<Gacha Spin Reward/>

Whistling my way to class, I felt invincible. It wasn't every day you hacked your way into a prestigious academy. Most people might consider that criminal activity. I preferred to call it "creative ambition."

Codebreaker, my hidden system, was a cheat tool for hacking GAIA, the network that ran every detail of this world. And yesterday, I'd put it to the test by getting myself a fast pass to the academy of my choice—the GAIA Enforcer Academy.

See, GAIA initially had me set up for some low-tier path, the Gaia Vocational Academy, or as I liked to call it, GVA, the place for the mediocre.

But I was anything but ordinary. Besides, hiding my real rank—EX, thanks to Codebreaker—under a humble D-rank disguise, wasn't enough. I needed a proper path to my full potential.

One problem, though—my strength and luck stats were, to put it bluntly, pitiful. Especially considering my luck, which hovered somewhere around nonexistent. 

I have no clue how to boost my luck, but strength? That's a problem I can tackle. It might be a bit challenging, sure, but nothing I can't handle if I put my mind to it.

And, given my intense "training" regimen in my past life (a.k.a. hacking while glued to a chair for hours), I wasn't exactly what you'd call gym-ready. Still, I was determined. If I wanted to be the best, my stats needed to reflect that.

Codebreaker could get me past digital walls, but it couldn't boost my physical stats without some good old-fashioned effort.

So, I'd have to grit my teeth, hit the gym, and get ripped—fast.

Classes had mostly ended since awakening day. Lucky for me, I'd managed to sneak into an earlier awakening batch, meaning I had four days to level up my weak stats before the academy orientation.

So, I bit the bullet and made my way to the school gym—a place that, until now, might as well have been invisible to me.

The moment I stepped in, a few students shot me curious glances. Fair. I was the guy known for brains, not brawn.

To be honest, just seeing all those weights and machines made me want to turn around, but Codebreaker's HUD popped up in front of me with an idea. With a quick command, I asked it to suggest strength exercises tailored to my stats.

In seconds, a list with detailed anatomy illustrations appeared, dividing the exercises into three categories: Upper Body, Lower Body, and Core.

Daily Strength Exercise Task

Upper Body:

Bench Press - 0/24

Overhead Press - 0/24

Pull-Ups - 0/30

Face Pulls - 0/36

Bicep Curls - 0/30

Completion Reward: +1 STR, 1 Gacha Spin Reward

Lower Body:

Back Squats - 0/24

Split Squats - 0/20

Deadlifts - 0/24

Box Jumps - 0/30

Calf Raises - 0/45

Completion Reward: +1 STR, 1 Gacha Spin Reward

Core:

Push-Ups - 0/100

Endurance laps - 0/5 laps

LSD Run (Long Slow Distance) - 0/10KM

Completion Reward: +1 STR, 1 Gacha Spin Reward

My eyes scanned the list, and I felt a wave of dread. Three hours of grueling workouts...for one measly point in Strength? Codebreaker had outdone itself. The reward was nice, but the task? Brutal.

Noah, you wanted power, I reminded myself, suppressing my inner complaints.

Five Hours Later…

Sweat dripped off me like I'd just climbed out of a pool. My body ached, my arms felt like noodles, and my legs shook as I struggled to stay upright. But hey, I'd done it. I'd ground through every rep, step, and press that Codebreaker had thrown at me.

A notification blinked across my vision:

You have completed Upper Body Strength Exercises.

STR +1

You have completed Lower Body Strength Exercises.

STR +1

You have completed Core Strength Exercises.

STR +1

Congratulations! You have earned 3 Gacha Spins and a Bonus Reward: +3 STR, 500 GED

A grin split my face. All that pain and exhaustion…actually paid off! And there was a surprise bonus: +3 STR and 500 GED in reward money for completing all exercises.

Codebreaker had actually rewarded me for sweating my way through every painful rep. Gacha spins and free money? Now that was worth the sore muscles.

As soon as I caught my breath, I was itching to try out those Gacha spins. I searched the Gaia HUD for the option but quickly found my enthusiasm dashed—the spins were locked.

Apparently, I couldn't unlock them until I passed my first physical test at the academy.

"Right, Gaia just has to make things difficult," I grumbled, but a smirk tugged at my lips. "Well, there's always Codebreaker."

With a thought, I activated Codebreaker, watching the screen morph into its familiar black and green code-laced interface. "Alright, let's get this Gacha system unlocked," I muttered. The lines of code glimmered as I initiated the command.

[Codebreaker]

[Unlocking Gacha Spin... ]

[System Access Initiated... ]

[Bypassing Security...]

My grin widened as the confirmation message blinked on screen. Success!

Just then, a low hum filled the display, and I felt my heart skip a beat as Gaia's system voice echoed in my mind:

[Warning! Unauthorized Access Detected.]

[Countermeasures Activating.]

My fingers flew across Codebreaker's command inputs, shutting it down just in time. The hum died down, and silence returned.

"Phew... too close." I sighed, leaning back against the gym wall. I'd almost been detected by GAIA. This wasn't going to be as easy as I'd thought. Next time, I'd have to be way more careful, maybe use some sort of network spoofing or encryption as a countermeasure. Noted.

For now, I'd play it safe and wait a few days before trying out my hard-earned Gacha spins.

After a quick shower, I headed home, finding Damian on the couch. He looked tense, worry clouding his expression. When he saw me, though, he smiled warmly.

"Noah, just got back from school?" he asked. "How was the awakening yesterday? Everything go alright?"

I settled next to him, casually shrugging. "Yep, got my talent sorted. It's a D-rank Technical Specialist, but hey, at least it comes with a unique class: Technomancer."

Damian raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Technomancer, huh? That's pretty rare."

There was a flicker of unease in his eyes. "Something up, Damian?" I asked, trying to keep my tone light. "You look like a zombie apocalypse just broke out or something."

He chuckled, but it sounded forced. "Just some work stuff. Nothing to worry about. I'm heading out on a tower mission tomorrow. Not sure how long it'll take, but it's a big one. Rent's due soon, so...it's important."

"Sounds intense, but hey, you'll be fine," I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'll hold down the fort here."

He squeezed my shoulder and nodded. "Thanks, Noah. But if anything happens, call me right away. I'll be back in a flash. Got it?"

We both knew he was bluffing. If things went south in the towers, there wouldn't be much he could do. But I didn't push it. We're both mature enough to know when to leave things unsaid.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I replied with a grin. "Just…come back safe, alright? No mission's worth more than that."

Damian gave me a grateful nod and headed off to pack. Watching him, a thought nagged at the back of my mind. The tower missions weren't a joke. And if I really wanted to keep my family safe, I had to get stronger. Fast.

That night, lying in bed, Damian's words kept running through my head. Tower missions, rents coming up, him leaving for an uncertain fate—my family was skating on thin ice, and I wasn't anywhere near strong enough to hold us up yet.

But I was getting there.

I have Codebreaker now.