Li Wei's muscles ached in every direction the next morning, but the glow from the system still pulsed gently in his vision. He sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his sore arms as he waited for the next quest to appear.
The silence was broken by a sudden vibration. His phone buzzed.
System Alert: New Questline Available — "Survive Sensei's Trial."
Mission 1: Convince your sensei to personally train you. Reward: +20 Strength, +15 Skill Points.
Li blinked. Sensei? That grumpy old guy in the dojo who looked like he could snap a tree in half with one finger? That guy?
He sighed. The thought of facing Sensei's scowl made him want to crawl back into bed.
But there was no choice.
Later, Li made his way to the dojo. The air smelled of sweat and old leather, familiar but oppressive. The place was mostly empty, except for Sensei, who was meticulously sharpening his katana in the corner.
Li swallowed hard. "Sensei."
The old man looked up, his eyes sharp as daggers.
"What do you want, Wei?" he grunted.
Li swallowed. "I want to train… with you. Personally."
Sensei snorted. "Why? You're the joke of this dojo. You fall more than you fight."
"I know. But I have this system now. It's like a game in my head. I want to get better, for real."
Sensei's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, Li thought he'd get kicked out right there.
Instead, the old man slowly stood and sheathed his katana.
"One month," Sensei said quietly. "Survive my training for one month, and I might consider keeping you."
Li's heart pounded. "Deal."
The first day of Sensei's training was a brutal awakening. The old man was a merciless drill sergeant. From dawn till dusk, Li was pushed to his limits and beyond.
"Faster! Lower! More power!" Sensei barked, barely breaking a sweat himself.
Li's body screamed in protest as he was forced to run sprints, hold stances until his legs trembled, and spar repeatedly with Sensei's wooden sword.
The system counted every motion, congratulating him whenever he hit a milestone.
DING! Completed 100 squats in 10 minutes. Reward: Leg Strength +5.
DING! Mastered Horse Stance. Reward: Skill Points +10.
By evening, Li was soaked in sweat, limbs heavy as lead. But something inside him was burning brighter than the exhaustion.
Sensei stood silently, watching. Then, for the first time, he nodded slightly.
"Not worthless."
Days turned into a week. Li's body grew tougher, his reflexes sharper. The system pumped new quests and rewards like fuel into a fire.
New Quest: Shadow Boxing Practice – Perform 1000 punches today. Reward: +10 Dexterity.
Li punched the air until his knuckles bled, ignoring the sting.
He couldn't believe it—he was actually improving.
One evening, as Li sat panting in the dojo, the system chimed again.
New Quest: Master the "Tiger Claw" strike. Reward: Active Skill Unlocked.
Li's eyes lit up. The "Tiger Claw" was a move he'd read about but never thought he'd do.
He practiced it over and over, guided by the system's tips and Sensei's occasional grunts of approval.
When he finally landed it during sparring, the system flashed:
Skill Acquired: Tiger Claw Strike – Deals 150% damage.
Li grinned widely.
Sensei gave him a rare smile.
"Good."