Morning came like a hammer to the skull.
Izuku's body screamed in protest as he sat up, muscles aching from last night's mana training.
But before he could even groan, the system prompt flashed before his eyes.
[Daily Quest]
100 Push-ups
100 Squats
100 Sit-ups
5 km Run
20 min Plank
Rewards:
+0.2 Strength
+0.1 Agility
+0.1 Endurance
[Do double for double rewards.]
Izuku's face twitched.
"…You bastards."
For one whole year, this hellish routine had been his daily life.
Even with his 90% growth reduction, he had barely managed to crawl his way to average stats.
And now this damn system was acting like it was some great achievement.
Edric's Eternal Feast
Still muttering curses under his breath, Izuku washed his face and headed to the dining hall.
He grabbed a loaf of bread and was about to leave when he noticed Edric.
The idiot was still sitting at the table, taking tiny bites.
Izuku raised an eyebrow.
"You're still eating?"
Edric nodded, chewing slowly. "Your advice worked."
Izuku blinked.
Then he remembered.
"Just keep eating all night."
Edric had actually done it.
"…You're an idiot." Izuku sighed, shaking his head.
Grabbing his bread, he turned away and headed for the training grounds.
The Weight of Stagnation
By the time he finished his daily quest, the sun had fully risen.
His entire body burned as he leaned against a tree, drenched in sweat.
Knights began arriving, their polished armor gleaming in the morning light.
Among them was Sir Garrick, their instructor.
Garrick's sharp eyes immediately landed on Izuku.
He walked over, arms crossed.
"I've been keeping an eye on you."
Izuku didn't react, still catching his breath.
"You refused to train under me, yet you've been working yourself harder than most knights."
He glanced at Izuku's sweat-soaked clothes.
"The problem is… why?"
Izuku finally looked up. "Why… what?"
Garrick narrowed his eyes. "Why is there no visible growth?"
Izuku froze.
"Any knight who trained this hard would've reached the next level by now."
The system prompt suddenly popped up.
[Don't be lazy. Do more training.]
Izuku clenched his fists.
"…Go to hell."
A Year's Worth of Struggle
Finally, after finishing his training, the system updated his stats.
[Updated Stats – Age 9]
Strength: 4 (+0.4) (Finally, you've reached the average stats for your age.)
Agility: 4.3 (+0.2)
Endurance: 4.3 (+0.2) (Another stat finally reaches average.)
Mana Sensitivity: 2.09
Izuku exhaled.
He should have been twice as strong by now.
But Heaven's Curse had stolen that from him.
One more year.
One more year before he had to enter the Academy—where real monsters lived.
Would this be enough?
No.
It would never be enough.
To Be Continued in Chapter 20 – The First Duel