Forsaken By The Gods, I Made A Contract With the Demon King

Levi's footsteps echoed through the cavernous indoor training auditorium, his eyes widening as he took in the sheer scale of the place. This wasn't the open-air training grounds he was used to—this was a whole different beast.

"Holy crap," Levi muttered under his breath.

The space stretched out before him, a labyrinth of state-of-the-art equipment and specialized training zones. Traditional gym machines and weights occupied one corner, while futuristic contraptions he could barely comprehend filled another. Gravitational training chambers, mental ability simulators, and even sparring robots stood at the ready, a testament to the academy's commitment to pushing its students to their limits.

As his gaze swept across the bustling auditorium, Levi couldn't help but feel a twinge of intimidation. This was the Favored Ones academy, after all—there were no easy opponents here.

'I bet even the vending machines here could kick my butt,' Levi thought wryly.

His eyes landed on a familiar figure at the far end of the room. Alex, his roommate, was casually deadlifting what looked like 300 kilograms as if it were nothing more than a bag of groceries.

Levi's jaw dropped slightly. Considering Alex was only 19, just a year older than himself, the display of raw strength was nothing short of incredible—and he wasn't even using his abilities.

For a moment, Levi's curiosity piqued. How would he fare against such weights? But he shook the thought away, reminding himself of his true purpose here today. He was here to test and train his Lunacy ability.

And that is what he would do.

Levi scanned the auditorium, searching for a solitary space. Given the nature of his mind-affecting ability, he needed somewhere isolated to avoid unintended consequences.

'Last thing I need is to accidentally make everyone lay flat on the ground', he mused.

However, to his dismay, every nook and cranny seemed occupied by determined students pushing their limits.

They were uselessly determined!

Just as he was about to give up hope, something caught his eye—the gravitational training room. A circular space about 20 meters in radius, marked with intricate magic circles and topped with an ominous metal construct. Unlike the rest of the auditorium, this area stood empty.

"Bingo," Levi whispered, a grin spreading across his face.

Decision made, Levi made his way towards the gravitational system. As he approached, he became acutely aware of the eyes following his movement. Whispers and curious glances trailed in his wake, making him wonder if he had something stuck to his face.

"Is that the new guy?"

"What's he doing?"

"He's not seriously going in there, is he?"

The snippets of conversation only fueled Levi's determination.

Reaching the entrance, Levi found a control panel displaying levels from 1 to 10. Since his goal was to train Lunacy rather than test his physical limits, he set it to the minimum—Level 1.

'How bad could Level 1 be?' he thought.

With a deep breath, Levi stepped into the field.

The change was immediate and overwhelming.

Despite choosing the lowest setting, Levi felt as if an elephant had decided to use him as a cushion.

"Sweet mother of—" Levi gasped, his words cut short by the effort of simply remaining upright.

The pressure bore down on him from all sides, making even the simple act of standing an arduous task. He stumbled, barely catching himself as his body fought against the increased gravity.

Now he understood the empty machine and the pitying gazes of his peers. This was no joke—even at its lowest setting, the gravitational field was a formidable challenge.

And Levi realized that Level 1 here is not the same as Level 1 in video games.

Actually, this was not meant for the freshmen to use at all - but Levi had no way to know that.

All he could do was grit his teeth and force himself to focus. He hadn't come here to be defeated by a little extra gravity. He'd come to train his ability, and that's exactly what he was going to do.

"Come on, Levi," he muttered to himself. "You didn't join the Favored Ones to play it safe in the kiddie pool."

Steadying himself, Levi closed his eyes and reached deep within. With a burst of concentration, he activated Lunacy.

A vibrant purple aura erupted from his body, pulsing with otherworldly energy. Immediately, Levi worked to contain it, not wanting its effects to spread beyond the gravitational field. While he couldn't fully internalize the aura, he managed to constrain it within the 20-meter radius of his chosen training ground.

"Okay, okay, this is... different," Levi murmured, his voice strained with effort.

As he focused on maintaining and controlling Lunacy, Levi became aware of subtle changes. There were definitely changes from the evolution.

Firstly, the color of the aura had changed from green to purple, was that supposed to indicate something? If it did, Levi definitely failed to realize that.

As he was concentrating on his ability, he noticed that the oppressive weight of the gravitational field seemed to lessen, if only slightly.

His thoughts felt sharper, and more focused, as if the increased pressure was forcing his mind to work more efficiently.

'Is this what it feels like to be one of those super-intelligent dolphins?' Levi wondered absurdly.

But there was something else, something unexpected. As Lunacy's purple aura swirled around him, Levi could swear he saw faint, shadowy tendrils reaching out from the corners of the room. They danced at the edge of his vision, never quite solid enough to grasp, yet undeniably present.

"Okay, that's new," Levi muttered, his eyes widening. "Either I'm hallucinating, or things just got a whole lot weirder."

Was this a new facet of his ability? Or perhaps an interaction between Lunacy and the gravitational field's magic circles? Levi's curiosity burned, driving him to push harder, to explore the limits of his power in this challenging environment.

Time seemed to lose meaning as Levi delved deeper into his training.

Sweat beaded on his brow, muscles trembled with exertion, but still, he pressed on. The purple aura pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, growing stronger and more controlled with each passing minute.

'I feel like I'm bench-pressing my own brain,' Levi thought, a slightly hysterical laugh bubbling up in his chest.

So focused was he on his task but Levi failed to notice the small crowd gathering outside the gravitational field. Students watched with a mix of curiosity and admiration as the newcomer held his ground in a training area that had bested many before him.

"How long has he been in there?" one student whispered.

"I don't know, but I'm impressed he's still standing," another replied.

"Ten bucks says he passes out in the next five minutes," a third chimed in.

As the whispers grew, Levi remained oblivious, lost in the pulsing rhythm of his own power and the strange new sensations it brought.

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Bonus chapter for 300k views Milestone~