7 The Tests I

I halted at a door, located at a specific wing of my mansion, turned the knob, pushed it open, and stepped into a room. Before me sprawled a spacious, meticulously designed gym.

The room had smooth, dark brown laminate walls, dark brown hardwood flooring, a high ceiling that housed a light fixture at its center, and expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that showed the swimming pool area of my mansion and allowed natural light to filter into the room.

The gym had an open layout with designated areas for different workouts, equipped with top-of-the-line fitness equipment from leading brands.

These included equipment ranging from cardio machines such as treadmills and elliptical trainers to strength training equipment such as weight and cable machines, dumbbells, bench presses, kettlebells, etc.

There was a customized wardrobe stationed on the left side of the door, and plush black floor mats were spread on the floor in a designated portion of the room.

Additionally, there was a refreshment station stocked with drinks at the far end of the room.

I was here to test out and accurately determine how much change had occurred in my body's physical parameters.

I had to know the amount or degree of enhancement I would receive after each drain, so that, if possible, I could map out or predict the progression of my power or physical attributes.

It was a very important test for what I had planned for the future. It and the final test I'd do before this auspicious day ended.

Removing my black turtleneck sweater and black jeans trousers, I folded them neatly and placed them inside one of the cabinets of the wardrobe.

Then I wore my standard workout gear, which consisted of a comfortable and fitting black tank top, black compression shorts, and a pair of white sneakers.

Dressed for the occasion, I stepped to the bench press in the strength training area, and loaded up the barbell with a couple of five-kilogram weight plates until I got the weight I needed.

I laid my back on the flat dark gray surface of the seat, grabbed the barbell with two hands, adjusted my body to the right posture, debeached the barbell to my chest, and with a sharp breath, raised it above my head.

My eyes widened slightly as I noticed I was holding it up in the air with little to no effort. It was light, so light that it felt as if I wasn't holding up anything.

This was a one hundred and twenty-kilogram barbell. It was one point five times my body weight and the maximum weight I could carry with extreme effort on my part.

But now, it was as light as a feather. I felt like I could even carry it up with a single hand and I still wouldn't feel any strain. My lifting strength had definitely increased, by no small amount if I might add.

If it was this easy for me to raise one point five times my weight, then how much could I raise? What was my peak level now? What was my limit?

"Hmm, I'll find out soon enough," I muttered with an excited smile plastered on my face as I lowered the barbell onto the holder with one hand, getting down from the seat.

I moved to the digital weight stack machine, set its initial weight at one hundred and twenty kilograms, and set it so that the weight applied would increase at intervals of five kilograms at a time.

Then, eagerly, I positioned myself on the machine, held onto the grips, and started pulling the weight stacks against the resistance provided by the machines cables.

As expected, I easily managed the initial weight. Slowly, the weight applied on my body increased.

It began from the initial one twenty kilos, to one twenty-five, one thirty, one thirty-five, etc., progressing steadily. Even as the weight reached one hundred and fifty kilograms, I didn't feel any strain.

But the moment it got to one hundred and fifty-five, my body responded, and I could feel my muscles straining and a feeling of discomfort arose.

When it got to one hundred and sixty kilograms, my forearms bulged as I had no choice but to use all my strength to pull the cable, causing pain and aches in my muscles as they strained to their maximum.

I clenched and gritted my teeth in pain as I forced myself to pull the stacks with all my might for as long as I could, my muscles tensed to their extremes.

The moment the weight increased to one hundred and seventy kilograms, my strength and body gave out, and I immediately released the grips.

"...So that's it then. My limit," I said through panted breaths, my body bent so that my hands were placed on my thighs, my arms tired and sore. "One hundred and sixty kilograms. Not bad," I grinned and laughed happily.

From one hundred and twenty to one hundred and sixty kilograms in just a couple of hours was unbelievable. It meant I had an approximate thirty-three percent increase in strength.

I had gotten a thirty-three percent increase in strength by just absorbing like a quarter of Elaine's bioenergy? What would have happened if I absorbed half? Or even everything?

I knew I'd have an impressive enhancement in my physical prowess but this was insane. My father's description in his diary was a serious understatement.

He probably downplayed the effects so that I'd find out about it myself. This was just incredible.

The question now was, if the percentage applied to all my physical parameters or if it only applied to my strength with the other parameters having varying levels of increase?

Smiling and brimming with excitement to answer my own question, I relaxed for a few seconds to catch my breath and moved to the treadmill.

I began by warming up first, walking and jogging on the moving surface as I set the machine to a slow speed.

After a few minutes, my body now prepared for the test, I increased the speed to ten miles per hour, programming it to increase at intervals of zero point five miles per minute, as I started running.

The thumps of my feet echoed loudly all over the place as my body and legs moved with the accelerating platform. I was running easily on the platform as the speed increased by the minute, moving from the initial ten miles all the way to twelve.

At twelve point five miles per hour, it was getting hard to catch up to the speed of the machine and the moment it reached thirteen miles per hour, it took everything I had to run at that speed.

The moment it reached thirteen point five, my pace began to falter and I was beginning to slip. I stopped the machine before it could increase to fourteen.

Panting, little sweat snaking down my body, I got down from the machine and leaned on it, with a broader smile on my face.

From an initial maximum of ten miles per hour to a new maximum of thirteen miles per hour was another thirty-three percent increase. This time in speed.

This result showed that there was a high chance of it being an overall or general increase. I had to be one hundred percent certain that this was the case so after doing a couple of light stretches, I moved to the other sections of the gym for additional tests.

I underwent a couple of agility, endurance, and cardiovascular tests, using equipment like an agility ladder, a stationary bicycle, and an elliptical trainer, etc.

And after a considerable amount of time, stopped when I was absolutely sure.

It was a general or overall increase. All the physical parameters that could be measured in the room had increased by thirty-three percent.

I was now thirty percent better than I was a couple of hours or even a day ago. It was amazing but I had to remind myself that this was just the beginning.

I'd seen my dad crush a large boulder into pieces with his bare hands before and even pick up

large trucks like trailers easily. He wasn't even trying.

With time, I'd reach his level and easily surpass him. This was just the beginning. My beginning.

Wiping my face, hair, and neck that were wet with sweat using a fresh white towel, my clothes similarly soaked and reeking of sweat and my body sore, I approached the intercom system embedded in the wall near the refreshment station and pressed the button on it.

"Mr. Walter, kindly send a driver to my mansion in ten minutes." The intercom buzzed and I calmly spoke into it.

"Okay, Sir," An aged but lively masculine voice sounded from the system. "The chauffeur will be there shortly."

"Thank you," I said and released the button, stepping toward the shower unit that was just after the wardrobe, glancing through the windows to admire the sun gradually setting gracefully beneath the horizon.

It was getting dark. The perfect time for the final test. Hopefully, I wouldn't be disappointed.