Although he gained only a single point in his Agility after the hurdle jump, he was still pleased with his achievement. Somehow, he knew that he wasn't achieving this on his own, the system must have a hand in this fast growth.
Physical fitness wasn't something that a person could improve in one go. Even the best fitness students at Rising Impact University could achieve a noticeable improvement after a couple of weeks. However, Arnold was already feeling a huge improvement after a few hours.
With these considered, Arnold didn't dare to complain. If he did, then he would be a good example of an ungrateful pathetic fellow.
[Why not try using the ladder-climbing race? Climbing to the top and descending from the other side in five seconds.]
Arnold's face contorted. "Five seconds, isn't that going to be too hard?"
[To improve massively, you have to take on almost impossible challenges. I believe you can do this, host.]
Arnold had a complicated look on his face, contemplating. He guessed that he could do this if he had beaten the time against the hurdles jump. Although it was clear that this would be times two harder, Arnold was ready to give his all.
"I would rather be wet with sweat all day than let people call me a Loser. I'll do anything for my dream... And my family," Arnold said to himself, his determined face observing the ladder at the corner.
He removed the hurdles and returned them to the corner, replacing them with a single doubled ladder, just like the ones used in a Money In The Bank match in the 10s and 20s. It was already 2056, and the culture of professional wrestling had changed a little bit.
Pro Wrestling was no longer scripted, and every superstar would have to go with their own power and fate. If you couldn't make up the standards of defeating an opponent naturally, there was no way you could excel.
This had earned the wrestling industry a lot of additional fans. Those who wanted real wrestling were pleased with the new development, and as of now, a professional wrestling show like Ultimate Revolution Wrestling could record over sixty thousand fans in a single weekly show. If it was a pay-per-view event, the records could even range from 100 to 200 thousand fans.
After setting up the thick white aluminum ladder, Arnold was ready to climb.
[The time starts... Now!]
The system announced, and Arnold took off in the blink of an eye. There were about ten steps on one phase in the ladder, making it twenty altogether. Running through this ladder in five seconds was almost impossible, but Arnold believed he could do it, even though it could take a lot of time.
Step. Step. Step... Step. Step. Step.
Arnold was climbing as fast as could and finished the first phase before he could know it. Descending from the ladder through the other phase wasn't as difficult as ascending, so he guessed the time consumed while doing that wasn't much.
[Eleven seconds... Try again.]
Arnold sighed bitterly. "Crap."
He couldn't believe he spent times two of the fixed time even after giving his all. However, he believed that he would have more to give if he kept trying... Arnold was always trying to motivate his sorry ass, believing that nothing is impossible with the Pro Wrestling System.
Fortunately, this motivation seemed to act as a helping factor for him. Regardless of the exhaustion, pains, and repeated losses, Arnold never gave up.
[Congratulations, host! You beat the time!]
[Five seconds. Time beaten.]
[You have gained one point to your Agility.]
[Agility: 5.]
"Huhu! Maybe I was wrong. Hard work truly pays," Arnold rejoiced clenching both fists and thrusting his arms forward as if he had just won a lottery.
[You should rest for the rest of the day and continue with the rest attribute training tomorrow. Good luck, Max Fury.]
The system advised.
"Sure, I'm just gonna have some sleep and come back to the gym tomorrow morning," Arnold said in excitement and left the gym, making his way to his dorm room.
It was already dark when Arnold came out from the gym. He had spent more than five hours in the gym after leaving his dorm room around 6 pm... Bringing out his smartphone, a Samsung Galaxy A15 mobile to look at the time, it was 11:47 pm, making it clear that it was almost midnight.
Arnold rushed to the male dormitory and entered his dorm room, not wanting to be noticed by anyone. Ben and Karl were already asleep, but since they knew he wasn't back, they left the door bolted.
Max Fury couldn't even sleep after lying on his bed. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about how he could improve his skills enough to defeat Rowan Pierce. Although he was sure that he might not even pass the exam after winning his last exam match, the system already promised to help him, which he didn't know how it could.
Arnold was only trying hard to believe and also complete the tasks given to him by the system. He needed to pass the exam and unfold the path to achieve his dreams. If he failed to enter Grindhouse Wrestling, his professional wrestling dream would be dead and terminated forever.
The young man was still awake all through the night and didn't realize that it was dawn until he checked his phone. Arnold quickly stood from his bed and freshened up, running back to the gym without even sparing some time to chat with his roommates.
.....
"He is going out again with the same cold attitude. I now believe that this guy is jealous of our progress," Ben frowned, watching Arnold leave.
"I guess so too. But we shouldn't just judge so quickly yet. Let's see what he has to say when we get included in the list of Grindhouse Wrestling's new superstars," Karl smiled impatiently as he spoke.
"His last opponent is Rowan Pierce, a former Grindhouse Omega Champion. I don't know why he is always unlucky," Ben smirked.
"Honestly. If I were to make some comparisons, Rowan Pierce would be the toughest opponent he is facing. There is no way he could even win himself a consolation," Karl said.
"It's such a shame for someone to lose all ten final-year exam matches. I regret having him as a roommate," Ben scoffed distastefully.
.....
Arnold entered the gym after walking for a few minutes past the boarding areas. Today was different, some students and gym instructors were present in the gym as it was morning. Most students usually came for physical fitness training with their physical fitness coaches every morning, so Arnold had no choice but to take a space for himself.
He spotted a free bench at one point in the corner and approached it.
[Task: Strength Attribute Improvement.]
It was time to improve his strength at this moment, so Arnold used the weights and tried to carry as heavy weights as he could to gain 3 points in his Strength.
With the guidance of his system, Arnold managed to lift a 40kg weight, making him stunned. Although it took a lot of time because everyone had left the gym by then. Previously, he had been unable to even lift a 25-weight, and they had laughed and teased him.
After a few hours of repeated trials, Arnold couldn't believe it himself. He wished they were here to witness it, but he was sad that they had left.
However, that was the least of Arnold's concerns right now. He needed to keep improving his attributes and gain 20 overall attribute points to gain his first skill.
[You have gained one point to your Strength.]
[You have gained one point to your Strength.]
[You have gained one point to your Strength.]
[Strength: 5.]
[Congratulations host! Now you know hard work pays.]