With its questions and charging evidently concluded, the Rotom's rotors whirred to life before it flew up, orienting itself eye-level with Jason as it stated, "Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. For the time being, the League is asking that you remain in this room until a specialist arrives to perform a full-spectrum analysis of your blood and body for any foreign pathogens you might pass onto others."
"I'm aware of standard quarantine procedures..." Jason affirmed with a nod. He wasn't thrilled at the prospect, but he couldn't deny that the League's caution was justified, knowing what he knew about history and the capacity for pathogens to spread like wildfire.
"Excellent," said the Rotom, adopting a somewhat creepy, imp-like smile as it revealed, "Professor Sycamore should arrive within a few hours, and Professor Burnet within the next two to three days. Once they have given you a clean bill of health, the League will convene to determine how best to address your unfortunate predicament. The more cooperative you are, the sooner this matter can be resolved. And in the event you are not able to return to your world, you should at least be able to integrate into ours without too much trouble."
"I understand," responded Jason, nodding a second time. Shortly after that, the Rotom once again thanked him for his time before requesting to be let out of the room. When Jason opened the door to do so, he couldn't help but notice the people dressed like members of a SWAT team on both ends of the curved hallway. They weren't carrying firearms, but they had gas masks, large, bulwark-like riot shields, and long, ostensibly electrical batons that made it clear that if he tried to leave, he would be stopped at any cost...
'What an expedient response...' noted Jason, gazing at the two groups of policemen and giving them affirming nods before retreating into his room and returning to the bathroom. All in all, it hadn't even been an hour since he revealed his identity to Korrina. Yet, in that brief period, he had already been quarantined, questioned, and provided a response intended to keep him cooperative. Comparing it to the time he was interviewed by police in his previous world, where he was made to wait nearly four hours to speak to a Detective despite not being a suspect, it was an exceedingly smooth and comparably courteous response.
Ding!
Seeing a System window appear the moment he closed the door to the bathroom, Jason paused, his brows rising as he read:
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Quest: [Quarantine]
Rank: F~S [Linked]
Description: For your safety and the safety of the native population, you have been placed in quarantine. Will you cooperate with your captors or resist to pursue a path of your own design?
Objective(s): Survive until the end of your Quarantine[0/1]
Optional Objective(s): Escape your Quarantine[0/1], Steal at least one Poké Egg from the Tower of Mastery's Incubation Chamber[0/7], Cover your tracks by setting fire to the Tower of Mastery[0/1]
Reward: 1,000 AP
Optional Rewards: 3,000 AP, 2,000 AP per Poké Egg, 30,000 AP
Notice: There are countless paths people can take in life, but they follow three streams. Those who remain on the straightest course tend to reach their destination quickly but often find themselves feeling as though they missed out. Those who deviate are fated to encounter rough waters and unexpected bends, but those who overcome such ordeals frequently look back on them with fondness. All streams connect at one point or another, but the decisions you make along the way will shape who you become on all future routes.
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'So some Quests are mandatory...' noted Jason, noticing there wasn't an option to accept or refuse as there had been previously. At the same time, a slight frown marred his face as he didn't approve of the System trying to bait him onto an objectively evil path by offering him much better rewards than remaining on the straight and narrow.
Though Jason didn't consider himself a truly good person, he abhorred those who took advantage of others or pursued their own wealth, status, and gratification without consideration for who their actions harmed. He had little interest in becoming a Hero, but he would rather die than allow himself to be enticed onto the path of a Villain.
Ding!
Demonstrating that it could perceive his thoughts or emotions, Jason's System produced a second peal before a new Quest appeared, this time presenting him with far more reasonable options:
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Quest: [Laying the Foundation]
Rank: F~E [Linked]
Description: Consistent training is the foundation upon which an entity's physicality, mentality, and spirituality are built. Train hard, study hard, eat well, and rest when you must. The broader and stronger your foundation, the higher you can build atop it.
Objective(s): Complete: 100 Push-Ups(0/100), 100 Sit-Ups(0/100), 100 Squats(0/100), and 60 Minutes of High-Intensity Interval Training(0/60) within a 24 Hour period.
Optional Objective(s): Each additional completion will double the Reward received up to six times.
Reward: 1,000 AP
Optional Rewards: 2,000/4,000/8,000/16,000/32,000/64,000 AP based on number of completions.
Notice: No matter which stream you take, those who live sedentary lives invariably sink to the bottom, dragged along by the current and worn with time.
[Would you like to accept this Quest?]
[Yes]/[No]
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'Excellent. I was planning to experiment with my increased stats, so this couldn't have arrived at a better time...' thought Jason, a smile replacing his previous frown as he accepted the Quest without hesitation. He wasn't sure what qualified as High-Intensity Interval Training, but since his room had a workout area with weights, machines, and a training dummy, he was certain he could figure it out.
With such thoughts in his mind, Jason left the bathroom and spent some time going through the available dresser, wardrobe, and closet to pick out something comfortable and easy to move in. Serendipitously, the Shalour City Gym happened to specialize in Fighting-Type Pokémon. And since his room had been prepared for a male Gym Trainer, there was an abundance of form-fitting and comfortable sportswear for him to choose from.
After an hour of going through nearly every option available, Jason picked out a simple pair of black briefs that reminded him of bike shorts, a pair of turquoise shorts, and a black, form-fitting tee with turquoise accents and stripes that followed the contours of his body. He also picked out a jacket he thought looked cool, a long-sleeved windbreaker with a red-and-white pattern distinctly fashioned after a Pokéball, but he avoided wearing it for the time being since he didn't want to overheat.
'These are interesting...' thought Jason, curiously inspecting one of the pairs of shoes he found in the closet alongside a bunch of roller blades and protective padding. They had a bunch of straps and were sectioned to be adjustable to various foot shapes, but what had caught his attention were the two hard, convex discs located at the point where the ball of the foot and heel would apply pressure. They were the same as what he had seen on the bottoms of Korrina's shoes, and when he applied pressure to them, a faint hum would emanate from within.
PSSHT
As Jason ceased applying pressure to the disc, it discharged a brief but powerful burst of compressed air. He couldn't fathom how the mechanism behind it functioned, but it seemed to be able to store and convert kinetic energy to highly pressurized air. It didn't make sense to him, but as there were no ports for pressurized gas canisters or anything remotely similar, it was the only explanation he could think of.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Jason tried on the peculiar shoes after donning a pair of comfortable socks. Korrina was able to walk around in them without issue, and if her ability to jump as high as she did was tied to the shoes' mechanism, he needed to learn how to do the same.
psstpsst
After donning the pair of shoes, which took a while to adjust to the shape of his foot, Jason tentatively tried jumping a few times. The sensation was similar to jumping on a trampoline, so alongside converting kinetic energy, they appeared to have an air or hydraulics-based cushioning system. The longer a deliberate force was applied to the convex pads, the louder they revved. And the harder he kicked off when he jumped, the more powerful the boost they applied.
'This explains why the ceiling is so high...' noted Jason, bouncing several times until he was able to smack the inordinately spacious room's ceiling, which he estimated to be around ten meters. He previously supposed it was to accommodate Pokémon of various shapes and sizes—or possibly to let Flying-types move about freely. That was still a possibility, but the presence of gym equipment suggested it was to facilitate the Gym Trainer and their Fighting-type Pokémon's superhuman acrobatics.
Since jumping up and down didn't appear to qualify as a High-Intensity Interval Training exercise, Jason eventually stopped bouncing, positioned himself on his stomach, and began attempting push-ups using a variety of forms. He wanted to know exactly what the System did and didn't regard as a push-up, not to cut corners but to ensure his training was as efficient as possible.
Unfortunately, though he had anticipated it, the System only counted the push-up if Jason kept his back as straight as a rod and his hands parallel with his shoulders. When he went down, both his chest and abdomen had to graze the floor, but only briefly. If he lay flat or eased the tension in his arms even for a moment, it wouldn't count. And to make things harder, the opposite was true when he pushed up. If he fully extended his arms, that, too, wouldn't count. In essence, his arms, chest, back, and core muscles needed to remain in tension at all times, increasing the strain but ensuring he was using and training every essential muscle group...
...
..
.
As Jason fully immersed himself in his experimentation and training, hours passed in what felt like minutes. He stopped twice to eat meals that were brought to his door atop a sterile-smelling robotic car, but the moment he was finished, he immediately resumed his admittedly slow but methodical training. In the process, he learned that High-Intensity Interval Training was effectively lifting weights or performing high-intensity exercises until failure, with no more than five minutes of rest in between. Any longer, and he would need to finish at least two sets before he, luckily, received credit for both.
doo-doh-dah
'Hmm? Could that be the Professor...?' Jason wondered, rising from where he had been resting and nursing a bottle of sweet and salty water that reminded him of the Liquid IV he used to drink in his previous world. The last meal he received was indicated to be his dinner, and when he looked at the circular clock on his wall and the digital one on his nightstand, both reflected that it was 7:43 PM.
'If it is, he's not very considerate...' thought Jason, wiping his face with a damp towel before making his way to the room's entrance and opening it without checking to see who was outside. As a result, he was more than a little surprised to find Korrina smiling up at him with her hair down. And in place of her previous, Lucario-themed getup, she was wearing a cropped white tank top with red trim, tight white shorts with a thick red waistband, red wristbands, and white, red-trimmed ankle and foot protectors that left her heels and toes exposed.
"Yo. I just wanted to stop by and ask how you're holding up. If I were in your shoes, I'd honestly be beside myself with worry," remarked Korrina, raising her right hand in greeting before unabashedly making her way into Jason's room. This, like many of her actions, left Jason at a loss. However, as it would have been rude and awkward to have her stand outside where their conversation could be overheard, he naturally made way to allow her to enter freely before closing the door behind her.
"Have you been exercising all this time?" asked Korrina, leaving Jason at an even greater loss as she sniffed the air and joked, "It certainly smells like you have."
Fortunately for Jason, his face and body were flushed and clammy, so his cheeks didn't feel any hotter. Instead, he forced a smile and tried to make a joke of his own, asking, "Do you want to join me...?" without considering that Korrina might actually agree. As such, he was left staring at her like a fool when she met his gaze with a smile and naturally replied, "Sure. I just got out of the bath not that long ago, but I can always take another when I return. What did you have in mind?"
Though he briefly considered that Korrina's question was an insinuation of some kind, Jason dismissed it. He felt somewhat embarrassed when she laughed at the explanation of what he had been doing all afternoon, but when she subsequently walked him through how to operate each piece of training equipment and advised him how to avoid injury, he couldn't blame her for finding his failings and experimentations amusing...
...
..
.