Thud!

With a grunt, Sky struck the wooden dummy using the most primitive way as he smashed it, pouring all the strength that he had.

The result? The dummy broke.

Sky wiped his forehead that was filled with sweat as he took a deep breath.

His clothes were drenched and tightly hugged his body, his hair was soaking as if he just took a shower, and beads of sweat fell from his forehead down to the ground.

His chest heaved up and down as he panted, he gasped for breath while reading the notification window that appeared in his blurry eyes.

[Your stamina has fallen to critical levels.]

[Rest and food consumption are recommended to return your stamina to its peak state.]

[Strength has increased by 1 point.]

[Vitality has increased by 1 point.]

Ignoring the red-colored warning notification, Sky took out a scone that he bought from a nearby shop and walked towards another wooden dummy.

His actions caused the surrounding spectators to take in a cold breath. Their expressions were that of pain and pity as they stared at Sky's wobbling figure.

"He's not using any skill, he's not taking a rest, and neither is he taking a break, what is the purpose of his actions?" asked a nearby warrior.

His question was what the rest of the players were thinking.

As if answering his question, a warrior wearing heavy armor walked from behind the crowd, causing the players to part. He looked at Sky for a few moments before glancing at the one who asked the question.

"I think he's trying to increase his stats," he said, attracting everyone's attention.

"Huh? You can improve your stats by hitting a dummy?" asked the same person in surprise.

The warrior wearing the heavy armor nodded. "That's right."

Another player asked a question this time, he seemed to be skeptical about the former's words. "You can increase your stats by hitting a dummy? Then why don't you go ahead and start hitting one, instead of struggling to raise your level?"

This player's words seemed to speak the rest of the crowd's thoughts as they all nodded their heads.

What a joke, if one could raise his stats by doing such a thing, then this Training Hall would've long been overcrowded with people fighting over one of those dummies.

The armored warrior didn't say anything in response and remained quiet. As one of the very first players to have arrived at the Tower of Trial's Training Hall, he learned some information from reliable sources.

If a player uses up his stamina and pushed himself to his limits, his vitality and strength will grow. Similarly, if a magician used numerous spells, using up all his mana, then his intelligence will increase.

He himself has tried it before since it was common knowledge in all MMORPGs that improving one's strength during the initial phase was easier compared to when one's level is higher.

By increasing one's stats in such an early stage, it will take effect throughout the whole game. It may even play a crucial role in the future, it may even push you ahead of your peers, giving you an advantage.

However,

'I have no plans of undergoing such a drill for 10 hours just to get a bit of stats.' he thought with a bitter smile.

Such a struggling and laboring drill to increase one's stats was simply trivial compared to the bonus stat points when one leveled up.

Although he knew that such an insane training had a limit in increasing stats, that didn't stop him from respecting Sky from the bottom of his heart.

Hardworking people should always be respected.

Currently, he seemed to be the only person to have seen through Sky's actions. As he stared at the sweating young man, he was convinced that his conjecture was right.

'Y'all can forget about getting this info!' he snickered in his heart. 'Y'all gonna be regretting it later, that you didn't get the chance to increase your stats during the game's initial phase.'

He shook his head while sneering and made his way towards the Tower of Trial's 1st Floor.

* *  * * *

At this moment, two people could be seen arriving in the Training Hall. It was a man and a woman, both of them seemed to be in their 30s.

As the two made way, their equipment was conspicuous amongst the crowd of players wearing heavy-type or plate-type armors.

The two wore brown, leather armor and a dagger could be seen tied to their waists, suggesting that their cla.s.s was a Thief.

Curious at the commotion, the two walked towards the crowd and asked a random person.

"h.e.l.lo there, we are reporters from Revelation TV or RTV for short, and we're wondering why the crowd is gathered over here. Anything interesting?" asked the woman with a smile.

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"Hm? You guys aren't from around here, are you? Otherwise, you both would've known the crazy guy over there." said the person as he pointed.

"Oh?" following the direction, the two newcomers saw a figure, soaking in sweat and striking a dummy with a wooden sword.

It was a level 1 newbie.

"What is he doing for him to be sweating so much?" asked the man beside the woman with a strange expression. "Also, why is everyone here watching him anyway?"

Why are you trying so hard to beat-up a dummy? Look at you, you're even sweating so much, how long have you been doing this?

Also, what is up with these people? Don't they have any business somewhere else, instead of watching a noob beating up a dummy?

"Hehe, let me tell you something, that guy over there has been hitting wooden dummies ever since he came here. He's never taken a break, ever!" said the random player as he laughed loudly.

He's been doing that since he came here?

The two reporters from RTV exchanged strange looks.

"Is there anything else that's happened around here? Something interesting and scoop-worthy?" asked the male reporter. He ignored the struggling noob afar, after all, how could someone so weird pique his interest?

That random player was silent for a few moments before answering. "Well, some high-level players already started climbing the Tower of Trials. Look over there, see that obelisk? The names of the players who have climbed the highest are engraved there." he said as he pointed at a stone obelisk near the stairway that led to the tower's 1st floor.

"I see, thanks for the info." the male reporter nodded and started walking as he glanced at his partner. "Let's go, maybe we can find something interesting enough there."

The female reporter spared Sky one last glance before following after him.

It was said that what wasn't meant to be, wasn't meant to be.

How could they have thought that the most news-worthy article that they could've gotten was exactly that 'noob' that they ignored?

* * * * *

Just like that, time pa.s.sed. Sky logged on to Everlasting World daily, except for when he either slept, ate, or supervised Lee who had been trying to escape his claws. 

He was addicted.

The game, which gave him new thrills and a new world that was full of opportunities, was like a drug to him. 

It was thanks to his monstrous physical conditions that allowed him to sleep with no more than three hours a day.

Every time he logged in, he maximized the 1:3 time ratio of real-life and in-game time and spent 63 hours striking a wooden dummy.

Every time he destroyed one, he would move on to another and continue.

Blood, sweat, and tears accompanied the system notifications that brought him joy while he struck the poor dummies in the training area mercilessly.

He didn't regret his decision.

While it was indeed painstakingly hard, he felt the pleasurable feeling of his strength that grew day by day. He felt elated every time he heard the system notification that said that his stats has increased by 1 point.

Bored? He wasn't bored one bit!

If you worked hard, you become stronger! When you become stronger, you can kill stronger monsters!

It was that simple to him.

During this time, he also contacted Queen and the others. He explained to them what happened. From finding a super-powerful sword to his level and stats resetting, he told them everything and that he was currently training in the Training Hall.

Of course, his story gave them a shock.

Kyle, who already found his own super-powerleveling service, couldn't help but complain in indignance at what happened.

Meanwhile, the others gave him encouraging words and said that they would support him later on so he should just focus on grinding.

However, they didn't offer to help him regain his level, after all, what help could they give when the lad had reached level 50+ in a single day.

Help him? They might slow him down instead!

With Sky being temporarily unavailable, Queen and the others all strove to grind on monster-populated maps instead, trying to increase their levels as fast as possible so they could finish their guild creation quest.

* * * * *

After two weeks (six weeks in-game)—

[Due to your diligent hard work and unwavering spirit, you have unlocked the hidden stat 'Perseverance'.]

[Perseverance: Your stamina consumption in action will decrease significantly. Physical damage is reduced and ignoring debuffs is possible. The higher the stat the higher the effect.]

[Strength has increased by 1 point.]

[Vitality has increased by 1 point.]

[Dexterity has increased by 1 point.]

[Agility has increased by 1 point.]

"Phew." Sky exhaled as he wiped the sweat off his forehead while looking at the broken dummy in front of him.

"It seems that increasing my stats any further is improbable." he smiled. "At least I unlocked a stat though. Hmm, perseverance huh?"

Just as he finished reading his notification windows, he suddenly heard his name being called out.

"Sky!" a deep voice shouted.

?

Surprised, Sky turned to the direction of the voice and saw an NPC heading his way.

It was the instructor.

Sky looked at him and a status window appear.

____________________

[Instructor Nick]

t.i.tle: [Training Hall Instructor]

Level: 150

____________________

Who would've thought that this brash-looking man was a Level 150 NPC?

"Sir?" 

Instructor Nick looked at him and nodded in satisfaction. "I have been watching you train, young warrior. Your hard work and effort impressed me."

"Thank you, sir." Sky laughed. He appreciated the NPCs words since he did work hard after all.

"I have never seen anyone like you before," said Instructor Nick. "Even the most tenacious people I know, they can't compare to you."

Sky grinned in response.

Instructor Nick patted his shoulder and looked at him in the eye. "On the account of your efforts, I'd like to let you in on a secret."

Sky's smiling face turned into a serious one as he nodded his head. "I am listening, sir."

Instructor Nick pointed at the stone staircase that leads to the upper floors of the Tower of Trials and said. "There's a wide-spread legend that said that whoever climbs to the peak of the tower will be able to meet the War G.o.d."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "However, what the others don't know is that other than meeting the War G.o.d himself, whoever reaches the top will also be able to obtain the [Orb of Miracle]."

Sky gasped when he heard his words. "Orb of Miracle? It sounds formidable!"

"Of course." Instructor Nick grinned, resembling the one that Sky had earlier. "It was said that whoever obtains the [Orb of Miracle] will acquire any kind of power that he wished."

At that moment—

[Ding!]

[You have triggered a ★Hidden Quest★!]

____________________

[Hidden Quest - Orb of Miracle]

Difficulty: ???

A legend has circulated in Camelot that whoever shall climb the peak of the Tower of Trial will meet the G.o.d of War.

However, what most people didn't know was that an artifact of the G.o.ds rested itself at the tower's summit.

Orb of Miracle. The treasure of the G.o.ddess of Light and Wisdom, Elena.

Climb the tower, clear the trials, and obtain the orb.

• Unless the orb is obtained by another player, this quest will be available and will have no time limit.

Quest Clear Conditions: Obtain the Orb of Miracle.

Quest Clear Reward: A chance to create your own cla.s.s.

Quest Failure Penalty: None.

____________________