Chapter 164 Training?
Elbert understood the principle well. Exercising in this suit was a surefire way to burn through energy – his own energy, pitted against the relentless resistance of the suit.
Robert, now sporting a pair of digital devil horns that materialized above his 3D image, grinned impishly. "Elbert, my friend, this little beauty can generate up to 20,000 pounds of opposing force! You're basically arm-wrestling yourself, every second of every day!"
He gestured toward the assembly line, where a large, transparent tank was taking shape. "And that," he announced dramatically, "is an ionized water chamber! It infuses the water with charged particles, creating an ionic current that flows through your body, stimulating cellular activity and boosting your metabolism even further!"
"We call it… the Hellish Hot Tub!" Robert declared, his voice filled with morbid glee. "Because it'll feel like your insides are being ripped apart, even as it rejuvenates you from the cellular level!"
Elbert chuckled, a steely glint in his eyes. "Sounds… invigorating. I like a challenge."
Robert calculated, his image pacing back and forth. "At this rate, your metabolic rate should increase sevenfold. You'll achieve a complete New Human physiology in under a year!"
"No," Elbert countered, shaking his head. He reached for a burger from the mountain of takeout on the table, his arm trembling with the effort.
It wasn't excitement that made his arm shake, but the constant, agonizing resistance of the suit. To make matters worse, the Hellish Little Armor, as Robert so-affectionately called it, covered every inch of Elbert's body except for his face. Even his hands were encased in the restrictive material.
It took him a full two minutes to wrangle the burger into his grasp, his fingers moving like they were encased in lead.
"One month," Elbert stated as he bit into the burger, his voice muffled. "One month is all I need."
Robert scoffed. "Impossible! It'll take you a week just to adapt to the suit, let alone train effectively! Moreover, you can't stay in the hot tub all the time. iT'S calibrated to level 13 pain index!"
Elbert smiled, a knowing look in his eyes. "Robert, my friend, it seems I have something to teach you about a uniquely human quality."
"And what's that?" Robert asked, curious.
"Tenacity," Elbert stated, pushing himself away from the table. His legs, burning with exertion, screamed in protest.
It took him three full minutes to take a single step, sweat dripping from his brow.
Robert couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
Two hours later, Elbert emerged from the lab, his progress agonizingly slow. It had taken him three hours to move a mere 500 meters, his movements resembling rusty automaton.
That night, the Hellish Hot Tub was complete. Elbert, taking a deep breath and donning an oxygen mask, gritted his teeth and submerged himself in the glowing green liquid.
Robert watched, his digital timer ticking away.
Forty minutes… fifty… an hour…
Ninety minutes passed, yet Elbert remained submerged. His body was locked in a silent battle against unimaginable pain.
Robert was astonished. This level of endurance and willpower was almost unheard of.
"Was this the 'tenacity' Elbert mentioned? This baffling, almost alien concept?" Robert exclaimed.
From that day forward, the deserted road near the lab became Elbert's training ground. Day and night, he pushed himself to his absolute limit, his sweat-soaked figure a testament to his unwavering determination.
The lab itself was rarely silent; a constant stream of delivery drivers arrived, bringing enough food to satisfy Elbert's monstrous appetite.
Two days in, Elbert could jog at a slow, shuffling pace. The delivery orders doubled, and he could endure four hours in the Hellish Hot Tub.
Five days later, he could run to the city limits and back, a distance of ten kilometers; his body was drenched in sweat, but his spirit was unbroken. Six hours in the hot tub.
Ten days, he was running to the city and back twice a day, his pace steadily increasing. He became familiar to the other early morning joggers, who marveled at his stamina and dedication.
Little did they know that every step was a monumental effort, a testament to his superhuman willpower.
His cellular regeneration was progressing at an astonishing rate, already past the halfway point. The Hellish Little Armor, now calibrated to a resistance of 3,000 kilograms, was no longer a hindrance but a symbol of Elbert's rapidly growing power.
He was becoming a force of nature.
Twenty days passed.
Inside the lab, Summer, with a now fully-working cybernetic arm, watched Elbert with awe and bewilderment.
Elbert, his back laden with a thousand-pound weight, effortlessly performed his two-hundredth push-up.
Summer couldn't understand. Elbert's movements seemed slower, and more deliberate, but his strength had increased exponentially. He was like a tightly-wound spring, his energy coiling and containing as if waiting to unleash.
Robert, too, was baffled by Elbert's progress. This 'tenacity,' and unwavering drive, was a variable he never calculated.
And as Elbert continued to push himself everyday, they couldn't shake the feeling that they were witnessing something truly extraordinary; something that defied explanation.
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