Noah's arrival at the gym caught Smith's attention immediately. It was impossible not to notice him, especially after his picture made headlines all over New York that morning. He knew he would have to deal with the extra attention eventually, but for now, he was focused on one thing: training.
Smith was already waiting for him, a look of both curiosity and a touch of intimidation in his eyes. Yesterday had been a regular training day, but today felt different, almost like the calm before a storm.
"Let's get to it," Noah said with a quick nod, rolling up his sleeves and heading toward the weight rack.
But before he could grab any weights, Smith stopped him with a serious expression. "Noah, our boss wants a word," he said in a hushed tone, glancing around as if this was some kind of covert mission.
"Your boss?" Noah turned, a bit intrigued. He hadn't expected anyone else to be involved.
"Yeah," Smith continued. "He's the owner of this club, and after the news today, he's very interested in speaking with you. He wants to discuss a deal."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"
"Well, it's a brand ambassador proposal. Our boss is offering a contract for you to represent the club. Starting fee: $1.3 million USD. Negotiable, of course."
Noah crossed his arms and considered the offer. "And if I don't want to meet him?"
Smith chuckled nervously. "He said no hard feelings if you're not interested. He's even prepared to refund every penny you've spent here if you say no. Plus, he's offering lifetime access to the club—24/7, for free. Also, if you're willing to come in, he'll order custom, state-of-the-art equipment specifically to accommodate your...unique abilities."
Noah smirked. It was hard not to be amused by their eagerness. "Your boss is pretty generous. Alright, let's see… Tell him I'm busy for the rest of the month. But next month, I'll come by, and I'll bring a business opportunity—something big. Let's say… worth billions."
Smith looked dumbfounded. "Billions? Are you serious?"
"Yeah," Noah replied, shrugging as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Just wait and see. Now, can we get to training? Let's start with something intense, say a one-ton squat."
"A… one-ton squat?" Smith looked like he was about to faint. "Noah, the equipment here only goes up to 570 pounds."
"Well, we'll make do. I'll stack a few barbells together and work with that," Noah said confidently.
He tried to arrange several barbells together but quickly found it wasn't going to work. Even with his strength, holding four bars at once was practically impossible. Realizing this wouldn't be as easy as he thought, he adjusted his plan.
After some trial and error, he settled on three sets at about 1,720 pounds. Even with that load, he breezed through each set. It didn't take him long to realize he wasn't feeling any real resistance.
He paused, feeling slightly annoyed. It was like his body had adjusted too fast. I need more if I'm going to keep building strength.
"Man, if Magneto were here, I'd ask him to pump up the metal in these weights," he muttered, half-jokingly.
Smith looked over, visibly puzzled. "Magneto? Like, the comic book villain?"
"Yeah, imagine he was here. I'd have him pile on the metal until it was actually a challenge," Noah mused, laughing at the thought.
Shaking his head, he decided he'd have to find a new way to push himself. "Hey, got any sulfuric acid lying around?" he called over to Smith.
"S-sulfuric acid?" Smith looked bewildered.
"Never mind," Noah sighed. "I'll bring some tomorrow. Time to see if a bath in 70% sulfuric acid can finally give me some resistance training."
Meanwhile, he considered the day's events, realizing that Peter Parker was likely at Oscorp right now. The timing lined up well, meaning that soon enough, the famous wall-crawler would make his debut.
As he entertained the thought, he turned back to Smith. "Hey, bring me an empty barbell and hit me with it."
Smith frowned, struggling to process the request. "You want me to hit you with a barbell?"
"Yes, you heard me. It's part of my training to build pain tolerance. Go on, give it all you've got."
Smith shook his head but complied, swinging the barbell with every ounce of his strength. The heavy metal bar hit Noah's back with a solid "thud," but to Smith's astonishment, it was like hitting solid rubber. His own hands buzzed from the recoil, while Noah barely flinched.
"Was that supposed to be full strength?" Noah asked, looking over his shoulder. "I barely felt it."
Smith, his pride a bit stung, insisted, "I used all my strength!"
Noah sighed, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "Alright, how about my head next? That might actually feel like something."
Smith hesitated, but seeing Noah's expression, he swung again, this time targeting the back of his head. Noah felt the impact rattle through his skull, a dull but intense sensation. He paused, blinking for a moment as his head buzzed.
"Yeah, that's…definitely not comfortable. Let's stick to the back for now," Noah finally said, his tone a mix of surprise and relief.
Smith chuckled and swung again, this time at Noah's back, but after a few more hits, it was clear he was wearing himself out. Eventually, he had to take a seat, leaving Noah to continue his training alone.
Noah wasn't done, though. A new idea was forming in his mind, something a bit unorthodox. He closed his eyes, focusing on his internal energy, and deliberately disrupted the flow, a method he referred to as "severing the meridians."
As his energy flowed unevenly through his body, he felt a painful, tingling sensation that almost bordered on electric shocks. He grinned, pleased with the result.
A notification appeared:
Description: Meridian severance initiated. Full recovery in 70 minutes...
Repeat 34 times: Physical strength increased by 0.1
Repeat 124 times: Spiritual strength increased by 0.1
Satisfied, Noah continued the exercise, welcoming the intense physical feedback as he pushed his body beyond normal limits. Each time he severed and restored his meridians, his strength and resilience grew incrementally.
As he finished his training, he couldn't help but laugh. The boundaries he thought existed for his body were starting to crumble, and he was just getting started.
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Alright, got some complaints about mistake in the previous chapters...I will fix them don't worry. I'm just having bit of family problems...
So, this is my first time doing this. I hope you guys can help me improve by providing your feedback, and some stones would be nice. (づ ◕‿◕ )づ