Chapter 5- Training
Without wasting much time, Rein stood up from the chair. His motivation to do something in this world has soared infinitely. Now that there is a chance that his wife is alive in this world, and he could see her for the first time in years. There was no bigger motivation to work hard to get to her.
"But, first of all, I need to get in shape and ready myself for this test." He muttered as he took his shirt off and stood in front of the mirror to examine his body more thoroughly.
'A lot of unnecessary fat, bad body composition. Also, I feel so sluggish and slow. I think I need to start by losing weight.'
To do that, he had to do a lot of cardio before he could focus on getting his body stronger and building muscle mass.
"Hmm, we can start with a bit of a jog, then some exercises at home. I need to find a good gym nearby, too."
Nodding his head with a new plan in mind, Rein walked to his closet and pulled his track suit, one that he hadn't worn in God knows how long. It was even tight when he tried to put it on.
"Ugh, dammit, I'm being squeezed inside this thing. At least it's a good tracker of progress." He muttered before he put on the shoes and walked out of his apartment.
Going down to the street, he started stretching his sluggish limbs.
"Hmm, let's aim for a 20-minute jog. I can't afford to do a gradual change. I need to get this quickly."
Two weeks was a short period of time, and he didn't know how much progress he could achieve during it.
So, without time to waste, he started jogging. At first, it was slow and methodical, making sure his body got in rhythm. Then, Rein started increasing the speed slightly as he ran through the neighborhood.
Not that long after, he started sweating profusely, and his breath became short. Not even 5 minutes had passed, and he was already feeling extremely exhausted.
"Hah, hah, hah, useless body…" He clenched his teeth as he forced the pain down and continued jogging.
He continued to sweat until his clothes started getting soaked. Passing people on the way, they stared at him confusedly.
He looked like he was waging a war against something.
15 minutes passed slowly, and Rein finally came to a halt as he leaned against a wall, his heart racing extremely fast. He felt as if he was about to faint from exhaustion.
'Fuck… this…' He cursed as he closed his eyes. He was close to throwing up all the food he had eaten.
This was the hardest thing he had done in a long while, and he worked as a mercenary for a living. That was how brutal jogging was in an unathletic body.
Yet, as if the system seemed to notice his effort… He heard a ringing in his head.
[Jogging has improved your physicality.]
[You have gained +1 point in Agility.]
[You have gained +1 point in Stamina.]
"..." Rein opened his eyes and read the notifications. His tired face formed a faint smile. 'Now this is what I'm talking about.'
Rein had his suspicions that the system would affect his growth speed since it 'Awakened' him. But, until he saw it now, he wasn't sure.
'15 minutes of running and I'm already considerably better than before, speed and agility-wise.' He mused. 'This is perfect.'
At this rate, it was very possible that he could be ready for the test. If he kept this intensity and gradually increased it, he was certain he would be able to gain a lot by then.
'Let's continue.'
With motivation and a few minutes' break, Rein stood up again and continued jogging back to his apartment.
The run back was even harder, but by the time Rein made it there.
[Jogging has improved your physicality.]
[You have gained +1 point in Stamina.]
"Nice." Rein smiled. 'I can feel a small difference. I'm less exhausted now, and my body feels like it has restored some energy.'
In reality, that was his stamina increasing. The effect of this system were magical, to say the least.
'No wonder people were becoming superhumans. This is a cheat code. A growth spurt with no limit.' He smiled as he sat down and drank a huge gulp of water.
"But, I would assume I would need to increase the intensity to get more of these points. The first time, it was 2 points; now it's just 1." Rein rubbed his chin thoughtfully. If that is correct, then there is definitely a barrier, albeit this barrier is merely for those who aren't willing to go that extra step. I like that."
Rein had always been curious about what kind of world a human with no limits could create, and his answer came in the most unconventional way possible.
"Hahaha…" Laughing at his current situation, he finally stood up, ready to start the next part of training.
"Hm, let's go for… 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 50 squats."
He wanted to assess how far he can push himself physically. That will give him an idea of what to do in the next few days.
'Luckily, I took a course to be a gym coach for one of my missions. Didn't think it would come in use so quickly.' He stretched his limbs before he got down on all four.
"Bear with me, ok? This is going to hurt." He muttered as he started doing push-ups. Almost immediately, the first few felt hard. His arms were weak as noodles, and he could barely push his body weight up.
"Hnnng, great…" He cursed as he mustered all his will and continued. By the tenth push-up, he lost all power in his hands and fell to the ground.
"10… Are you being serious?" He cursed as he lay on his back. "This is way worse than I thought."
He knew this body was completely useless, but this was extremely bad. Not even doing ten push-ups meant that he was truly not even capable of dealing any sort of damage with his hits.
'Well, this is going to be a long day… Haha, fuck me.' He cursed as he sucked a deep breath and then turned around and started again. His goal was to do the 50 push ups, no matter what.
For the next hour or so, Rein fought with every ounce of his being to finish the 50 push-ups. Calling it a hard task was an understatement; it was utterly brutal. His arms were burning, and his body felt so powerless as he pushed up.
"48… AAAAGH! 49!!!" He cursed and yelled. "50!!!!"
Eventually, with sheer will, he pushed for the last one with all his force till his face turned red. When he reached the top, he fell to the ground, his arms shaking visibly.
[Your training has increased your physicality.]
[You have gained +2 points in strength.]
[You have gained +1 point in stamina.]
Breathing heavily, he stared at the screen for a second before he smiled. "Worth it." He muttered as he lay there, swimming in his own sweat.
For a few minutes, he focused on breathing and resting his muscles. He was far from over, even though he was absolutely exhausted.
'It's all for your wife, Rein. Sherry is waiting for you.' He muttered as he mustered the strength to stand up to start the next exercise. 50 sit-ups.
This one was somehow even harder than the previous exercise. Rein's flabby stomach made it even harder to rise from the ground.
The struggle continued for another hour before Rein finally did the 50.
[You have gained +1 point in strength.]
[You have gained +2 points in regeneration.]
"Oh damn? This is nice, actually. That stat should help me recover faster. I can't afford to waste time resting for too long."
Wiping the sweat off his face with a towel, Rein moved to the next exercise.
The 50 squats were naturally, even harder than the previous two. At that point, the boy was already so exhausted that he almost felt like fainting. The only thing keeping him going was his incredibly resilient mind. The mind of a seasoned warrior and a man who saw the ugly side of this world countless times before.
Nothing in this world could truly break him… Well, except for one thing.
"48… 49…50!"
[You have gained +1 in agility.]
Rein felt a rush of energy coursing through his body. He felt subtly lighter, faster, and more flexible.
'Hmmm, the effect is instantaneous, and it feels incredible.' He smiled. 'I should be able to get into a good condition in no time.'
But, for now, Rein wanted to stop. He cannot push this body any further, or it might break, and he would end up back at square one. So, after a long break, he stood up, walked to the kitchen, and made lunch.
He made sure that it was an optimal meal with all the beneficial foods he needed to get the best results. It was a bland mix of meats and vegetables, steamed and grilled. He knew that this wasn't a delicious meal, and he never really cared.
Rein was always a practical person; pleasures like food didn't interest him. Well, that is, until he met his wife.
"Man…" Staring at his dish, he could only purse his lips. "I miss her cooking. She made the best meals ever."
For a second, Rein lost himself in memories of those days as he rolled the bean around with his fork. Eventually, he snapped out of it and continued eating.
"Just wait for me, Sherry. I will come for you and this time… I will never let go. Even if this world flips upside down, I will never let go of you ever again."