Rain hammered the rusted rooftops of Lower Sector 17, turning the alleyways into rivers of neon-reflected filth. Jax Harlan wiped grime from his visor, his augmented eyes scanning the latest haul from the corporate dump. At 22, he was just another ghost in the machine—scraping credits by salvaging discarded tech from Arasaka Corp's overflow.
"Another busted drone," he muttered, kicking a mangled chassis. His stomach growled; rent was due, and his cheap neural link was glitching again, feeding static into his brain.
That's when he saw it: a sleek black case half-buried under debris, unmarked except for a faint glowing rune. Corporate black-market stuff? Jax's heart raced. He pried it open with his multi-tool.Inside lay a neural implant chip—pristine, humming with energy. Not the standard gray-market junk; this one pulsed with blue light, like it was alive.
"Jackpot," he whispered. Against every instinct, he jacked it into his port at the base of his skull.
Pain exploded. White-hot fire raced through his neurons as code flooded his mind.
[Initializing... Foreign hardware detected.]
[Protocol Override: Activating Hidden Core.]
[Welcome, User #0001. System Integration Complete.]
A holographic blue interface bloomed in his vision—crisp, futuristic, unlike any street implant.Status Screen:
Name: Jax Harlan
Level: 1
Class: None (Awakened Core Bearer)
HP: 100/100
Mana: 50/50
Strength: 8
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 12
Vitality: 9
Skills: None
Unique Trait: Progression Core (Evolvable)
"What the hell...?" Jax staggered back, yanking the jack. But the screen stayed. It was inside him now.
A voice—calm, synthetic—echoed in his head: The Core grants unlimited potential. Grow through challenges.Survive the Ascension.
Before he could process, footsteps splashed behind him. Three thugs from the Black Circuit gang emerged, cyber-blades glowing.
"Hand over the case, scrap-rat," their leader snarled, optics red.
Jax's old self would have run. But something ignited. Adrenaline surged, and the Core whispered: First trial detected. Engage?
He didn't have a choice.