After finishing his conversation with Kang Shinhyuk, Daehyun walked out of the dormitory under the pretext of taking a stroll.
How long had it been since he woke up after collapsing? The sun was already setting.
‘I am a little tired, but…….’
This fatigue was surely a side effect from his excessive use of Divine Power.
Perhaps thanks to the Fatigue Recovery Tonic, there was almost no physical fatigue, and aside from the severe muscle pain in his arms and legs, he was able to move fairly well.
[Newly Unlocked Quest: Preliminary Preparation]
Above all, he had no time to sit still and rest right now.
Daehyun lightly reached out toward the notification window before his eyes.
Swipe—.
Then, just as it had during the duel, a new window unfurled before him with a rustle.
[Quest]
[Preliminary Preparation]
[Details: You have overcome the first obstacle, but this is only the beginning. Many more obstacles await you. Train yourself for the next obstacle.]
[Completion Conditions: Run 10 km (0/10 km), Throw Punches 100 times (0/100), Draw Out Divine Power 10 times (0/10 times)]
[Reward: +5 Stat Points. (Choose one from Strength, Agility, and Divine Power.)]
[※ The ‘Preliminary Preparation’ quest can be repeated once per day until the next quest appears.]
Daehyun was not surprised. He slowly read the contents from the top.
‘The conditions are…… basic physical training.’
The completion conditions were not particularly difficult.
They might be burdensome at first, but they were at a level he could quickly grow accustomed to through repetition.
‘Quests were not something that existed in my previous life, but…….’
It did not matter.
If this thing intended to make him stronger, then that was enough for Daehyun.
‘Good.’
He did not doubt it. No, he had no time to do so in the first place.
Daehyun threw a punch straight ahead, and with a sound like a water droplet falling, the number on the notification window changed.
[Throw Punches 100 times (1/100)]
“Hmm.”
So that was roughly how the punching condition worked.
‘Next is running.’
Daehyun looked around for a moment.
The Superhuman Training School itself was spacious, making it more than suitable for running, but there were too many people passing by.
‘I need a place where I can focus only on training.’
He could easily ignore the students’ gazes, but it would be troublesome if every passing teacher kept stopping him to ask questions.
Daehyun walked around for a while in search of a suitable place, and after some time, he stopped behind the dormitory.
[500 m to the summit]
After staring briefly at the old wooden sign with those words written on it, Daehyun turned his gaze toward the stairs before him.
It was a hiking trail that had preserved the mountain as it was, with only wooden stairs installed along the path.
Judging by its condition, it did not seem as though anyone used this place.
‘This should be enough.’
Daehyun began running lightly, as if he were taking a stroll.
If this walking trail was truly 500 meters, then a round trip should make 1 km.
For his original body, it would have been a distance that meant nothing. But by the time Daehyun reached the area just before the summit, his breathing had grown rough, and sweat had formed on his face.
After a little more time passed and Daehyun had fully descended the mountain.
[Run 10 km (1/10 km)]
Sure enough, the number had increased by one.
Daehyun wiped the sweat from his face and smiled faintly.
Now that he had moved his body, he felt as if his mind had cleared as well.
‘Only one thing remains.’
He had a rough idea of how running and throwing punches worked. Now, the only thing left was drawing out Divine Power.
‘I can do it right here.’
Daehyun looked around for a moment to confirm whether there were any people nearby, then steadied his breathing and slowly closed his eyes.
‘Let us not overthink it. It is a power I originally had.’
Although its use would be somewhat different, there was no harm in thinking of it comfortably.
‘Should I think of its application as…… similar to Demonic Energy?’
Once he focused all his senses inward, he was able to feel it at some point.
It had been by chance, but he had already drawn it out once, and since it was a power he had possessed from the beginning, sensing it was not particularly difficult.
‘But…….’
It was still not comfortable.
Compared to Demonic Energy, the feeling of growing stronger was weaker, and the amount he could sense was smaller.
‘Well, I can increase that gradually. For now, I should focus on training.’
With that thought in mind, Daehyun began gathering the Divine Power within him little by little.
HUMMM—.
Little by little, light began to shine from his arm.
When Daehyun judged that the time had come, he moved the Divine Power in his mind.
‘Now, if I use this gathered Divine Power to picture a shield…….’
[Skill, Divine Shield (LV.1), activates.]
[You have failed to create a concrete image.]
[Only the minimum amount of Divine Power will be used.]
[The power of Skill, Divine Shield (LV.1), decreases sharply!]
A few seconds passed like that.
When Daehyun opened his eyes, a tiny shield made of light had appeared on his right arm.
‘No, can I even call this a shield?’
Cracks ran through it here and there, and its shape was warped.
Perhaps because he was not yet accustomed to it.
It was not easy to visualize a concrete shield based on Divine Power.
‘What a mess.’
[Draw Out Divine Power 10 times (0/10 times)]
On top of that, the number on the notification window had not increased.
“Hmm.”
After dismissing the shield from his hand, Daehyun closed his eyes once more.
He erased the image of the shield from his mind and tried something else this time.
‘The principle should be similar to just now, but without forming an image.’
The shield had failed because he had no concrete image.
But if he was simply moving it into his fist, then somehow, he felt it would be possible.
A short while passed like that.
He felt the warmth that had been near his heart move into his hand.
Daehyun maintained that sensation and slowly opened his eyes.
Then…….
[Skill, Divine Fist (LV.1), activates.]
[You have succeeded in drawing out your inner Divine Power!]
[The power of Skill, Divine Fist (LV.1), rises sharply!]
‘Hmm.’
His hand was shining brightly.
[Draw Out Divine Power 10 times (1/10 times)
At the same time, when he turned his head, the number on the notification window had increased.
This much was satisfactory, but it was not over yet.
Keeping that hand as it was, Daehyun clenched his fist and threw a punch at the tree beside him.
“Hup!”
BOOM—!
Dust rose with a thunderous crash.
After a moment, when his obscured vision cleared.
There was a large hole in the center of the tree.
[Throw Punches 100 times (2/100)]
‘So if I beat a person with this, it heals them.’
At least healing did not apply to monsters, so if he beat them with it, there should still be damage.
What in the world was something like this meant to be used for?
At that moment, Daehyun missed his Demonic Energy even more.
‘I suppose there is nothing I can do.’
But what would change by complaining?
Accept what had happened to him from moment to moment, and take the best possible action within it.
That was the way he had survived in the Demon Realm.
[Completion Conditions: Run 10 km (1/10 km), Throw Punches 100 times (2/100), Draw Out Divine Power 10 times (1/10 times)]
And since the best action he could take right now was the quest, there was no point in complaining.
The sun had set, and it was already dark.
Daehyun looked at the very bottom of the quest window.
[※ The ‘Preliminary Preparation’ quest can be repeated once per day until the next quest appears.]
The fact that it could be repeated once per day meant that he could do this quest tomorrow as well.
That meant if he failed to complete today’s quest, an entire day’s quest might go to waste.
‘I will have to move quickly.’
Daehyun began running again.
***
After that, how many minutes, no, how many hours had passed?
[Draw Out Divine Power 10 times (10/10 times)]
“Haa…….”
After using Divine Fist for the last time.
Daehyun sighed and sank down onto the ground.
‘The shield is still difficult, and the fist activates too slowly.’
Unlike Demonic Energy, which he had been able to draw on instantly anytime and anywhere, Daehyun needed intense concentration and a little meditation in order to use Divine Power.
Even so, it was only about one or two seconds, but in a fight, that was still a long time.
‘In any case, it is finally over.’
Daehyun looked at the quest window before him.
[Completion Conditions: Run 10 km (10/10 km), Throw Punches 100 times (100/100), Draw Out Divine Power 10 times (10/10 times)]
[Reward: +5 Stat Points. (Choose one from Strength, Agility, and Divine Power.)]
Running, throwing punches, and drawing out Divine Power.
In truth, every attempt at the shield had failed, and the only thing he had managed was the fist, but at last, he had fulfilled all the conditions required by the quest.
From what he could feel, a full day had not yet passed, so he must have met the deadline by a narrow margin.
[Quest conditions have been fulfilled.]
[The reward will be distributed.]
Ding! Ding—!
[+5 Stat Points have been distributed.]
[Please select your reward.]
[The currently selectable stats are Strength, Agility, and Divine Power.]
“Hmm.”
Daehyun looked at the notification window before him with a smile.
A reward that raised his stats. No matter how he thought about it, it felt like a lie.
‘But.’
This was not a lie.
Daehyun had already realized that fact through something close to instinct.
“I will choose Strength.”
[Reward received.]
[Stat, ‘Strength,’ has increased by +5.]
The moment those words ended, he felt his muscles tremble.
Daehyun sensed every slight change taking place in his body.
A special thrill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
It was strength. It truly felt as if his strength was increasing.
It was faint, but he felt stronger.
“…….”
The feeling of becoming stronger. The sensation of growth.
It was not bad.
But it was not enough.
He could still become stronger, and he wanted to become stronger.
‘I keep missing it.’
Was it inevitable that the more he compared it, the more desperate he became?
That power from his days as the Fist King. That overwhelming strength.
Daehyun lightly dusted off his hands and headed back to the dormitory.
***
After the day’s training ended, Daehyun dragged his exhausted body back to the dormitory.
Perhaps because it was late, the dormitory lights were off, and Kang Shinhyuk’s voice could not be heard either.
As always after undergoing harsh training, Daehyun roughly tossed aside his sweat-soaked clothes and headed straight for the bathroom.
‘Hmm.’
Once he finished washing and came out, fatigue poured over him.
Physical fatigue and mental fatigue caused by Divine Power.
With the two overlapping, he felt as though his body was screaming.
“It is harder than I expected.”
Even if it was difficult, he would have to keep doing this at least until the next exam.
Just as he had in the Demon Realm, he would eventually grow used to it, but that was not the case right now.
After some time passed, Daehyun finished washing, rubbed his hair, and came out into the living room.
‘Is Kang Shinhyuk…… asleep?’
The living room lights had been dimmed to the bare minimum, just enough to make out objects. He was about to pass through without much thought and enter his room.
Then Daehyun saw something on the table and turned his head.
You took so long to come back that I am going to sleep first. It looks like you were training, so I am leaving this here. Drink it before bed.
On the table was a note with those words written on it, along with a teacup filled with liquid.
That, too, was surely something Kang Shinhyuk had prepared.
‘What a grateful guy.’
Daehyun lightly held the teacup with both hands, lifted it, and took a small sip of its contents.
“……”
The special Fatigue Recovery Tonic made by the alchemist, which he had said he had prepared.
The taste was slightly bitter, yet moderately sweet.
“……Well. It was not bad, all things considered.”
Unexpectedly, it had not been a bad day.