Although Sin felt a lot of pain, doing something else thankfully distracted him.
Along with that, the pain of the exercises mirrored the pain of his injuries, allowing him to cope with it better.
Sin would have usually done a workout like this in an hour or two, but due to his injuries, he was inside of there for four hours before his quest was finally over.
He was running at a medium pace on a treadmill, sweat pouring off of his brows. He felt like his whole body was burning from the inside right now due to the cardio, and since he did squats just before this, his legs were burning like crazy as well.
*Ding*
[You have completed the Level 1 Dungeon quest]
[You have received the quest rewards (in inventory)]
'Inventory?' Sin immediately thought to himself, 'Open storage.
---
[Inventory: 5 square feet]
>Spirit Transmutation Stone (2)
---
'Hmm... interesting.' Sin hopped off of the treadmill, heaving a breath of air as he put his hands on his waist and leaned back.
His muscular frame stretched out, bulging with veins.
'System... use one of the Spirit Transmutation Stones on my Healing Bug Spirit.'
[Request: Use 1 Spirit Transmutation Stone on Spirit "Healing Bug"]
[Accept]
[Decline]
Sin directed his eyes at the accept option. He didn't feel anything happen at first.
But then, he suddenly felt a warm feeling come from deep inside of his core. It wasn't completely unfamiliar though. It had just been that he hadn't self-healed in so long that he forgot what it felt like.
Still, it was different than normal natural healing, which didn't feel like much. Right now, he could actually tell that a rejuvenating energy was traveling through his body.
[Active Spirit "Healing Bug" has been transmuted to Passive Spirit "Healing Bug"]
[Description: A small, golden cicada that has been alive for thousands of years. Throughout its lifetime, it has consumed enough nectar to create a healing concoction within its body. This bug grants its user a continuous application of accelerated natural healing ability at all times. The effectiveness of regeneration remains constant as it immediately uses all the nectar it collects.]
'Slightly different huh?' Sin smirked, tightening his fists. 'And I also feel it... the power I got from those stat increases.'
His eyes wandered over to one of the benches in the gym. "I want to do another set." He wanted to test just how much stronger he had gotten.
It was a natural urge for him. He also felt his grip strength was stronger just by balling his hands into a fist.
This feeling of having more raw power was addicting. It felt like reaching a new high on some sort of drug—sending waves of feelings of well-being through Sin.
He sat on the bench, thrusting the barbell up for multiple consecutive reps.
He then went and did another set of every exercise he had just completed, engulfed by the excitement of the moment.
He was still in pain, but much less now thanks to Healing Bug. But more than that, even if he had the same amount of pain, he would want to test his power again.
This power was what was going to allow him to get revenge for his mother and city. And on top of that, it was what would give him a free pass to live this life how he chose to do so.
It would allow him to put doubters and obstacles aside and let him live life to the fullest, like he wanted.
After finishing his workout, Sin exited the [Gym] domain and fell back onto his bed.
Before closing his eyes to go to sleep, he frowned slightly, 'Despite completing that quest, I still haven't gained a level. I mean... It wasn't very hard, just a bit grueling and time-consuming. Still, I guess getting a level is much harder than I anticipated.'
He would leave these concerns for the next time he woke up because right now, he wanted to do nothing more than close his eyes and fall into a deep... deep... deep~~ and just like that, he was gone.
After getting bad sleep for nearly a week and having Healing Bug to keep his body comfortable, Sin only awoke after 15 hours.
The first thing he did was get ready. He showered, getting rid of the stench of blood all over his body. This smell was also mixed with the sweat from working out and fighting the day prior.
It wasn't just his sweat, but also the sweat of the mercenary he stole the leather armor and garments from.
Safe to say, he needed to get new clothes... asap.
He made his way into the streets of the city in the same leather armor. However, he made sure to wear the tavern's bedcovers underneath the armor so he didn't absorb any more sweat.
He looked a bit fat while doing this, but he didn't mind that as long as his shower didn't go to waste almost immediately because of the dirty armor.
His eyes couldn't help but dart around cautiously as he walked, 'I have to watch out for that fatso... he is a big shot from what he was saying yesterday. If he's managed to get his face healed, he is probably after me with every mercenary in all of Solstar.'
He shook his head, still disappointed at the stupid decision he made that almost cost him his life.
'And there's also that other guy I punched...' He sighed, 'That guy was a noble as well. Tsk.'
He hid his face as he entered a clothing shop. This time, he was actually going to buy some clothes for the first time in a while...
He bought a black tunic and black pants. Simple stuff made of loose fabric. He didn't want to go too fancy with it, and he didn't have the money to waste on that either.
After this, he made his way to the Hunter Guild from the day prior.
'This time, I have to get a Spirit Energy affinity rating. I know it won't be much still, as I only have a Common Grade Spirit. But, any Spirit is enough to qualify for a Hunter exam...'
He wanted to become a Hunter. He knew what Hunters were, as he had heard a whole lot about them during his travels.
They were people who braved beasts and completed dungeons, raids, and other quests. This was to not only protect people of kingdoms but also keep a kingdom's economy running smoothly.
They were affiliated with the government, but not controlled by them. Almost like a semi-independent branch of the military. Owned by the Hunter Guild Magistrate instead of the kingdom's government.
Sin didn't really have a clue about the Hunter Guild Magistrate, but he knew that it was under the command of the Sanctuary he was in. Each Hunter Guild Magistrate would be under the control of its respective Sanctuary.
This was because Hunters at the extreme highest levels would not just brave beasts inside of Sanctuaries, but even Dungeons outside--in the Dark Lands.
In truth, that was the whole reason for Hunters in the first place. To Sin's knowledge, they were first created--by who knows--in order to protect each Sanctuary.
However, since only the strongest of the strong were allowed to be deployed to protect the barriers and venture out to explore the Dark Lands, normal Hunters became more of a staple job for a decent chunk of the population who were willing to risk their lives for good pay.
And of course, having a Spirit was common, but one that was actually strong was quite rare.
'Dark Lands...' Sin mused, the thought crossing his mind. He knew a bit about that place.
It wasn't called dark because the sun didn't shine there or something like that. It was just because the land was so unexplored that it was blacked out on all world maps across all Sanctuaries in the world.
Unexplored because it was so dangerous.
All of this thinking led back to a single objective—becoming a Hunter.
'Becoming a Hunter is the only way I can think about going to another Sanctuary. If I get strong enough, they should allow me travel accessibility. And I need to get to another Sanctuary... in order to find those knights in the Trinion Republic. I have no clue what Sanctuary it is, but I will get there no matter what it takes.'
With his mind ironed with a purposeful will, he re-entered the Hunter Guild that he visited the day prior.
'Because I'm a target right now, I also need to get strong as soon as possible. Leveling up is the only way I can think of doing that. I believe doing quests and killing beasts might be a possible route to leveling up efficiently. I guess only time will tell. Before any of that though, I actually have to pass a damn Hunter exam...'