The night dragged on as the matches grew more brutal. The Night Owls were up next, and Martin leaned forward slightly, curious to see how they fared. Their fighter was young, aggressive, and full of energy. But there was a recklessness to his approach. He fought like he had something to prove, and while his strikes were powerful, they were also wild and unfocused.
Eventually, he won, but just barely. Martin frowned. The Night Owls were ambitious, but they lacked discipline. That could be a liability.
As the final match concluded, Martin leaned back in his seat, lost in thought. There was potential here—no doubt about it. But potential wasn't enough. To truly rule the underground, Martin needed more than brute strength. He needed unorthodox methods.
He glanced at the Mystery Agent beside him. She had been watching him just as much as the fights, her expression unreadable. "What do you think?" she asked finally.
Martin shrugged, keeping his thoughts to himself for now. "They're not bad. But if I'm going to work with anyone, I need to be sure they're worth the investment. We'll see how things play out."
The Mystery Agent smiled slightly, though there was something knowing in her eyes. "Of course. Just remember, in this world, strength alone won't get you far. It's about how you use it."
Martin's gaze returned to the arena below, watching as the bloodied fighters were dragged out of the cage.
Strength alone wasn't enough—but with the system, he had the potential to create something more. Something better.
Martin leaned back in his seat, watching the final fight of the night. His eyes were drawn to the Night Owls' latest fighter, a wiry young man who seemed full of raw energy but lacked the discipline and experience to make that energy count.
Every strike was powerful, every movement forceful, but there was no refinement—no calculation behind the flurry of punches.
Despite that, Martin couldn't help but feel drawn to the Night Owls. They were inexperienced, yes, but their lack of baggage made them a clean slate.
Unlike the other groups, the Night Owls had no enemies lurking in the shadows or second loyalties that could betray him later. And with the right guidance—or perhaps a little system magic—he could shape them into a formidable force.
Next to him, the Mystery Agent picked up on his thoughts almost immediately.
She glanced over at Martin, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "So, you're thinking about taking them under your wing, huh?" she asked lightly. "You sure you're ready for that kind of project?"
Martin smirked, tilting his head slightly. "It's not a bad starting point. Everyone's got to start somewhere, right?"
She chuckled, leaning back in her seat. "You could always hop into the ring yourself. See if you've still got that fighting spirit," she suggested playfully.
Martin shook his head with a dry laugh. "I'm not interested in showing off tonight. I'll leave the spotlight to the professionals."
"Suit yourself," the Mystery Agent replied with a wink, clearly enjoying their banter. "Just make sure you don't underestimate the chaos you're stepping into. These guys… they may be green, but they're hungry."
As the night dragged on and the matches ended, Martin's mind continued to churn with possibilities.
The Night Owls were definitely the clear-cut option. Sure, they had a lot of growing to do, but that was where Martin saw an opportunity.
He didn't need veterans or those already tied to powerful families. What he needed was loyalty, and the Night Owls could be shaped into whatever he wanted.
The first light of dawn started to break by the time Martin left the arena with the Mystery Agent.
The streets near the harbor were eerily quiet, the chaos of the night retreating with the sunrise. As Martin walked towards his car, the wheels in his mind kept turning.
"Think you'll see me again?" the Mystery Agent asked with a sly grin as they parted ways.
Martin glanced over his shoulder. "Maybe. Depends on how things go with your recommendations."
With that, he drove away from the harbor, his mind already shifting toward the next steps in his plan.
The Night Owls were promising, but before he could even consider making a move on them, he had to be sure of the system's power.
Optimizing humans was a dangerous game, and he needed to test it out on something else first.
On his way back to the city, he decided to make a few pit stops. If he was going to experiment with the bronze tokens, animals were the safest bet.
The consequences wouldn't be nearly as dire if something went wrong, and they would give him insight into how the system's optimization process worked on living beings.
He visited a series of pet shops, carefully selecting a few different creatures for his experiment. First, a sleek, smooth-skinned lizard—small and agile, perfect for testing flexibility and muscle enhancement.
Next, a parrot with bright green feathers, chosen for its intelligence and the possibility of testing cognitive improvement.
Then came an owl, a creature of the night, silent and watchful—fitting for what Martin was looking for in his future subordinates. And lastly, a husky, known for its strength and stamina.
Each animal had its own purpose, a role in the series of tests Martin planned to carry out.
As he loaded the animals into his car, he couldn't help but feel a strange excitement building within him.
He was about to embark on something completely new, something that could change the rules of the game forever.
Driving back to his old studio apartment, Martin allowed himself to think through the logistics. He planned to test one bronze token per day, starting with the lizard.
This way, he could carefully monitor the changes, observe the effects, and adjust his future plans accordingly. If the animals responded well, the Night Owls could be next.
By the time he arrived back at the apartment, the sun was already high in the sky, casting long shadows across the city streets.
Martin parked his car and carried the animals inside, placing them in separate enclosures in the living room. The apartment, with its familiar dim lighting and quiet isolation, was the perfect setting for his tests.
For now, he had everything he needed: time, privacy, and a plan. All that was left was to put the system to the test.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the blinds as Martin reclined on the couch, his mind spinning with the possibilities of his next move.
He couldn't help but wonder if the system's optimization process, which worked on both the body and the mind, could also affect something more abstract—loyalty.
What if he could instill unwavering obedience in others through the power of the system?
To test out this theory, he needed to carefully observe the behavior of his new pets before and after optimization. Only then could he begin to understand if loyalty could be controlled like a physical trait.
Martin drifted off into an afternoon nap, his mind racing through the potential ramifications of his plan.
When he woke, the room had grown darker, and the clock on the wall read eight in the evening.
His stomach growled, and after a moment of consideration, he grabbed his phone to order some takeout food. As he waited for the delivery, he mentally prepared for the night's experiment.
By nine o'clock, everything was in place. Martin sat in the dimly lit living room, his gaze flicking between the enclosures where the parrot, owl, lizard, and husky were housed.
He wanted to start by assessing their natural behavior—how they reacted to his presence, their level of obedience, and whether any hostility would be provoked if he pushed them.
He began with the parrot, the most lively of the bunch.
The bird squawked and fluttered around its cage as Martin approached, its eyes wide with curiosity. He tapped lightly on the bars of the cage, watching the parrot closely.
The bird tilted its head, seemingly inquisitive but without any real sense of attachment to Martin. It was friendly, but it didn't follow commands, not that it was expected to.
Martin next provoked the bird lightly, waving his hand close to its cage to gauge its reaction.
The parrot squawked loudly in response, clearly irritated by the intrusion but not hostile enough to strike at him.
He made a mental note of the bird's reactions—curiosity, slight agitation when prodded, but otherwise neutral.
Next, he moved on to the lizard. The reptile barely responded to his presence at all, sitting still and watching him with a cold, indifferent stare.
Even when he tapped lightly on its glass enclosure, the lizard didn't so much as twitch. It was calm and uninterested, perhaps even a little too passive for his liking.
The owl and husky were last. The owl sat perched on a branch inside its enclosure, its large eyes glowing in the dim light as it tracked Martin's movements with unnerving precision. The husky, on the other hand, was much more animated.
It barked softly and wagged its tail when Martin approached, clearly eager for attention but without any sense of discipline. Martin patted the dog's head, noting how it immediately tried to jump up and lick his face.
Once the initial assessments were done, Martin prepared for the first optimization test, starting with the parrot.