Nova and Elesch were back on Earth, where it was currently 6:03 AM, with no training or anything of that sort until nine. They decided against going to their apartment and sleeping more. And instead decided to hit the gym. It was a Friday morning, and the guild gym was always open, so they decided to head to the gym and then go to their apartment to refresh themselves and also feed the cats.

The cats had grown a lot, and they had also become increasingly more mischievous. Though thankfully, Nova and Elesch were now officially B-rank Adventurers according to the guild, so their income as well changed according to that.

They were now only five ranks away from being recognized as EX-rank Adventurers, and since that was the highest official tier recognized by the International Guild Society, if they reached that level of power, their wealth would significantly increase, as not many Adventurers in the world were even above B-rank.

They walked towards the gym, taking ten minutes to get there. They decided to hit their pull day together. Starting off with some back exercises, then continuing with biceps, and finishing off with some forearms.

As they entered the gym, they saw the same early morning crowd as they usually do. Those dedicated Adventurers looking to get a head start on their day and hopefully achieve at least one evolution in their lifetime.

Nova started with some light pull-ups; his form was controlled, and he did proper reps, with proper pauses. Elesch, meanwhile, set up at the lat pulldown machine, adjusting the weights to match her current strength.

"Try to squeeze every last bite of that pulldown and then slowly go up, and on the last rep, try to hold it, and then as slow as possible lift it." Nova encouraged Elesch. "It should look like you are barely moving it up."

After about twenty minutes, they transitioned from their back exercises into biceps, starting with bicep curls. Nova opted for dumbbells while Elesch decided to improve on her barbell curls.

They talked in between their sets, pushing themselves as hard as possible. The difference between having your ability active and using the tremendous amount of additional strength, then not having it active and using your basic strength, was abnormally huge.

Nova was still able to curl the hundreds for proper reps, but with his ability, he couldn't fathom the amount he could curl then.

Finally, they moved on to forearms, using wrist curls and farmer's carries. Elesch struggled slightly with the grip-heavy exercises, and Nova simply laughed, teasing her about needing to beat him in strength for once.

He shot back with a smirk, "Just wait, I've got a trick or two saved for when we hit EX-rank."

By the time they wrapped up with their strength component, the gym clock read 7:15 AM. They were sweaty everywhere, and grabbed spare towels in their gender affiliated bathrooms and decided to go on to phase two.

After washing up, cleaning their face, removing the sweat, and then showering afterward in the apartment, they headed to the brutal stairmaster, which even Nova hated, even though he loved to do conditioning related to cardio.

They stepped on the stairmaster, giving each other a slight nod, as they adjusted the level, putting it at max, and continuing their workout. It wasn't the fact that the stairmaster was hard, but it was the fact that the sweat that the body produced, even after staying at it for ten minutes, was horrifically brilliant.

They stayed on the stairmaster for an hour, at level a hundred, doing about 4000 steps a minute. They sweated a lot, but weren't exhausted, as they both were quite literally built to handle that level of intensity.

When they finally stepped off the machine, the digital counters flashed, recording their hour on the machine with 240,000 steps being completed. Their legs burned, but it was the kind of burn that only disciplined effort could produce.

Nova grabbed another towel and tossed another toward her. "You're getting faster," he said calmly.

"Elesch smirked, wiping her face and playing it off. "I'm just trying to keep up with you. It's nothing. But don't think for a second you're the only one improving."

They spent a few minutes cooling down, slow walking, and deep breathing, and some light stretches, before finally deciding to head back to the apartment to freshen up mentally and physically, nourishing themselves.

The streets were starting to light up, as vendors started to set up stalls, young Adventurers jogged toward the guild, and delivery drones flew overhead.

As they walked, Nova's stomach gave a quiet growl. "We really need to eat something after we feed the cats," he said, almost inaudibly.

Elesch gave him a look. "You mean before they eat something, they shouldn't? Last time, they tore open a bag of dried meat."

"Yeah," Nova said, laughing. "And the one before that, they somehow got on top of the fridge. Still don't know how."

By the time they reached their apartment, their stomachs had growled enough for them to walk faster. The moment Elesch pushed it open, a small blur of motion darted past her feet, Nyx.

Smudge decided to jump onto Nova as soon as he came into view. They didn't realize that the cats were stirring up already, and expected their lazy asses to be sleeping some more.

"Good morning to you, too," Nova said dryly, scratching under its chin. "You've been busy, huh?"

Elesch sighed as she looked around. The apartment wasn't ruined, but there was definite evidence of feline mischief, a few toppled cushions, a plant missing a few leaves, and, for some reason, a small sock dragged into the middle of the room.

She walked toward the kitchen, grabbing the cats' dishes. "They're getting stronger," she said, half amused, half exasperated. "At this rate, they'll be C-rank before we reach A."

Nova chuckled, removing his hoodie and tossing it aside. "Wouldn't surprise me."

Once the cats were fed and the apartment somewhat restored to order, Elesch poured herself some coffee while Nova whipped up a quick breakfast, eggs, toast, and protein shakes.

It was 8:30 AM when Elesch finally leaned back in her chair, stretching. "Half an hour before we have to head out again."

Nova nodded, eyes drifting toward the skyline outside their window. "Another day, another step closer to A-rank."

Elesch followed his gaze, her lips curving into a faint smile. "And after that EX-rank."

"Let's just start by surviving today's training." Nova amused.

Elesch laughed softly. "Fair point."

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