Chapter 64: Limits

’My limits?’

Adam echoed the words in his head as the vice-principal swiped a key card and pushed the double doors open.

Asher took the lead, striding into the room with confident, relaxed steps. Adam followed along, looking around the room.

"This is my private training room," Asher explained as he walked towards the middle of the room. "It has everything someone like me will need to cultivate."

"I-It’s really spacious."

Adam could not even begin to describe the room. Calling it a room was already a gross understatement. The vast chamber stretched across several hundred meters.

’All this just for him?’ Adam was beyond shocked.

To the left lay a combat area lined with adaptive alloy walls capable of repairing themselves after sustaining damage. The runes carved into them were as complex as they were functional.

Weapon racks stood neatly along the perimeter, holding everything from swords and spears to modern firearms and training equipment.

Beyond it was a physical conditioning area filled with specialised machines designed for evolved humans. Some focused on raw strength, while others trained speed, endurance, ability, and reaction time.

Adam’s gaze soon drifted toward a circular chamber enclosed behind thick transparent barriers. The air seemed to be distorted around and within the chamber, hinting at a purpose he could not even begin to consider.

Further ahead was another enclosed chamber. Adam could feel a dense concentration of Spark seeping through its entrance. Curiosity and excitement burned bright in his gaze.

The very floor of the expansive chamber was lined with more runes Adam found fascinating, their purpose and function only a glimpse away from being deciphered.

’This place is amazing!’

Asher looked over his shoulder with a smirk. Seeing Adam’s expression said it all. Removing his suit jacket, he hung it on a rack and turned to face the still gawking Adam, folding the sleeves of his shirt.

"Had enough?" he asked.

Adam snapped out of his daze and smiled, "I was wrong. This place is unbelievable! And you have it all to yourself."

"Your master is no child, Adam. I may be just one of several vice-principals, but not many are at my level of influence."

Adam nodded in understanding, his eyes still roaming around curiously.

"Follow me," Asher gestured for his disciple to follow. "Our first order of business is to test where your base strength sits."

The vice-principal led him to the chamber that seemed to distort the air.

"What is that chamber for?" He could have deduced the nature of that chamber if he wanted to. But why waste that time when he could simply ask.

"You’ll find out soon enough," Asher replied smoothly.

He entered a set of instructions into the small terminal attached to the wall and pushed the transparent doors open. The two then stepped inside.

Adam immediately felt the change in the air. A sudden heaviness seemed to linger in the chamber, subtly weighing down on his shoulders.

’I-It’s a gravity chamber!’

As the doors closed behind them, Asher moved to the opposite end of the chamber and turned to face Adam. The chamber measured roughly thirty meters in diameter, its floor constructed from some kind of dark grey alloy.

Above them was a ceiling that hardly looked like one. It resembled a series of concentric rings that gradually decreased in size towards the centre, humming softly as white light radiated from the gaps between them. The entire structure gave off a faint sense of power, as though immense machinery was hidden beyond sight.

"You ready?" Asher asked after giving Adam time to take in the chamber.

Adam lowered his head and nodded, his expression turning serious.

"Good. Now I want you to physically attack me with everything you have. No powers." The vice-principal instructed calmly. "Don’t think of anything else, Adam. Just attack."

Understanding what his master meant, Adam inhaled and exhaled, clenching his fists. Then he moved, his speed explosive.

’Second realm speed.’

Asher noticed in an instant, his right hand coming up to catch the punch closing in on his chest. The air exploded with a muffled boom as the vice-principal effortlessly caught the punch.

’Same as his strength.’

The observation proved the rumours going around. He had been sceptical at first, but experiencing his disciple’s strength opened his eyes.

’And he’s still at the early stages of the first realm. So his physical affinity grants him three times the strength and speed...’

The man was thoroughly amazed.

Rather than just stand in one place while Adam attacked, the vice-principal decided to move along with his disciple. That way, he would be able to see how Adam transitioned between attacks.

’Talk about impressive.’

Adam unleashed a rapid combination of strikes and kicks at his master, each move flawlessly transitioned and executed. The vice-principal backed away as he parried and blocked every attack with a single hand, his other hand at his back.

"Your martial arts are top-notch, Adam." Asher began, blocking another strike to his head. "But do you know what you lack?"

Adam shook his head as he continued attacking, glad he could go all out with his master.

"Experience." The vice-principal calmly stated.

"What you’re showing is textbook perfect. Your moves are clean. Maybe a bit too clean. But without the proper tempering, you’ll fall to an experienced fighter."

The vice-principal had no way of knowing the kind of physique and unique skill Adam possessed. Adam could read his opponents’ moves and adapt his fighting accordingly. Even his newly created skill, Predictive Sequence, could predict probable moves with a very high degree of accuracy.

Feints weren’t going to work on someone who could see them before they were ever made. So unless he was completely blinded, or his opponent was stronger, losing would be a difficult task. He had three times the endurance, three times the stamina, and three times the durability.

’He’s actually improving?’ The observation caused his eyes to widen. Asher could not believe what he was seeing.

Adam was adjusting his attacks on the fly, striking at angles that aimed to exploit the reach of the vice-principal’s hand. Suddenly, he flashed and appeared behind his master, hurtling a high kick at the back of the man’s head when gravity increased five times

Boom!

The lights in the chamber wavered and reddened in an instant, the gravity causing the air to distort even further. For a very brief moment, Adam faltered, the gravity slightly altering the angle of his perfectly executed attack.

The vice-principal still evaded the attack and spun, facing Adam once more. ’As I thought. He’s not really affected.’

Five times gravity was what most newly awakened humans could endure with a bit of effort. Adam, on the other hand, shrugged it off and adjusted almost instantly. It was as though there was nothing weighing him down.

’Let’s kick it up a notch.’

"Get ready. I’m going to attack now." The vice-principal warned as he withdrew his other hand from his back.