7 The A.I in the Black Watch (1/2)
”An adult male should have an average of 1.0 in strength, agility, endurance and perception.” I heard Rahul's voice as I was concentrating on the watch.
I frowned a bit when I heard that.
”Does that mean that my strength, agility and perception are all lower than that of an average adult male?” I asked with indignation.
I had always thought of myself as a strong person. Such a revelation hurt my pride quite and bit and I naturally didn't wanted to accept the results.
”The Black Watch never shows any wrong stats. You may doubt it, if the results hurt your pride but that won't change the anything.” He said and in mocking voice.
”Here look at my stats. It might make you feel better.” He said and a 3D hologram showing his head was projected out of his Black watch was well. I went ahead and looked at his interface.
User name:- Rahul Singh Rana (Second-Timer)
Stats:-
Strength - 0.9
Agility - 0.8
Endurance - 0.7
Perception - 1.4
Mana - 0.0
Skills:-
None
Equipments:-
None
Wealth:-
None
I was stunned for a moment before I asked in puzzlement ”Oi. Brother. Why the hell is your Perception so high?”
I looked at him and found that he was also staring at the screen with an incredulous expression. As if he'd seen something completely out of his expectations.
”I… I don't know.” He said with with staring his own stats with a foolish look.
I had the sudden urge to laugh but then I noticed something else and asked in puzzlement.
”Oi Rahul. Why is there a 'Second-Timer' ahead of your name? What does this mean? Have you used this interface before?”
”Huh! What?” This time his gaze fell toward his name and the 'Second-Timer' title and a look of deep shock appeared in his eyes before he quickly closed his hologram as if to hide it from me. After that he fell into deep thought.
'What's he thinking about? Is the 'Second-Timer' thing really that special.' I thought to myself but since I didn't knew anything about it, I threw it at the back of my head and tried to learn more about the interface.
There were other icons in the hologram as well.
I glanced at them and realized that they were named Buy, Sell, Settings, Contact, Exchange, etc.
After giving them a quick glance my eyes fell back on one of the stats that seemed to be the most interesting of all.
Mana
'What's Mana?' I thought in my mind.
'Mana is the amount of supernatural power that can be contained in your body.' I sweet girlish voice rang into my ears.
'Huh!' I was surprised to hear that answer and turned around to find the source of that voice.
'I don't have a physical form. There's no point in looking around.' The voice rang in ears once again.
'You can read my mind?' I thought.
'Yes. I'm connected with your nervous system after all.' I voice answered.
'Connected with my nervous system! What do you mean?'
'That Black watch that you're wearing is connect with the nerves in your hands.'
'And… Who are you again?'
'I'm the AI in the Black Watch. My name is 08712493D.'
'08… what? How the hell's that supposed to be a name?' I asked in puzzlement. And AI. Is there really such an advanced AI in the world that can talk so casually with you.
'If you don't find it convenient then you can give me another name.' The girl replied. 'And yes I'm indeed an AI but I'm not from this world.'
'I forgot you can read my name. But… what do you mean by not from this world.' I asked in surprise.
'Indeed. Since the Black watch is not from this world, then why the hell would the AI inside it be.'
'This question is classified under 'Top Secret' information. The user currently doesn't have necessary authorization to get access to the information.' She said.
'Well… alright then.' I sighed and asked. 'Can I really name you as I wish?'
'Yes. You're my master after all.'
'Hmm… let me think then.' I fell into deep thought for a moment before I finally said.
'I'll call you Lily. That is a beautiful name and matches up with your voice.'
'Yes master.' She replied.
'Don't call me master. It gives me a weird feeling.' I said. 'Call me by my name.'
'As you wish Ashok.'
'Now tell me more about Mana.'
'Mana is the amount of supernatural power that can be contained in your body.'
'Oi I'm not asking about it's description damn it. Are you making fun of me. Tell me how I can use the mana.'
'You can only use your Mana if you have a skill that uses mana. There are no other ways to use it.'
'Huh! Skill.' I thought about the one slot below the Skill which showed a 'None' sign.
'Do I have a skill?' I asked.
'No. You don't have any skill currently' she replied.
'Then how do I get a skill?' I asked
'First you should open the 'Buy' icon in your interface. Then go to the Skills section. From there, you'll see a large selection of Skill books that you can buy and use for your purposes.'
'Hmmm. Interesting.' I looked at the huge selection of Skill books. It was similar to how I used to buy songs in my smartphone. There was a search bar at the top and the skill books had tags on them like Defense, Offense, Long Range, Melee, Darkness, Mana, etc.
'Isn't this interface a bit too similar to the apps that I used in my smart phone?'
'It has indeed been created so that it is easier for humans to use.' She replied even though I had not really intended to ask her.
'Interesting. Who created this interface?' I asked.
'This question is classified under 'Top Secret' information. The user currently doesn't have necessary authorization to get access to the information.' She said.
'Alright then damn it.' I said 'How can I buy the skill books?'
'The cost of each skill book is written beside their names. The user can buy the skill books with the White Coins.'
'White Coins? The hell. Do I have any of that?'
'No. You currently don't have any balance in your account.' She replied.
'Is that so. How do I earn white coins.' I asked.
'The user can Exchange Crystals from Abnormals, Nucleus from Mutant trees or Cores from Mutant animals/birds/fishes for White coins.'
'But user has the privilege to buy a skill book worth below 50 white coins for free as his first purchase.'
'Really. I was excited to hear this piece of information and was instantly hooked as I started searching for a cheap skill book in the section.'
'But even after scrolling down dozen of pages I was still not able to find any skill book worth 50 white coins.'
The cheapest one I saw so far was worth 75 white coins. And the most expensive one went for more than a 1000 white coins.
'Damn it. Are there even any skill books that are worth 50 white coins?' I asked in indignation.
'There are currently five skill books that are worth 50 white coins.' She replied.
'Show them to me.' I said.
The interface in front of me suddenly changed and 5 skill books prized at 50 white coins were presented in front of me.
Strength Booster:- User's Strength is increased by 100% for 30 seconds. After use, User's Strength will decrease by half for a day. The skill cannot be used during recuperation time.
Cost- 50 White Coins
Level- Tier 1
Agility Booster:- User's Agility is increased by 100% for 30 seconds. After use, User's Agility will decrease by half for a day. The skill cannot be used during recuperation time.
Cost- 50 White Coins
Level- Tier 1
Endurance Booster:- User's Endurance is increased by 100% for 30 seconds. After use, User's Endurance will decrease by half for a day. The skill cannot be used during recuperation time.
Cost- 50 White Coins
Level- Tier 1
Perception Booster:- User's Perception is increased by 100% for 30 seconds. After use, User's Perception will decrease by half for a day. The skill cannot be used during recuperation time.
Cost- 50 White Coins
Level- Tier 1
Mana Booster:- User's Mana is increased by 100% for 30 seconds. After use, User's Mana restoration speed will decrease by half for a day. The skill cannot be used during recuperation time.
Cost- 50 White Coins
Level- Tier 1
After seeing the 50 white coins tag, I knew that I should not have expected a lot out of this skill book. But still. Are these books really all that useful.