Maxwell continued walking through the streets of the Metroplex until he finally stopped in front of a modest apartment. Slapping his shoes to get the dirt off, Maxwell pushed open the glass doors; the atmosphere inside was cool and cold.
A young woman was reclining her head on her arms at the counter. When she saw the door swing open, she stood up straight, an inviting smile growing on her face.
"Welcome!" she greeted cheerfully while fixing her hair. "How can I help you today?"
"Say, Ma'am. I'd like to know if there are any rooms available."
"Of course, of course." The young woman nods several times. She turns to check the available rooms on her computer. "Hmm… let me see here…"
"Oh, sixty-ninth floor. A fully equipped kitchen, a cozy air-conditioned bedroom, a bathroom, and a balcony offering a view of the sunset.
"How much for a month?"
"The monthly rent is $1500."
"Meals are included?"
"No, But there's a restaurant two blocks away."
"..." Maxwell turns his face to street, it's already very late and there may not be any other places open. He puts the money on the counter. "Well, at least it's on the sixty-ninth floor."
"I also need your ID card."
"M-my I-ID card? S-sure, I think I left it somewhere."
Maxwell panics for a moment as he searches the pockets of his jeans. He only breathes a sigh of relief when he picks up a card with a photo of himself, or more precisely the former owner of the body.
'Rest in peace, you little bastard.' Maxwell says a quick prayer for the poor soul.
Checking the information, the young woman hands over the card and hands him a key with the number 69 printed on it.
"All right, have a good night."
"For you too ma'am."
"Maxwell Williams, date of birth August 3, 2820. He has the same name as me, but he's older. Looking on the bright side, it's better than going through puberty again." Maxwell looked at his ID while climbing the stairs, he discovered while walking around the metropolis that they were in the year 2854, which meant he was 34 years old.
Being in a safe place, Maxwell finally concentrates on the headache he was feeling, he had been ignoring the visions and memories for a long time.
There wasn't much to it, which explained the little pain he felt. The life of the old body was a humdrum routine, which boiled down to doing the basics to survive. Maxwell even questioned whether the body's former owner was a person or just an empty shell to be filled with his soul.
Shaking his head, Maxwell put these thoughts to the back of his mind and entered what he would call home for the next month. After storing his weapons in a wardrobe, Maxwell takes a quick shower and falls to the bed, completely exhausted.
The next day…
Yawning, Maxwell gets out of bed. He freezes for a moment at the unfamiliar surroundings, until memories of the previous day flood his mind. Shrugging, Maxwell goes into the bathroom to wash his face.
"Ahhh! A thief! No wait… it's me." Seeing his new appearance in the mirror, Maxwell can't help but feel strange. It was quite disconcerting to see himself with a new face, was this how people who had plastic surgery felt?
"Not bad, not bad at all." With his hand on his chin and another in the sink, Maxwell turns his side left and right. His skin was a healthy tan, black hair was combed back with a neatly trimmed beard, framing his dark blue eyes.
Maxwell's eyebrows jump and his hands go down to his pants and look at his attributes.
"I don't understand, how can reincarnators measure exactly their dicks with the naked eye? Is it some kind of skill that you gain after inspecting several dicks? I don't know, kind of gay".
Maxwell gave up trying to guess the size of his cock, he had a belly to fill and plans to make. After tidying up, Maxwell goes downstairs, deciding to have a look at the restaurant near the apartment.
When Maxwell got there, he chose a seat by the window and ordered a cup of coffee and pancakes for breakfast. Maxwell was lost in his thoughts as he occasionally sipped his coffee, some of his doubts popping up.
'System, I've seen that I don't have any skills, how can I get one?'
[Skills are gained in two ways. Through missions focused on gaining this skill or through Challenges in the Quest Board. The latter, however, gives you a pre-defined skill]
'Quest Board uh? I hope they're not absurd missions.' Maxwell's mind spins, wondering which skill he should get first. 'Well, I'm in Borderlands, gaining a firearm skill would be the smart thing to do. I'm going to look for a shooting club when I'm done here."
[Verifying quest conditions… condition met]
[Generating quest…]
[Quest:
( ) Join a shooting club.
( ) Receive instructions on how to handle a gun properly.
( ) Hit 5 consecutive shots.
Reward: Trigger Discipline + $10c]
'No penalization? I think I'm falling in love,' Maxwell breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the system's lack of bullshit. 'But what would happen if I didn't?'
[My goal is to make you the Apex Predator, penalization is against my user terms.]
[If you don't complete the mission you won't get the reward; the mission can remain incomplete for years without any penalization. But I must warn you about missions such as rescuing people, because if the target of the rescue dies, the mission counts as failed, although there is no penalization from the system, the person referred to will still die through the fault of the user.]
'That's reasonable, I can handle it.'
With a destination in mind, Maxwell doesn't rush but finishes his meal, he looks at the people rushing to work, the traffic, and the distant sounds of honking horns.
'If I hadn't known I was on another planet, I might have thought I was still on Earth.' Maxwell could only sigh at how human beings remained the same, no matter what world they were in. 'These people live worrying about bills to pay, unaware of the ruins beneath their feet; truly, ignorance is a blessing for the masses. '
The waitress goes to his table when she sees that he has finished and is getting up to leave. Maxwell took the opportunity to ask if there were any shooting clubs nearby.
"Yes, I know. There's a club near the hospital." The woman looks at Maxwell strangely. "You could find this kind of information on ECHOnet, you know?"
"Oh! Uh… I lost mine. Thanks anyway, ma'am." Maxwell pays for his meal and leaves for the shooting club.
'I'm going to need an ECHO too. Maybe I'll need more money sooner than I expected.' Maxwell just hoped that Marcus wouldn't notice that certain amounts were missing.
Walking down the street, Maxwell passes a hospital and after a few minutes, he arrives at his destination. Even from outside, he could hear the occasional gunshot; the sound was rather muffled, but it was still noticeable.
It was the first time he had been to such a place, so it took some time for Maxwell to be allowed in. With his documents and identity confirmed, and above all, with no criminal record, he was granted admission.
Maxwell registered and paid the fee. As he had a gun, he wanted to go straight away, but his instructor warned him that he needed to use the training ammunition, for which his ammunition was not suitable at the moment.
[(X) Join a shooting club.]
His instructor leads him into a room, Maxwell's eyes darting from side to side as he realizes the ridiculous amount of ammunition. There was not only Atlas ammunition but ammunition from all the other corporations.
"Hey, buddy, don't just stand there, what do you want?" An old man was in charge of the place; given his worn appearance, he was probably a man who had taken part in several gunfights.
'System, give me a hand here. Which ammunition is compatible with my p2016?'
[The weapons provided by the system are compatible with the ammunition in this universe. Just understand that there are certain limits. Such as loading an energy weapon with physical ammunition or reloading an energy weapon using explosive ammunition]
[For example, your P2016 is comparable with Dahl and Vladof ammunition. But the same cannot be done with Maliwan and Torgue ammunition.]
'I see' With the information provided, Maxwell buys a few boxes of training ammunition, two holsters, one for his P2016 and one for his Data Knife.
With everything settled, Maxwell can finally shoot. He is taken to the shooting ranges, there were a few people present, and even a child was practicing there. Maxwell pulls his P2016 from its holster and waits for instructions.
"Alright, before we start, I need to teach you a few safety rules. But it seems you already know that, don't you?" The instructor shakes his head as he observes Maxwell pointing the gun barrel downwards and keeping his finger away from the trigger.
"I know a few things." Although the sound was muffled by the earplugs, he could still hear his instructor.
"Good, now, let's start with your stance. Assume the standing shooting position for me. Feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and lean forward slightly. Good. Now, grip the gun firmly with both hands and extend your arms straight out in front of you. Excellent. You're in position."
"Take a deep breath, steady your aim, and when you're ready, gently squeeze the trigger. Give it a try."
Maxwell holds his breath, and with his target in his sights, puts his finger on the trigger and pulls it.
*Bang*
And he completely missed the target.
Maxwell is not discouraged and tries again, pulling the trigger again when he recovers from the recoil.
*Bang*
He misses again.
"Uh... I think I've got something wrong."
"Yeah, you're pulling the trigger, that sudden action is throwing off your aim. Try squeezing the trigger gently." The instructor doesn't lose patience, in fact, he expected something like this to happen.
[(X) Receive instructions on how to handle a gun properly.]
Maxwell nods, gets into position, and holds his breath. His finger slowly squeezes until it reaches the breaking point.
*Bang*
The bullet landed in the target's chest, and Maxwell only realized how focused he was when he was brought back to reality by a screen appearing in front of him.
(1/5) Hit 5 consecutive shots.]
Maxwell is concentrating again, that's all it took for him to gain his ability. He focuses on hitting the target's torso to minimize the chance of missing.
*Bang* *bang*
(3/5) Hit 5 consecutive shots.]
Maxwell took his time with each shot to recover from the gun's recoil. With his care taken, he managed to hit the remaining shots.
*Bang* *bang*
(X) Hit 5 consecutive shots.]
[Quest accomplished! Depositing rewards…]
[You've received a skill: Trigger Discipline]
[Trigger Discipline: This skill represents mastery over all types of firearms. Trigger Discipline improves various aspects of the art of shooting, including:
Iron Grip: Maintaining a firm, stable grip on the weapon significantly reduces recoil and the possibility of making prolonged bursts without affecting the aim.
Quicksilver: Reload your weapons quickly and efficiently, minimizing downtime and letting you quickly switch between different weapons.
Eagle Eyes: Passively increases the maximum distance your eyes can see per level.]
[+$10c]
'No chance, can I zoom in with my eyesight?' Maxwell exclaimed in his mind as he felt he could control how far he could see, the 'zoom' he could give didn't seem like much at the moment, but it was expected given the skill level.
'Let's see, stats.'
_____
Name: Maxwell Williams
Regeneration: 0
[STR: 3] [END: 5] [DEX: 4>5] [INT: 7>9]
Skills: [Trigger Discipline lv.1]
___
Functions: [Hangar] [Quest Board]
Credits: $11
_____
'OH! I've won some points… Well, that makes sense, I need focus and dexterity to shoot.' Maxwell is brought back from his thoughts when his instructor catches his eye.
"No need to be too surprised, let's keep shooting. I still need to teach you how to reload your gun and refill your magazines with your ammunition."
"Sure, of course, pal" Maxwell wouldn't argue, he needed to shoot more to improve his skill.
A few hours later…
[With continuous effort, Trigger Discipline has leveled up]
[Trigger Discipline lv1>lv2]
'Hmm, I feel sick. I need to get used to this happening.' Maxwell complains as he feels his vision improving again, allowing him to look further.
Maxwell put down his P2016. The barrel of the gun had visible smoke coming from the end of the barrel, and it was also rather hot.
With his goal achieved, Maxwell can finally leave and go home. He would be visiting the shooting range more often to improve his skills as much as possible.
Arriving at his room, Maxwell took a quick shower and ate a meal he had ordered. Afterward, he goes out onto the balcony to relax after a productive day. In his hand, he had a rectangular device known as an ECHO, very familiar and present in all Borderlands games.
Maxwell had bought one while he was on his way back, the ECHO didn't cost much, it was practically the price of a smartphone on his old planet, and it also did everything a smartphone does, take photos, make video calls, and not least, play games.
On the other hand, the accessories for the ECHO were quite expensive. The popular Storage Deck, or just SD, worked like a videogame inventory, allowing you to carry various items without worrying about weight. It was more convenient than a backpack.
You can store your clothes, ammunition, non-perishable supplies, and even your car if the SD has enough space! It was everyone's dream, and Maxwell was no different.
Maxwell ended his day watching the sunset before going to bed. He would be training his body tomorrow.