Day 17:
The next few days were a blur of exercises. Echo was starting to feel the effects of his training more profoundly. The aches in his limbs had become an ever-present reminder of how far he had pushed himself—and yet, the fatigue seemed less intense. Something was changing, but he couldn’t place what. The growth that had once felt like it was slowing was starting to pick up again, like an ember catching fire after a cold night. His body responded almost instinctively now.
Rook, too, seemed to be moving with more confidence. There was less hesitation in his movements, a quiet assurance as he lifted weights, ran laps, and grappled with the new techniques they were learning. But even though their physical exertion felt constant, neither Echo nor Rook realized that the situation had shifted.
The weighted bracelets they wore had been switched out for new ones. At first, Echo hadn’t noticed the difference, but the weights felt heavier. Not overwhelming, but different. He’d lifted heavier weights before, but this wasn’t quite the same. There was a slight tinge of unfamiliar resistance when he moved, but he had long ago learned to shut out the discomfort. Focused only on his progression, he let it slide.
Gladiator watched from the sidelines, his arms folded, but a small, satisfied grin tugged at his lips.
“There’s a change,” he murmured. “I can see it in their posture. The growth is coming faster.”
Sentinel, standing at the opposite side of the arena, nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on Echo. “They’re unaware, but the weights are lighter than they think. Growth rate triples. We’ll see if they can notice the difference.”
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Day 18:
By the following day, Echo’s muscles felt more responsive than ever. Every rep, every stretch, felt as if he were carving a new version of himself, more refined than before. His limbs responded to his commands with precision, and he felt the strength pouring into his body at a rapid rate. The workout that once exhausted him now felt manageable, like his body was catching up to the demand.
Rook, too, was noticeably sharper. His attacks during sparring sessions were more fluid, his footwork lighter, and his strikes more calculated. Echo could see the difference in his friend’s movements as well. There was a quiet intensity about them both as they worked through the routines, even if neither of them had any idea why it was happening.
“What’s going on?” Echo muttered to himself as he adjusted his grip on the heavy barbell.
The weights felt easier, more natural, as if they had been lightened overnight. Echo didn’t question it—he was far too focused on his improvement, too caught up in the thrill of his growth to wonder why it had come so suddenly.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Rook, who had been lifting nearby, glanced at Echo and grinned. “You feel that? I’m starting to think we could take on the whole training floor now.”
Echo smirked, but deep down, he felt it too. There was a strange pull in the air—something was different. Their progress was happening faster than before, but it felt like the key to their success was hidden behind the veil of their exhaustion.
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Day 19:
As the third day arrived, Echo’s sense of growth reached new heights. He moved through the exercises faster, more fluidly, than he had before. His body, once sluggish from the intense training, was finally starting to feel like it belonged to him in a way it never had before. The aches that used to plague him after each session had lessened, and his muscles seemed to spring back with renewed vigor.
The sparring matches with Rook, which had once been a challenge, were now becoming competitive in an entirely new way. Echo could match his friend’s speed and strength with ease, and for the first time, he could feel a difference in the way his body was reacting. He was hitting harder, moving faster, and with each strike, there was a noticeable precision that hadn’t been there before. He could almost hear the air rushing past his fists as they cut through the space.
Rook, on the other hand, was breathless, grinning in a way that could only be described as triumphant. “What is happening to us? We’re on fire today!”
Echo didn’t know how to explain it. His body was responding to the training at an alarming rate, almost too fast. What once felt like an impossible weight had become a familiar, manageable burden. But still, neither of them had noticed the true shift: the weights on their wrists had been lowered.
Sentinel stood at the back of the training arena, watching them work through the exercises, a quiet satisfaction etched on his face. "They don't notice yet. The subtle shift has them running at their peak... but they don’t know just how much they’ve gained."
“Let them focus,” Gladiator replied, his tone softening for a rare moment. “When they hit the next stage, they’ll realize. But until then, this is the kind of experience that builds true strength—unseen.”
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Growth Unseen
The truth was that both Echo and Rook had unknowingly been granted a significant advantage. The weights they wore were no longer the full 30 kg they had struggled with before. Instead, they had been reduced to a more manageable 25 kg. The mental and physical toll that once seemed insurmountable had now turned into a challenge that was taxing but conquerable.
Their bodies, free from the overwhelming strain, began to operate at a more sustainable pace. The results were almost immediate. Echo’s physical strength, dexterity, and even his endurance were progressing rapidly. His muscles had grown denser, his speed had increased, and his stamina seemed limitless.
In the arena, under the watchful eyes of their mentors, both young warriors unknowingly made a quantum leap in their training, accelerating their growth without even realizing it. The AI monitored their performance closely, calculating and adjusting their stats as they pushed harder than ever. Every step they took, every movement they made, was contributing to their final goal—peak human performance.
And yet, both of them remained blissfully unaware that they had been given the chance to evolve more quickly. But as the days wore on, they would begin to feel the weight of their progress—and the consequences of their mentors’ carefully crafted deception.