MEMELAND

Kai had been awake for exactly three minutes.

Taai entered the room.

"Good."

Kai blinked.

"...Morning?"

"No."

"What?"

"Training."

Kai looked at the bed.

Then at Taai.

Then back at the bed.

"...I'm still a patient."

Taai nodded.

"I know."

He grabbed the entire bed.

With Kai still lying on it.

Then lifted it over one shoulder.

Kai blinked.

"..."

"...What."

Taai began walking.

"The doctor said you shouldn't move too much."

"So..."

"I moved the bed."

Kai sighed.

"I hate your logic."

"I know."

Muscle City's training grounds were already alive.

Metal clanged.

People sparred.

Others dragged enormous stone blocks across the yard.

Some simply punched steel pillars.

Kai watched a man headbutt a boulder.

The boulder lost.

"..."

"This city isn't normal."

Taai grinned.

"Correct."

He placed the bed on two enormous wooden supports.

Then looked at Kai.

"Get out."

Kai reluctantly climbed off.

His body still ached.

Before he could stretch—

Taai pointed.

"Push-ups."

"...Seriously?"

"One hundred."

"I'm injured."

"Fifty."

Kai sighed.

"...That's somehow worse."

Kai had become equipment.

Literally.

Taai lay beneath a bench.

Using the bed—

With Kai still sitting on it—

As a bench press.

"One hundred forty-eight..."

"One hundred forty-nine..."

Kai stared blankly into the sky.

"...Am I..."

"...part of the workout?"

Taai nodded.

"Yes."

"..."

"...I don't like this."

Kai finally asked,

"How did Muscle City become..."

"...this?"

Taai didn't stop lifting.

"It wasn't always."

"Originally..."

"It was just a military outpost."

He pushed the bed upward again.

"Monsters."

"Demons."

"Bandits."

"Everything attacked this place."

"So people stopped building pretty houses."

"They built forts."

Another repetition.

"Strong people gathered."

"They survived."

"More people came."

"They survived."

"Eventually..."

"It became a city."

Kai listened.

Taai continued.

"We don't have the best mages."

"We don't have the smartest engineers."

"We don't have giant trees."

"We don't have floating cities."

"But..."

He locked the weight at the top.

"When monsters attack..."

"We punch them."

Kai slowly nodded.

"...That explains a lot."

"It does."

Another lift.

"Politics?"

"I leave them to the cabinet."

"I hate paperwork."

"If someone wants to become leader..."

"They beat me."

Kai blinked.

"...That's the official requirement?"

"Yep."

"...Has anyone won?"

"No."

"Good system."

Kai wasn't sure whether to admire him or call him insane.

Probably both.

A gigantic steak landed in front of Kai.

THUD.

He looked at it.

Then at Taai.

"...This was one cow."

Taai cut into his own.

"Protein."

Kai looked around.

Everyone here ate like this.

Steaks.

Roasted meat.

Eggs.

Vegetables.

Enough food to feed entire families.

Kai smiled slightly.

"...Andre would've loved this place."

He imagined Andre walking inside.

Seeing unlimited meat.

Unlimited fighting.

Unlimited gym equipment.

"..."

"He'd never leave."

Taai looked up.

"Who's Andre?"

Kai laughed.

"...A walking disaster."

"I like him already."

Training continued.

Then eating.

Then stretching.

Then sleep.

Morning.

Repeat.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Three days passed.

Kai stood before a mirror.

His injuries had almost vanished.

The bruises faded.

His movements felt lighter.

His muscles...

Were visibly more defined.

Not massive.

But stronger.

Leaner.

More balanced.

Taai walked beside him.

"We strike the iron..."

"...while it's hot."

Kai looked down.

"...Those elixirs."

"The food."

"The exercises."

Taai nodded.

"Recovery is the best time to grow."

"So we force the body to adapt."

Kai laughed.

"...You're insane."

"We're efficient."

The two sat beneath the shade outside the training hall.

Taai crossed his arms.

"So."

"Alice's letter."

"It told me to give you special treatment."

"I did."

Kai rubbed his sore shoulders.

"...If this is special treatment..."

"I'd hate normal treatment."

Taai laughed.

"So."

"What now?"

Kai became quiet.

Then answered honestly.

"...I think I know where I need to go."

He mentioned the district.

Not the exact building.

Only the nearby location Dr. Z had described.

Taai's expression became thoughtful.

"...That part of town."

Kai noticed immediately.

"You know it?"

Taai nodded.

"Recent assassinations happened around there."

"Stay alert."

Kai nodded.

"I will."

Taai stood.

"I'll have Andrew accompany you."

Kai smiled.

"...Works for me."

Taai folded his arms.

"Andrew's second only to me."

"In raw strength."

Kai looked surprised.

"Really?"

"He drifted here around ten to fifteen years after me."

"Back then..."

"He wasn't nearly this strong."

"But..."

Taai chuckled.

"The bastard grows faster than anyone I've ever seen."

"He almost caught me."

"Almost."

Kai looked toward the training fields.

"...So you're still stronger?"

Taai grinned.

"Obviously."

"I'd be disappointed otherwise."

Then—

Taai suddenly dropped into a fighting stance.

"Enough talking."

Kai froze.

"...What now?"

"Body-to-body training."

Kai's eyes widened.

"...Wait."

Taai cracked his neck.

"Don't worry."

"I'll be gentle."

Before Kai could react—

Taai stepped forward.

One massive hand caught Kai by the shoulder.

The other hooked around his waist in a textbook grappling clinch.

Kai immediately felt his feet leave the ground.

"..."

"...Fuck."

Taai laughed.

"That's the spirit."

A second later—

Kai discovered that "gentle" in Muscle City had a very different definition.