With great effort, he spoke, "What are those?"
"Drugs!" Dan said.
Axel was shocked, and his eyes widened in bewilderment. When did his best friend become a drug addict? And why would he want Axel to become one as well? However, a moment later, Dan's serious expression burst into laughter as his eyes turned into crescent moons.
"Bahaha, Axel, you should have seen the look on your face. Hahaha, you were in so much shock that your eyes popped out like a cartoon character."
It took a moment for Axel to recover, but he inwardly sighed. This fat idiot, was this the type of joke you play on your best friend? Then again, this was actually exactly the type to be played on close friends; completely harmless and yet hilarious.
"Haha, don't worry about it. These are supplements. This one is for protein, this for carbohydrates, and this one is a muscle stimulant that will help you recover faster."
"Ho, since when did you become a genius in supplements?" Axel questioned before swallowing the tablets.
Dan did not respond and instead took some supplements for himself, before sitting down on the bench next to Axel.
…
20 minutes later, Axel was finally able to stand up. However, as soon as he stood up, Dan dragged him and threw him into one of the showering cubicles, while he himself entered into another cubicle. [1]
The mildly hot shower loosened Axel's tensed muscles and he let out a breath of relief as his body seemed to return to peak condition.
Looking at the time, it was already 6:20, and if he wanted to reach home before the servers came online, he would need to leave as soon as possible.
"Let's go back Dan." He said as he put on his clothes. Dan, who was next to him and had also put on his clothes simply nodded and walked out, only to encounter someone.
A beautiful lady with an incredible figure. Long white hair and silver pupils. As Axel noticed her, he just stopped moving, frozen in shock. His lips trembled as he faintly mumbled the words to himself,
"Susan…"
However, no one heard him, since no sound came out of his mouth. He just mouthed the name with his lips unconsciously, before shaking his head and pulling Dan away, who was equally shocked at the peerless beauty in front of him.
Axel however, was shocked for a completely different reason.
Susan was a person he had met in Evolution Online, and they had formed a friendship. However, she only ever told him her real name was Susan, nothing more. Over time, they had slowly formed something more than friendship, to the point that she personally came over to visit him many times in real life, despite his current financial and family issues.
They had only met each other a few times in the real world when Lily had become ill. It was then that he was facing a financial and medical crisis. Suddenly, out of the blue, he had received quite a bit of money anonymously, which had helped him resolve that matter. Susan had even come for his mother's and Lily's funeral, and it was during the later event in his life that she slipped up the fact that the money had been sent by her.
However, due to the fact that Lily had already died, Axel's heart had long since become cold, and he closed everyone off, including Susan. After trying for a whole month, Susan finally gave up on trying to contact Axel, knowing that he needed some time to himself.
In the years that followed, Axel had devoted himself to Evolution Online, and completely ignored the attempts of Susan to meet him.
However, he still could not forget what she had done for him. Even though it was only temporary, that money she had given him had allowed Lily to live for a few years longer, which were some of the happiest moments in Axel's life.
Back then, he was. Blinded by grief, unable, and unwilling to accept Susan's feelings and emotions. However, this time around, would not be the same. He would not be in a perilous situation ever again, and he would definitely repay this debt he had carried from his past life.
Just as the doors to the lift opened, Axel and Dan encountered Ye Moe once more.
This time, however, Axel had already calmed his heart and steeled his will, as he walked in front of Dan, gave a slight bow to Ye Moe, who was just entering the gym, and once again dragged Dan into the lift.
"Hehe, see! I told you, no one would dare to harbour any ill intentions towards the great me!" Ye Moe exclaimed aloud as the lift closed.
"Of course, young master." The sly looking bodyguard said.
[1] No Gae