Varun was at a park near his house in the morning. It was almost 5:30 AM.
He was going to do the workout that he got from the system.
He started with squats, since they were easier to do, and managed to go up to 200 before he finally started to feel his spine and back strain like two cranes pulling him apart with full force.
Nerves were popping out of his legs, neck, and forehead.
A few boys from the same area the park was in were walking by, about 12 to 13 years old, and saw him doing squats.
Boy 1: "What is he doing?"
Boy 2: "I don't know, looks like he got punishment."
Boy 1: "Wow... Bravo!... He's squatting, idiot."
Boy 2 gave a sheepish look and left with Boy 1.
Meanwhile, Varun had barely managed to complete the 1000 squats and switched to push-ups, which he couldn't do even one of because of straining himself from the squats.
"Fu–k this... My body is burning like I am in a furnace. Tch—... Keep up, you fu–king weak-ass body... Move!... Move!... I don't want to go to that place again."
He managed to get close to a hundred.
And slowly reached about 500 when his arm muscles gave up and started tearing from the strain.
But he didn't stop there.
"Move!.... Just a few more... Then curl-ups and running will be left."
About 4 hours later, he was done with the exercises and went to run around the park.
Barely conscious from the stress.
Sweating all over his face.
His arms and legs were heavy, like they were bound with weights.
"Just a little more... A bit more... Just 100 km. That's only 100,000 steps... I can do it... I don't want to die like that again... Move... Move, you f–cking shit body... I fed you every protein just for this."
About an hour later, he collapsed.
One step beyond the 100k mark.
Breathing heavily on the dirt while lying limp on the ground.
[Daily Quest Completed, rewarding player...]
[You have been rewarded with Full Recovery and a Mystery Box. Would you like to open the Mystery Box?]
"Full Recovery first.... Like hell I can open the box in this state."
A static sensation ran through his body and his torn muscle fibers healed.
His fatigue and every bit of stress vanished in seconds.
A recovery effect surrounded him.
"Sigh~... Well, at least I don't have to worry about injuries anymore... Let's see this mystery box."
He tried to touch the screen and his hand passed through it.
He gave a sheepish look to himself.
"Sometimes I forget this isn't a touchscreen. Man, Seong Ji Woo was surely putting up with bullshit like this for years?... Well, that's a fictional comic character... Who knows if he was or not... The writer didn't write about his problems in detail after all.... Well, if this system window is similar to games or that webtoon I was reading..."
"Status Window."
[Player should be Level 2 to see their stats.]
"Fu–k it.... Should've known before asking that.... Well, whatever... Open the quest reward."
The system showed him a box with red straps and an antique lock on its lid, along with a key.
[Mystery Box and Mystery Key have been rewarded. Player may use the key to open the box.]
The box fell into his left palm and the key into his right.
As he used the key and opened the box, it turned into white particles and shape-shifted into another, larger key.
A red-colored antique key with an ominous appearance, like something from fantasy webtoons or novels.
[Player has gained the Key to "Instant Dungeon".]
[Player can use the key anywhere for one time. The key will disappear after use.]
[How to use the key: poke it into midair as if inserting a key into a door and rotate it clockwise.]
[Dungeon Type: "D-Rank" Panthera-type species.]
Varun wasn't sure what to do.
He went home first since it had been hours since he left.
His mother might be worried about him.
Varun: "I'm hom–"
Mom: "Where were you!?.... It's been 10 hours since you went out!"
Varun: "Uhh... Erm... I was... playing... I found some kids. Their football got stuck in a tree, I got it down for them, and they asked me to play with them... Sorry, I was late."
"I feel like a jerk for lying about that... I can't understand what's going on anymore... I've lied many times to them, talked back like a jerk, but never felt this way... Am I getting emotional?... But I was apathetic before... I never cared how they'd feel if I lied or talked back... So why now?"
Mom: "How's your hernia?... It might've swollen if you played football."
Varun: "...!?"
"Shoot!... I forgot they still think I have a hernia... W-What should I say?... Let's just tell the truth in a twisted way."
Varun: "I think it got better... I think my intestine went back into the muscle groove... I felt a slight snap while I was playing... And there's no bulge down there anymore... I don't have any pain either."
Mom: "WHAT!?.. Really?!.... Your hernia got better without surgery?!... No way... Let me see!"
She touched the side of his groin.
There was no swelling.
On either side.
Varun: "See... It's fine... I guess I just needed to play hard to fix it."
Mom: "It's... It's really not there... That's impossible. A hernia is supposed to be cured either in childhood or by surgery.... Let's go to the hospital, now!"
Varun didn't complain.
He knew she would say that.
They both went to the doctor and came back with a good report.
Everything was fine.
A bit too fine for a human.
Varun didn't have a single health issue anymore.
Because his facial acne and body pimples weren't there either.
Their family doctor, a man in his mid-fifties with black hair mixed with white strands and a gray mustache, noticed it.
He saw that Varun's acne was gone, so he ordered a CBC test and discovered that he had nothing wrong with him.
Nothing.
Infections disappearing was understandable.
But allergies weren't something that simply vanished.
Varun and his mom came back home.
His mom was relieved and happy.
She didn't know much about medical matters.
She was educated only up to the 10th grade and couldn't read English very well like Varun, his brother, and his father.
But she cared deeply about him.
"I really did get better in every possible way, huh?... Now that I think about it... I am also a bit taller... 5'8?... I'm close to Dad's height now that I think about it... Damn, the workout really is working... And now that I know it is... That means this dungeon key will help me level up."
Varun didn't go to school for a week and focused on his daily quests.
By the end of the week, he had grown to 6'0.
Even he was surprised.
But he wasn't complaining.
He also trained his agility, since there was no way to know what might be inside the dungeon.
A few more days later.
He was ready.
At least according to himself.
But his clothes had become too small for his frame.
So he bought a new outfit from the mall.
A blackish-gray denim jacket.
A black T-shirt underneath.
Black jeans.
Ankle-high boots.
Fingerless bike gloves.
And a mask that covered his lower face and neck.
What if there was gas inside the dungeon?
Finally, he returned to the park.
He summoned the key.
An antique-looking keyhole appeared in midair and swallowed the key.
As he rotated it, the surroundings froze with an electric ripple spreading through the area.
And then he was inside a dungeon.
The humans disappeared.
It wasn't him who entered the dungeon.
The world around him had become the dungeon itself.
"Uh... Fu–k.... I don't have a weapon on me."
Sweat formed on his forehead.
His expression turned comically nervous.
Suddenly, he heard a growl from behind him.
It wasn't the growl of a stomach like he was used to hearing.
Nor was it a dog.
It was.
A panther-like thing.
But bigger than a rhino.
Huge fangs.
Red eyes.
Metal jaws.
Armored scales.
It wasn't armor.
Its skin itself was metal, a mixture of red and black.
With a low, rumbling roar, it called four more from behind itself.
"... Uh.. H... Hey... Kitty."
"ROAAAR!!"
Varun: "I am dead."