The wind combed through Luke's hair, his legs propelling him forward, each stride following the next in his run.
It could be exhausting, could even rip the oxygen from his lungs, but it was nothing compared to fighting goblins.
Of course, that didn't mean he had consistency. The most he could handle was 500 meters at a time, needing to walk for a bit before picking the pace back up.
He also saw Vivian running beside her pupil; the two were arguing early in the morning, a good sign of harmony.
" Pick up those legs, girl! How are you going to save people if you can't handle a light jog?!"
"Master, please, a break!"
"Break? What break?! Look at him over there!" Vivian pointed at Luke ahead of them, keeping his pace. "He looks awful, but he's still going!"
It stung a little to hear he looked awful, honestly, he didn't even want to know what expression his face made under so much exhaustion.
Still, satisfaction bloomed. Those floating screens popping up one after another were a real delight.
Your resistance increased
Your agility increased
Your resistance increased
Your agility increased
Could this be the effect of the supplement vial? The boost was 10%, which seemed too little to trigger so many screens.
None had popped up the day before, maybe because he'd split the run and walks into segments throughout the day.
If he trained consistently in one go, the attribute gains were boosted.
"Must be because of muscle stress. The more I wreck my muscles, the more I evolve…"
A wild theory, but according to his Google research, that's how the human body worked.
Muscles were made to be rebuilt, so the more they were stressed, the greater the muscle gain. Howeve, there was also an awful factor for his physical performance: excess fat.
Given the player's current level and attributes, monster drops are now possible.
Luke stopped in his tracks instantly, which cost him a fraction of consciousness.
The screen had surprised him — it was a reflexive reaction to shock — but when someone stopped suddenly, the heart and body couldn't keep up.
His vision blurred, almost knocking him out. The right thing would have been to slow down gradually, letting his heart rate drop and his body adjust to walking, but he forgot that detail.
He rested his hands on his knees, sweat pouring down his neck and smearing the glasses. He'd faint at any moment, so he sat on a nearby bench to avoid collapsing like last time.
Vivian passed by, slapping her pupil's back to push her forward, but when she met Luke's eyes, started to slowed down.
"Hey, Nataly, don't stop for anything! If I catch you slacking, no sweets for you today!"
Nataly growled back, obeying with a grumpy face.
Her master grinned wide, making a U-turn toward the bench where Luke sat. She plopped down next to him without asking.
"Luluke, good to see you again!", she said, full of cheer and with a big smile. "And it looks like something great happened in your life judging by that huge smile you've had all day."
"Smile…?" He touched his lips, realizing they were curved up into a grin without noticing. "Yeah, I guess so. Good to see you again too… Ah, sorry about yesterday, just remembered!"
"It's all good. I know work sucks. That blockhead—" she nodded toward Nataly "takes up most of my time, but the money's good. Anyway, how have you been?"
Her perfume burned Luke's nose; his expression even twisted slightly because of it, but he held his face steady to hide it.
"Great, I feel like I'm improving a lot…"
"I saw. You ran more and didn't faint today, hahaha!"
Luke wasn't sure whether to feel offended or grateful for the comment. Either way, he shrugged it off, deciding to take it as a good thing.
"You wa-wanted to exchange numbers, right?" Luke said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Here's my number."
At first, it was strange to carry a phone while running. He didn't use it to listen to music or anything; he only brought it out of habit.
A QR Code popped up on the screen, and after Nataly scanned it with her phone, the two could now exchange messages.
Luke still found it weird, he rarely talked to women. Even at work, he avoided his female colleagues, believing he would make a terrible impression if he got too close.
So, seeing Vivian approach made him feel uneasy, even a little scary.
"So, should we head back now?"
"No, hold on a sec! I actually wanted to talk to you about something important."
'Crap, she knew me before and has something important to say?', he thought, growing anxious about what was coming. "Y-You can talk…"
"You know Nataly? My student. She's a real pain, did you know that? Ever since she started dating, she's gotten lazy and tries to avoid training! Her father hired me for help, but... it's been tough."
"Wait, so you're like a personal trainer?"
"Kind of. My job is to help her develop her powers and physical abilities."
As a rule, everyone had powers in this world. Because of that, there were professionals dedicated to managing these things, functioning similarly to instructors.
However, since powers were directly tied to the user's mental and physical state, the instructor's role was much more important than simply "training" someone.
"Look, Nataly is really lazy. I need a reference point for her, or at least something to motivate her. Since she's so hot-tempered and irritable, I thought of using you, saying things like, 'That guy over there's been training less time than you and is already doing better.'"
"Isn't that basically putting me down to motivate her?"
"No… I mean, yes… Ugh, I don't know! I just wanted to ask you for this little favor, please!"
Luke raised an eyebrow. In the end, he'd just be used as a tool to help someone else. The explanation itself was a terrible way to justify the request.
After wiping his forehead with a small towel from his pocket, he stood up from the bench, ready to resume his training session.
"How about we finish the run first, and then we can talk about it? Maybe if you join me, she'll feel a bit more motivated…"
"Ah, make her jealous and envious of the student! Brilliant idea, LuLuke!"
'That's not what I meant at all... Ah, screw it, let it be interpreted that way and let's get moving.'
He shrugged. Better to leave it at that than waste time explaining, only for her to interpret it the same way anyway.
Vivian and Luke resumed their pace, all the while being watched by a short girl with thick eyebrows and a very grumpy face.
*****
Luke's entire day was uneventful, with the boss ranting about being cheated on and all the employees with sour faces forced to endure it.
Either way, he made it home in one piece, just smelling awful from the sweat of others on the bus.
He went straight to his room, eager to play some video games, but something else was weighing more heavily on his mind.
You completed the mission!
Do you want to claim your rewards?
"Bring it on."
The screen glowed for a moment, spitting out a bottle filled with orange liquid into his hands.
Supplement Vial
Restores part of the consumer's energy and inhibits muscle pain. All attributes gain 12% more experience for the next 24 hours.
"Oh, the value went up. It was 10% yesterday, now it's 12%."
One particular detail caught Luke's attention, and he felt compelled to ask the system:
"If I complete the community cleanup mission, will I get another one with 14%?"
No. The Supplement Bottle is limited to one mission per day.
He stared at the item. The effect of the last bottle had worn off a while ago, so drink it now could be the best option, since the effect lasted 24 hours.
Part of his exhaustion faded upon drinking it. Even so, his muscles were screaming at each other, since this training was really tearing his soul apart.
You received a new mission.
Do you wish to begin it?
"I bet it's the goblins again, right?", he said, taking off his shoes and tossing his stinky socks away. "Hmmm… the problem is I need to kill 20 to trigger the secret condition, and honestly, there's not much use for an extra katana or that alchemical energy drink."
An extra katana could serve as a backup weapon, but if he did the mission daily, why have so many weapons stored?
The alchemical energy drink was useful, but Luke didn't plan to use it every day — plus, there's a clear warning that overusing it could kill him.
"But now monsters have drops..."
That message had been stuck in his head for a while. The goblins now had a chance of dropping something, and he was dying of curiosity to find out what it was.
"You know what? I'll go. I accept the mission."
Basic Mission: Community Cleanup Service.
Kill 6 goblins
0/6
He waited a while, both to eat dinner in peace and to activate the mirror dimension when everyone was asleep.
Also a very specific detail involving that function appeared — the time window.
A particular screen showed that the "opening" time for one of these areas was between 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM. If he tried to enter earlier or later than that, it wouldn't work.
Either way, he chose to wait patiently until it was usable. Then, a brief tremor shook the room, the lights flickered off for a moment, and came back on.
Luke left the room. Chocolata wasn't there, nor his mother.
The safe area designated as "Home" will not have monsters appear. Energy and water will function normally, due to their nature.
Creatures can still enter and leave the safe area if attracted. The player cannot disable the mirror dimension if monsters are within this space.
"Thanks, system." Luke rested the katana on his shoulder, glancing around.
The changes he'd made last time — like grabbing pans, pillows, and more — were still there.
He concluded that the changes made inside would persist, or at least that's what it seemed, judging by how many utensils were still missing.
"Maybe the copy reflects the moment when I activated it. The rice bags are still here and I can turn on the gas… that's different from before."
A very strange situation for sure, one Luke still wanted to get used to somehow. He picked up the remote and pointed it at the TV, which turned on, but only showed static.
The internet was also down.
"Hmmm, I think only safe areas have some kind of infinite energy supply, but things that rely on external infrastructure, like the internet that needs signal towers, don't work… Wait, but that makes no sense. Water and power also come from outside, through pipes or cables, so why do those still work?"
The question hit him like a hammer. The more he thought about it, the less he could justify why some things worked while others didn't.
Looking outside, only streetlights and fake stars were glowing.
"Damn it, system, at least make it work in a way that has some logic…"
He sighed, now more puzzled than ever about these details. In the end, he gave up trying to reason it out and just walked out the door.
He planned to kill a few goblins and come back after finding what he wanted. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal.
Too bad that, like every underdog in RPGs, Luke had to kill the same creature for hours before getting a result.