Let's Start Training!

Just before sunrise, as Freya was fast asleep, a deafening sounds echoed in her head. 'Wake up!' She instantly stood up, readying a spell to strike down any threat. When she found no threat, she sat back on the bed and shouted, 'What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you just me wake up like normal people?'

'I was trying to do just that, but somehow you managed to drown my voice, even though it is coming inside from your own head.' Artium replied with a hint of amusement. 'Now get going, we shall start training your weak body.'

'Weak.' She harrumphed, 'If I remember right, just yesterday I took down quite a strong vampire.'

'You were lucky and took him by surprise. Otherwise, we both know it would have been impossible to walk out of that fight uninjured. Not to mention, he was trying to capture you alive and not kill you. And finally, if you call that strong, you are in for a big surprise.'

'Humph, Whatever.' She stood up as she went towards the attached restroom. 'I am not going anywhere without a shower first.'

She was about to take off her clothes when she remembered the soul residing in her head. She had previously changed in front of him to the new armor, but her underwear had appropriately covered her body back then. However, this time she would be completely nude, and her mind just went blank.

When she refused to move for a while, Artium spoke, 'You don't need to worry about me. Just cut off my link to your senses for the duration of your business, and you'll have the privacy you need.'

'Why should I trust your word?' the suspicious young girl asked.

'We can't lie to each other, remember, genius?' the ancient soul answered with a non-existent eye roll.

Freya finally calmed down and with a bit of focus severed the connection. When she could no longer any existence sharing her senses, she returned to her previous routine. She could still feel Artium's soul in the corner of her own, but it was as if it had been covered in a thick blanket.

Half an hour later, when the young woman was finally ready, she restored her connection to the ancient soul bound to her.

'Finally.' His voice half shouted, 'I thought you were going to spend the rest of the day in there. Don't waste any time, and get going.'

As the ancient mage finished, the city map appeared with a predetermined path. Freya just left her room without any argument. On her way, she also left another two silver coin to the innkeeper to reserve the room for her.

Twenty minutes later, Freya was standing outside city limits in a large clearing. The sun had now appeared on the horizon and the blue sky was brightly lit. The second circle mage was looking at a new quest that the system just gave to her.

[Daily Quest

Objectives:

1. Do 500 push-ups. (0/500)

2. Do 500 squats. (0/500)

3. Run 50 Kilometers. (0/50)

Rewards:

+2 Stat to strength and Stamina.]

She had been introduced to the system of stat points when the system was created, but she had no idea what it meant. She gained some understanding when used her five points in her agility stat, increasing her speed greatly. While she had been barely able to avoid the attacks of her opponent at first, after the increase she was easily able to keep up with him.

'Can you explain each stat to me?' she mentally asked the creator of this system.

'Very well, I'll explain briefly.' Artium began to explain. 'Strength is related to your physical strength and defense. Agility relates to your movement speed and attack speed. Dexterity is your control over the previous two stats. It also shows how nimble you are and your reaction speed. Intelligence shows your Magic strength, mana reserves and casting speed.'

Freya continued to hear attentively, etching each word to her memory. 'Stamina relates to physical resilience and actual stamina. While the last, Insight show your ability to observe using your senses. As you increase your stats, your body will grow in response.'

Freya once more looked at her status window. She had ten points ready to be put in any of her stats, but before she could do anything, 'For now focus on the daily quest. Stat points are a valuable resource, you shouldn't use it recklessly.'

Hearing the words of her mentor slash partner, she nodded and got into position for push-ups. Although she was used to doing push-ups regularly, after all she was a professional adventurer, she had never done such a large number.

The first fifty were easy, as she was used to it. The next fifty were a little harder but not by much, the next hundred were considerably harder. Up to the mark of two hundred fifty, were pure hell. While she had a short break every one hundred push up, it helped very little. As she performed her three hundred push up, her hands finally gave in. She fell on her face, extremely exhausted, not even bothering to turn over.

'Get up, Freya.' Art's voice resounded in her head. 'Do you think a weak girl like you will be enough to face the vampires when they truly come for you? Is this strength enough for your revenge?'

A memory flashed before Freya's eyes, the laughing face of her dead parents. She still remembered the pain she felt while leaving them behind to their deaths and running away. She mustered all the will in her body and began her push-ups once more. The female mage ignored the pain in her hands and continued her exercise. On her last push up, a message flashed.

[Stats Increase: +1 Strength.]

Her soreness decreased as the message appeared, and even her exhaustion was somewhat diminished. She still rested for a few minutes before moving onto the squats. The five hundred squats were just as gruesome, if not more so, than the push-ups, but she refused to give up.

[Stats Increase: +1 Strength, +1 Stamina.]

Her stats increased as she completed another objectives, further decreasing the burden on her body. By this time, the sun had risen quite a distance across the sky. Freya was also beginning to feel a little hungry. Breakfast was not ready when she left the inn. Yet, she was adamant on completing her given quest. After she rested enough to recover her stamina, she prepared to run.

'Why don't you run through the forest?' Art suggested. 'Your agility is already high enough. If run through the forest, there is a chance your dexterity may increase.'

Freya just nodded and began her run through the forest. Surprisingly, the run was not as difficult as the previous two exercises. She guessed it was probably due to her high agility, unlike her strength. Tired of the silence, she asked, 'Art, can you tell me about your childhood?'

The ancient soul was genuinely surprised by her question. 'Why do you ask?'

'Just for conversation.' The female replied. The Ancient Mage stayed silent for a while, contemplating whether to tell her or not. Then he decided and began to speak.

'I was born in a city named Memortia. It was a large city in the middle of a vast desert, known for the temple of some great god. I was born an orphan and had to live in the city orphanage for the first few years of my early life. Luckily enough, I was adopted by one of the blacksmiths in the city while I was quite young.' The phantom opened for the first time with Freya.

'Growing up I learned the art and by sixteen, I had become a competent blacksmith, helping my father with his work. My adopted mother was also a kind woman, she took care of me like her own child. It was a relatively happy childhood. What about you?'

She was about to answer when a new message appeared as she completed fifty kilometers.

[Stats Increase: +1 Dexterity, +1 Stamina.]

After the increase, she noticed it became easier to make turns and avoid trees. Even accelerating and decelerating became slightly easier. She continued to observe the results of her stats increased steadily. She was about to return to the conversation, when she heard a scream.