Chapter 10 - Why Do You Do Gym?
"Fuck."
I stared at the message on my watch for the third time, hoping the words would somehow rearrange themselves.
But they didn’t.
I have accepted the position as an instructor at Nexus Academy.
I also submitted your application for the entrance examination.
Meet me at the Academy.
And.
Don’t skip breakfast.
"Seriously?"
I let my watch fall onto the bed before rubbing my face.
She left me.
Just... like that.
No goodbye.
No waking me up.
Not even a chance to awkwardly pretend last night had never happened.
Instead, she just left short messages.
Part of me understood that after everything that had happened, seeing each other this morning would have been painfully awkward.
The other part, well.
The other part was that I still wanted to see her.
Even if we just stood there saying absolutely nothing.
I sighed.
"She could’ve at least said goodbye in person."
The apartment felt strangely empty without her.
I’d lived here with Mira for ten years.
Somehow, in the span of a single morning, the place already felt different.
"I could practically feel the plot approaching."
But she wasn’t gone forever.
Nexus Academy wasn’t on the moon.
If anything, this simply gave me another reason to get stronger.
I want to see her again soon enough.
Hopefully.
Before my thoughts wandered any further, my smartwatch vibrated.
[Fatty Fu: Bro be at gym within twenty minutes, don’t be late.]
I had changed his name to Fatty Fu.
"Right."
Today’s the last day.
Our membership expired tonight.
If we wanted to squeeze every last bit of value out of it, today was our final chance.
I quickly washed my face, changed into a black training shirt and joggers, grabbed my bike, and headed out.
***
The Fitness Club.
That was genuinely its name.
No fancy title or a dramatic slogan.
Just, Fitness Club.
It sounded painfully ordinary.
Which was ironic, considering the owner was a retired Hero who had once punched a Class Three Troll hard enough to make his appearance in the evening news.
Apparently strong people didn’t need creative branding.
The gym itself was already busy when I arrived.
Weights clanged rhythmically against the floor while several trainees practiced boxing combinations in one corner.
Others occupied treadmills, rowing machines, and resistance equipment.
The familiar smell of rubber mats, metal, and sweat filled the air.
"Morning Bro!"
Fatty waved from the free-weight section.
He had somehow already finished his warm-up.
"You finally came, I felt like going home"
"I wasn’t late though."
He walked over before suddenly stopping a step away from me.
"Huh?"
"What’s with that look?"
He leaned forward slightly.
"You smell nice but you face looks haggard."
"Why are you smelling me?!"
He sniffed the air again.
"Why do you smell like perfume?"
I froze.
Because of yesterday’s events and Fatty’s fat nose I had decided to apply perfume to my body.
Least he came to some weird conclusions.
I coughed into my fist.
"It’s probably fabric softener."
Fatty looked unconvinced.
"Fabric softener doesn’t smell that much "
"Can we please change the subject?"
He grinned.
"Got it."
He absolutely did not get it.
For the next hour, we focused on training.
Unlike sword practice, the gym wasn’t about technique.
It was repetition.
By the end, every muscle in my body protested.
"Sweating feels good," I admitted, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
"You’re weird."
As we walked, movement near the reception desk caught my attention.
The gym owner had opened a long wooden case.
Inside rested a beautifully crafted sword.
Its polished black scabbard reflected the overhead lights, while faint silver engravings ran along the guard.
A young man standing opposite him accepted it with both hands before bowing deeply.
"Is he his successor?" I muttered.
"Maybe we should ask."
"Forget it, he will just ask us to renew membership,"
Meanwhile I saw the owner smiled proudly.
"This is your reward for finally reaching the Silver Rank."
The young man thanked him again before leaving with the sword carefully strapped to his waist.
Fatty watched him disappear through the entrance.
"Can I ask you something?"
He glanced toward the departing young man.
"Why do you do gym?"
I looked at him.
Yesterday’s experience has given me a new perspective.
"...For sex."
Fatty stared at me.
"What?"
He looked genuinely disturbed for the first time.
"Are you serious?"
I shrugged.
"You weren’t expecting something philosophical were you?"
Fatty crossed his arms.
"I refuse to believe that’s your actual reason."
"Fine."
I sighed.
"To impress girls."
"..."
"I’m kidding."
"You better be."
Before Fatty could continue interrogating me, a deep chuckle came from behind us.
"You two are as noisy as ever."
We turned around.
The owner of the gym had walked over, a towel draped over one shoulder.
Up close, he looked less like a retired Hero and more like a neighborhood muscular uncle.
Only the old scar running across his jaw hinted that he had lived a far more dangerous life than most people.
"So," he said with a grin.
"Which one of you thinks lifting weights gets girls?"
Fatty immediately pointed at me.
The owner laughed.
"Well, confidence does help, and so does failure."
Fatty blinked.
"Seriously?"
"I’m old with three kids."
The old Hero folded his arms as he looked at me and questioned.
"Why do you think Heroes come to gyms?"
I answered honestly this time.
"To get stronger."
"Wrong."
He tapped his own forearm.
"As you may know, your Awakening strengthens your body and energy strengthens it further."
"So why would I spend hours lifting pieces of metal?" Fatty frowned as he asked him this question.
The owner picked up a twenty-kilogram dumbbell from the nearby rack.
He tossed it into the air as casually as someone flipping a coin before catching it again.
"For ordinary people, strength comes from muscles but for heroes."
He lowered the dumbbell.
"Strength comes from energy and control."
He pointed toward the training area.
"Your body is the frame that carries your energy and if the frame is weak, the energy has less to work with."
I found myself listening more carefully as he continued.
"So train the body, not because muscles replace energy but because energy lets muscles perform better."
Fatty scratched his head.
"So a stronger body means a stronger Hero, correct?"
"Up to a point."
The owner nodded.
"But among Heroes of the same rank?" I questioned.
He smiled knowingly at me.
"The one who neglects physical training almost always loses."
The owner glanced at the clock which had date, before looking back at us.
"Your membership ends today, doesn’t it?"
"Yes."
"Then here’s a piece of free advice."
He pointed to the other guys who were training.
"Don’t stop training and renew your gym membership. I can even give you a discount or recommend a trainer."
Neither Fatty nor I joked after that.
We simply nodded.
Soon, we headed for the exit, as Fatty gave me a knowing smile.
"He is definitely fuming right now."
"Don’t state the obvious, why do you think he wasted those precious five minutes of his life, just to know we are not renewing the membership."
The gym owner was a sly guy.