[Daily Quest - To Idle, one must stay proactive.]
[INCOMPLETE] PUSH-UPS — [0/100]
[INCOMPLETE] SIT-UPS — [0/100]
[INCOMPLETE] CURL-UPS — [0/100]
[INCOMPLETE] SQUATS — [0/100]
[INCOMPLETE] RUNNING — [0/10km]
REWARD - [1 Point in Charisma, 1 Point in Agility, 1 Point in Strength, and 1 Point in Endurance]
[WARNING! – Failure to complete this quest will result in the permanent loss of something precious to the Host... You shall lose what makes you a man!]
"No matter how many times I see this stupid Daily Quest, I just can't understand how this nonsense is supposed to be a 'feature' of an Idle Evolution System," muttered a young man with plain, unremarkable features. His messy black hair stuck out like a bird's nest, and his tired eyes were clouded with irritation.
COCKADOODLEDOOOOO!!!!
A sudden, ear-piercing screech filled the room. Without thinking, the young man's hand shot out instinctively, quick and precise.
The antique alarm clock flew through the air and crashed into the wooden bedside table, shattering it into splinters. Unfazed, the young man let out a lazy yawn, rubbed his eyes, and picked up the battered clock. Without a second thought, he set it back on the last unbroken corner of the table, barely noticing the new dent it had earned.
He stretched with a long, exaggerated groan before rising from his creaky cotton mattress. Stumbling toward the body-length mirror resting against the wall, he examined his reflection with a practiced, critical gaze. His slightly more defined muscles were just enough to push him from "below average" to the razor's edge of "meh."
"Still, this is leagues better than how I looked before acquiring that blasted Idle Evolution System in that... 'incident.'"
His expression twisted as memories of that fateful encounter flooded his mind. It was a day marked by both destiny and utter absurdity. The afternoon that closed out his junior year of high school—his final year in that accursed institution of misery. His school life? An unmitigated disaster... but that was a story for another time.
To understand how Cassius came into possession of the so-called 'Idle Evolution System,' one must trace his steps back to ten days prior...
He had been minding his own business, basking in the grandeur of the school's main building—admiring its intricate architecture in a manner most sincere. His appreciation extended to observing the bustling schoolyard scenery... strictly for 'cultural enrichment' of course.
A colossal white truck burst through the brick wall like a vengeful deity enacting heavenly retribution, catching him utterly off guard in his "appreciative study."
His intentions were pure! He was merely indulging in a final, heartfelt farewell to the vibrant energy radiating from his schoolmates before summer break. Yet, Truck-kun couldn't seem to find a f*ck to give, plowing through the courtyard with the cold indifference of destiny itself. His world flipped upside down—and not metaphorically.
He was out cold before he even realized what hit him.
However, when Cassius awoke, he was not in some mystical, otherworldly realm. He remained firmly grounded in the quiet countryside of Japan, in his small hometown of Hoshito.
His first thought was a presumptuous one, yet also a reasonable one. "Did I time-travel back to fix my wretched past? It has to be! This is my Protagonist prologue, isn't it!?"
Hope stirred... only to be snuffed out like a lone candle in a storm. His reflection in the mirror shattered all illusions—his body was the same flabby disaster as before, cursed with an extreme case of hypothyroidism that rendered every attempt at exercise or dieting utterly futile. Moreover, he also had the same bad case of Dilapidating Body Deterioration Syndrome, which made him as weak as chicken and as frail as glass.
Yet... something was different this time.
Cassius had neither been sent to another world nor transported back in time. His fate was neither glorious nor fantastical—but change had come nonetheless.
"Is that... a fu*king flying person?"
Disbelief warred with reality as he spotted a figure soaring majestically through the sky, defying all logic and reason.
In his previous reality, people were wholly ordinary—mundane, powerless beings. But in this timeline, at the exact same point in time, humanity had evolved.
They were called 'Hunters'—individuals bestowed with supernatural abilities and charged with defending the world from monstrous invaders spilling forth from nightmarish 'Gates' that had first appeared a century ago.
Their profession was less about heroism and more about fortune and glory. The strong thrived while the weak perished. Billions aspired to become Hunters, but few succeeded.
Cassius, desperate for answers, questioned everyone he could. His father, perpetually absent on business; his stepmother, whose gaze could cut steel; and finally, his stepsister—a snide, spoiled girl who delighted in mocking his appearance and shared his misery with her 'friends'. Though, anyone with half their sight intact could tell that she was faking it, playing the classic 'hate with the haters so you don't get hated' act. He found it difficult to blame her for this.
His stepmother, strangely, seemed to hesitate as if wishing to say something kinder—but the moment always passed, leaving only cold indifference in its wake.
Each passing moment filled Cassius with more fragmented memories of this bizarre timeline. He soon realized that, just like before, nearly everyone around him despised his very existence.
But perhaps... if he awakened as a Hunter, everything could change.
Unfortunately, reality was ever cruel.
His stepsister informed him that he was long past the age of awakening, wearing a disgusted expression while saying this.
In this world of power, Cassius was...
Despair crashed down like an avalanche, smothering all hope. Perhaps fate had toyed with him long enough—it was time to embrace the sweet release of oblivion. Maybe Truck-kun was still out there, ready for round two.
Determined to end this joke of a second life, he climbed onto the windowsill of his cramped bedroom and moved his fat rolls forward, ready to greet destiny with open arms…
________________________________
[Name: Idle Evolution System]
[Host: Cassius] - [Lvl 1]
[Title: Calorie Chaser (F)]
______________________________
______________________________
[STRENGTH: 3] (Little kids are stronger)
[AGILITY: 2] (Even Grandma's can outrun you)
[ENDURANCE: 2] (You would collapse within 3 seconds of warming a lady's bed)
[INTELLIGENCE: 4] (Your only redeeming quality. Still below average)
[PERCEPTION: 2] (At this point, someone could aim a gun straight at you and give you ten seconds to dodge, but you would still get hit)
[CHARISMA: 1] (This is just… sad. You're so ugly that goblins have better aesthetics.)
_______________________________
It was at that moment that he learned that this 'Idle Evolution System' was a complete… asshole! It even gave him a useless Title that was only there to remind him of how much fat was present in his body!
And then, out of nowhere, it hit him with a system notification, but added:
[Since the Host lacks character development, it is time to build character!]
[For the next 2 months, the Host is required to complete the 'Daily Quest,' and for every day missed, the punishment for failure increases.]
[Punishment for first failure: Pain]
Cassius shrugged. "Pain? How bad could it be? Worse than running with this cursed body?"
It was worse. Far, far worse.
After bemoaning his wretched fate as a perpetual, rotund mortal cursed by the heavens, Cassius surrendered himself to the sweet embrace of procrastination. An entire twenty-four hours slipped by in blissful ignorance as he immersed himself in games and manga, utterly disregarding the so-called "Daily Quest."
But fate is a merciless overseer.
When the clock struck midnight, retribution descended with the fury of a vengeful celestial tribulation.
Agony surged through his body like bolts of divine lightning. Muscles twisted, nerves seared, and his bones felt as though an ancient beast was gnawing them into splinters. He writhed on the cold, unforgiving floor of his bedroom, wailing like a condemned soul cast into the abyss.
Thankfully, no one was home to witness his humiliating downfall—small mercies from an otherwise merciless universe.
After enduring a full sixty seconds of soul-shattering torment, Cassius gasped for air like a beached fish. His eyes burned with renewed resolve, a fire lit by the primal instinct for survival. He swore an unyielding oath under his ragged breath:
"Never again... never, ever again!"
His resolve was cemented when he read the system's next warning:
[Next Punishment for Failure: Permanent Loss of Crown Jewels and Holy Excalibur]
Cassius's soul trembled. He wasn't sure what frightened him more—the cold, mechanical tone of the system... or its disturbingly specific choice of words.
"This damn Idle Evolution System... it's the cruelest bastard I've ever encountered…"
Yet, even as he cursed the heavens and his misfortune, Cassius dragged his weary, trembling body off the floor. If divine fate wished to play such a brutal game, he would meet it head-on—even if it killed him.
The next morning, the first day of true effort began.
Push-ups were an impossible task. His arms felt like soggy noodles. Running? After ten agonizing seconds, he collapsed like a felled ox. Each movement was torture, each breath a struggle against the suffocating grip of fatigue.
But even an ant can move a mountain grain by grain.
Hour by hour, sweat drenched his clothes, and the ground bore witness to his gritted determination. Despite collapsing countless times, he endured. His body protested with every fiber of its being, but his will remained unyielding.
Finally—at the brink of collapse, drenched in sweat and gasping for air—he completed the quest.
[You Have Completed Daily Quest #2]
[+1 Agility | +1 Endurance]
Cassius crumpled to the floor like a discarded rag doll, utterly drained. Darkness swiftly claimed him.
He awoke six hours later, battered but alive, only to face the wrath of his sharp-tongued stepmother. Her scornful words stung less than his aching muscles, but he endured them with stoic resolve.
There was no room for bitterness; his fate was chained to the system now.
By the time the next Daily Quest appeared, Cassius was ready. The suffering he endured no longer felt insurmountable—it was simply another battle in the endless war against mediocrity.
Days turned into weeks. Though progress was slow, it was progress nonetheless. Each completed quest added a faint spark of vitality to his weary frame. His steps became lighter, his breathing steadier, and his will sharper than a honed blade.
And then, on this fateful morning, after stretching his aching limbs and brushing his teeth with grim determination, the system bestowed a new revelation upon him—one that hinted at the true depths of its potential.
{[Idle Evolution System Idling Benefits]}
[Benefit 1: For every day that you train your body to the absolute limit of what you can endure, you will receive 3 AP (Available Points), which can be freely used to increase any of your stats.]
[Benefit 4: Have you not caught the hint yet? No more benefits!]
[Benefit 5: N.O. means NO! Build some more character instead!!]
{[Urgent Side Quest]}
— [Drop down and give me two hundred push-ups!]
[Reward: 1 Point in Perception]
[Warning!] [Warning!]
[If you fail to complete this Side Quest within half an hour, you can kiss goodbye to your penis!]
He stared blankly at the screen, his face twitching.
"Even when it rewards me... it's still such a colossal bastard."
But deep within his heart, where resentment and despair once festered, a flicker of something long-forgotten ignited—hope.
If even the heavens could be defied through sheer willpower... perhaps he could rewrite his fate after all.