[Ding! You have gained one point in agility and endurance due to extreme training and Host having a horrible physique!]
Despite Jamaal's tiredness, he let out a fatigued smile, chuckling. It was all for the better good. After all, if he got stronger, he would be able to fight better.
With this newfound energy, the boy began to continue jogging, gradually finding a rhythm in his movements as he slowly became better and better at running. However, in just two hours, one's physical change could not chance that much. It was only due to the increase in stat points could he find a small difference. Gradually though, and he had sworn to God on this. He would make his changes substantial and by the end of this hell. The teen would be a new person.
Maybe that objective, that mission, was too ambitious, after all, many unknown things seemed to appear in front of him when least expected. None the less, he wasn't going to give up, not that easily anyways.
[Ding! You have received your first Quest! Please look in the Quest Board to see the details!]
As he was running around the field, a surprising notification came forth in his head.
"Quest?" He mumbled.
"Isn't that supposed to come after level five? Did something change?" He asked the System, confused why it would come early.
[The System might as well help the Host with his ambitions, after all, that is what it is for.]
"I-I see..." He nodded, going into the Quest board and seeing a blank screen in front of him. Well, it was mostly empty, there was a single sheet of paper which had the details of his assigned Quest.
[Quest: The Path of Kings!
Rarity: Legendary
Details: A boy has chosen to become stronger to face the oncoming enemies he has. Be they simple thieves to soldiers of the hordes. With the help of a knight, he has entered a stage of critical training. Shall he pass this, he will take his first step onto the glorious path which many kings and emperors before him have walked over.
If he fails, then he will die as a weak person, trampled upon the horses of destiny.
Objectives: Gain 30 Stat points in all attributes and become level 10
Danger Level: Low
Time Limit: 144:23:59:34
From: The Great System
Rewards: 10 points in all attributes, 500 EXP, Equipment and an ability.]
Half of Jamaal was amused at the System's dramatic details and arrogance, even if it did hide it under a mask of neutrality. The other half was instead a bit surprised. The number of rewards he was going to get for this mission was shocking. However, the requirements were going to be extremely difficult. Those two factors would probably drive him further than he would've beforehand.
"Sometimes, a goal is what makes you go beyond your limit." He mumbled, his fists clenched as he glanced at the rising sun.
"It's time to go on the Path of Kings as the Quest says. If it thinks I can do it. Then I can."
With this Quest as his goal, his training began with a confident and big start.
As the days began to go by, training became much harsher.
On the second day, Arnold handed him the same potion he had the day previously before telling him to repeat the same he had done yesterday. However, instead of five-kilogram weights, it had gone to seven kilograms. A barely noticeable change that didn't bother the boy until exhaustion began to hit him.
Other than that, his endurance had gained a stat point while agility had gained two points as well. Extremely fast, compared to how he had gotten stronger back in Earth, perhaps it was due to the high mana and oxygen in this world.
The third day was relatively the same; his weights once again became heavier, each of them becoming ten-kilograms. However, those weights were abandoned halfway through the day and instead, Jamaal began to carry two buckets filled to the brim with water. He carried them up a large hill and back, repeating this over and over throughout the day.
However, the boy did not just do basic, physical training. He began to train with the knight in the art of the sword. A metallic, shiny longsword was handed to him, Arnold making sure to mention that it would be in the teen's hands, only temporarily.
It was heavy, his hands and arms which were filled power from the training he had been given for the past few days being the only thing keeping him from dropping the sword.
However, it was clear that he was not suited for a longsword, and so he was handed a shortsword. The shortsword was something Jamaal found versatile and easy to use as well as something that enabled him to be quick and fast on his feet.
The boy didn't learn any fancy moves or anything like that. He, instead, was taught three simple skills. Slash, Stab and Parry.
However, something interesting occurred while he learnt those skills, causing him to practise them even more than he had been before.
[Ding! You have successfully gained three new skills. [Stab], [Slash] and [Parry]]
And so, on the last and final day, things had changed vastly for the boy.
"Finally, the last stat point," He mumbled, slashing at a dummy as a notification appeared.
[Ding! You have gained a stat point in Strength!]
[Congratulations! You are now halfway through the completion of the Legendary Quest, 'The Path of Kings'!]
"Goddamnit." Was what he uttered, remembrance of the other condition in the Quest coming into his head.
Although he had gained 30 stat points in all attributes, he still had to reach level ten. Something he had not even improved in at all.
Jamaal glanced at his character sheet and sighed.
"Still have to be level four after all that hellish training. What an annoyance."
Everything had changed in the last seven days, from his body to his mindset. He was calmer, more mature and his physique had taken a turn for the better. Muscles now covered him, cuts and small scars covering his body at random areas from accidents that happened in the previous week.
There was a shortsword in its sheath on his hip, proudly resting there as the boy took a deep breath and reached the bottom of the hill, dropping sand and rock filled bags and glancing at the setting sky.
"So much has changed, I've gotten stronger, I can tell. I can hardly believe my growth though, it's unnatural." That had been something that had bothered him for the past few days. It had been becoming more and more apparent the further he carried on his training. Sure, he had slowed down in improvement as training neared its end, yet still, he kept gaining power at a remarkable speed.
Nonetheless, it was something he shouldn't worry about, for now, it was now time for him to go through the test Arnold was going to give him.