Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

When Ark and Olivia arrived at their assigned compartment, there were already players working out in the area marked out as the gym, while others clashed on the sparring decks.

— Hey, I’m going to hit a thousand reps today, just watch me!

— You’re going to break both your arms, that is not how to use a dumbbell!

— Come, let’s get this sparring session started, I don’t have all day, you know?

— How many abs do you think I need to win the heart of one of Fable’s goddesses?

Despite their chatter, their voices were not loud, and the place was not crowded.

Each player was assigned a compartment after registering, so it was hard to have so many people in a room that it became a problem.

The compartment they had been assigned had two sparring zones, countless workout equipment, and even an instructor who was barking out orders to a group of rather unfortunate players.

Part of the wall was made entirely out of glass, meaning they had a view of the vast forest outside, and floating up in the centre of the compartment was a magical projection of the battle arena.

There was currently a fight going on...

Ark stared at the screen with interest. The idea of battling your way through countless enemies, going deeper and deeper into the Astral Arena, and seizing glory was the desire of countless players in Eden.

Fighting in the arena was even a form of training, but unfortunately, Ark had resigned himself to stay away, for now.

He had come to the Astral Arena to train, not enter a competition, and that was exactly what he would do.

"Should we start with a little workout?" Olivia asked as she walked up to the side of the room.

Arranged by the wall were tons of magi-tec equipment, organised neatly by the side.

Players were many times stronger than the average human, so normal equipment was useless to them.

But there was also a limit to how much you could increase the weight of a barbell before it became far too big.

For many years, players had to work out using strange items, such as large rocks that rolled down from mountains, trees that had been uprooted from their roots, and a lot of other items.

That was until this equipment was invented...

Ark stared at the barbell that was next to Olivia. It was not overly bulky; it simply had a hexagonal weight on each side, with blue glowing lines around them.

It was a gravity equipment.

This workout equipment did not depend on weight to function; instead, it worked by manipulating gravity around the player, thereby increasing the load on their muscles.

"I guess a light workout is in order," Ark replied.

Sparring with her was his main priority, but working out was a good way to warm up.

Olivia took off her shirt, revealing the black sports bra that was underneath it, then tossed it to the side.

While she positioned herself on the bench, underneath her barbell, Ark slid into the one right next to her.

He held the iron bar firmly, then stared up. There was a small screen underneath it, and currently, that screen displayed "0."

"How do you use this thing?" Ark glanced at her.

Huff~

Huff~

She had already begun her workout, her eyes sharp with focus as she stared at the equipment.

Her muscles were taut, and Ark watched as the thick cords of flesh moved with each push.

"There are two settings..." Olivia began to explain.

"First, you can set it to whatever weight you want. Click the right part of the screen to increase it, and the left part to reduce it..."

The barbell came down low, nearly brushing her chest. She gritted her teeth, letting out a breath as she pushed it up, repeating the motion.

And then her wings held the bars in place. They must have been much stronger than her arms, because Olivia turned around and placed her arm underneath her sweat-soaked face.

"Or you can tap it twice to automatically calibrate a suitable weight for you."

Ark nodded and did as she instructed. He had no idea how strong he was, so there was no way to know how much weight was reasonable.

So he just tapped it twice, the barbell chiming as he grabbed it and started his workout.

At first, it felt like he was lifting air, the rod felt nearly weightless.

—000 Pounds —> 1000 Pounds

Ark could now feel that he was carrying something, but it was not enough. He was still pushing it up and down with ease; he could not even feel any strain...

—> 1500 pounds

Ark continued his workout.

—> 2000 pounds

"Now we are going somewhere." But it had not gotten to the weight he needed.

—> 2500 —> 3000

Ark felt the weight press down on his arms; now it was really taking effort to push up the bar. He could no longer hurriedly lift it up and down as though it were a cardio exercise.

But at this weight, it would take ages to get any work done.

—> 4000

Ding!

—> 4157

Ark stared at the number the equipment had settled for.

’4,157 pounds... that is more than the weight of an average car.’ Ark mused.

It was perfect...

Each push felt like he was trying to lift a boulder through a lake of oil, and each rep caused his bones to tremble from the sheer force needed to overcome the gravity powering the equipment.

"Now we are talking!"

"One... two... ten... fifty... one hundred...!"

In a normal sense, from a biological standpoint, working out should have been useless to him since he was a skeleton.

But that was not how things worked in Eden...

This world did not follow natural laws. If it did, then it would make no sense how he was able to move without muscles and ligaments to usher his bones forward.

Ark was a supernatural creature, and so his body worked in its own unique way. After numerous battles, he was slowly beginning to figure it out...

A skeleton was fundamentally different from a human, but there were similarities. His body was powered by a form of mana that was different from what he could freely manipulate while forming spells.

It was a soft hum of energy that kept everything from falling out of place.

Ark’s grip on the steel bar tightened, and he focused on that mana, trying to get a proper feel of it.

That mana was his flesh, that mana was his blood, that mana was his nerves.

A human needs to master every aspect of their body. A skeleton, he needed to master every aspect of this mana.

Battles were too chaotic to get a proper feel of it, but while working out... Ark could feel every part of it!

Raise!

He pushed the bar higher before bringing it down slowly to his sternum, his eyes glowing brightly.

The two of them continued their workout, moving from one piece of equipment to the other when they got bored.

Although Ark expected Olivia to give up at some point, she was actually managing to keep up with him...

Now they were on the treadmill, running so fast that their feet blurred with each step.

"Isn’t it... annoying... that all this work... won’t affect our stats?" Olivia asked breathlessly.

"Well, it depends on how you see it." Ark said without a hitch in his breath. Sometimes, not having lungs was a plus.

While working out hardly ever increased stats, that didn’t mean it was pointless.

Instead of increasing stats, it helped to specialise your muscles, or in Ark’s case, bones and mana, making them more efficient in their function, almost like calibrating your stats...

All other forms of physical strain had the same effect.

As they continued their business in the gym, time went by like a blur, and before they knew it, seven hours had gone by.

But they were not done—

Olivia was sweating profusely, her skin glistening with moisture as she gulped down a waterskin.

Ark, on the other hand, was resting his back on the wall, feeling as though the world around him was spinning.

He was a skeleton, so he did not sweat, nor did he have to breathe, but he noticed something else...

His body had become extremely hot from the constant friction, almost as though he sat in a sauna for hours.

Olivia smirked as she glanced at him. "That was a good workout..."

Ark smiled internally. "It was..." Then he got up.

"Now that we have warmed up..." He glanced in the direction of the arena. Two players had just finished sparring, meaning the arena was free.

"Let’s start our match."

Olivia smiled brightly. "I thought you would never ask."

<•••>

Not too far away from the workout equipment, where a number of alloy weapons were meant to be used for sparring.

But neither Ark nor Olivia stopped by before they got onto the platform.

What was the point of using duds when they could practise with real blades?

They were the real weapons they would use in battle, training while using them was another form of training on its own.

Besides, a little blood never hurt anyone.

The sparring deck was an area of elevated land that had been covered with layers and layers of alloy metal.

Since dozens of players sparred in the arena every single day, it was designed in a way that it could take heavy hits without deforming in the slightest.

Ark and Olivia stood at the opposite ends of the platform, staring each other down.

Sparks formed in their hands as they both summoned their weapons, Olivia with the Mind Splitter axe, and Ark with his sleek katana, the Hero’s Blade.

Olivia smiled, her wings fanning out behind her. And in a heartbeat, she was upon Ark with a heavy swing—

Clang!

..

..

A/N

How well do you think Olivia will do against Ark?

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