Freelance Saga: Learning Curves Read Free Page A

the
thirty minute mark. He went back to the bag and started again. He
punched, kicked, and used his elbows just to test the current
request. Whenever he struck with focused intent, the attack
counted.
    He grew tired again, with roughly
twelve-hundred attacks remaining. He realized that using more than
simple punches wore him out faster. This game was very realistic in
that regard.
    The air smelled sweet, he noted, before he
sat down again. He had not paid too much attention to the sights
and sounds of the world until now. There was a subtle fragrance in
the air. He could hear a soft noise that sounded like quiet
background music as well.
    “This place, it’s nice.” Scott smiled then
looked up at the sky. He had not had a workout like this in a
while. At first he had seen this as just a sort of job, albeit a
strange one. However, even if this was a virtual reality it felt
very real.
    It was no wonder that they insisted that this
place was real. His body ached. His knuckles were red and raw. The
sweat made him feel sticky. If the truth were told, he enjoyed it
immensely.
    Idly he decided to check his new unarmed
combat stat. “Holy shit, it’s already at level eighty-eight!”
    When he was well-rested once more he stood up
and went back to the bag. He checked his hands and noticed that
they were no longer red and sore. That was certainly interesting.
It seemed that not long after reaching full hit points he was
completely healed.
    Scott started pounding on the bag again. The
counter dropped rapidly, and it only took a few minutes to finish
up. He started to grow tired after a few hundred punches, just like
before, but since he only had twelve hundred punches left he stuck
it out till the finish.
    Three hours and a few minutes after he
started, Scott landed his ten-thousandth attack. The counter shut
down and a brief fanfare erupted. A message screen popped up that
announced that he had reached novice level in unarmed combat. His
unarmed combat skill level had reset to one, but he had gained an
additional point in strength, agility, vitality, and durability.
His attacks were ten percent more damaging as well. The best part
was that he had gained another level!
    “Sweet. I wonder how much I still suck?”
Scott looked at his status and noted that the points had been
applied to his stats. He had to admit that he did feel slightly
stronger overall.
    The message screen popped up requesting that
he apply the new points he had acquired from leveling in a very
specific manner. “So, I need to raise intelligence, charisma, and
luck, to ten.”
    He did as instructed. There was little choice
since he was not able to add them anywhere else. Another arrow
popped up. This time he was led to a charming little shack on the
edge of a pond.
    A new screen popped up. He chose to read it
aloud since he was a little lonely. “You have spent several hours
at hard labor, training. Please rest inside. If you take a nap you
will be pleasantly surprised.”
    Scott followed the advice of the message
screen and entered the shack. The interior consisted of a table, a
bed, and a small kitchen. He saw food on the table and immediately
gravitated toward it. “Ah, this is for me then?”
    There was a note left on the table. When he
opened it up he was informed that the food was his to eat.
“Strange, that they did not use a message screen.”
    He washed his hands in the kitchen sink. The
water turned on and off by itself. This little shack was quite
modern if it had motion sensing technology for the sinks!
    The food proved to be quite tasty. He had not
realized just how hungry he was. Now that he was stuffed, he
believed that the message screen had the right idea. He needed to
rest a little.
    He slipped into the bed, pulled the covers
tight, and took a little nap. When he woke up a new screen
appeared. He had gained three points in strength, agility, and
vitality for his hard physical exertions! He would be able to
increase his stats after hard