In the early night, I set the alarm on my phone to wake up at 6:30.
But even then, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking… the system looked just like the game I had designed, Ratio: Warrior's Ascension.
For every rank-up, I had to complete missions to earn points. But here, everything was different. It was as if I had become the warrior myself! I wondered if I had somehow entered the world of my own game… but in the one I designed, there were no hunters or nations. Everything was still a mystery, but it felt more like traveling into another world through the dimensions of parallel galaxies.
After a while, I closed my eyes… and suddenly, I didn't know where I was. I found myself in the middle of an empty street. Everything was destroyed, flames raging fiercely around me, enormous monsters everywhere. Gigantic black dragons were tearing down everything in sight. There was no hope for survival.
I didn't understand anything… What was this dream about? Then, one of the black dragons turned toward me and spoke in a terrifying voice:
— No matter what you do, you will never defeat us… We will destroy everything. Nothing from your world will remain!
It opened its mouth, a massive fiery energy glowing inside, winds swirling around it. I couldn't even move! Then it unleashed the blast at me, obliterating everything. From the sheer terror, I jolted awake.
I woke up breathless, my heart racing, gasping for air as if it had been the end of me. I kept thinking about what it said… what did it mean?
A few minutes later, my alarm rang. I grabbed my phone and turned it off. Then I washed my face, trying to forget what had just happened, and put on my training clothes.
When I left my room, I froze in shock—my father, mother, and brother were all preparing to head out for their morning workout.
My father looked at me and asked:
— What are you doing, Zokaro? Where are you going?
I stood there, speechless. Then I remembered the diary note—it said they did their exercises early every morning. My father always loved doing that… but I had never had the courage to join them.
So I stepped forward and said:
— Well… to be honest, Father, I wanted to go out and train too… to build up my body's strength.
He smiled proudly and replied:
— Good, well done… Then let's go together.
We left the apartment and headed to the park. It was huge, filled with people exercising everywhere.
My father and brother sprinted off quickly, while my mother smiled at me and said:
— Let's start with some light jogging first.
I began running by her side. A thought struck me: even though my mother was an A-rank hunter, her healing ability prevented her from exerting much physical strength. Her body seemed almost human-like, but what set her apart was her healing skill.
Suddenly, the system screen appeared before me:
[Ratio System]
Daily mission: Activate.
I activated it, and a rectangular horizontal screen appeared:
[Ratio System]
Warm-up Exercises:
Light jog for 5 minutes.
Light skips while jogging for 1 minute.
Arm open/close stretches for 1 minute.
Shoulder and neck rotations for 1 minute.
Begin now… countdown will start for each exercise.
I started the mission, my mother by my side, and we did the warm-ups together.
She looked so happy that I asked:
— Mom, why are you looking at me with such a bright smile?
With a cheerful face, Daliyana said:
— You've started to change… and I'm so glad. That's why, never give up.
Memories of my past life suddenly hit me. If only my mother had been there, encouraging me like this, I would've been happy… and I would've fought with all my strength, with everything I had! I answered softly:
— Thank you, Mom.
After we finished the warm-up, the system screen appeared again with the daily missions:
[Ratio System]
50 sit-ups, three times a day.
100 push-ups, once a day.
Sprinting 10 km, once a day.
Reminder:
Sit-ups should be divided—50 in the morning, 50 at noon, and 50 in the evening.
I looked at my mother and said:
— I'm sorry, Mom… I'll have to leave you for now. I still have other training to do.
She smiled gently and replied:
— Alright… take care of yourself.
I stepped away and began my tasks. I knew it was tough… but it didn't matter.
Meanwhile, Kairon and Zarko walked up to Daliyana. Kairon was completely exhausted, dripping with sweat, while Zarko was full of energy, victory glowing on his face.
Daliyana was shocked at Kairon's state and said:
— I've told you so many times, Kairon… never challenge your father, his strength is like a beast's! And you, Zarko… don't force your son into such challenges.
Zarko laughed, then turned around, searching for Zokaro, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. He asked:
— Where's Zokaro? Wasn't he with you?
Daliyana answered happily:
— He's still training.
Kayron was astonished and said:
— But, Mother, it hasn't even been a month since he left the hospital... what if he exhausts himself with training?
Zarko replied confidently:
— It's fine... I've never seen such determination for training as he has now... he's changed a lot.
A look of sadness appeared on Dalyana's face:
— But still... he frightened me that day, after waking up from the coma and forgetting each one of us. Yet, over time he began to recover and has changed so much since then.
Far away, Zokaro was doing his exercises.
It's been almost a month since I came to this world. Since I woke up, everything has changed: a new world, a new family, and a training system I follow like a madman.
I've discovered many things about this world… whether they have a system like mine. But no one else has it, and no one but me can see it.
I started completing the tasks. It was hard… I began running 10 kilometers. I felt like I would faint at any moment. My legs started to cramp, and my breath grew short.
It took me an hour to complete the tasks, and after finishing them, I collapsed on the ground. I felt as if I could no longer breathe.
Everyone passing by stared at me with strange looks… I hated it. That's why I decided to stand up, even though my whole body was trembling from exhaustion.
Suddenly, the system screen appeared, square-shaped:
Ratio System
Task completed: Well done on your first day.
You are exempt from combat training.
You've earned 100 points.
It felt great! At least, after all this effort, I got something. But I didn't think I'd gain anything from this system… what a fool I am! Trusting something no one else can see?
Moments later, I received a message. I opened it and it showed:
Ratio System
To earn the remaining 50 points, don't forget to complete the task:
• 50 sit-ups at noon.
• 50 sit-ups in the evening.
I realized it wasn't over yet… what a tiring day. I decided to go home and shower, but it was very difficult. My legs were shaking, and I could barely stand.
I sat on a chair to rest a little, inhaling the air slowly and gathering my strength. After regaining some energy, I went back home.
I found my mother had prepared breakfast. She looked at me with concern and said:
— What happened to you? Why are your legs trembling and dripping with sweat? You look extremely exhausted.
I smiled and said:
— It's fine, Mother. I was just training hard… that's why I'm so tired.
The day passed quickly, and I completed the last task: 50 sit-ups.
Then the system screen appeared before me, vertically shaped:
Ratio System
Well done, keep it up.
Enter the earned points.
I entered the earned points. There were many options, but I didn't notice any visible changes to myself.
Earned points: 150
Rewards:
Upgrade Heartbeats Level Lv0
Upgrade Absolute Healing Lv0
Upgrade Instant Energy Boost Lv0
Upgrade Energy Vision Lv0
Choose which level you want to upgrade.
It was a tough choice because I only had 150 points, while each upgrade required 100 points. I needed to think carefully before making a final decision.
Each of them clearly had an important role. I thought about upgrading Heartbeats Level — my heartbeat would become stronger when running and doing hard exercises. That would make me a little stronger.
But healing… every time I get tired, I'd be able to heal myself as if I'd never been exhausted.
Both were important. After much thought, I chose to upgrade Absolute Healing.
Ratio System
Congratulations! You have upgraded Absolute Healing.
It had been a hard decision, but I think I chose the better option. After that, the first thing I could do was test if this system was real or just a lie.
Ratio System
Heartbeats Level: Lv0
Absolute Healing: Lv1
Instant Energy Boost: Lv0
Energy Vision: Lv0
The level had risen slightly. Moments later, I asked the system to heal the fatigue I felt from training.
Ratio System
Fatigue healed by 25% — you still need to upgrade the level further.
But even so, I felt some relief and a new energy, better than before.
What made me happiest of all was how useful this system turned out to be… and although it had begun as an experiment for me, I started to change as well.
It seems I'll finally be able to raise my power level… to become stronger and stronger than the others.
At last, it's time to become someone others can rely on.