New physical assessment—start!

First up: grip strength test!

Eris hands me the grip measuring device. It looks super familiar.

"Heyyy, wait a second!" I narrow my eyes, leaning in. "Isn't this…?"

"Yup. I took it from Karl," Eris replies with a casual shrug.

"Ehhhh?! You can do that?!"

"Yup!" she beams proudly. "And that's not all…"

With a tap of her finger on her storage ring.

Poof!

And a whole arsenal of gym equipment appears!

Dumbbells of all sizes, neatly stacked.

A dozen moving targets.

A padded sparring dummy with glowing joints.

And even the wand that shoots the annoying-yet-hypnotic red beam, aka the laser pointer!

"Alright, let's go!" I roll my shoulders.

Time to show her what I've got.

I grip the dynamometer tightly and take a deep breath.

"Ready," I mutter to myself.

Then—squeeze!

The pointer starts to climb…

10 kg…

20 kg…

30 kg…!

Already, my fingers are trembling, but I push harder.

40 kg… 50 kg… 53 kg!

I finally stop, hand sore but heart racing.

"Wait… what?!"

I stare at the number, blinking.

That's nearly my max from my previous life. How the heck did I manage this already? I was only at 10kg when I first measured it not very long ago!

But then I pause… and realize—

Wait, I have been doing some things.

I've been walking a lot.

And having… a lot of sex.

Plus eating healthy, nutrient-rich meals every day.

Could it be… sex with Eris is actually the best workout ever?!

"Hmmm? Impressive~" Eris leans in, clearly intrigued.

But I'm not done yet.

My cheeks flush slightly at the realization.

Still, I'm not done yet!

I smirk. Time to bring out the big guns.

Demonic energy mode: ON!

I close my eyes and focus, reaching inward toward the demonic core nestled deep inside me.

I channel it to my arm, carefully, just the way Alter instructed me, and as I do so, my palm is now tingling with that demonic power.

And then—

"HAAAAAAYAAAAAA!!!"

SQUEEZE!!

The needle jolts, ticking up at lightning speed!

70kg…

100kg… 150kg… 200kg!

Holy shit! That's more than quadrupled!

And I'm not even trying!

"Hey! That's cheating!" Eris huffs, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Why?" I grin, clearly proud of myself. "It's literally my ability!"

"A-alright," Eris sighs in defeat. "Then let's test everything twice. One without your demonic boost, and one with it! Just to keep things fair."

"Nn! Let's do it!"

And so begins our little re-evaluation marathon.

We spend nearly an hour retesting everything: grip strength, sprint speed, jump height, punching power, kicking power, reaction time, endurance, and even a weird flexibility test which felt more like an excuse for Eris to stretch me like a pretzel, but okay!

This time around, I'm breezing through it all. I'm seeing massive improvements, like, night and day! My body moves like it finally knows what it's doing.

And then, at last, Eris sits down on the grass with a clipboard and the final result sheet. Her legs are folded neatly, her tail swishing behind her as she starts calculating everything.

I try to peek, but she slaps my hand away.

"Nope! You're not allowed to help! I'm doing it myself!"

"Hehehe~ alright, alright."

She furrows her brows, tongue sticking out slightly in concentration as she mumbles formulas under her breath. Honestly, it's kind of adorable watching her struggle with basic math. She keeps crossing things out, then rewriting them.

Eventually, after what feels like ten years, she finally raises the sheet with a triumphant grin.

"Alright! The final results are in!"

__________________________

Felicia Flufftail's Latest Physical Assessment Results!

Without Demonic Power Boost:

Strength: 1.1

Speed: 4.2

Stamina: 2.3

Overall Physical Rating Formula:

(0.45 × Strength) + (0.15 × Speed) + (0.4 × Stamina)

Calculation:

(0.495) + (0.63) + (0.92) = 2.045

___________________________

"WOOOOHOOO!! I DID IT! Finally, I made it to E-rank!" I pump my fists in the air like I just won an Olympic medal.

"Yeah, not bad at all!" Eris says, giving me a thumbs up.

"Then, what about the result WITH demonic power?"

"Well, I had to recalculate it three times just to make sure I got everything right. But alas, here it is!"

She clears her throat dramatically. "Now, Felicia, behold the results of your forbidden strength!"

With a flourish, Eris presents a fresh sheet of paper, holding it out like it's a sacred royal decree.

I grab it.

I look.

And I nearly fall backward.

__________________________

With Demonic Power Boost:

Strength: 15.4

Speed: 13.5

Stamina: 1.1

Overall Physical Rating Formula:

(0.45 × Strength) + (0.15 × Speed) + (0.4 × Stamina)

Calculation:

(6.93) + (2.025) + (0.44) = 9.395

__________________________

"WHAAAAAAT?!" I scream, my hand shaking as I read the paper again and again. "How is this even possible?! That's almost a C-rank!!"

"Yup!" Eris nods. "Ten points is the official benchmark for C-rank adventurers. And you're pretty much right on the doorstep."

I spin around again, overwhelmed. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! From total weakling to almost C-rank?!"

Eris walks over and gently pats my back. "Well, not quite C-rank yet. While your raw strength and speed stats are amazing with demonic power, your stamina is still holding you back. I guess using that much power drains you so fast, you wouldn't be able to last in a prolonged fight."

"Right!" I gasp, eyes widening in realization. "Then… I should train my stamina, right?"

"Yup," Eris nods. "Your stamina is the most limiting factor pulling you back right now."

And now… as for how to raise my stamina…

There's only one thing that comes to mind.

The most dreaded six-letter word of my entire gym life:

CARDIO.

"WUAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

I scream internally, my soul already halfway ascending.

I freaking hate cardio!

It's the kind of torture that makes your lungs cry, your legs scream, and your heart feel like it's about to explode. And after every session, you're left wheezing like a dying walrus, drenched in sweat, questioning every single life choice that led you to this moment!

But… for the noble cause of becoming stronger…

For the dream of standing beside Eris as her equal in battle…

I shall endure!

Eris casually swings her arm, and with a flick of her fingers, all the gym equipment she summoned vanishes in a neat shimmer of light.

"Alright," she says with that familiar, devious grin. "Let's do a quick ten laps around the mansion!"

Ten laps.

Ah, shit.

Just hearing that number is enough to send my motivation spiraling into the abyss.

Suddenly—

SLAP!

A sharp sting jolts through me as Eris smacks me right on the butt!

"HEYYYY!!" I yelp, nearly jumping a full meter into the air, cheeks puffing out in protest.

But Eris is already ahead.

She turns back, running in place, laughing. "Hahaha! Catch me if you can!"

GRRRR…

"Oh, you just wait!" I shout, pointing at her with righteous fury. "I'm gonna catch you—and slap your smug ass even harder!"

Eris just laughs louder, wiggling her hips and sticking out her plush, smug butt. Her tail sways tauntingly behind her.

Alright, Eris… if that's how she wants to play it…

I grit my teeth, take a deep breath—

And BOLT after her!

…Well, let's be honest. There's no way I can catch up to Eris in my current state.

However…

Hehe.

Hehehehehe.

Watching her butt bounce while running turns out to be the best motivation ever!