Switching back to an old phone is a painful experience. First came the struggle to actually find it then the wait for it to start up. It took an hour of charging for my old phone to finally boot up. The wait was really painful.
Taking a long breath, I watched the cracked screen sighing, It sure was taking its sweet time to boot up.
When it booted up, the words [The System is back online] greeted me. Pretty happy that [The System] had low standards when it came which phones it worked on.
"Good to know," After that my fingers moved fast, opening the shop. I was directed to a shopping site. It felt Ironic that the shopping site had the name 'Pacific' but this site sure had a strange variety of things on sale.
There were only two sections: materials and books. The materials were divided from common to rare. I didn't bother to check them, as none of it was affordable with 100 points. Plus, what will I even do with an iron ingot.
Moving onto the books section which was also divided from common to rare.
The books of the common rank were affordable although barely. Frustrated that I could only pick from three choices due to my lack of points I read the list: Boxing 101, Jiu jitsu and Basics of Shooting. Choosing Boxing 101 was a no brainer since it was perfect to help me complete the 'A Capable Player' quest.
Although it did not cost real money, I was still a bit hesitant to tap the order button.
Maybe a part of me was worried about the absurdity of the whole thing. Yet the crazy floating blue letters and me passing out at the press of a button had me believing in this so I tapped the order button.
I kid you not, a blue ball of light appeared and a book materialized in front of me. So caught up in the moment I only watched as the book stayed hovering over the table in front of me.
My throat felt dry as I reached towards the book. When my fingers made contact with the book it disappeared. A ring sounded on my phone.
Completion: 0%
Skipping: 15 minutes
Shadow Boxing: 24 hours
Sparring: 168 hours
Speed bag: 24 hours
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Pushups: 20 x 5
Squats: 40 x 5
Begin Training
"No instant skill is bullshit," I cried out before tapping on yes.
A hundred points were wasted that day, I later discovered that although cheap, there was a difference between books and skill books, the latter although costly made you learn the skill without any effort while the former was cheap but it took effort. Boy, does it take effort.
–2 days later–
"Fuck. This." I cried between heavy breaths, leaned against a railing. Some bastard passed me by chuckling. Probably laughing at my nonexistent stamina. People in the parks are the worst.
On top of having to run in the mornings every day, I had to join a boxing class to get the sparring hours in. The class also had more workouts laid out for me than what was listed on the quest which helped. I didn't like doing them though.
In conclusion the schedule was excruciating and I hated it.
–A week later–
A week deep into training for the quest, I noticed a strange phenomenon. Whenever I tried anything boxing related my movements would improve at a visible rate. Like my body was guided by some invisible power, it was a strange experience despite the whole [The System] thing. Sucks that the strange power did not guide me in workouts at all.
On the other hand there was progress. My stats had started to climb up in numbers.
Name: Tristan
Strength: 10
Agility: 8
Endurance: 3
Intellect: 100
Endurance, something which didn't show up before on my status was now on 3. Although it was a happy occasion I couldn't bring myself to smile.
Probably because I flinched anytime I looked in the mirror. I did not claim to be the best looking out there but I could pass as a 7-8, yet the black eye on my handsome face has been more than inconvenient.
Since I was so pissed off all the time. I finally broke down and chased the bastard that always laughed at me while I took my strategic rests.
I don't know if it was the black eye I was sporting at the time but seeing me going after him made him stumble a bit. The bastard even started running faster than before. I couldn't catch up to him but I definitely will, one of these days.
Overall keeping with this ridiculous schedule has been exhausting. Just when I thought I was finally getting used to it, top dog Randy at the gym gave me the black eye. I jotted down that name in my hit list before moving out for the gym.
–A Month Later–
I laughed out as I reached the finish line. God damn, did it feel good to beat athletes at their own sport. Just when I was finished patting myself on the back my friend arrived.
"You. How the hell did you." Mark didn't finish his sentence trying to catch his breath, his hands on his knees.
"Come on. You know you have been lagging behind in practice." I replied my grin still very much plastered on my face. Mark flashed me the middle finger.
Mark was the bastard that laughed at me during my morning runs. The day that I caught him I forc– asked him to be my running partner.
Soon we found ourselves sitting on a nearby bench to catch our breaths. I checked up on my [Book] progress while Mark talked about some chick he wanted to date.
Completion: 100%
Jump rope: 15 minutes
Shadow Boxing: 24 hours
Sparring: 168 hours
Speed bag: 24 hours
Pushups: 20 x 5
Squats: 40 x 5
"Wipe that smile off your face before I punch you." Mark said, his head in his hands, "This is unbelievable."
"Yeah." I replied, "You suck."
Name: Tristan
Job: Boxer(Rookie)
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Endurance: 10
Intellect: 100
Nodding to myself I thought of the man who gave me a black eye under the pretense of sparring. Randy's gonna get it today.