I dragged myself home with whatever strength I had left. Thankfully, no one was home yet. I ran up to my room and slammed the door shut.
"Who are you?!"
I had no idea who I was shouting at, but someone definitely spoke inside my head.
[Sigh* I am the system, but since humans tend not to like that name, you can call me Alexa.]
So I wasn't imagining it—the screen, the voice, being transported—all of it was real.
[Pfft! Hahaha… you should've seen your face!]
Huh? What the—
[When you were running from the wolves… I almost wet myself. Hahaha.]
"Who are you?"
My question hung in the air as the voice continued laughing hysterically.
[I'm sorry, I'm sorry, hahahah… I just can't—]
"Answer me! Who are you?!"
The voice finally stopped laughing and cleared her throat to speak.
[Ahem. Liam Hemsworth, because of the pathetic—I mean sad—life you've led so far, we've deemed it fit to grant you the use of a system. I, the beautiful Alexa, will help you on your path to becoming a pro boxer.]
"A boxer? But why? I don't even know anything about the sport."
[Why?!]
She said it as if it were a ridiculous question to ask.
[Because your life serves no meaning. You eat, sleep, game, repeat. Sorry to break it to you, but that is not a life. We're worried that if we don't do something, you'll end up as some weird pervert. I mean, you're already having delusions of building a harem.]
"You said we? Who's we?"
[Sorry, but I cannot disclose that information. Just know you're a damsel in distress and I'm your prince charming.]
I balled my fists in anger and frustration. I had just escaped a life-or-death situation, and now I was being insulted, told that my life was pitiful. Who is this woman? She had put my life in danger for what, and now she was prattling on as if she knew me?
"Who gives you the right to determine if my life is worthless?"
[Look, you have no choice in the matter. If you refuse to follow my instructions, then you will be punished, and your punishment could possibly lead to your death.]
My mind flashed back to the image of the wolves chasing me. A cold sweat ran down my face just from the thought. I knew I didn't have the strength to fight back... I never do.
"So that's that. I simply have no choice in the matter. Just like always, I have to grit my teeth and watch as decisions are made for me."
[We will help you develop skills that allow you to thrive in this world of yours. Your skill is boxing. It is the only endeavor in which you even have a chance of succeeding. With the use of this system, you will train to become a pro boxer.]
"A pro boxer?"
I didn't know anything about the sport. All I knew was what I had seen on TV. They were regarded as some of the best athletes in the world. Their physiques alone made them seem superhuman, and they made so much money that their families would be wealthy for generations to come.
"How can someone like me become like that? No matter how much I train, it would be nearly impossible."
[Would you rather spend your life wasting away in your room?]
"I-I…"
I glanced over at the cracked mirror in my room, and what I saw was someone almost completely unrecognizable: a boy with messy black hair, dull green eyes, and a body that looked like it belonged to a middle-aged man.
The truth was that I wanted to be better than how I was right now. I yearned for it so badly that I threw myself in games where I was a different person.
Can becoming a boxer really help me to become better than I am now?
[So, here's how this system works: Firstly, you will be given a daily training quest you must complete, or there will be a severe punishment, as you saw a little while ago. Right now, your body is in the worst shape possible, so your workout for the next couple of weeks will mostly consist of roadwork to get you fit enough to box.]
With a sigh of resignation, I pulled out a chair and sat down at my computer.
I spent the next couple of hours researching pro boxers. It was a gruesome sport. The fighters barely even seemed human; their punches were so fast that I had to slow down the video just to see their strikes.
The crowd cheered as one man delivered a series of consecutive blows to another man, whose body was covered in fist-shaped bruises. They roared even louder as blood streamed from the man's broken nose. The man was beaten to a bloody pulp, and the commentators shouted and cheered, making a spectacle out of it.
"Javier Goldberg! The man above men has successfully secured his lightweight championship!"
The crowd roared louder, with a group running into the ring and hoisting the victor into the air while the loser lay bloody on the ground.
Just the thought of going up against one of them made me want to puke. Why couldn't they just reincarnate me into another world and give me magic or something? Now I'm stuck with this trash system. I am just an average teenage boy.
I spent so much time researching that I fell asleep over my computer. My dream of building an harem of otherworldly beauties was now dashed, and all I was left with was fighting sweaty men inside a ring while people cheered as I got the sense beaten out of me.
"Liam… come on, wake up!"
I was awakened by taps on my shoulder and a tone of pure annoyance. I opened my eyes to see my sister, Thalia. She was still dressed in her school uniform. She was only a year younger than me, and embarrassingly, we were the same height.
"Mom is calling you for dinner," she said, then glanced at my computer, where a boxing match video was playing. "What are you watching? Since when are you into boxing?"
"Do you know anything about boxing?" I asked, expecting her to not know anything, but to my surprise, her face flushed red, which told me she was hiding something.
"Hmph! Why would I know anything about that?"
Before I had the chance to question her about it, she stormed out of my room, slamming the door with a loud BAM!
I turned off the computer and went downstairs to see my mother and sister seated at the dinner table. Looking at them, you would think they were sisters. Both had free-flowing black hair, purple eyes, and silky smooth skin.
They looked like the type of girls that, if they weren't my family, I wouldn't be caught dead speaking to—the type of girls who would steer clear of nerdy guys like me.
The only thing that set them apart was the dark circles underneath my mother's eyes. Her face looked completely lifeless, but she still cracked a smile when I came downstairs.
"Come eat with us; I made your favorite," my mother said.
I gave her a polite smile and sat beside her at the dinner table.
"Your sister told me that you are showing an interest in boxing."
I froze and silently shot Thalia a glare. She was eating while staring at her phone as if she didn't have any care in the the world.
"That's good," my mother continued. "I'm glad you're showing an interest in something other than those games you are always playing."
"Er… yeah. I was planning to start exercising again when I stumbled upon some videos about boxing."
"You should start exercising again. Your belly is starting to hang over your belt," my sister said, smirking, which caused my mother to giggle, covering her mouth with a napkin.
I smiled back at her. I was happy to see her smiling; I knew how hard she was working, and seeing her smile brought both my sister and I some relief. Luckily, she didn't pry any further, and we continued eating while making jokes at my expense.
For the next couple of weeks, I woke up an hour earlier to go on a three-mile run. It was hard at first; my muscles would get so sore that even sitting down was a challenge.
But eventually, over time, my body got used to it, and the system took this as an invitation to increase how much I should run to five miles. Next thing I knew, I was running an excess of eight miles every morning.
I slowly began to notice several changes in my body. For one, I was an inch taller. I still wasn't in the best shape, but I had made significant improvements from how I was before. My muscles were more toned, and I think my appearance improved a little.
I sat on a park bench after just finishing my morning run. I decided to look at my stats.
"Status."
I heard a sound awfully familiar to when I unlocked an achievement in a game, and then the screen popped up. I clicked on the option that showed my improvements.
[IMPROVEMENTS]
+----+
SPEED: E (1/20)
AGILITY: E (3/20)
STAMINA: E (5/20)
+----+
My speed, agility, and stamina had finally moved from F to E. The only problem is that it would now take more effort to improve.
[Congratulations on your improvements! Now that you are in better shape, we can begin your real training.]
"My real training?! So what have I been doing for the past month?"
[Warming up,] she replied flatly.
+------+
DAILY QUEST
Roadwork: You must run an excess of eight miles without stopping.
Miles run: 0/8
Learn the Basics of Boxing
Time remaining: 24 hours
Warning: Failure to complete the quest will result in a punishment.
+-------+
[Would you like to begin learning the basics now?] [Y/N]
[NOTE: You will be transported to a more secure location.]