When Noah Vale arrived at the gym that afternoon, Smith was already waiting.
That wasn't surprising.
After the morning's chaos, Noah's face had been plastered across every major New York news site. It would have been harder not to notice.
Smith looked at him with a complicated expression.
Just yesterday, he'd been curious to see what kind of progress Noah would make.
Instead, the guy had spent the morning making national headlines by wiping out a gang of armed robbers.
No pressure.
Noah walked in like nothing had happened.
"Let's start training."
He rolled up his sleeves and headed toward the squat rack.
Smith quickly raised a hand.
"Hold on, Noah."
Noah paused.
"What?"
Smith lowered his voice slightly.
"Our boss heard about what happened today. He'd like to talk with you."
Noah glanced at him.
"Your boss?"
"Yeah. The owner of this gym."
Smith shrugged.
"He heard you've been training here and wants to meet tonight if you're available."
"What does he want to talk about?"
Smith hesitated.
"Well… he thinks you've got the perfect image for promoting the club. Something like a sponsorship deal."
He scratched the back of his head.
"The starting offer is in the millions. Exact numbers are negotiable."
Noah raised an eyebrow.
"And if I'm not interested?"
Smith shrugged again.
"The boss expected that possibility. He said if you're not interested, that's fine."
He continued.
"But he'd still like to make friends. He authorized a refund of the membership fee you paid, and you're welcome to train here for free anytime—twenty-four hours a day."
Smith gestured toward the equipment.
"And since this branch is pretty old, he's already planning to ship in newer equipment tomorrow."
He hesitated before adding:
"If necessary, he's even willing to commission custom machines built specifically for your strength level."
Noah couldn't help smiling slightly.
That was… impressively generous.
With someone being this accommodating, turning them down outright felt a little rude.
He thought about it for a moment.
"Tell your boss I'm busy this month," Noah said finally. "Next month, I'll visit him myself."
Smith nodded.
"I'll pass it along."
"And tell him," Noah added casually, "I might have a business opportunity worth over a hundred billion to discuss."
Smith blinked.
"…A hundred billion?"
"Something like that."
Noah waved it off.
"You'll see when the time comes."
He pointed toward the squat rack.
"Now let's train."
Smith nodded and walked over to help load the bar.
Noah stretched his shoulders.
"Let's go big today. One ton for squats."
Smith froze.
"…One ton?"
He looked around the rack awkwardly.
"The maximum weight we can assemble here is about 260 kilograms."
"No problem," Noah replied. "Just stack multiple bars together."
That turned out to be easier said than done.
Once plates were loaded, each barbell could only be gripped comfortably with one hand. Even with Noah's strength, he could realistically manage two bars at most.
A third could barely be balanced across his shoulders.
More than that wasn't practical.
In the end, Noah settled for three bars combined.
Roughly 780 kilograms.
He stepped into position and began squatting.
At first, everything seemed fine.
But after several minutes, Noah noticed something strange.
He wasn't getting tired.
Not even slightly.
His breathing stayed steady.
His muscles felt… comfortable.
Even as the massive weight pressed down on his body, the tiled floor beneath his feet began cracking from the pressure.
And yet—
No sweat.
No fatigue.
After one thousand squats, Noah's expression hadn't even changed.
His stamina was recovering faster than the exercise could drain it.
Smith stared in disbelief.
What kind of monster trains like this…?
Noah frowned slightly.
He had discovered something during the past few days.
When training pushed his body close to its limits, the system's improvement rate increased dramatically.
But as his attributes rose, actually reaching that limit became harder and harder.
Without enough pressure, progress slowed down.
If Magneto were here, Noah thought with mild regret, he could probably increase the weight with his powers.
Unfortunately, reality wasn't that convenient.
Still squatting under the enormous weight, Noah suddenly spoke.
"Do you guys have sulfuric acid here?"
Smith blinked.
"…Sulfuric acid?"
Noah thought about it.
"Never mind. I'll bring some tomorrow."
Smith stared.
Why would anyone bring acid to a gym…?
Noah had already begun considering the idea seriously.
At his current durability, bathing in high-concentration acid might actually serve as effective resistance training.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
Today was that Oscorp field trip.
Which means Peter Parker probably already got bitten by the spider.
Interesting.
But that was a problem for another day.
Noah turned toward Smith.
"Grab an unloaded barbell," he said.
Smith did.
"Now hit me with it."
Smith blinked again.
"…You want me to beat you with a barbell?"
"Exactly."
Noah continued squatting calmly.
"I want to improve my resistance to blunt force. Don't worry—you won't hurt me."
I'm not worried about you, Smith thought bitterly. I'm worried about my arms falling off.
Still, he obeyed.
Gripping the steel bar with both hands, Smith swung it hard into Noah's back.
CLANG.
The impact sounded like striking a truck tire.
The recoil numbed Smith's hands instantly.
Noah felt a faint sting on his back.
From Smith's perspective, the only visible result was a slight redness on Noah's skin.
That was it.
"Did you use full strength?" Noah asked.
"It felt kind of light. My organs didn't even vibrate."
Smith stared at his own hands.
"I definitely used full strength."
Noah checked the system interface in his mind.
The feedback was encouraging.
A few thousand more strikes and his physical resilience would increase again.
Not bad.
"Alright," Noah said.
"Actually… try aiming for the back of my head."
Smith stared at him.
"You want me to hit your skull?"
"Yeah. Should give better results."
Moments later—
BONK.
The steel bar smacked directly into the back of Noah's head.
Noah sucked in a sharp breath.
For a moment, the world rang loudly in his ears.
He turned quickly toward Smith.
"Okay—pause."
Smith had already raised the bar again.
"Let's stick to the back," Noah said hurriedly. "My head's still a little fragile."
"Got it."
Smith obediently resumed hammering his back with full force.
After a few dozen strikes, however, Smith's arms were completely numb.
He eventually collapsed into a nearby chair to rest.
Meanwhile, Noah continued experimenting with training methods.
Soon he discovered something new.
By deliberately disrupting the flow of energy within his body—forcing it through unnatural paths—he could place enormous strain on his internal systems.
The sensation was like thousands of needles piercing his muscles and nerves.
Painful.
But effective.
Noah smiled faintly.
According to the system's analysis, his body would fully recover from the internal damage within about seventy minutes.
Repeated enough times, the process would significantly strengthen both his physical resilience and mental endurance.
It was brutal.
But progress rarely came easily.