From Bullets To Billions

Immediately, Max could hear a rising panic in Warma's voice. He was breathing heavily into the phone, and through the speaker, Max could make out grunts and other strange noises. No actual words were coming through, not at first, until finally, after what felt like a strained effort, Warma was able to speak.

"Sir, I would heavily advise against this idea," Warma said, his tone urgent and firm. "There's been a lot you've asked me to do, and I haven't really questioned it too much so far. But gambling... well, that's a whole different matter entirely. It's a very serious issue."

He took another breath before continuing. "For one, because of the thrill it brings when you win, gambling is something people can get addicted to incredibly easily. However, that level of excitement is difficult to replicate once you've experienced it, causing many to bet more and more, chasing that high. It's one of the biggest reasons wealthy individuals like yourself end up losing everything they have."

Hearing this, Max couldn't help but smile. The fact that Warma had responded this way showed a lot about him. One, he was a person who genuinely cared. Two, he was someone sensible enough not to let Max just go off and do whatever he pleased without at least speaking up first.

"I understand. It's not the gambling itself that I'm interested in," Max replied, his voice calm. "It's because I want to test something. But thank you, truly, for looking out for me."

There was a brief pause on the other end, then Warma spoke again, though his voice still carried a hint of hesitation. "Well... I suppose. There's a common saying when it comes to investment portfolios, that you can afford to put five percent of your total funds into high-risk ventures. This, thankfully, is well below five percent of your considerable wealth."

He sighed. "I just wanted to say my piece. I'll go ahead and create a virtual card and an account that you can use specifically for this purpose. The funds will be loaded inside."

The call ended shortly after, and it didn't take long for the new virtual card to appear on Max's screen. He went through the process and quickly confirmed that everything was in place and ready.

Turning to Aron, Max asked, "Aron, do you think you could convince the staff at the physiotherapy ward to let us borrow some of their equipment? We might need access to quite a few of their tools for this."

Aron quickly complied. He already had a good idea of what Max was trying to do, so he moved swiftly, taking action without hesitation. Thankfully, it seemed like the physiotherapy staff would allow Max to use the room, free of charge, no less.

"You're good, you are," Max said with a grin as the two of them made their way there. He could feel it, his body was practically buzzing with energy. It was already almost at full recovery, which should have been impossible under normal circumstances.

The sensation made him all the more confident that he had fully unlocked some of the special capabilities he now had access to.

"You know," Max continued, glancing at Aron, "with the way things are going, we might need to start being a bit more cautious about how we spend our money. So, I really appreciate you managing to get things for free when you can."

"We've spent a lot of money here in the past," Aron admitted with a small smirk. "And quite a bit has exited your account already, so they were more than happy to cooperate."

Checking his phone, Max couldn't help but feel a little relief. The good news was that most of the setup work for the gyms and the merchandise business was already complete. Before he'd made his Vow, the majority of his money had already been invested into the projects he cared about, so he was in a solid position for now.

At that moment, notifications began flooding in, stream after stream of messages reporting merchandise purchases. And by the end of each month, he would receive reports showing the income from each gym: new sign-ups, ongoing monthly payments, and other earnings.

Then there were the investment portfolios that Warma had carefully put in place. A large portion of his wealth was tied up there, moving up and down with the flow of the markets. Fortunately, it was seeing a general upward trend at the moment.

'Now that I think about it a little more,' Max mused, 'it might be smarter to ask Warma to pull the income out and place it into more stable markets. If something happens, if the market starts to turn bearish, or some sudden world news shakes things up, it could affect my wealth… and worse, it could affect my strength.'

Regardless, this was exactly why Max was now standing in the psych ward's testing room, ready to put his body through its paces.

The room itself was filled with a variety of specialized equipment. It was essentially a gym, but one designed with an intricate numbering and tracking system, perfect for monitoring the progress of recovering patients.

Max wasted no time. He immediately got to work, starting with a series of strength tests. He checked how much he could curl, tested the strength in his legs, and pushed himself through every station like a man on a mission.

Next, he moved on to the specialized machines, ones meant to test grip strength and other physical parameters that were harder to gauge with standard equipment.

And finally, Max decided to go for a run.

He wanted to test his stamina, how far and how fast he could really go now. Not wanting to waste time, he cranked the treadmill speed up to an intense level right from the start.

Aron watched from the side, eyes widening with each passing second. Max's feet pounded against the belt at a blistering pace, sweat forming across his brow.

Eventually, though, even Max had to stop. The speed he was pushing was unsustainable, and his body had its limits, for now. He hopped off the treadmill, grabbing a towel to wipe his forehead.

"Well," Aron said with a low chuckle, "no one would have imagined you were on death's door just yesterday. And that's not the only thing, your body... it's definitely improved."

It was a strange sensation. Max's actual body, his frame, his size, hadn't visibly changed. On the outside, he looked the same. But Aron was right. Max could feel it too.

He had trained frequently before, often hitting the gym with Steven. Yet now, as he reviewed the numbers from his tests, he realized something extraordinary, he had shattered all of his previous personal bests.

It felt almost as if he was in a brand-new body.

He hadn't reached the level where anyone would call him superhuman, not yet. But the rate of improvement, the sheer leap in his physical capabilities, certainly felt that way.

"It worked," Max breathed out, a grin stretching from ear to ear. "I've unlocked it... I can't believe it actually worked. And the Vow... I'm guessing it's linked to my Vow."

It was difficult to pinpoint exactly how the connection worked, especially considering the nature of his Vow. But if it truly was tied to his money, well, it certainly seemed to be having an effect.

Since making that Vow, the power he could access had undeniably improved his body overall. His strength, his endurance, his healing abilities, all of it was enhanced.

But there was still more to test.

Pulling out his phone, Max smirked. "Time for some online gambling... Maybe now I'll finally understand what Wolf feels like when he plays his gacha games."