Chapter 50: The things Chloe hate #1
’He doesn’t seem like a creep to me,’ Vlad murmured inwardly, glancing at Roman.
Roman tilted his head in confusion about what the duo was discussing.
’Certainly, he isn’t an idiot who would pull a move like this on an S+ Rank.’
"Chloe, can you show me your bag?" Vlad requested.
Chloe handed her bag to him. He briefly scanned the contents inside, closed the zip and moved towards Roman.
"Is something wrong with the equipment?" Roman asked.
Vlad extended his hand, carrying the bag forward, and said with a sigh, "Put the man’s tracksuit in it. She isn’t comfortable wearing shorts."
"Oh, no problem. Wait a moment."
Roman took the bag and moved towards the counter.
"Did he forget to put the pants in?" Chloe asked, stepping beside Vlad.
He released a sigh and revealed with a light chuckle, ruffling her hair, "Those weren’t underwear, silly. They are called shorts. Girls usually wear them while exercising."
"But they were too short and seemed too tight," Chloe replied, removing his hand from her head. "Why would anyone wear that in public?"
"Well, I was equally shocked when I saw a girl jogging in those during my visit to Barton a few years ago. I thought the girl was too poor to afford pants. Apparently, they wear them to monitor the movement of their thigh muscles," Vlad revealed, though it barely made sense to Chloe.
A moment later, Roman returned with the bag packed with the changed clothes.
The duo returned after changing into a light jacket and trousers.
"Let’s begin with the warm-up first," Roman said, demonstrating the full body stretching exercises.
They weren’t much different from what Vlad and Chloe usually did before their sparring sessions.
"Hmm, you both seem to be in perfect shape," Roman said in an impressed tone. "There’s barely any area that needs work. Well, since you are both from the Order of Blades, it isn’t much of a surprise."
"We have been exercising for as long as we can remember. I only took personal training because I don’t know how to use these machines," Vlad revealed with a shrug.
Now, that was the final blow to Roman’s mood. If he had only taken personal training because he didn’t know how to operate the equipment, he would certainly not extend it once he learned.
"Still, if I see any benefits in your guidance, I won’t mind buying the membership next month as well," Vlad said, noticing the long face Roman was making.
A confident smile appeared on Roman’s face. "You can’t go back on your words!"
He guided them towards the bench press. "Today, we will be doing only mixed exercises to let your muscles become familiar with the machines."
At the stand above the bench, a steel rod was placed with two shining metallic plates inserted on both ends.
On each plate, a small display was embedded showing 5kg. Below it were two buttons marked with plus and minus signs.
Roman demonstrated the posture they were to maintain. He tapped the plus button on both plates. The digit on the display moved by 2.5 with each press.
"You can try with 20kgs," Roman said, setting the weight to 10kg on both plates.
"That’s interesting," Vlad murmured, surprised to see that the weight of the plates could be adjusted with simple buttons.
He lay on the bench and, just as Roman had shown, began doing the bench press.
He stopped after five reps.
"What? Tired already?" Roman asked, taking position behind him for support.
"This feels too light," Vlad revealed. "Could you increase the weight?"
Roman increased the weight to fifteen.
"That barely made any difference," Vlad said, still holding the rod with his arms extended towards the ceiling.
"Hmm, the muscles don’t lie," Roman spread his arms outward, a finger on each hand moving to the plus button.
"Tell me when to stop."
The weight began increasing... 20... 30... 40... 90... 100... 150... 200... 400... 600...
"Now it finally feels like I’m holding something," Vlad said in an even breath. He didn’t even appear to be struggling, holding 1200kgs aloft. "Keep increasing."
"Y-you are stronger than you look," Roman said, his eyes wide with bewilderment.
He continued increasing the weight.
800... 1000... 1200...
"This much should be fine."
Roman instantly moved into the supportive position behind the stand, the muscles in his arms hardening, his hands hovering below the rod for instant support.
Vlad slowly lowered the rod and lifted it upward exactly as Roman had shown, making sure the stress was focused on his chest muscles rather than his arms or shoulders.
He completed twenty clean reps without struggle and needed support only for the next five.
Once his three sets were done, it was Chloe’s turn. She started her first set at 500kgs and reached 900 in her last set.
"H-haha, you are a Crownbearer for a reason," Roman shook his head, unable to believe what he had just witnessed. "Miss Chloe also packs quite the strength in her slim frame."
His shock was understandable, given that even among the second-year students from the Order of Blades whose bodies had been enhanced with mana, only a handful could reach 2000kg. Vlad had just broken the records of the highest weight lifters in both the first and second years by lifting 2400kgs.
And the records continued to fall. At every machine they moved to, the weight was set in the thousands for Vlad and above 500 for Chloe from the outset.
After one hour of intense exercise that left both Vlad and Chloe drenched in sweat, the duo moved on to an hour of cardio.
---
"I don’t want to," Chloe said, tightly clutching Vlad’s sleeve with both hands. He could sense the whimpers and pleas hidden beneath her even tone.
"Chloe, it will help increase your stamina," Vlad said in a coaxing tone. "You know how quickly you get tired."
"But I hate it."
She leaned closer to him, her grip on his sleeve tightening.
"That’s not an excuse," Vlad shook his head. Seeing Vlad be an absolute wall, she murmured, "Heartless Vlad."
She pivoted on her feet and was about to bolt away when Vlad grabbed her by the back of her collar.
She slowly turned her head, locking her lavender eyes to his crimson ones that seemed devoid of all emotion, and asked, "I will say please."
"No can do," Vlad shook his head, moved his other hand behind her lower back and lifted her upward.
Before she could make any move, he placed her on the treadmill and declared, "Twenty kilometres sprint without a break."
His voice turned sharp as he continued, "If you stop midway, guess who will become the next Spanky Girl."
Chloe glared at him, her eyes appearing to be almost on the verge of tears. Nonetheless, she began her sprint on the treadmill while continuously cursing, "Heartless Vlad, stupid Vlad, idiot Vlad, jerk Vlad."
