Taking Cassius out of his depressing thoughts, Aya walked toward the bathroom door, only to furtively glance at him before attempting a sneaky escape. “D-Don't mention this to anyone, okay?” she tried to demand with her usual fierceness, yet found it tough to hold his intense gaze. “And about the hospital… Thank you… I mean it… If you weren't there, I would have…”
Cassius waved his hand dismissively. “Go on, then. And try not to get chewed out too hard by your mother,” he chuckled softly, causing her heart rate to quicken. She scuttered out of his room while furiously blushing. “I-I will repay the favor…!” she promised before her cute, bouncy tushy vanished from view.
“You don't have to…” Cassius attempted to say, yet realized that she could no longer hear him.
He heaved a breath of tired air before putting on a pair of underwear and finding himself sprawled out on his bed. Even though his Fatigue was not very high, the mental waves of exhaustion weighing on his mind had stacked up enough times to elicit a prompt state of slumber.
While dozing off, he could faintly hear the soft yelling coming from downstairs, which made him wistfully try to remember if anyone had ever cared about him enough to do something like that. Yet, in the end, he couldn't recall any such memory. When he was young, he might have experienced something similar with his father.
However, sometime after his early childhood, something changed in him… Cassius couldn't quite put his finger on it, but his father seemed… odd. Almost alien to him.
Cassius’s ridiculous thoughts followed him as he entered the land of dreams.
Early the next morning, he awoke even before his annoying yet sturdy alarm clock could go off. Figuring that there was no real need to keep around such an irritating clock with his almost supernatural senses, Cassius eyed it dangerously before grabbing it. He used a small fraction of his strength to crumple it, reducing it to a condensed ball of metal and scraps.
After getting his long overdue vengeance for all the sleepless nights it had caused with its faulty behavior, he rolled off his bed. Sauntering toward his drawers, he swiftly pulled out a black dress shirt and a pair of shorts with a matching color scheme. He set them on the wide drawer, planning to wear them in a second.
Firstly, however, it was time for the grind. Yet, just as Cassius was about to start with one hundred unbelievably fast push-ups, the system presented him with an increase in difficulty.
*Ding!*
[If the Daily Quest is too easy, then you aren't properly building character!]
[Here, have a set of newbie equipment on the house! You must complete the tasks of the Daily Quest with these if you want the rewards!]
*Thud, Thud, Thud!*
Several hundred pounds of condensed sand hit the ground with resounding thuds, nearly cracking through the floor. Luckily, everyone in his house was a deep sleeper, or else he would certainly have some explaining to do. Nevertheless, upon looking at the system tags of these comically absurd weights, Cassius’s brows creased in dramatic apathy.
[Acquired 100lb Wrist Weight X2]
[Acquired 400lb Full-body Weight Vest]
[Acquired 150lb Ankle Weight X2]
“...Is this really necessary…?” asked Cassius, his brows furrowed in frustration. “Even with my increased strength, this is…”
[You are denying Character Development?]
[For that, have another Newbie Package gift, on the house! ^_^]
*Thud!*
[Acquired 300lb Waist Weight]
Veins appeared all over Cassius’s face as he found it tough to hold himself back from walloping his smug system. And weren’t Newbie Package Gifts supposed to be things like a sword, a potion, and some flexible armor? Why the hell was he receiving this crap as his Newbie Package Gifts?? What the hell did he ever do to the Idle Evolution System!?
“Your name is a sham,” Cassius indignantly murmured as he lifted and donned the surprisingly thin weights on his body. Yet, with the system’s impeccable hearing, how could it not hear his defamatory words?
*Ding!*
[In consideration of the Host’s lack of proper character development, as evident by his lack of etiquette, the system has decided to give an additional Daily Quest task and an opportunity for more rewards!]
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[Wear the entire ‘Newbie 1 Character Development Weight Set’ for a total of 12 hours!]
—[Reward: 1 Point in Charisma and 1 Point in Strength (on top of what completing the other tasks will allot you)]
Cassius: “....”
The system was blatantly bullying him, but at least the rewards were good, was all he could tell himself as he hit the floor.
With all his ‘Newbie Equipment’ on, he felt like he was carrying the whole world on his back, yet he just had to grit his teeth and push through the exercises. One by one, he completed all of them, even though sweat poured from all his pores and accentuated his constantly contracting muscles in a shimmering sheen.
With sheer willpower, honed by the system’s sadism, Cassius finished all of the exercises he could do inside. He had woken up not even an hour ago, yet he already felt exhaustion attempting to take him away. However, that didn’t stop the Idle Evolution System from increasing his workload further.
*Ding!*
[Say, don’t you feel embarrassed about having to rely on the system for everything?]
‘Rely on what exactly!? You are the Devil System, not the Idle Evolution System!’
Oblivious to Cassius’s begrudged curses, the system continued where it left off.
[The system is feeling generous today! On top of the luxurious Newbie 1 Package Set, you will also be receiving an additional Newbie 1 item (Don't tell my boss) and another Daily Quest that will need to be completed daily (Assuming you want your crown jewels!)]
‘...The system is still a dick, but maybe the reward will actually be something good this time around...’
He jinxed it.
*Thud!*
[Acquired ‘Newbie 1 Weighted Wooden Training Sword’!]
An eastern-style wooden katana plopped in front of Cassius, leaving a splintered floor where it fell. Its weight was higher than each individual Newbie Item given so far, coming in at over 1,000 pounds.
Then, to add to his disgruntlement, another system notification appeared.
*Ding!*
{[Daily Quest 2]}
—[You are looking awfully flabby as of late. But worry not, the system has decided to be magnanimous and add a tougher regimen!]
—[Swing Newbie 1 Training Sword 100 times, with that number increasing daily based on the Fibonacci Sequence, starting with Day 2 being 150 times. Day 3 will be 250 times, Day 4 will be 400 times, and so on.]
[Reward: 1 Point in Agility and 1 Point in Strength]
[Failure: Loss of what makes you a man]
Silence.
Cassius didn't even know why he bothered with the Idle Evolution System anymore. But seeing as this was another way to get stronger—and he didn't want to lose his balls and joystick—he reluctantly gave in to his fate. How hard could it possibly be to swing around a sword anyway?
He went to pick up the sword sunken into the ground, yet quickly felt every muscle in his arm contract just to keep the weapon from dropping. His knees buckled under the pressure, with his feet smashing into the floor.
‘I thought it was only around 1,000 pounds, but the weight of this thing immediately increased to double that as soon as I touched it…! Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this sadistic system!?’
Cassius felt like using up his saved AP to increase his Strength stat, but he had a harrowing feeling that the system would just smugly smirk and increase the Daily Quest difficulty appropriately if he did that. It had become abundantly obvious that the Idle Evolution System only wanted him to suffer! There was no escaping this fate!
‘Why can't I just be like the protagonists in novels when they acquire a system…? Is this the difference between fiction and reality…??’
Even though Cassius lamented over his shitty luck in obtaining that evil system, he pumped every muscle in his body to heave the sword over his shoulder. Although it hurt a lot to leave it pressed against his deltoids, he clenched his jaw and endured. He took heavy, uncontrolled steps toward his clothes, with nearly 4,000 pounds weighing him down from the sword and weighted clothes.
Yet, before Cassius grabbed the clothes, he figured he should swing the sword first and wipe himself off afterward.
With that in mind, he gritted his teeth and steadily took the sword off his shoulder, briefly glancing at the red imprint it left on his right deltoid. However, as if the stinging pain weren’t even there, he faced the open space of his room. A glint of resolve flashed past his cold blue eyes as he swung downward, making use of every muscle in his body in order to not faceplant the ground.
*Ding!*
[1/100 Sword Swings]
The quest counter went up by one. Now, it was time to get it to go up once more.
Tightening the muscles that already felt like they were rupturing, Cassius raised his arms and swung down once more. The wind slightly whistled, with the force from the sword swing blowing away all the sparse dirt on the ground.
[2/100 Sword Swings]
Again.
[3/100 Sword Swings]
Again.
[4/100 Sword Swings]
Again. Again. Again…
[13/100 Sword Swings]
Again… Just go up… Again… Just go up!
[42/100 Sword Swings]
Again. Goddamnit, just swing! Move, body! Move!
[78/100 Sword Swings]
Arghh!! It hurts so damn much…! Every fiber of my being feels like evaporating! Fuck!! Just keep on swinging!!! Stop being a pussy!!!
[99/100 Sword Swings]
Just one more time… Just go up once more… Why won’t you move…???
No matter how much Cassius willed it, his body just wouldn’t move. He put his full mental capacity toward throwing up the sword once more, yet he felt like every one of his muscles had frozen in place. The only reason he hadn’t collapsed to the ground yet was because he became so stiff that his body literally got the rest of him stuck.
Sweat glistened off of his shredded figure, further accentuating his physique. Yet, the frustrated grimace twisted his handsome appearance into something fiercer.
‘Damn it all!!! Just move already!!!’
Cassius couldn’t even open his mouth anymore, but as if he exceeded some sort of physical limitation, his arms moved, and the sword cut through the air.
[100/100 Sword Swings]
*Ding!*
[You have successfully completed Daily Quest #2]
[You obtained 1 Stat Point in Strength and 1 Stat Point in Agility!]
[Daily Quest 1 Progress: 67%]
*Thud!*
After the quest’s status switched to completed, Cassius let his body collapse to the ground, with his sword falling right beside him with a resounding bang.
However, before he could enter a very deep state of sleep that could leave him unconscious for an unknown period of time, he drowsily pulled up his long list of Level-up rewards. Then, with a single click that used up strength he didn’t have, a bright golden light flashed and enveloped his body.
[Status Recovered!]