ALL NOVEL 0036 – Super Human!
To be precise, playing house might be a bit of an exaggeration. It’s fair to say that the two individuals have likely trained in combat arts for quite some time.
But the essence of their power-exerting posture, which would take an ordinary person a long time to master, Zoe could grasp just by watching for a moment.
She could extract the essence, discard the dross, and integrate it into techniques that better suited her own physical structure and habits. Just by mentally going through it once, she had already copied the only aspects worth learning from the two male adults in front of her.
Although it may seem disrespectful to say so, Zoe was acutely aware that what takes others months, years, or even decades of hard work to hone, she could understand in an instant and master in the next second.
This was a chasm-like gap!
Her extreme perception left nothing she couldn't understand, and her extraordinary coordination and control left nothing she couldn't master. Moreover, she could effortlessly iterate and improve upon these things she had grasped at a glance.
However, Zoe didn't say much about it. She maintained her usual attitude, upholding her integrity! And on this basis, she actively tried to learn and research more. She tried to stay as unaffected by drastic changes as possible. Even though… she was already beginning to change subtly.
In silence, she watched the final curtain call of the acrobatic troupe.
In the darkening night, the lights around and the fire-breathing performance of the acrobatic troupe complemented each other. Like everyone around her, she gave the acrobatic troupe a warm round of applause.
Yet, amid the somewhat noisy cheers around her, Zoe felt an intense sense of tranquility. As if she were detached from this world. The outside volume was at 100, while inside she was on mute.
Each followed its own path. Like two parallel worlds, coexisting without overlapping. Connected, yet unconnected. In a daze, Zoe felt she seemed to understand more the meaning of the phrase she and Benny made, "Unmoved by worldly gains, untouched by personal setbacks."
This growing detachment allowed her to constantly maintain a calm and composed mindset as she observed the world. But this did not mean she had lost the emotions a human should have. In fact, some emotions might indeed have started to fade.
For example, her appetite and desire to masterbate had gradually diminished due to long periods of neglect. But others had become more deeply ingrained. Like curiosity and playfulness. Various changes were gradually influencing her current self.
As she was contemplating, Benny’s call brought her back to reality. "I’m not going back tonight, seniorita. You can go home by yourself later. I’ll hire some people to move the table and the armchair."
Benny waved his hand, indicating that Zoe didn't need to wait for him and could go home on her own. It was clear he had other matters to attend to.
Zoe didn’t mind. Looking at the audience dispersing around her and the acrobatic troupe packing up their things, Zoe suddenly asked, "The story of Olympus huh. How much do you think their war drum and bronze hammer cost?"
Hearing this, Benny was taken aback. He looked at the large bronze hammer, the size of a person's chest, not far away and fell into deep thought. If asked about the value of some artwork or artifact, as a former master thief… ahem, as an excellent lawyer and art appraiser, he could speak volumes.
But this thing… was beyond his expertise. A modern craft item shaped like an iron hammer… probably, based on the market price of iron?
After some negotiation, Zoe successfully stopped the departing members of the acrobatic troupe and bought the 100-kilogram war drum and bronze hammer for 3000 euros.
Given that iron costs a few euros per pound since the time of European Financial Crisis, she paid about 2000 euros more than its base material value, but considering the craftsmanship and the high inflation, it was a reasonable price. Both parties were satisfied with the deal.
The acrobatic troupe was pleased to make some extra money from their charity performance, and they had been wanting to replace the old chest-breaking stone tool for a while. The 100-kilogram hammer had good visual impact and hype, but the troupe's strongman struggled every time to lift it.
Moreover, when smashing the stone, he had to ensure the person lying beneath could get out in time to avoid injury. Even a slight fall of the hammer posed a significant risk. Each performance carried considerable danger. This deal helped them decide to switch to a new prop.
Zoe was also happy to have purchased the item despite the premium. Her curiosity about what it would feel like to wield it drove her to buy it.
According to Wakupedia, such exaggerated weapons like the perfectly imitated war drum and bronze hammer are impractical due to their excessive weight.
In greek mythology, these hammers often weighed 300 kilograms or even nearly a ton, beyond human capability to wield. They typically appeared in storytelling and myths, often as the weapon of the mightiest mortals and gods.
If wielded, the hammer would crush anything, armor or not. In performances, it served more as a dramatic prop. For Zoe, who could single-handedly toss a solid table at home, wielding the war drum and bronze hammer shouldn't be too difficult. However, theory is theory.
She hadn’t actually handled it yet. And she was quite eager for such a large toy. Using it to smash roadside weeds should be much more effective than a slender stick, right?
With this in mind, the acrobatic troupe drove their van, filled with props and Zoe, to her apartment building. The members unloaded the war drum and bronze hammer. As they lifted it off the van, the vehicle noticeably rose a bit. Watching the two members struggle to place the hammer on the ground, Zoe politely thanked the troupe leader.
"Thanks, I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll come support your shows more in the future," Zoe said to the troupe members who had kindly dropped her and the hammer off.
"No problem, do you need us to help carry it upstairs?" the troupe leader, sitting in the passenger seat, asked kindly.
"No need, there’s an elevator," Zoe smiled slightly, grabbing the hammer handle and moving it across the floor effortlessly. She showed no sign of strain, remaining composed and unruffled. She didn’t lift or swing it, simply sliding it across the floor, which some people could manage.
Olympic champions can lift weights of hundred kilograms for a moment. However, lifting, not to mention swinging it would be another matter. So she just manage to move it.
"Wow, impressive strength, young lady," the troupe leader in the passenger seat widened his eyes in disbelief at Zoe’s apparent lack of muscle but immense strength. But then, having performed all over, he knew the world was full of extraordinary people. He had seen many strongmen and strong women as well.
Moving 100 kilograms wasn't too shocking. He didn’t dwell on it. Of course, while he understood, he was still amazed. Ordinary people would struggle with tens of kilograms nowadays.
The strongman driver gave Zoe a thumbs-up, saying, "Sis, you’re strong!" As a well-known local strongman, he had always used both hands with bulging veins to lift the hammer for a short while.
Zoe smiled slightly. After some more polite conversation, they parted ways. Zoe took the hammer into the elevator. Luckily, she was alone; otherwise, the elevator would definitely be overweight.
Once home, with no one around, Zoe swung the 100-kilogram hammer, creating a gust of wind. The whooshing sound was enough to intimidate anyone nearby. However, for Zoe, she couldn't help but frown.
"I wonder if the floor can handle these weights for long," she pondered.
