“Ninety-eight… Ninety-nine… A HUNDRED!!”
Aria was beside the small pond at his family's residence, exercising his body by doing pushups with sweat dripping down his body. His last cry was for his hands to release the last bit of their remaining strength before finally losing it and giving up, unable to support his body any longer so he fell flat to the ground.
After all, he had been doing it since dawn. He had done various variations of simple exercise movements hundreds of times with several repetitions. There was progress, at least he didn't immediately lose his consciousness because he was too tired like the first time he forced his body to work.
However, the twitch in his muscles indicated that its condition was quite overworked, but the objective had been achieved.
Even from a distance, the guards on duty occasionally turned their attention this way, making sure Aria wasn't causing any trouble for himself. And of course, he was aware of what they were doing.
That was the ultimate order from his mother for everyone in the neighborhood, to watch over him. He certainly wouldn't complain about it, after realizing that the world out there was not necessarily a child-friendly environment.
Moreover, he who incidentally was still an ordinary human being, plus a child. As far as he was concerned, everyone out there could naturally be categorized as superhumans, at least the weakest people were still stronger than the average people in his previous world, as long as they had been enlightened by spiritual energy.
So, the safe environment that his mother provided at any cost for him to grow up was what he really needed, and he had to be patient with all of that.
Uncomfortable with his face kept touching the dirt, Aria turned on his back with a big groan.
"The after-taste of those extreme activities was truly something else."
He felt his breathing a little ragged, the heartbeat in his chest was so loud that it could be heard clearly by his ears. The soreness all over his body, his chapped lips and dry throat, and his body drenched in sweat felt a little colder because of the breeze of the wind.
“Ah, I don't really remember ever having an addiction to this kind of self-torture before,” he laughed at the thought.
It had been more than a month since his family returned from their grandfather's residence. They only stayed until the day after the ceremony. After that afternoon, grandfather held a special dinner for his immediate family, his descendants only, so his family included.
Nothing special, according to him. Just his grandpa took some of his time for Rosalind and spoke specifically to his parents while he was the only one left out.
It didn't matter. As long as there was enough food to distract him, he didn't mind being cast out. And if it was something he should know, he would get it straight from those three, for sure.
And his conjecture about his sister came true. She became really bossy, to him, as the day went on. Making sure her brother was always within her reach, never leaving him with peace of mind.
The main thing was she wanted her brother to be her assistant. And did he refuse? Not really.
First, he couldn't say no. No, he couldn't back up that refusal with his ability.
Second, his mother wasn't on his side this time. His mother was very approving of Rosalind's actions because he would be under his sister's watchful eyes. There wasn't much of a chance for him to cause trouble.
Third, Rosalind's time at her residence was reduced. Why?
She was already six years old and had her spiritual space activated. It was time for her to attend the academy, and that was good news for Aria in many ways.
He was glad that his sister had become less frequent at the residence. So, her treatments became more tolerable for him. Let him share his burdens, named Rosalind, with her future friends in the academy.
Fourth, give and take. Even though being her errand boy was a little annoying, that didn't mean it was a pure loss for him. At least he could get any information from her experiences. Even though sometimes he was quite tired of hearing her venting about anything, especially what she had experienced from the academy.
…..
The beams of light that fell on his body felt warm, it's a bit dazzling even. As he raised his hand to cover his eyes from the light, he began to close them, rest his body and draw his thoughts deeply. Not sleeping.
Apart from his sister's transformation, that didn't mean he's staying the same too. With increasing intensive activities, there were several changes that he felt quite significant.
The remaining baby fat and the new fat he gained from over-eating began to gradually decrease, some turned into perfectly fine muscle. Although he still kept his chubby look, everyone who was familiar with him would surely say that he had slimmed down a little. But it was a progress still.
Of course, his food consumption did not decrease in the slightest instead, it increased. Likewise, the intensity of his training, because indeed he had too much free time to spend.
Of course, at the dinner table with his family, even though he ate the most, it was within human tolerance. It's just that he added a before-and-after-meal intake, so he didn't scare anyone.
Of course, what he was most anticipating was the accumulation of energy in the system that grew even more significantly.
Unlike before, where he had to wait for more than two years. This time, a bit more than a month, he was ready to make his second modification. Of course, there were many factors for this; the quantity and quality of food, the intensity of his workout, the effect of the previous modification, and… he got older; the last one was the most important factor, he thought.
This time, he did not have as many considerations and doubts as before. He was determined to modify all of his organs one by one, before considering making modifications to other parts as well. The exception was his brain.
Then he looked at the three-dimensional chart of his body. At the bottom, there were words of explanations.
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Physique
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Ventriculus
Limit Modification: 50/100 Energy Required
Stolen story; please report.
Effect:
- Slightly improves the overall performance of the digestive system
- YOU CAN EAT MORE WITH LESS CHOKING
Limit Ability: Locked (1/5)
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Initially, he wanted to continue the modification of his ventriculus. There was a possibility that the effect will be more pronounced, although the effect of further modifications could no longer be seen.
Moreover, there was this so-called limit ability that could be unlocked with another four modifications, he was quite curious. But after seeing that he did not have enough energy, he gave up this intention for now.
Now his attention was focused on his muscle after deliberate pondering. It was quite disturbing as his appearance had become rounder and rounder.
Actually, he didn't care a bit. He could just exercise more as an anticipation. It's just as his appetite grew more and more, he was afraid all his effort all for naught.
Obesity was one of the sins in his mind, and clearly, he was on a path down the hell. Giving up by stopping his rampage of food was not an option.
He didn't want to sacrifice his progress if it wasn't the last resort. That's why he who initially slightly resisted the idea of modifying his muscles at the beginning changed his mind.
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Physique
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Muscle
Limit Modification: 50/50 Energy Required
Effect: N/A
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Execute the Modification? Y/N
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Said Yes.
After that, Aria felt similar changes that occurred in his ventriculus a few days ago. A mysterious flow of energy spread throughout his body, attacking his muscles.
This time he felt the heat and the twitching on his fatigue muscles, felt stronger and stronger. It felt as though all his muscles were expanding then shrinking continuously like it was going to rip open his skin. The contractions were so intense even though he was staying still.
He could feel as if something was crawling inside each of its tissue, as if scalpels were stabbing all his muscles and trying to separate each of its fibers apart.
He could only grit his teeth as he endured such pain like patients on the operating table without being sedated, hoping it wouldn't last for too long.
Aria didn't know how much time had passed, because his perception of time seemed to dull a little. It was then, only when all this pain subsided, and his hearing began to gradually return, that he realized some voices calling him.
"Young Master, are you all right?"
It was only after Aria started to open his eyes that he realized a guard was already kneeling beside him while constantly calling out to him.
Aria nodded, slowly trying to get up. That guard deftly helped him to sit up. Aria looked down for a moment, straightening his thoughts, before finally raising his head, watching the sky change, figuring out how long he had been lying there, but it was in vain.
"How long have I been lying down?"
“Not too long, just less than fifteen minutes,” that guard replied with a worried face, “Young master, are you feeling okay?”
"There's no need to worry," but it seemed his answer still didn't relieve the guard because of his unchanged expression. Aria felt helpless, “What happened to me just now?”
Now it was that guard's turn to be helpless.
“We don't know for sure. We only watched Young Master lying down from a distance before Young Master's body started shaking and turned into violent convulsions. Seeing that, this guard tried to wake Young Master up, but there was no response.”
"We? Where are the others?” Aria had an uneasy feeling after hearing his explanation.
"He…"
"ARIA!"
Before the guard could explain, a voice calling out his name from a distance was heard along with the sounds of hurried footsteps.
'Crap! I'm in big trouble!' Aria could only lament in his heart.
"Son! Son! Are you okay? Tell mommy," Alisa turned pale and rushed to her son as fast as she could when she heard that something's going wrong with him.
She immediately grabbed him. She examined him closely to see if there were any injuries on his body. She didn't want to miss anything. Her hands then emitted a greenish glow, touching her son's body parts, especially his chest and head.
Aria felt a sooting cold sensation as soon as he came into contact with the green light. The lingering discomfort disappeared immediately, replaced by a cozy feeling, especially when his mother's hand touched his head.
He noticed that his mother was still seriously trying to treat him, even though there was nothing that needed to be treated. Even though he had tried to calm her down by saying nothing was wrong, his mother didn't have any of it and continued what she was doing with a worried face. It was enough to make Aria feel guilty.
Not long after, Alisa stopped after making sure there was nothing wrong with her boy. Letting out a sigh of relief, she immediately interrogated him with a stern look.
“So, give your mother explanations, young man! What have you been up to?"
"Mom, I'm just doing my usual workout, nothing else," Aria gave an explanation that she didn't immediately accept.
“Then, what happened just now? Don't tell me it's also your 'as usual'," her eyes squinted, looking a little dangerous.
Aria gulped, careful with his words, “Of course not. You can ask the guards watching me, nothing like that happened before. Just this once,” Aria gave a careless excuse, “Maybe I'm just too tired.”
Alisa looked her son in the eye for a moment, then she concluded, "Then you should stop doing it."
"But, mother, we have already discussed it with Father."
“Then, we'll talk about it again with your father,” she was completely adamant, not going to take the word no, which made Aria a little helpless.
"End of discussion! Now, young man, come with me," despite saying that, Alisa immediately grabbed her son's body without giving him a chance to refuse.
“Mom put me down! I can walk on my own,” Aria's face turned red with embarrassment.
“Oh? Now that you're all grown up, you feel shy to be carried by your mother, huh? Then, you should stop making me worry, you rascal,” Alisa pinched his cheek while teasing him.
“Mom, I've been sweating a lot. I'm afraid I'll get your clothes dirty,” Aria made an excuse.
“Nonsense, just stay still. Or you will be locked up and can only follow your old mother or your sister.”
He kept his mouth shut after that last threat. His body like a deflated balloon kept still on his mother's arm. He took the chance to inspect the change that happened after his modification just now.
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Physique
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Muscle
Limit Modification: 0/100 Energy Required
Effect:
- Slightly Improves muscle regeneration
- YOU CAN EXERCISE MORE WITH LESS FATIGUE
Limit Ability: Locked (1/5)
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Aria was at a loss seeing such an explanation. It was not what he hoped for, but at the same time could be useful if he was to torture himself more. But one thing he was sure of after two modifications.
“This thing is mocking me.”
“Huh?!”
Aria became a frozen stone under the glaring eyes of his mother.