Ryderâs expressions couldnât help but distort as soon as he heard Janusâ words.
"You! Do you think we are in a game? How can I kill a real human being! Iâm not a monster! And why do you wish to harm Alice!"
Ryder roared in anger as he opened his eyes abruptly.
[Mission has already been issued. It canât be changed]
Janus said in an emotionless tone.
"He...is he serious?"
Ryder started frowning as he fell into deep thought.
"Janus can reverse time, so I donât think that anything is impossible for him. I canât let Alice die, but killing? Iâm not capable of it either. I havenât even killed an animal; how can I kill a real human being? what should I do?"
His head was aching as he thought about everything. He wanted to cry. His headache kept increasing. He could feel his heartbeat getting faster and faster.
"Can we negotiate? Change the mission into anything else? Iâll do any other mission!"
He started requesting Janus.
[Mission has been issued. It canât be changed]
Janus repeated the same answer.
âWhat should I do? I have no choice but to k-kill,â
He felt like vomiting at the simple thought of killing. Even the simple notion of killing a human was scary for him.
[To help the host in achieving his goal, a side mission has been issued]
[Mission: Do 200 Push-Ups in 20 minutes]
[Reward: 20 origin points and two low-level strengthening pills]
[Punishment for failure: Full body Paralysis for two days. You will be unable to move for two days]
[Time Limit: 20 minutes]
âHeâs seriously trying to get me killed, isnât he? Why do I feel that Janus is even worse than Maya?â
âMy choices are to force my body to do something that I donât think is possible or get paralyzed for two days? If I got paralyzed for two days, I wouldnât be able to complete the main mission even if I wanted to, and Alice would die. Youâre not giving me any other path, but the one that you want me to choose!"
"I donât have much time to think. The time limit is only 20 minutes. I canât take the risk of getting paralyzed, or I wonât be able to save Alice," Ryder said.
He stood up with a determined look on his face. His head was still aching, but he didnât care. He hurriedly got down to the ground and positioned himself for push-ups.
Although Ryder wasnât the most athletic person globally, he did exercise daily, but not to the limit.
When it came to Push-ups, he only did three sets of Push-ups in a day, each consisting of 10-15, but this time he needed to do two-hundred, which he thought to be almost impossible, but he didnât give up.
He continued doing Push-ups. After doing 30 push-ups, he sat up as he started giving his body rest. He could feel that 30 was close to his limit at once. His eyes focused on the clock that kept ticking as he rested.
After resting for only a minute, he again resumed his exercise.
Time kept trickling away as Ryder kept doing Push-ups. Fifteen minutes had passed away, and he had finished 160 Push-ups. His chest was near the ground, but no matter how much he tried, he couldnât push his body up.
He could feel his hand shaking. He didnât have any power. He dropped down to the ground, unable to even sit.
He closed his eyes as he breathed heavily.
It was at that moment; he saw his surroundings change. It was as if he was in a dream. He found himself in a different place. A girl was standing before him, who looked similar to Alice, but she seemed older. She was wearing a beautiful green dress and a crown on her head.
"They will kill you if you donât stop!" the girl told Ryder with tears in her eyes.
"I wonât stop! I canât stop until all of them are dead!"
Ryder felt as if these words just came out of his mouth. It was like a dream where he had no control over his mouth.
Immediately, the dream broke. He found himself back in his room. He was still lying on the ground, but his body was more relaxed now. He felt as if he had rested for hours.
He looked at the clock and realized that only three minutes had passed.
"I still have two minutes! I can still do it!" Ryder muttered in a determined tone before he pushed his body upwards.
He continued his Push-ups while keeping his eyes on the clock.
He had three minutes left to finish 40 push-ups, and he didnât want to fail. Failure meant that someone close to him would die.
He used all his strength to finish this mission on time, and ultimately he succeeded in time.
Ryder finished his 200th Push-up before he dropped to the ground, tired.
"I did it," He muttered with a smile on his face as he took a deep breath.