The Real Life System

Alex smirked, satisfied with Adrian's response.

"Good," he said,

before turning to his group.

"Let's go."

Adrian took a deep breath and entered the school. His classmates whispered as he passed by. Some were surprised to see him back,

As Adrian walked through the school hallways, he could hear whispers around him.

"Is that the boy who saved Nika?" one student murmured.

"But how? Look at him, he's so skinny!" another replied.

"I heard he fought a grown man… no way that's true," someone else said.

Adrian ignored them all. He was used to rumors. Instead of reacting, he kept walking and entered his classroom.

The teacher glanced at him, then nodded.

"Adrian, you've been absent for a week. The final exams are near. You need to catch up. Ask your classmates for help."

Adrian sighed. "More work to do."

Adrian didn't know anyone who could help him. He had no friends. But that wasn't a problem.

He was independent, always relying on his own methods. If he needed to study, he could simply type the lesson titles into the internet and learn from scratch. Or, even easier, he could ask ChatGPT for a summary and understand the key points in minutes.

As the class ended, Adrian packed his things, preparing to leave.

Just as he stood up, someone approached him.

"Hi, Adrian. I heard what happened. I hope you're okay."

Adrian turned, a bit surprised.

It was James.

James was the top student in the first year. Tall, with brown hair that fell over his eyebrows, wearing glasses, and undeniably handsome. Almost every girl in the department and even in the whole school admired him.

He wasn't just good-looking; he was brilliant. A genius. Despite being in his first year, he had already earned a place in the student council. People called him "Caesar's Successor" because of his sharp intelligence and logical thinking. He analyzed everything carefully, leaving nothing to luck.

But why was someone like him talking to Adrian?

As far as Adrian could remember, James had only spoken to him once before, at the beginning of the year, and it was about dating, a conversation Adrian didn't even want to remember.

Feeling unsure, Adrian responded hesitantly,

"Good. Thanks."

James nodded :

"That's good. Is it true that you fought a young man and saved Nika?"

Adrian met his gaze :

"Yes."

James adjusted his glasses.

"But how? Logically, that's impossible. I know the guy wasn't drunk."

Adrian shrugged.

"I think it was just luck… I hit a weak spot."

James narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking.

"Strange. But well, the important thing is that you did it."

Then, without hesitation, he pulled out his notebooks and handed them to Adrian.

"Take these. You need to catch up on lessons."

Adrian was not naive. He knew James was only talking to him out of curiosity. But that was fine. It worked in his favor.

He had always wanted to see James' notebooks, to find out how someone like him structured his notes.

Adrian gave a small smile.

"Okay, I'll take it. Thanks."

Then, without another word, he turned his back to James and walked away.

As he left, James watched him, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Back home, Adrian didn't waste time. He grabbed some bread and drank the last bottle of high-calorie nutrition he had earned from the system.

Each bottle contained 4,000 calories and 150 grams of protein.

As he finished, a thought struck him.

"When was the last time I checked my weight? Right… four months ago, I was 42.5 kg."

Curious, he dug out an old scale, stepped onto it, and watched the needle move.

"46.7 kg."

His eyes narrowed.

"Is this because of the bottles? That's fast progress... but now they're gone. I need to win again to get more."

Without hesitation, he brought up the system interface.

A glowing menu appeared before his eyes, he pressed the fitness factor :

[ FITNESS FACTOR ]

[ Exercise 1: Available ]

[ Target: 1000m ]

[ Your best score: 16m ]

[ Exercise 2: Unlocked ]

[ Exercise 3: Unlocked ]

[ Exercise 4: Unlocked ]

[ Exercise 5: Unlocked ]

Adrian clenched his fists. This time, he had to keep the same distance between him and his pursuers even he would be forced to use his last remaining service, and he didn't want that.

Determined, he selected

[ Exercise 1. ]

The moment he pressed the button, the world around him changed.

The cramped walls of his small apartment disappeared.

He now stood on a vast, endless black stone floor stretching beyond the horizon. The air hummed with an unsettling energy, and an ominous storm churned overhead, casting eerie flickering shadows.

A new notification flashed before his eyes.

[ INITIAL TRAINING: ENDURANCE TEST ]

[ RUN OR DIE ]

[ SIMULATION LOADED ]

[ ENEMIES: 4 TARGETS ]

[ DISTANCE: 1KM BEHIND YOU ]

[ TIME LIMIT: 30 MINUTES ]

[ GOAL: Maintain 1KM distance until time runs out! ]

[ WARNING: If they catch you, you will die. ]

Adrian's breath hitched.

"Here we go again."

Adrian was making progress compared to last time, but it still wasn't enough.

[ DISTANCE: 870m ]

[ TIME LEFT: 17m:12s ]

His breathing grew heavier.

[ DISTANCE: 800m ]

[ TIME LEFT: 11m:32s ]

He pushed himself, using every strategy he had read about to stay focused. He tried different breathing techniques, hoping to control his exhaustion.

It helped a little.

But in a real simulation, things were much harder than in theory.

Adrian clenched his teeth.

"I should use my last service... or I'll fail and have to repeat this exercise again."

[ DISTANCE: 750m ]

[ TIME LEFT: 7m:12s ]

He quickly opened the system interface and scanned the screen.

[ SERVICES NUMBER: 1 ]

"Please, let it be something useful..."

He pressed the button.

A notification appeared.

[ The service is: Remove Fatigue ]

Adrian stared at the words.

Then, he felt it.

A sudden lightness spread through his body. The exhaustion vanished as if he had never been running at all. His legs felt fresh, his lungs open his body fully recovered.

His eyes widened in disbelief. Then

"Yes! That's exactly what I wanted! You understand me well, system!"

No time to waste. Five minutes left.

Lightning flashed.

Adrian shot forward like an arrow.

[ DISTANCE: 850m ]

[ TIME LEFT: 3m:12s ]

He ran faster.

[ DISTANCE: 950m ]

[ TIME LEFT: 1m:12s ]

But the exhaustion started creeping back in.

Adrian gritted his teeth.

"This time, even if I collapse, I'll lose only to exhaustion, not to them."

He pushed himself beyond his limit.

His mind felt distant, like he was running in a dream. His vision blurred, his steps unsteady.

[ DISTANCE: 990m ]

[ TIME LEFT: 0m:18s ]

His body screamed, his head spun.

Then

BOOM.

A sudden force snapped him back to reality.

Adrian's eyes snapped open.

He was lying on the floor of his room. His head felt heavy, his body drenched in sweat.

"Did I... lose consciousness while running?"

Panic surged through him. He quickly sat up.

"No way... Don't tell me..."

He rushed to the system interface and pressed the Fitness Factor tab.

The screen loaded.

[ FITNESS FACTOR ]

[ Exercise 1: Completed ]

[ Target: 1000m ]

[ Your score: 1001m ]

[ Exercise 2: Available ]

[ Exercise 3: Unlocked ]

[ Exercise 4: Unlocked ]

[ Exercise 5: Unlocked ]

[ Congratulations! You have successfully completed Exercise 1. ]

[ Take your reward. ]

Adrian froze.

Then, he exploded with joy.

"YES! I DID IT!"

His exhaustion? Ignored.

His heavy body? Forgotten.

He jumped again and again, filled with excitement.

Then, he took a deep breath.

"I need to be more careful next time… There are no services left."

His eyes fell on the last line.

[ Take your reward. ]

His heartbeat quickened.

Without hesitation, he pressed it.

[ Your reward is .... ]

To be continued .....