Invincible Evolution System

Chapter 1

[Daily Quest - one must stay proactive.] GOAL [INCOMPLETE] PUSH-UPS — [0/100] [INCOMPLETE] SIT-UPS — [0/100] [INCOMPLETE] CURL-UPS — [0/100] [INCOMPLETE] SQUATS — [0/100] [INCOMPLETE] RUNNING — [0/10km] REWARD - [1 Point in Charisma, 1 Point in Agility, 1 Point in Strength, and 1 Point in Endurance]

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[WARNING! – Failure to complete this quest will result in the permanent loss of something precious to the Host... You shall lose what makes you a man!] "No matter how many times I see this stupid Daily Quest, I still can't wrap my head around how this nonsense is supposed to be a 'feature' of an Idle Evolution System," grumbled a young man with unremarkable looks. His messy black hair stuck out like a bird's nest, his tired eyes clouded with irritation.

COCKADOODLEDOOOOO!!!! A sudden, ear-piercing screech filled the room. Without thinking, the young man's hand shot out instinctively, quick and precise. BAM! The antique alarm clock flew through the air and crashed into the wooden bedside table, shattering it into splinters. Unfazed, the young man let out a lazy yawn, rubbed his eyes, and picked up the battered clock. Without a second thought, he set it back on the last unbroken corner of the table, barely noticing the new dent it had earned. He stretched with a long, exaggerated groan before rising from his creaky cotton mattress.

  Stumbling toward the body-length mirror resting against the wall, he examined his reflection with a practiced, critical gaze. His slightly more defined muscles were just enough to push him from "below average" to the razor's edge of "meh." "Still, this is leagues better than how I looked before acquiring that blasted Idle Evolution System in that... 'incident.'" His expression twisted as memories of that fateful encounter flooded his mind. It was a day marked by both destiny and utter absurdity.

The afternoon that closed out his junior year of high school—his final year in that accursed institution of misery. His school life? An unmitigated disaster... but that was a story for another time. To understand how Orion came into possession of the so-called 'Idle Evolution System,' one must trace his steps back to ten days prior... He had been minding his own business, basking in the grandeur of the school's main building—admiring its intricate architecture in a manner most sincere. His appreciation extended to observing the bustling schoolyard scenery... strictly for 'cultural enrichment' of course. Then, fate struck.

BOOM!

A colossal white truck burst through the brick wall like a vengeful deity enacting heavenly retribution, catching him utterly off guard in his "appreciative study." His intentions were pure!

He was merely indulging in a final, heartfelt farewell to the vibrant energy radiating from his schoolmates before summer break. Yet, Truck-kun couldn't seem to find a fck to give, plowing through the courtyard with the cold indifference of destiny itself. His world flipped upside down—and not metaphorically. He was out cold before he even realized what hit him.

However, when Orion awoke, he was not in some mystical, otherworldly realm. He remained firmly grounded in the quiet countryside of Japan, in his small hometown of Hoshito. His first thought was a presumptuous one, yet also a reasonable one. "Did I time-travel back to fix my wretched past? It has to be! This is my Protagonist prologue, isn't it!?" Hope stirred... only to be snuffed out like a lone candle in a storm.

     His reflection in the mirror shattered all illusions—his body was the same flabby disaster as before, cursed with an extreme case of hypothyroidism that rendered every attempt at exercise or dieting utterly futile. Moreover, he also had the same bad case of Dilapidating Body Deterioration Syndrome, which made him as weak as a chicken and as frail as glass. Yet... something was different this time. Orion had neither been sent to another world nor transported back in time. His fate was neither glorious nor fantastical—but change had come nonetheless.

  "Is that... a fuking flying person?"

   Disbelief warred with reality as he spotted a figure soaring majestically through the sky, defying all logic and reason. In his previous reality, people were wholly ordinary—mundane, powerless beings. But in this timeline, at the exact same point in time, humanity had evolved. They were called 'Hunters'—individuals bestowed with supernatural abilities and charged with defending the world from monstrous invaders spilling forth from nightmarish 'Gates' that had first appeared a century ago. Their profession was less about heroism and more about fortune and glory. The strong thrived while the weak perished. Billions aspired to become Hunters, but few succeeded.

        Orion, desperate for answers, questioned everyone he could. His father, perpetually absent on business; his stepmother, whose gaze could cut steel; and finally, his stepsister—a snide, spoiled girl who delighted in mocking his appearance and shared his misery with her 'friends'. Though, anyone with half their sight intact could tell that she was faking it, playing the classic 'hate with the haters so you don't get hated' act. He found it difficult to blame her for this.