The air was dense with the smell of earth and sweat. Every muscle in my body ached, protesting with each reluctant step, and yet here I was, forced by the blasted System to keep going. I could practically feel it—this invisible entity holding the strings—never letting me take even the briefest of rests. The penalties had been stacking up ever since I started slacking on the morning drills. First, it was a minor cut to my stamina, but now the cost was growing. A reduced regeneration rate meant I was going to be feeling this exhaustion long after I was done. If I ever managed to be done.
"Come on, legs. Keep it together," I muttered to myself, half out of frustration, half out of desperation. I tried to shake the fatigue from my shoulders, shaking my arms to let the tension slip down my fingers. But I wasn't fooling myself. The System was relentless, and it wasn't going to stop until I did what it wanted.
And, apparently, what it wanted was for me to train until I collapsed. Again.
I focused on the dense forest around me, trying to push away my irritation. The towering trees formed a canopy overhead, the sunlight filtering through in patches. Here, in this isolated space, I was reminded of how foreign this world still felt. I had no sense of mastery, no sense of belonging—just the gnawing demand to survive.
I took a deep breath and crouched, dropping into one of the defensive stances Elara had drilled into me. The motion was supposed to be fluid, effortless, but my body fought me at every turn. I hadn't even been here that long, yet my muscles felt like they'd been used and reused a hundred times over.
The System's voice echoed in my head, its usual indifferent tone sending a chill down my spine: "Continue drills. Failure to comply will result in penalty escalation."
Clenching my teeth, I moved through the first stance, shifting from one foot to the other, trying to balance my weight correctly. The footwork was supposed to be simple—lean forward, pivot, shift back—but every attempt felt clumsy. And the mistakes were costing me precious stamina, draining my energy as I stumbled from one move to the next.
Why did I get stuck in this world? I thought bitterly, but I pushed the thought aside. There was no room for questions like that here. There was only the next step, the next movement.
I moved into the second stance, a defensive pose with my hands raised and my body low to the ground. I shifted my weight, aiming to be light on my feet, just as Elara had shown me. The moment I thought I'd finally gotten the balance right, a sharp pain shot through my calf, and I wobbled, collapsing forward. I caught myself on one knee, frustration bubbling up again.
"That's it?" I barked into the empty forest, my voice bouncing off the trees. "Is that all you've got? Keep draining me, then. I'll keep going."
I pulled myself up, feeling the weight of exhaustion pushing down harder. But I refused to stop. Something within me—the part that wasn't willing to break just yet—forced me to stand and continue.
And that's when I heard it.
A rustling in the bushes, too calculated, too measured to be just the wind or some random animal. My pulse quickened, and I adjusted my stance, gripping the small, improvised blade at my waist. I couldn't afford to let my guard down, not with whatever wild creatures lurked in this world.
I scanned the dense foliage, looking for any sign of movement. My heart pounded, and I slowed my breathing, instinctively remembering Elara's advice on staying focused in the face of danger. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel it—something, or someone, watching me.
Then it happened. A creature—a wild boar-like beast, with tusks as long as my arm and eyes that glinted with something other than hunger—burst through the underbrush, charging at me with a terrifying speed.
Without thinking, I threw myself to the side, barely dodging its tusks as it barreled past, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. My heart was racing, and I forced myself to keep moving, scrambling to my feet as the creature turned, eyes locked on me, ready for another charge.
The drills, the stances—this was what they were for. I swallowed hard, gripping my blade, hoping that everything I'd been forced to learn would actually pay off.
The boar charged again, and this time, I held my ground, dropping into a defensive stance. My body moved almost on its own, guided by sheer desperation and the fragments of training I'd gathered. I shifted to the side just as the creature lunged, and as it passed, I slashed at its flank, drawing blood.
The boar let out a furious screech, wheeling around with renewed fury. I could see the wound wasn't deep, barely more than a scratch. But it was enough to give me a sliver of confidence. I could hurt it. I could fight back.
The creature charged a third time, and I braced myself, muscles tensed and ready. I sidestepped at the last second, but this time, the boar was faster. It twisted mid-charge, its tusks grazing my thigh, tearing through the fabric and leaving a shallow, stinging cut.
I staggered back, the pain sharp and immediate, but I forced myself to stay on my feet. The boar circled me, eyes narrowed, as if it knew I was weakening.
I took a deep breath, tightening my grip on the blade, my mind racing through the few tactics I'd managed to remember. Elara's voice echoed in my head: "Use their momentum against them. Make them chase, then strike when they're vulnerable."
It was easier said than done.
The boar lunged again, and this time, I was ready. I sidestepped and struck out with the blade, aiming for the same spot I'd hit before. The blade dug deeper, and the creature let out a shriek of pain, staggering back. Blood dripped from its side, and I could see the fury in its eyes, but also a flicker of hesitation.
It was hurting, and it knew it.
I pressed my advantage, moving in with a series of slashes, each one clumsy but driven by sheer determination. The creature tried to counter, its tusks slashing through the air, but I dodged, each near miss fueling the fire within me. This was it. This was the culmination of all those drills, all the hours of forced training.
With one final push, I lunged forward, driving the blade deep into the creature's side. It let out one last, furious cry before collapsing to the ground, its body twitching before going still.
I staggered back, chest heaving, adrenaline still coursing through me. The fight was over, but the exhaustion hit me like a wave, every muscle in my body screaming for rest. I dropped to one knee, my hands shaking as I took in the sight of the fallen creature. I had done it. Somehow, against all odds, I had survived.
But the victory was hollow, the elation tempered by the sheer toll it had taken on me. My legs felt like lead, my head throbbing with every beat of my pulse. And as the adrenaline faded, the fatigue settled back in, heavier than before.
The System's voice rang out again, emotionless as always: "Daily training incomplete. Penalty remains active."
I clenched my fists, the brief flicker of satisfaction dissolving into frustration. Even after that, the System wasn't satisfied. It would keep pushing, keep demanding more until I broke, or until I learned to meet its impossible standards.
I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the burning in my muscles, the stinging cut on my leg, the emptiness gnawing at my core. I wouldn't let the System win, not yet. I had survived this long, and I would keep surviving, no matter how much it took.
With one last glance at the creature's lifeless body, I turned and headed back toward Briarstead. My steps were slow, every movement a reminder of the battle I'd just endured. But beneath the exhaustion, beneath the pain, there was something else. A small, stubborn spark.
I would survive this. I would keep fighting, keep training, keep pushing, no matter what the System threw at me. And maybe, just maybe, one day I'd be free of its grip.
For now, though, all I could do was keep moving forward, one painful step at a time.