The message hovering before Karsha's eyes left him in a state of shock. He couldn't believe or understand what he was seeing. Although he had heard his children talk about novels where the protagonist rises to the top with the help of a system, he hadn't read any of those stories to know more about it. All he knew was that when the system awakened, he would be granted some cheats that would enable him to rise above all.
He was a soldier, a very good one, and the prospect of having such an entity to guard and protect him on his journey left him in a state of shock yet filled with expectation. He was an army general, and in most armies, the general is the strategist. The fact that he now had something that could further enable him to explore what the cultivation world had to offer made him forget his pain for a moment and let the joy he was feeling sink in.
He stayed in the lotus posture for a whole twenty-four hours, just looking at the countdown. As he had expected, when the counter hit zero, a new message appeared.
Ding...
< God Killer System is Online >
< All functions are online >
< Ding! The God Killer system has fully integrated into the body of the host. Which means I can help the host in his cultivation journey. I have limited functionality at the moment, but as the host rises in strength, more functions will be unlocked which will further add to the usefulness of my existence >
< Ding! The system has awarded the host one item for the 24-hour wait >
< Item: Devil's Tooth Long Sword >
Rank: Rare
Ding...
< Ding! Congratulations to the host for unlocking a passive ability >
[Ability: Imitate]
-- The host can imitate the fighting style of others and assimilate them into his skills. This can be archived by either watching or engaging in a fight.
Ding...
< Name: Karsha Damon >
< Age: 18 >
< Sex: Male >
< Race: Human >
< Class: None >
< Title: None >
< STR: 10 / AGL: 11 / HEA: 12 / STA: 12 >
< Mana: 1000 >
Karsha gazed at the message floating before his eyes with a sly smile. He could already sense his strength, and now that he could see it quantified, he couldn't help but let loose a small smile. However, a nagging feeling crept through his mind. The data shown stated he was 18 instead of 32.
"At least make it 25 so I can know I am still an adult," he complained. But before he could ponder it further, the system replied to him.
< The body you inhabit is that of an 18-year-old person. Although your soul is 32 years old, your body is not. Your age is determined based on the physical and bone density of the body you are living in. >
The reply addressed that nagging feeling, yet he still couldn't understand a few things. Since the system seemed ready to answer his questions, Karsha started bombarding it with inquiries.
"Who are you, and what can you do?" he asked.
< I am a system that helps my host to cultivate more efficiently. I have many functionalities that will further help boost the speed at which the host cultivates. >
"Tell me more about these functionalities," Karsha asked again.
< For now, I can help the host circulate Mana, Absorb Beast Cores, give reward quests, and assist in leveling up. >
"I don't know about leveling up since I am stuck in a pit 70 meters deep underground," Karsha said as he rested his head on his knee. He hadn't attempted the challenge in front of him yet, knowing the current him wasn't strong enough to escape the pit. Being 70 meters deep underground, there was no way a frail-looking human like him could climb out.
Although the mysterious being had kept his promise and fixed his meridians, enabling him to cultivate, Karsha hadn't even begun on the path of cultivation. He merely possessed all the basic stats an average human would. So despite having Mana, he wouldn't be able to use it to escape the pit.
Having a system but no way to fully utilize it sure sounded like a failed protagonist. However, while he was wallowing in self-pity, the system had other ideas.
Ding...
< System Daily Quest Activated >
< Quest: Do 100 sip-ups and 100 push up >
< Rewards: +10 attribute points to be distributed freely >
Karsha gazed at the message for a few minutes, trying to process it. Despite his limited knowledge when it came to matters of the system, he understood Stamina and other human attributes well. As a soldier, he had trained extensively, utilizing various techniques to maximize strength and agility. They ran for agility, did squats and lifting for strength, coupled with stamina training and healthy eating for overall health.
He knew that the higher you trained, the stronger you became, so the fact that he now had a system willing to reward him for doing what he had done almost all his life came as a huge surprise.
Without wasting any more time, he assumed the push-up posture and began his quests. However, his anticipation and expectations were crashed when he felt his body refusing to obey his commands. As he aimed to push up, his arms turned to jelly, leaving him flat on the ground. He had been so eager to complete the quest that he had forgotten about the limitations of the body he now inhabited.
"Aiyaaa, This is too troublesome. Why did I choose this body again?" Karsha questioned himself. He had been the one to select the weak, frail body, mainly due to how tenacious he saw Austin to be. But now that he was in this body, he couldn't help but curse himself for picking such a feeble vessel. Despite having the spirit and determination of a soldier, the body he inhabited lacked all forms of physical strength.
The body was weak. The bones were too fragile for 100 push-ups. If he wanted to achieve that, he would need a week to gradually train the body to a more suitable form. However, spending a week on this training would mean another unproductive period for him inside the pit. He had 1000 years to become strong enough to duel with the mysterious being that granted him a second life. If he had to spend a whole week just training his body for 100 push-ups, he might as well sit there and do nothing.
But aside from the duel with the mysterious being, he also had to seek revenge for both his family's killers and Austin's family's killers. He needed strength, and since the system had provided him with a way to attain it, he fought through the pain and began training. He understood it wouldn't be a quick process, but he was determined to defy the odds, as he always had.
Karsha's determination was something he could count on. He wouldn't let a weak body stop him from achieving his goals. So without allowing his recent setbacks to overwhelm him, he began training his body.
He started with less intense push-ups, gradually increasing the angle as his body adapted. For 10 whole hours, he trained his body with push-ups and sit-ups. However, even after 10 hours of effort, he couldn't manage a single successful push-up. The system didn't fail to highlight his lack of strength.
< Push Ups - 0/100 >
< Sit-Ups - 0/100 >
Another 2 hours passed, but still no progress. However, Karsha could feel his bones strengthening, so without wasting any more time, he pushed himself further. Luckily for him, on the 18th hour, he managed to register his first successful push-up.
< Push Ups - 1/100 >
A small smile escaped his lips as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He still had 6 hours to go before the first quest ended. So after registering his first push-up, he pushed himself further.
Two hours later, he managed to record 90 push-ups and 10 sit-ups, but it seemed that was all his body could take. His breath turned ragged as he gasped for air. His only consolation was that he still had 4 hours left and only 10 push-ups remaining.
After resting for 30 minutes, he started again. This time, however, he aimed to stop only when he finally completed the quests.
"Damn it," Karsha cursed, realizing that 20 minutes remained but he still had 15 more sit-ups to do. His bones and muscles ached from the strain he had put on his body. The last few hours were spent achieving something that would have taken others weeks. Yet, he couldn't help but curse himself for being weak. If he failed to complete the sit-ups, he would fail the quest and lose the attribute points.
Fighting through the pain, he pressed on. "Come on, Karsh, almost there," he said, encouraging himself as he pushed through the last 5 sit-ups with just 2 minutes remaining.
"You got this, Karsh. You are stronger than this," he kept psyching himself as he pushed for the last two. His legs and whole body shook as if he were standing on a massage machine. Sweat dripped down his body as he continued to push through the pain.
"Come on, come on, come on... YES!!!" he shouted as he completed the 100th sit-up with only 10 seconds remaining. He lay back flat, letting his consciousness slip into a brief sleep. However, hovering before his eyes was the message of the quest:
< Quest Completed: 100 Push-Ups, 100 Sit-Ups >
< Day 1 quest complete, +10 Attribute points added to be distributed freely >