He bolted through the entrance of his front door, every muscle screaming in protest. Sweat drooled from his body, and his shoulders were sore from bearing the weight of exhaustion. And yet, somehow, something was different. A lingering satisfaction, achievement, hung within his chest. He did it; he finished the workout. All one hundred push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and the grueling 10 kilometers.
It was not much, but it was something. For the first time in a long time, Kael felt less useless to himself.
He kicked off his shoes and dragged his feet on the floor as he approached his bed. Room had cooled already as the sun dipped behind the horizon, as comforting silence from night was drawing over him. Sleep, though, was something he couldn't seem to muster. Not just yet.
He shifted his gaze toward the floating interface in front of him and saw the lit screen within a room shrouded in darkness.
[ Kael Eryndor]
[Level: 6]
[Strength: 23]
[Agility: 21]
[Endurance: 22]
[Intelligence: 17]
[Luck: 11]
[Skills:]
[Basic Swordsmanship – Level 2]
[Basic Beast Skills – Level 2]
[Endurance Boost – Level 2]
[Enhanced Perception – Level 2]
[Predatory Instinct – Passive: You feel the vulnerabilities of your foes. Fear is no longer your master.]
[Crimson Veil – Active: Wrap yourself in a cloak of energy. Enhances speed, strength, and durability. Duraion: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour.]
[Reclamation – Passive: As long as you draw breath, wounds heal rapidly over time.]
Kael stared at the screen, his mind racing. He was shocked—no, more than shocked. His stats had improved significantly. His strength, agility, endurance—all of it was higher than it had been before. He had leveled up, and his skills had increased as well.
He had done it. All those hard hours of training, every sweat drop, every painful moment—it paid off. Just as he was about to pat himself on the back, the voice of the system cut into his thoughts.
"Staring at the screen isn't going to improve you any more," the system said, voice slightly annoyed. "Your stats aren't just going to get higher because of staring at the numbers. It's time for us to shift our focus back to your body and skills now. You're getting there, but you've still got so much farther to go."
Kael screwed up his face. A frustration building in him was not pleasant to look at. "What, just do more exercises, train?
"Exactly," the system replied. "Your body needs to be able to handle the power you've gained. And you still need to develop your skills. Strength isn't everything. Mastery of your abilities, on the other hand, will make you dangerous."
Kael took a breath, his brow wiped clean by sweat. He knew it, but he couldn't quite swallow the taste of it. He wanted to believe in some easier route, some shortcut to power. But he knew more than most that there are no shortcuts in life.
He slumped onto the bed, as his tiredness weighed him down. He trained so hard today but still has a long way to go. Sleep caught up with him not much later and he drifted off in a blank mental state.
Morning came sooner than Kael had anticipated. He woke to a start, driven by the sharp morning scent of air entering through the open window. His body was sore, but nothing as bad as he could have imagined. The system's Enhanced Recovery skill had done its job. The pain and the exhaustion from that intense workout disappeared, and Kael suddenly felt extremely rejuvenated.
He sort of stretched out all lazy-like, with a little smile creeping onto his face, before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Not bad," he muttered, getting up and making his way to the bathroom.
He washed up and brushed his teeth, getting himself ready some simple breakfast-a scramble of eggs, buttered toast, a cup of coffee. Sat in silence with the usual feeling of emptiness in his small apartment. Quiet, too quiet, and that was one thing he hated. The weight of solitude was the burden he could live with; it didn't make it bearable, however.
As he finished the meal, he heard the voice of the system again, nearly as if summoned on cue.
"Today is a workout that is very close to yesterday. I have inserted some additional work into your day for you to do. You need to grow stronger. For this session, I have inserted skill exercises for you as well, " the system continued.
Kael groaned. "I don't know how much more of this I can take," he said, a little irritation edging into his voice.
"Quit complaining," the system snapped. "You think this is hard? You've just hardly scratched the surface. Trust me, you are going to thank me when you find yourself being as powerful as ever.
Kael sighed, rubbing his temples. "Yeah, yeah, I get it."
The workout was brutal. Kael pushed through each exercise, his muscles protesting at every turn. But he didn't stop. Not this time. The stakes were higher now, and the system's words echoed in his mind. You'll be thanking me.
He finished the physical part of the workout, and the system then ordered him to continue with the skill exercises. Those were not very physical but mental in nature. Kael had to be focused on perfecting his swordsmanship, sharpening his beast skills, and his perception. He practiced for hours trying to put those movements into his muscles.
Every time he felt he was on the right track, the system would point out a flaw in it, some small but vital thing he hadn't noticed. It was draining, but Kael didn't complain.He was getting stronger every hour, and honestly, that's all that mattered.
By the time he wrapped up for the day, his body was shaking from the effort, but there was this new spark in his eyes—something risky, something that wasn't there before.
Kael just dropped to the floor, out of breath. The system's voice chimed in with approval.
"You've done well. Your progress is noticeable, even if you can't feel it yet."
I don't know if I can keep up with this," he admitted, voice hoarse. "I'm not used to this kind of training. It's. it's a lot."
"It is supposed to be a lot," the system replied. "Do you want to have power? This is what it takes. Do you want to survive? This is what it takes.".
Kael nodded, his head spinning. He could no longer afford to be plagued with self-doubts. The world was unforgiving, and if he wanted to carve out a little place for himself, he had to keep going; whatever how difficult it got, he had to push.
He slowly stands up, wiping the sweat from his brow. About that, at least, the system had not lied: There were no shortcuts in this life. Only relentless effort.
The days were going to get harder, but Kael was ready. His body had begun to change and his mind to sharpen. A fire had taken up residence inside him, a fire that never existed before.
Kael no longer trained just to survive. He trained for something more, something greater.
And no one—no one—was going to stand in his way.