18 Chapter 16: Physical Prowess
Satisfied the warm-up was a joke, Asher practically skipped over to the bench press.
"Nexus," he ordered, "Increase the weight steadily until I say stop."
[Acknowledged, Master]
Asher lifted the weight with the effort of a man picking up a feather, leaving him feeling distinctly underwhelmed.
A digital display showing the weight increasing incrementally appeared on the top of his head.
[5kg…10kg…25kg...80kg]
The weight finally started to challenge him around the 80kg mark. A tiny bead of sweat trickled down his temple.
Asher felt a little burn in his arm but not quite the challenge he was hoping for.
[…112 kg…146 kg… 172 kg… ]
He kept at it.
The weights gradually increased, like a terrified mouse being inflated with a bicycle pump. The size didn't alter but the weight did.
He pushed himself, grunting with each rep, but it was clear he wasn't anywhere near his actual limit.
[192…193…194…195…196…197…198…]
Finally, he reached his breaking point, or at least what he pretended to be his breaking point.
"Stop!" he commanded, his voice heavy with exertion. The weight instantly vanished, dissolving into pixels.
Asher sat up, wiping the non-existing sweat from his brow.
"There, that's a little more like it," he muttered. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointment.
'Still, for a body with such high stats, I expected a little better performance.' Shaking off his thoughts.
He stood and walked towards a designated track, ready to test his agility and speed.
"Alpha, Start the countdown from 3 to 0." He commanded.
[Yes]
[3…2…1…0… begin the run]
The AI complied, its digital voice flat and emotionless as it counted down.
Asher didn't bother wasting energy with a starting stance. The moment the final zero echoed, he was gone, leaving a gust of wind.
He crossed the finish line in less than 4 seconds, a small but self-satisfied smile playing on his lips.
"Show time" he asked, dusting off his hands.
[50-yard dash: 4.231 seconds]
"Not bad, not shabby," he muttered, a grin playing on his lips.
He wasn't quite breaking the sound barrier, but it was a decent start for a newbie, even one as genetically gifted as himself.
He pushed himself to his feet and walked towards the edge of the training area.
"Calculate the distance," Without hesitation, he launched himself into the air, a display of physical prowess bordering on the inhuman.
He soared through the air for a terrifyingly beautiful moment, before landing with a thud.
[Broad Jump: 15.6 feet (4.75 Metres)]
"Good enough for such a display," he muttered, his voice filled with satisfaction.
"But let's level it up even more." His eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Start the second stage. Two." As the word left his mouth.
A hail of high-speed balls materialised, and one of them quickly hurled toward him, it was like a projectile.
Yet before it could hit Asher, he lightly moved his head, dodging with ease.
And next, another came, and more and more, a few hit his body.
Finally, after a minute of dodging and weaving, the onslaught ceased. Asher stood back, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Report," he demanded, adopting a pose reminiscent of a Roman emperor.
[Calculating…]
[Reaction Time: 0.18 seconds]
'0.18?! That's... impressive! But there's room for improvement,' A flicker of disappointment flickered in Asher's eyes as the data materialised.
'As expected, I'm not used to this body for such high-level manure and the sudden increase in the stats,' Asher wasn't even pushing the body to the limit yet. Can't expect to be a master swordsman overnight, even with reflexes like these.
He noticed some of the balls hit him even with his incredible reflexes, leaving him with the realization that there was a gap between his raw stats and his mastery over them.
Running his hand through his hair, a flicker of excitement in his amethyst eyes.
His stats were like diamonds in the rough, waiting to be polished to their brilliance.
While impressive, this was just the starting point, using these stats to their potential is a matter of time.
"Let's end this, check the punching power and kicking," he muttered, his voice full of amusement.
A leathered pillow-like thing appeared before him.
[Please punch/kick with both of your legs and hands three times for the acute measures.]
The AI reminded him.
"Hmm~" Asher ignored it.
Standing with his feet shoulder-width apart, one foot slightly forward, his right arm mostly straight with a slight bend at the elbow.
Asher inahed deeply, while making a tight fist with all of his fingers curled around the thumb.
Taking a breather to relax his body, he released the breath. And another deep breath.
And then, Asher moved.
Breathing out forcefully Asher quickly throw the punch.
But he simply didn't just throw his arm straight out. Like whipping his fist forward in a straight line, he rotated his hips and torso towards the target.
His body moved from shoulder and following through with his entire body.
The first right punch connected with a loud and sickening thud, the leather bulging inwards momentarily before snapping back with a resounding loud…
Baaaaaam…
[BEEEEEEP]
The AI responded with a high-pitched beep, analyzing the impact.
Baaaam
[BEEEEEEP]
Asher followed with another bone-jarring "Bam!" and finally a third, each one accompanied by the shrills AI's confirmation.
The process repeated for his other hands and legs, each kick and punch showed a brutal display of raw power Asher possessed.
The dummy absorbed the blows with a series of sickening thuds, and the AI kept recording the results.
As the final kick landed, the room fell silent.
BAAAM
[BEEEEEEP]
Baaaaam
[BEEEEEEP]
[Calculating…]
The data displayed in front of him:
[Average for Right Hand: 481+ lbs (220+ kg)]
[Average for left Hand: 478+ lbs (213+ kg)]
[Average for Right Leg: 798+ lbs (361+ kg)]
[Average for Left leg: 812+ lbs (368+ kg)]
Asher smirked. The numbers were impressive, undeniable proof of his physical prowess.
But in comparison to the true monstrosities he was destined to face, they were but a drop in the ocean.
"Bring out a humanoid hologram with normal human physiology, no enhancements," he muttered.
"Now, let's try this," As he said, Humanoid structures formed without any Facial structure, or gender.
[You can do anything you want to master.
♪～(´ε ｀)]
Asher didn't pay any attention to it, Now he wants to try out his Anima.
He closed his eyes. A familiar sensation, a tingling almost like a thousand insects excitedly crawling beneath his skin, rose within him.
Following his will, the sensation intensified, crawling up his arms, concentrating in his hands.
He opened his eyes to find a dark, oozing mass writhing on his hands.
It pulsed with a life of its own, slowly solidifying into a pair of exquisitely crafted, yet undeniably deadly gloves.
Asher looks more closely at the gloves. Running his fingers along the obsidian surface, he felt the soft texture of the gloves. Yet, a feeling came, as it could be hardened as much as he wanted.
Next, long, razor-sharp claws extended from each fingertip, their obsidian gloss reflecting the light.
Asher raised an eyebrow, an amusement flickering in his eyes.
It wasn't just gloves.
He felt the extension of his own skin, muscles, bones, and fingernails getting elongated and morphed and mixed with these gloves.
It wasn't just Artifex but, showing the property of 'Bestia'.
But he was pleased.
"Hope you won't disappoint," he whispered, A chuckle escaped his lips.
Slowly taking steps towards the humanoid structure, which didn't move from its place and remained motionless.
Asher flexed different ways to move his fingers and palm.
All the movements felt completely natural, to the point, that moving his hands around with, or without his Anima, was normal.
Reaching out to the structure, he didn't directly slash with his claw, with a chilling calmness.
He extended one clawed finger and gently, almost caressingly, pressed it against the blank white surface.
The synthetic flesh offered no resistance.
The razor-sharp tip pierced it effortlessly, sinking deep into the unnaturally realistic body of the hologram.
A crimson bloom erupted where the nail had entered, and spread across its white surface.
A grin naturally formed on Asher's lips.
In a swift, he tore through the flesh of the humanoid with little to no resistance, the blood erupting in a crimson fountain.
He watched it fall, with a small interest, as if observing a fascinating work of art.
'But, something feels off.' By instinct, he felt that the doll was just a doll, no matter how much realism they added.
"Restore it." He commanded.
[Yes, Master.]
The AI complied instantly, the human form reconstituting itself as if nothing had happened.
The blood vanished, leaving behind a clean surface.
Asher didn't waste time.
Without waiting. He slashes in quick action, his claws ripping through the humanoid once more.
This time, like butter it tore through, carving five deep wounds into its body, each one revealing its inner workings of humanoid…
He tested further, experimenting with different techniques, and everything was satisfying.
Surprisingly he found with his Anima, his physical capabilities got a little more boost.
"I'm tired," he muttered, but it was a lie. A complete lue. He wasn't tired, but he was… bored.
The blood wasn't real, the humanoid lacked any motive besides serving as a meat bag to try out different techniques and weapons.
Asher didn't feel thrilled or motivated to continue on a lifeless dole.
"Let's end this session now. Also remove everything that has been recorded here."
[Yes, Master, but for reminders the cloud file will reach the owner Scarlett.]
How can he not know Scarlett won't see it? But does it matter?
"Doesn't matter," he said curtly, his voice laced with a hint of annoyance. "Just don't let anyone else see it." With that, he walked out of the training facility, stepping back into the white hallway.
He paused for a moment.
'Oh Yeah! She is also...'
