It's been a few months now.
Training has settled into a routine, but it's nothing like the game. I'm going full game style, pulling tires to work guts, running laps on the Tracen track for speed, hitting a bag for power, swimming for stamina, and even reading for intelligence. I've got a method, at least.
So far, it's hit or miss. The game used to just train one attribute at a time, and it would add ten to thirty points a month. Now I'm experimenting with multi-training, trying to hit multiple stats in one session. The problem is, a lone session gives barely anything. One to nine points. Tiny fractions. Painful.
The NPCs… they're useful, though. I treat them like support cards in the game. Just having them in a session seems to slightly boost what I get. They don't talk, they don't react naturally, but their presence matters. Sometimes I swear the system even prioritizes them for skill triggers.
Speaking of skills… I'm trying to teach myself. I remember trigger and effect descriptions from the game. I've got no skill points yet, so I figure the only way is through repetition, training the moves, triggering what I can, experimenting with timing. Nothing has popped yet, but I can feel the body responding. My muscles remember the motions, the motions remember the triggers.
The multi-training is exhausting. I feel sore all over, but I can see tiny progress. Strength, stamina, and speed are creeping up. Guts barely move, but hitting tires every day eventually adds up. Intelligence is the slowest of all; reading and analyzing for hours only gives a little, but it's steady.
Even though nothing has unlocked yet, I know I'm laying the groundwork. Every day is a small step forward. Every repetition, every lap, every push on a bag or pull of a tire is teaching me something. The NPCs don't react like real people, but they keep the sessions alive enough to feel like practice.
No skills yet. No breakthroughs. Just work.
But I have to keep going. Eventually, something has to trigger. Eventually, one of these tiny gains will snowball.
And when it does… I'll be ready.