Greg tapped his pen against the clipboard as he looked at the results of the tests. If he had to rank the physicality of everyone, Luna was an overwhelming first place while Leo was 2nd, Crystal was 3rd, Rachel was 4th and Aria was 5th. As for last place among the group, Lily’s place there was already a foregone conclusion.
While he recognized that Luna was already much stronger than she appeared, the difference just a couple of days made was just too much. Her trics had more than tripled without a single change in her physique.
’Could a VR ga really change soone so much?’
From what he could gather from listening to the banter of these individuals, he could tell a few things.
The mbers who had physical based jobs like Luna saw a significant increase in their strength, agility and dexterity in comparison to those with "magic" based jobs.
There was a mber of their group who did not co along that would fit under the agile category as a supposed ’rogue’.
The knee injury Luna had prior to entering the ga and Leo’s illness were cured after entering the ga at so point.
According to Luna, Lily was the one to show the most improvent in terms of before and after.
’That last one is just sad...’
He couldn’t help but think of that while tapping his pen against the clipboard while sitting at his desk. However soon, his mind began to drift and focus on the third point. Injury and illness being healed at the cost of a potential mutation.
As the steady rhythmic noise of the pen against the clipboard quietly filled the room, he placed a hand to his eye patch. Would it work on him? Seeing the mutations that he had seen, he could handle animal ears and a tail if it fixed his eye.
The more he thought about it, the more enticing it beca to him.
Greg’s fingers curled slightly against the edge of the clipboard.
The idea lingered in his mind like a whisper he couldn’t quite ignore. A fix. Not a treatnt, not a crutch, not sothing to manage the damage. A fix.
He leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling, though all he could see was the reflection of Luna’s movent. Smooth. Effortless. Beyond human. If she had told him she was born that way, he would have believed her, but that wasn’t the case. The numbers didn’t lie. Sothing inside the ga changed them. The ga didn’t just simulate a body; it rewrote it.
A new body for a new world.
He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small folder, worn at the edges, full of old scans and reports. The final diagnosis still glared at him in bold black letters. Irreparable damage. Limited options. Adapt and compensate.
He stared at it for a long mont, then shut it again.
His thoughts turned back to the group. Lily, flopping around like a dying fish but apparently having improved more than anyone else. Rachel, agile and annoyingly dramatic. Leo, stable, quiet, and steady. Crystal, sharp as a blade. Aria’s wings made her agile in the air while Luna had beco a beast.
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling tiles above his desk. Sothing about that ga had changed them. Not in a cartoonish or impossible way, but in ways he could asure. Stronger bodies. Sharper coordination. Real gains. And not just in Luna. Leo, Crystal, even Aria to so extent. Whatever they were doing in there, it was sticking.
The idea of fighting again, even if it was just in a virtual world was enticing to say the very least. He missed the feeling of being in the ring. The discipline. The movent. The way the world narrowed down to nothing but the rhythm of breath and footwork. That feeling of a body responding before the mind had to ask. He hadn’t felt that in years. Not since he was forced into retirent. Not since he lost his eye.
Greg lowered the clipboard into his lap.
The idea wouldn’t leave him. Not just the healing. Not just the eye. The possibility of movent. The chance to throw a clean jab again. To weave. To shift his weight and strike with purpose. He didn’t need to feel young. He just wanted to feel alive in his own skin again.
He stood slowly, walking over to the shelf tucked in the corner of the office. There was a small case there that hadn’t been opened in years. Inside were his old wraps, still faintly slling of sweat and leather, and a worn mouthguard he hadn’t thrown away. Muscle mory still made his hand hover over the tape as if preparing for one more round.
Instead, he turned back to his desk.
He didn’t have a VR setup. Never needed one. Most of his ti was spent training others or managing schedules. But this... this felt different. It felt like sothing he couldn’t ignore anymore. Not with what he had seen. Not with what he had learned.
He opened his laptop and typed in a search. Starter kits. Availability. Delivery windows. He wasn’t tech-averse, just uninterested...until now. Now there was a reason.
And maybe, just maybe, it was worth the risk.
He paused before clicking "Add to Cart." His fingers hovered over the mouse.
One fight. That’s all he wanted. One mont to move without hesitation. To test what was left of his instincts. To see if his body still rembered what it ant to push back.
If he ca out of it with a working eye, well... that would just be a bonus.
Greg clicked. The confirmation page loaded, and he sat back with a slow exhale.
The console was set to arrive first thing in the morning after he paid for express shipping. He drumd his fingers on his desk as he felt his blood finally beginning to pump again like it used to.
Whatever it was that was awaiting him, he’d see it for himself.
One way or another.
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