When Martin stirred from his slumber at six in the morning, he fully expected to feel some sort of fatigue—whether from the intensity of the wish he had made or the physical and mental strain that typically followed such radical changes.
But to his surprise, he felt nothing of the sort.
In fact, he felt more than fine. His body was brimming with an unfamiliar sense of vitality, a kind of energy that coursed through every fiber of his being.
Sitting up, Martin felt a strange tingling sensation along his skin. His senses were sharper—heightened in a way that reminded him of the stories of Peter Parker after the spider bite.
It was as though the entire world had shifted, and everything within it had become clearer, louder, more vibrant.
His hearing, for example, seemed impossibly acute. He could pick up the faint rustling of leaves outside the villa, the subtle hum of the fridge from across the house.
It was as if the walls, thick and soundproof as they were, had become mere illusions. If he focused, he felt as though he could hear every sound within the villa, no matter how minute.
Then, his vision caught his attention. The room around him appeared crisp, the edges of objects sharper than he had ever seen them before. He shifted his gaze to a wall several meters away, where a plaque hung.
From his position on the couch, Martin could read the tiny lettering on the plaque with ease—something that would have been impossible for him the day before.
His focus had increased so much that it felt as though his eyes had undergone some kind of supernatural enhancement, sharpening to the point of near-perfection.
His sense of touch, too, had amplified. The soft fabric of the couch felt richer, more textured beneath his fingertips, every thread and fiber standing out in stark detail.
Even the air itself seemed denser against his skin, as if his nerves had become more sensitive, more attuned to the world around him.
It was exhilarating. And yet, Martin knew that these sensations, no matter how powerful they felt, could very well be illusions—mere tricks played on his mind by the system's wish. He needed to be sure.
He needed proof that these changes were real, that his body had truly evolved in the way he had wished for.
"Let's see if this is just in my head," Martin muttered to himself as he rose from the couch, already feeling the spring in his step that wasn't there before.
Determined, Martin headed back to the gym, where all the equipment and tools necessary for a full-body evaluation awaited him. It was time to put his body to the test—to see just how much he had changed.
---
In the gym, Martin began as he always had—with light force exertion. He approached the weight bench, opting for an easy start. He lifted the smallest weights, ones he typically used to warm up his muscles.
Yet, when he grabbed the dumbbells, it felt almost comical. The weights, which should have offered some resistance, felt feather-light in his hands, as though they were filled with air.
He curled them effortlessly, barely even registering the motion.
Setting them aside, he moved up to the medium range—a set of weights that had once provided him with a decent challenge during regular workouts. He lifted the heavier dumbbells, fully expecting them to give him some resistance.
But again, they felt too easy. With each repetition, he felt like his muscles weren't even breaking a sweat.
Martin frowned, realizing he had yet to scratch the surface of his new potential.
His wish had clearly done more than just grant him a slight increase in strength—it had transformed him in ways he hadn't fully comprehended yet.
With newfound determination, Martin loaded the bench press bar with an amount of weight that would normally be considered extreme for someone of his size—weights typically reserved for professional bodybuilders.
He laid down on the bench, gripping the bar tightly before lifting it off the rack.
This time, there was some resistance—but it was manageable. Too manageable, in fact.
As Martin pressed the bar up, his muscles barely strained, and he completed the reps with surprising ease. His full-force exertion was producing results that were far beyond anything he could have dreamed of before.
Breathing heavily, but not from fatigue—more from exhilaration—Martin dropped the weights back onto the rack and sat up.
His entire body felt invigorated, as though the physical activity had only fueled the energy coursing through him.
His mind, too, felt clearer, sharper, as if the strain of working out had unlocked new levels of focus.
He continued with a series of resistance exercises, testing his flexibility and endurance.
Each time, the results were the same—his body responded to every movement with fluid precision and power.
His muscle control had improved dramatically, allowing him to regulate his strength and avoid overexerting himself.
Even in the final tests, where he pushed his body to its absolute limits, he felt in complete control of his abilities.
By the time Martin finished, he was shirtless and drenched in sweat, his muscles glistening under the gym's bright lights.
His body hummed with energy, and though he had pushed himself harder than ever, there was no sense of true fatigue.
It was as if his body had become a well-oiled machine, operating at peak efficiency with no sign of slowing down.
He stood in front of the mirror, studying his reflection. His muscles were more defined, his frame lean but undeniably powerful.
He had the body of an elite athlete, perhaps even beyond that. But what excited him most was the knowledge that this was only the beginning.
His experiment had confirmed it—his wish had worked. The silver token had granted him exactly what he had asked for: the limits of optimal evolution.
And now, Martin knew that he had not just enhanced his physical capabilities—he had transcended them.
Martin's body was still humming with the rush of his enhanced senses when the sudden ringing of his phone snapped him back to reality. The sharp sound jarred him, and for a brief moment, he realized just how intensely focused he had been.
It was as if the entire world had been laid bare before him, every detail heightened to near-perfection, but there was something else—something he hadn't noticed in the euphoria of his newfound power.
As the phone continued to ring, Martin's mind caught on to a subtle feeling that had been lurking beneath the surface. While his senses were sharper than ever, there was a faint but unmistakable sense of exhaustion creeping into his mind.
It was subtle, almost imperceptible at first, but now that his focus had been broken, he could feel it—a slow drain of energy, like a small leak in a dam.
He realized that this heightened state wasn't entirely passive. It required some kind of energy—something inside him that was being slowly consumed to maintain the peak of his sensory abilities.
When his focus was fully engaged, the drain was faster, more intense, but even when he relaxed, the sensation didn't fully disappear. The exhaustion was there, faint but present.
With a furrowed brow, Martin let the phone continue to ring as he considered this new discovery. He would need to study this phenomenon more deeply.
Was it a natural consequence of his enhanced abilities, or was it a side effect of the silver token's wish? If there was a cost to keeping his body and senses at this level, he had to figure out what it was and how to manage it.
Before he could dwell too long on it, the phone's persistent ringing finally got the better of him. With a sigh, he grabbed it off the table and glanced at the screen. It was Lucia.
"Great," Martin muttered under his breath, knowing full well that whatever she wanted, it would probably pull him away from the quiet peace of the villa and back into the hectic demands of their budding business.
He swiped to answer the call. "Yeah?"
"Martin!" Lucia's voice came through, energetic and direct. "I've been trying to reach you all morning."
"I was busy," Martin replied, trying not to sound too annoyed.
"Well, that's about to change," Lucia shot back. "I need you to come to Horizon. We've got some interviews lined up for the law and accounting teams, and I want you there to meet the candidates."
Martin suppressed a groan. The last thing he wanted to do right now was sit through a string of interviews. He had so much on his mind—his new powers, the mysterious energy drain, and the endless possibilities of the silver token.
The thought of dealing with legal and financial personnel wasn't exactly thrilling.
"Lucia, I—"
"Don't even start," Lucia interrupted, her tone playful but firm. "You're the Chairman of this company, and we need to be on the same page from the get-go. You can't just skip out on these things. Besides, it'll be over before you know it. Then you can go back to your secret training or whatever it is you've been up to."
Martin ran a hand through his damp hair, debating whether to push back or just give in. She wasn't wrong, after all. This was part of the responsibility he had agreed to, but still, the timing couldn't have been worse.