Free Web NovelChapter 42: Chapter 42 It’s harder than I thought.
Her arms finally gave out as she collapsed onto the mat, her entire body trembling, chest rising and falling rapidly as she gulped in air.
{Congratulations, Host. You have completed the push-ups.}
Ivy lay there, staring up at the sky, too exhausted to even move a finger.
Her limbs felt like lead.
Her lungs burned out beneath it all...
There was pride. Raw, quiet and hard-earned.
{Next: 50 squats.}
"...Can I..." Ivy’s voice came out barely above a whisper. "...Can I rest first?"
Ding!
{You must complete the full strength training sequence before resting. You still have 50 squats and 50 sit-ups remaining. Rest will be permitted afterward.}
Ivy shut her eyes briefly, her jaw tightening.
Her body screamed in protest.
Every muscle ached.
But before the system could remind her again....
Ivy pushed herself up immediately, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to catch her breath. Sweat clung to her skin, dampening her clothes, but she didn’t stop. Instead, she lowered her gaze to her body as if assessing herself....measuring her limits.
Slowly, she stretched both arms forward, steadying herself. Then she bent her knees.
Down.
Up.
Down.
Up.
Her squats began.
{1...2...3...4...10...}
At first, it felt manageable....familiar even. But as the count increased, a deep, burning ache began to spread through her hips and thighs. It wasn’t just discomfort anymore; it was pain....sharp and relentless.
By the time she reached fifteen, her legs trembled violently.
By twenty, it felt like they didn’t even belong to her anymore.
Her muscles screamed for her to stop.
Her body begged for rest.
But Ivy clenched her teeth.
"No..." she muttered under her breath, her voice strained but stubborn. "I can’t stop... not now..."
She refused to quit. Starting over would be worse.
So she kept going.
{30...31...32...33...}
Her vision blurred slightly as exhaustion crept in, but her mind drifted elsewhere....back to them.
The people who rescued her.
The ones who never stopped training.
The ones who pushed themselves beyond human limits every single day not for themselves, but for others. For the weak. For the helpless. For people they didn’t even know.
People they chose to protect.
"If they can do that..." Ivy thought, her breath hitching as she forced herself lower again, "...then I can do this. I have to do this."
Her expression hardened.
"This isn’t just about me anymore," she whispered.
"It’s about my children."
A new wave of determination surged through her, overriding the pain...if only slightly.
"The apocalypse doesn’t spare the weak," she continued inwardly. "Only the strong... and the smart... survive." freeweɓnøvel.com
Her pace slowed, but she didn’t stop.
{45...46...47...48...49...50}
With the final squat, her legs gave out beneath her.
She collapsed onto the mat.
For a moment, she simply lay there, her chest heaving, her entire body trembling from exertion. Every muscle felt like it was on fire.
But even then, she didn’t allow herself too much time.
After only a few seconds, she forced herself to move again.
Slowly, painfully, Ivy adjusted the strap around her knees before lying flat on her back. Her throat was unbearably dry now, her lips slightly parted as she swallowed nothing but air.
She wanted water.
Desperately.
But she shook her head faintly.
"No... not yet..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"I’ll drink... after the first three exercises..."
It wasn’t just a goal.....it was a promise.
With that, she began her sit-ups.
Her upper body lifted toward her knees.
Then lowered back down.
Again.
And again.
{1...2...3...}
Each movement felt heavier than the last. Her abdomen tightened painfully, her breathing growing more uneven with every repetition.
"It’s... harder than I thought..." she admitted weakly, her voice cracking.
This strength training... it wasn’t simple at all.
Still, she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t.
Her life depended on this. freewebnσvel.cøm
Her children’s lives depended on this.
Even as her breath shortened...
Even as her vision dimmed at the edges...
Even as her body threatened to give out completely...
She continued.
{19...20...21...}
A faint, tired smile crossed her lips despite everything.
"If it were someone else..." she thought, struggling through another rep, "...someone who’s never trained before..."
"They wouldn’t even make it this far..."
She knew that.
And she also knew why she could.
"...the system..."
That strange, mysterious system that had enhanced her body.
At this moment, she felt nothing but gratitude toward it.
Without it...
She wouldn’t even be standing.
{40...41...45...46...47...48...49...50...}
