At this point, all Abel could do was play along with the mysterious system. It was either that or having to go through another one of its painful imposed penalties.
He panted heavily as grinned his teeth, sweat poured down his face – his whole body soaking his ragged torn clothes as he agonizingly did push-ups.
"Twenty-Eight…Twenty-Nine… T-Thirty… T-Thirty-O-One…" he gasped, struggling to continue.
And the system kept track of his steady progress.
[Daily System Conditioning... Push-ups Incomplete (31/50)]
He normally wouldn't be having such a rough time doing some push-ups, but in the condition he was in it was almost impossible to continue, but he just did.
He stopped to take a moment to catch his breath, "Damn it…" he growled, continuing his struggle, "doing all of this with these damn chains stuck to my wrist and legs is hard enough, but these wounds and broken ribs of mine make it even worse!"
Even with all of that he still pushed through it all until he was able to reach the necessary number to end this torment, "F-Forty-Six… Forty-Seven… Forty-Eight… F-Forty-N-Nine… Fifty!" he shouted, dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes with a heavy thud!
"Haaah… f-finally… I did it." He exhaled heavily lying on the ground, barely able to move an inch.
But…
"Huh?"
[Daily System Conditioning Preparations Phase]
[Objective: Complete the following training regiment before sunset.]
[Goal]
Push-ups (50/50) [✓]
Squats Incomplete (0/50)
Sit-ups Incomplete (0/50)
Pull-ups Incomplete (0/50)
Running Incomplete (0/5km)
[Warning: Failure to complete the daily conditioning will result in a System-imposed penalty.]
"Alright… now we're getting somewhere!" He said, whipping the sweat from his chin with a smirk.
He was far from finished, but he was actually looking forward to seeing where all of this led him. Because after the push-ups the next thing on the holographic list was squats.
Despite being chained up he bent his knees and placed his bonded hands behind his head and began squatting.
Although it wasn't as hard as doing push-ups, it was exhausting and not to mention painful each time he did it, "Damn it… How many were those anyway?!"
[Daily System Conditioning... Squats Incomplete (7/50)]
"Seriously… give me a break!"
He continued until he was able to finish and moved to the next one after taking a quick breather.
[Daily System Conditioning Preparations Phase]
[Objective: Complete the following training regiment before sunset.]
[Goal]
Push-ups (50/50) [✓]
Squats (50/50) [✓]
Sit-ups Incomplete (0/50)
Pull-ups Incomplete (0/50)
Running Incomplete (0/5km)
[Warning: Failure to complete the daily conditioning will result in a System-imposed penalty.]
The next one was sit-ups.
He laid on the ground and lifted his body up through the intense muscle pain and mounting fatigue growing, but he just fought through the pain and did it.
[Daily System Conditioning Preparations Phase]
[Objective: Complete the following training regiment before sunset.]
[Goal]
Push-ups (50/50) [✓]
Squats (50/50) [✓]
Sit-ups (50/50) [✓]
Pull-ups Incomplete (0/50)
Running Incomplete (0/5km)
[Warning: Failure to complete the daily conditioning will result in a System-imposed penalty.]
Up next was pull-ups.
Which would have been the most complicated one to do.
"Shit! How the hell am I supposed to pull this and the running part chained up like this?!" He wondered, while scratching the back of his head.
He looked around at the grape field and the nearby greenhouse and focused on the rusty metal frame of a stationary stone cart.
It was sturdy, low, and most of all it was ignored.
The thing was, he didn't necessarily need a bar above his head to do or complete the exercises.
With that in mind he dropped to his back and despite the agony he felt in his ribs, he reached up and grabbed the thick axle beneath the cart.
He drove his heels into the dirt and pulled his body upward, contracting the muscles in his back.
It wasn't a pull-up, but the System registered the effort immediately.
[Daily System Conditioning... Pull-ups Incomplete (1/50)]
He chuckled, "Okay… this will have to do for now."
He continued all until he was able to meet the required goal.
[Daily System Conditioning Preparations Phase]
[Objective: Complete the following training regiment before sunset.]
[Goal]
Push-ups (50/50) [✓]
Squats (50/50) [✓]
Sit-ups (50/50) [✓]
Pull-ups (50/50) [✓]
Running Incomplete (0/5km)
[Warning: Failure to complete the daily conditioning will result in a System-imposed penalty.]
After completing the task he got off the ground while wiping off his sweat and braving heavily.
He was in a lot of pain, both from his injuries and build up fatigue.
But despite all of that he still had one more exercise to complete. And that was the 5km run.
"Oh crap…! This is gonna be harder than the last one."
A slave can't run 5km.
The System converts intense cardiovascular effort into distance.
"Okay think! Damn it!" He said, forcing himself to come up with a plan he could use against this crisis.
"It's pretty obvious I can't run 5km with my legs chained up like this, so I'm gonna have to come up with a better soultion." He paused for a brief moment, and then had an idea that could actually work. "Wait! How about instead of running I can perform some high-knee marching."
It was a good idea in theory, but there was no full guarantee it would fully work.
But at this point the only way of knowing was to try it.
"Okay let's do this."
He bent his knees low enough so he could do it without the chains interrupting him.
And after taking a deep breath, he began matching his knees, and it was excruciating and the rattling of the chains made it even more trouble.
But to his surprise it was actually working.
[Daily System Conditioning... Running Incomplete (0.1/5km)]
The system was actually responding to his struggle and because of that he continued this painful struggle all until he was finished
[Daily System Conditioning Preparations Phase]
[Objective: Complete the following training regiment before sunset.]
[Goal]
Push-ups (50/50) [✓]
Squats (50/50) [✓]
Sit-ups (50/50) [✓]
Pull-ups (50/50) [✓]
Running (5/5km) [✓]
[Warning: Failure to complete the daily conditioning will result in a System-imposed penalty.]
[Notice: Daily System Conditioning Complete.]
[Penalty Averted.]
[Stat Alert: Stamna has increased by +1 point!]
Abel collapsed in the dusty field with every muscle screaming, his lungs burning, and yet he had a manic satisfied grin on his face.
He had done it.
He had beaten the System for the first day.
Just as he was about to bask in his silent triumph, he heard something — not the heavy boot of a guard, but the quiet and calculating movement behind him.
Then a hand clamped down hard on the collar of his ragged shirt, yanking him back into the shadows of the grape trellis.
Abel froze and the System immediately flashed a severe warning.
[WARNING: IMMINENT EXPOSURE.]
[New Target Acquired.]
He quickly twisted his head to see the sharp gray eyes of a girl he didn't recognize, and to his surprise she wasn't chained like he was.
Before he could react, she pressed a finger to his lips, whispering, "Shh! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"