Become a hero

"Okay, Mr. Lux, pleased to meet you. I'm General Tavio. You'll be training under my supervision, and Miss Tala has been assigned to monitor you. Be a loyal soldier and dedicate yourself to protecting the Empire."

Tavio summarized his speech in these words, without bothering to look at Naird. 

"Side mission:

 Accept the General's offer and be a loyal soldier to the Empire.

Reward:

Increase in combat experience, increase level points by 100.

_Refusal of the mission results in a penalty of coma for two days and a decrease in intelligence by half._ "Naird carefully considered the mission; he had no choice but to accept it.

"I accept the side mission," Naird said hesitantly. He didn't want to become a soldier from the bottom of his heart; he thought he would become a hero and acquire magical powers to make up for any effort to gain strength."

"Yes, General, as you wish," replied Niard in a clear voice. Tala was surprised by his response; she thought he would argue with the general and express his objection. She had been told he was a stubborn troublemaker.

"You can do it, Niard," Nairad said slowly to himself, while General Tavio scrutinized him carefully, Niard had a frail body with barely any muscles, and his hands looked like those of a spoiled prince, as if he were not accustomed to hard work, with skin indicating a life of luxury.

"Give it your best, boy Lux," the general spoke before Niard left with Tala, who stepped forward and turned to gaze at the general one last time.

"Listen to me, you fool, don't get in the way, and don't stir up trouble," Tala said with a tone of fierce anger, emitting negative energy. 

Niard had never spoken to a girl before in his life; he had always been with his father in the lab, even his school was for boys only, so he found it weird to have a word with her. 

Niard swallowed hard and be walked behind her until they entered a training room, to where a huge number of people wearing similar uniforms stood. they wore a black and dark brown uniform with a brown a stripe running along the chest area.

"To your positions, soldiers. From today, you will dedicate every drop of blood in you to protect the human empire. There's no need to recount the tragedies that occurred due to our people's inability to protect themselves," said a tall man with dark skin and scars on the left side of his face. 

He glanced at Niard coldly and added, "There's no room for retreat here. No matter how dark humanity's past was, the future is always unknown, so focus on the present. Soldiers, to your positions!" He shouted, making Niard involuntarily close his ears.

"Since we are here in the future now, I thought there would be some kind of pills or even a drink given to us to strengthen our physical abilities, but to train on treadmills and carry weights this is humiliating," Niard whispered without uttering a word, looking at Tala, who was talking to the tall trainer who didn't show any interest in Niard. 

Even the other soldiers around him were about his age or maybe a year or two older, and they all started their exercises.

"Daily tasks:

- Run on the treadmills for two hours each day. Reward: 10 level points

3% increase in physical fitness,"

 the system window suddenly appeared, startling Niard and causing him to fall to the ground before putting his other foot on the treadmill, drawing the attention of the soldiers around him for a few seconds.

"Damn this system, two hours! I've never run for a full twenty minutes before," he whispered as he got up, ashamed of himself. 

There was one thing Niard hated, and that was not being skilled at something. He hated losing no matter the reasons and circumstances; he loved being in first place.

His eyes fell on Tala, who was running at the maximum speed on the treadmill. Niar could barely catch her foot movements, and not a drop of sweat dripped from her forehead, not even a sign of exhaustion showed on her.

"This girl is unnatural," he said in astonishment, then started running himself. He felt his heart pounding in his ears and nose. The meter indicated the speed was normal, and indeed, Niard began to feel like his breath was about to give out. The timer showed that three minutes had passed.

The tall trainer approached Niard's area and shook his head in regret. This boy was hopeless.

"They usually send me unfit human specimen, but this boy is a disaster. I'll give him a zero. Maybe zero itself is too much for him," the trainer said to himself, understanding from his trainer's looks that he needed to exert more effort if he wanted to prove himself.

An hour passed as he tried to run without stopping but failed, making his heart work unlike its usual rhythm. They heard a whistle signaling the end of the warm-up exercises.

"Wait, I haven't even completed half an hour on the treadmill," Niard said, rising from his rest that lasted more than a quarter of an hour. Tala stood in front of him, ready to grab him by the neck.

"You'll follow orders without talking. Now, to the dining hall," she said, her voice filled with anger. Niard felt like his soul would leave his body, but he quickly distanced himself from her when a young man joined them.

"What do I see here, Tala with her flesh and blood. I thought you'd join the Special Missions Army. I didn't expect to see you here," the boy said before receiving a punch to his midsection that made him fall to the ground, writhing in pain. Niatd watched how she punched him without even a strand of her hair moving.

"Is my vision distorted, or am I seeing her movements in slow motion?" he wondered.