That morning, Rex was jerked awake by the chaotic sound of feet scurrying across the hall. His head throbbed violently, a relentless hammer of pain, and every sound—every footstep, every distant shout—felt amplified tenfold, as though the world had turned up its volume without warning. Groaning, he slowly sat up in bed, reaching instinctively for his inventory. His fingers wrapped around the familiar hilt of his stone spear, one of the few weapons he could craft with ease. Not that it mattered; he had made dozens of them over the past few days, each as crude yet functional as the last.
"Just my luck," he muttered, swinging his legs off the bed. Every movement felt weighted, uncoordinated. The world tilted slightly as he pushed himself to his feet. His stomach churned violently, a betrayal from the previous night's indulgence. With a groan of disgust, he stumbled toward the bathroom, leaving a trail of small footsteps echoing down the hallway. Moments later, he was vomiting, emptying his stomach with a force that left him trembling.
"Shit," he whispered, leaning against the edge of the sink, sweat beading along his temples. His hangover had fully set in, merciless in its assault. After a few minutes, he forced himself to rinse his mouth, splashed water over his face, and quickly dressed. Today was not a day to waste; he still had to make it down to the Den.
The door to the workshop slid open just as he arrived, and Genya's eyes immediately landed on him.
"Whats up! You do not look good," Genya exclaimed, concern lacing his tone.
"…Hangover. Massive one," Rex groaned, trying to lift his head, feeling every muscle ache with residual fatigue from the previous night.
"Shh… Wish I could say I feel your pain," Genya said, shrugging. "But I never get drunk long enough to get a hangover. I think it's something to do with my system…"
Rex shook his head in disbelief. He glanced around, searching for Alexis among the workshop crowd but found nothing.
"Hey Genya, Alexis hasn't shown up yet?" he asked, his voice hoarse from the night before.
"Oh yeah! He and the other unit captains are with Garron in his office. Said it was important," Genya replied casually.
Rex recalled the conversation from last night, Alexis mentioning that Garron had something planned for them. He nodded slowly, uncertain what to do until the meeting concluded.
Just then, a familiar voice called out, cutting through the clamor of the Den.
"Rex?"
Nyra's head peeked inside, scanning for him. Several engineers echoed her call, shouting his name down the crowded hallways, and a flush of embarrassment crept over him. With hesitant steps, he slithered toward her.
"Hey! Nyra… been a minute. What's up?" Rex tried for a normal tone, though his words felt hollow. Memories of the Nyra Alexis had described last night clashed violently with the Nyra in front of him—the one with clear eyes, sharp opinions, and a palpable vitality. She had once encouraged him to push forward when he felt hopeless. The broken, numb version he had imagined was nowhere in sight.
"Come, I want to introduce you to someone," Nyra said, pulling him along. They made their way down the compound corridors, heading toward the recreation center where the training took place.
"C—Could you maybe slow down… just a little, please," Rex groaned, struggling to keep pace.
"You sure are slow," Nyra teased.
"No, you're fast. Damn! Woman, how do you move like that?" Rex complained, finally collapsing onto a chair at the side of the room, gasping for breath.
Nyra didn't laugh; she simply smiled and motioned toward a tall, dark-skinned woman with her hair tied into a tight bun walking toward them.
"This is Vessica. She's a trainer. She could help fix you up, put you into shape," Nyra said.
"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Rex," he said, offering a shaky hand.
"I know," Vessica replied, her thick African accent making her words sound sharp yet rhythmic. She eyed him critically. "This is the guy! Hell, he's even skinnier than you are," she added to Nyra, who laughed heartily. Rex felt an uncomfortable heat rise to his face, as though he had been made to stand naked before a judge.
Vessica circled him slowly, inspecting his form, her hands gesturing as she analyzed muscle mass and posture.
"Aight… I can work with this," she concluded, gripping his arm to lift it, checking for potential leverage and strength.
"Great! Thanks, V. See you later," Nyra said with a wave before running off. Rex wanted to shout after her, to protest, but she was gone, leaving him with this imposing figure of a woman.
"All right, let's start with some reps. 100 pushups, 10 km lap, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats. You have two hours," Vessica called, her voice commanding, no room for negotiation. Rex's heart sank; this was the infamous One Punch training regimen.
At that moment, the mechanical chime of his system rang sharply.
Ding!
---
[System Interface: Devourer Protocol v1.0]
User: Rex
Level: 9
Race: Human (Unregistered)
Class: Blacksmith
System Tier: Devourer
Title: Mediocre Newbie Blacksmith
Stats:
• Strength: 26 (+3)
• Endurance: 12 (+2)
• Agility: 5 (+5)
• Intelligence: 9 (+2)
• Mana: 108 / 88 (+20)
• Luck: 5 (+1)
Stat Points Available: 10
System Points Available: 8
Abilities:
† Shadowstep (Tier D)
† Scrapmeld (Tier D)
† Drawing Room (Sub Skill)
† Player's Map (Tier D)
[Missions Log Protocol Activated!]
> New Mission:
Finish 100 pushups, 10 km lap, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats in 2 hours.
Clear Conditions:
Follow Vessica's training schedule for a week.
Failure Conditions:
Failure to finish the mission in the given time, incorrectly doing the reps.
Rewards:
• Strength: +20
• Endurance: +20
• Agility: +20
New Title: 1 Punch Protégé (see more…)
Description: You are the protégé to the renowned Once Punch Instant Defeat. He won wars with a single strike. You are a fledgling, but your strength will rival all others once you reach your peak.
• Strength +20
Recognition as Once Punch Instant Defeat's newest protégé. Revered in Sector Z.
---
Rex's groan shifted into a grin. The rewards were absurdly generous. By the end of this training, his strength would rise by an unprecedented amount.
"Yes, ma'am!" he said crisply, standing at attention. Vessica raised an eyebrow but concealed a smile at his eagerness.
"Alright, get to it. I'll be back shortly," she said and walked toward another trainee.
Just then, Fuzzy appeared with his usual theatrics.
"Morning, Boss. Welcome to the Missions Log," Fuzzy greeted.
"Morning, Fuzzy. Why didn't the mission log show up earlier? These rewards are insane," Rex asked, disbelief coloring his tone.
"The Devourer System adapts to real-life circumstances for assimilation and devouring. Similar to how it created your Player's Map or the Drawing Room sub-skill, it now offers a mission because you were assigned one," Fuzzy explained.
"Makes sense," Rex muttered, positioning himself for the first set of pushups.
"Fuzzy, allocate all my accumulated stat points to Endurance," he instructed.
"Putting all points into Endurance," Fuzzy repeated.
---
System Alert:
> Stat Points Available: 10
System Points: 9
Assign Points?
→ Endurance +10
Confirm? [Y/N]
---
Rex nodded. Immediately, he felt a surge of stamina fill his body. The holographic counter appeared beside him as he began the pushups: one, two, three… The system counted only correct form. By the time he reached fifty, his muscles ached, breath ragged. By seventy, movement slowed to a crawl; sweat drenched his clothes. At ninety, he trembled violently, but his determination drove him on.
Ding!
---
System Alert:
→ Endurance +1
---
Strength surged as he pushed toward the final reps. At ninety-eight, he hesitated but forced himself down for the last two.
Ding!
---
System Alert:
→ Endurance +1
---
He collapsed onto the floor, drenched in sweat, eyes burning, but a victorious smile played on his lips. Vessica watched approvingly.
"Well done. Next: the 10 km lap. I'll go with you—come on. Time's limited," she instructed, starting at a brisk pace.
"Congratulations, Boss! Your total endurance increased by two points for breaking your limits. Keep it up," Fuzzy added with delight.
Rex cursed under his breath, but his excitement was undeniable. He had pushed himself beyond what he imagined possible and survived to tell the tale. Dragging himself after Vessica, he prepared for the next grueling test.