This time Andy moved his chair back. "Kill Melinda? Are you trying to get me killed? Most Matrons are at least as strong as a Third Rank Mage."
He said to the system, but as usual. He didn't receive any response to his outburst.
Seconds went by and his stomach rumbled, snapping him out of his thoughts. Andy went back to his steak and started munching on it as though he was in a rush.
"What does it mean by Low-Threat? Is killing Melinda as difficult as figuring out who started this rumor about me? Or is it trying to say both quests are relatively easy?"
Andy couldn't figure out what it meant, however, he couldn't ignore the penalty if he failed to kill Melinda.
But this was easier said than done. Yes, he had noticed that the person watching him was Melinda. And it was highly possible that she planned to kill him when he was alone.
Just knowing all of this wouldn't make him victorious.
Moreover, she was a Wesen… Andy had no idea what that was, and he doubted that he'd find a book about what the word referred to in the academy's library.
Of the two quests, one had a time limit, while the other was open to interpretation. The system had given him a death sentence in two days if he failed.
Panic was a luxury he couldn't afford.
There was no point in being afraid now, at least, for now, there was a false sense of safety. Andy was certain that no one knew that he was there to witness Zeladin's murder.
Until they can figure out that it was him, he didn't have to worry as much as he did a few days ago.
Moreover, the little gains in his stats seem to be giving him more courage to act in accordance.
There was only one thing he could do now, get stronger. Faster.
He quickly finished his dinner and closed his curtains.
Andy resumed tracing Mana circuits on his body. Aiming to finish tracing his middle finger by morning.
The first circuit was a lot easier to trace than the second. And the difficulty would only increase as he progressed.
Time passed on smoothly and soon, it was morning.
Andy had stopped tracing Mana circuits on his middle finger a few hours ago. He realized that there was only so much his body could take at this point.
His physical body was too weak to go any further. However, Andy was able to trace about 25% of the second Mana circuit onto his middle finger.
"I knew that it was too good to be that easy," Andy muttered.
Even his stats gains had shrunk to decimals. Barely anything. The pain wasn't worth it anymore.
Andy would have continued, but the system had warned him that forcing his body to accommodate more Mana circuits now would lead to his body imploding and ultimately, death.
Andy sighed. If I can't use trace anymore Mana circuits for now, how else do I get stronger?
[Daily Quest!]
[Run 5 kilometers – 5/5]
[300 squats – 0/300]
[300 pull-ups – 0/300]
[300 push-ups – 0/300]
[300 sit-ups – 0/300]
[Penalty: None]
[Rewards: +1 Strength. +1 Agility. +3 Endurance. +1 Will.]
[Hint: Resistance training with more difficulty and good form will yield more gains.]
Seeing this, Andy smiled. This was his answer; resistance training.
In other words, he could add weights to his training to yield more gains. Though he noticed that the five-kilometer run didn't change, unlike the rest.
Did it adjust my workout to match my stats?
Thinking about it, Andy only felt that his notion about the change in his workout details was tied to his stats. "Either way, I'll run with weights today."
Getting dressed and leaving his room, Andy was en route to a different location to work out today. He was heading towards a river not far from the main campus of the academy.
If Zeladin were here, he would be too stunned to speak. He would more likely claim that the person he was seeing wasn't Andy.
The lazy man wasn't a morning person in any sense!
Those who knew Andy, knew this…
Melinda too.
Following behind him, Melinda began wondering what was going through the young man's head.
Last night, when she witnessed the student of the academy turn against Andy, she left to investigate what had happened. She didn't want too much attention to be on her prey.
When she found out who it was that began this rumor, she decided to let it be. Many things were spiraling out of control, to the point where she even started wondering if she should kill Andy today.
The longer he remained alive, the more attention would be brought his way.
Melinda didn't want another predator to have her prey.
To her surprise, she saw that Andy didn't go to the park this time. Rather, they found themselves by a riverside.
Before she could think of why he chose to come here today, Andy picked a heavy stone, one that weighed slightly above 70kg, and jumped into the river.
The loud splash snapped Melinda out of her thoughts and she rushed to the riverside.
She waited for almost three minutes, and throughout, there was no sign of Andy coming.
"Is he trying to commit suicide!? This crazy!" She uttered angrily. Thinking the pressure from other students and blame, had gotten to him. What a wicked way to kill yourself! She thought in frustration.
Melinda was just thinking of jumping into the river to save Andy when she noticed several bubbles coming to the surface.
Immediately, she headed for cover.
Seconds later, Andy's head popped up, followed by his gasp for air. His black hair stuck to his head as a wide smile appeared on his face, making him look childish.
It worked! Even better than I imagined! Andy began laughing.
He looked at his stats;
Name: Anderson Naver
Race: Human
Rank: None
Mana Rank: Initiate
Status: Awakening
Skill Slots: 1/5
Mana Capacity: 20/100
Strength: 90
Agility: 13
Endurance: 108
Will: 123/123
Intelligence: 9
His agility, strength, and endurance had gone up, he wasn't even 30 reps into his squats.
If not because of his inability to breathe underwater, Andy would have stayed longer. He swam in a circle, observing Melinda from where he was.
"I'm going to kill this crazy guy tonight. Heck, when he gets out of the water. There's no point in waiting till tomorrow anymore." Melinda clenched her fist, tired of tailing Andy.