Getting the Ball Rolling

"M-my legs... " Jerry staggered over to the edge of the tennis court where he left his water bottle. His clothes were dripping in sweat. He dropped his racket in the grass and collapsed under the shade of the tree.

He had done all the running, pushups, sit-ups, burpees, and tennis practice, which was mostly time spent running after the ball. Gasping for air, he downed half of his water bottle in one go.

I've never been so exhausted in my life, he thought. But maybe this training is a good thing for me too. He had never felt his muscles work so hard before. They ached and cramped yet all he could feel was the endorphins rushing to his brain.

He finally decided to check the notifications in the system before heading home.

[You have completed two daily tasks.]

[+100 points]

[Since you've completed your first task, there is a special reward.]

[Qigong Manual obtained.]

[Tennis Foundation Manual obtained.]

Reginald had already told him that the system would base the rewards on his fate. There must be a reason why the system wanted him to have these books. He selected the Qigong book to look at it's description.

[Qigong Manual: Allows user to cultivate qi.]

Qi? Isn't that just a myth in chinese culture? I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out. Jerry selected the option to learn the manual. The manual magically dissipated into information that rushed into Jerry's head. Jerry's body shook for a second before falling into a deep sleep.

Discover, Cultivate, Gather, Align, Protect, Purify, Mobilize, Direct, Consolidate, Transform, Unify, Transmit.

Those were the twelve realms in the Qigong art of cultivation. He opened his eyes and took in a deep breath, relaxing his entire body. There it was! He felt the qi circulating throughout the individual blades of grass and through his body. The fatigue that he felt before from completing the tasks were almost gone. His entire body felt rejuvenated, maybe even more than normal. It was at that moment that he realized, his body had opened up to the world of qi.

These manuals are amazing! Jerry reached for the tennis manual in his inventory. I wonder what happens when I learn this? He absorbed it, just like the other manual, a stream of information rushed into his head. Jerry's eyes brightened as he stood up and picked up his racket. He tried a practice forehand swing and was blown away. I've been doing it wrong this whole time! I tried to focus on power instead of consistency. My point of contact needs to be moved up, and I didn't relax enough with my backhand and serves.

Jerry took his tennis racket and ball and returned to the courts and did a practice rally with the wall again. This time, he didn't have to run after the ball. Everything was in his control. As he practiced more and more, he successfully adjusted his technique based on the information in his head. Now he had a good grasp of how to execute the technique correctly, and how to identify and fix his previous mistakes. Now all he had to do was burn it into muscle memory and he would be able to play a solid game of tennis.

That's enough for today. Jerry took his belongings and headed for his car. He still had three hours approximately to draw a hundred perfect circles. As he left the tennis courts, he failed to realize that there had been a person watching him play the entire time.

-------------------

Alicia tied her golden locks back into a ponytail as she left her car. Today, she wore a white crop top, blue jean shorts and flip flops. The wind blew on the crop top which exposed her fit abs and her slender waistline. She was headed toward the tennis courts to do her homework, when she spotted a familiar outline, sweaty and tired, make his way towards the tennis courts. Her beautiful blue eyes blinked as they recognized the figure at the tennis courts.

Jerry?

Sweet childhood memories flooded back to her as she watched her childhood friend stumble to put his belongings under a shady tree.

She had never seen him at the tennis courts around this time. She secretly hid behind some shrubbery next to the other end of the tennis court curious as to what Jerry planned to do.

Panting like a dog on a hot day, Jerry took a chug from his water bottle before tossing himself at the wall. His hits were messy, and powerful, he seemed to be making it a goal to hit it in the center of the racket as he played with the wall.

Alicia was secretly amused, she had never seen someone so bad want to play so eagerly with the wall. She watched from the shrubbery as Jerry chased after each and every ball that he hit. He didn't stop hitting it even when he was breathing raggedly. He showed slight improvement with hitting the ball in the center of the racket. But it was a heartbreaking performance.

Should I go out and help him? She wasn't sure if she should. She was aware that they were no longer as close as they used to be. She blamed herself for that. For making things awkward. For being shy in middle school and drifting away from Jerry when he had no friends. Whenever she saw him eating lunch by himself, her heart would always ache remembering the days where her and Jenny and Jerry would play together.

I should make things right. She always told herself. But what if he doesn't want to be friends with me anymore? What if he hates me? Those doubts always crept into her mind whenever she thought about talking to Jerry again. She looked down at her feet. Her toenails were still, painted turquoise. Like in the old days. She had never changed them.

Alicia hugged her knees and she sat, watching as this seemingly sad childhood friend of hers rallied with the wall. Chasing ball after ball, he kept hitting it back. Even if it didn't return to him, he'd run to chase it. And then return and hit it all over again.

She saw it again, that fire in his eyes. She had seen that look before when they were young. Even with his average appearance, there was a certain feeling that he gave off whenever he had those eyes which made her heart race. She clenched her hands into fists. He was still the same lovable Jerry that she knew. She was the one who had changed. After Jerry collapsed under the tree, she picked up her things and went home to do her homework. After watching him rally against the wall with such determination, she couldn't stop thinking about Jerry for the rest of the day. Even as she hugged her plushie as she slept, Jerry's determined gaze was burned into her head. She had to talk to him again. She was determined to now.

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Jerry noticed someone driving out of the parking lot as he arrived as his car. Those golden locks, those turquoise toenails, those slender tennis calves… It's definitely Alicia.

I wonder how she is doing these days.

Heavens, I'm just so shy, I'd totally make an idiot of myself if I tried to talk to her again. She's living her life perfectly fine without me. What good would it be intruding in her life again? She deserves to be happy.

Jerry arrived home with two and a half hours left until eight. Reginald had returned from what he denied as a nap to check on Jerry's progress.

"Oh, you obtained the Qigong scriptures. This is very good news!"

"What's so good about this news? I do feel a little more energetic I guess."

"I can't tell you much but I insist that you absolutely must practice the Qigong arts diligently. They are much more than what meets the eye. Master, "

"Alright, Alright. I'll practice. But first I have to finish these circles"

He took out some printer paper and a pencil and got to work. 20 minutes later, with his hand aching, he tried to open up his body to qi to recover. Every time he did, he felt the qi slowly respond to him. Gradually, he was able to tug it around a little bit. Soon, I should be able to reach the Circulate level, he thought.

[Congratulations! You have completed all three daily tasks.]

[+50 points]

[Since you have completed all three daily tasks, there is an additional reward for you.]

[+50 points]

[Art Foundation Manual obtained.]

[Since this is the first time you have completed all three daily tasks, there is a special reward for you.]

[+200 points]

[Wing Chun Manual (complete)]

Jerry couldn't believe his eyes. Wing Chun? How does Wing Chun relate to tying up girls at all? Does the system expect him to pummel the girls as well?

Reginald saw the manual that Jerry obtained and his voice became very excited. "Master you really hit the jackpot! Complete manuals are extremely hard to come by. Most manuals will be a part of a collection which takes hundreds if not thousands of points to obtain. You obtaining that manual means that you've obtained the entire collection!"

Jerry was still excited because Wing Chun had always been in his old martial arts movies. It looked very cool. If he could learn it, it'd be a great way to defend himself someday. It doesn't hurt to learn more, he thought to himself as a large stream of information rushed into Jerry's brain.

BOOM!

He suddenly had an itch to practice martial arts on something. He quickly ran outside and attempted to one-inch-punch a small tree. Crack! The tree shook vigorously as a long split appeared in the middle of the tree.

This feels amazing! He executed a series of Wing Chun moves alone in the dark. Nonetheless, the information that the manual contained excited him to the point where he took off his shirt and practiced till midnight. Wing Chun was now properly ingrained in his muscle memory. The only problem now was, he needed a stronger body so that he could handle the more advanced moves.

That night, he had the most relaxing bath of his life. The hot water relieved his sore muscles and aided in their recovery. He also ran Qigong arts through his body which helped strengthen his body slowly, and recover his torn muscles.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Jerry slept peacefully. So many things had happened to him that day, he was mentally and physically drained. All he wanted to do now was sleep.