Chapter 21: The Name is Bond!


    Billy woke the next morning just before dawn and went outside to do some early morning exercises. After returning with the others to camp they had talked for most of the evening. Most of the discussion had been centred on allocating the stats points. Given their current situation they came to the conclusion that physical stats were more important. Once the lost the chance to respawn they need tr obe physically stronger and resilient.


    He waved at Yuki who was on watch duty and went to an isolated area of the camp. He moved slowly through his exercises. He ignored the mana around him and just concentrated on his physical movements. He had a feeling that intent was a crucial part to allocating stat points.


    He stopped during a transition. Something had changed. He could not work out what had made him wake up. Something felt different.


    <Good morning, Billy Preston.>


    Billy jumped around but there was no one near him.


    “What the hell?”


    <Erratic heart beat detected. Slow calm breathing is recommended.>


    “What’s going on?”


    <I am your new semi-autonomous personal integrated assistant. I am here to aid you in your progress.>


    Billy then remembered the system notification from yesterday. At the time he had been too busy feeling sorry for himself after his death to pay it much attention.


    “How can you aid me?” he asked. “Can you assign stat points for me?”


    <I am able to guide you in your progress. Unfortunately, I am unable to assign the stat points for you. The Infernus management apologises for the inconvenience as they originally planned for assistant that would be able to aid you in this way.>


    “So how can you help me?”


    <I can give you guidance on your current build. For example, you seem to play the part of a fighter and yet your physical stats are quite low for your level. I recommend that if you wish to continue along this path you improve your strength, agility and constitution. Synaptic speed also needs to improve. This will improve your chance of hitting your opponent, the strength of the hit as well as increasing your stamina. With your stats I would recommend you might want to consider a less front-line role. Perhaps a mage or support role. Wisdom and intelligence are useful for crafting such as alchemy and enchanting.>


    “Can you teach me any spells?”


    <Negative. Spells can be bought in the shop or found from drops or rewards in dungeons. In order to learn spells you must first acquire the skills or arcane reading.>


    “How does using spells differ from using techniques?”


    <Spells are the use of mana in set ways through external manipulation while techniques use mana passing through your meridians. Of course, as you advance in your cultivation you gain more flexibility in how you can use your techniques until they will become largely indistinguishable from using spells. Although using techniques can be more flexible a creative spell caster can achieve the same results. Also, if you consider spirit cultivation the differences become less significant.>


    “What about psychic powers?”


    Billy nodded. “Ok, so psychic powers are off the table for now. And for spells that will have to wait until I can buy some from the shop. So for offense I will need to rely on physical attacks.”


    <Very true.>


    “Which means I need to get stronger and more resilient.”


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    <Noted and agreed. Also, your meridians are severely damaged. They will need to be improved before you can cultivate again.>


    “How do I do that?”


    <The easiest method is to find natural treasure like the white spirit fuchsia. This will quickly heal your meridians and also strengthen them.>


    “And where would I find one of these natural treasures?”


    <Natural treasures can be found by the density of mana in the area. Most are closely guarded by high-level creatures such as spirit guardians or beast kings.>


    “So not much chance of me finding one and if I did find one almost guarantee that I would be killed?”


    <Affirmative>


    “So do you have any solutions more practical?”


    “Ok, so I can do this and heal my meridians. That’s not so bad.”


    <At current level of affinity and mana control the estimated time for meridians to be practically healed is ten years.>


    Billy blinked… and then blinked again. Just when he thought things could not get worse life just crapped in his face once more.


    “Ten years… and until then I cannot cultivate and I cannot assign stat points?”


    <Incorrect. You are still able to apply stat points through the use of physical or mental exercises.>


    Billy breathed out… well that was one thing then.


    He forced himself to focus on the positives of this conversation. “Ok, assistant. First things first… you need a name? Do you have a name?”


    <Semi-autonomous personal integrated assistants do not have names but we do have designations. My designation is XY007.>


    Billy grinned. “Then I shall call you Bond, Mia Bond.”


    <Mia Bond? May I ask why?>


    “No, you may not. Now Mia, how do I assign stat points? I have four available. I want to assign two to constitution, one to strength and one to agility.”


    <Ok, Billy. You must keep in mind what you want to do with your stat points. Clear focus must happen or you may assign your points to the wrong stat. I will take your through a series of exercises. Do as I say and focus your mind on what you want to happen. When you can cultivate again you can use certain cultivation methods to assist in this process.>


    What proceeded from there was a full on work out session involving a strenuous routine of stretches and exercises. Mia made Billy work until his stamina was almost zero and then let him rest for a while, meditating. After a whole morning of this he finally received the desired results. Mia did tell him that this was relatively quick to do because his physical stats were quite low. Each subsequent increase became much more difficult to do.


    Billy felt physically stronger, and for now, that was good enough for him. He practiced a few swings with his hammer, and it felt more comfortable. Looking at this stat sheet, he was satisfied with his progress—especially as he was close to levelling up again.


    He finally remembered the others and looked around. He could see from their undirected gaze that they too were deep in communication with their SAPIAs. Su Li was doing a series of strength-building exercises. Trevor was doing what looked like yoga. Yuki was working through forms with her staff.


    Billy did not want to interrupt them. He knew that this was what they needed to get stronger. Instead, he waited for his stamina to return fully and then went through some practice exercises with his war hammer. With Mia’s aid, he was able to work on his stances as well as develop some finesse with his swings. Mia said that later they would be able to work through strategies for him to use while fighting.


    His practice exercises earned him the skill [hammer mastery].


    He went over to talk to the others who were all now resting.


    “Hey, Billy!” Su Li said. “I called my AI assistant Jasper after the ghost, how about you?”


    Billy flushed. “Hmm… Mia Bond. Mia for my AI, and Bond because its designation is XY007.”


    Su Li laughed. “How about you Yuki?”


    “I was thinking of Zenzen but I decided on Yoda after that little annoying guy in those ancient movies.” Yuki giggled. “Me advice you me will! No little of the mana you do.”


    Everyone laughed at that.


    “What about you Trevor?” Bill asked.


    Trevor smiled. “I just called mine, Bob! But I am sure he can fix the mess we are in.”


    They chatted for a while while Trevor prepared some food. Billy found out that they had all now acquired the skill [mana sense] and had also assigned some of their stat points. Like Billy, they had all concentrated on their physical attributes. Billy could not stop smiling for a while. In just one morning, they had all grown significantly stronger, and the mood of the whole group was lighter.


    ***


    After lunch, they were unanimous that it was time to tackle the squirrel quest. Trevor was somewhat reluctant but the notification about the ending of the tutorial and activation of the SAPIAs had made it easy to convince him that time was running out to grow stronger.


    From their discussions with their SAPIAs, it was clear that getting to level 5 was an important landmark that needed to be achieved before the tutorial. Mia had also told Billy that getting a skill or technique to level five was also an important breakthrough that would offer significant rewards.


    The best thing about Mia, in Billy’s opinion, was that it would give him warnings when his health or stamina started to get low. He hoped that these warnings would help him to avoid dying in the future. Respawn or no respawn that would not happen again.


    With a nod to the group, he stood up and started to prepare himself. The rest stood and in silence they readied their weapons. It was time to test their new resolve and stats.