Axel woke up before his alarm again.
This time, his body didn't scream immediately.
That alone unsettled him.
He lay still for a few seconds, testing himself—wiggling his fingers, rolling his shoulders, flexing his calves.
Pain was there.
But it was… distant.
Muted.
"…That's new," he murmured.
The blue screen appeared instantly, sharper than usual.
[Physical Adaptation Confirmed.]
[Neural reinforcement stabilizing.]
[Host readiness: Partial.]
Axel frowned. "Partial?"
The screen shifted.
[Recommendation: Initiate physical conditioning phase.]
His pulse quickened.
"…You're finally going to tell me how to train?"
A brief pause.
Then the screen expanded, lines forming rapidly.
[System-Recommended Conditioning Program]
[Objective: Reinforce musculature, tendons, and skeletal load tolerance.]
[Method: Bodyweight + Mana-Resistance Training.]
Axel swallowed.
Bodyweight.
That sounded harmless.
The next line erased that illusion immediately.
[Warning: Program exceeds standard human thresholds.]
"…Of course it does."
He slipped out of the dorm quietly and made his way to the auxiliary training zone—a small, mostly ignored area used for warmups and stretching. No instructors. No cameras he could see.
The compliance seal stayed dormant.
Good.
Axel stood alone on the reinforced floor.
"Alright," he whispered. "Show me."
The system responded.
[Exercise 1: Mana-Weighted Squats.]
[Repetitions: Until failure.]
Invisible pressure wrapped around his legs instantly.
Axel gasped as his knees buckled slightly.
"—That's cheating."
The pressure wasn't crushing.
It was selective.
Focused entirely on his lower body.
He forced himself into a squat.
His thighs ignited.
One.
He stood.
Two.
By the fifth rep, his legs shook violently. By the tenth, sweat dripped off his chin, hitting the floor in steady drops.
His breath grew ragged.
This is just squats. Why does it feel like I'm being buried alive—
[Posture correction applied.]
His hips adjusted involuntarily.
The next rep burned even worse.
Axel let out a strangled laugh. "You're not even letting me cheat."
He pushed.
Sixteen.
Seventeen.
On twenty, his legs finally gave out and he collapsed forward, catching himself on his hands.
The screen flashed.
[Muscle Fiber Stress: Optimal.]
Axel lay there panting, legs twitching uncontrollably.
"Optimal my ass…"
The system didn't care.
[Exercise 2: Isometric Push-Up Hold.]
[Duration: Maximum.]
Axel groaned but pushed himself up anyway.
The moment he locked his arms—
Pressure slammed into his chest and shoulders.
His arms shook violently, veins bulging as his triceps screamed in protest.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
His vision blurred.
His arms started to bend.
"No—" Axel growled, teeth clenched. "Not yet."
His body trembled, every muscle firing at once.
Thirty-two seconds.
His arms collapsed.
He hit the floor hard.
[Upper body load tolerance: Increased.]
Axel rolled onto his back, chest heaving, staring at the ceiling.
"This… isn't training," he panted. "This is execution."
The system responded calmly.
[Correction: This is survival optimization.]
Axel laughed weakly.
"Figures."
The routine didn't stop.
Planks under localized gravity.
Wall sits that felt endless.
Slow, controlled movements designed to tear his body down completely.
By the end, Axel lay flat on the floor, completely empty.
No strength left.
No anger left.
Just breath.
The screen appeared one final time.
[Conditioning Session Complete.]
[Musculoskeletal resilience: Slightly Improved.]
[Recommendation: Repeat daily.]
Axel closed his eyes.
"…Daily," he whispered.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
But somewhere beneath the exhaustion—
He felt it.
Not power.
Not yet.
But solidity.
Like his body was finally beginning to listen.
As he dragged himself back toward the dorm, unnoticed by anyone else, one thought echoed clearly in his mind:
If my body can keep up…
Then one day, my power will have no choice but to follow.