Whistling my way to class, I felt invincible. It wasn't every day you hacked your way into a prestigious academy. Most people would call it criminal activity, but I liked to think of it as "creative ambition."
Codebreaker, my hidden system, was my cheat code for hacking GAIA—the all-knowing network that controlled every aspect of this world. And yesterday, I'd used it to get myself a fast pass to the academy of my choice: the GAIA Enforcer Academy.
GAIA had initially slotted me into the GAIA Vocational Academy. GVA, as I liked to call it—the place for the average, the forgotten, the mediocre. The last place I belonged.
I wasn't ordinary. I knew it.
And hiding my real rank—EX, thanks to Codebreaker—under the illusion of a D-rank?
That wasn't enough.
I needed more.
I needed the right path to unlock my full potential.
There was one small hitch though—my strength and luck stats were laughable. No, seriously, they were so bad I couldn't even count on luck to get me through.
My strength?
Yeah, let's just say I wouldn't win any bodybuilding competitions anytime soon.
But I'd never been one to back down from a challenge.
Strength? I could fix that.
It'd be tough, but not impossible.
After all, nothing in this world is really a problem unless you let it be.
I wasn't about to let a lack of physical strength hold me back.
But luck?
That was a different story.
How do you boost something as intangible as luck?
Maybe I'd figure it out later.
For now, it was time to focus on the tangible.
Codebreaker could hack systems, but it couldn't hack my muscles. And that meant hitting the gym—something I'd avoided like the plague in my past life, where "exercise" meant hacking away on a keyboard for hours.
So, I grit my teeth and made my way to the school gym. This place? It might as well have been invisible to me until now. I wasn't exactly the type to spend hours in a sweaty room full of weights.
The second I walked in, a couple of students shot me curious glances. Great. I was the brainy guy, the tech whiz, not the muscle-bound jock.
But hey, time to change that.
I stood there, staring at the weights and machines, a wave of dread settling over me. This was way out of my comfort zone, but I couldn't back out now. Not when my family's future was on the line.
Then Codebreaker kicked in with a suggestion. I glanced at the screen in front of me, and within seconds, it had pulled up a personalized strength workout plan, complete with anatomy illustrations.
Daily Strength Exercise Task:
Upper Body:
Bench Press - 0/24
Overhead Press - 0/24
Pull-Ups - 0/30
Face Pulls - 0/36
Bicep Curls - 0/30
Lower Body:
Back Squats - 0/24
Split Squats - 0/20
Deadlifts - 0/24
Box Jumps - 0/30
Calf Raises - 0/45
Core:
Push-Ups - 0/100
Endurance laps - 0/5 laps
LSD Run (Long Slow Distance) - 0/10KM
Completion Reward: +1 STR, 1 Gacha Spin Reward
I blinked. Three hours of this, for one measly point in Strength?
Codebreaker, you sadistic genius.
My mouth dry, I forced myself to push through. "Noah, you wanted power," I muttered under my breath, trying to suppress the wave of panic that clawed at my chest.
"No pain, no gain."
Five hours later, my body felt like it had been run over by a freight train. Sweat streamed down my face, my arms and legs ached like they were about to collapse, but I'd done it.
Every single rep. Every single lap. Every second of agony was worth it, right?
A notification pinged, and I nearly collapsed in relief.
You have completed Upper Body Strength Exercises.
STR +1
You have completed Lower Body Strength Exercises.
STR +1
You have completed Core Strength Exercises.
STR +1
Congratulations! You have earned 3 Gacha Spins and a Bonus Reward: +3 STR, 500 GED
I exhaled a shaky breath. The pain… it was worth it.
The bonus was a surprise—+3 STR, and some GED, which I'd definitely find a use for. But what really caught my attention was the Gacha spins. Finally, something that didn't involve more sweating.
I eagerly pulled up the Gacha option in the GAIA HUD, but to my irritation, it was locked. Of course. I couldn't unlock it until I passed my first physical test at the academy.
"GAIA, always making things difficult," I muttered. A smirk tugged at my lips. "Well, there's always Codebreaker."
I quickly activated Codebreaker, watching as the interface shifted to its black-and-green-laced code format.
"Alright, let's unlock this thing," I muttered to myself. I hacked the system, bypassing the security layer.
[Codebreaker]
[Unlocking Gacha Spin...]
[System Access Initiated...]
[Bypassing Security...]
My grin widened as the confirmation message flashed across the screen. Success.
Then, just as I was about to revel in my triumph, a low hum filled the air, and a voice from GAIA echoed in my mind:
[Warning! Unauthorized Access Detected.]
My heart skipped a beat. "Shit," I cursed, heart hammering in my chest. I quickly typed in a countermeasure to shut down Codebreaker before GAIA's countermeasures could fully activate. The hum ceased, and the warning faded.
"Too close," I whispered to myself, my hands still trembling from the adrenaline. This was a bigger gamble than I'd thought. I had to be more careful next time, maybe encrypt my data better or use a network spoofing tool.
For now, though, I'd play it safe and wait until my first physical test was out of the way.
********
That night, back home, I found Damian sitting on the couch. He was trying to look calm, but his eyes told a different story. They always did.
"Everything okay?" I asked, sitting next to him.
He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, just tired. Big tower mission tomorrow. Gotta make sure I finish it quickly—rent's coming up, and... well, you know how it is."
I didn't need him to say more. The weight of it was in his voice. The tower missions were no joke. It wasn't just the threat of failure—people didn't always come back from those missions.
"Just… come back safe, alright?" I said, trying to keep the worry from creeping into my voice. "I've got this covered here. Don't do anything stupid."
He chuckled, but it was hollow. "You know me," he said, standing up to pack his things. "If anything goes wrong, call me. I'll be back fast, no matter what."
I knew better than to believe him. He wasn't invincible. None of us were. But I didn't press it. Instead, I squeezed his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. I'll hold down the fort. Just… come back in one piece."
As he left to finish his preparations, my mind raced.
Damian was walking into danger. And I wasn't strong enough to protect him yet. I needed to get stronger—fast. I couldn't let things fall apart. Not with the weight of my family's future on my shoulders.
I rolled over in bed that night, staring at the ceiling. The only thing keeping my family from falling apart was me—and I wasn't strong enough. Not yet.
But I was getting there.
Codebreaker was the key. It had to be.