Bound By Fury:The Forced Path

With each step away from the dungeon, cold mountain air refreshed Akira's lungs, which seemed to burn from the heated battle.

The sun was just starting to creep down behind the peaks, casting long shadows across the rough landscape.

He moved toward a seclusive path that he had always remembered since his childhood-a path leading to one of his father's houses, deep within the mountain Suraksan around Seoul.

Nobody knew about this place, not even his closest allies or those who monitored his movements.

"It's perfect,"

He said to himself.

"A place to retreat, grow stronger in secret, away from prying eyes sure to notice that I'm not dead, i can't handle them yet."

It was unassuming but built with a high degree of accuracy, fitted into the side of the mountain, blended into the natural rock and trees that surrounded it.

Inside, he found a large wooden table, a simple bed, and a broad fireplace that could fill the room with a subtle warmth.

Sitting down, he let the events of the day wash over him as his thoughts swirled with new realizations.

"Today, I learned four new things."

He leaned back, playing in his mind every little lesson learned in that dungeon.

First:

"The dungeon bosses with cores...they're stronger E-rank dungeon boss had been more resilient than i expected, and i could tell it was thanks to the core it held , Bosses who possess cores.

I'll have to prepare better if I want to keep a fast pace to grow stronger."

Second: He clenched his fist, remembering the sensation.

Every time I leveled, my body reset to peak condition, like the fights had left no mark.

My stamina, my strength, everything refilled as my stats ticked upward by one, balancing on their own thanks to Perfected Symmetry. That one increase doesn't just feel like a number, it's important...like i can really tell the difference is great by a single point itself, adjusts to the new potential."

He could feel it-the difference each point made: the power, the precision in his movements. With one point, even, he could feel the leap forward.

"Even if it does sound minor, that single increase is like pushing through a barrier, making me feel...more stronger."

Third:

"Experience gained changes,"

He grumbled to himself as he thought of how the experience requirements changed with each level.

"I won't be able to depend on E-rank dungeons forever. Eventually they'll cease to feed my growth."

That line of thinking only served to agitate him further.

"I'll have to find higher-level dungeons, tougher opponents."

His journey was going to get tougher, but that thrilled him.

Fourth:

His eyes focused on his hand, where wispy tendrils of mana had appeared during Soul Infusion. Except that it wasn't just any mana, but pure, shining white.

From all the knowledge i have learned in one year working with Eri.

White mana, even amongst STARS, was an oddity.

Mankind had only ever utilized six known types of mana:

Elemental Mana:

Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind are the basic building blocks of STARS' common skills.

Arcane Mana:

Mana most used by sorcerers; it bends reality and distorts space.

Divine Mana:

Mana for healers; this is a very rare mana that restores health but others like to call it Divine Power.

Shadow Mana:

Dark and elusive, used by assassins and spies to move darkness at one's will.

Beast Mana:

Drawn from those who summon or transform and echoing energies of nature.

Astral Mana: Mana of mentalists; imbued to enhance psychic capabilities and illusions.

Then there is White mana.

My mana.

Unlike anything i ever heard of or seen.

"Only demonic humans use demonic energy that falls outside of these six...and white mana?"

"I've never heard of it, not once."

He outlined the vessels in his arm, remembering how they had shimmered in that bright light that had illuminated the dark dungeon.

"Soul Infusion is not just some increase of power"

"I don't know but it's different"

It was true Akira had used just once the Soul Infusion yet little did he know what the skill was all about.

What Akira had not fathomed-what he couldn't yet understand-was that the Soul Infusion was not just boosting his body it tapped into something deeper, something ancient, something far more dangerous.

A sense of mystery hovered over him, mixing with his excitement. "No one will ever know about this place."

"When I return, I'll take everything."

Crisp mountain air, and Akira felt the uncommon sensation of contentment wash over him as he leaned back. Here would grow, and transform.

And when he re-emerged, nothing would stand in his way.

Akira woke to the morning sunlight shining in through the small window of this secluded house, nestled in the Suraksan mountain near Seoul.

He groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

His muscles still felt tired from yesterday's battle, but energized with the rush of power that came with it.

The quiet of the mountains was in strong contrast with the chaos he experienced in the dungeon.

As he sat up, the now-familiar ping of his status window echoed in his mind, and instinctively, he opened it to see a new notification waiting for him.

[Daily Quest: The Ultimate Body Training]

[Objective: Get full-body training all at once in order to enhance your physical attributes.]

Details of Quest:

[Push-ups: 0/1,000]

[Abs (Sit-ups): 0/1,000]

[Squats: 0/1,000]

[Goal:]

[Perform all exercises continuously, without resting, one after another. Do as many reps for each exercise as you are able to.]

[Reward:]

[+2 in All Attribute Points]

[+1 "Tittle Unyielding" Bonus - Increases the stamina regeneration throughout subsequent training.]

Note:

If any of the exercises were incomplete, then the quest will restart the next day.

Akira turned to one side, intrigued.

"Train every day, huh?"

"Yet another of these passives."

His fingers hovered over the window, feeling the now-familiar pulse of his new power.

He stood and stretched, extending his arms over his head to pop his neck with a satisfying crack.

"Alright, let's keep this up."

He muttered to himself. 

"Let's do it."

Akira stood in the center of his training room, beads of sweat already forming on his brow, though he had just begun. The sun had barely risen, but the fire of revenge burned brightly within him. It was this unrelenting desire that drove the boy to push himself beyond all limits.

He looked down at the quest in front of him; the requirements were simple yet brutal.

[Push-ups: 0/1,000]

[Abs: 0/1,000]

[Squats: 0/1,000]

"No time to waste"

He said to himself, cracking his knuckles.

He could feel the familiar burn in his muscles at the very thought of it, but his resolve was clear as daylight:

"I need to be stronger, faster; I have no time to waste."

He hit the floor without a second thought and started to do his first set of push-ups.

His muscles begged for mercy, but he ignored them.

Every press-up was a step closer to his goal; every drop of sweat a tangible reminder that he refused to back down.

"One. two. three."

He counted to himself, each push-up more deliberate than the last. His form was perfect, his body moving like a machine.

The burn increased with every number, but the hunger for power kept him going.

"By 500"

"Focus."

"Just a few more...just a few more."

One last time. That was it for the push-ups.

He jumped to the next exercise-abs.

He lay down on the mat hands behind his head and started crunching, lifting his body off the ground, putting all his concentration in his core.

Immediately after the last rep was finished, he flipped onto his feet and went right into squats.

"Let's go,"

He muttered. The muscles burning, hunched low, every move controlled: up, down, up, down. 

"800.

"900."

"come on, just a hundred more."

By the time he did the last few squats, his legs were on fire.

One squat after another, until he reached the magical figure of 1,000.

"That's it. I'm done,"

He muttered to himself, staring at the quest screen, his heart still racing in his chest.

He couldn't help it, a small smile crept onto his face.

"Just getting started."

"The stronger I am, the closer I will be to crushing anyone who dares get in my way."

[Quest Complete]

[+2 in All Attribute Points]

[+1 "Tittle Unyielding" Bonus - Increases the stamina regeneration throughout subsequent training.]

"Great"

Akira sat down to catch his breath, but his mind was already onto the next hurdle.