Ethan couldn’t sit still.

Even after eating enough to satisfy the constant hunger that came ever since becoming a Titled, there was still a restless energy simmering beneath his skin. It wasn’t just physical, it was mental. A pressure that built the longer he stayed idle.

So naturally, he didn’t.

"Oi, at least stack the plates!" Mark called out from behind him as Ethan pushed his chair back and stood up.

Ethan waved a hand lazily over his shoulder as he headed for the door.

"You’ve got it, big man."

Mark stared at him as he retreated in disbelief.

"I swear this guy-"

The door shut behind Ethan.

And, as expected, Elara followed immediately, rarely more than a metre away from him.

She nudged his arm lightly, trying to get his attention.

*So, where are we off to?* she signed, her expression curious.

Ethan glanced at her briefly.

"You’ll see."

She paused, then sighed. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

They walked for a few minutes in relative silence before arriving at their destination.

Elara stopped and looked around, her brows knitting together.

*A park?* she signed, confusion evident. *What are we doing here?*

Ethan turned to her, face completely serious.

"We’re on a date."

She froze.

Her eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed red instantly.

*Really?*

Ethan held the expression for a beat longer, then...

"No, hahaha! I’m here to fucking exercise."

Before she could even react, he was gone, taking off like a bullet.

His pace was ridiculous.

Even at what he would call a "jog," he moved faster than most trained athletes at a full sprint. His feet barely seemed to touch the ground as he tore across the park.

Elara watched him go, shaking her head before sitting down on a nearby bench.

’What an asshole.’

She didn’t bother chasing him and simply watched from a distance.

Ethan didn’t slow down.

He ran lap after lap, pushing himself further each time.

When he stopped, it wasn’t to rest; it was to drop into push-ups, explosive and rapid. Then pull-ups. Then sprints again. Then bodyweight squats, lunges, anything he could think of.

He moved like a man possessed.

To him, this was grounding and gave him clarity.

Each breath, each movement, each strain of muscle helped clear the noise in his head.

But after a while, something felt off.

An hour passed, then another, and that’s when Ethan finally stopped.

After almost two hours of constant exercise, his breathing was steady, almost too steady. He was barely even sweating.

Ethan frowned.

’That’s it?’

He straightened, his fists clenching as frustration crept in.

’Training like this isn’t working anymore.’

It made sense.

He wasn’t the same person he used to be.

His body, his stats, his limits - they had all changed, and now this kind of training was far from enough. With a quiet exhale, Ethan gave up and made his way back toward the bench.

Elara hadn’t moved.

Her red eyes tracked him the entire time.

"You didn’t want to run with me?" Ethan asked as he approached, dropping onto the bench beside her.

She smirked.

A cheeky glint in her eyes.

*Why would I exercise in a park...* she signed slowly, *when there are training facilities in all Association bases for Titled?*

Ethan froze mid-stretch.

"...What?"

*Gyms. Private rooms. Equipment,* she continued casually.

*I think they even have gravity chambers.*

Ethan turned to her fully, his eyes wide.

"What?!"

She blinked, unfazed.

"Why didn’t you say this sooner?!" he demanded.

She shrugged lightly.

*I thought you liked this park.*

Then, she smiled.

Ethan stared at her for a second.

Then ran a hand through his hair and laughed, seeing that she was getting him back for saying it was a date.

"Fair enough."

Still, that itch to push himself was still there.

"Come on," he said, standing abruptly. "We’re going."

*Now?*

"Yes, now."

-

Not long after, they found themselves outside the nearest Association base.

From the outside, it was already impressive: glass panels, reinforced steel, and a security presence that screamed: "Don’t even think about it".

They flashed their Titled IDs and were both let inside.

Then they followed signs toward the training facilities, since neither of them had been to one before. Which made what came next even more striking.

The doors slid open.

Ethan stepped through, then stopped.

"Yeah..."

His eyes drifted across the space, taking everything in.

"This is insane."

It was massive, not just in size, but in design.

The entire floor was made of a reinforced composite material, clearly built to withstand impacts that would shatter concrete. The ceiling stretched high, lined with bright artificial lighting that mimicked daylight perfectly.

Everything was segmented into zones, purpose-built sections.

There were free weights, machines, sparring rooms, enclosed chambers, and even specialised pods that hummed faintly with energy.

It looked like a gym.

But it felt like something else entirely, both futuristic and supernatural.

Not to mention the fact that the people inside weren’t normal.

A man with grey, stone-like skin stood beneath a barbell loaded with an absurd number of plates. The metal creaked under the strain, yet he rose steadily from his squat, calm and controlled as if the weight meant nothing.

Nearby, a woman with pink hair ran backwards on a treadmill set to what had to be over fifty miles per hour. She had perfect balance and control, doing so effortlessly as if it were her warm-up.

Elsewhere, someone punched at a reinforced wall, each strike leaving visible dents. Another sat cross-legged, body faintly glowing with mana as they literally levitated off the ground.

Those were the most eye-catching figures.

Ethan let out a quiet breath.

"A whole place full of freaks just like me."

This was the most Titled he had seen in one place.

But even as he said it, he knew they weren’t quite like him.

They were all Titled who were chosen and given power, but he was different.

’I had to pass a trial to get my Title, well, kinda. And now I have to hunt beasts in my sleep to unlock my abilities while I’m guided by this game-like system.’

Still, he didn’t dwell on it.

Instead, a grin spread across his face.

"This is more like it."

He rolled his shoulders and walked forward, heading straight for a squat rack.

’All the fancy stuff isn’t needed,’ he thought. ’Just give me a bar and some plates.’

He’d never really been into lifting before; that had always been Mark’s thing, but now he was curious about his new limits.

’I can probably lift a shit ton, especially if I partially assimilate with Wolfy.’

But of course, it wouldn’t be a day in Ethan’s life without something going wrong and having an unusual encounter...