"Hey, kid, do you even know how to craft? Fuck's sake, how many times now? You can't grasp this basic principle?"
"Can I just follow the crafting spec?"
"Shit... I regret not charging you tuition."
"..."
Pilar's chair rolled to the side. He propped his head on his hand, staring at Ethan with exasperation.
Ethan looked at the pile of components in front of him, head spinning. Advanced calculus hadn't been this hard — if only he'd studied engineering back then. At least he could've made something instead of getting roasted by a tech expert.
"You're too loud!"
Rebecca stood in the living room, pistol in hand, fist raised in protest. Then she fired a round into Pilar's wall.
Pilar's volume didn't drop one bit. "I'm trying to teach this dumbass something, okay? You get that?"
Ethan eyed the bullet hole in the wall, neck shrinking.
Damn, she actually shot?
But thinking about it, this wasn't unusual. When Pilar made Rebecca pay for David's stuff, she'd shot his cyberarm. The tech expert's first reaction had been: Fuck! The new chrome is bulletproof...
Sibling bond was truly unbreakable.
"Think about the battery setup some more. I'm getting food." Pilar stood, scratched at something with his elongated cyberarm, adjusted his "trajectory," and walked out of his room looking thoroughly disgusted.
Being a tech expert wasn't easy.
Ethan's Gorilla Arms cradled the components. If you didn't know his Intelligence was 10, he'd look like an ape that hadn't developed sentience — awkward as hell. But he had to learn. In Night City and Dogtown, being able to craft your own gear solved a lot of problems.
Take weapon mods, for example. Buying them outside was expensive — if they were even in stock. Making them yourself meant lower risk and lower cost. Why wouldn't you?
His gaze drifted to the grenades Pilar had left on the corner of the desk. Ethan's teeth ached.
If I tried making those, they'd probably blow up in my face!
Thoughts aside, Ethan refocused and buried himself in crafting the Oni. The benefits were too good — reduced charge time for his Nekomata. He had to make this work.
Materials were scarce, but Pilar had tossed them to Ethan without hesitation. Not worried about the cost at all.
Well, the materials were paid for with Ethan's money.
Pilar leaned against the doorframe smoking, holding a slice of Tofu Tuna Pineapple Pizza — delivery, also on Ethan's tab.
He watched Ethan's back in silence, seeming to think of something before shaking his head.
Ethan, deep in work, didn't notice Pilar's gaze. He was laser-focused, completing each step then running it through the diagnostic platform Pilar had set up. If it passed, he continued. If not, back to the drawing board.
He also had to watch for short circuits. He'd already ruined a lot of materials that way.
"He's not eating?"
Rebecca had a braindance wreath around her neck. On a rare day off, she planned to relax properly.
"Get that cigarette away from me, asshole. You'll smoke yourself to death."
Pilar's cigarette got kicked out of his hand by Rebecca. He didn't get mad. "This kid's got the makings of a tech expert. When I first got my hands on this stuff, eating? I didn't even want to piss—"
Rebecca smirked coldly. "That's why you got the synthetic kidney."
Pilar crossed his arms. "First time I assembled a gun, it exploded after one shot."
"But damn, I was excited. At least it proved I could make something. Corps handle the design. Eighty percent of Night City's crafting specs were pieced together by idiots like us, stripping things down bit by bit."
"Sometimes we share for free too. What would a nagging brat like you know?"
Rebecca rolled her eyes and flopped back onto the living room couch.
Ethan heard this and smiled. The pride of makers and tinkerers. The free-sharing spirit of the internet lives on!
Pilar wiped the grease off his hands, sat back down, and pulled out a heap of stuff from a nearby drawer. He started crafting alongside Ethan.
Let this kid see what a real tech god looks like!
Dogtown's buildings rarely had windows — open to light and air alike. By evening, the table was bathed in flame-orange sunset. Ethan stared at the crude Oni in his hands, thrilled.
"I actually made it?!"
Pilar snorted beside him, feet propped on the table, arms behind his head. He gestured with his chin.
Ethan's gaze followed. On the table sat a pristine Oni.
"..."
The difference was visible to the naked eye.
Pilar had sourced quality components from somewhere. His mod looked exactly like the game version — precision-fitted, perfectly compatible with a rifle.
Pilar reached over and took the mod from Ethan's hands. He gave it a dismissive glance and tossed it into a box behind him.
Not bad. Pilar saw the admiration and respect in Ethan's eyes as he stared at the masterpiece.
That'll teach you. Even with the specs, you can't craft worth a damn!
"Pick up my baby and take a look. Don't be shy."
Pilar lit a cigarette as he spoke.
Ethan picked it up. His optics immediately displayed the quality data.
[Oni] Tier 5...
+4 extra zoom, -30% sway — attributes way better than the junk he'd made.
"It's yours."
Ethan didn't process it at first. "Huh?"
"I said, it's yours!" Pilar wore a casual expression. "You want this thing, right? Your big gun's scope isn't this good."
Ethan had no idea what Pilar was playing at.
But as it turned out, he was overthinking.
"What's hardest to repay in Night City? Fucking debts. Human debts. You jumped out to take bullets for my little sis — that took guts. And you paid for the materials anyway. It's yours."
Ethan's wallet was indeed five thousand eddies lighter. But this mod was worth close to five thousand, wasn't it?
Give and take, he hadn't really lost anything. Plus he'd gotten free crafting instruction.
He wanted to send Pilar two Super Rockets for being such an abstract bro in his black leather vest with those long exposed cyberarms!
"Next time you want to learn or need a mod made, you pay tuition! If you've got the eddies and want something specific, bring me the crafting spec and materials. But that spec becomes mine after I use it. Understand?"
Ethan nodded like a pecking chicken.
He cradled the Oni, overjoyed.
Pilar clicked his tongue. "Fuck, another idiot who looks at guns like they're idols. You'll be lucky to get a woman in this lifetime. You're hopeless."
Ethan asked innocently, "Aren't you the same?"
Pilar nodded. "Yeah!"
The abstract tech bro jumped up, clenching his long cyberarm and pumping it up and down.
"I can do this all day~"
"Once you're hooked on tech, when you can channel your thoughts into the crafting spec of your dreams and put your hands to work! Who needs women?"
Damn... Ethan felt the tech bro really did have something special going on.
But Pilar made a good point.
In Night City, the hardest thing to repay was human debt. V said the same thing in the game.
That punk kid Paco had stolen and sold a generator. No matter who V went to for help, those favors became V's debt... Too bad the young man didn't understand these principles. Never learned from his mistakes. Played a winning hand terribly. Even ended up joining the Scavs.
"Thanks."
Ethan picked up the Oni and mounted it on his Nekomata. He raised the rifle toward the window. The new scope was excellent — he could see every detail of people across the way...
Pilar shaded his eyes from the sun. He'd also noticed something unusual.
"Let me take a look?"
Ethan watched Pilar peer through the scope at some girl across the way, grinning like an idiot. Internal eye-roll.
"..."
[Character "Pilar" — Affinity Updated]
[Affinity: 30]
[Reward: Technical Ability +3]
Notes:
[Paco]: In the Phantom Liberty DLC side quest "Balls to the Wall," this young man earned Colonel Hansen's favor but squandered it by stealing and selling cargo. Several endings are possible, but all demonstrate: some young people don't learn even when given second chances.