Chapter 5: 05 – How to Improve

Gilda must've found the question confusing because she wore a rare, mystified expression and cutely tilted her head to the side.

"Willie, I think you may be suffering from a few misconceptions. I'm not even sure you could be classified as strictly human anymore. Putting aside the notably advanced nanotech augmentation, just the changes made to your DNA alone would define you as something more than human at this point."

"That's what I figured; with all the work we've been doing. But I'm looking at these grades here, and they're almost all D's."

"Ah, I see. I think you have fundamental misconceptions about the basic ranking system of warrior candidates. Perhaps it may be a good idea to explain more in-depth before engaging in battle."

After that, I got a lengthy, in-depth explanation of how the interaction between my physical body and the technological systems resulted in the stats.

I had thought the Damage stat was self-explanatory, but it turned out to be surprisingly complex. The damage counter tracked injuries to my body, but more specifically, it was the percentage of the nanites in my system occupied fixing the damage. As a result, I might be able to continue fighting at the maximum damage of one hundred but the nanites would be completely preoccupied doing damage control, unable to operate in any other capacity.

Exceeding one hundred percent Damage could be deadly, based on injuries to critical areas, or it could be controllable with an injury more widespread and superficial. It was the difference between being burned all over as opposed to getting shot in the head. The damage to my brain was more likely to be fatal, whereas, with burns, it could be manageable enough to continue fighting. As a side bonus, it seemed dying from shock wasn't a thing I had to worry much about anymore, thanks to the nanites managing blood flow issues.

Stamina was the system's way of tracking both physical and mental stress. Once I reached the point where I would be mentally or physically exhausted and could not continue fighting, my stamina reached zero. Stamina was the first category of stats that could improve through training, partially because the current rating was an estimate. Only by pushing myself to the brink of exhaustion a bunch of times would my actual limits be revealed.

Mana was a category I had a more difficult time grasping. The hardware Gilda installed in me couldn't directly measure or interact with mana. Only organic systems could collect and manipulate mana. So, the system estimated available mana based on the physiological reactions happening inside my cells. Meaning it was an inherently unspecific stat, simply because nobody knew the exact mana capacity of humans relative to other species.

Like most other physical activities, the more often and strenuously mana was collected and used, the greater my capacity should grow. The only thing the hardware system could say for sure was when my body depleted the mana stored in my cells. Eventually, the Mana number would become more precise as my data was added to the system and compared to data from my peers.

Likewise, the purpose of the five stats with a letter grade was not what I had initially assumed. I had figured if something was graded D, it was a failing mark, similar to high school. Instead, it was a rating based on a loose framework of the projected full potential of a human being. The outline of the grading system looked like this:

G (00-19) - an average human
F (22-39) - a human with training
E (40-59) - a human with advanced training
D (60-69) - slightly enhanced human
C (70-79) - extensively enhanced human
B (80-89) - enhanced with basic training
A (90-99) - enhanced with advanced training
S (100+) - ultra enhanced with mastery

By enhancing DNA, it was possible to raise your stats. But without training, even those DNA changes only resulted in a modest bump, which is why I ended up with a D rating for most stats. However, this was still above what a natural human could expect, even with advanced training. Still, to reach my full potential, I would need intense training. The rating system used letters to make the stats quick to read, but I could switch to numbers to see a more detailed rating.

Even so, the whole thing was still imprecise because it was based off what a theoretically ideal human warrior would rate. There was no way to know how I compared to others until I got trained and compared to other warrior candidates at the training grounds. After that, my stats would get revised to show my relative ability compared to my real-world competition.

Notably, my Intellect was rated more highly than any other stat. However, that wasn't because I was naturally some genius. The onboard AI was considered a part of my overall intelligence. It would grow in ability as it continued to learn, and I improved synchronization between us. Eventually, the onboard AI and I would become fused into one being, rather than the current situation of two separate entities in constant communication. At that point, my ability to process information would jump up to a higher level.

I felt a little uneasy about merging with a artificial intelligence, but any increase in my long-term chances of survival seemed hard to ignore.

The Skills subsection was purely physical. Most of these were skills I'd built up over my life on Earth. The level was calculated based on the variation of skillfulness compared to an average person versus an expert.

The only skill I had at a high level was Languages, but that was due to the onboard AI and neural lace interfacing to create a universal translator. The sounds that reached my ears getting intercepted by the hardware and automatically converted into understandable language before reaching my brain. Likewise, visual text information hitting the optic nerve was intercepted and passed to my brain as readable text. The system had been working in the background for the last week, and I never even realized it.

Anyway, at this point, my hardware-enhanced skills were Languages, DNA Editing, and Identification. All other skills were my own.

Magic Skills first required the ability to control mana to pull off. Furthermore, you needed a clear image of a given magic skill to use it. As Gilda explained it, magic was closely related to visualization and imagination. If you couldn't imagine it, you couldn't do it. So, one purpose of the training simulation was to help me see some examples of magic in use, theoretically helping me to visualize the use of my mana.

According to Gilda, magic's main limitations were the size of your mana pool and the ability to imagine ways to utilize it. Mana was supposedly everywhere, but it couldn't be measured or seen directly by physical or technological means. So, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Still, my stats said I had a full charge of mana, so I just needed to figure out how to use it.

Then, after the lengthy explanation of the stats system, Gilda moved on to the next topic.

"Now that you have seen your stats, we can take a look at the combat system. Concentrate on the word 'fight.'"

I dutifully followed her instructions, and the stats minimized to the corner of my vision. Instead, a system of graphic shape overlays that shifted as my eyes scanned the scenery appeared. Centered in my field of vision, a large circle and a small square appeared, with both swaying slightly as I looked around. Information about the various objects flashed as the square passed over them.

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"I see something that looks like a fighter jet targeting system."

"That is the core of the combat system. The AI assist system helps you keep track of the position and status of anything you have designated as a target."

I couldn't help thinking that was cool. Accurately shooting a gun required a lot of practice, so I had a good idea of how much an auto-targeting system could be worth in the chaos of a fight.

"So, how can I tag something as a target?"

"Focus your vision on the target and think the words 'target lock'. As long as you can see it clearly, you will be able to lock onto any object. Once locked, your brain will be able to direct magical attacks toward the target at a subconscious level."

It took me a second, but I eventually caught up with the fact that Gilda specifically said my brain would handle the magical attacks rather than the hardware. She was a precise speaker, so I didn't think this was accidental.

"Why doesn't the onboard AI assist handle attacks instead? It's gotta be much faster than my brain."

"Yes, for guiding conventional attacks, it would be. However, the AI system cannot use magic directly. Only purely organic systems can participate in mana use. The AI can aid your brain in keeping track of incoming information from your senses, but it cannot directly attack using magic without your explicit action."

"Okay, how does the targeting work then? I'm sure my brain isn't keeping track of a target like this."

"No, not in the sense you mean. However, the AI can guide the brain's natural processing of incoming information in various ways based on your instructions. The bottleneck is in the speed of communication between your brain and the AI assist system. Which is part of why improving your synchronization is so beneficial."

"I see. So that means as the synchronization improves, my brain would be able to target faster?"

"Yes. And also manage larger amounts of targeted objects at once without being overwhelmed."

"Wow... yeah, that's a pretty useful combat skill."

"Indeed. However, like any other activity, it must be trained to maximize your potential."

"Ah, the pesky no pain, no gain principle rears its ugly head again. So, will training in this simulation count towards that since I'm not in my real body?"

"Partially, yes, but only in the attributes and aspects that are purely mental. Purely physical attributes need to be trained in the real world to see progress."

That meant the training I did in the simulation would increase the level of onboard AI synchronization with my brain. It was a shame that I wouldn't be able to build up physical strength from fighting in a simulation, but that was perfectly understandable.

"I see. Still, it seems to me having the option to gain some skills in a sped-up and safe environment is pretty smart."

"Yes. I have various custom training simulations created to aid you in developing the mostly mental categories: magical skills, situational awareness, threat assessment, tactics development, and mental reaction speed. Mastering these skills will further enhance your synchronization. The results should be gaining or mastering many skills and increasing your intelligence rating and the mental component of your stamina."

"Yep, that sounds handy... I'm getting fired up to play this game now."

"We should begin moving throughout the environment then."

After walking a fair distance, I felt the eerie sensation of the hairs on the back of my neck standing as if to warn me of danger. Shortly after, I caught sight of a burly-looking jackrabbit with a single, sharp-looking horn in the center of its head. The rodent seemed aware of me already, as it glared with a level of hostility I had never seen from any rabbit before.

The targeting system showed information naming this a 'Horned Rabbit' with low stats. I felt pretty confident against such a weak foe, even if I was armed only with the sharpened walking stick that I had picked up along the way. So, I quickly gave the order to lock on, which was the signal to begin my first battle with a monster.

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