~ Alex's Pov, A few days later ~
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Looks Like this'll be our next little home... It wasn't bad to be honest, we were near a beach, yet secluded enough that it wouldn't be spotted even if people came by it, so a solid 8/10 in my books... It for sure beat the days we spent in those dingy hotels....
Yeah, one of my worst experiences ever, like, can you believe that the staff there didn't even bat an eye that their bathrooms were practically filled with frogs? Yeah, they definitely didn't care. Well, at least we were pretty close close to New York city, but maybe Bellwood won't treat us too bad.
"Not coming kid?" Carter asked, but I wasn't in any real rush.
"Yeah, I'm coming." I replied.
Regardless of my crappy disposition for the last few days, there was still some good that came out of it, and that good was my energy abilities. Over the past few days, I practiced whenever I could, refining my control more through basic meditation and the use of any objects I could get my hands on, and unsurprisingly; the heavier said objects were, the more control and energy they burned through which led me to some interesting discoveries.
1st. I realized just how much talent I really had in those few days, an example would be my control, if I was a 1 when I left the Tennyson's, I was now a 2, why 2 exactly? I don't know exactly, but I knew I had some insane ability to accurately judge how much power I had, and thankfully, it extended towards my energy abilities, maybe way more so than my actual physical capabilities, which was a good thing, or better yet, convenient.
2nd. Control over my energy; This just meant that I would be able to manage objects for longer periods of time, while consuming less energy for said object. Still, it's unfortunate that my control didn't benefit, or gain a comprehensive increase with lifting bigger things requiring the same energy, but it made sense. I also noticed that when I conjured projections like the basic shield, it consumed less energy whilst also improving the time it took for the shield to form, by 50% or so, which was a very decent increase if I say so myself.
And lastly, being my favorite thing; my overall energy capacity. I improved it a lot over the few days, and surprisingly, I had already exceeded Gwen's capacity by a decent chunk, which surprised even me. However, it made sense as to why this was the case, at least based on my hypothesis. There are things which I like to call pathways for your energy capacity, and these depended on two things, one's physical constitution and ones veins.
Both of them are tied in this case, but not exactly. Based on my research over the next, your physique allowed you to absorb more energy the stronger it was, and that might be why Gwen had such meager amounts of energy in her entire being... The veins contribute to this fact too, they also help to increase the overall energy absorption rate. Interestingly enough, my vein's grew denser overtime without any halts, allowing me to absorb energy faster, and the effects weren't additive either, but multiplicative on to each other...
Which led me to realize something else, whilst my physical strength grew, my veins essentially outpaced it by a lot, at least in terms of their overall growth being compared to each other, which means, when one's physical body reaches it's biological limits, their veins don't, at least I think so. So while overtime I could absorb ambient energy due to my veins, it's a cumulative thing, so while others may experience a slow growth due to their physiques, I likely won't have that issue, as my physique doesn't have that inherent limit, at least none I've hit...
But, I wasn't too sure about any of this so far, it was just a really solid guestimate of what I've observed for the past few days while I've been practicing. Still, if I didn't abuse my body by over-absorbing energy, I doubt I would even reach this far.
Over my time of getting little to zero sleep for the past few days, I increased my capacity from 1, to a whooping 16 units. Units is what I call it to simplify it a bit, and it fits it well. Surprisingly increasing the capacity I possessed had more benefits than I imagined it to yield. When I increased my capacity, the density of my energy also increased, but not by much, the weight of the objects I could lift had gotten far heavier than before to a massive degree, my projections were tougher and my body passively getting stronger from the whole process, but not in the natural sense...
If I used the energy at all, my body would gain roughly a 20% increase in it's overall capabilities, meaning speed, strength, toughness and recovery rate were enhanced but that's when I actually begin to even use my energy, If I don't activate it or will it on my body I don't receive those benefits. Still, I think I could work on this to make it a little stronger... But, the downside of this, was that it took time to do, which is something I don't think I have a lot of time of.
The training I did in those few days were equivalent to a few weeks with appropriate rests and breaks in between without abusing my body, assuming those weeks had physical training mixed into it too...
And that's another thing, over-absorbing ambient life energy wasn't pretty in the slightest, it hurt like crap, I've even caught my nose bleeding when I did it too for too long. Not only that, I was actively destroying my body too, and even if I did grow slightly stronger from rupturing my muscles constantly; my recovery rate couldn't handle that kind of burden too much, at least not now...
So it wasn't a win-win scenario. Still, I could likely lift well over 1100 pounds by now, not quite the tone yet, but I was definitely getting close to that benchmark of it.
Other than that I needed to get back with my physical training again, I've been slacking for three days without doing anything for it... I'm truly slacking in the way of the grinder.
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A few moments later, we entered our little hide-away...
"What do you think of the new place?" Carter dropped his bags added.
I looked around for a bit, "It's alright to me... Still think the old place was a bit better, but not much." The place we would stay was essentially a bunker hidden away in an abandoned building, it wasn't bad to the best, still I kind of dug the vibe I was getting from it.
"Well, I hope this can cheer you up a bit kid." Carter reached into on of his bags, when he turned around, I saw a small bracelet in his hands...
Now, I was a bit curious...
I raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
Carter didn't answer, just gave me a quick look that could only be described as a mix of mischief and calculation. "Hold out your hand, kid."
I stared at him for a second, but slowly, I complied, unsure of what exactly he was up to but not wanting to seem suspicious. I extended my arm, and he wrapped the bracelet around my wrist with swift precision.
"Set weight to 200 pounds," Carter said, almost nonchalantly.
I blinked, a question rising in my throat, but before I could even process what he said, a strange sensation hit me like a ton of bricks.
'Set weight to 200 pounds.'
The words echoed through my mind, and almost immediately, I felt the pressure.
At first, it was manageable—a slight discomfort in my joints—but then, as if the weight had multiplied, I felt it crash down, forcing my body to buckle under the intensity. I gritted my teeth, trying to stay upright, but it was like the world had suddenly gotten ten times heavier. My legs trembled, my arms ached, and I could feel the weight pulling down on every major part of my body.
Each limb—my arms, legs, and even my core—felt like they were being crushed by an unseen force. 200 pounds for each of the five major limbs of my body—arms, legs, and torso. That was a thousand pounds of pressure in total, on top of my own body weight. It felt like I was carrying an entire truck on my shoulders, and yet, I could still move—barely.
I staggered backward, my knees threatening to give way as my chest felt like it was being compressed under the weight. Sweat began to bead along my forehead, and my breathing became shallow, ragged, but I couldn't collapse—not yet.
"What the hell, Carter?!" My voice was strained, my muscles screaming in protest as the weight pressed harder, pushing down on my very bones.
Carter didn't flinch. "Relax, kid. It's just a test," he said, his voice calm and steady.
I shook my head, trying to focus on something—anything—but the pressure that was grinding me down. Every muscle in my body felt burdened, stretched to its absolute limit, and yet, despite the sheer force, I could feel my body stubbornly trying to compensate. I had to concentrate on keeping my legs under me, trying to maintain my balance even as my arms hung uselessly at my sides, the weight nearly making me collapse on myself.
This wasn't just an ordinary test of strength. It was also a test of my ability to withstand pressure beyond what my body could normally handle... It's brilliant...
"Okay, okay, I get it," I managed to say through gritted teeth. "But what the hell is this thing? Some kind of trick?"
Carter gave a dry chuckle, clearly amused by my confusion. "It's not a trick, kid," he said, stepping closer as he adjusted his posture, clearly enjoying watching me struggle. "This is technology I picked up a little before we left. I've been sitting on it for a while. It's called the Graviton Compression Band."
I raised an eyebrow. "Graviton what?"
Carter gestured to the bracelet on my wrist. "It's a prototype of experimental tech, an advanced form of gravity manipulation. The band works by using a combination of miniaturized gravity generators and quantum field stabilizers. Essentially, it alters the weight distribution of the body it's attached to by simulating the effect of heavy gravitational fields. When you and only affects you when you activate it, it doesn't just add static weight—it mimics the gravity of massive objects, and it does it by applying pressure to each major limb comprehensively."
I tried to focus, but the weight was ridiculously hard to to bear. But hearing his explanation, I surprisingly understood, good thing I studied those physics books... "Great... It's adding gravity to my body..."
"Exactly," Carter said, as if this was all too simple. "The cool part is that it's calibrated to change the load dynamically, based on your capacity to bear weight. So, for you, that 200 pounds is distributed across all your limbs, adding up to about 1,000 pounds of total weight. But here's the kicker—it's actually a pretty low setting. You could theoretically push this up to 25 metric tons comprehensively, but that's not something I want to test on you just yet."
My head was spinning from the sheer suddenness of it all, but I managed to absorb the important details. The Graviton Compression Band wasn't just a fancy weight-training device—it was a piece of tech that altered the fundamental forces acting on your body. It was like being in a constant gravitational field, like the kind you'd experience on a planet with much stronger gravity than Earth.
"25 tons!?" I literally gasped, my voice a little strangled while I was essentially struggling to maintain my balance. Damn Carter, "You mean to tell me I could have up to... that on me?"
The guy only smirked, clearly amused by my misery. "Yeah, but I wouldn't try it. Not unless you really want to get crushed. The thing's got a max load limit of 25 tons, and when you push it that far, your body better be ready to handle some serious strain. But for now, you're getting the basics down. It's more about learning to move under pressure than actually handling that much weight."
I swallowed hard, feeling the muscles in my legs tremble while I tried to stabilize myself under the current load. Even though I could stand, maneuvering myself was the actual tough part... the thought of the 25-ton limit made me shudder a little, yet made me a bit excited...
"Alright, kid," Carter added, "Let's drop the weight. You're doing better than I expected. But remember, this tech's only as good as your control over it. Don't get cocky."
Just hearing that made my knees buckle, and as soon as Carter released the weight from the band, I stood straight again, but it took some time getting used to...
"Next time, we'll try the 300-pound variation," Carter said, with a grin, a grin I knew too well...
'I'm definitely screwed...'
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END