“Come on, how is it possible to be this pathetic. I asked for 1000 push-ups, not 271 and a bit.” Sally sighed as I laid sprawled on the deck of the ship unable to muster the strength for another one.
“We need to increase your strength stat.” She continued. “Strength is vital for a melee fighter. You’re gonna have your work cut out for you as both an archer and a light skirmisher.”
Back on earth 271 push-ups would be quite the feat. It’s not like I’d ever trained much back home. I was a driver for god’s sake. I spent most of my day sat down.
I was impressed with 271, that was a good number. It really showed how much the strength stat affected me.
She was right though. In this world it was weak and I needed to push past my limits, both physically and mentally.
After I failed at the push-ups she had me attempt 1000 sit-ups. I managed 402. Then we moved onto 1000 squats. I got 364. Finally she had me run laps of the ship.
I wasn’t too bad at running. I’d played football in high school. Though it had been ten years since I’d graduated. But with my agility and strength stats combined I thought I did pretty well.
This went on for hours. Every time my stamina got too low she force-fed me a potion to bring it back. I learnt that there is a 60-minute cooldown on potions of the same type. So I could take a health potion and a stamina potion at the same time, but not again for an hour.
It turned out that consuming two of the same potion type within the time limit had the opposite effect of what was intended. At least that’s what Sally said.
She told me that she once took a second health potion ten minutes too early and it drained half of her HP. Luckily the HUD had a timer when I looked at the potions in the inventory.
That meant that I’d have to be careful in battle. Potions were a last resort because most fights didn’t last anywhere near an hour so you’d only get to use one once.
After the running, the real combat training began.
“For now, in this quest, I want you on support duty. When we get to the island you’ll be laying down cover fire with your bow and I’ll do the close quarter fighting.” Sally began.
“At your level it’s too risky to have you close enough to take damage from the monsters we’ll likely encounter. So, let’s work on levelling your marksmanship.”
Sally produced a number of disks from her inventory. The idea was that she’d throw them overboard and I’d have to hit them as they fell from the sky. Like clay pigeon shooting.
I took my position next to the railings and nocked my first arrow. I took a deep breath and breathed out halfway, a technique I’d discovered days before.
The Novice Bowman skill gave me some limited innate knowledge and muscle memory about all things bow related. It was really useful as I’d only done archery once or twice before on a school trip when I was young.
Sally said that to level the Novice Bowman skill I’d have to practice shooting. The better I got on my own, the more likely the system would reward me with an upgrade which would solidify the skills I’d learnt.
I tried to clear my mind as I waited for Sally’s throw.
She called out a countdown and then launched the first disk into the air. I waited for it to reach its apex and fired.
I missed and the disk hurled disappointingly towards the ground far below us.
I tried again and missed again. I kept trying for hours, taking stamina potions when I needed them. There was no way I was going to give up. Even if it was only once, I’d hit the target before we landed.
With a renewed energy I began to nock my arrow for what was probably the thousandth time. The infinite ammo quiver was a god send for training.
I took in a breath, breathed out halfway and Sally threw the disk. It careened lazily into the air and I traced it with my bow as it moved. I was so in the zone it was like time slowed down.
I wanted this so badly. I needed it.
I waited for the disk to reach the apex. I wanted to fire but held myself back. There was a moment between ascending and freefalling where the disk would appear weightless. Just before it fell and gravity took its hold the disk would appear to be perfectly still, floating in the sky.
That was when I took my shot. The arrow flew from the bow with unreal speed and smashed through the disk.
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I pumped my first in the air and let out a cheer.
Congratulations! You have upgraded a skill:
Novice Bowman à Apprentice Bowman
“Sally my skill upgraded!” I shouted, reading the notification.
“Took you long enough. Apprentice anything is still on the lower rung of the ladder.” She said dryly.
It had taken most of the day, the sun was already beginning to set and a serene orange glow washed over the deck of the ship.
Still, on earth it could take years to hone a skill like archery. Decades to master it. What was half a day compared to that.
“We’re going to land soon. Give me 100 laps of the ship whilst I get dinner going.” She commanded, walking back inside, and leaving me alone.
Panda had spent the first hour outside watching me train, but he quickly got bored. I’d revealed to him that I’d stollen the books from the library back at the cultist temple and he was ecstatic.
I’d given him a few random tomes from my inventory and he’d been happily laid in bed reading all day.
It turned out he was quite scholarly. I’d originally taken those books with the intention of reading them myself to learn more about this world.
But if I had to train like this every day, I doubted I’d have the time. It made sense to let Panda do the reading for me and give me the highlights of anything useful. At least for now.
As I ran endless laps around the small ship I was reminded of the bleep test I’d taken in high school. It was pretty standard across English schools.
Basically you’d run between two cones and you had to reach the next cone before the bleep sounded. It got progressively faster as the time went on.
That was pretty much what I was doing on the ship, since it was quite small. I already felt fast and more cardiovascular fit compared to when I’d ran earlier that day.
I wondered if the potions helped with that.
As I ran I watch the sunset from the best view in the house. It took up most of the horizon as it began to sink beneath the vast ocean.
It was truly a sight to behold.
This was a world full of monsters and cultists who wanted my skin, but it was also a world full of beauty.
***
Lucas sank wearily into his lush office chair on the top floor of the Adventure Society building in Havar.
Pouring himself a strong drink, he leaned back and swirled the amber liquid in his expensive, crystal glass. The new kid was becoming a headache already.
He thought his new task from his god would be easy. Keep a noob alive, how hard could that be right?
He’d nearly had a heart attack when his god had appeared suddenly in his mind and chewed him out.
That stupid woman! Why did you choose a brute like that to watch over the boy? I thought I told you to keep him alive! He’d screamed suddenly in Lucas’s head.
She spared with him and took his HP down to one point. One fucking point! He was on the verge of death. I had to speak directly into his mind to coax him into staying alive long enough for his daemon to pour a potion down his throat.
If he remembers that it could cause me some serious premature problems, you know? Honestly, you can’t get the help anywhere these days you useless fuck.
If he dies before I can use him I’ll kill you as well, and the stupid catonid with him.
Do you understand Lucas!
“Yes My Lord.” He’d replied humbly.
The severity of the god’s words and his outrage had shaken Lucas to the core.
He could feel the murderous intent coursing through his mind. The god’s power was so far beyond his own it was barely comprehensible, and that was from realms away.
He shuddered at the thought of feeling that wrath in person. It was likely strong enough to kill him outright.
As he downed his drink and poured another he felt envy for the first time in years. He was envious of Kaleb and his lack of mana.
Without mana you couldn’t sense the power and will of others. At least you couldn’t until you surpassed the max level.
He would likely never have to feel the utterly unnerving feeling of an angry god inside his head. The pressure alone was extraordinary. It was terrifying.
He glanced out at the setting sun from his penthouse view. He had no thoughts about the beauty of the world around him only resentment for being the weakest in the main family.
Resentment for being forced to obey the whims of those more powerful than himself time after time.
He’d taken the position of director of the Havar branch because he was exiled. An idyllic location in a weak zone. It was supposed to be the easy life, practically retirement.
And it was, until Kaleb showed up.
His god hadn’t spoken to him in ages. Then that outworlder came and he was reduced to the role of first bitch in the annoying tasks department.
He squeezed his glass as the anger welled up inside him and it shattered like it was made of Styrofoam. The amber liquid inside covered his hand and leaked onto the carpet.
He hadn’t been this stressed in as long as he could remember. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. A gold rank adventurer who had surpassed the level 100 cap had a very good memory after all, even if he had been stuck at jade soul for a century.
Still, it had been a long time.
As he began to settle down and pour another drink his god appeared again, calmer this time.
The boy will arrive on the island before morning. He seems to have increased his bow skill. That better be enough to keep him alive.
A silver ranked quest is a bit much for a level 9 if you ask me. I hope you know what you’re doing Lucas.
He was calmer this time but he still felt agitated. A feeling that permeated through Lucas’s mind as he felt his presence there.
“Sally will keep him alive My Lord. She is my most loyal adventurer and her talents are known across the islands.” Lucas replied, his voice sounding tired.
She better Lucas. The Goblin King Coronation is no joke. I remember when I took on that quest a few millennia ago.
It took an entire raid party of silver rankers led by a gold ranker – me. You must place a lot of faith in that catonid of yours if you think she can do it with a rookie and his panda.
A few millennia? The calendar he knew only went back 20,000 years or so. He wondered what it was like living in the world before gods.
Lucas hadn’t realised the quest was supposed to be so hard. It was a recurring quest; he knew that much. It popped up from time to time.
However, to his knowledge it hadn’t activated in his lifetime. It was a silver rank quest; how hard could it be?
“She is very skilled My Lord.”
I hope you’re right. For your own sake.