Aren touched his wrist band which was a mini computer to search about the monsters core. He wanted to gain the passive exp from tomorrow.
After searching for a while he frowned. Because the cores were not available for sell in the normal market place and he would have to awaken first to get access to the warrior market place.
He instantly felt a little dejected.
But then he heard the sound of the system again.
[Ding! Daily Quest is Ready.]
Aren blinked. He had been so fixated on the 'Infinite Passive EXP' function that he'd completely forgotten about the basic, humble, grinding part of the System.
[Task 1: Do 20 perfect Push-ups.]
[Task 2: Do 30 perfect Sit-ups.]
[Task 3: Run 2 km.]
[Task 4: Drink 2 liters of water.]
[Reward: 10 exp.]
Instantly, his mood soared to the sky.
"This is perfect. I have over 90 days before the Ascension Trial. By then, I will be well past Level 1, probably Level 10 if I keep this up! I'll think of a proper, non-spontaneous-combustion way to acquire monster cores later. For now, this is more than enough!"
Aren enthusiastically lowered himself onto the infirmary floor, assuming a position he vaguely recognized from gym class.
Right. Push-ups. The cornerstone of true, action-movie muscle.
His Physique was currently 0.2. This meant his sheer arm strength was calculated to handle about 20 kg of resistance and also 20 kg of punching power, which, considering his scrawny frame, was mostly him pushing his own body weight, minus the parts that were still attached to his extremely chubby core. His arms felt like two overly ripe spaghetti strands.
He had watched people do this in his previous life, but he had always preferred torturing his body with cheese fries and triple-scoop ice cream, not this barbaric floor-worship ritual. He loved his body and its comfort too much to subject it to 'exercise.'
Even the previous body owner was as lazy as himself. That's why he still had a chubby body in this world where everyone would practice martial arts from the very little age.
This was, without exaggeration, his first-ever push-up attempt in both life.
He started counting with an almost arrogant confidence.
"One... two... three... four... five..."
He completed five repetitions of what he generously considered push-ups and felt a profound sense of achievement.
"Huh? It is so easy?" Aren became briefly, wildly excited by what he perceived as his 'super strength' awakening before the EXP even kicked in. He excitedly checked his task option.
[Push-ups: 0/20]
"WHAT THE HECK?!" he shrieked, jumping up so fast he nearly head-butted the ceiling. "Why didn't it count the push-ups? Please don't tell me my golden finger is actually broken." Despair, like a giant, hairy spider, instantly grabbed his fragile heart.
Then, a sudden thought occurred to him.
My push-ups... were they... bad?
In his previous, highly sedentary life, he had never considered that there were standards for physical exertion. He pulled up a video on his computer titled: "The Proper Form for Tier 0 Beginner Push-ups"
When he watched the video of the ridiculously shredded man lowering his chest precisely two inches above the floor, keeping his back straight as a ruler, and then smoothly pressing back up, Aren's eyes grew wide in horror.
"How the f—" he whispered, watching the athletic demon on screen. "How does this man take his body so far down and then get back up?"
It turned out his previous five "push-ups" were less of a full movement and more of a series of enthusiastic, slight dips of the shoulders. He had successfully cheated himself out of EXP. The System, in its terrifying wisdom, only accepted perfect push-ups.
Taking a deep, trembling breath, Aren dropped back down. He focused on the video, tightening his core, and aiming for the perfect descent.
He did his best to execute his first proper, full-range push-up, and it felt like a collapsing skyscraper. Every single molecule of strength in his arms seemed to violently abandon his body.
"Damn it! What an impossible task!" Aren cursed out loud, his face flushing crimson. "This is not physical exercise; this is torture! This is the most evil part of the Infinite System!"
But the promise of 10 EXP—the promise of godhood in ten days—was too tempting. For the sake of the EXP, he was pushing himself with the desperate resolve of a man trying to stop a runaway train with his bare hands.
He managed to press himself back up.
[Push-ups: 1/20]
A triumphant little ding sounded in his head. He had proof! He did it again.
[Push-ups: 2/20]
Then three, then four, then five.
On the fifth one, his arms completely gave out, and he collapsed onto the infirmary floor flatly, making a small, pathetic thud sound. His muscles were screaming a song of utter betrayal.
"I hate life. I hate exercise. I hate perfect form," he gasped, lying there in a puddle of his own misery, contemplating the existential dread of being an overweight genius.
He stayed there for twenty minutes, gathering the will to move again. The clock was ticking toward the end of his 'rest' period.
He tried again. This time, he could only manage four consecutive push-ups before collapsing again. Slowly, painfully, with grunts and curses that would make a veteran sailor blush, he chipped away at the task. He would do 3, then rest 10 minutes, then 2, then rest 5 minutes, like a maddened fitness accountant balancing a rapidly diminishing strength budget.
As the two hours approached their end, he dragged himself up for the final one. With a roar that was more of a squeak, he finally, agonizingly pressed his body up the final distance.
[Push-ups: 20/20]
"H-huh! Finally!" he wheezed, lying on the ground, twitching. "It was so f—ing hard. My arms are now officially sentient jelly."
He was sweating buckets. Just as he was about to stood up from the floor, the door was opened.
Ms. Eliana entered the room.
But as soon as she entered the room, she froze, seeing Aren drenched in sweat, his hair plastered to his forehead, looking like he had just wrestled a bear in a sauna.
"Hey, what happened to you?" she asked, her voice laced with genuine worry. "Are you alright? Did you have a fever spike?"
Aren looked at her with his tired, bloodshot eyes, managing a weak, yet charming, smile. "Oh, it's nothing, Mrs. Eliana. I was just... doing some intensive, private exercise. Can I leave now?"
She eyed him skeptically. "Yes, you can. But you should have rested more. Doing such strenuous exercise in this condition might have a negative effect on your body. Go and eat something healthy. If possible, drink a low-grade healing potion."
"Thank you, Mrs. Eliana," Aren thanked her sincerely, grabbing his bag and making a swift exit.
The school day was officially over. A rush of students was pouring out of the main gates. Aren needed to get home right now.
He was about to hail a flying taxi,he deserved it after the torture of the Push-up Quest—when the holographic overlay flashed again.
[Task 3: Run 2 km. (Pending)]
[Task 2: Do 30 sit-ups. (Pending)]
[Task 4: Drink 2 liter water. (Pending)]
Oh, right. The remaining quests.
He was so unbelievably tired, his body felt like damp, heavy logs. His home was about 2 km away from the school.
"I can take a taxi, complete the sit-ups at home, and do the run tomorrow," he reasoned weakly, eyeing a passing empty cab with lust.
"No, I will become the supreme demon god, how can I lose exp?"
With a monumental surge of willpower, Aren started running instead. He wasn't running so much as he was performing a fast, staggering jog, fueled entirely by the mental image of 10 EXP popping up in his status screen.