Chapter 6 - A relatively broken perk

[Re-edited: 03/05/2024]

Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.

Demian's P.O.V

Before his feet brought him too far, his rumbling stomach reminded him that he had eaten nothing since the previous day. From the memories floating around in his head, he was not a big eater in his current life and would usually not feel much difference if he skipped a meal. This time, however, the impact seemed to be much higher than normal. His whole body felt sluggish, while his mind had trouble focusing on anything too complicated. 'I gotta get something in my stomach or I can probably forget about doing any workout.' He thought as his body naturally moved toward the open kitchen. After a quick examination, he grabbed several foodstuffs before setting everything on the dinner table and settling in the seat in front of it. "Crap, I forgot to make myself some coffee." He mumbled before standing up again and preparing himself a cappuccino. 'Money may be the root of all evil, but having enough of it to have a coffee machine capable of making cappuccino at home is still great.' He commented inwardly before chuckling discreetly.

Around twenty minutes later, the thin young man was done with his breakfast, coffee included. Patting his slightly bloated stomach, he mumbled with puzzlement. "That's weird..." Indeed, the quantity of food he had just ingested was the equivalent of around three times compared to what he was used to eating, and the only visible effect was his flat stomach bulging a bit. Shaking his head, he tidied the table before walking toward the gym room. He had an inkling that his Physiology Perk may have been the culprit, however, having no concrete proof, he simply decided to let it go and focus on what was truly important, and, in that case, it was the door in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the handle and pushed it down intently while muttering. "It all begins now... Let's do this!"

Pushing the door open, his gaze fell on the massive room behind it. With some quick calculation, Demian found that around a third of the first floor was solely taken by this room. And, that was with their penthouse being already massive. At least, it was for his lower-middle-class memories from his previous life. Thinking about all the different bedrooms, bathrooms, office rooms, etc. scattered in the 'apartment', a wry thought surfaced in his mind. 'I guess that my previous poor financial state limited my imagination...' Slapping his face gently with his two hands, he exclaimed. "Money is not what I should think about now! Focus, Demian! Focus!" With his mind and body working normally, now that he was full, he could finally decide how to start this workout session. "Let's see..." He mumbled while his gaze started roaming around the room, noting every machine, dumbbell, etc. available.

Once having made the inventory of the staggering amount of possible exercise he was able to do thanks to the equally staggering amount of items around, he started pondering out loud. "Let's think about it logically. The only Perk I can use here should be my Equalized Adaptive Physiology. The rest have other uses." A few moments later, he started walking toward the dumbbells rack, or more precisely toward the lighter weights section. Standing in front of the lightest dumbbell he could find, his hands then swiftly grabbed two 1KG weights and started doing biceps curls. 'If what the Entity said is true, not only should every part of my physical prowess improve with any exercise I do, but my talent should also increase... With how weak and untalented I currently am, I'd be screwed if he lied to me.' He thought as the strain in his arm muscles started growing more and more.

'I've really fallen. 1 kg weights and I feel like I'm lifting 15 kg weights... I really can't wait for the time I reach my previous level, or even go beyond it!' After his two upper limbs started shaking as if they were about to fall off, the young man set the weights on the ground to recover his stamina. While his body was sweating massively to cool down his inner temperature and his lungs were akin to an industrial vacuum cleaner with how much air was inhaled and exhaled, the young man recalled the few specifics the Entity shared about his Physiology Perk. 'If what he said is right, even if I just work on one aspect of my body, all of them should increase equally... The brokenness of this Perk is insane... But then again, it would depend on the amount of progress I make for a particular amount of effort I put in. Also, I'm pretty sure that those cosmic entities would be able to obliterate me with a thought, so that's relative...'

As his breathing rate started slowing down along with the weak feeling in his arms disappearing, he added inwardly. 'It's not like I can complain though. I've already got a leg up on most people, so I should just be grateful about it.' Shoving that thought aside, his gaze started meandering around for a brief moment, as something came to him. 'What if I alternate between upper body exercises and lower body exercises... Would that optimize my gains?' As the young man started experimenting with his new Perk and 'new' body, he started getting into a 'comfortable' rhythm of pushing a part of his body until he could not anymore, rest for a moment and then carried on with another exercise. The fatigue was mounting, however, it was much slower than what he would have experienced in his previous life.

Feeling a bit more relaxed now that he confirmed the existence and some aspects of his Physiology Perk, his mind wandered off to another one of his gifts. 'I wonder if the Soul Shield Perk will be useful. I mean, it's supposed to protect me from deep or lethal soul attack and control. I know that there are superhumans with mind-related superpowers, but are they that common?' That particular power was one that he hesitated over for a while before choosing it. However, being mind-controlled was one of his deepest fears, pushing him to choose it. In fact, the number of ways one could be enslaved through the control of one's thoughts, even in his previous life where no one had any superpowers, was so high that not choosing that particular Perk would be downright reckless. The problem was now down to his family still being vulnerable, so he would have to find a way to protect them.

Finding a way to plan for this new world was difficult as the young man only had access to basic information from the mainstream media, the latter being as much a propaganda tool as they were in his previous life, which was not very useful when it came to knowing who the main players were and how strong they were. Sure, he knew about some supes and some of their powers. However, could he really be certain that the knowledge he had was accurate? Did they show everything they had? Are there stronger beings on this planet? He had no idea and thus would have to play it safe. 'None of that protagonist suicidal shit for a little power-up. Nope! I'll leave the plot armor for those novels' MCs and instead focus on steady gains. Much safer and much more reliable!'

As time passed by, he felt his body gradually reach its limit, until he could not physically lift anything more without his muscles tearing. Lying exhausted on the floor, Demian had an amusing thought appear in his mind. 'When I reach some sort of Cosmic Level of strength, I'm sure I'll laugh my ass off when I'll remember today, right?' Chuckling with difficulty due to his entire body feeling weak and painful. "Goddamn! I've always wondered how working out could be so enjoyable and at the same time makes you want to curse the person who invented the sport!" He mumbled while trying to stand up a few times but in vain, forcing him to give up for a time for his body to regain enough strength to get up. Since he had nothing to do, he decided to sense his body's reaction, focusing mostly on his rate of recovery which was clearly high.

Indeed, if he compared it to his previous life's body, he felt like he recuperated at least as quickly. If his muscles were as developed as back then, he would not be really surprised. However, the fact that his current strength only allowed him to work out with one to two kilos weight made that particular fact incredible. Of course, his recovery was not superhuman by any means. Not yet, at least. When it reached that point, though... Five minutes later, as his body was still in the process of recuperating, but the previous physical pain was much lesser, a noise coming from the entrance's direction caught his attention. Turning his head toward the door, his gaze swiftly fell on the petite redhead standing there with a look of concern on her face. "Demian? You're alright? You didn't hurt yourself working out, did you? Mom and Bryn will scold you if you did."

Despite trying to joke about it, he could tell that she was genuinely worried about his safety, prompting him to exclaim loudly. "I'm alright, sis. I worked out for too long and got exhausted. I'm just resting a bit before hitting the shower. I'm pretty sure I'll stop here for today, to be honest." That drew out a chuckle from her, her anxiety all but melting away thanks to his explanation. "Let me guess... You're now lying on the ground all sweaty and stinky. You probably look ridiculous..." She declared, both confident in her guess and amused at the scene she was probably picturing in her mind.'Honestly, is she even blind? I feel like she's been lying about it for years!' He complained inwardly. "Come on! I don't look that ridiculous..." Sniffing himself, he added absentmindedly. "I do smell bad, though..."

"At least you're aware of it." She replied while walking toward him while wearing an amused smirk on her face. She added. "Joke aside, do you need any help?" Nodding his head, despite knowing that she could not see him, he retorted. "Definitely! I forgot to bring a towel and bottle of water, so if you can get me some, that'd be awesome. I can't move too much right now, or I feel like my limbs will fall off. So, спасибо большое! [A/N: Thank you very much]" "Such a drama queen... Alright, I'll go get them." She said before turning back, her feet leading her to the downstairs bathroom. "You're the best!" Demian yelled at her back. "Of course I am." She replied, making him chuckle. Two minutes later, she came back with the water and towel in her hands, walking in his direction. Guiding her slightly to his position with his voice, she reached him quickly. However, Demian noticed her nose wrinkling in disgust. "God, it's worse the closer you get. You better take a shower and clean after yourself before big sis arrives." She instructed him while giving him the items he asked for.

Rolling his eyes, he replied. "Who's the drama queen, now? Anyway, don't worry about it! I'd already been planning on doing just that. Even if it wasn't for big sis, I don't want to exercise in a filthy room every day. I'll do it after taking a shower, though... Or maybe after lunch?... What's the time, by the way?" "That's why I came to get you. It's almost lunchtime. I was also worried because you never stayed so long in here. I mean, the last time you worked out, you stayed what? Half an hour maybe?" Shaking his head, he retorted with a wry smile on his face. "You always find the words to make me feel better, I'm truly impressed." "Always a pleasure." She said with a 'pure' smile so obviously fake that even a 3-year-old would be able to see through her act.

"Alright, don't take too much time here. I'm counting on you to whip something up for me, the fridge is empty and I'm starving." Seraphine stated playfully. Chuckling on the ground, the young man quipped. "I'm pretty sure there are ingredients in there." In a melodramatic tone, he then added. So I'm just a cook for you. And here I was, happy at the idea of us eating together." Halting for a second with her back to him, she responded in a serious tone. "I also was." Before resuming her walk, leaving the room and the surprised Demian on the ground. Puzzlement filled his eyes as his mind replayed her unusual response. 'Could it be...? Nah, there's no way.' Chuckling at how his mind instantly went in that direction, he then decided to forget about it. Instead, he shifted his focus to his workout session and what he learned of his Physiology perk's effects.

'I can't really observe the strength gain for now since it will obviously take some time and I'm so weak, it's not even funny. What I can tell, though, is that the Perk should grant me a higher recovery rate compared to my 'level' of strength. If I extrapolate a bit, it would also mean a stronger healing factor. It's nothing certain, though. But then, why would it have that effect? It has to be from the adaptative aspect. Some kind of optimization, leading to the perk getting rid of the injuries, lack of strength, etc?' That quickly brought another thought. 'If that's the case, I'd be pretty much unkillable as long as they don't destroy my body in one hit...' Chuckling at the preposterous conclusion he ended up with, he inwardly decided. 'In any case, that's something for the future. For now, I should find a way to optimize my strength gain. Maybe I could switch to training my mind this afternoon since I need to let my body rest today.'

Scratching his chin absentmindedly, his mind wandered to some old memories and some unfulfilled wishes he had in his previous life. 'I could try learning another language... It would probably fit into the Mind stimulation of the Perk since it needs memory and comprehension. Well, it's worth a try. If it doesn't work, I'll just find another way.' Having made his decision, he drank two-thirds of the bottle of water before getting up with difficulty. Despite being a bit unsteady, he finally succeeded in standing up, which allowed him to wipe most of his sweat with the clean towel given to him by Seraphine. Once his body was relatively dry, he set the towel on his shoulder and started walking slowly toward the entrance, doing his best to bear the pang of pain coming from his strained muscles. 'A shower, a meal, and a nap sound heavenly right about now.' He thought tiredly.

Reaching his goal, the young man crossed through the doorway, not even bothering to close the door behind him. Entering the nearby bathroom only took him a few seconds, while shutting the door behind him barely more. However, the difficulty started when he tried to remove his dirty clothes, as what was usually an easy process became excruciating because of his body's current state. Thankfully, he ultimately succeeded, and, free from any obstruction, the young man quickly went to the Italian-styled shower and turned on the water. As the warm stream fell gently on his sensitive skin, a moan of pleasure escaped his lips. "This is Heaven!"