[12 Days, 23 Hours, 12 Minutes Until Towerfall]
It started with pain.
Wang Ling sat beneath the flickering ceiling light of the abandoned gym on campus, breath steady, fists clenched.
The dust on the floor told him no one had been here for weeks. Perfect.
He stripped down to his tank top and sweats, revealing a slim body that looked deceptively fragile. The kind that would be dismissed at a glance.
"This body is soft. Slow. Untrained."
In the original timeline, he had relied on others for protection. Buffs. Shields. Healers. A team.
That team put a blade through his spine at the peak.
"No more."
He dropped to the floor.
One hundred pushups.
One hundred squats.
Two hundred sit-ups.
One-mile run.
Repeat.
No system-enhanced muscles. No buffs. No potions.
Only burning lungs, screaming bones, and clenched teeth.
I started with this body before. I remember how pathetic it was. How slow. How useless.
But this time, it will kneel beneath me like the rest of the Tower.
The system flickered.
[Passive Trait Activated: Regression – Combat Muscle Memory Unlocked (Limited)]
While physical stats remain at base level, your body recalls elite combat conditioning.
Effect: Slightly accelerated training response. Pain thresholds raised.
He collapsed on the fifth cycle.
Sweat pooled beneath his arms. His lips tasted like iron. Every muscle felt like it had been lit on fire, scraped out, and replaced with something heavier.
"Pain is progress."
"Soreness means I'm still mortal."
"Good."
By the time the sun began to rise over the eastern horizon, Wang Ling stood beneath it—steam rising from his skin, his body trembling not from fear, but exhaustion.
He felt his heartbeat in his teeth.
He didn't care.
Because he had survived worse.
Much worse.
[Status Update – Physical Body Condition Improved Slightly]
Strength: 5 → 6
Endurance: 4 → 5
Note: Base stat growth achieved through natural effort without system enhancement. This is rare.
"Even the System's surprised."
He pulled on a black hoodie and walked back toward the dorm, hood up, hands in pockets.
A group of students walked by him — laughing about social media, upcoming exams, trivial things.
One of them glanced his way and chuckled. "Damn. Pretty boy looks like he got jumped by a treadmill."
Laughter.
Wang Ling stopped.
Slowly turned his head.
His eyes locked onto the student — a rich boy type. Designer sneakers. Polished teeth. No survival instincts.
"He won't live past Day Two."
He didn't say it aloud.
He didn't have to.
The other boy's laughter faltered mid-breath.
There was something in Wang Ling's stare.
Not malice.
Not anger.
Just an absence of humanity.
The student looked away and walked faster.
Back in his dorm, Wang Ling sat cross-legged on the floor.
He closed his eyes.
He visualized the First Floor Boss — The Devourer of Bone.
He remembered its speed. Its habits. Its weakness.
He remembered who died to it the first time. How unprepared they were. How unprepared he was.
"Not this time."
[System Notification]
[Hidden Quest Triggered: Solo Preparations]
Train your physical body to its peak before Towerfall.
Condition 1: Achieve 10+ in all base stats without system potions or external items.
Condition 2: Defeat a living enemy before Towerfall using only physical force.
Reward: +1 Free Stat Point | Early Skill Unlock
Failure: No penalty – but weakness is death.
He smiled.
"A challenge worthy of a god pretending to be human."
That night, while the world slept peacefully beneath a false sky, Wang Ling moved through the dark like a shadow — training beneath streetlights, dodging across rooftops, fists bruised, lungs torn, body aching.
The Tower hadn't arrived yet.
But he was already climbing.