Jog Every Morning (2)

Not wanting to be late for academy activities and with breakfast time being quite limited, Kein rushed out of bed, and grabbed some toothpaste and a small towel. Leaving the room and walking towards the bathroom with a messy face. Although he was not ashamed of his current appearance, walking when his body was still a little stiff after waking up was not a habit that should be done often.

Once in the bathroom, Kein immediately washed his face and brushed his teeth sparingly. It was all done so that he wouldn't be too messy and his mouth breath wouldn't smell too bad, when a random person engaged him in an unexpected conversation.

After making sure his face was really brighter than before, Kein patted his face as he was still a little sleepy.

'Come on, Kein. Jogging in the morning isn't too bad either.' He tried to encourage himself.

Back in the room, Kein still saw his friend who was busy playing video games in the morning, even his friend said that long before Kein woke up, he had already started his priorities first. Despite knowing him since long time, Kein couldn't understand why Damian loved video games so much as if he couldn't live without his mobile phone.

"It's not a joke if you leave this dormitory and become a professional e-sport player instead," Kein muttered but his friend heard clearly.

"What?! Hahaha, you think I play games to become a professional e-sport player? Sorry, mate. I think you're jumping to conclusions." Damian continued but his gaze was still focused on the mobile phone screen.

"Nothing is impossible, Damian. You're even more enthusiastic and ambitious when you play games than you are when you train for basketball." Kein's assertion was not without reason. He had known Damian for more than a year and his statement just now had the possibility of being true.

There was no reply from Damian as his reaction became more excited at what he had achieved and forgot about their conversation in an instant. This was nothing new for Kein. In fact, he felt stupid for engaging Damian in conversation while playing with his mobile phone.

Not wanting to deal with this situation for too long, Kein threw on a pair of jogger pants and a crisp white sports t-shirt. He left the room and headed for the exit of their dormitory.

Wondering where his jogging track should go this morning, Kein looked back at the notification from the previous 'system'. He uttered a few features that led to a message.

[Starting today. You are required to do 30 minutes of morning jogging before starting your activities.]

[Time Remaining: 30 Minutes]

"Quite a short message. So, I'm free to run anywhere?" Kein repeated what he had thought. "Alright, I'll probably jog around the dormitory." The screen disappeared from his sight again and he hurried to warm up.

No time-consuming warm-up. He stretched his leg muscles and some of his body to reduce the risk of sprains. Passing by the security post and the officer on duty, Kein said his intention to leave the dormitory in the morning. There were no prohibitions or questions from the security guard, just a thumbs up and a friendly smile.

Although he occasionally did morning jogging, Kein could feel a different atmosphere this morning. It wasn't a reason because Kein had indoctrinated his brain and imagined how boring it would be to have to jog every morning. He hoped that his consistency would not fade easily, at least until the 'system' disappeared from his body or did not provide information regarding the additional daily mission.

For the first two minutes, Kein walked first before entering the actual jogging phase. He tried to outsmart how he looked exercising by the 'system', but Kein regretted it a little when he returned to a similar message.

[Time Remaining: 30 Minutes]

'Damn it. It didn't decrease even a little. Was it only jogging that was acquired while leisurely walking was not involved? That's really cruel.' Kein let out a long sigh. Actually, jogging for 30 minutes wasn't a big deal to him. But if it was done every day... it felt like he couldn't fully accept it.

Two minutes passed, and Kein could feel that his leg muscles were starting to warm up and not stiff, that's when he started jogging with his body upright and his eyes straight ahead. His feet went not too fast and not too far. He didn't want to take a big risk, such as wasting energy and breath, considering there were still many exercises he had to complete every day.

Kein also did not pursue how far he had to jog while the 'system' did not mind the distance traveled at all.

[Time Remaining: 21 Minutes]

His every step from the first minute did not change in the slightest. He also obeyed the traffic rules, so he ran in the space reserved for pedestrians and runners. While catching his breath so as not to get tired easily, Kein tried to shift his gaze little by little.

Observing the pedestrians and motorists heading to their offices, not to mention the public transport that was always full and none of them were in a hurry or doing anything to harm other motorists. The sun was already beating down on his skin, but he felt a warmth that caused him to jog more than the allotted time.

[Time Remaining: 10 Minutes]

Already more than twenty minutes from the appointed time, Kein was still able to regulate his breathing even though the rhythm of his steps began to decrease and get smaller. An effort was made to reduce the energy and breath wasted when his lungs almost lost air. When his face began to sweat and his clothes were almost completely wet, Kein realized that several students in his dormitory also jogged in the morning.

What made him even more certain was the group of people he soon saw on their faces. They were the students of the football division. Their uniforms lit up in his eyes as if they exuded a victory-hungry aura already well-known among other schools and the local community.

'If I had greeted them, would the commotion yesterday have continued? If they remembered all of our faces, they marked us as rivals and enemies that cannot be underestimated.'