4 Quest Function

"You mention the limits of humans before, if you were to put the limits into numbers, how much is it?"

[I do not know Marco, every Individual has a different maximum attributes limit. Record from the research showed that the lowest one recorded was 60-ish, triple the normal human's attributes.]

"Can you estimate that [Horned Charger] attributes?"

[Their strength probably hovers in the 100s with their agility much lower in the 60s. Those Artificial Muscles are not just a decoration. I am surprised you didn't turn into a lump of meat paste that time Marco]

Veins popped on Marco's forehead, he held down the urge to curse Prometheus, its maker, predecessor, down to its code and algorithm. While tossing the overwhelming stats of the [Horned Charger] to the back of his brain, he asks the most important question to his AI…

"So how do I get stronger?"

[You need to train daily, experience more battle. I will make a Quest function with increasing your objective as the main objective. As a reward, I can make little modification to your body, only little so that your body can adapt to the change.]

"Little modification? So you increase the limit again? What do you mean by my body can't handle it?"

[I cannot increase the limits anymore, this little modification has an immediate effect on the body. Only little modifications so that your body can handle the increase in strength and adapt to the change first before further enhancement.]

"It's not like I'm gonna explode hahaha."

[That is…actually a possibility Marco.]

"…"

Marco instantly went silent at the remark. Just as he was thinking about what should he do next, a sound rudely interrupted him.

*Grumble

That sound is enough for Marco to determine his next step, to find some food. But first, he needs to get a new weapon. Thankfully he made some extra bows, he'll only need to get them. It took a few minutes to get all the necessary equipment, bow, quiver, and arrows. The bow was a recurve type made out of wood and metal. The grip and arrow rest was made of wood, but both the limb were made of metal. The quiver was mounted to the side of the bow with only 5 arrows attached.

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Sometime later, Marco was walking in the forest trying to find some animal tracks. While walking, he asks Prometheus.

'You are not giving me a quest? This is a perfect opportunity I say.'

[Animals are much weaker than you and don't pose a danger to you.]

Marco was nodding absentmindedly until he sees some track on the ground, fresh tracks. Three long prongs and a small one in the back.

He thought 'These footprints should belong to some kind of bird. Probably a turkey, it's too big for a chicken, and I don't think there's any chicken left in the world.'

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(Marco's POV)

After following the tracks for a bit, I finally found the target, my patience paid off. I kneeled on one knee, notched an arrow. While slowly raising the bow, I tried to find the best shot placement. The turkey was showing its side with its neck elongated.

'This will make it a bit easier for me.' I thought to myself, pulling the string the furthest it can go. The sights were pointing at slightly higher than the center of mass. I let go of the string.

*Whoosh

Not even a second later, the arrow pierced just a bit higher than my point of aim, but it's enough to do the job. The spine of that poor turkey broke, a fast and humane death I would say. though I'm a secret agent and not a highly skilled marksman, utilizing a bow is not a problem to me.

======================

The turkey was already dead, but it still twitched for a few more seconds. Marco walked to the bird and immediately gutted it. He walked to the nearby river and washed the carcass. Plucking the feather and butchering the turkey comes after that.

"This can last me only a day, two maximum…"

He said while pondering. 'I need to make a smoker or some kind of dehydrator or I'll need to hunt for every day.'

He decided to just roast the turkey on a pan and go on his day.

'What kind of Machines are there? Tell me the weakest type of Machines you know, and the strongest'

[The weakest I currently know are [Colt], they are the Machines version of a horse. Very swift but weak in everything else. The strongest is currently unknown, there are some Machines designed from the creature of myth.]

'I see, do you think I have a chance at taking a Colt out? How fast are they, as fast as the [Horned Charger]?'

[They are not as fast as the charger with dexterity in the 60 and pitifully low strength. You'll have a chance when you do a sneak attack instead of taking them head-on. They are timid by nature and will usually run away when encountering humans.]

'I see…even the weakest have a stat in the 60s.'

[New Quest

Train Daily

1. 100-meter sprint in 8 seconds

2. 120 pushups

3. 120 sit ups.

Reward: +3 free attributes point.'

Penalties: None ]

'Ahhh what a convenient thing.'

Marco thought to himself as he already decided on what to do in the next few days. Training, he needs to get stronger.

A full week has passed.

All that Marco did is train, hunt, try to forage for edible plants, and sleep. He managed to accumulate 21 attribute points. His status now looks like this.

[Status]

[Body: Healthy (Zero Injuries)]

[Attributes]

[Strength: 16->23

Vitality: 19->21

Dexterity: 18->30

Intelligence: 17]

Twelve points went to dexterity cause the higher it is the faster he can react, seven went to strength as he needed it to do enough damage to the Machine parts, and two went to vitality. Every day the missions get harder, the time for the sprint gets progressively shorter, more daily exercise. More and more stress is needed for the body to get stronger.

"Now all I gotta do is try to find a [Colt]."

Marco started to prepare for his hunt, he packs all the things he needs. Bows, arrows, and ration.

"Sigh… a railgun would be great here, silent but with moderate damage. Ruins of a military base and even the town may have one still functioning, even if it is damaged I can repair them or ask Prometheus how to."

He sighed at the lack of modern weaponry. Weapons with a longer range, faster projectile speed, and higher damage are always welcome.

'Do you know where those [Colt] like to live?'

[According to the data and map from your base, the [Colt] likes to dwell in an open field or places with grasses/grassland, they also like to roam the forest. They travel in herds so it is hard to miss them once you are near. The old map said that 25 km North-East from here is an open field.]

"Alright, thanks. At least I have a reference on where to go.."

After checking all his luggage and gear, he started his journey to find his first Machine to kill.