After ten minutes of resting a bit, "We should proceed," Qiao Mei said, opening her eyes. "No more time to waste."
Liam immediately stood up, having regained his strength.
"I'm ready now."
"First of all, make your heart be calm and flow with your body, understood?" She instructed.
Liam nodded, giving her a signal to go ahead with the main deal.
"Since it's your very first. You will start with 50 pushups for now."
Liam didn't complain, though he remembered his previous life's highest count being only around 60. The task wasn't easy at first, but his body gradually adapted, especially now that his new body could adjust to training faster with serious effort.
'As long as it makes my body stronger, I'm ready to do anything, even if it causes me pain. Pain is nothing compared to the power I will receive at the end,' that was the thought running through his head.
His thirst for getting strong and powerful was high as he was ready to go for it.
Ding!
The familiar sound of the system rang in his ears.
---
[Quest available! Daily workouts help your body with a strong physique]
-Pushups: Incomplete (0/30)
-Run around 10 m: Incomplete (0/50)
-Plank (1 minute hold): Incomplete (0/5)
-Jump: Incomplete (0/50)
---
Mo Shen frowned at the notification, his expression hardening.
How coincidental that the quest activated just as Qiao Mei assigned him these tasks. In his previous life, completing such challenges was a matter of a few clicks in the game. But here, he had to accomplish them physically.
A sinking realization dawned. 'Am I stuck here forever? Will I ever return to my real self?' Confusion clouded his mind as he tried asking the system, but there was no response.
He tried to ask the system, but there was no response no matter how many times he tried to ask.
The thought of leaving his lovely family behind made him worried. They must be worried sick, unaware of where he was.
As if this wasn't enough, another notification popped up.
[Failure to complete the daily quest would result in a severe penalty.]
[Penalty: ??]
[Reward: 10 erotic points]
'W-What the heck?! Damn this system. The reward is so low!'
Everything felt real and unreal at the moment.
Too bad, there was nothing he could do about it but comply and take things step by step. In his previous life, he hadn't been a fan of novels, though he'd heard plenty about the system genre and how it worked from others. He had always despised novels, dismissing them as trash.
Now, he wished he never was brought into this game world and could probably return to his body to meet his family.
This was the scenerio of 'no way home' he was struck in here as a minor character.
"Qiao Mei, can....."
"Call me instructor Qiao Mei during trainings." Qiao Mei coldly cut him short on his words and corrected him.
Her sudden harshness took him aback. Was this the same kind and smiling girl from yesterday?
Looking at her, there was an unfriendly expression on her face, as if he was now a total stranger.
"Sorry, Instructor Qiao Mei." He apologized, slowly dropping down his hands.
Seeing a reward involved made his heart calm a little; at least he was going to get something in return.
Qiao Mei casually waved him off.
"Now, get down to the task."
Mo Shen took a deep breath, preparing himself for the challenge. Without any hesitation, he got down on the ground, assuming the pushup position and began his first pushup.
"One," he muttered under his breath as he lowered his body down.
He struggled, his arms shaking with effort because the ground was too hard and sharp against his palm, but he pushed himself back up. "Two."
"Three.... four.... five."
He was able to count down to five without stop, but it was beginning to feel hard at the sixth time.
Weakly, he continued counting, each push becoming more difficult than the last.
"Ten... eleven..." Counting to this number, he hangs himself in the air, finding it difficult to go down.
Mo Shen grated his teeth weakly. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his muscles burned with exertion.
'God d*mn it!!' The pain circulating through his entire body at this moment was unbearable to him, his legs and hands were feeling powerless to continue holding in position.
"Don't stop. If you fall, you'll start over," Qiao Mei's cold voice warned as she approached from behind.
Hearing that he was going to restart all over again, he struggled to firmly keep himself like that.
Getting to his side. "Don't close your leg, separate it a little bit, fully extend your arms without locking your elbows, maintaining a proper alignment throughout....." She gave him in a few prompts.
Mo Shen was sure to quickly try out her prompts.
He instinctively forced himself down, continuing it, veins popped out of his neck and arms, threatening to burst open any moment.
By the time he reached 18, he was barely holding on. Yet he kept going, desperate not to restart.
After 20 minutes of struggle.
"Twenty-eight... twenty-nine..." he grunted, pushing through the pain.
And finally, with one last effort, he completed the last one.
"Thirty!" He gasped, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.
Panting heavily, his body drenched in sweat as he lay motionless.
Qiao Mei shook her head in disappointment at him. "If I were you, I'd conserve as much energy as possible for the training ahead. We haven't even started, and you're already like this."
But Mo Shen wasn't listening. His eyes were glued to the system screen.
[Congratulations! Pushups Completed (30/30)]
[Tasks Remaining: Run (0/50), Jumps (0/50), Plank (0/5)]
-Time remaining: 5 hours.
The time was counting down, letting him know his time limit.
He wasn't happy in the least; he still had a long way to go.
*****
Six hours later, Mo Shen was completely soaked in his own sweat as he ran about the place, using all the strength in him.
He fell to the ground in front of Qiao Mei.
"Don't take any pain medicine, or all your training and effort will be wasted," she seriously warned.
Qiao Mei walked away with a cold expression, not even sparing him a glance.
[You have completed 50/50 jumps]
Seeing the familiar screen in front of him, he knew he had managed to complete the quest.
-Pushups: (30/30)
-Run around 10 m: (50/50)
-Plank (1 minute holds): (5/5)
-Jump: (50/50)
During the training, the tasks assigned by Qiao Mei aligned perfectly with the system quests, making it a win-win for him. This way, he didn't have to worry about failing to complete them later.
[Reward: +10 Erotic Points]
[You have ve unlocked a new feature of the system]
[Strength +1]....