Ethan stared at the blinking notification on his phone screen, the System window floating faintly above it like a layer of reality only he could see.
[Daily Quest: Prepare to Become Strong]
100 Push-ups (0/100)
100 Sit-ups (0/100)
100 Squats (0/100)
10km Run (0/10)
Rewards:
All Stats +3
Random Box ×1
Failure Penalty:
Immediate Transportation to the Penalty Zone
The quest had been staring him in the face all day, starting in the morning before class. He'd done about… what? Twenty push-ups between brushing his teeth and trying to sneak a breakfast burrito past Howard's chef? And maybe some squats while pretending to reach the top shelf for Tony's stash of magazines.
The rest? Unfinished.
And now it was 11:59 PM.
The System chimed again.
[Warning: Daily Quest incomplete. You will now be transported to the Penalty Zone.]
Ethan grinned.
"Well… here we go. About damn time."
The air around him rippled like someone dropped a stone in water, and the Stark mansion bedroom dissolved.
He hit the sand face-first.
The world was a burning desert under a sun that never set. Dry wind cut like knives across his skin, and the air tasted like ash. Ethan pushed himself up, brushing grit off his face, only to hear a sound he'd never forget.
Screeches. Deep, guttural, like a mix between a lion's roar and steel scraping across stone.
Penalty Zone monsters.
He muttered, "Oh, System, you really don't do subtle, huh?"
Shadows stretched long and alien across the dunes. Massive lizard-like creatures, jaws lined with serrated fangs, claws glowing faintly red like molten iron, stalked him from the horizon. Their eyes locked on him.
[Objective: Survive until Time Limit ends.][Remaining Time: 4:00:00]
Four hours. Four whole hours.
"Four hours?!" Ethan threw his hands in the air. "What the hell happened to thirty minutes? Did I get the premium package or something?!"
The nearest beast let out a thunderous roar, sprinting across the sand with terrifying speed.
"...okay, talk later, run now."
The first half hour was pure chaos.
Ethan sprinted, his shoes sinking into soft sand as claws missed his back by inches. His lungs burned, his legs screamed, but he forced himself to keep pace. In his old life, he'd barely survived this nightmare when the quest first dropped. But that was as Sung Jin-Woo — weak, broken, cornered.
This time, he had knowledge, experience… and shadows.
"Arise!" he shouted mid-sprint, stabbing a finger toward a half-buried carcass from some forgotten monster. The shadows beneath it twitched, peeled away, and rose.
A skeletal soldier in crude armor pulled itself from the sand, black smoke bleeding from its joints.
[Shadow Extraction successful.][New Shadow Soldier Created.]
The soldier let out a silent screech and charged the pursuing lizard. It didn't last long — ripped apart in seconds — but it bought Ethan precious distance.
He laughed breathlessly, still running. "Damn, even cannon fodder is useful."
Another monster lunged at him from the left. Ethan ducked low, rolled under its claws, and came up spitting sand. He drew the small dagger Tony had once mocked him for carrying everywhere. The blade flashed as he slashed at a passing leg. It didn't kill, but it slowed the beast down.
He bolted again, forcing himself to think tactically.
Penalty Zone wasn't about winning. It was about surviving.
But survival didn't have to mean only running.
By the second hour, Ethan had learned the rhythm.
The monsters were relentless, but they weren't coordinated. They stalked in packs, but fought for kills. He used that — darting between them, letting them collide, raising shadows from the corpses of those that fell.
His shadow army grew — weak, unstable soldiers, yes, but better than nothing. Two goblin-like shades. One skeletal brute with a cracked sword.
And Igris.
The Shadow Knight moved like death given form, cleaving a beast's leg clean off with a single swing. Even at level one, even weakened, Igris was still a terrifying ally.
"Good work, buddy," Ethan muttered, chest heaving. He clapped Igris on the shoulder like he would a teammate. "Remind me to buy you a beer when this is over. Do shadows drink? We'll find out."
Igris tilted his helm slightly, silent as always, but his posture almost radiated approval.
By hour three, fatigue hit.
Ethan's legs ached, his arms felt like jelly, and sweat poured down his back. The monsters didn't tire. They kept coming, endless waves from the dunes.
He tripped once, barely rolling aside as claws raked the sand where his head had been. Igris slammed into the beast, pinning it long enough for Ethan to scramble up and stab it in the eye.
The System dinged faintly.
[Strength +1.][Agility +1.][Vitality +1.]
Even the System was acknowledging the grind.
"Finally," Ethan gasped, staggering back. "I was starting to think you were just enjoying the show."
The monsters snarled, circling. Ethan raised his dagger again, body trembling, but his grin never faded.
"Come on, then. Let's see who's hungrier."
The final hour blurred into a haze of blood, sand, and shadows.
Ethan fought like a man possessed. He baited, dodged, countered. Shadows pinned beasts down long enough for him to finish them. Every kill bought him another soldier. Every soldier bought him another minute.
And when the last beast lunged just before the timer ticked down, Ethan rammed his dagger into its throat with a roar of his own.
The creature dissolved into ash.
[Time Limit complete.][You have survived the Penalty Zone.][Rewards granted: +3 to all stats. Random Box ×1.]
The desert shattered like glass, and Ethan collapsed face-first into his bed at Stark mansion.
He groaned, rolling onto his back. "...worth it."
The Random Box dropped into his lap with a soft chime.
He eyed it warily. Then grinned.
"Well, it can't be worse than four hours of cardio."
He tapped the box.
[You have obtained: Low-Grade Mana Potion ×3.]
Ethan laughed so hard he nearly fell off the bed.
"Perfect. Literal gamer juice. System, you spoil me."
Status Window
Name: Ethan Stark
Level: 4
Class: ??? (Pending)
HP: 470/470
MP: 150/150
Fatigue: 12
Strength: 32 (+3) = 35
Agility: 29 (+3) = 32
Vitality: 28 (+3) = 31
Intelligence: 35 (+3) = 38
Sense: 30 (+3) = 33
Skills:
Passive:
Tenacity Lv.2
Unarmed Combat Basics Lv.3
Active:
Arise Lv.1
Shadow Storage Lv.1
Capacity: 4/5
Igris [Lv.1 | Rank: Knight]
Lesser Goblin Soldier [Lv.1 | Rank: Normal]
Lesser Goblin Soldier [Lv.1 | Rank: Normal]
Skeletal Brute [Lv.1 | Rank: Normal]
Inventory:
Dagger (Common)
Low-Grade Mana Potion ×3