The Fourteen Muscle Groups

"Argh!"

Crab wailed in pain. His arms were now both grotesque, claw-like appendages.

Unable to support himself on his new limbs, he flopped to the ground like a fish out of water, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

A shadow loomed over him.

"Here." 

Resh reached down and placed a crumpled napkin onto Crab's chest.

"Follow this workout routine to build strength in your arms," he said, utterly detached from Crab's suffering.

Ged's usual smirk had vanished. The sight of it churned his stomach in a way he hadn't anticipated.

For a fleeting moment, he actually felt bad.

He averted his gaze. "Come, Resh. He can figure out the rest on his own." Turning, he strode toward the main lobby.

Resh cast one last glance at Crab before following.

Crab lay alone in the hallway.

Rage burned in his chest as he stared at Ged and Resh's retreating backs.

This isn't over. You bastards won't get away—

The fire inside him flickered.

Wait... where else can I go? Who would hire a man who has claws for hands?

The weight of his transformation swept over him. He would never again hold anything with ease. Forget manual labor; even working retail jobs were impossible.

"My life... it's over," Crab cried out.

The hallway echoed with the hollow sound of clicking claws and quiet, shuddering sobs.

Oblivious to the broken man behind them, Ged and Resh emerged into the main hall of the Hidden Olympian.

A stage stood beside the hallway of private rooms, where female body sorcerers performed pole-dancing workout routines for eager patrons.

Resh halted, his gaze locking onto a body sorcerer struggling with the 'human flag' move.

"Ged..." Resh's voice stopped him mid-step. "Wait a moment. I need to handle this." He gestured toward the pole-dancer with a critical frown.

Ged sighed. He knew Resh ran a tight ship and didn't bother stopping him from micromanaging.

The dancer clung to the pole awkwardly, her body wavering with strain. Below, the patrons looked displeased, her poor form costing her mass donations. Only a pitiful pile of mass lay beside her station, a stark contrast to the mountains accumulating beneath the other dancers' poles.

"Caroline!" Resh bellowed. "That form is a disaster. Stop! What are you doing? You are going to hurt yourself."

Resh's shouting only worsened Caroline's form.

A loud tearing sound echoed the room.

She collapsed to the floor, clutching her abs in pain, her stomach misshapen.

"Idiot!" Resh held his face in disappointment.

"This is a total disaster. Who's responsible for their training?" Resh growled, his bright blue eyes scanning the hazy room looking for which employee was going to step forward for the blunder.

But his employees were all terrified of him. They hid like sewer rats, not daring to step forward.

Even the other dancers felt fear in their hearts and had stopped their routines, some even going to the back curtain to hide.

Poor Caroline was left alone to deal with her injury.

Resh grew angrier.

"No one? No one is willing to step forward?" He chuckled. "I should send you lot to workout in the Blue Crystal Mines. Then you'll know what real fear means." His blue eyes scanned the room like searchlights, causing cowering employees to leap with fear.

Caroline's pain mounted, a scream escaping from her lips. Resh's gaze snapped toward her.

"What are you all standing around for? Someone, go handle her injury." His voice was cold. "Have you forgotten how we deal with stage accidents?"

He swept his gaze over the cowering employees and pointed at them. "I don't tolerate worthlessness. If you can't prove your value, don't blame me for being merciless."

Panic erupted in the room as employees desperately rushed to the stage, scrambling to appear useful.

Ged's eyes narrowed at the scene. 

Resh was losing control. 

A man with a priestly demeanor darted to Caroline's side.

Heat radiated from his hands as he pressed them against her abdomen, kneading her muscle tissue with the practiced precision of an experienced masseur. Caroline's screams softened, giving way to pained groans as the healing took effect.

Resh's glowing blue gaze locked onto him like a predator sizing up its prey.

"So someone among you did know physical therapy?"

The priestly man flinched as Resh's eyes glowed like blue headlights. His hands trembled, nearly worsening Caroline's condition.

"Leader Resh..." he stammered, swallowing hard. "My mistake. I-I will show up faster next time..."

"Next time? You knew an untreated injury could cause necrosis, yet you did nothing?" His voice was eerily calm.

"Prove to me you are worth a 'next time'."

Resh rolled up his sleeves.

The other employees scattered, distancing themselves from the priestly man.

Sweat dripped from the priestly man's brow. His throat locked tight, every breath shallow. His life dangled by a thread.

One wrong word and he would be killed.

"I had only just arrived in the lobby. I-I was in the bathroom." It was the best excuse he could muster.

Resh wasn't convinced. His face darkened.

"I have no need for the useless." He spoke coldly.

The priestly man let out a strangled cry, backpedaling.

It seemed his last moments would be spent in terror.

"...Resh stop."

Ged's voice cut through the tension.

"Deal with him later. We will miss the sunset at this rate."

Resh's steps didn't falter.

"We can speak after. Let me finish this one first."

Ged's gaze hardened.

The priestly man's panicked cries continued to fill the room.

Ged sighed.

"We'll talk later, then," he said, turning to leave through the door. "My time is tight. I'm leaving."

His words made Resh pause.

His rage turned cold.

"You... " he glared at the priestly man. "I will deal with you later."

The room fell deathly silent.

Resh turned and followed Ged out.

For all his fury, his conversation with Ged mattered more than a worthless life.

The priestly man collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

For now, he had been spared.

Ged and Resh left the Hidden Olympian. Drilling through the ground, they emerged into the stone grotto above the seedy establishment.

Sunlight poured over them, illuminating their forms.

Ged breathed in the fresh air, savoring the warmth of the sun.

Resh, however, was less than impressed. He stumbled back a step, shielding his eyes as the sudden brightness momentarily blinded him.

"Damn, it's worse than I remembered," he complained, blocking the glare with his hand.

"You spend too much time underground," Ged replied. "A little sun every now and then will keep you sane."

"Sane?" Resh scoffed. "I don't need sanity. If anything, I need less."

Ged frowned. "I would disagree."

"Your leadership is slipping. I saw it myself." He stared out into the distance. "Your men aren't falling in line like they used to. Your unpredictability is making them unfocused."

"What would you know about leadership?" Resh spat. "They fear me. That is enough. You could learn a few things from them," he added, his glare sharp.

Ged narrowed his eyes.

"It's the drugs." He ignored Resh's hostility. "How much Blue Water are you taking these days?"

"Blue Water?" Resh crossed his arms. "I'm not taking much."

"I'm at sixteen vials daily and handling it just fine. Compared to your hundred, I'm practically restrained. If anything, I've thought about increasing it," Resh sneered. "I've fallen behind in my training."

"Increasing it?" Ged's frown deepened. "Resh..."

"Don't start," Resh interrupted, his tone softening slightly. "I don't need you, of all people, to worry about me."

He paused, his voice dropping lower. "I've got too much going on. My greedy brothers would roast me alive if given the chance. Behind my back, they're already dividing up my territory, just waiting for me to stumble."

He clenched his fist.

But even his raw fury couldn't silence the storm brewing inside him.

"I am sick and tired of being manipulated by schemes."

Ged fell silent.

"For once, I will be the one who is the manipulator."

He looked at the setting sun and stared directly into it, refusing to avert his gaze.

The light burned his irises charcoal black. Pain mounted, but he didn't flinch.

"The sun dares to burn my eyes. The sky dares to loom above me."

"When I look at the sun, I want my gaze to be the one that burns it." His fist clenched.

"When I walk, I want the sky beneath my feet."

"Everything will bow before my presence."

"Even you will fall to your knees." He pointed with indignant righteousness.

Ged frowned.

Ged replied. "As long as you don't limit my growth, you can rule over me as much as you want."

"I don't believe you," Resh growled. "You are just the same as the others. Prove to me you are worthy of being beneath my feet."

Ged smirked.

"Twenty Cumulus Gang members were at the Abyssal Mouth today. I have information about their names, their status, as well as the Golden Suns they were fighting," Ged said.

Resh's ears twitched, but Ged stopped talking.

"Hmph. You do have your uses." He took out 100 vials from his abs and tossed them over to Ged.

"I may just keep you around."

"Keep talking," he commanded.

Ged let out a breath of relief and recounted the events of the Abyssal Mouth and the protest in full.

"So bold," Resh commented. "I never would have thought those cowardly Cumulus Gang bastards would be so impudent as to fish in our mouth." He sighed. "But this news only confirms my suspicions about the days ahead."

"War is coming," he muttered. "I've long suspected my brothers' ambitions were growing. Now, with this crisis added to the mix, this only makes our path forward clearer."

He tore the sleeves off his shirt and flexed his bicep. Floating within the muscle was the embedded outline of a semi-automatic firearm.

"We need to prepare," he said seriously.

"I have already pledged to make one hundred guns for the gang. Ged, if we are to weather this incoming storm, I'm going to need your help."

Pulling out a clay tablet, he handed it to Ged.

"I don't need many. Get me twenty guns made," he said.

Ged examined the clay tablet. It detailed a workout to create firearms in one's biceps at the cost of their mass.

He frowned.

"Resh, this will affect my growth. I can't make these," he replied, trying to return the tablet.

"Outsource them," Resh said bluntly. "I don't care how you do it. Just get them done."

"Here." He took out three more clay tablets and handed them to Ged. "I know you don't like training muscle abilities since they affect your physique's definition, but you'll need these. Train them. They're all offensive muscle abilities. If you get into a conflict, you'd best be prepared."

Ged nodded and took the workout tablets, and after a bit of back-and-forth negotiation, he traded the piece of Celestial Iron for more mass and other materials for drug production.

After saying his goodbyes, Ged departed.

Resh stood motionless, watching the last sliver of sun vanish. Once darkness fell, he muttered one final remark to the sun: "Coward." Then, he turned to leave.

Ged made his way back home. His thoughts remained on their conversation. Despite his outbursts, Ged still saw him as a friend. He wanted him alive, yet Resh seemed determined to walk the path of self-destruction.

It had been a long day. With all the loot he had gathered, it was as good a time as any to work out. His foster parents were probably winding down for the night. He didn't want to stay out any later and risk arousing their suspicions.

As he reached his house, his steps slowed. A deep frown crept over his face.

The entrance was broken.

What the hell?