Chapter 47: No.47: New Bet {2}
Jogging at a stable pace on the treadmill, Bruce had worked up a bit of sweat as he continued jogging, enabling his body to adapt to his new weight.
Attached to his tracksuit were about ten strap-like parchments, which aided in altering his overall body weight, ensuring he was able to perform tasks at full capacity without needing to carry multiple weights to achieve a similar effect.
The straps attached to his tracksuit provided a cumulative effect of about 1024x his initial weight.
Though the overall weight was absurd, to say the least, Bruce was left with no other choice as he no longer weighed like he used to.
Meaning, his doubled weight was now far less than before.
Not to mention, his increased Stats didn’t help alleviate the situation either, as it was now extremely difficult for him to get tired, much less exhausted, from ordinary exercises. As such, he found himself having to use about 10 strap-like parchments to finally feel a bit challenged as he exercised.
What had surprised him, though, was the treadmill, which was actually able to withstand his tremendous weight despite it having surpassed what a normal human weighed individually. This further made him aware of just how advanced the equipment here was, as it was most likely designed to withstand such things.
Having worked up a bit of sweat, Bruce stepped off the treadmill after turning it off.
Using the face towel placed on the handle of the equipment, he wiped off the bit of sweat he’d accumulated.
Despite having worked out for a while now, as well as with the extra strap-like parchments, he was only slightly out of breath. Yet, he still felt like he could go on for a few more hours, and he wasn’t even the least bit tired.
’I guess having high Endurance coupled with high Stamina doesn’t really help the situation either.’
Realizing these most likely had a hand in his inability to feel exhausted in time, while also enabling him to recover much faster than humanly possible, Bruce sighed at his current predicament.
’This must be what it feels like to be suffering from success!’
Thinking this, he instinctively caught something thrown in his direction upon hearing a voice.
"Catch!"
Glancing at the flask of water he’d just caught, he shifted his attention to the beautiful figure that had passed it to him as he simply replied,
"Thanks."
Having watched as he worked out, instructing him on his form and the best ways to perform each exercise, Naomi looked on as he drank the water she’d given him.
Slight sweat still trickled down his neck to his chest region, as he wasn’t able to dry it all at once with the towel.
Still watching as he kept drinking from the flask, her eyes lingered on his ripped abs longer than intended, as the tracksuit didn’t hide his form, especially now that he was sweating a bit, making it stick to his body even more.
Managing to pry her eyes from his figure before she was caught staring for too long, Naomi shifted her attention elsewhere, suddenly taking an interest in the tiles of the gym as though it was her first time gazing upon such craftsmanship.
Unaware of this, Bruce glanced at Naomi as well, a sudden thought appearing in his mind as he wondered to himself.
’Now that I think about it, I was never really able to check out Naomi’s Profile from the System.’
Having been preoccupied with the previous Main Task, as well as sensing and harnessing Mana recently, he’d never found the right moment to check out her Profile.
’More like it skipped my mind, actually.’
Realizing this, Bruce made a subconscious command, resulting in a screen appearing before him.
....
[Bonded Target’s Profile]
{Name: Naomi White}
{Age: 28}
{Affinity Level: 55}
{Beauty Rating: ★★★★4.6}
{Likes: Working Out, Quality Booze, Driven Individuals, Flexing Muscles in front of a mirror, Smacking Bruce’s Ass, ...}
{Dislikes: Procrastinating, Spoilt brats, Missing leg day, Lazy people with weak will, Recalling certain past events, ...}
...
[The higher a Bonded Target’s Affinity Level towards Host, the more information on the Target becomes available]
Reading through the information displayed on the screen, Bruce nearly choked on the water he was drinking upon reaching her ’Likes’, as stated by the System.
’The heck!? The hell does it mean by smacking my ass? The worst she’s ever done was kick it. Even then, it’s not normal to feel pleasure from hitting a man’s butt... Is it?’
Doubting the logic behind her likes, Bruce coughed a bit as he struggled to compose himself after reading the notification.
"You alright?"
Glancing at Naomi upon hearing her teasing, yet slightly worried enquiry, he simply gave her a thumbs-up as his nerves finally settled down a bit.
’She truly is one frightening lady.’
Failing to see how someone like her would possibly find joy in something like that, Bruce instinctively shielded his butt with his hands, now fearing she’d hit it at the slightest opportunity.
Shifting his mind from that train of thought, Bruce decided to focus on a more pressing matter as he decided to inform Naomi as well of his plans regarding his approach to completing the Main Task.
’Best make this as foolproof as possible.’
Thinking this, he gazed back at Naomi before placing the bottle on a piece of equipment nearby.
"There’s something I need to tell you, and I think it’s best you sit before I do."
Surprised upon hearing this, Naomi paused for a bit before walking towards the workout bench situated towards the centre of his huge private quarters.
Following her, Bruce took a small, rolling stool along as he followed, a short distance from her.
The spot was a bit more spacious, as there wasn’t much equipment there other than the bench and a few other pieces of equipment around them.
Noticing she’d sat on the bench, Bruce placed the small stool behind him before sitting as well.
Hesitating a bit, Bruce seemed to consider his thoughts before finally voicing his intent.
"I plan on registering as a Hunter in the Hunter’s Association Inc. tomorrow, and venturing out of the barrier to earn more and rank up in the process."
Surprised upon hearing this, Naomi paused for a bit.
Thinking deeply for a while, a stern expression appeared on her face before she enquired,
"Are you sure you want to do that? You’re aware of the dangers that venturing outside of the City barriers entails, right?"
Continuing after seeing him nod in response, her frown deepened as she added,
"There’s more to worry about outside than just the Mutants and the Ghouls. You’ll also have to be wary of the environment itself, as the Mana is much more potent outside, and you’ll be on a strict timer before the oxygen runs out, even with a high-tech suit."
"Though I’ll admit that you’re without a doubt extremely talented, I still don’t believe that you’re ready to face what lies beyond the barriers just yet."
Understanding Bruce’s intent, as most youngsters tend to get ahead of themselves after attaining a bit of strength, they’d begin thinking they were invincible and could deal with anything that came their way.
This was especially true for young prodigies like Bruce, as most were already far above their peers with minimal effort and would, in turn, seek out things more challenging.
Which, more often than not, resulted in them dying as a result.
"With that said, based on what I’ve seen so far, I doubt you’ll be able to stop even if I advised you against going outside. Isn’t that right?"
Glancing at him, she sighed slightly upon seeing the smile on his face, as she’d read him like a book.
"Why don’t we try something else, then."
Shifting forward on her seat, she locked her fingers with one another before resting her head on them.
"Since you’re so confident in your chances, then prove to me that you’re truly capable of at least protecting yourself out there."
"All you have to do is just one simple thing."
Raising an eyebrow upon hearing this, Bruce enquired,
"Oh, and what might that be?"
Smirking at the question, Naomi casually replied,
"Nothing much. All you simply have to do is..." Pausing as her smirk widened, she added.
"Defeat me!"