead I stocked up on good jerky and water. I grabbed some bread and sandwich meats. A jar of peanut butter. Not the best but a far better than most NC food. A few bottle sodas for fun. I filled my coat pockets with a few fruits. Especially the silver apples. I also grabbed a few snack bars for right now, since it felt like ages since I had eaten. Then I remembered, I should have grabbed some bottles to fill with Moon Well water. Oh well, too late now.

  It seemed a shame to have to go. Shaking my head, I left the Value Tree and marched to the East Gate with a couple of minutes to spare. Time to see what had changed in good ol' Night City.