Legendary Shelter Survival Guide

A month passed and only another was left till the phase could be over.

Things had changed a lot, Lucas was stabler than before.

The shelter was very peaceful, everyone worked on their own stuff and things that they had to do in order to complete the requirements of this phase properly. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

"Unh!"

"Just a bit more! You can do this!"

"UGHH!"

"A little more and you're done! Believe in yourself!"

Outside the shelter, there were two people in the corner trying to complete something that no one was able to do this whole time.

'Just a little more… I can make it this time… a bit more…' Lucas chanted in his mind as the voices of Jerry who was cheering like a gym homie trying to make Lucas do one more rep faded.

Lucas was in a bit of a difficult position. While his legs were in a split, his waist was moved 90 degrees. His whole backbone was moved in a way that would horrify someone out of wits.

Lucas was on the verge of snapping the bones in his back in the hope that he would complete the first technique of the body strengthening book.

They had been at it for a few days now as Lucas had made most of his skill level up to 5.

The task that seemed to be impossible some time ago was now on the verge of being completed.

Lucas kept his hold and it had been the case for 15 minutes now. He had to just do it for 5 more minutes in order to be successful with the first technique.

Lucas had failed many times to complete this process. There were around 10 techniques in the first phase of the strength increase technique book. Of those 10 techniques, Lucas was at the last one!

He had made a hold for 20 minutes in the other two and it was not as easy as it sounds. He had to complete all the techniques together, one after the other.

After completing the 9 techniques consecutively, he was in a dilemma.

None of the techniques were easy and if someone had not practiced before, it was easy to stop in only 20 minutes but after about 3 hours of stretching, Lucas was finally at the last one.

His back was paining and had gone numb at the same time, at first, he could feel the muscles getting stretched but it was now just a distant memory. After ignoring the pain for so long, the pain was now trying to ignore him.

The persistence could be seen on Lucas's face, his desperation to make progress this time around could be smelled from a mile.

He had stagnated in these techniques for a few days and had finally thought that it was either he would complete the first phase of the technique or just tear the book into pieces.

He was that frustrated and Jerry could feel that from Lucas's wild aura.

'What willpower…' Jerry, standing beside him, marveled at Lucas's sheer willpower. He had seen many attempt the first technique of the first phase of the book including him, but none had displayed the level of tenacity Lucas was demonstrating.

The way he was sitting looked so painful that Jerry had stopped looking at the position and his eyes only stayed on Luca's face.

As Lucas continued to endure the excruciatingly painful position, beads of sweat formed on his furrowed brow. His determination was unwavering, fueled by the burning desire to complete the first phase of the body-strengthening technique. Every second felt like an eternity, and the physical and mental strain was pushing him to his limits.

The shelter remained hushed, with everyone else focused on their tasks. They had witnessed Lucas's dedication and were silently rooting for him. The completion of this technique held significant importance, not just for Lucas but for the entire group. Success would mean leveling up their leader's strengths and unlocking new potential.

As the minutes dragged on, Lucas's face contorted with a mix of agony and determination. His breath could just taken in the wisps of air, far inferior than what he needed, and his muscles quivered with fatigue. Yet, he refused to give in to the pain. He had come too far to falter now.

Jerry, unable to look away from Lucas's face, saw something remarkable. It was the spark of realization. Lucas had found the key, the missing link that had failed him in the previous attempts. With this newfound insight, he knew he could endure the remaining minutes.

'In the previous try, he kept opening his eyes and asked for time every five seconds, it was too much to look at. But now, he has evolved his thinking, he hadn't opened his eyes for the whole time this time. Hot Damn…' Jerry felt a shiver down his spine, the realization came late but it was still there.

Just as Lucas felt his body reaching its breaking point, he summoned the last reserves of his strength. He dug deeper into his mental strength, focusing on his breath and the visualization of his goal. The pain was still there, but it no longer dominated his thoughts.

And then, finally, the timer marked the completion of those last, grueling five minutes. Lucas, drenched in sweat, released the tension in his body and let out a ragged breath. He had done it. The first technique was complete.

"Boy, you were lucky… you released your position at the very last second. But congratulations, you did it!!"

Jerry was too excited and was going to hug Lucas but then he smelt something, he looked at Lucas from head to toe in order to make sure just where was the smell coming from.

And there it was, a black dense liquid covering Lucas's arms and legs. His clothes were all blackish now even when the clothes were light color.

"The system *Huff* *Huff* sent me a message… it took me out of my concen*Huff*tration so I just stopped. Did I do it?"

"You completed the 20 minutes!"

"What?"

"You completed the 20 minutes!!" Jerry shouted even more while holding his nose which got unnoticed by Lucas.

He was in too much pain, his heartbeat was getting resounded in his head and his nose and ears were all blocked.

Lucas, though exhausted and covered in the strange black liquid, couldn't help but grin at Jerry's enthusiasm. He had succeeded in completing the first technique of the body strengthening book, a feat that had eluded him for days.

Jerry, still perplexed by the pungent odor emanating from Lucas, held his excitement for a moment. He took a step back and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You stink!!" Jerry exclaimed, waving his hand in front of his face as if to ward off the foul smell.

Lucas looked at himself, he couldn't smell the bad odor of the black liquid but he could still see it and it didn't look any good.

Lucas chuckled weakly, realizing that he must have pushed his body to its limits during the ordeal. The black liquid that now coated him seemed to be some sort of byproduct of the technique's completion.

It was the only explanation as it had never happened before and it happening after he completed his techniques made things even more clearer.

He wiped his brow with his forearm, smearing the substance even more.

"It's... it's not a pleasant smell, is it?" Lucas admitted with a sheepish grin.

Jerry nodded vigorously. "Not at all! But who cares about the smell when you just achieved something so great? You completed the first technique! That's a milestone, Lucas!"

Lucas nodded, his exhaustion slowly giving way to a sense of accomplishment. He knew that this was just the beginning, that there were still many more phases of techniques to master in the book, but he had taken a significant step forward in his training.

As Lucas began to rise from the painful position he had held for so long, he winced, feeling the stiffness and soreness in his muscles. It was as if every fiber of his being protested against the strain he had endured.

Jerry reached out a hand to help Lucas up, but he hesitated for a moment, remembering the black liquid that now coated his friend. "You might want to clean up first," Jerry suggested with a wry smile.

Lucas nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think a shower is definitely in order."

With that, Lucas slowly made his way to the shelter's makeshift shower area, where he could wash away the remnants of his grueling training session. Jerry watched him go, his admiration for his friend's determination growing stronger with each passing day.

Many saw Lucas go toward the bathing region, they wanted to go toward him but saw the black liquid fall off of his body in small dense drops slowly so they refrained thinking that he would still come back after getting bathed.

Lucas went to the back of the shelter where they had all made a big bathing area for use.

Lucas shifted the leather curtains that looked lavish and went toward the wooden shower, the new production that Daryl had made himself immersed in.