The two muscle-bound n in the ring exchanged uneasy glances.
The one in blue boxing shorts imdiately climbed down and waved his hands. "Nope, I'm out. Not doing this!"
The other, wearing red athletic pants, quickly followed suit, pulling off his gloves with a nervous laugh. "Yeah, sa here. I'll pass!"
They weren't idiots. A guy with over 490 pounds of punch force and leg power exceeding 680 pounds? That was pro-level. If this guy so much as grazed them, they'd probably be laid up in a hospital bed for months.
Ethan sighed, disappointed. He'd been looking forward to testing himself. Still, there was always the combat training class later in the afternoon. He could find soone there to spar with.
Just then, Todd approached. "Uh… sir, the lawyer is here with the paperwork."
"Call Ethan," he said with a smile.
"Sure thing, Ethan. Let's go sign the contract," Todd replied, leading him toward the front desk.
Ethan chuckled quietly. Being called sir, felt a bit too… Instead,he would rather be referred to by his na.
Back at the desk, a lawyer stood waiting, his professional deanor betraying none of the awkwardness in the room.
Todd gestured toward the staircase. "We can go upstairs to finalize everything—"
"No need," Ethan interrupted. "We can do it here."
He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. 'What am I doing spending $2,100,000 on a gym I don't even have ti to run?'
Still, backing out now wasn't an option. No way he was giving Jade Taylor the satisfaction of watching him fail.
The lawyer handed Ethan the transfer contract. Flipping through the dense, jargon-filled pages, Ethan's eyes glazed over. He had no patience for legalese.
Shrugging, he grabbed the pen. Under the lawyer's guidance, he scrawled his na and pressed his fingerprint onto the docunt.
Todd signed his own copy, and they swapped papers, signing again where needed.
Once both contracts were complete, the lawyer spoke. "This is the preliminary agreent. Mr. Todd, you'll receive the paynt now, and please issue a receipt for Mr. Ethan. We'll handle all the formalities for the transfer, including the licenses and other docuntation."
Behind the desk, Jade perked up at the ntion of paynt. 'Let's see you try to fake your way out of this one,' she thought smugly.
Under her watchful eye, Ethan pulled out his ID card from his belt bag.
By 2024, all transactions were streamlined into a single system. ID cards doubled as bank cards, making paynts seamless.
Todd retrieved his own ID, and the lawyer placed both cards into a compact portable terminal. After Ethan entered his password, a pleasant chi rang out.
"Transaction successful. Amount transferred: $2,100,000."
The machine's confirmation ssage echoed through the gym.
Todd's phone buzzed almost imdiately. Checking the notification, he broke into a grin, shaking Ethan's hand enthusiastically. "Ethan, the gym's officially yours now. Oh, by the way, you play Ethereal, don't you? I'm planning to go full-ti as a pro gar after this. Business is just too stressful. My in-ga na's LuckIsASkill. What about you?"
"Hm? Ethan froze, his hand still in Todd's grip.
LuckIsASkill? Wasn't that the guy he'd killed on Ethereal's launch day? The one who he'd stumbled across near that hollow tree when he went for the Wishbound Relic?
Ethan gave Todd a strange look. Suddenly, spending $2,100,000 on the gym didn't feel so painful.
In this life, Ethan had taken the opportunity that might have originally belonged to Todd. Giving it back now felt like a fair trade, an act of karmic balance.
"Alright, I'll add you later," Ethan said casually, avoiding ntioning his in-ga userna in front of everyone.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Jade at the counter. Her face was frozen in shock, tinged with regret.
'Regret all you want now, it's too late.'
Ethan turned to the lawyer and asked, "According to the contracts you drafted for this gym and its employees, if I fire her, what's the cost?" He pointed directly at Jade.
The lawyer, who had handled all the gym's legal agreents, glanced at her before replying.
Jade's temper flared the mont she realized what Ethan ant. "You can't just fire ! You'll have to compensate !"
The lawyer nodded. "She's right. Unless an employee has caused significant damage to the business, firing them will require compensation. In this case, you'd owe her six months' salary."
Ethan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What if she resigns on her own?"
"If she resigns voluntarily, as per the contract, she needs to give one month's notice. After that, you'd pay her for the month she worked and the one month's salary you're holding as a deposit—$8,000 total." The lawyer pulled a copy of the employnt contract from his bag, showing it to Ethan.
"What?" Ethan blinked in surprise. "Her monthly salary is $4,000? For a front desk worker?"
The lawyer nodded. "Yes, that's correct."
Ethan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What happens if she quits without notice?"
"In that case, per the contract, you'd keep the one-month deposit. Additionally, you could file a labor arbitration claim for damages caused by her sudden departure. As for the damages…" The lawyer paused, clearly catching on to Ethan's intent. "Well, the amount would depend on what you claim, though…"
"Though what?" Ethan prompted, curious.
The lawyer sighed. "Most employers wouldn't go that far. Usually, they just keep the deposit and let it go at that."
Ethan smirked. "Well, that's not happening here. If she leaves without notice, file the claim. I'll back it up."
The lawyer hesitated but ultimately nodded. "Understood. Just contact if that happens."
Jade's face turned pale as she listened. The lawyer's explanation and Ethan's response left her speechless. She opened her mouth to shout, "I quit!" but the words caught in her throat.
Her confidence crumbled as reality set in. Tears almost welled up in her eyes, and she pointed at Ethan, trembling, but no words ca out.
Ethan didn't even spare her a glance. "How long is her contract?" he asked the lawyer.
The lawyer flipped through his files. "Six months remaining."
Jade finally broke down, slumping over the counter in tears.
Ethan, unaffected, nodded calmly. Her sobs didn't stir even the slightest hint of sympathy in him.
At that mont, a janitor stepped out of the restroom with a mop in hand.
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