Ethan was curious about his new limits.

And the first place he headed to was the squat rack.

Out of everything in this absurd, futuristic facility, it was the simplest thing there. You can’t go wrong with a bar, plates, and gravity. Compound lifts would also tell him exactly where he stood now.

He stepped toward the rack, eyes briefly flicking to the one beside it, where the grey-skinned man he had noticed earlier was still lifting.

The guy was a monster.

Stone-like skin stretched over a frame that looked carved rather than built. Veins bulged subtly beneath that unnatural surface as he dipped into another squat.

The bar on his shoulders was loaded with what had to be over a thousand pounds. The metal groaned, and the ground beneath him creaked faintly, and yet he rose smoothly, almost effortlessly.

Ethan watched for half a second, then looked away.

’Let’s not compare just yet.’

He stepped toward his own rack, hands reaching for the bar when...

"Oi."

The voice cut through the space, loud, sharp, and aggressive.

Ethan barely reacted at first, just a slight glance to his side.

But then, a shadow fell over him.

He looked up and saw him properly.

It was the same grey-skinned man now standing directly in his path. Up close, he was even bigger: tall and wide. He was also covered in tattoos that crawled across his arms, neck, and even parts of his face - dark ink against that unnatural stone-grey skin.

His build wasn’t just muscular; it was excessive, like someone who had turned brute force into their entire identity.

A few people nearby slowed down, turning to watch.

Ethan exhaled slowly.

’Of course, some bullshit has to happen.’

The man grinned.

"You two lost?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"No?"

The man didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he stepped closer, too close, as if to intimidate them.

Then, without warning, he reached forward and snatched both Ethan’s and Elara’s Titled IDs they had used to enter the facility straight from their hands.

The man glanced down at the cards.

Then he let out a loud, mocking, and ugly laugh.

"An E Rank?" he said, shaking his head. "What’s an E Rank doing here, thinking he’s all that?"

A small crowd began to form, drawn in by the tension and their own curiosity.

Ethan stared at him for a moment.

At first, he thought the guy was joking, but looking at him now, that grin and attitude, he was confused.

"You serious?" Ethan asked calmly.

In his eyes, this guy just looked like a loser, a big fucking loser.

The man’s grin faded slightly.

"There’s an unspoken rule," he said, voice dropping. "Weaklings don’t train here. Even D Ranks know better."

Ethan shrugged.

"Didn’t get the memo."

He paused before continuing.

"And I don’t really care."

That did it; the air shifted.

But before things could escalate further, Elara stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Ethan. She was awkwardly trying to look intimidating and to protect her blue-eyed counterpart.

The man paused, then burst out laughing.

"Oh, I know you," he said, pointing at her. "You’re that A Rank."

His grin twisted.

"The weakest one."

Elara stiffened.

"I don’t buy that bullshit on the news," he continued. "You didn’t do anything in that gate and won’t do anything here either."

He stepped forward and casually swatted her aside.

It wasn’t even a real attack, just a dismissive motion, but the force behind it sent her flying.

"-!"

She hit the ground hard, rolling across the reinforced floor before coming to a stop. There was some pain, but she wasn’t hurt badly. Not that it made her feel any better.

’I’ve had enough of feeling this weak.’

But she did the only thing she could and reached inwards.

’Help me...’ she called out internally, ’You said you’d lend me your power.’

There was a pause.

A strange, suffocating silence.

Then, she received a cold, dismissive response, as if this was beneath the demon she hosted within her body.

’Deal with it yourself.’

Elara’s eyes widened.

’...What?’

Confusion hit first, then a sudden, violent surge as power flooded her body. It just suddenly appeared, as if a dam holding a river of mana had been opened slightly.

Her breath hitched.

Energy surged through her veins like fire, crimson and wild.

This was the first time she was experiencing it for herself firsthand, since the demon would just take over her body.

Meanwhile, Ethan had already stepped forward, his expression darkened.

’If I use Partial Assimilation with Wolfy... I could smash this big fucker easily.’

His body tensed, ready to move.

As much as he wanted to conceal his abilities and didn’t want to cause a commotion, there was only so much a man could endure. Especially someone with a relatively short fuse, like Ethan.

But just as he was about to move, he paused, eyes locked onto Elara, who was getting back.

Something about her at first.

He immediately tensed.

’Shit... did the demon come out?’

If it had, this place would turn into a warzone.

She could probably massacre every Titled in this room, teleporting around and unleashing powerful beams of that destructive crimson energy.

But her eyes were still hers.

They were red and glowing faintly, but not consumed.

And though her aura flared, it wasn’t nearly as frightening as it had been within the gate when he had seen her be possessed.

Ethan paused, watching her curiously as she stared at her own hands in fascination.

’So this is what it feels like...’

Crimson energy danced across her palms like electricity, as if it had a mind of its own.

Nearby, the man who had been punching the reinforced wall stopped and turned to watch. The one levitating mid-meditation didn’t move at all, still floating calmly.

And lastly, the pink-haired woman on the treadmill vanished, a streak of pink cutting across the room. She reappeared closer, all eager to see what was about to happen as Elara stepped forward...