Chapter 30: No.30 : Training Or Torture?
Gasping desperately for air as he felt his lungs quiver in protest, Bruce struggled to go on as he ran atop a treadmill.
The speed of which had been adjusted to a pace he didn’t know his body was capable of maintaining. Sweat drenched his tracksuit as his eyes felt hazy from running for what felt like forever.
A few thin strap-like parchments were now attached to his tracksuit. Each one doubled his own weight as it worked in tandem with the tracksuit, increasing his overall body weight by two times, depending on the number attached to the tracksuit.
Now, he currently had four straps attached to his body, courtesy of Miss White, which automatically worked upon coming into contact with the tracksuit.
Meaning, he was practically running on a treadmill with roughly sixteen times his own absurd weight while barely able to keep going.
Yet, he didn’t dare stop, especially with the fierce Miss White glaring daggers into his back.
Feeling her glare aimed at him, with a look that said she’d deliver another resounding kick to his jelly butt should he even think of slowing down again, Bruce pushed himself further than ever before, fearing he might get assaulted by her once more.
’Now I see why the few that managed to get her attention before chose to give up midway. Can this even still be called training at this point?’
Utterly exhausted, but unable to stop, Bruce kept running with all his might on the treadmill, not daring to slow down no matter what.
Noticing this, Naomi kicked his jelly butt once more, causing it to bounce and sway from the force.
"It’s barely been 15 minutes and you’re already exhausted? Run faster! You need to go for at least 30 minutes before your next break."
Struggling to regain his balance from the assault aimed at his delicate behind, Bruce managed to continue running, still surprised by how little time had passed since he started running.
However, on recalling how, despite having increased his base Stats, his Stamina was still far below that of the average person, he finally understood the reason behind his current state.
Powering through, Bruce managed to push himself to the limit, finally able to barely make it to the 30-minute mark before collapsing onto the floor, sucking in deep breaths of air as he struggled to stay conscious from exhaustion.
Towering over his collapsed figure, her toned physique was clearly in view, especially her well-endowed ’assets’, which Bruce didn’t dare stare at for too long for fear of getting stomped on.
Looking at the exhausted Bruce, Naomi tilted her head to the side as though confused.
"Why are you acting like it’s over?" The unsettling smile found its way back to her lips, causing Bruce to involuntarily shudder at the sight. She continued, "We’re just getting started! You still have to do 100 sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups each. Then you’ll move on to 200 jumping jacks, squats, and bicycle kicks each, before we finally start your real training for the day."
Feeling his blood run cold on hearing this, a single thought resonated in his mind as he saw Naomi’s pleased smile.
’She’s a demon in human clothing!’
On seeing her expression, he could tell that she was secretly enjoying watching him suffer, as her smile widened whenever she kicked him.
Already having second thoughts about his decision to help out with Summer’s workload in the morning, as well as his choice of choosing Naomi as his instructor, Bruce was barely able to enjoy his brief moment of respite before being kicked back into his gruelling exercises.
Though he was barely able to keep up with the absurd number of exercises, Bruce surprisingly found himself pushing through, with sheer grit and unrelenting determination.
Despite the spine-crunching exercises she put Bruce through, Naomi wasn’t all that heartless. She still gave him breaks in between each set while pointing out his poor posture and advising him on the proper techniques to ensure the best results.
She also ensured he remained well hydrated and maintained steady breathing throughout, stressing that controlled breathing and proper posture were just as essential as staying hydrated.
As she watched Bruce, Naomi couldn’t deny the fact that she was beginning to enjoy training him. Not only because it was fun watching him suffer after taking his sweet time to get here...
’Okay, mostly because of that.’
However, she also enjoyed watching how his body jiggled and bounced whenever he ran on the treadmill or jumped while exercising. She was unable to deny that it was somewhat satisfying to watch, especially his behind whenever she found the opportunity to smack that as-...
’Ahem! Got a little carried away for a second.’
Clearing her mind of any unnecessary thoughts, Naomi continued watching as Bruce kept pushing himself more than she’d expected someone like him to be capable of.
Despite her initial claim of him having come late in the morning, in truth, she wasn’t expecting him to still be able to move properly after suddenly working out for what she believed was probably the first time in his entire life.
Yet, he didn’t seem to be too tired or strained.
In fact, he appeared to be a bit more agile than he’d been from the brief moment she watched him yesterday, surprising her even more.
As such, she decided to see just how far he could go before he could no longer continue.
Initially, she only expected him to complete about half of what she had planned at best, as it was still his first time getting used to training, coupled with his pudgy body.
Yet, he surpassed her expectations again and again, pushing himself through sheer willpower despite being clearly exhausted and barely able to go on, while making sure he completed each task regardless of how impossible it seemed.
Causing her view of him to change a bit once again.
’Hmmm! It seems I underestimated you again, Bruce.’
Unaware of her thought process, Bruce was in the middle of one of Naomi’s torture sessions when a sudden notification flashed before his eyes.
[Naomi White]
[Affinity Level: 33...]
[Affinity Level: 35...]
[Affinity Level: 39]
[Congratulations! Host has increased the Affinity Level with a High-Rated Bonded Target. Keep it up.]
’The heck? No rewards? Just a congrats? After everything I’ve been through?’
’Oh, come on!’
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