Ian counted down the days dreadfully as his time to complete the quest got shorter and shorter until the tenth day.
After his daily workout on the tenth day, he decided to check his stats to see how far he got. He has especially refrained from checking his stats for fear that the anxiety would affect his training. As expected, Alfred didn't go easy on him and has been training him brutally so he was curious to see what he had achieved in his five days of intense training.
"Status," he said out loud since he was alone and the familiar screen popped up in front of him.
[Host: Ian Yaeger]
[Race: Chimera (Failed)]
[Sub Race: Human]
[Level: 5]
[Exp: 370/400]
[Energy: 62/100%]
[VD: 30/100]
[Health: 30/30]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 8]
[Stamina: 9]
[SE: 20/100%]
[LE: 1 year 2 months]
[Free stat points: 2]
"This is a little disappointing compared to what I expected," he thought. "The only thing that seems to have improved significantly is my vessel durability and stabilized energy stats. My strength and agility only increased by one, and I got nothing on stamina."
He sighed as he closed his eyes. "I've been meditating a lot since I have nothing to do in here so I can understand why my SE stat increased, but with so little increase in my other stats, why did my VD stat increase that much? Is it because I eat and work out a lot better now than I used to?"
His detainment has been a blessing in disguise for him as Alfred did justice to his promise of taking care of his diet. He's been eating meals that are not usually served in the cafeteria and Alfred had also made sure he ate healthy too. It was the first time anyone had taken that much of him since his grandma so it was a little unusual for him even until now.
"But..." he sighed as he peeked down at the bad news that awaited him.
[New Quest: Reach Level 10 within ten days.]
[Rewards: Unlock a new sub-race.]
[Additional Reward: ??????]
[Penalty: LE will be reduced to five months. Energy will start and remain at 50% for a week.]
[Additional rewards would be given if the quest is completed before ten days.]
"This sucks," he groaned as he exited it and closed his eyes while he slowly drifted to sleep. "This truly sucks."
†††††††
The week after he received his penalty was worse than hell for Ian. He didn't have much energy to last the whole day in the first place. Even at 100%, he could only last about two to three hours of training before he needs to rest and replenish. With only 50%, he found it difficult to even last an hour, and Alfred isn't having it.
He would taunt Ian repeatedly until Ian pushed himself to continue out of pure anger and adrenaline, resisting forced hibernation multiple times during the day and ending the day recovering from intense migraine after he finally collapses.
This happened throughout the week and it caused Ian immeasurable pain as the pain from the migraines became worse the more he pushed himself.
The following weeks after were surprisingly easier after going through that one week. There was also a significant improvement in all his stats and a few level-ups.
Soon, it was the last day of his detention and the raid was the next day.
He laid panting on the floor as Alfred sat beside him, smoking without care. Being around Alfred so much, Ian had gotten used to the smell of cigarettes to the extent that it doesn't affect him anymore.
"Don't die," Alfred warned without looking down at his student. "No matter what happens in there, always be mindful of your safety first."
"You know me," Ian huffed. "I wouldn't die in an insignificant raid. I would be the first one running out of there at the slightest hint of danger.".
"The dungeon itself is danger, boy," Alfred retorted as he stood up. "If you were the type to run that easily then you wouldn't have agreed to go to the dungeon in the first place."
"Well....."
"I don't want an explanation Ian," He said, finally looking back at Ian with concerned eyes. The first he had seen this man make in a while. "I want you to stay safe and come back here alive because I'm not done with you. That's all."
"Yes, sir," Ian smiled. "I will."
"Now rest up in here before you go back to your blue box," he said walking away. "I'll tell the guards to let you stay here for a few hours and I'll have your beast gear and uniform delivered to your box by the time you get there."
"Thank you, sir!" Ian called after him. "For everything!"
"Thank me when you get back," he said and closed the door behind him.
"Now let's see how far I've come after going through that hell," he said. "Status."
The system screen displayed itself in front of Ian and he smiled at the sight he saw.
[Host: Ian Yaeger]
[Race: Chimera (Failed)]
[Sub Race: Human]
[Level: 7]
[Exp: 320/1600]
[Energy: 16/100%]
[VD: 50/100]
[Health: 30/30]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 12]
[Stamina: 15]
[SE: 50/100%]
[LE: 1 year]
[Free stat points: 6]
"This is decent," he said. "At least it's a long way from where I started."
He was especially grateful to his teacher and also to Edgar who gave me an isolated space to focus on his training.
"10 points of strength," he thought as he clenched his fist. "It still isn't strong enough but it should serve well for now. I will keep my promise to Alfred and survive this raid no matter what, and I will also grow stronger from this. A lot stronger."
Under the stats though, there was the indication of a new message which Ian scrolled up to check.
[VD and SE stats have reached 50, evolution possible.]
[Would you like to evolve?]