Cyberpunk 2077: Should you crack the Spellbook in the Spellbound job?

Reveal your secrets.

Nix smoking a cigar in his Netrunning office in Cyberpunk 2077
Screenshot by Dot Esports

I know what you’re thinking—”Spellbooks in Cyberpunk 2077?” It’s a real thing, I swear. Spellbound is a side job that can be acquired from Nix in the Afterlife club, and the rewards easily justify the work you’ll have to put in to complete the job.

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This guide will briefly walk you through the simple steps needed to complete Spellbound—but more importantly, you’ll learn what will happen if you decide to give in to the intrusive thoughts and crack the Spellbook that Nix sends you to acquire during this side job.

Cyberpunk 2077: How to start the Spellbound side job

Before you can start this job, you’ll need to have completed the main story job Ghost Town. After you’ve done that, Spellbound can be started at any time by returning to the Afterlife and speaking with Nix.

Nix won’t give you the job immediately, but after a few hours, he will text you with the offer.

Nix offering a job to V inside of the Afterlife night club (Cyberpunk 2077).
I’m in. Screenshot by Dot Esports

To find Nix inside the Afterlife, simply enter the club, go into the hallway past Rogue’s booth, and enter the room on the right.

Cyberpunk 2077: Spellbound walkthrough

The job is abundantly simple—Nix has caught wind of somebody selling a Spellbook, which is basically an old file storage unit full of rare data. Nix wants V to handle the transaction and promises to pay double the price of the Spellbook. Not a bad offer.

Nix will give you the contact info of the buyer, who goes by the alias R3n0. Contact R3n0 and go to the arranged meeting place.

Once there, you’ll see the buyer leaning against the bar with a laptop next to her. She explains that the Spellbook is at a secure location nearby and that you can buy the coordinates for 18,000 eddies. The offer is legit—paying R3n0 will get you the location of the Spellbook.

v speaking to R3n0 in a bar during the Spellbound job (Cyberpunk 2077).
That’s pretty steep. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Alternatively, you can save yourself some cash by hacking into the laptop next to R3n0, which will give you the coordinates without needing to spend any money. To do this, sneak around the other side of the bar so that R3n0 doesn’t see you hacking the laptop.

Once you have the coordinates, head to the indicated location and find the Spellbook inside a pink suitcase behind a vending machine. At this point, you’re ready to head back to Nix and complete the job—however, you’ll also notice an optional objective to hack into the Book of Spells.

The Book of Spells in a pink suitcase and Johnny sitting behind it (Cyberpunk 2077).
not the most “secure” location I’ve seen… Screenshot by Dot Esports

Cyberpunk 2077: What happens if you crack the Spell Book in the Spellbound job?

There are no consequences for cracking the Spell Book before delivering it to Nix and doing so will get you the Crafting Spec for Tier Five of System Collapse—which is the absolute best Quickhack for covert takedowns.

the Crafting Spec description for System Collapse in Cyberpunk 2077.
It’s beautiful. Screenshot by Dot Esports

So yes, you absolutely should crack the Spellbook in the Spellbound side job. To do so, go to Inventory > Shards > Other. In this list, find the Book of Spells, and select the option to Crack it. Once selected, you’ll see a regular Breech Protocol hacking screen, and the sequence isn’t difficult. You may still want to save before attempting to Crack the Spellbook because you will only have one chance.

Cracking the Spellbook does not diminish the reward from Nix or have any other consequences. There really is no reason to not crack it.

Author
Image of Pierce Bunch
Pierce Bunch
Freelance writer and jack-of-all-games.