It's a new day.
Another beautiful morning, another sunny sunshine.
It's a good day to sip green tea and spend a relaxing day, even with the apocalypse happening.
But for Nero?
"Haaaahhhhh…. Haaaahhhh…."
He's here gasping for his life.
He felt like dying.
His black loose t-shirt was completely messed up while lying on the ground.
As for the reason why he looks like he survived a 50k marathon?
"Lord Nero, that's only your 300th push-up; you still have 200 to go."
It was Aurelia dressed in modern casual clothing.
She appeared beside him as if announcing his death sentence.
That's right, he's training hard.
REAL hard.
*Wheeze….*
"I think... I think I'm seeing the heavenly light from above."
Nero gasped like a koi fish while looking at the sky as if seeing heaven open up their doors on him.
'Seriously, I can't even move my arms anymore! '
His two limbs turned into overcooked spaghetti while still trembling from too much muscle use.
"You are not dying, Lord Nero. Your vitality, endurance, and strength soon afterwards would be significantly higher."
Aurelia's patience of a saint and the mercy of a drill sergeant is back on track again.
"This is the fastest method I could offer to you, Lord Nero… In which you agreed upon."
"Yesterday's me… was an idiot."
Nero retorted in between his breath.
His arms were swollen to the point of reddening.
"398... 399... 400."
But Aurelia counted the push-ups that Nero somehow managed to squeeze out of his body.
*Thud!*
His face kissed the dirt again.
"Excellent. Now we move to squats."
"Just kill me now."
***
Yesterday was a day of happiness.
Nero finally had the time to check out the loot drops that he got from the Burrowing Ravager.
And these two items didn't disappoint.
The first item made his eyes sparkle with weeaboo fantasy light.
As for the reason?
---
[Item Drop: Ravager Chitin Set (B)
Type: Armor Set (Light)
Description: Crafted from the hardened chitin of a Burrowing Ravager. This lightweight armor provides decent protection while maintaining mobility. Perfect for beginners who want to look less like a walking target. +0.15 STR, +0.01 CHA]
---
"Finally, some actual armor."
Nero examined the pieces that looked like they came straight out from the popular monster hunting game.
The chitin plates were surprisingly light and flexible.
A perfect combination of protection and a bit of appeal.
'The people who designed these are doing a great job.'
Unlike the current clothes he's wearing, this one at least offered better protection against enemies… and even gave some charisma points.
But the real goodie was the second item.
---
[Item Drop: Vitality Orb (A)
Type: Consumable (Permanent Stat Boost)
Description: A crystallized orb containing pure life force. Consuming this will permanently increase your vitality stat. Side effects may include feeling like you can run a marathon, increased appetite, and an overwhelming urge to do jumping jacks. +1.0 VIT]
---
His eyes almost popped out like a cartoon character.
"Holy shit, a whole stat point to vitality?"
This shit was huge.
Most stat gains came in tiny increments of 0.05 per level.
Let alone designating a whole point, he hasn't even seen one of his stats go beyond the threshold of 2 points.
A full point was literally a gold mine right now.
'Don't mind if I do!'
Without hesitation, Nero tossed the orb into his mouth like a candy, disregarding the weird side effects that were written in the description.
*Crunch… crunch…*
'It oddly tastes like concentrated energy drinks mixed with pop rocks.'
That was his honest evaluation as he chewed on it.
*Fizz! Pop! Sizzle!*
The effect was immediate afterwards.
Green energy pulsed through his body.
He felt more alive and more energized.
It's like he has successfully upgraded from being a couch potato to an actual human being.
He felt like he could tank a bullet and still survive with his vitality.
His status screen also confirmed the change.
---
[VIT: 1.35/10 → 2.35/10]
---
"Damn, that's a whole 2 points when you add the level-up bonuses."
But of course, it's not over yet.
'Let's see this guy.'
He opened up his passive skill section and found the leveled-up Greater Instinct.
---
[Greater Instinct (C), Lv: 2]: By focusing to the maximum, you are able to discern and learn more about the things you want to observe. +25% increased understanding and sensory details.]
---
The skill upgrade was solid; it was something he had expected after experiencing it firsthand during that dickhead's (Marcus) embarrassment.
From 10% to 25% is a massive increase of 15%.
'No wonder his superhuman fist looked like a normal punch all of a sudden.'
Nero noted, but soon frowned after checking out his loot drops.
'This is still… not enough.'
Even with all these increases, his stats were still embarrassingly low.
Leveling up was surprisingly hard to do, unlike those in games.
Killing the Burrowing Ravager had taken everything he had, and he still almost died if he got careless during the fight at that time.
He could assume that the other B-tier monsters were also the same difficulty, if not harder than that oversized earthworm.
Sure, he could probably utilize and spam the EXP sharing with Aurelia and just command her to wipe every monster out till he gets to Lv. 100…
But that felt like cheating… like getting carried through a video game by your overpowered friend.
Not that he minds that, of course.
But his skills and techniques would also rot to waste if he didn't gain his strength properly.
Besides, he could vaguely feel that he shouldn't rely purely on stats.
What he needed more was skills.
Specifically, the active skills section was emptier than his dating history.
If there was anything Nero learned during the week of basic training, it was the fact that skills could be gained through proper training and knowledge.
Not just some gacha pulls, devouring other people's abilities, or assigning points from a leveling system.
He just needs to work hard.
Like REAL HARD to gain it.
Just like Valkyria Swordsmanship.
With that in mind, Nero walked over to Aurelia, who was cleaning her broadsword.
"Aurelia… I have something to ask you… can you teach me some of the advanced techniques of Valkyria Swordsmanship?"
He thought she would agree immediately, helping him to learn.
But to his surprise,
"..."
The angel shook her head and immediately gave the reasons why.
"Lord Nero's foundations are adequate but not perfect… Aside from that, Lord Nero's body would not be able to handle the advanced movements since it requires a strong base of your body… Otherwise, you would only strain and injure yourself."
She'd pointed at his body.
"..."
Nero looked down at himself.
Yeah, he was still pretty scrawny.
The level-ups had definitely helped, but he still looks like someone who never visits the gym.
"... What do I need to do then?"
Nero questioned with a pondering look
And for the first time,
"..."
Aurelia made a faint smile.
*Gulp.*
But something about that smile tells him, "You would suffer a lot; you should run away as fast as you can!"
"Muscle and stamina training would rapidly develop Lord Nero's body into a suitable foundation to accommodate the advanced techniques of the Valkyria Swordsmanship"
"..."
And that's how Nero had ended up in his current predicament.
End of flashback.
***
"498... 499... 500."
Nero's arms wobbled like a baby learning for the first time to even crawl.
He immediately collapsed onto the dirt like a deflated balloon.
"... I can't feel my everything."
This time, he was not joking. He felt like if he moved his arms just a little, they would snap like tiny twigs in the dust.
"That is normal. Your muscles are adapting to the new demands."
Aurelia looked down at him with a patient expression of understanding.
"Now for squats. 500 repetitions."
… Does she really understand him, though?
"You're trying to kill me."
"Rest assured, Lord Nero, it won't."
She had a point.
"–ughhh…."
Nero forced himself to stand up.
His legs wobbled like a newborn deer on ice.
"This is insane. Normal people don't train like this."
"Lord Nero himself is not normal for fighting against a B-tier monster either."
'Like you're one to talk.'
Nero gave the divine angel of blender death a deadpan look before shaking his head.
Nero soon got into a squat position.
"One."
*Squat.*
"Two."
*Squat.*
By the 50th squat, his thighs still felt okay at this point.
On the 100th squat, it then started to hurt and feel sore.
For the 200th squat, Nero was sure his hip bones were pulverized, as he couldn't feel them anymore.
"Lord Nero."
"... Yeah?"
"You are doing well."
But those four words immediately made the pain worth it.
Nero pushed through another set.
His muscles burn like hell. But there's also the feeling of progress.
It's like his body was finally catching up to his goals.
"How long is this training going to take?"
"Until your body can handle advanced techniques without breaking."
"And how long do you think is that?"
"Several weeks at minimum."
Nero paused mid-squat.
"Weeks?"
"Lord Nero, you are attempting to compress years of physical conditioning into something shorter. It will naturally take time."
"... Alright. But I want to learn some basic combat techniques while we do this. I can't just do bodyweight exercises forever."
"Very well. We can incorporate weapons training tomorrow once you reach 500 squats without stopping."
Aurelia immediately nodded in agreement.
"I'm at 250 right now."
"Then you have 250 more to go."
Nero gritted his teeth and pushed through the remaining squats.
His legs felt like they were going to snap, but he wasn't giving up.
Not when his angel waifu was watching him with such a proud teacher's glimpse in her eyes…
He can't embarrass himself in front of her now, can he?
"498... 499... 500!"
His legs immediately collapsed to the floor.
But a sense of accomplishment accompanied his fatigued body.
"Excellent. Since Lord Nero's body has now quite an exceptional recovery, we can add sword work to the routine tomorrow along with the other trainings."
"Tomorrow? We're doing this again tomorrow?"
Nero had to blink his eyes.
"Every day until your foundation is solid, Lord Nero."
He could only smile wryly at that.
'Not like I didn't anticipate this anyways.'
That's right.
If he wants to become strong, he has to give it his all rather than complain about it.
Thinking about the future, a crazy grin formed within his mind as he psyched himself up.
"Again!"
"As you wish, Lord Nero."
Aurelia nodded her head with approval as if she anticipated this.
Thus, the long hours of basic grinding to build his body have commenced.
This is where his vitality stat completely shone its effectiveness.
The current recovery of his body is completely different from when his VIT status was 1.35.
'That 1 point sure is vast, huh…'
Nero now had a vague idea how significant and incomparable the gap is between a single point.
Nero continued to squat, turning his lower body into dust.
Needless to say, it fucking hurts like hell.
But thinking about the future, it only made Nero very much excited as he thought to himself, like reciting a mantra,
'I'll be an OP MC… I'll be an OP MC… I'll be an OP MC… I'll be an OP MC… I'll be an OP MC…'
It was very effective.
Truly an unparalleled weeb-like determination to continue.
It made Nero remember the words he once heard from a certain master.
'Forge a strong sword and you can cut your enemies; forge a strong body and you can destroy everything!'
A solid foundation is the key to becoming OP!
That's why he felt like he was finally on the right path.
A path to becoming stronger by abusively maxing his foundation!
***
STATUS UPDATE
---
Name: Nero Walker (Jobless Degenerate)
Race: Human
Level: 14
Stats:
STR: 1.3/10 (+0.15) = 1.45
DEX: 1.1/10
INT: 1.3/10
VIT: 1.35/10 → 2.35/10
LUCK: 1.005/10
CHA: 0.8/10 (+0.01) = 0.81 (oof.)
Active Skills:
– [Empty]
Passive Skills:
– [Greater Instinct (C), Lv: 2]
– [Valkyria Swordsmanship (SR), Lv: 1]
Unique Abilities:
– [Waifu Summoner (SSR)]
– [Copycat (A) (Flawed)]
---
***
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