The university classes were, as expected, painfully boring.
I mean, I'm not even exaggerating. I don't think I've ever been in a situation where I had to constantly stop myself from yawning every single minute like this, anywhere else except inside a lecture hall. It's almost like these places are designed to drain every bit of energy out of you. If boredom was a subject, these professors would be top-tier experts.
To be honest, I didn't even want to listen.
It wasn't just me being lazy or uninterested. My brain just refused to cooperate. The moment the lecture started, it was like my attention span quietly packed its things and left without telling me. I tried to focus, I really did, but it just wasn't happening.
But for some reason…
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MINI-QUESTS!
*Attend lectures!
Reward: 5+ INTELLIGENCE
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It was giving me INTELLIGENCE.
Well, when you think about it, it actually makes sense. Sitting through lectures, no matter how boring, is still technically learning. So yeah, I could probably grind INTELLIGENCE points just by being here and not falling asleep.
Even if I hated every second of it.
If I wanted to unlock Professor Sarah's interface, then this was something I had to deal with.
Besides, it wasn't like I had anything better lined up right now. The internet café was still under renovation, so that option was gone for the time being.
Might as well make use of this.
I checked my current status.
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Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 70
STAMINA: 80
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 115
LOOKS: 68
S-SKILL: 60
CHARISMA: 10
COMMUNICATION: 56
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 5
INFAMY: 90
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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My INTELLIGENCE was sitting at 115.
I needed 35 more if I wanted to perform well on the midterms. Not exactly a small gap, but not impossible either. It just meant more of this… which wasn't exactly exciting to think about.
Looking at my other stats, though, it was pretty obvious that some areas were lacking.
I vaguely remembered that one quest where the requirements for having a good sex with Ma'am Minerva were pretty high. If I remember correctly, I needed 100 S-SKILL, 90 STRENGTH, and 190 STAMINA.
Yeah. That stamina requirement was brutal.
I was nowhere near that.
Should I just go to the gym and grind those points?
Honestly, that sounded like the most straightforward plan.
I quietly grabbed my phone from my pocket and kept it low under the table. No way I was risking the lecturer catching me scrolling mid-class.
I started browsing for gyms.
The one at the mall came to mind first. It was convenient, sure, but I had heard some… questionable things about it. Nothing confirmed, but enough rumors to make me hesitate. I'd rather not deal with whatever weird stuff was going on there.
After scrolling for a while, I found a gym that looked promising.
It had an online membership option, and the reviews were actually solid. Not suspiciously perfect, just consistently good, which made it feel more legit.
The membership fee was 100c per month.
A bit higher compared to the mall gym, but if the quality and service were better, then it was worth it.
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Total credit: 2,876c
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Yeah, I could afford it without any issues.
So I signed up right away.
There was no point dragging it out.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
After lectures ended and I finished my shift at the library, I headed to the gym.
CoreNova Fitness.
It had high ratings, so it seemed like a solid place to start.
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MINI-QUESTS!
*Spend 2 hours in the gym
Reward: 10+ STRENGTH, 5+ STAMINA
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I figured I could stay for four hours.
Double the time, double the gains. At least that was the plan in my head.
Still, stamina felt like the main priority.
I needed a lot more of it.
"Are there any other mini-quests that can help me increase stamina faster?" I asked internally.
The system responded immediately.
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MINI-QUESTS!
*Spend 2 hours in the gym
Reward: 10+ STRENGTH, 5+ STAMINA
*Swim for 2 hours
Reward: 10+ STAMINA
*Run at least 10 miles
Reward: 10+ STAMINA
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So those were my options.
Not exactly a huge variety, but enough to work with.
The stamina-focused ones gave more STAMINA, obviously, but the gym also gave STRENGTH, which I still needed.
Honestly, the gym felt like the most balanced option.
Even if the stamina gain was lower, the added strength made it worth it.
I walked into the gym.
There were already quite a few people inside, all doing their own workouts. Some were lifting weights, some were using machines, and others were just doing their routines like they had everything figured out.
The place had a nice atmosphere. Active, but not overwhelming.
Still, it was my first time in a gym like this.
Not gonna lie, it felt a bit intimidating.
As I was taking everything in, someone approached me.
It was a woman, probably around the same age as me.
She was wearing a typical workout outfit, fitted and practical, with the top short enough to show her midriff. It made sense for the setting, and she carried it naturally.
She wasn't overly muscular, but her body was toned. Her stomach was lean, her build was balanced, and her hips stood out in a way that was hard not to notice.
She had short black hair and a face that leaned more toward a boyish charm than a traditionally soft look, but it suited her.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
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Lisa
Currently locked. You can't view them. You need to meet the requirements first.
Requirement: 100 STRENGTH
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So her status was still locked.
Still, the requirement didn't seem too bad. Compared to Professor Sarah's interface, this was actually manageable.
I already had 70 STRENGTH.
Just 30 more and I'd unlock her interface.
"Ah, yeah. I already signed up for a membership, so I just want to make full use of it," I said.
"I see… is this your first time at a gym?"
"Yeah, it is."
She looked me up and down for a moment, like she was sizing me up, but not in a rude way.
Then she turned slightly and gestured toward the equipment.
"Well, you can start with whatever you prefer. Feel free to use any of the equipment. There are also tutorial pamphlets available if you're unsure how to use anything."
"Alright," I said.
She seemed more dependable than I expected.
For some reason, I thought she'd be a bit snobbish, but she was actually pretty straightforward.
Guess I judged that one wrong. Happens.
I changed into my workout clothes, which, if I'm being honest, I hadn't really used that much before. They still felt a bit stiff, like they were judging me for only existing in my closet up until now. Either that, or I just wasn't used to actually committing to this whole exercise thing.
Still, I went ahead and started.
The first thing I did was stretching. Obviously.
I wasn't about to go straight into intense workouts and end up pulling a muscle five minutes in like some kind of amateur. I needed to warm up properly first. No point in trying to look cool if I ended up limping out of the gym right after.
I didn't overthink how things would go. I just moved from one stretch to another, then eventually started using some of the equipment around the place.
While I was doing all of that, I noticed something.
The woman I had talked to earlier was looking at me.
Not just a quick glance either. She was actually staring, like she was paying attention to what I was doing.
Was she interested in me?
I had no idea. It wasn't like I could check anything, since her interface was still locked.
After a while, I finally managed to complete the mini quest.
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COMPLETED!
*Spend 2 hours in the gym
Reward: 10+ STRENGTH, 5+ STAMINA
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You'll get an additional +7 in LOOKS for improving your body appearance!
NOTE: LOOKS can make girls more interested in you.
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Even after seeing that, I didn't really feel anything change right away.
There was no sudden boost, no moment where I felt stronger or more attractive. Nothing like that. My body still felt like… well, my body.
But considering how much my stats had increased, especially with how my appearance was supposed to be improving, it made sense that my LOOKS would go up as well. It probably wasn't something I'd notice instantly. More like a gradual change that would sneak up on me later.
Still, not bad.
Overall, that was a pretty decent workout session.
I figured I should rest for a bit before jumping into another round. No need to act like some hardcore gym addict on day one and burn myself out. I wasn't trying to collapse on the floor and become a cautionary tale.
I grabbed my water bottle, opened it, and took a long drink. While doing that, I kept my eyes on the Mini-Quest interface.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
MINI-QUESTS!
*Spend 2 hours in the gym
Reward: 10+ STRENGTH, 5+ STAMINA
*Swim for 2 hours
Reward: 10+ STAMINA
*Run at least 10 miles
Reward: 10+ STAMINA
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Looking at the list, something clicked in my head.
There had to be some kind of loophole here, right?
If I used the treadmill and ran for miles inside the gym, wouldn't that technically count for both spending time in the gym and completing the running quest at the same time? It wasn't like the system specified that they had to be done separately.
It sounded like one of those situations where you could stack progress if you played it right.
Well, no point just thinking about it. Might as well test it.
After resting for a bit, I decided to go for another two hours. This time, I focused on the treadmill.
And almost immediately, I noticed something felt different.
Maybe it was because my STAMINA was way higher now compared to when I first started, but running didn't feel nearly as exhausting. In fact, it felt… smooth.
Like my body just knew what to do.
I wasn't gasping for air every few minutes. My legs weren't screaming at me to stop. If anything, it felt like I could just keep going without much effort.
Okay, maybe not forever, but definitely longer than before. Which, honestly, was already a huge improvement.
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Your STAMINA is high enough that you can continue for hours without getting tired. Additionally, your INTELLIGENCE is high enough to manage your STAMINA efficiently.
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I paused for a moment to think about that.
So it wasn't just about having high STAMINA. It was also about how I used it. My INTELLIGENCE was basically helping me regulate everything, making sure I didn't waste energy unnecessarily.
So the stats actually worked together.
That made sense. It would be weird if everything was completely separate. STRENGTH probably worked the same way with STAMINA too. One supports the other instead of just existing on its own.
After some time, I finished the full two hours of running.
And just like that, I had also reached the requirement of running at least 10 miles.
Honestly, that felt pretty efficient.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
COMPLETED!
*Spend 2 hours in the gym
Reward: 10+ STRENGTH, 5+ STAMINA
*Run at least 10 miles
Reward: 10+ STAMINA
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 90
STAMINA: 100
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 115
LOOKS: 75
S-SKILL: 60
CHARISMA: 10
COMMUNICATION: 56
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 5
INFAMY: 90
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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So it actually worked.
I let out a small breath and couldn't help but feel a bit satisfied.
Looks like there really were loopholes in these quests. If certain conditions overlapped, I could take advantage of that and clear multiple objectives at once.
Two birds with one stone.