Isn't this a bit Sudden?

~ Ayano's Pov, A few days later... ~

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It's already been a few days since that last trip... Fortunately, everything has been going on normally. I even checked up on Chisaki a few times, and she was doing ok, I even found out that she likes to text, so we message each other quite a bit.

I glanced out my window, 'If only things could continue like this...' I liked the fighting, but I also appreciated the bit of peace that came after it. It's, soothing at least in its own little way...

DING~

Hmm?

DING~

'Seriously, what's up with this sou-'

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{SYSTEM UPDATE INITIATING...}

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I shot up from my bed, 'Wait, what? System? Is that what this thing is called? And, an update?' It's never done something like this before. Just what is going on here?

'Is it busted or something?'

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{THE PLAYER WILL NOW EXPERIENCE REAL-TIME GROWTH... THE PLAYER'S BODY HAS BEGUN TO-̵̮̫̏

̴̖͍̱͔͙̠̝̀̇̌͝ͅĔ̵̬̼̙̲̳̟͙̥͔̋͒̌́̂͌̏͘͜͠R̷͙̤̩̤̠̹̹̞̿͂̄͋͌̂́̐͋͝R̴̨͎͔̗͚͓͖̫̳̅͘Ȏ̴̘͎̘͐̄͂͊̕R̴̨̨̢̺͎̦̩͔̥̈́̋ͅ-̷͙̣̤̭͈̭͛͊R̸̜̯͈̼̙̙̺͈̟̍̇͋́̽̑̑ͅE̸̳̼̍͐̓͛̽͑̓̾͘D̷̢͉͇̼̀̃̊ͅA̸̡̢̠̩̮̯͒̋̋̓̏̌͝͝Ç̷̘̪̗̯͔̪̊̐̔̓̐̑̚ͅT̴̳̲̩͆̍͝͝Ë̷̘̟̼͙̥͖̘́̎̀̽͝D̸̨̛͐̈́͠-̷̧̗͇͋̄̐͗̒͠E̴̞̻̰̝̺͈̒̂̉̒͋R̶͇͈̖̩̜͔̖̣̼͆̈́͗̍͊͛̍̂͠Ŗ̴͔͔̲͙̦̭̼̒̉͂́Ō̵͎̬̜̲͐ͅR̸͔̾̒̒̆̆́͊-̴̛̟̼͎̭̟͙̦̺̳̌̈́̍̑͗̈́͜R̶̳̱͉̻̬̯̀͐̎͛̓̓͒̅͘̕E̷͕̹̲̘̾̀̑̋̂̾̃͊̕͝D̸̹̳͉͎̼̥̫͍͎̽̈́͗Å̷̟̩̪̌͐̓͗͜͜C̷̨̢̟̰̜̤̬̜͉̗̍͂́̊͝͝T̸̥͕̫̖͙̙̍̀̈́̀̌͜͝Ĕ̸̦̘̗̝̣̣̺͔̹̌͛D̴͕̐̉̑̎-̶̹̻̄̄̇E̶̹̊͜Ŕ̴̤̞͖̪̹̊̑̃͋̑́͠͝ͅR̵̡̫̦̬̻͇̐̀͗͗O̴̧̙͛͜Ŗ̸̤̖̱̳͚̹̯̿̒͗́̀͂̓͛ͅ-̴̝͕̈́̽͂̓͒̒̈́̚R̴̬̩̘̩̩̩͎͍͂͗̔͝Ë̸̛̮̹͓̜̲̳͍́̌̄̋͜ͅͅD̵̢̛͍̲̻͚̬̖͈̎͂̔̔̂͌̂͆̇A̶̛̺͙̹͕̖̜̥͈͉̞͑̋̍͆̓̏̓͐C̴͕̆̉̌̈́͘Ț̶̗͎̳͉̓̿͘͜Ę̸̝̻̪͑͌̈́̿̀͊̈́͆͋D̸̛̜̟̓̐͊͌͒̓̅̓̕-̴̞͖͚̫͇̗̋̈́͠Ȩ̶͍̹̦̳͉͇̖̠͊̽̓͛͂͂͝R̷̩̠̞̪͇̣̖̋̈́͌́̽̇̈́͛́͝Ṛ̶̢͎̙̺̩̋͐̏̿͆̾́̐̈́͘Ǫ̶̨̬͚̣̗̹̬̬͒R̵͎̠͍̺̯̣͎͛̑-̶̡͖̲̗͔̪̜̥̐̇͒̓̄͜R̵̨̧̖̫̺͍͇͇̣̫̎̄͑̒̎E̸͙̗͔̞͙̭͉͈̯͒͠Ḏ̸͇̹̮̬̗̺̥̘͛͋̀͗̍̈́̑͒̂͘Ȁ̵̞͔̯̤̞͖̓Ć̸̢̗͙͈̽T̶͉̲̞̥̳͇̖̉̑͘ͅE̸͖̖̙̱͉͓̰͉͂͆̃͑̿͘͝D̸͇̺̟͍̙͙̼͕̈̏͆̆̍͒̅̚̕͜͠}

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"ARGHH!!!!"

Thud!

...

The room felt like it all tilted for an instant...

A deep, low buzz was rattling in my ears—like, it was some kind of fucking siren was pressed against through an old radio... My vision was fluttering, static trailing across the edges of everything in my sight! That unreadable wall of text, the panel messages twisting into madness, it wasn't just a screen. It was in me. Through me.

My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't move at first. Something inside… shifted. Like a slow, twisting realignment of bones and nerves, subtle but wrong—my muscles tensed without command, and for a few terrifying seconds I couldn't even feel my heartbeat.

'What the hell was that?'

I clutched at my chest instinctively, trying to ground myself, but my hands were, trembling... Not from fear, not entirely, I think—more like a sensation I couldn't put words to.

'Real-time growth? What even is that supposed to mean?'

I looked around the room—nothing out of place. My desk. My phone. My notes from the last trip. Normal, mundane stuff...

"Calm, down…" I whispered to myself. "Just… breathe…" I'm a grown man, something like this won't take me down.

Still, the pain, it just vanished entirely. I'm glad it's gone, but I'm worried about what this so-called system was even going through. Did it malfunction on me? No, I can't begin to fathom what that would even do to me, or others if that were the case...

Vrrm~

Vrrm~

...

My phone, of course it's ringing... And an unknown number too. I picked it up, albeit reluctantly.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ayano, it's you. Good. I just wanted to call and tell you I'm coming to start working on the deal we've made."

Oh, It's just Chitose's mom, and what!? "Wait!? Seriously? Isn't this a bit, sudden? Won't those materials for something like an underground training facility take a few weeks to even procure?"

Before she even responded, I sure I heard her chuckle, "Yes, that's for normal people... I am not normal. In fact, our family is one of the most powerful on the entire planet due to the nature of our work... Things like these are literally child's play to acquire, though~ I don't want to brag about it."

I shook my head; I didn't have the mental energy to refuse her at the moment, nor did I have a reason to really even do so.

"I... get that... But, where are you now?"

Then, I heard the sound of a car pulling up in front of my home... 'No, way...'

I dashed towards my window, looking out to and seeing black sedan, but multiple heavy duty cargo trucks, no they looked like modular transport vehicles, all parked right outside my premises. Then I saw one of the black sedan's door opening, slowly revealing her.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention that I was already here."

'You've got to be kidding me...'

She's coming in here... Isn't she. I looked out again, only to see her approaching the front door now. 'Yep, she's definitely coming here.' Before I even knew it, my hand was already planted firmly on my face. First this so called system starts malfunctioning, and now my friend's mom show up out of nowhere on me...

I went downstairs to meet her, no point in resistin' this. I guess the sooner the better too.

She stood on the other side with that same composed poise she always wore like an armor—impeccably dressed. Heck, not a single strand of hair out of place, and not the slightest hint of apology in her eyes.

"Good morning, Ayano." she said cheerfully, as though this were a friendly neighborhood visit and not the start of a construction operation in my backyard. "You look a little pale—is everything alright?"

I blinked, nearly laughed at the understatement. "Yeah, just... Never mind me. Is it okay if I come see what you're up to?"

She nodded, "Of course."

Behind her, workers were already climbing out of the trucks, moving with mechanical precision—like they'd done this a hundred times before. One of them tipped his hat at me. But, his face was pretty much dead serious... Uncanny valley much? I waved back at him just to be polite.

"You seriously brought all this without even warning me?"

"I did call..." she said lightly, stepping past me into the house without waiting for permission. "I just didn't bother waiting for you to agree."

I exhaled through my nose. My entire day was spiraling, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

"Okay then… Where are you even building this thing precisely?"

She smiled, pulling a sleek tablet from her handbag... "I've managed scanned the property on the way in. The forested area behind your home will suffice, in fact it's perfect. Remote, shielded, and far enough from any potential nosy neighbors. Don't worry—I'll handle all the permits. Or more precisely, I'll make them disappear."

Of course she would.

"Alright..." I muttered, shutting the door behind her, "I guess we're doing this then."

And just like that, my so-called normal week came to a screeching halt. System breakdowns, reality-bending updates, and a literal secret training base being built in my backyard... All in a day's work, apparently.

I rubbed my eyes and muttered under my breath. "I really need some coffee... Maybe I could learn how to make."

Actually... This day can be a great one.

"Hey, are all those guys out there aware of our, or my situation by any chance...?"

She turned, and answered me. "Yes, they work directly under me... Why do you ask?"

I smiled... "Maybe I can find where my limit is."

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"Hey, excuse me... How much does this entire thing weigh, if you don't mind me asking."

The man glanced at me with an unreadable look, then gave a small shrug. "The base module? It weighs around 150 metric tons, and one of those containers on top of it alone is roughly, 350 metric tons... Why?"

I stepped a little closer, eyes scanning over the stacked crates and reinforced alloy panels being wheeled toward the clearing. "No reason… Just a little curious."

"Right…" He eyed me a second longer before returning to his task, probably thinking I was just some bored kid watching professionals at work.

But I wasn't just watching. Nor was I a child, I was just gauging this thing...

500 metric tons in total… I stood next to one of the steel lifts and let my fingers brush the side. Cold, dense. My arms tensed for a second. There was this strange feeling in my head, like I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this thing to maximize strength gain... Heck, my entire body didn't even feel like mine anymore… but, maybe that wasn't a bad thing.

"Hey," I called out again, "Mind if I try lifting it..? Just wanna see what I'm working with."

The guy actually laughed at that. "Son, I know you might have super human strength... But, your spine will attempt to file for a divorce. This thing's not meant to even budge without the rig."

I tilted my head slightly, letting a quiet smirk form at the corner of my mouth. "Then maybe I should introduce myself to it properly."

He was about to wave me off again, probably thinking I was joking, until he saw me walk straight up to the edge of the container stack—right where the base and upper module connected, the worst possible leverage point. I crouched, palms flat against the cold metal, taking a slow breath...

"Hrrmm..."

The groan of the steel echoed through the clearing, a sound like tectonic plates scraping together. At first, I'd braced myself with both hands, expecting the kind of resistance that would make my tendons scream. But when I pulled—there wasn't pain. There wasn't even that crushing strain I thought would knock me flat.

There was just movement.

The entire 500 metric tons, moved. My eyes widened, not in fear—but, realization. This… was light? I let out a breathless laugh and loosened one hand from the steel—just to test it, just to be sure—and kept lifting.

It was still rising, still completely effortless too.

A full inch off the ground, then two. One hand, fingers curled beneath reinforced alloy, metal groaning in reluctant defiance as if it knew it shouldn't be this easy. But, it was. My feet weren't even dug into the dirt, and my body wasn't even anchored or twisting for leverage either. It was just an extremely casual lift, like moving a stubborn suitcase onto a high shelf.

Around me, all the workers had stopped entirely. One guy even dropped his clipboard... Another mouthed something I couldn't hear far off, his brain was clearly failing to categorize what he was witnessing.

Even I couldn't comprehend it either. But, it was definitely getting closer to my maximum, I can tell, not by much, but this pretty much felt like a sizeable stone in my arm, rather than anything to call heavy, actually...

Then I could see Chitose's mother come out... And for the first time, there was absolute look of shock on her face. This was definitely worth it then. I turned to the man who told me about this. 

"So... Mind if I help in moving these things?"

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END