Borderlands: Apex Predator

Maxwell sat hunched on a park bench, hands cradling his head, while his dark eyes remained distant, lost in thought.

The atmosphere around him was bittersweet, with families scattered across the park, laughter, and the clatter of picnic utensils filling the air. Children darted around, tossing frisbees and chasing each other, their joyous shouts echoing through the trees. Despite the vibrant scene, Maxwell remained detached, his gaze fixed on some distant point, oblivious to the lively activity around him.

The reason for his anguish was the city he was in. It wasn't his city, he'd lived in the countryside since he was born, so Maxwell thought he'd been kidnapped or something. All he remembers is going to sleep after playing Titanfall 2, he was so excited about the servers being activated again that he spent the whole night playing.

But when he woke up the next day, he thought he was hallucinating because somehow he ended up waking up in a futuristic metropolis the next day.

He wouldn't be waiting around, so like any human being with more than enough curiosity to kill a cat, he walked around the city and talked to as many people as possible to find out where he was. At first, people said they were in Meridian Metroplex, which didn't help much because Maxwell had never heard of it, he thought it was a North American city, given the English language people used.

When he asked for a smartphone to call his parents, the passer-by gave him a funny rectangular device that looked like a Game Boy. It was then that reality hit him like a steamroller.

Somehow, he ended up in the Borderlands universe. The final straw for his assumption was the Atlas soldiers he occasionally saw passing through the streets. Fortunately, he was in Promethea instead of Pandora, which was one less thing to worry about. 

But then why was Maxwell sad?

In addition to Borderlands' high mortality rate, cosmic terrors, greedy corporations, and being far from home.

The reason was nothing more and nothing less than the sh-

[*Bing*]

Maxwell closed his eyes and sighed, he had been ignoring this sound for some time, not because he didn't want to accept it, but because he was apprehensive about what it would be.

Maxwell opens his eyes and looks at the floating blue screen.

[Request pending, waiting for user confirmation]

[Yes/No]

'Anything, even hentai systems. But don't put a damn robot in charge of my life, I'd rather throw myself off a bridge if that's the case.' Maxwell crossed his fingers, he would accept anything, hell, he was lowering himself to the hentai system. What was the point of going to another world, earning a system, just to be a slave? 

Without further hesitation, Maxwell swallows the lump in his throat and clicks "Yes".

[Confirmation received, preparing the Titanfall system]

Maxwell's mind paused for a moment, realizing what he had heard.

"WHOAAA FUUCK YEEAAAAAH!!!" Maxwell jumps up from the bench, his clenched hands raised in the air, disregarding the many strange looks he was receiving. Some mothers left the scene with their kids, terrified that a stranger had gotten so excited in a park... full of children.

Maxwell was so caught up in the excitement that he didn't pay any attention to anything, so he hummed the magic word of every system.

"Stats"

_____

Name: [Maxwell Williams]

Regeneration: 0

[STR: 3] [END: 5] [DEX: 4] [INT: 7]

Skills: [None]

___

Functions: [Hangar] [Quest Board]

Credits: $50

_____

"I'm not going to lie, I thought it would be bigger, better that way anyway." Maxwell scratches his beard for a moment. "Can you briefly explain the stats and criteria I'd have to meet to qualify for Regeneration?"

[Of course]

[The human average is 10, and the human peak is 50.]

[Strength (STR): It represents your physical strength. This affects the general force of your blows and resistance to pushes and impacts. Additionally, it influences your maximum weight that can be carried, pushed, and lifted, with each point in STR granting an additional 3.5kg of lifting capacity. However, lifting capacity is halved if only one hand is used.]

[Endurance (END): It represents the toughness, health, and heart rate of your body. This affects resistance to fatigue, disease, and poisons. Additionally, it influences your injuries' resistance to blunt, cutting, and piercing. As well as holding your breath for longer intervals, tolerating extreme hunger, unbearable thirst, and strong urges to sleep.]

[Dexterity (DEX): It represents your body's reflexes, balance, and motor coordination. This affects your ability to move quickly, dodge attacks, and aim accurately. Additionally, it influences your proficiency with agile maneuvers and intricate tasks, such as piloting and parkour.]

[Intelligence (INT): It represents your mental capacity to retain information and focus. This affects your capacity to resist mind manipulation, withstand psychological traumas, and enhance your understanding of academic topics. Additionally, it influences your proficiency in hacking, engineering, and other technical tasks.]

[Regeneration: The maximum Regeneration level is 10. It represents your authorization level for new items in the hangar. As the pilot progresses and reaches 50 points in all stats, you can choose to Regenerate his body, reset your stats to 10, increase your attribute cap limited by 10, and get credits multiplied and attributes multiplied. You won't get amnesia when you perform Regeneration, and your body will be rejuvenated, bringing your body back to its young age and increasing your longevity.]

"My physique isn't even average? Well, well, sounds like the previous owner was a bit sedentary uh." Maxwell rubs his nose, a little embarrassed. "Anyway, what can I do with credits?"

[Credits are the currency used to exchange for [Hangar] items. However, certain items are blocked until you reach the Regeneration level required by the product.]

"Hmm, so it's like a shop." Maxwell clicks on the [Hangar] tab, expanding it to a much larger screen.

_____

[Weapons]

[Gear]

[Augments]

[Robots (locked)]

[Medicine (locked)]

[Vehicles (locked)]

[Titans (locked)]

[Civilian (locked)]

_____

"Wow wow hey." Maxwell felt his heart racing, the screen almost reaching the floor. The system was selling everything from the Titanfall universe, maybe even Apex Legends since it's set in the same universe.

Maxwell sits back on the bench, exploring all the tabs. His eyes widened, and at other times he frowned, thinking about the possible applications.

After an hour Maxwell stopped swiping the screen. He realized a few things. Blueprints are cheaper while buying the item already done is more expensive, something quite obvious, and all items after augmentations were locked, so no titans for now.

Also, he could buy Loba's clothes… What? He was just seeing if he could buy something from Apex Legends.

With all his questions answered Maxwell concentrated on which items he should buy. 

The lists seemed endless, but Maxwell used the filters to find a few interesting things.

[(Augments) Rudimentary Nanites MK1: Small robots that help to heal wounds quickly. This version is magnetic. With a powerful magnet, it can tear nanites away from their body host. $30c]

[(Weapons) Data Knife: Tactical knife used for combat and hacking. $10c]

[-$40c]

[Credits: $10]

Maxwell had chosen these two things because they were the most cost-effective of all. There were several versions of nanites, some of which were so crazy that they could improve your body without training, change certain physical aspects, and replicate objects. The price was just as crazy, of course. So he took the weakest and cheapest version. 

As for Data Knife, he got the Titanfall 2 version. Not that there were many versions anyway.

With 10 credits left, Maxwell wanted a firearm. He chose one of the sidearm weapons, which were light, small, and easy to hide. Apart from the fact that the cheapest one only cost 5 credits, this allowed him to buy magazines, which only cost 2 credits.

[(Weapons) RE-45 Autopistol: The RE-45 is a fully automatic machine pistol with a magazine size of 20 rounds. $6c]

[(Weapons) Hammond P2011/2016/2020: The Hammond's gun is a Semi-Automatic Handgun with a magazine size of 12 rounds (P2011/2016) or 14 rounds (P2020). $5c/$7c]

[(Weapons) B3 Wingman: The Wingman is a double-action revolver with six chambers. $8c]

Maxwell chose the P2016, the Titanfall 2 version. The gun itself was the most balanced, catering for short and medium range with a good rate of fire and a decent magazine size, without diminishing its firepower.

[-$5c]

He also bought two magazines, making a total of three, considering that the gun came with one already equipped.

[-$4c]

[Credits: $1c]

Maxwell quickly put his knife, pistol, and magazines in his pockets. All that was left in his hand was a small syringe, the contents of which were black and seemed to move on their own.

Maxwell injects the nanites into his body without hesitation, the pain of the needle piercing his flesh is soon superimposed on the nanites running like ants through his veins. When he withdrew the syringe there was no time for blood to flow out and the nanites closed the small hole.

He then notices the absence of people in the park and sees that it is already getting dark. Maxwell gets up and walks back into town.

The green landscape of the park is replaced by streets crowded with cars and skyscrapers detailed with neons. Maxwell ponders as his lungs fill with the carbon dioxide emitted by the vehicles, he consoles himself by saying that he will increase his Endurance stats.

Because he was carrying a lot of dangerous things, Maxwell was walking in a rather strange way, people didn't mind too much, but children...

"Look, Daddy, that man shit in his pants." A little girl across the street pointed at Maxwell as he pulled on his father's shirt.

"Tsk" Maxwell clicks his tongue. 'Fucking annoying kids, didn't your parents teach you to respect others? I'm a man with a loaded gun here!'

Maxwell hurried up the pace for the child's safety. After a few minutes of walking through the city, he finds his lonely target.

A Marcus vending machine.

"I won't go gently into that good night." Maxwell looks at his Data Knife with a mischievous grin. "Now, cutie, let's test you, shall we?"

The Data Knife looked no different from any other blade but looks can be deceiving. A button discreetly hidden in the handle revealed its unique feature: a blade interior similar to RAM. After making sure no one was around, Maxwell connected the blade to the machine. A holographic screen materialized on the handle, displaying the hack's success rate.

34%

76%

100%

Deciding not to be greedy, Maxwell withdraws an amount that Marcus wouldn't miss… or so he hoped, given Marcus's reputation for ruthlessness, which even extended to pursuing refund checks sent in error. He quickly makes the machine release twenty 100-dollar bills, takes them all, and puts them in the pockets of his jeans. He knew he could make a lot of money selling the guns, but going around with various weapons would attract unwanted attention.

Maxwell leaves the scene of the crime, adrenaline coursing through his veins, his heart pounding in his chest from the exhilaration of committing his first of many crimes.