Ryan pushed open the door to his room and straight away lay onto his bed, face-first. His arms dangled off the sides like dead weight, and his legs were still sore from the fight which took place a while ago.
'God… my ribs feel like mashed potatoes.'
Just as his eyelids started to close—
A sudden system pop-up appeared in front of his eyes.
[DING!]
[Host, no rest. Get up and begin your evening exercise.]
Ryan groaned into his pillow. "But system… it's literally 6 pm. It's even dark outside, people are going back home. Normal people, I mean."
[Not my fault you're not normal. You have me because you're supposed to become the best. You don't get to be the best by being soft.]
'I could punch you right away, if you had a physical face.'
But, Ryan didn't argue back to it. He just let out a long, tiring sigh and dragged himself up from the bed.
His shoulders were slumped backwards like a beaten dog as he grabbed his shoes and made his way outside of the apartment.
The wind was a bit chilly, the street lights were buzzing with flies, and a few joggers passed by with their Bluetooth earbuds in.
Ryan adjusted his hoodie a bit and started running.
[DING!]
[2 km Run Initiated. Reward: -0.5 kg fat burned]
He ran along the cracked footpath, sneakers slapping the ground with a rhythm that was more of a pain than the pace.
The first few hundred meters were okay. Then the burn started to kick in.
His breath started getting shaky, legs trembling because of the pressure, each step made his lungs scream and calves were sore.
By the time he hit the kilometer mark, sweat started to pour off his face like a faucet. His chest heaved like a dying engine. When he finally stopped, he collapsed onto a patch of grass near the rusted fence.
Flat on his back as he gasped for air, Ryan stared up at the sky, clearly regretting his life decisions.
"Can I please go back home now…?" He looked left to look at the park's clock. "What the fuck? It's already 7 pm?" he murmured in shock.
[DING!]
[Not yet.]
[Next Set: 100 Dips, 100 Push-ups, 100 Sit-ups, 100 Crunches.]
[Reward: +2 Endurance | +0.15 kg Muscle Gain]
Ryan's jaw fell open. "What the actual hell—are you insane or something!?"
[Insanity is irrelevant. Victory is not. Now move.]
'I swear you're just gonna kill me one day, you stupid ass fucking glowing blue light bastard.'
He dragged himself to a nearby ground, one of those old open gym areas which were meant for senior citizens but it's mostly used by wannabe athletes and people with nowhere else to go—beggars.
He wiped sweat from his forehead, cracked his knuckles, and started training his triceps by doing the bodyweight dips.
One… two… three… by the time he hit fifteen, his arms were shaking like spaghetti noodles. At thirty, he wanted to puke.
By the time he reached the milestone of fifty, he had to stop three times just to keep from passing away because of the pain.
Push-ups weren't any easier.
He got twenty, collapsed on the ground—chest first. Waited a few seconds, did fifteen more then collapsed again.
"God damn… even hell is far better than this thing." He muttered under his breath while he lay on the ground, forehead touching the dirt.
Sit-ups and crunches were no better either. Every time he tried to sit up, his abs screamed for mercy, still he pushed. Again and again, while shaking, groaning.
By the time he reached the last crunch, his entire body felt like it had been chewed up and spat out by a cement mixer.
He staggered towards his building, completely drenched in sweat, hoodie clinging to him like wet rubber.
His legs barely held up as he climbed up the stairs. He opened the door, stumbled in—
And collapsed right onto the floor.
[DING!]
[Training Complete.]
[+2 Endurance Stat Increased.]
[+0.15 kg Muscle Mass Gained.]
[Fat Burned: 0.5 kg]
Ryan lay there, smiling through the pain. 'Yeah... I'm definitely gonna die because of this shit.'