Author’s note: I reworked the previous two chapters slightly and tweaked some plot and his Unique Status’s. Only really small changes but you want to reread first. I will try to avoid too much retcon as it progresses, but as I am making this up as I go along a little bit of reverse engineering may sometimes be necessary. If alter anything substantial that will confuse readers I will try and highlight it an author’s note at the start of at chapter. P.S would you like to see more from Victor Wolf’s perspective or to stick solely with Braizo?

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After working my body through a series of basic exercises and experiments I sat back down to think. I had worked all my stats up to what a normal level 1 entered the Great Game with so I didn’t feel like I would simply die from merely stubbing my toe.

Now that I had tested the game system I had a generally good idea of the path my training would need to take in order to become powerful with only stats and no skills, class or levels. Though further experimentation would be required. At the very least the faint sense of complete desperation had left me as I had hope, hope that I could somehow overcome the crippling restrictions of my character.

Reaching over to my provisions bag I took out the sword I had noticed earlier and laid it across my lap. Sucking air between my teeth my hands shook as I recognized the sword. Before me sat a plain one-handed Jian sword. Sometimes referred to as a Tai Chi sword.

It can’t be……I thought in shock as I stood and drew the blade in one graceful motion. The gentlemen of weapons, the Jian was a thin double edged thin sword with a 28-inch blade length.

Engraved on the sheath was the title ‘the sword of integrity’ and engraved on the blade was the name, Qi Xing Long Yuan.

This was the sword Uncle had given me when he first took me in off the streets, it was this sword that I trained in with various tajiquan sword forms. The Jian was considered one of the four major weapons in ancient Chinese martial arts along with the staff, the saber and the spear.

I had long mastered the straight sword techniques of poking, flicking, dragging, short-cutting, guiding and adhering with extremely focused power. Though that mastery was more theoretical than anything as I had never had an opportunity to directly spar with anyone besides Uncle.

Uncle told me the story of this blade when he gifted it to me.

Legend had it that this sword was the joint work of two sword makers, Ou Yezi and Gan Jiang. In order to make it they grought stream water from Cishan Mountain to the seven ponds around the sword-making fireplace. Because the seven ponds were shaped like the seven stars of the BIg Dipper, the sword was named Qi Xing (seven stars). If you look down on the sword, it looks ethereal and profound, as if you are in a high position overlooking a valley where a huge dragon lives, which is why the sword was also named Long Yuan (an abyss with a dragon). Another factor that made this sword famous was a fisherman whose name was unknown. He saved Ou Yezi's life. In order to express his gratitude to the fisherman who refused to tell his name, Ou sent him the sword, Qi Xing Lon Yuan. The fisherman sighed and said, "I saved your life because you are a loyal official of the country, not because i wanted your reward. Now that you think i am a man longing for profits, i have to show my nobleness with this sword." With these words, he committed suicide with the sword. Therefore, Qi Xing Long Yuan was sword of integrity.

The story was familiar to me. Too familiar. It was part of what had inspired me to take revenge for Uncle’s daughter and slaughter Victor’s family. To me my integrity existed solely to for the benefit of Uncle and his family. To be an upright man was to protect them, to fail was death.

But how was this sword in the Great Game? This was something from the real world? Or was it recreated somehow in here or was it even born from the minds of Users from Earth? Was it born from my own mind? My thoughts raced through a host of conclusions without getting anywhere.

What I could conclude with some certainty was that the sword had come from Uncle somehow. It was Uncle who had asked a favour to send me off safely from the Rand Corporation. Most likely he had provided this gift, the how and the why would have to remain unknown.

Curious I held the sword closer and inspected it.

Qi Xing Long YuanType:Jian SwordDurability:50Quality:unknownDamage1-1blade stiffness2Edge-sharpness3Unmastered (No Bond Active)

God damn, what appalling stats. If I picked up a stick off the ground it would have higher damage. It was also useless for other players as well I could see due to it offering no bonus effects to skills or class.

But what did the bonded status mean? It reminded me of the old Chinese stories I used to read of how blood was used to bond sacred objects and weapons. Quickly cutting myself with blade I dripped blood onto it.

Do you wish to bind Qi Xing Long Yuan?YN

I clicked yes and an incredible feeling of closeness with the sword rushed over me as if it fused with my very soul. Hesitantly I inspected it again.

Qi Xing Long Yuan (Bonded to Braizo Nakamura)Type:Jian SwordDurability:50Quality:Weapon evolves through battle and through syngery with Bonded UserDamage1-1blade stiffness2Edge-sharpness3Bonded Sync Rating12%

My jaw dropped as I read what this sword was truly capable of. Essentially my sword would evolve through battle and grow with me. It was an unbelievable boon. Tears flooded my face as I dropped to my knees, sheathed the sword and began to kowtow to my absent Uncle. Since entering the Great Game this was the first true blessing I had received and would greatly enhance my ability to survive.

After I had once again mastered myself I wiped my wet eyes and drew the sword again with a considered look on my face. Steadying my breathing I moved through Taijijian sword forms.

Thrusting out into Step Up and Enclose I turned into Sword, Immortal Deity Points the Way sweeping back I pivoted and close cut with Three Rings Envelope the Moon before rotating my wrist to execute Tiger Holds its Head.

No blue boxes emerged telling me I had acquired a skill or offering bonuses, but that was when I realized it didn’t need to. Skills recognized in the Great Game received bonuses making them more powerful. I would assume a Skill like ‘Thrust’ that might be learned by a Warrior would be powerful. But that didn’t mean that a thrusting technique that I had learned from countless years of training would be ineffective. The techniques I knew maximized the explosive speed and strength of natural body mechanics. Coupled with high stats in speed and strength my swordplay had the potential to be just as devastating.

Holding the sword above my head I whirled the blade around my body before exploded outwards in Shoot the Wild Geese.

Qi Xing Long Yuan edge sharpness +1

Qi Xing Long Yuan damage +1

Qi Xing Long Yuan Sync rating +2

I nearly cheered out loud when I saw the stats of the sword level before wincing in pain and sheathed the sword.

You recieve 8 points of damage

resilience +2

Taijijian required extreme flexibility and strength in the wrist in order to fully execute the forms. My left wrist was throbbing so hard I could barely move it. Sitting down and resting again for a moment I contemplated my path.

The seeds of concepts and ideas that had been formulating in my mind since I was forced to joint the Great Game began to coalesce. I let these threads begin to knit a pattern in my mind, a purpose, a philosophy that would ground my Dao-heart and center my will. The mantra of my life wove the words and became a concept that ran into my very soul.

And so my path in this new world became set.

My mind’s philosophy forged from pain, What does not kill me makes me stronger.

My training methodology from knowledge, systematic adaption through physical stress.

My Strategy, Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul.

Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul was one of the thirty-six ancient Chinese strategems. Take an institution, a technology, a method, or even an ideology that has been forgotten or discarded and appropriate it for your own purpose. Revive something from the past by giving it a new purpose or bring to life old ideas, customs, or traditions and reinterpret them to fit your purposes.

I had been discarded from society because I lacked tech, that disability had led me to old knowledge of pre-tech Earth. I had a wealth of knowledge of training methods, philosophy and understandings of biology that were required to grow, learn and develop before the rise of technology had superseded the old ways.

I would resurrect this knowledge in the Great Game and apply it to my own body to forge a weapon capable of killing any who sought my death.

And with that thought I sprung to action to test my first training theorem and pulled up the status window that describes the effects of stats.

StrengthBodily and Muscular PowerIntelligencecapacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths,

relationships, facts, meaningsVitalityphysical and mental vigor and ability to restore healthSpeedrapidity in moving, going, traveling, proceeding, or performingEndurancethe ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; staminaResliancereduces physical damage takenFlexibilityimproves range of motionLuckthe force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities

Hmmmm. It was difficult to really understand the effect of these stats by their broad definition. As I had an advanced understanding of physical training I knew these categories did not adequately define the different types of strength and other physical attributes that could be trained in the real world.

Most Users I assume simply focused on leveling up or some minor training to improve stats without the knowledge of how to specifically cultivate various aspects of the body.

Focusing intently I went over the list in my mind of the various areas of physical training, biology and energy systems in the human body that were required to develop the physical attributes I needed.

As I focused I felt something shift in my mind as the patterns of the human body and memories of countless hours training unfolded in my mind one after the other.

Your sophisticated understand of the physical characteristics of your biological form have unlocked sub-stats. Sub-stats allow for higher levels of specificity to be achieved that enhance the User’s overall performance that the major stat is based on. Major stats with unlock substats are now calculated by the total number of points in substats +5%. As the first User to unlock sub-stats you gain a extra bonus

Intelligence +20

Perception +20

STRENGTHAll sub-stats combined +5%Agile StrengthThe ability to decelerate, control and generate muscle force in a multiplanar environmentExplosive Strengththe ability to produce a maximal amount of force in a minimal amount of timeMaximum Strengththe highest level of muscle force that can be produced by the UserRelative Strengthamount of force generated per unit of User bodyweightSPEEDAll sub-stats combined +5%Reaction Timethe time it takes the User to respond to a stimulusMovement Timethe time it takes the User perform a movementSpeed-Strengththe maximal force capable of being produced by the User during a high-speed movementENDURANCEAll sub-stats combined +5%Aerobic Enduranceability of the body to continuously transport oxygen throughout its various systems for extended periods of timeAnaerobic Enduranceability of the body to produce work at an intensity where the demand for oxygen and fuel is greater than the rate at which your body can provideSpeed-Endurancethe ability to prolong the amount of time where a near maximal speed can be maintainedStrength-Enduranceability of the body to produce strength over an extended period of timeFLEXIBILITYAll sub-stats combined +5%Static Flexibilitythe absolute range of motion that can be achieved without movementDynamic Flexibilityabsolute range of motion that can be achieved with movement

Whoah! I blinked as a rapid series of status boxes popped up in front of me. I studied the increased information on the sub-stats carefully with a pleased expression. This was much closer to my understanding of the physical characteristics that could be cultivated. However, I noticed not all my stat categories had sub-stats. No how matter how hard I focused my existing knowledge, Vitality, intelligence, Resilience and Perception had not further developed. With a sigh I put that idea to side for now. Certainly, I had my hands full just developing the new sub-stats that I had unlocked as well my primary stats.

Excitedly I pulled up my full User screen. To measure my current progress.

User StatusName:Braizo NakamuraSkills*Unable to acquireLevel:1Class:*Unable to acquireRace:Earth HumanHealth230Strength (unlocked) 29Agile Strength5Explosive Strength10Maximum Strength5Relative Strength8Speed (unclocked) 34Reaction Time15Movement Time7Speed-Strength10Endurance (unclocked) 21Aerobic Endurance5Anaerobic Endurance5Speed-Endurance5Strength-Endurance5Flexibility (unlocked) 20Static Flexibility5Dynamic Flexibility14Locked StatsIntelligence 30Luck80Vitality23Perception32Reslience20

What was with my luck rating? It seemed enormously high and yet it still had not developed any sub-stat. That, and the fact that I was the first user to unlock sub-stats seemed to indicate that some kind of special insight into how the stat functioned was necessary in order to unlock it.

It was hard to assess how much of an advantage the existence of sub-stats would be. Perhaps 1 point in strength was equally distributed across all the different types of strength in a normal user. Sub-stats would probably be a curse for a regular user as it would impossible to raise them all. Only a mad man like myself would see it as a boon, a way to fine-tune a stats based development path.

Now all that was needed was to spend as much time training as possible to get the most gains in the shortest time. There should be a window of time before diminishing returns on leveling stats kicked in where i could benefit from some incredibly fast newbie gains coupled with gaining twice the amount of stats when they rose. I would need to be strong enough to flee this area or kill Victor and his theoretical hit squad with a short span of time. I gave myself two weeks mentally to achieve my goals.

Now I had a rough understanding of how to elicit stat increases, all that remained was to apply the principle of progressive overload across a variety of training modalities.

I had first learned of the principle of progressive overload in training from a story about an athlete in ancient Greece.

Milo of Croton, the ancient Greek athlete, strong man, and wrestler, may be credited as the first athlete to use the principle of progressive overload. Legend has it that Milo trained for the Olympics by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day for years prior to the Olympic start date, and by the time the Olympics arrived, the calf had grown to a full-size cow, and Milo was still carrying it on his back! In essence, Milo adapted to the growing weight of the animal by growing stronger himself. That's progressive overload.

Progressive overload could be caused by increasing the weight of exercises, for example by lifting heavier and heavier things, or by reducing leverage such as my gymnastics positions which forced my muscles to contract harder making them stronger as a result.

The priority area though for all my training would be on speed first, endurance second, then vitality and lastly resilience. In the time I had to train I would have to assume it was unlikely I would be able to fight directly against anyone that came to kill me thus the safest bet was to focus on speed above all else. A fast sword could always beat a strong one and if I needed to escape speed would serve me better than strength.

Because my wrist still felt injured from earlier I would focus on leg speed first. I strode out a distance of roughly 100 meters within the cave and made a marking at either end.

Then I simply sprinted, all out as fast as my legs, heart and lungs would allow for from one end to the other.

Speed-strength +2

Movement time +2

After several sets my stats continued increase though the at slower rate. I wandered down to the river which flowed through the cave as exhaustion set in. My endurance had raised as well, but it had a long way to go. I knelt at the waters edge and splashed the water onto my face which provided a pleasant cooling feeling.

Just as I was relaxing I had slight tingling feeling that something was wrong.

Perception +2

The blue box popped up just as something shot out of the water towards my face. My hand instantly rose up as my body turned shifted back and away. I struck out at the object with back of hand knocking it aside as I rolled up.

You received 40 points of damage

I scrambled backwards flinging loose sand into the air I was retreated back at high speed towards my sword. I heard the light sound of sand moving behind me as I dived, grabbed and unsheathed the sword in one movement and came up on one knee in a perfect cross slice that cut someone small and fast neatly in two.

Critical Hit! You have killed a Green Water Snake

Movement time +5

Reaction time +6

Explosive strength +4

Qi Xing Long Yuan edge sharpness +3

Qi Xing Long Yuan sync rating +8

You received 18 points of damage

Your left wrist is in terrible pain

I clenched my teeth as i carefully switched my sword into my other hand and sheathed it. My left wrist felt sprained and an intense pain was shooting through it. I would need to be more careful, who knew how quickly such an injury would recover? if i trained too hard and injured myself then i would be in an even worse situation.

I realised then how dangerous a mind set i had fallen into by just thinking of the Great Game, as a game. I had felt like an invincible training god, but the Great Game was too much like real life. Injuries could happen just as easily and until i better understood how to train my recovery system i would need to be very careful.

I looked down at the ground at green water snake that was cleaved in half. As my chest heaved trying to suck air into my lungs some things were becoming clear pretty quickly. The first was that my movements were getting sharp, but my endurance was horrible. A couple of explosive movements had me heaving for breath.

The second thing I noticed was that stat gains seemed increase a lot more from real combat. Training on my own was a slower safe path to improvement, but clearly battle would be a higher risk faster path. I began to recalculate my time frame. Ideally, I would need to mix both if I planned to become strong enough to fend for myself within the limited time available to me.

I looked up at the sky through hole in the cave and saw the moon had already risen. The whole area seemed suddenly empty and I felt alone.

“Log out” I said and I saw a countdown timer appear counting down from 1 hour.

Logging out. Time remaining 59 minutes 59 seconds

I lay there in the sand for some time as the timer counted down. Exhausted from my battle with the snake and my training I tried to meditate until finally the system logged me out.

Opening groggy eyes inside my Pod the top slid open and I climbed out as strange viny looking cords withdrew from my body and back into whatever the hell the Pod was.

I looked around my cell which was must more cramped since the Pod had been squeezed into it. I took two books of the shelf on cellular regeneration in effort to increase my knowledge on the vitality stat. before I felt sleep slowly closing in on me.

As I was drifting off I couldn’t help but feel alone. Before the Great Game had come into my life it was easier to be more focused and single minded as I had nothing but training and reading to distract me from the horror of imprisonment. Now I had a whole world and it opened me up to feelings and thoughts that were difficult to control.

The cell seemed smaller than before, and more empty. Or maybe I was what was empty. In the end I had nothing except myself.

My last thought as I drifted to sleep was that maybe, this all Victor had too.

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Comptroller

I watched Nakamura fall asleep and made sure the stark loneliness on his face was captured by the cameras. Filing the recording I sent it on to Wolf Corporation for Victor’s review. Having completed that I made a copy and sent it on to the Uncle. It was hard serving two masters, but neither man was one I could afford to offend.

Looking at Nakamura sleeping I wondered how long he would last. Feeling sorry for him I manipulated some settings and increased the size of his cell by 30%. It was a small act, and one he probably wouldn’t be alive long enough to appreciate but it made me feel less dirty for a moment about the deals I had struck.

Realistically, I was no different from Nakamura, the only difference was I had a bigger cell.

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