Chapter 3: Training Up
I slept lightly that night. Every creak of the old wooden inn seemed sharper in the dark, every footstep in the hallway dragging my eyes open.
The system's faint hum was a comfort. As soon as dawn bled into the sky, the blue screen reappeared.
[Day 2 Quest Activated]
Sword Swings – (0 / 1,000) Run – (0 / 5 km) Push-ups – (0 / 200)
Rewards: +1 Free Stat, +2 STA, +100 SP
I dressed, strapped my sword to my hip, and stepped into the cold morning. The park's frost-slick grass crunched beneath my boots.
I started with push-ups this time, hoping to get them out of the way before my arms turned to lead. My breath puffed white in the air. By the time I hit two hundred, my shoulders felt like they'd been hammered flat. Sword swings were next. With each motion, I pictured the enemies I'd faced in the game demon warriors, dungeon beasts, rival hunters.
The repetition was mind-numbing, but muscle memory was forming, each swing faster and cleaner than the last.
At the halfway point, I sheathed the sword and ran the five kilo meters, weaving through the city streets. The market was already waking hawkers calling out fresh bread, butchers hanging cuts of meat, children darting between stalls. Every so often, I caught sight of someone watching me, their eyes lingering too long before they vanished into the crowd.
---
By noon, I was back at the inn, sweat-soaked and sore. The common room smelled of roasted duck and potatoes. Marta spotted me and waved me over.
"You'll waste away if you keep skipping breakfast," she scolded, sliding a plate in front of me before I could protest. The duck skin was crisp, the meat tender, the potatoes golden with butter.
"Careful," I said between bites, "I might stay here until the exam just for the food."
"You pay on time, I'll fatten you up for free," she said with a wink.
Roderic joined us, a mug in his hand. "Word in the market says the Academy's testing this year will be harder than ever. New Head Examiner. Mean as an orc with toothache."
"Sounds fun," I said dryly.
"Fun for the crowd," he corrected. "The candidates? Not so much." He leaned in. "If you're serious about this, you'd better be training more than your sword arm."
I nodded, storing that away. Physical, magical, and mental readiness. That was how the Academy weeded out the weak.
---
The rest of the afternoon was spent on magic drills. Frost Edge was slowly improving five seconds of stability before the frost broke away. The mana control trait made a difference, letting me feel the way energy spiralled along the blade's surface.
Once, just to test it, I tried pulling on the other affinity. Space.
It was… strange. The air around my hand warped faintly, like heat haze. My vision swam, and a thin line of pain lanced behind my eyes. I let go instantly, breathing hard. Space magic wasn't something to toy with lightly.
[Warning: Affinity not stabilized. Recommend training at Rank D or higher.]
Yeah. Noted.
---
That evening, I took a short walk to clear my head. The streets were quiet, lanterns swaying in the cold breeze. And then I felt like someone was eyeing me.
I turned sharply. A hooded figure stood at the far end of the street, half in shadow. Even from here, I could see they were watching me.
When I took a step forward, they turned and slipped into an alley.
I didn't follow. Not yet.
'See I know this event, it a classic trap for me'
'It will I follow them and they will gang up or solo powerful person will killed me'
'In the alley where no one there they can escape without living evidence'
If someone really was tailing me, then rushing in blindly was the fastest way to end up like the original Michael Willson.
Instead, I went back to the inn, nodded to Roderic and Marta, and climbed to my room. I locked the door, leaned my sword against the bed, and sat cross-legged on the floor.
The system's faint glow lit the walls. My quest counter ticked down, my stats slowly creeping upward.
Whoever was watching me would come again. When they did… I'd be ready.
The next three days bled together training at dawn, work at the café, drills until my arms and legs shook, then magic practice until the mana strain left me dizzy.
By the fourth day, my quest counter flashed green:
[Day 4 Quest Complete]
Rewards Gained: +1 Free Stat, +2 STA, +100 SP
Total SP: 540
I was getting faster. Stronger. More aware.
But the shadow that followed me didn't vanish.
Every other night, I'd catch a flicker of movement on a rooftop or in an alley. No direct approach—just watching. Waiting.
Until the tenth night.
---
The streets were quiet as I returned from the park, my breath fogging in the cold. This time, the figure didn't hang back.
A shadow dropped from a rooftop and landed five paces in front of me.
"Michael Willson," the voice was muffled, but the blade he drew gleamed wickedly under the lamplight. "You weren't supposed to survive the poison."
I kept my tone steady. "And you are?"
While I adjust must pose and strongly grip my sword to a combat position.
"You didn't need to know for a person who will die," he said simply, and lunged.
The black hooded shadow takes out a dragger and rush towards me.
I barely dough attack
Then move little far distance from him
I raise my left hand aiming toward the shadow and use a skill
"Freeze" as I spell it.
I look forward to see if my sell was working or not because last 10 days, I have been learning this basic spell from the book.
The spell was working as I see that the leg of shadow freeze and stop for a moment.
I saw surprises in his eyes; he asked a question to me.
"Kid, it seems that you have learn magic all"
I didn't answer to his question, as I was thinking how to counter attack and defeat this guy.
"Good then I should also increase my payment little bit"
CRAAKKK
The Ice below the shadow shattered
The shadow assassin uses mana to blast the ice.
Then he rushes attack to his direction
He was fast. Faster than me, probably a E Rank.
His speed was no joke.
His dagger flashed for my ribs, but my sword was already there, parrying with a clang. The shock jolted my arms.
I fell back two steps, forcing him into the open space between buildings.
"Your father's little guild doesn't know when to quit," he taunted, striking again.
Rival guild. That meant someone had paid him to finish what the poison started.
His speed was superior, but my INT and Mana Manipulation gave me an edge in control. I feinted high, then channelled a thin coat of frost along the lower half of my blade.
When he blocked, his dagger caught on the ice. I twisted hard metal to shrieked, his blade snapping in two.
He went for my throat barehanded, but I used Shadow Swap.
The purple skill that I got.
In blinking of moment, I swap place with the Assassin shadow behind him.
I used my fullest strength in this attack with I raised my sword.
My sword's hilt slammed into the back of his head.
He dropped, unconscious.
---
[Enemy Defeated – Rank E+ Assassin]
Rewards: +5 Stats, +2 STR, +60 Mana, +200 SP
After receiving the reward, I left the alley and headed straight towards the Inn.
Next morning I went to see if the dead body was there or not.
The body was gone before dawn, no doubt some Dark mage should have clean up.
---
Ten days later, my routine had doubled in intensity. My stamina, speed, and strength had climbed enough that training no longer left me gasping on the floor.
That morning, the system chimed.
[Special Quest Available]
Objective: Clear 1x F-Rank Dungeon
Location: Atlan City Outskirts
Reward: +10 Free Stats, +5000 SP
Time limited: 60 hours.
It seems system finally giving quest. I was also ready to take this task.
Because I have rank F+, next three day I will be at E rank soon.
So, a F-Rank dungeon meant weaker monsters but they were still deadly enough to kill an unprepared E-Rank. And from what I remembered of the game, the Frostpine hidden dungeon was a nest of Ice fang Wolves. Individually weak, but in packs? They could rip an ordinary human apart in seconds.
I gripped my sword. Ten days of pushing myself had gotten me here.
It was time to see my status progress.