"Saras Gayen! Are you reading those dusty old books again?" Nina Gayen's shout preceded her entrance as she banged open the door to her son's room. As she expected, she found Saras sitting on his bean bag, holding a paperback copy of World History: The Ancient Civilizations. She snatched the book from his hands and tossed it into the pile of other books covering a range of topics from politics to economics related to Earth. "Look at Ellie's daughter, Stivi. She has already reached Level 3 in the Dreamverse VR within two hours of its launch. Why are you still lounging at home?" "I am not lounging! I am studying History…" Saras protested, looking at the book pile before turning his gaze towards his mother. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him as if he had committed a grave sin by not entering the game as soon as it was launched. "You are turning 25 this year. If you don't play the Dreamverse VR now and join a good guild, how will you find a wife?" Thus started his journey as he once again navigated the VR scene through the mysterious game Dreamverse VR that was said to hold the keys to Human Evolution.
The Young lad looked at me with expectant eyes, anticipating what fun exercise I would show him next. However, I was not playing around now.
By hook or by crook, I was going to win.
"Young Chieftain Goku, I agree that I cannot compete with you in strength, but strength is not everything. I am still more flexible than you."
The first half made Goku grin as he had defeated another adult adventurer, but the second half of my speech made him frown. He looked at me with displeasure in his eyes and harrumphed, "Let's see."
The little kid had fallen for my ploy!
I suppressed the evil smirk forming on my lips as I began to explain my next challenge to Goku.
"If you truly want to prove that you are better than me at everything, you must imitate my every posture - without fail. If you cannot replicate it, you have to admit defeat."
I said with a straight face and aloof voice; As if the one who was panting on the ground a few minutes ago was not me but someone completely different.
Goku looked at me with narrowed eyes. From what I had seen so far, this young lad was extremely competitive and an exercise fanatic. I was sure he would accept my challenge, and he did so just a moment later.
"Fine," Goku answered me with a cocky smirk.
This annoying smirk! Just wait, you little brat! You won't be able to beat me in this challenge!
I was confident because strength did not always coexist with flexibility.
After all, many bulky Wrestlers could not perform even the simplest of poses of Gymnastics or Yoga. They eschewed muscle flexibility in favor of stiff muscle strength and Goku fit this category.
It was not like he would never be able to perform the poses but he just won't be able to perform them right now.
With a smirk, I started to do basic stretching exercises. Goku followed me and easily copied me. The brat even had the gall to send me a challenging smirk!
I decided to step it up a notch. I started to do a front split.
I slowly went down, and the gap between my two legs, one in front and the other in the back began to widen.
My crotch was almost about to touch the ground, but I could not perform that perfect split.
If I couldn't, then it was even more impossible for Goku to follow. He reached barely halfway through the split before his pants tore open at the seams.
He covered his crotch and threw me a dirty look as he said, "Show me another posture. I am not doing this one."
This brat! I was annoyed by his arrogance, but this exercise was bound to be his downfall. I calmly smiled and moved on to another posture.
My fatigue from earlier intense exercise was reduced quite a bit by now, and I was ready to unleash the deadliest weapon in my arsenal, Yoga.
I kept my knees straight and slowly bent forward until my forehead touched my knees, and my fingers grabbed my toes.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Goku do his best to mimic my posture. His long arms easily stretched and reached his toes, but no matter how he struggled, his forehead, no, his entire face was still far from touching his knees.
Seeing his struggles, I could not help but laugh in my mind.
'Brat, this is Yoga. You can easily reach this level of flexibility in a week, but unfortunately, you don't have enough time to practice.'
I gently inhaled a long breath as I let go of my position and stood up. I looked at Goku with mock concern and said,
"Young Master Goku, this is called Uttanasan (Standing Forward Bend). This is already the easiest pose. Is it too hard for you?"
I was indeed not lying. I had not shown him the vertical splits or even the infamous Pretzel Pose of Yoga!
Hearing my words, Goku decided to forcefully touch his head to his knees.
He stood up straight and raised his arms in the air. He was going to use the momentum when going down to achieve his goal.
When I saw his resolve, I did not want to tease the young boy anymore. I knew that if he really went through with his plan, he might very well end up injuring himself.
Just as he was about to go down, I don't know why, but I stopped him.
"Goku, no!"
I clasped his shoulder with strength I didn't know I possessed. Goku turned and looked at me with questioning eyes.
"Flexibility cannot be achieved through brute force. You need time and practice. If you really did what you were trying to do, you would've hurt your back or pulled your muscles."
I explained to the young boy.
Maybe because he knew in his heart that what I said was the truth, but he listened to my advice without making a sound.
I was surprised by his lack of comments. So, I looked at his face.
For the first time, I saw admiration for me in his eyes. It was only because I could do something effortlessly with my physique that he could not.
Regardless of his monstrous strength, he was still a young, impressionable little brat.
A moment passed in silence, and I grew awkward under his fervent gaze. I removed my hand and turned away from him.
"Ahem!" I cleared my throat and reminded him of the condition of our challenge, "This means you have to admit defeat, Goku."
When I did not hear a word from him, I peeked at him without turning my face. He seemed like he was lost deep in his thoughts.
'Crap! Did he find something fishy? He won all the previous challenges, yet I am making him admit defeat.'
'So, what if I am being shameless? It is not like we decided on Best of Five or something.'
Thoughts raced through my mind the longer Goku remained silent. I was about to turn and probe him when I heard him say the words that relieved my worries.
"I admit defeat."
Immediately afterward, I heard the familiar chime of a system notification. I opened the quest interface and saw the Boredom Bar had gone down to 0%!
I clicked submit without delay.
[Congratulations 'Samar' for completing the Unique quest, Goku's boredom.]
[+20 Favorability with Goku.]
[Talk to Goku to receive your rewards.]
A huge smile formed on my lips as I closed my eyes without turning. I could not believe I had defeated an undefeatable opponent using Yoga, of all things.
'Mom, the Yoga you made me do every morning was useful for something!'
Smiling from ear to ear, I turned back and faced Goku. He had admitted defeat, but he clearly had not given up. His eyes still burned with a fiery passion for competition.
"Young Chief Goku, can I now use the Training Grounds freely?"
When I asked this question, Goku narrowed his eyes at me and smiled.
"Big brother Samar, you are very cunning. However, you have indeed defeated me. I will ask Trainer Basak to let you use the Training Facility."
[Congratulations, you can now use the Training Facility. Come back to learn your Weapon Mastery Skill after you have acquired a Weapon.]