The stand-up meeting was an exercise in corporate sadism. Our Section Chief, Mr. Ishida (a man whose personal [Aura] was simply Deadline Anxiety), delivered the news with the grim solemnity of a general announcing a failed offensive.
"Project Phoenix is vital," Ishida droned, clicking through slides of aggressive growth projections. "The board needs this functional next week. We are working under a compressed schedule. No exceptions. No overtime pay."
No overtime pay? That's the [Damage Over Time] effect of this quest.
Hana-senpai leaned in. "Seven days, Kaito. That's maybe fifty lines of debugged legacy code per day, minimum. And that's if we don't hit a wall."
I looked at the primary quest screen, which now dominated the right side of my vision:
Quest Title: Project Phoenix: The Seven-Day Grind
Objective: Deliver fully debugged Project Phoenix code by the new deadline.
Failure Condition: Missing the deadline results in [Job Termination] and severe [Stat Loss].
My stats are too low for this kind of stress. I need to level my [Coding] skill from D+ to C immediately, and the only way to do that is to grind through lines of code, consuming Stamina.
My current plan was suicidal: use precious [Stamina] to boost concentration for small windows of coding, then run up and down the fire stairs every hour to regenerate those points. It was an unsustainable loop.
"Senpai," I whispered, pulling up the complex, spaghetti-like structure of the legacy code on my monitor. "I need you to run interference. The noise here is too much."
"Interference?" she looked doubtful. "Like what?"
"Like... I need silence. Absolute, total silence for twenty-minute windows. Can you handle all the incoming calls and non-critical interruptions?
"Hana-senpai sighed, but her loyalty to the project (and maybe her worry about my sudden manic health kick) won out. "Fine. But if Ishida-san asks, you're deeply analyzing the security protocols."
I nodded, gripping my mouse. This was it. The real [Grind].
The First Hour:Optimization
I had 10 base Stamina, which regenerated at 1 point every 20 minutes while sitting still.
I can't wait 20 minutes for 1 Stamina. I need a passive boost.
My eyes scanned the system's available functions, settling on my lowest stats. [Strength] was a miserable 4. [Dexterity] was now 5, thanks to the blueberry incident.
Function: [Analyze Stat Synergy] Result: Minor gains in [Stamina] regeneration can be achieved by improving [Strength] through sustained, low-level isometric tension. (Cost: 0 Stamina)
I immediately tensed my abdominal muscles and pressed my feet firmly into the floor, adopting a hidden, static pose of power.
[Stamina] Regeneration Bonus: +0.1 per minute. (Passive)
Pathetic. But it's an optimization!
With the passive bonus running, I decided on my attack pattern.
Skill: [Code Concentration (Rank F)] (A sub-skill of [Coding]) Effect: Boosts code efficiency by 50% for 5 minutes. Cost: 3 [Stamina Points].
I had 4 Stamina, so I could use it once. I immediately activated it.
The office noise—the clicking, the coughing, the low murmur of meetings—vanished. My focus narrowed to the screen. The hideous, nested loops of the legacy code seemed to flatten out, their logic becoming suddenly, perfectly visible.
In five minutes of intense, nearly painful focus, I slammed through thirty-five lines of debugged code. A small, rewarding [Coding XP] alert flashed.
[Coding (D+)]: 95% Progress to Level C.
I stopped abruptly as my Stamina dropped to 1/10. The office noise immediately crashed back in, overwhelming and deafening. I felt a dizzying wave of exhaustion wash over me. That was too fast, too intense.
"Kaito?" Hana-senpai's voice was muffled by the exhaustion haze.
"I need to check the network protocols at the main server bank," I whispered, shoving myself up. Lying is easy with [Social Camouflage].
I took off for the fire stairs.
The Grinding Loop: Fire Stairs and Telekinesis
The next three hours became a blur of frantic loops:
The next three hours became a blur of frantic loops:
1.Stairs: I would jog down three flights and back up three flights, pushing my physical limits. Result: +4 Stamina.
2.Coding Burst: I would sit down and activate [Code Concentration] for five minutes, burning 3 Stamina. Result: +5% Coding XP.
3.Micro-Grind: While waiting for the fire stairs to clear, I used my excess Dexterity on low-cost [Telekinetic Holds]—levitating paperclips, straightening pens, and holding small bundles of wires together.
Action: [Telekinetic Hold (F)] on a pen. Cost: 1 Stamina. Result: +1% [Telekinetic Hold] XP.
My new [Dexterity] stat of 5 was making the low-cost holds much easier, less painful, and far more efficient for training. I was multi-tasking my grind!
By the time the office lights started to dim outside, I had achieved two milestones.
[Coding (D+)]: 100% Progress! [Skill Up!] [Coding] is now (Level C).
[Telekinetic Hold (F)]: 100% Progress! [Skill Up!] [Telekinetic Hold] is now (Level E).
I felt a second small, satisfying pop behind my eyes. Level E! The agonizing pain of the skill activation was now just a manageable discomfort.
I looked at the Project Phoenix code. With my improved [Coding] (C) skill, I was making 50% faster progress on the debugged lines.
But the day wasn't over. Hana-senpai had gone home, and only a skeleton crew remained. I was alone, sitting in the vast, silent cubicle farm.
My [Stamina] was at 2/10. I had enough energy for one more five-minute burst of concentration, but I was exhausted. I needed real recovery.
I stared at the empty desk of Mr. Tanaka, who had not returned from his shame-induced dry-cleaning quest.
A new objective appeared, small and discreet.
Hidden Quest: Night Shift Sustainment Objective: Acquire a [Mid-Grade Ration (Rank D)] for sustenance. Location: The Sixth-Floor Vending Machine (Target: [High-Protein Snack]) Challenge: The Vending Machine is [Malfunctioning]. Requires [Skill Check] to operate.
A vending machine problem. The first kind of office disaster I understood, now infused with the threat of a System skill check. It was time for a final, critical gamble.
I gathered my empty premium coffee cup and headed for the sixth floor.