“Fuck . . . This . . . Shit,” Zach said. Panting for his breath. His so-called training montage started with an extensive running routine, and for whatever non-existence hours went by, Zach did not earn what he thought he would.

He stopped. His hands were on his knees with his head down. Sweats dripped down his wet hair and vanished as they dropped on the white pristine floor. This was the fifth cycle of his running, and judging by the non-changing numbers in his status window, he had a bad hunch that all of this effort was about to turn to waste.

The procrastination that was always in him started to creep up on him. As if whispering to his ears that it was better to lie down than to run. It was a bad idea of course. But he shook it off, slapping himself on the cheek. He stood up with his back straight. Eying at the endless white horizon as he continued running.

Perhaps four days went by if time existed in this white plane, and Zach was still running. He looked more fatigued than the first time he came here. His throat was parched, and his muscles screaming in pain. Despite that, his numbers remained the same.

Again, he stopped. Taking a short break with his ass down on the white floor. He craved water, but that luxury was far from his reach. He thought he would be dying by now since humans couldn’t survive without water after three days, but lo and behold, he was still alive and well.

Well, not exactly at an optimum state of being alive, but he was surviving though. At first, when reaching the limit of the third day of being exhausted, Zach had the strong urge to just give in, pick a class, and be done with it. But his hunch held him down. It pushed him forward in this torturous attempt into the unknown. Then by the time he reached the fourth day, he realized that perhaps this whole dimension didn’t allow him to die.

It was a big assumption one might say. But he had to see whether he could benefit through this or not. Zach continued his time, running again, and again. Ignoring the thirst he felt that went up and down at times as if the white dimension regulated his hydration just minimally so he could survive through this self-torture of his. By the time a week passed, even his churning stomach made him feel like dying. He grew thinner with his muscles shrinking. Then another week passed. Surprisingly, his body didn’t change. After two weeks of continuous running without food, one might expect to see a bag of bones. But that didn’t happen. He was at the leaner side like a marathoner.

At the end of the non-existing month, something finally happened.

[Persistence of the strong-minded. Your effort will not betray you.]

[You have gained Skill: Relentless Will.]

[Relentless Will(Lv.Max)(Tier: Unique): When your health points drop below 5%, all status effects inflicted will be erased. Perception and Spirit stat will double.]

He had a dumbfounded face at first. Staring at the floating notification as if it was a hallucination. He closed it and opened his status window.

Name: Zachary Gardwin

Level: 0/50

Species: Human

Title: -

Class: -

HP: 190/190

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

MP: 100/100

SP: 10/80

Strength: 8

Vitality: 8

Defense: 5

Agility: 7

Perception: 6

Intelligence: 10

Spirit: 6

Charisma: 7

Point: 0

Skill: Relentless Will(Lv.Max)

Seeing was believing. There was a new category right under the Point, listing his newfound skill. A skill that he did not expect. The moment he confirmed it was real, tension and stress in his body went away. He limped and fell to the floor. Dead tired as he gazed at the endless white ceiling. He had a melancholic smile, remembering those painful days he went through just because of a single skill. His eyes glistened and before he knew it, he broke down in tears. Crying alone as he was just glad his running wasn’t a waste of time.

Not to mention, Zach was not the easy type to shed a tear much less bawl like he was right now. But the stress, the thirst, the hunger, the pain, and the mental whispers that told him everything was worthless finally cumulated into what he was now. Crying like a defenseless baby. He felt pathetic at first, but seeing how he was the only one here, it wasn’t so bad after all.

Wiping the tears and snots away. Again, Zach reached an impasse. He gained success, but that one established step made him dream bigger. His stomach growled as if trying to make sense to him to stop and just moved on. But Zach saw the bigger picture. After this white dimension, he was about to step inside a world where wars were waged, and death was commonplace. Not like it wasn’t common already with bandits taking reign in the south and civil war right across the sea. But the appearance of classes would stir up the pot more chaotically, and being a victim in that chaos was a no-go.

Zach steeled his will, convincing himself to do the impossible once more. At first, he thought of rotating different exercises, but in his current condition, running was the only thing he could muster. He let out a sigh, and then he shuffled his feet again.

A year went by, and a lifeless-looking young man ran at a steady pace. He was the same as always except for the apathetic face he had. His lips were sealed, yet sounds kept coming from his moving body. The growl of his stomach never ceased and continued to do so to urge Zach to eat. But the young man grew immune to the sound as if his ears involuntarily blocked the gurgling of his stomach. In this one year, he spent running, he didn’t come out empty-handed.

[Living with the Pain(Lv.Max)(Lv.Unique): Pain is your friend. There is no you without pain. Effect: every time your body is inflicted with pain, boost your Strength and Agility stat by three for a limited period. Stackable up to ten times with the condition of the pain threshold being bigger than the previous one.]

Only a masochist would be delighted to have this type of skill, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Zach was grateful of having one rather than none. Then the end of the year came to a close. Zach who was running stopped as the notification made its appearance once more.

[Your body screams for your attention, but you ignored it. You turned deaf to it. You blinded your eye to it. You are distant from the trouble of the physique.]

[Relentless Will evolves to Phlegmatic Will]

[Phlegmatic Will(Lv.Max)(Tier: Ancient): When your health points drop below 15%, all status effects inflicted will be erased. Perception and Spirit stat will double. Hinder effectiveness of status-based skill by 50%. Hallucination and illusion resistance increased by 50%. Warning, higher level illusion than the user’s current level may reduce the resistance effect.]

Besides the skill, there was another bonus he managed to obtain. Knowledge of skill could improve even after the level was at max. Zach stared and caught up his breath.

“It’s time,” he said. His voice was hoarse as it was the first time he had spoken in months. He didn’t know how long time had passed, but deep down, he couldn’t stand it any longer. This last bit would be the prize before he exited.

Zach approached the white book on the podium. Flashing a small grin as he caressed the book cover. Then the book opened, its pages fluttered, and reached the middle. Letters emerged, and Zach read them.

“Will you choose?” Zach read.

It seemed the book or whoever behind it had the same idea as Zach. As if knowing what went through that mind of his. A gamble that would spell his life or death of him, but Zach wasn’t going to change his mind after all he went through in this place.

“I am classless.”

He gave his answer with the light of determination burned behind his eyes once more. Then light engulfed his entire body, and in just under a second, Zach was no longer there.