Damn Super Speed

[New Quest Received]

Quest: Run 10 kilometers within one hour.

Reward: Super Speed (Level 1)

Failure Penalty: None.

I almost hit "Decline." I was already dead inside. But then I saw the reward.

"Super speed?" I muttered, blinking. "Like… zoom-zoom speed?"

My dumbass clicked [Accept].

Next thing I knew, I was out of the apartment, in my joggers and hoodie, earbuds in, blasting some old EDM bangers like it was 2013.

"Let's gooo!" I yelled to hype myself up.

Five minutes later, I was wheezing. Dying.

My hoodie clung to me like wet newspaper. My throat was a desert. I pulled my phone out, praying I had at least done a lap.

Distance: 200 meters.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

I almost sat on the pavement and cried.

Ten kilometers. In sixty minutes. That was like… what? One kilometer every six minutes?

I sucked at math but I could already tell I was screwed.

Still… I stared at the sky for a bit. And thought of my past life.

Of that office job. Of those overtime shifts. Of the fake-ass friends. Of how everything spiraled until I got crushed by a damn meteor.

Compared to that?

This was nothing.

I spat to the side, cracked my neck, and restarted the timer.

"I'm not that loser anymore."

I cranked the volume up and ran.

I was running like my life depended on it.

At first, it was painful. Every step was like someone jamming a fork in my calves. I could feel the acid in my legs rising, and my lungs were on fire. I wasn't running anymore — I was dragging my soul forward.

My shoes were soaked. My breath came out in clouds, and I swear, even the pigeons were looking at me like I was a moron.

But I didn't stop.

Because halfway through, something changed.

I got used to the pain. My legs were dead but my will wasn't. My breathing synced with the beat blasting in my ears, and my feet started hitting the ground in rhythm. I wasn't running anymore.

I was flying.

Or at least it felt like it.

Time blurred.

Pain faded.

And I remembered something from my past life. Something that bastard manager told me once — "You'll always be mediocre."

Fuck him.

I was doing something impossible now. With my own damn body.

The moment my phone vibrated, I knew.

I stopped. Right there on the side of the road. Panting. Sweating. Nearly passing out.

[Quest Complete: Run 10 kilometers in one hour.]

Reward Unlocked: Super Speed (Level 1)

A cool breeze brushed over my face, and a new window popped up.

[Super Speed – Level 1]

Passive: Slightly increases your base running speed by 40%.

Active Skill: Boosts your speed by 300% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes.

Notes: Requires stamina. Speed without control = death. 

I grinned like an idiot. "Holy shit. I'm cracked now."

But the smile lasted all of three seconds.

Because my legs gave up. I teleported immediately before I collapsed and landed outside my apartment, wheezing like an old man.

I opened the door.

My mom was standing there with a kettle.

"You said you'd have tea!"

I froze mid-step.

"I—uh…"

"Do you think tea grows on trees? You ran off like a madman! Where the hell did you go? Your shoes are soaked! You'll die of pneumonia! Then I'll die of grief! And who's going to feed Elina then?!"

"I love you, Mom."

"Don't you dare sweet-talk me. Sit down and drink this before I hit you with the kettle."

I sat down like an obedient puppy and took the cup with both hands.

"Thanks," I said.

My legs were shaking. My hands were numb. But inside?

I felt warm.

Warm and fast as fuck.

And then, the damn system chimed again.

[New Quest Received]

Quest: Perform 100 push-ups in 30 minutes

Reward: Super Strength – Level 1

Failure Penalty: None.

No time limit for accepting it, so it wasn't like I had to jump on the floor right away and start grunting like a gym bro.

I set my cup down, slouched on the couch, and stared at the glowing notification.

"Push-ups now?" I muttered under my breath. "The system is really trying to make me shredded or kill me."

No penalty though. That meant I could chill. Rest. Recover. Maybe even eat something before I start round two of becoming Superman without a trainer.

So, I decided. I'd do it at night. After everyone was asleep. When the apartment was quiet, the lights were off, and it was just me and my creaky-ass bones on the living room floor.

Super strength…

Yeah, that sounded good.

Meanwhile, Rosalyn was at the Iron Fist Guild headquarters.

She sat cross-legged on the cushioned bench outside the Guild Master's office, her hood down, pink hair catching the glow from the wall lights. One leg bounced restlessly as she stared at the closed door, arms folded.

"Tch… Old man said he'd leave by six. What's he doing in there, reading bedtime stories?" she muttered, clicking her tongue.

And just then, the door creaked open. The Guild Master—an old man with slick silver hair and a trimmed goatee—stepped out with a stack of files under his arm. His sharp eyes barely glanced her way.

Rosalyn stood up as if just casually passing by, then watched silently from the corridor window as he reached the ground floor, two tall guards following him. They walked him across the entrance hall and out the main gates. A black luxury car pulled up.

The driver held the door open. The old man climbed inside, and the car rolled away.

Rosalyn's eyes narrowed. "Now's my chance."

She turned and made her way back to the Guild Master's door. Without hesitation, she pulled out a small silver keycard and inserted it into the scanner. The panel blinked green.

Click.

She slipped inside.

The room was exactly like she remembered—too clean, too expensive-looking. Velvet carpet. Crystal shelf displays. And a large curved desk with a floating holo-display glowing faintly in standby.

She strode to the desk, tapped the controls, and brought up the dungeon archive system. One by one, she skimmed through the currently active dungeons under Iron Fist's name.

All standard. No treasure dungeons listed.

Rosalyn frowned. "C'mon, you smug bastard, I know you're hiding something."

She backed out of the main archive, then browsed through the root directory manually. That's when she saw it—an unmarked folder with no title and a heavy encryption lock.

Rosalyn smirked.

"You really think that'd stop me?"

She slid her finger along the edge of her wristband and tapped into her personal hacking module. The screen flickered. Lines of code began to unravel. The lock fought back for a few seconds, but then—

Ping.

Access granted.

Inside the folder were several flagged documents marked "Confidential." Among them, high-level dungeon designations. She scrolled quickly. One entry stood out.

Unmarked Dungeon — [Location Coordinates: Hidden]

Rosalyn's eyes lit up.

"Bingo."

She copied the coordinates to her private device—

And then froze.

The intercom on the desk beeped once.

Downstairs…

"Master, we've driven a few blocks out, and you're sure you left it in the office?" the driver asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

The Guild Master huffed. "Yes. My black folio. I need those contracts tonight. Turn the car around."

Back upstairs, Rosalyn's eyes widened. She backed out of the folder, wiped access logs, and slipped into the side closet just as the office door opened.

The Guild Master walked in, grumbling under his breath.

"Senile, that's what I'm becoming," he muttered. "Leaving damn papers behind…"

He moved to the closet.

Rosalyn held her breath.

He opened the door right next to her hiding spot—but only to grab a folder wedged on the shelf. He pulled it out and closed the door again without a glance. Then, just as he was about to leave, he noticed a soft blue glow from his desk monitor.

"I turned that thing off…"

He walked back toward it.

The holo-screen was frozen in a system update. Some obscure maintenance loop. He stared at it, confused.

"Tch. Guild techs don't know shit," he muttered.

Then finally, he walked out and closed the door.

Rosalyn waited three full seconds.

Then stepped out, sweat lining her back.

"That was way too close…"

She exhaled slowly and tapped her wristband again, sending a quick message.

[Done. Got the dungeon. You owe me.]

[—R]

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