Chapter 1 Super Human

Hey everyone, welcome to my work

As some of you may be aware, this is a redo from the original Azimuth: The Elden Throne Novel.

Same story, but with some changes as I edit it to make things smoother.

I'll leave you all to it, I hope you can enjoy it.

Peace!

(PS: I should be posting the images as we go by, but if I forget, make sure to remind me so I can post them, you can also request images of certain spots, though I can't guaranteed that I'll make them)

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/BEEEEP!/

/BEEP BEEP!/

In the middle of a busy metropolis, the Sun shone in the sky strongly, displaying its mightiest form, the heat of summer, for the poor people running to work in the morning.

The cars' horns echoed all around as the rush hours came in, the sounds of engines roaring in the wind as the motorcycles pushed through the traffic at high speeds…

The trains stopped at their respective stations and the people, office workers and students alike joined in for a, hopefully, smooth ride.

The smell of exhaust and… Something indescribable, this was everyday life in a big city.

Some people relaxed inside their homes, still enjoying their vacations and air conditioners, some enjoyed their holidays in the pool and beach, playing with their family and friends.

Some went back to their homes after a busy night of work…

Everyone chooses their own way to enjoy their lives, be it doing something productive or simply wasting away in bed…

/CLANG!/

But in the middle of this busy and seemingly normal city was one strange young man…

Somewhere in this packed metropolis was an old and small warehouse without any windows, and the few that it had were covered in black film blocking all sight of what was inside.

If someone were to pay attention to it, they might find it odd, but then again, it was just that fragile curiosity, the one you had for a moment before resuming your day…

In essence, it didn't stand out, it wasn't special, it was just an old building, repurposed into something completely different.

Its walls were tall and covered in sharp metal wires, and even an electric fence… Whoever used it wanted no one inside.

It even had some sort of sound insulation!

Just what could be happening inside it?...

…

/BAM!/

"HUFF!"

The warehouse's insides looked quite messy, having many metal tubes and beam all around the place, like the vines of a jungle.

Thick and thin metallic wires, cables, and even some gym weights could be seen scattered around the place giving you the impression of a somewhat orderly chaos.

Some of these objects looked like your everyday gym equipment, like the bench press machine or a leg extensor, giving the impression they were used for physical fitness.

If giants were amidst man that is… As some of those machines were made to support several tons of weight at once, nothing even close even the strongest and most fit Human could bear to hold.

To make matters worse, a few seemed to have been welded together to make some sort of abomination… As if their creator wasn't satisfied with their original designs…

It seemed that despite the incongruity and misshapen appearance of these objects, they all served a purpose… One that was very hard to believe.

And that objective was made clear the more you walked around the place…

This place was a gym…

And if that hadn't been said enough by now, it was a very strange gym…

After all, some of these machines were strangely welded together into even bigger machines like a weirdly shaped art piece.

But why? Was there even a need to increase the maximum weight of a leg press machine so that it could support 8 times its original maximum weight?

"HUFF!"

As you walked deeper into this mysterious place, the faint groans of a man could be heard all around the place, but it was difficult to discern its source amidst the sounds of metal moving and creaking…

"29… 30!!"

/BAM!/

Suddenly, the sound of metal colliding against something was heard, coming from the corner of the warehouse…

And at the corner of this 'gym' was a young man laying down on a metal bench, it was clear what he was doing.

He was doing bench presses… But something was wrong… How many weights were in there? Multiple thick metal discs each weighing down as much as 100 Kg!

100… 200… 300Kg… Too little.

It's at least 600 Kg! (1320 pounds)

This is close to double the world record! (350 Kg)

"..."

As he got up from the bench, he exhaled as he stared at the empty for a few moments before he shook his head and said:

"Nothing once again… No progress…"

"Well, it stopped changing over half a year ago anyway, that was why I stopped coming here so often… But still…"

"It's a shame, every bit counts." He said as he stretched

Standing at a massive 195 Cm (6,4 foot tall) and with impressive, well-developed muscles, this young man was a unit of a man.

His muscles were big, but not overwhelming. Proof of someone who took a lot of time and care into his own body. He was not aiming to be a bodybuilder, but just to have a healthy body.

His black hair was rather short and even a bit curly. And as he stretched, he passed his hand on his wet hair making it fall behind his head and showing more of his face.

A pair of thick eyebrows, a thin and sharp nose, together with dark blue eyes, and a chin dimple.

As he finished his stretch, he cleaned his face with a towel and looked all around him with a smile.

"I really did go far… But the time has come…"

/BZZZ!/

/BZZZ!/

"Hm?"

As he walked towards a small room on the second floor of the warehouse, he received a call on his cellphone.

It was a classic touch screen phone, but when the young man picked it from his pocket, he unwrapped the phone like tissue paper…

"Dad?... Really?!... Tell them I'm going right now!"

Once he turned his phone off, he put it back in his pocket and started running!

/Fwoosh!/

…

In front of a large apartment complex, two people, a middle-aged man with a few gray hair strands, and another man with an orange hat and a worksheet in his hand could be seen waiting near a big colorfull truck.

There was a label on the truck, it read: Elden Throne.

"Is he coming soon? I still have 3 more houses to visit until nightfall…"

I was told he would arrive soon, but we already installed the machine and there is no sign of him…

"I told you, he isn't that far… Oh! He's over there, see? It didn't even take 10 minutes…"

(Image)

/Fwoosh!/

The young man jumped out off his bike like a comet making it fall on the ground as he walked in front of the worker.

The middle-aged man was pissed as he saw the bike crash against the wall violently, while the worker was extremely intimidated by the person in front of him.

For a moment, he felt as if the sun had been eclipsed by his presence…

He wasn't at fault as he was rather small being only 1,65 Cm tall…

"Cough! Are you perhaps… Mr. Dale?..." He asked as he pulled his hand up to get a better look at the boy

'That's a big kid…'

The worker looked at the sheet in his hands once again and thought:

'Wasn't he supposed to be 19? Why does he look like… This?!'

"Yes, I am Dale Houston, son of that guy over there…"

"Oi! I heard you brat!" His father exclaimed with a half smile

The worker took out a pencil and said:

"In that case, please sign here… And here… Perfect."

He turned around and went to the truck, where he grabbed a large box about half a meter in Height, 50 centimeters deep, and 40 centimeters wide, giving it to him.

"We already installed all of the machines but we can't handle these immediately due to legal reasons, you know how to install it right?" He asked as he touched the back of his head

Dale nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, I do."

"In that case, remember to follow the instructions and to switch the liquid every 8 months, and 2 months in case it's used extensively…"

"Pay attention to the AI's warnings and make sure to check the system at least once every 24 hours or ideally, every time you enter and leave the pod."

"There should be no problems at all as the AI should be able to deal with it all, but caution should always be at the back of one's mind."

Dale nodded with a smile.

While the two talked, Dale's father turned around and opened the gate to the apartment. saying:

"I won't be getting up with you, so make sure to clean this mess."

"Hupp…"

Dale grabbed the box from the mailman with a smile and said as he stopped in front of the gate to his apartment:

"Where are you going?"

His dad tapped his shoulder and said:

"Did you forget? I'll go pick up your brother right now, he told me to not be late since he was also eager to test this game out with you and I don't want to see him bicker with me if I get late."

"Oh yeah…"

'I forgot my brother still had classes… Sucks to not be able to go around on your own.'

'With the many problems of adulthood, at least I have the freedom of movement.'

His dad let out a sigh.

"It wasn't enough to have one, but now there will be two… The freaking light bill…"

But Dale just scoffed.

"Aren't you being a bit overdramatic? I already gave you enough money to pay the light bill for the next 2 years."

'He may speak like that, but he is a proud man, I do remember the tears of joy he had in his eyes when I gave him the money, when his friends came home, he bragged about it a few times.'

But the middle-aged man just scoffed.

"You made a bit of money and now you are all arrogant, don't forget I helped you pay for this horrendous machine… I could buy a car with this tremendous amount of money…"

Dale smiled and said:

"I'll give you a car as a retirement gift once I make some money in this."

Dale's dad smiled.

"Make it black."

"Also, on your way, can you put the bike back in place?" Dale asked with an apologetic smile

"Sure, but next time, don't crash it on the wall, one thing is for the bike to get scratched, and the other thing is to have the apartment manager complain to me."

"Sorry…"

…

They exchanged a few more words but Dale's dad saw how excited his son was to leave so he turned around and left with the bike while Dale…

/FWOOSH!/

Like a bullet, Dale jumped into the elevator and pressed the button to the 24th floor.

…

/Ding!/

The elevator doors opened and Dale stepped into a clean white corridor with 2 doors, one on each extreme of the hallway.

He turned to the left and opened the door towards a big apartment, being welcomed by a voice:

"Dear? Remember to go get Eddy before he gets pissed again."

Hearing the woman's voice, Dale quickly replied as he ran around the place:

"Dad's already on his way, and by the way, I arrived!"

"Oh son… What do you wish for…"

/Fwoosh…/

But by the time the voice arrived in Dale's ears, he had already entered and locked himself inside a room…

"Calm down Dale!" She said with a frown

'I swear these kids…'

She smiled bitterly and shook her head as she went back to her own room, it seemed she wouldn't be making food anytime soon.

Better for her, she had a few shows left to watch…

(Image)

…

"Finally… One year of preparation… All for this." He said as he opened the box

/TSSS…/

As he opened it, extremely cold air washed into his hands, condensing in the air like a small white waterfall.

Yet Dale did not flinch, his gaze was unmoving.

Inside of it were many completely black cylindrical tubes that seemed to have some sort of pressurized liquid inside.

/Splish splash…/

This was proven by the fact that as he grabbed them he could feel the liquid moving and shaking inside, but he knew better than to shake a potentially dangerous and extremely pricy product around his room.

He turned to the side and looked at a bunch of hologram numbers floating near the wall and thought:

'I still have over 3 hours… I can take this slow. I'll first take a shower, eat something, then I will install these once I am ready, give the machine some time to heat up and boot.'

'Although the worker said everything was fine, better take a look at it myself if there's something missing or not working, I can still call them and they should arrive on time to fix it.'

He got up and looked at the sole object in the room… A massive tube-like structure over 3M tall.

(Image)

"Wait for me, little one, I will boot you soon enough…" He said in an emotional and deep tone

'I waited 6 years for today… But who would think that I am not excited to play it…'

"Things changed, if it was in the past, I would be in a call with my friends now…"

Dale smiled, speaking out loud as he looked at the moving hologram clock on the wall.

"Yeah, it's not about the game anymore."

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Notes

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it all!

I should be dropping the images soon.