From Bullets To Billions

Chapter 728: Ultimate Training

The strange objects were rounded like bracelets, made of a sleek metallic alloy. They unlatched themselves from his wrists first, and then he reached down and unhitched the matching pair wrapped tightly around his ankles.

They looked like useless, fashionable accessories—at least until they dropped and hit the stone floor. That was when the true weight behind them was revealed. The impact sounded as if four separate 10kg weights had been dropped all at once, totaling around 40kg. Because of their tiny surface area, when the metal struck the floorboards, it actually left small imprints in the ground.

"Wrist and ankle weights?" Skull scoffed, shaking his head. "You really think taking off a little extra weight is going to help you beat me?"

"We’ll see, won’t we?" Joe said, flexing his fingers. "Because the truth is, I haven’t taken these off for a while now, so I don’t even know myself."

Joe kicked off his back leg, and a sudden burst of momentum propelled him forward. It was blazing fast, but Skull still had enough time to calculate a counter and throw out a straight punch—only for his fist to hit nothing but empty air. Before he could react, a lead jab landed cleanly right in the middle of his face.

Skull’s head snapped back violently, and his whole body stumbled backward several paces before he finally managed to stabilize his footing.

"What the hell... I didn’t even see that fist come out," Skull muttered, wiping his nose in shock. "How can just taking off a bunch of weights give you that kind of speed?"

The reason Joe had paused wasn’t to gloat; he was simply taking in his own speed. He was genuinely surprised at how light his body felt, and how ridiculously fast his signature weapon—the jab—had just snapped out. He was thinking the exact same thing Skull was, utterly amazed that the Gilt Rats’ research team had managed to create something so special for him.

During their initial briefing, the researchers and Ramon had stated that they didn’t have the necessary high-grade components to recreate the broken exoskeletons from the previous war—especially the full tactical suit that Ramon had used himself. On top of that, Max had explicitly requested that they prioritize custom equipment tailored to each Ranger’s specific fighting style. In Max’s mind, enhancing their natural strengths was the best way to elevate their power.

So, Joe had worked directly with the Gilt Rats’ lab technicians to build something they could forge out of existing scrap parts. That was how they came up with the adjustable gravity-weight bracelets.

When first placed on his body, the weights felt incredibly light, and Joe had gone about his normal daily routine: running to build his stamina, ducking and weaving to sharpen his evasive maneuvers, and continuously snapping out his jab while practicing with his right arm once in a while.

The gear worked in a very peculiar way, designed specifically to force Joe to keep improving. The internal sensors recorded how fast he usually threw his jabs and how quickly he completed his sprints. Once the baseline was logged, Joe’s goal with the weights on was to train until he could match his original unweighted speed and times. The moment his body adapted and reached those metrics, the micro-mechanisms inside the bracelets would automatically adjust, becoming heavier. Joe would then have to repeat his entire training routine, pushing himself until he matched his speed once again—a continuous, brutal cycle.

Of course, if a regular human attempted a regimen like this, their body would quickly hit a natural wall. Supporting muscles would tear, joints would wear down, and human biology would simply cap out. But the truth was, Joe still hadn’t found that limit.

When the Gilt Rats were analyzing his data, they weren’t entirely sure how it was possible, but Joe knew himself that his Vow had everything to do with it. He was no longer just a regular high schooler. His body was able to heal far beyond what a normal human could ever manage. When muscle fibers broke down during training, his passive regeneration rebuilt them thicker, denser, and stronger than before. Joe didn’t get visibly bulkier—he just became leaner, tighter, and far more lethal when his powers activated.

Because his unique regeneration was constantly rebuilding his body to perform better, and because he had never taken the weights off since putting them on, Joe hadn’t even realized how much his raw physical attributes had grown. To him, his speed, stamina, and punches had always felt the exact same.

With those thoughts running through his mind, Joe charged in again, far more confident than before. He flicked out his jab in a rapid-fire sequence. The strikes pelted Skull’s face over and over—none of them heavy enough to knock him out completely, but the relentless speed was overwhelming.

Desperate to break the rhythm, Skull forced his body forward through the barrage, throwing a heavy kick to Joe’s stomach as he closed the distance.

"You have no idea what those of us in the Black Hand have been through!" Skull roared, his face contorting. "We’ve been through literal hell! A regular high school kid playing around with fancy equipment isn’t going to take us down!"

Skull drove a heavy fist, armed with his metal knuckle dusters, directly into Joe’s ribs. A sickening cracking sound echoed through the air, and a sharp, blinding pain radiated through Joe’s entire torso.

"You think you’re the only one who’s ever been hurt before?!" Joe screamed back through gritted teeth, ignoring the pain as he planted his feet. "You have no idea what we’ve lost! And if you think you’re going to take anything else away from us... we’re going to stop anyone who tries!"

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