Chapter 12: Obsession

5:30 a.m

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Godfrey heads out of his room and down the stairs. He notes that there is no longer a pillow and blanket on the couch.

'Heh. Good for him.'

Godfrey gently opens the door and silently steps out. The dimness of the very early morning calms him. The morning breeze invigorates him as it gently washes over his body. With a flex of his legs, he is airborne.

*Woooosh*

He speedily flies to the academy as his mind replays scenes of his dream. His jaw clenches as anger once more surfaces, but unclenches as he looks at it from another perspective.

'I must simply become stronger, so as to prevent a situation like that from happening.'

Within a few minutes, Godfrey arrives at the still empty campus. He looks to his tablet and searches for a map function as he doesn't want a repeat of yesterday.

'Thank goodness there is one.'

He makes his way to the teleportation hub. It is a small room with a relatively large circular stage in the middle. The stage is sleekly designed and looks to be integrated with highly advanced technology. Metal strips float around it in a slow orbit.

Godfrey feels a peculiar sensation and focuses his senses on the teleporter. He observes for a second and realises that powerful magic is embedded deep into the teleporter's circuitry. A closer look shows that it's focused on a particular metal that looks to be pulsing.

He decides that he's dawdled enough and looks to a teleportation operator idly dozing off by a terminal as he clears his throat.

"Ehem."

The operator literally jumps out of her seat and yelps.

"Eeeiaaaa!!"

Godfrey simply stares in silence and the woman takes in huge gulps of air. She is about to explode until she looks at Godfrey. She cranes her neck higher and higher and stops at his glowing eyes. She meekly lowers her head as she hurriedly speaks.

"I'm sorry sir. I just had a late night last night and felt extremely tired. It won't happen again."

Godfrey tilts his head in confusion and then realises what's happening.

'She most likely thinks that I am a teacher. Poor girl, she definitely needs sleep.'

The operator doesn't hear a reply and thinks that Godfrey is angry at her. She speaks again, yet her tone is noticeably weaker than it already was.

"I'm so sorry. I was just so tired."

Godfrey finally replies.

"Apologies, I was simply taken aback by the situation. I'm a student and would like to use the teleportation hub."

The operator then releases the biggest breath of relief that Godfrey has ever heard.

"GAAAAAAHHHHH thank goodness!!! You were so intimidating!! Okok where do you want to go. Do you have a pass?"

She becomes a lot more talkative now that Godfrey cleared up the confusion. He passes her the green pass from his pouch, and she places it on the terminal as a flying orb comes out from a terminal compartment.

"Please look at the center of the retinal scanner so we can confirm your identity."

The scan finishes with a *bee-boop* and the teleportation stage flares to life. The operator hands the pass back to Godfrey and bids him farewell.

"Please step onto the stage and refrain from jumping out. Also...please don't tell anyone about what happened. Teleportation commencing in 5,4,3,2,1."

*BWOM-WOOOOOP*

A weird sound echoes in Godfrey's ears as he feels the space around him being displaced. He witnesses a world of pure white as he teleports. A minute passes, then he finds himself in another small room without an operator.

He steps outside and is greeted by a large open space. The floors and walls are made of an unidentifiable stone that seems to have cracks adorning its surface.

Godfrey steps onto the strange material and a spell diagram flares to life underneath him. A voice then speaks in his head.

Welcome~ to the gravity chamber. Please choose your preferred gravity. From x2 to x15.

Godfrey chooses x2 and immediately feels a difference. It feels as though every part of his body has had lead injected into them.

"Yes this is it. This is what I need."

Godfrey looks to the side and sees a gym setup. Godfrey grins and removes his uniform to reveal workout clothing.

"Let's begin"

Godfrey first attempts to move as smoothly as possible and finds that, after a few attempts, he could move as if he was in normal gravity.

"Increase to x5."

Godfrey is then almost brought to his knees. Immediately, he can feel his body adapting to the pressure. His strength increases with each passing second and he capitalizes on it. He runs and jumps and flips through the air. After 10 minutes, he feels sufficiently warmed up.

He steps under the hydraulic press and a countdown begins.

3

2

1

The hydraulic press bears down on Godfrey.

10 tons, nothing.

20 tons, strained effort

28 tons, arms shaking

30 tons, Godfrey struggles with all his might.

'The increased gravity is making it harder for me to exert my strength. Damn it. Push!!'

"RAAAAAARRRGGHHHHH!!"

His body goes into overdrive as his bones and muscles repair themselves.

31 tons

32 tons

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2 hours in and Godfrey can no longer hold. He drops to the ground unable to move his body. Clenching his fists seem to be the only thing he can do, and even that takes all his strength.

"This will not stop me. I must push forward."

Godfrey repeats this process until 3 p.m. and exits the gravity chamber via crawling. The female operator sees him and tries not to laugh. A glare from Godfrey is enough to make her look away.

Godfrey feels the noticeable increase in strength and smiles to himself.

'Let's see what I can achieve in a year's time.'

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Gallahad Mansion Office

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Dave, Ambrose, and Calanthe sit in an office. Dave puts a file onto a desk with the name Orion and begins their meeting.

"The automated defences around your property have seen an increase in activity within the recent months. 23 assailants were injured and forced to retreat. We were able to apprehend 1 but his heart exploded and he died almost immediately."

He opens the file and there is a singular piece of paper that says Orion Initiative. Dave continues.

"The Orion Initiative, from what my sources could gather, dealt in the artificial creation of super powered individuals. It was shut down due to the horrendous side effects of the experimentation. The file says that these side effects were because of an "aggressive genetic reagent", but there's no further information on that."

Ambrose looks at the file and speaks.

"That man, Ezekiel, said that Orion sends his regards. Are we sure that the project is shut down? If they are capable of creating superhumans like Raphael and Ezekiel, then we need to notify the Alliance. This is a high level threat."

Calanthe laughs as she replies to Ambrose.

"The Alliance? Hahaha. No. If this still exists, then they would be the first to know. They would most likely fund it. There are more independent heroes than Alliance heroes after all. I wouldn't put it above them to try and take us out. We're the number one hero group in the Aesir Alliance Ambrose. Taking us out would take away the credibility of independent heroes. Not to mention the fact that your grandfather has been at odds with you for a decade."

Dave chimes in with his own thoughts.

"I agree with her Ambrose. From my experience as a journalist, I can say without a doubt that if this still exists then the Alliance is involved. Let's play it by ear for now. Godfrey is becoming stronger every day, that's what we should focus on."

Ambrose nods gravely, then laughs as he wonders out loud.

"Hahahaha, I wonder what our boy is doing now Calanthe."

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Godfrey is currently in the secret library searching up privileged information on one of the computers about heroes from other Alliances.

'My view has been too narrow. I have only had my parents in my eyes this entire time. Hard not to when they are the best in the Aesir Alliance, the number 1 and 2 respectively. However, I must research other heroes and gleam from them their tactics to be more effective.'

He enters 'Emperor Alliance' and presses search.

'Take for example the number one hero in the Emperor Alliance. Long Aotian. Coincidentally enough, he can control lightning too. He does not possess the same raw power that I do, but he compensates with superior techniques. The lightning dragons that he is famous for offer condensed power and elusive attack patterns.

Godfrey enters a few more names.

Kelvin, the number 3 from the Eagle Alliance, uses the clouds themselves to crush his opponents. He manipulates lightning and herds the clouds downwards to the earth and wield them like weapons.

Ulric, the number 6 from the Aesir Alliance, uses lightning to shape weapons. This is a simple concept that somehow eluded focus in Godfrey's mind.

'I thought I had rid myself of my arrogance. Evidently not. There is so much to learn. Humans are truly ingenious.'

Godfrey decides to split his time learning from the secret library and training in the gravity chamber.

1 year later.

A large "man" is doing a squatting movement as a hydraulic press attempts to crush him. Up and down he goes, unimpeded by the apparent weight on his shoulders.

"998,999,1000. Hmmm. It was not enough to warm me up. I have outgrown this gravity chamber."

He looks to the number displayed on the terminal.

5000 tons + x15 gravity on self.

"Hm. Not bad. Though I feel my body slowing down in development. I can no longer enjoy substantial strength gain through exercise. I must allow my body to mature first. It is time for the Red Pass."

Godfrey makes his way to the classroom and is met with a sombre atmosphere. A little confused, Godfrey turns to find Roderick. In the year that passed, Godfrey has developed a strong friendship with Roderick.

They are both the giants of their class with Godfrey standing at 2 meters tall, and Roderick standing at 1.9 meters tall. Both boys bonded over their pursuit of overwhelming physical strength and would challenge each other on the weights they could lift under increased gravity. Godfrey, of course, would win most of the time.

"Hello Roderick. It is good to see you. What ails the class today?"

Roderick is calmly reviewing a textbook and laughs when he hears Godfrey.

"Hahaha, never ever change the way you speak. It is good to see you Godfrey. As for the class, they're downtrodden because they have just been given some bad news."

Godfrey sits down next to him and asks.

"Which is?"

Roderick smiles and answers enthusiastically.

"We will battle our teachers to retain our spots. You may not know this because you have never attended class, but we have the 11th, 13th, and 19th in the Aesir Alliance as our teachers. Everyone is scared."

As soon as Roderick finishes his sentence, their 3 teachers enter the room and a nervous energy fills the air.

Jonathan Graham, the number 11, speaks and a soft but powerful voice rings out.

"The written test will begin soon. All students find your proper seats."

Godfrey uses his Divine Sense to scan his teachers, and he can only think of two words.

'Not bad.'

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END