[SUPREME SYSTEM INTERFACE LOADED]
[NAME: DOGJU Syu]
[LEVEL: 1]
[STATUS: PATHETIC]
Dogju stared at the glowing screen as if it had just slapped him in the face.
"Starting strong, I see."
[STATS:]
Strength: 3
Agility: 2
Intelligence: 5
Stamina: 1
Charisma: 0
Luck: 1 (Pity point)
Another ping followed:
[SYSTEM NOTICE:]
[Baseline for Supreme Entities not met.]
[MANDATORY QUESTLINE: SURVIVAL TRAINING – DAY 1]
– 100 push-ups
– 100 sit-ups
– 10 KM run
REWARD: +1 to all stats, protein availability.
PENALTY: -20% base HP.
Dogju reread it, sighed, and lamented, "So becoming a god entails gym class."
Day 1
He lasted six kilometers before his legs gave up on him. He threw up in a bush at about seven. Push-up number thirty-eight found him spasming. Sit-up number fifty felt like his own spine was being evicted.
It ended with him on his face on the sidewalk, soaked, wheezing like a broken harmonica.
[QUEST COMPLETE]
[LEVEL UP ➤ LVL 2]
[+1 to all stats]
[CURRENT STATS:]
Strength: 4
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 5
Endurance: 2
Charisma: 0
Luck: 1
Great," he coughed. " from dumpster to mildly garbage.".
Day 2
Push-ups hurt. Sit-ups ached. The run? not even 1KM.
He vomited again.
A person came running by and yelled, "Hang in there, king!
He flipped them off, and he nearly passed out.
[QUEST COMPLETE]
[LEVEL UP ➤ LVL 3]
[+1 Strength, +1 Stamina, +1 Agility]
[CURRENT STATS:]
Strength: 5
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 5
Stamina: 3
Charisma: 0
Luck: 1
Progress. Painful, humbling progress.
Day 3
Midway, he tripped on a can of soda and rolled down the hill like a bag of regrets. They applauded.
[QUEST COMPLETE]
[LEVEL UP ➤ LVL 4]
[+1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Intelligence]
[CURRENT STATS:]
Strength: 6
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 6
Endurance: 3
Charisma: 0
Luck: 1
He limped home, muttering, "At this rate I'll be hot and brainy. Shame about the bones."
Day 4
He didn't collapse. That was new.
Muscles regained strength more quickly. Lungs no longer resembled an air fryer. He was. Functional.
Then a bird pooped on him mid-sprint.
[LUCK: 1]
He gazed upwards at the sky. "Really?"
Day 5
"Maybe if I clap during push-ups, I'll leave space for a hidden stat."
He fractured his nose.
[HP: -20]
System popped up:
[NO HIDDEN BONUS DETECTED]
[PLEASE REFRAIN FROM STUNTS]
Dogju wiped blood from his lip. "Message received."
Day 6
He ran without throwing up. Did sit-ups without passing out. Punches struck with greater force. Feet moved quicker.
Later that night, he was shadowboxing a tree. The tree won.
[QUEST COMPLETE]
[LEVEL UP ➤ LVL 5]
[+1 to all stats, Skill Unlocked]
[CURRENT STATS:]
Agility: 6
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 7
Stamina: 4
Charisma: 0
Luck: 1
[NEW PASSIVE: Reflex Adaptation]
[Grants minor predictive movement in combat scenarios]
"Now we're talking," he muttered, stretching out sore shoulders.
Then the System dinged:
[NEW TITLE UNLOCKED: "DILF IN TRAINING"]
Dogju froze. "...Delete that."
The system remained silent. Mocking.
Day 7 – The Return
He didn't have to go back to college.
But something pulled him, he was probably curious or even bored with the grind, or maybe he just wanted to see if people still remembered Microwave Egg Dogju.
He walked up the stone steps, hoodie up, earbuds in, calm.
Inside, the noise dipped. Eyes turned. But not the usual pity or judgment.
Curious stares. Whispered guesses.
"Who's that?"
"Model student?"
"No, he's too cool to go here."
Then someone gasped. "Wait… is that Dogju Syu?"
"The guy who set off the fire alarm with ramen?"
"The dude who failed math three times?"
He gave a lazy half-wave. "I can hear them y'know…."
A girl stopped him in the hall, all sharp eyeliner and fake confidence. "Hey. You lost, or just trying to flex in the wrong department?"
He blinked. "Neither."
"Name?"
"Dogju Syu."
The hallway froze.
Another voice echoed, "You mean the Dogju? The legend?"
"Legend's a strong word," he said. "I was more like a cautionary tale."
She tilted her head. "But… you're hot now."
"Thanks, it cost me six near-deaths and my dignity."
System pinged again.
[CHARISMA: +3]
[Physical appearance optimized for influence. Hormonal effects detected in surrounding peers.]
He raised an eyebrow. "So I am hot. Good to know."
Whispers followed him through the halls like static. Old classmates pulled up blurry photos of his past disasters.
It was like the before-and-after of a software patch. Dogju 2.0.
Then, one more ping:
[SUPREME SYSTEM: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN COMPLETE]
[ALL STUDENTS EQUIPPED WITH BASIC SYSTEM INTERFACE]
[SYSTEM ERA CONFIRMED]
[SUPREME SYSTEM: DOMINANCE UNCHALLENGED].
Everyone had systems now.
But only one person could bend them.
He tucked his hands in his pockets, smirked faintly, and walked into his old lecture hall like he owned the building.