The next day's sun showed itself through the window blaringly.
To be ready for the future dungeon that was in 1094 days now, additional preparation was needed.
She was currently strengthening herself, getting in shape through the gym.
Lilith also was just starting on noveling, the latter of which was more of a personal objective, that may not support the outcome she is hoping for.
Even so, she would not neglect writing, only to use the time she did have more effectively.
She was now getting less than half a level a gym session, which required her to work out for a handful of hours.
More than that could prove counterproductive, until she acquired skills that supplemented the accelerated stamina recovery.
One thing she knew through reading novels, was that time was vital.
A bit more time spent diligently was all it took for the decisive outcome to be in one's favor.
Another hour of studying, another attempt, and so on.
It was the extra mile that won the race.
To make it through the dungeon issue, she had to consider her own abilities.
She was not strong, fast, durable or capable of much.
Beyond her stamina being a bit decent, she was less than okay.
Her means of surviving were inconsequential for the time being.
It could be easy to be lax with how much time she had, but leaving things up to chance was no good.
She would do some experiments, adjusting the training, to see if certain optimizations could be integrated into her approach and routine.
For instance, does intensity of exercise give more experience, or is it equal across the board?
If it doesn't, then what about exercise type?
A line of reflection and determinations that would support her objective if made clear.
With a plan for the day affirmed, Lilith positioned herself to write.
A while later, once the chapter was finished, she stretched and jumped into the shower, throwing some clothes on after.
A hoodie, some cargo pants, sneakers.
Then, she quickly headed out to the store.
She had to get some food.
It did not matter much of what, only that she had enough.
She, like she lately did when commiting to a gym outing wore a mask.
The high ceiling, and cool environment, it was pleasant.
She went ahead and got some granola bars, fruit, canned food, and other essentials.
When she went to line up for check-out, she received a single uncouth remark.
Which she could just barely hear from others who lined up a bit later than her.
The speaker just whispering to what appeared to be a friend of theirs.
"Her hair, is she going bald?"
Hearing this, Lilith rolled her shoulders, holding a over-the-shoulder green cart up by her arm, the contents trembling slightly.
She felt compelled to say something, to check her hair as if to deny such a statement.
But, now, having a panel, she did not have to struggle-onward with it.
She could withstand being honest, that to some degree, she did experience hair issues.
Soon, it would be a small issue that required a careful examination to even observe, then not one at all.
Calming herself, she blinked a few times, then shortly was called forward by the cashier.
Passing the things from the cart, to the platform, she swiftly got all the things scanned.
She paid, thanked the cashier and then lifted the plastic bags of things she got, and left the store.
Lilith had long bared the issues she never believed would escape her, crushing her self-esteem and whittling away her love of society and any measure of its goodness, after all she went through.
Memories of her school years flickered in her mind, her gaze shaken, before she pushed off the pavement at the exit of the store, with a heavy step.
She was ridiculed all the time, no longer in school, she was, only less often as she was cooped up inside all the time.
The resurgence of the bad memories spurred more rushed movements when she got home.
Not too orderly, the purchases she made were put away.
She did not get anything that would be a major detriment to her plans.
Lilith wanted to lose fat, to not dread looking at herself.
She wanted to be cute.
To do that, she had to keep training, and not let up her utmost effort.
She had to level.
Difficult things are worth it, while easy things may leave one bored, or listless.
With a level-up around the corner, she stormed to the gym.
Lilith made it a goal, for this gym session, to commit to the few experiments, to isolate whether there was a faster method.
Working out was a steady means of gaining experience.
But, steady did not mean it could not be improved.
She first checked the amount of experience each exercise did.
Situps, 1 xp, Pushups, though equally difficult with her physique and strength, 1 xp, pull ups...
Consistently it was 1 xp. For exercises of longer durations, it was the same amount. Difficulty was not a factor.
Still, to get stronger, she need to pay attention to the aspects of her physique which she worked out.
A balanced physique was the current plan.
To do that, she did not overexert a specific muscle, and spread out the exercises to cover all of the major muscle groups.
Cardio could not be ignored either.
It is through endurance and strength and a bit of flexibility that a synergistic effect can occur.
She had none.
Therefore, she had to divide her efforts.
The next experiment was the impact of energy level reserves on experience gain, was the degree of consumption an element that made training more effective with the involvement of additional willpower?
Unfortunately, even with some extra effort to get through a rep, there was no change.
Going through a few more experiments with no net positives, she was about to wrap up training for the day, when she got another experiment possibility.
What was the impact of active instruction, where correction in the process of exercises was to occur?
Would this result in more xp?
Entertaining this idea, she felt it was a time as good as any to get a gym coach.
She looked around, and found one, currently guiding someone.
Their physique was distinctly heightened, toned forearms, the works.
With blonde hair, and hazel eyes that remained steely, Lilith's gaze met his when he glanced over in her direction.
The nametag read "Mark".
Not averting her eyes, she lightly nodded and walked towards him, who had returned his gaze to the person he was training.
A coach was essential, self-study was not structured, and while for many, in several instances was helpful, learning from someone who has been educated on fitness is a whole nother level of beneficial and reliable.
With reliability, comes consistency which assures certainty.
She must not waste time worrying.
It is only after the attempt is made, can one disengage, confidence in herself, is what she had to cultivate.
To become who she wants to, she had to strike swifty.
Only problem is the person Mark was teaching seemed familiar.