Chapter 37: Forced push up!!!

The whole point of the first push-up challenge had been to test the upper limit of their physical capabilities. Now that I knew 100 push-ups in just 24 seconds was already pushing them close to their peak, completing 300 in under one minute seemed almost impossible, especially after they had already burned through so much stamina.

Still, I was dying to know. Could the magical power of a quest override common sense and somehow turn them into push-up machines?

"Come on, it’s not that hard... right?"

As expected, both goblins froze as if they had just been asked to bench-press a mountain.

Gopuro even took one dramatic step forward, his hand halfway reaching toward the quest before he chickened out and pulled it back.

It seemed that, thanks to the previous quest, they now had a much better understanding of their own physical limitations. And they also be more aware of the punishment too.

But did that mean I would simply give up?

Of course not.

They could be refusing because the risk simply wasn’t worth the reward. So... what if I made the reward ridiculously tempting?

I updated the quest.

New Reward: 10 Powerstones (F)!

Both goblins’ eyes widened instantly, flashing with raw greed.

Ten Powerstones!

That was enough for one of them to level up again!

Gopuran’s foot shot forward eagerly, her fingers twitching as if she were about to snatch the scroll out of the air, only to freeze at the last second and retreat.

But Gopuro?

Oh, this glorious chad didn’t even hesitate.

The muscle-brained grabbed the scroll like it owed him money, his eyes blazing with pure, unfiltered determination.

[Ding! Gopuro has accepted your "Strength Demonstration #5" quest!]

Just then, Gopuran turned to stare at him, narrowing her eyes. I caught the faint, sly curve at the corner of her lips and immediately understood what was happening.

"Aha! I see you, you clever little gremlin!"

Since her physical ability and stats were nearly identical to Gopuro’s now, she had clearly decided to let him test the waters first. If he somehow managed to brute-force his way through 300 push-ups in one minute, she could do the same. If he failed... well, there was no point in her suffering the punishment.

Classic clever little strategist.

Meanwhile, Gopuro was the living definition of a muscle brain.

Either way, the show was about to begin.

Gopuro dropped to the ground, planted his palms firmly against the dirt, and exploded into push-ups with every last ounce of strength he had left!!!

His arms drove up and down like pistons gone berserk, desperately squeezing out every drop of power from his exhausted body.

One... two... three... four... five... six...

"RAAAAAAA!"

His arms swelled, muscles bulging beneath his skin as thick veins stood out like ropes. His body moved with terrifying speed, each push-up sending small clouds of dust into the air.

The poor dude was literally fighting for his life!

In just twenty seconds, he had already smashed past 100 push-ups!

Only 200 more to go!

I watched in growing horror.

"Fuck! Don’t tell me... he’s actually gonna make it?!"

"I can’t believe this. Did I seriously underestimate this guy? Just how freaking strong is he?!"

But fortunately, luck was on my side.

Near the end, exhaustion finally caught up with him. His movements became slower and increasingly labored, his arms beginning to shake beneath his weight.

He only managed to squeeze out 250 push-ups before the one-minute timer finally ran out.

Thud!

Gopuro collapsed face-first into the dirt.

Phew!!!

I let out a huge mental sigh of relief.

My precious Powerstones were safe!

My precious Castle Points were safe!

[Ding! Gopuro has failed your "Strength Demonstration #5" quest!]

"Muahahaha! Now then, Gopuro... how exactly are you going to handle the punishment?"

He had already burned through almost all of his stamina during that insane attempt. In theory, there was no way he could do another 500 push-ups...

Right?

...

Nope!

Like an enraged, system-possessed beast, his eyes suddenly glowed a menacing red. His muscles swelled again, veins throbbing wildly beneath his skin as the System forcibly enforced the punishment!!!

The goblin chad shot back to his feet and started hammering out push-ups like his life depended on it.

Which, technically, it kind of did!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

His arms pumped furiously, his chest slamming toward the ground with terrifying force and speed!

100 push-ups!

200 push-ups!

And he was still going!

I was terrified.

Gopuran was terrified too. She gasped, both hands flying to her mouth as she stared at Gopuro in disbelief.

In a panic, I yanked open his status window.

His stamina bar was plummeting at a horrifying rate.

Soon, it hit zero.

Then his HP started dropping too!

At first, it fell at a rate of 1% every two seconds.

Then it increased to 2% every two seconds.

"Fuck! This is too much!!!"

I was one second away from dumping a huge amount of Castle Point I had into [Lord’s Blessing] just to level him up.

Currently, I had near 2000 Castle Points in net worth, so I could probably afford four level-ups. That would give him a considerable boost to his stats and HP, which should at least make the push-ups easier.

But right before I panicked and spent everything, Gopuro suddenly collapsed in the middle of a push-up, nowhere near the 500 mark.

His HP was still at 80%.

[Error! The citizen no longer has the physical capability to carry out the punishment. The punishment will be nullified.]

"Urrghh..."

He groaned weakly, his overinflated muscles rapidly deflating as foam bubbled at the corner of his mouth.

Phew!!!

I let out a massive mental sigh of relief.

That scared the absolute shit out of me!

Gopuro looked completely wrecked. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and he was breathing like a broken bellows, his chest heaving with every breath.

Still, at least he was alive.

"Sorry, Gopuro... I’ll compensate you handsomely later for my mistake..."

Just then, another notification popped up. Something completely unexpected.

[Ding! Gopuro has unlocked a new skill: "Enraged" by pushing far beyond his physical limits!]

[Enraged Lv. 1]

Type: Passive / Activatable

Effect: Enter an enraged state. While active, the user’s Attack, Defense, and Speed stats are temporarily increased by 50%, stamina consumption is reduced by 90%, and all pain is completely nullified.

Movement-limiting negative status effects, such as stun and paralysis, as well as mind-altering effects like illusions and charm, are immediately dispelled, and the user becomes immune to them for the entire duration of the skill.

However, once the state ends, the user becomes completely unable to move for 1 hour. Afterward, the user suffers a severe penalty of -50% to all stats for 3 days.

Special Effect: Can automatically activate when Stamina or HP falls below 20%.

Duration: 2 minutes

Cooldown: 5 days