Six hours of studying passed in what felt like minutes. Bruce worked through mathematics, then moved to physics, then to basic chemistry. His brain absorbed information like a sponge, making connections and seeing patterns that would escape normal people.
When the timer in his vision showed eighteen hours elapsed, Bruce switched focus again. Time for skill development.
He'd found a martial arts instructional book in the manor's library, a basic guide to karate that his father had bought years ago and never used.
Bruce brought it to the gymnasium and opened it to the first kata, a sequence of movements meant to teach fundamental techniques.
The book showed diagrams and described the movements, but actually performing them was different. Bruce tried to copy the first stance. His body didn't quite match the diagram. He adjusted, tried again.
*[SKILL REGISTERED: KARATE - 0.1%]*
The notification appeared in his vision. Bruce grinned despite his exhaustion. The system was tracking it.
He moved through the kata slowly, checking each position against the book's diagrams. His movements were clumsy and uncertain. Nothing like the flowing grace the book described.
But something strange happened. As he repeated the sequence, his body started making small adjustments automatically. His weight shifted slightly without him consciously deciding to move. His stance widened by an inch. His fist rotated a few degrees.
The Proficiency Panel was providing corrections.
Bruce performed the kata ten times. Each repetition was slightly better than the last. By the tenth attempt, his movements were noticeably smoother.
*[KARATE - 0.8%]*
'It's working,' Bruce thought, excitement cutting through his fatigue. 'The system is teaching me through doing. I don't need a master to correct my form. The Proficiency Panel is doing it automatically.'
He practiced for six more hours, working through the first three katas in the book. His body was beyond exhausted by the end, muscles trembling, barely able to stand.
But the progress was undeniable.
*[KARATE - 2.3%]*
*[SKILL REGISTERED: GYMNASTICS - 0.4%]* (from the movement and balance training)
*[SKILL REGISTERED: DISCIPLINE - 1.1%]* (from pushing through exhaustion)
Bruce stumbled to his bedroom in the Pocket Dimension and collapsed on the bed. He set a mental alarm for six hours, then immediately fell asleep.
When he woke up, every muscle in his body hurt. But he forced himself out of bed and checked his status.
*[PHYSIQUE: 4.6/100]*
Another 0.3 point increase. Two days of training, 0.6 points total gain.
'At this rate, with consistent effort, I can project my growth accurately,' Bruce calculated. 'The rate will slow as I get stronger, but if I maintain this intensity...'
He pulled out his notebook and updated his projections based on real data.
By age nine: 15-20 Physique
By age ten: 28-35 Physique
By age twelve: 45-52 Physique
By age fourteen: 62-68 Physique
By age sixteen: 78-83 Physique
By age eighteen: 95-100 Physique
'The curve accounts for diminishing returns,' Bruce noted. 'Early gains are fast, later gains are slow. But the endpoint is the same. By my eighteenth birthday, I'll be at absolute peak human physical capability in every measurable category.'
He closed the notebook and exited the Pocket Dimension.
Once again, he emerged at the exact moment he'd entered. No time had passed. It was still morning in the real world.
Bruce lay in his bed and thought about what came next. He had a plan now. A real, detailed, achievable plan that would take him from helpless child to something the DC Universe had never seen before.
'One week down,' he thought, staring at the ceiling. 'Five hundred and twenty-three weeks until I turn eighteen. One thousand and forty-six weeks of actual training time with the Pocket Dimension.'
The scope was staggering. But Bruce had something nobody else in this universe possessed. He had perfect knowledge of what was coming. He had a system that guaranteed progress. He had time that nobody else had access to.
And he had the will to see it through.
'Clark Kent is in Smallville right now,' Bruce thought. 'Probably playing with friends, doing homework, living a normal childhood. He doesn't know he's Kryptonian yet. He doesn't know what he'll become.'
'Diana is on Themyscira, training with warriors, isolated from the modern world. Powerful but naive about how the world actually works.'
'Hal Jordan is a cocky teenager dreaming of being a pilot. Barry Allen is in high school. They're all living normal lives, unaware of the destinies waiting for them.'
'But I know. I know exactly what's coming. And by the time they need to step up, by the time this world needs heroes, I'll be ready to lead them.'
Bruce rolled out of bed and walked to his window. The grounds of Wayne Manor stretched out before him, beautiful and peaceful in the morning light. In the distance, he could see Gotham City's skyline.
'This city broke the original Batman,' he thought. 'It consumed him, made him sacrifice everything, and he still couldn't save it. He was always one step behind, always reacting, always struggling.'
'I won't make that mistake. I'm not going to wait for crime to happen and then respond to it. I'm going to reshape the world so that crime becomes obsolete. So that when threats emerge, there's already a structure in place to handle them.'
'And it starts with me. With becoming something that this universe has never seen. Not just a peak human with gadgets. Not just a vigilante in the night. Something greater.'
Bruce turned away from the window. Time to get ready for the day. Time to play the grieving child for Alfred and any visitors who might come.
But tonight, he'd enter the Pocket Dimension again. Another twenty-four hours of training. Another step forward.
'Five hundred and twenty-two weeks to go,' Bruce thought. 'By the time I'm done, Superman won't be the strongest. Wonder Woman won't be the most skilled. Batman won't be the smart one who barely keeps up.'
'I'll be all of those things. And more.'
He walked to his door, put on his sad, grieving expression, and went downstairs to face Alfred.
The game had begun.
And Bruce Wayne intended to win.
(Time skip coming up)
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