Walking into his apartment, Jake threw his bag onto the coffee table before going into his room. Changing out of his bloodied clothing, he put on a pair of black sweatpants, a gray tee, and a black sports jacket. Throwing the dirty clothing to a corner of his room, he walked back out into the living and threw himself onto the couch. Taking in the cool silence, it was quickly interrupted by a loud gurgling coming from his stomach.

'Should probably eat something,' he thought before another gurgle came from his stomach, as if to urge him to eat.

Rolling off of the couch, he hit the floor with a slight thud, causing a small ‘ow’ to come from his mouth. Ignoring the slight pain in his shoulder, he got up and walked over to the fridge. He didn't expect much to be in it, probably some snacks and maybe a case or two of soft drinks. However, he was met with the opposite situation, with the fridge practically filled to the brim with containers. It was probably enough to last him a couple of months.

'Well, that's a lot,' he thought before grabbing one of the containers and cracking it open. Inside the container was a mix of seared meat and fluffy white rice, both covered in various spices. It looked well made, if not cold.

Looking around the kitchen, he found what seemed to be a rather old-school looking microwave nearby. A mixture of black and white with a large amount of wood furnishing, it looked like it came out of the 1980s. Walking over to it, he opened the door to it before setting the container of food in it and setting a relatively short timer. As he watched the timer tick down, the low hum of the microwave filling the silence of his apartment, his mind started to wander. Old memories seemed to reappear in his mind, ones that he marked as unneeded or not useful. Times of him working security for corporate bigwigs, who were obsessed with seeming professional and got on him for not wearing a suit on duty.

Times of him making idle chatter with people he was supposed to protect, occasionally having to listen for an hour straight about things that weren’t important to his job. times of him hanging out in abandoned buildings and malls, using them as safehouses and campsites.

‘Not that any of it matters now,’ he thought, putting those memories back. After all, new reality, new rules.

Grabbing his Marcell, he decided to check out whatever served as social media for this world. After all, he might as well pass the time. Finding an app on it called Iris, he tapped on it and was instantly brought to what seemed like a forum of sorts.

Eh, good enough.

Scrolling through the forum, he was met with a variety of posts, ranging from chats about what monster was the best to cuddle with to someone raving about their intense attraction to dryads.

So the internet was still the internet. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

As he kept on scrolling through the posts he found, he heard a sudden beeping sound, bringing his attention back to the microwave.

‘Guess it’s done,’ he thought, putting his marcell on the counter. Opening the microwave door, he pulled out the steaming bowl of food before setting it down in front of a stool. Going into one of the drawers, he grabbed a spoon before sitting down and digging into his breakfast.

'Not that bad,' he thought as he shoveled spoonful after spoonful of rice and meat into his mouth. The texture was fine, the meat was evenly seared, the spice was faint, but there. Overall, it was an adequate dish.

Eating the last of the rice, he threw both the container and the spoon into the sink before flopping back onto the couch and continuing his scrolling. As he scrolled, something caught his eye that gave him pause.

{Would it be a good idea to use Awakeners for my child?}

‘An Awakener, huh,’ he thought. He heard about them, but mainly in passing. A type of drug that completely reforges the recipient's body, making them a more capable combatant. 

It'd cut down on training time, at least. Not only that, it would help his body get used to magic.

Logging out of the forum, he immediately started to look for a nearby alchemist. They had both the skill and knowledge in order to properly do the procedure and minimize risks.

After a small bit of looking on the map, he found one that suited his needs.

'Pop and Tonic, huh,' he thought as he looked through the posted pictures of it. This place might work. After all, it’s close by and also doubles as a clinic, which meant they could go through with the procedure.

Getting up from the couch, he slung his bag over his shoulder before walking out of his apartment complex. As he walked through the lightly bustling streets, he suddenly heard a familiar whirring come from above him. Taking a quick glance into the sky, he saw a large drone carrying a steel cargo crate fly over him and off into the distance. 

‘They look nice,’ he thought as he watched it fly away. He always saw them in the backgrounds of certain hub areas, but they never really had much detail. It was essentially like set dressing; it’s there, but not really important. However, upon seeing them in person and with much more detail, it essentially confirmed his first thought upon seeing them in the background:

It looked like a dune buggy and a quadcopter had a love child.

After an extra bit of walking, he finally arrived at Pop and Tonic. A bit smaller than any clinic he went to, it looked a bit more like he was in front of a pawnshop rather than a pharmacy. Walking into the building, he was met with numerous isles, each one filled to the brim with a variety of medical items, ranging from gauze to antivenoms. Taking a quick glance at the cashier, he saw that the dude seemed to be somewhat asleep.

Might as well nick a few items. After all, a few things going missing won’t affect this place’s bottom line.

As he walked through the aisles, putting the occasional energy drink and potion into his bag, his eyes occasionally drifted towards the cashier, who was still asleep. 

Once he grabbed enough, he walked over to the register, getting a better look at the person there. To describe the guy he was looking at as ‘sleep deprived’ would be underselling it. With large bags under his eyes and brown hair that looked essentially like a bird's nest, he was the pinnacle of the stereotypical tired college student. 

Leaning over, Jake brought his hand over to the guy’s exposed ear before snapping his fingers, causing the guy to snap upright and look around in confusion.

“Yo, I'm right in front of you,” Jake stated, grabbing the guy's attention. A look of confusion appeared on his face, but was quickly replaced with a customer serving smile.

"Oh, welcome to Pop and Tonic. The name is Henry. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the guy said, sticking his hand out in front of him.

“Jake. Likewise,” Jake responded, giving him a curt shake. However, that handshake revealed a few things to him. 

For one, Henry seemed to be stronger than what the lab coat showed. With calluses lining his hands and fingers alongside a rather tight grip, it was more like Jake was in front of a blacksmith than a medical professional.

Another thing he noticed was how…oddly warm his hand was. It was sorta like holding a warm cup of water that just came out of the microwave.

"How can I help you?" Henry asked, giving him a small smile.

"Gonna need you to do an implant and enhancement surgery," Jake said flatly. Upon those words leaving his mouth, Henry’s face immediately hardened.

"…I'm sorry, you want me to do fucking what?" Henry asked, a clear edge to his voice.

"You heard me," Jake stated, leaning forward. As forest green met copper brown, Jake felt the air around suddenly heat up a bit.

Ignore it.

"Alright. Give me one good reason why the hell I should do it,"Henry said, a small smirk on his face.

Silently putting his hand into his backpack, Jake pulled out the Lord Core before setting it on the table, eyes staying on him the entire time.

"This enough?" he asked. 

Letting out a small whistle, Henry took the Core from the table and gave it a look over. 

"Well, I'll be damned. You plan on giving me this?" Henry asked after a beat of silent examination. At that question, Jake gave a silent nod. He knew that he would most likely accept it. After all, Lord Cores are valuable for a multitude of reasons, one of which being alchemical research.

Putting the core in his coat pocket, Henry got up from his seat, revealing himself to be only a few inches taller than Jake’s current height.

"Alright then, follow me," he said before walking into a hallway.

As Jake followed him, he saw the various tubing and conveyors lining the walls and ceiling, constantly delivering things to other rooms. The clicking of gears and sounds of rushing liquid filled his ears as they continued down the hall.

After an extra bit of walking, they arrived at a door. Turning on his heel, Henry stuck out his hand in front of him, an expectant look on his face.

Silently pulling out the Skill Shards and the stone eye, Jake put them into his palm before walking into the examination room. When he entered the room, it honestly didn't look any different from a regular doctor's office. In fact, the only thing that stood out was the chair in the center. It looked more like a sci-fi version of a chair that'd be seen in a dental office.

"Wait here. I'll be back in a bit," Henry said before closing the door behind him. 

Might as well get ready.

Putting his bag next to the door, he quickly took off both his shirt and hoodie before sitting down in the chair. As he waited, he watched as the conveyors moved, each claw carrying something as they entered and exited through the openings in the walls. Closing his eyes, he listened to the soft clicking of the  machinery.

However, something odd seemed to happen. The sound of machinery started to get louder. It slowly started to surround him, getting louder and louder, drowning out his mind. The turning of gears started to echo through him. Slowly, the sound started to change. From the turning of cogs, it started to sound less like machinery and more like a fire.

Opening his eyes, Jake was met with a white void surrounding him. There was no up or down, no right or left. There was nothing. However, he felt comfortable. As he made sense of his surroundings, he started to feel something warm at his back. Turning around, he was met with a ball of fire. Around the size of a tennis ball, it gave off a glow similar to a campfire. Almost instinctively, he started to reach out towards it. Somehow, he knew it wouldn't hurt him. Once his fingers tapped the ball, the flames quickly traveled up his arm before wrapping itself around his body. As the heat enveloped his entirety, he felt as if he was in an inferno. 

Bones being broken and healed, muscle and sinew being torn and stitched back together. After what felt like an eternity, it all stopped. As the fire started to die down, he felt a wave of exhaustion go over him. As his eyes started to close, he could've sworn that he saw an eye open in front of him.

Fluttering his eyes open, Jake looked around, finding himself to be back in the office. Checking out his body, he saw a slew of changes. Defined muscles, larger biceps, more dexterous fingers. It was like he was given the body of a pit fighter. 

Hearing the sound of an opening door, he turned his head to see Henry standing in front of him. 

"Yo, how ya doing? Feeling dizzy or anything like that?" Henry asked, a small smile on his face.

"I'm good," Jake said as he started to sit up. However, he noticed something flash on his arm. It almost looked like circuits from a motherboard. Taking a quick glance, he saw that Henry had a look of minor confusion.

Guess he couldn’t see them.

"Need a drink,  dude?"Henry suddenly asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Turning his head, he suddenly had a bottle of water shoved in front of his face.

"That sounds good," he said, taking the bottle out of his hand. Wouldn't hurt to have a drink. Downing the drink in one go, he set the bottle down before getting up and putting his top on.

"Before you leave, take this," Henry suddenly exclaimed, catching his attention. 

Feeling something fly towards him, he plucked it out of the air before taking a look. It seemed to be a business card of sorts.

"What's up with the card?" he asked, confused. Why exactly is he giving him this card? It's not connected to him in any way.

"Gym owned by someone I know. It'll help you get used to your new body," he answered.

"…I'll check it out," he said, putting the card in his pocket. 

Giving Henry a small wave, Jake threw his bag over his shoulder before walking out of the building. Once he left the store, he pulled out the card and read it over once again.

{Open Fist Gym}

'Should check the map,' he thought before pulling out his phone. Once he entered the address on the card, he found that it was actually rather close.

Might as well get going.