Chapter 23: 100 Sword Swings

Oblivious to Cassius's begrudged curses, the system continued where it left off.

[The system is feeling generous today! On top of the luxurious Newbie 1 Package Set, you will also be receiving an additional Newbie 1 item (Don't tell my boss) and another Daily Quest that will need to be completed daily (Assuming you want your crown jewels!)]

'...The system is still a dick, but maybe the reward will actually be something good this time around...'

He jinxed it.

*Thud!*

[Acquired 'Newbie 1 Weighted Wooden Training Sword'!]

An eastern-style wooden katana plopped in front of Cassius, leaving a splintered floor where it fell. Its weight was higher than each individual Newbie Item given so far, coming in at over 1,000 pounds.

Then, to add to his disgruntlement, another system notification appeared.

*Ding!*

{[Daily Quest 2]}

—[You are looking awfully flabby as of late. But worry not, the system has decided to be magnanimous and add a tougher regimen!]

—[Swing Newbie 1 Training Sword 100 times, with that number increasing daily based on the Fibonacci Sequence, starting with Day 2 being 150 times. Day 3 will be 250 times, Day 4 will be 400 times, and so on.]

[Reward: 1 Point in Agility and 1 Point in Strength]

[Failure: Loss of what makes you a man]

Silence.

Cassius didn't even know why he bothered with the Idle Evolution System anymore. But seeing as this was another way to get stronger—and he didn't want to lose his balls and joystick—he reluctantly gave in to his fate. How hard could it possibly be to swing around a sword anyway?

He went to pick up the sword sunken into the ground, yet quickly felt every muscle in his arm contract just to keep the weapon from dropping. His knees buckled under the pressure, with his feet smashing into the floor.

'I thought it was only around 1,000 pounds, but the weight of this thing immediately increased to double that as soon as I touched it…! Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this sadistic system!?'

Cassius felt like using up his saved AP to increase his Strength stat, but he had a harrowing feeling that the system would just smugly smirk and increase the Daily Quest difficulty appropriately if he did that. It had become abundantly obvious that the Idle Evolution System only wanted him to suffer! There was no escaping this fate!

'Why can't I just be like the protagonists in novels when they acquire a system…? Is this the difference between fiction and reality…??'

Even though Cassius lamented over his shitty luck in obtaining that evil system, he pumped every muscle in his body to heave the sword over his shoulder. Although it hurt a lot to leave it pressed against his deltoids, he clenched his jaw and endured. He took heavy, uncontrolled steps toward his clothes, with nearly 4,000 pounds weighing him down from the sword and weighted clothes.

Yet, before Cassius grabbed the clothes, he figured he should swing the sword first and wipe himself off afterward.

With that in mind, he gritted his teeth and steadily took the sword off his shoulder, briefly glancing at the red imprint it left on his right deltoid. However, as if the stinging pain weren't even there, he faced the open space of his room. A glint of resolve flashed past his cold blue eyes as he swung downward, making use of every muscle in his body in order to not faceplant the ground.

*Ding!*

[1/100 Sword Swings]

The quest counter went up by one. Now, it was time to get it to go up once more.

Tightening the muscles that already felt like they were rupturing, Cassius raised his arms and swung down once more. The wind slightly whistled, with the force from the sword swing blowing away all the sparse dirt on the ground.

[2/100 Sword Swings]

Again.

[3/100 Sword Swings]

Again.

[4/100 Sword Swings]

Again. Again. Again…

[13/100 Sword Swings]

Again… Just go up… Again… Just go up!

[42/100 Sword Swings]

Again. Goddamnit, just swing! Move, body! Move!

[78/100 Sword Swings]

Arghh!! It hurts so damn much…! Every fiber of my being feels like evaporating! Fuck!! Just keep on swinging!!! Stop being a pussy!!!

[99/100 Sword Swings]

Just one more time… Just go up once more… Why won't you move…???

No matter how much Cassius willed it, his body just wouldn't move. He put his full mental capacity toward throwing up the sword once more, yet he felt like every one of his muscles had frozen in place. The only reason he hadn't collapsed to the ground yet was because he became so stiff that his body literally got the rest of him stuck.

Sweat glistened off of his shredded figure, further accentuating his physique. Yet, the frustrated grimace twisted his handsome appearance into something fiercer.

'Damn it all!!! Just move already!!!'

Cassius couldn't even open his mouth anymore, but as if he exceeded some sort of physical limitation, his arms moved, and the sword cut through the air.

[100/100 Sword Swings]

*Ding!*

[You have successfully completed Daily Quest #2]

[You obtained 1 Stat Point in Strength and 1 Stat Point in Agility!]

[Daily Quest 1 Progress: 67%]

*Thud!*

After the quest's status switched to completed, Cassius let his body collapse to the ground, with his sword falling right beside him with a resounding bang.

However, before he could enter a very deep state of sleep that could leave him unconscious for an unknown period of time, he drowsily pulled up his long list of Level-up rewards. Then, with a single click that used up strength he didn't have, a bright golden light flashed and enveloped his body.

[Status Recovered!]