Chapter 9- An important realization (Part 1)

Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.

Demian's P.O.V.

Lying on his bed, Demian kept thinking about the dangerous situation they found themselves in before his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Before losing consciousness completely, a last thought came to him. 'I really need to train...'

The night passed peacefully for the young man with dreams of great power. Almost reaching his goal, he was unfortunately interrupted by the pesky sunlight hitting his eyelids. They fluttered open, while some frustrated words came out of his mouth. "Why does it always end before the interesting part?... Doesn't matter I guess..." He muttered while rubbing the sleep off his face with his hands.

As he noticed the time on his alarm clock, a mildly surprised, interested look appeared on his face. "8 hours of sleep? I usually need 9 hours... My body seems to be changing... Nice!" He chuckled while getting up from his bed, before making it quickly.

As he was getting ready for the day, his stomach started rumbling from hunger, putting a wry smile on his face. 'I don't think I've ever been so hungry in the morning. That's what working out will do to you I guess.' Going to the full-length mirror in his bedroom, he started posing to check if he could spot differences compared to the day prior.

"Mmmhh... I feel like my muscles are slightly bigger. Nothing crazy, but this result should be impossible in a day. It's definitely my perk at work. I do feel more energized and clear-headed... I could try to only work out to check the difference in results, but I don't really feel like wasting precious time. Let's just keep doing what I'm doing..." He muttered decisively to himself.

Shaking his head to remove his random thoughts, he went to do his morning ablutions before moving to the kitchen for his breakfast. As he expected, his Aunt Adeliya and his cousin Bryn were already there eating their own breakfast. Though, unlike Demian who just arrived, they were almost done and about to leave the dining table.

"You're early today, sweetie." The mature woman declared, surprised, before the younger woman asked, amused. "Feeling the pressure about what you said yesterday?" Chuckling slightly while nodding, he replied. "Of course, I feel pressured. I can't afford to be lazy if I want to reach your level. By the way, at what time do you want to have our training session?"

Pondering a bit, she said after a second. "I need to escort Mom to her office first. So let's do that right after I come back." Nodding his head, he said. "Sure. I'll warm up while waiting for you." As the two agreed on how to proceed, the women finished their own breakfast before departing from the penthouse.

A short while later, Demian was also done with his own. "Time waits for no one!" He muttered while moving to the private gym. Arriving in front of one of the treadmills, he took a deep breath before climbing onto it, turning on the machine, and starting to run. "The Grind never stops..." He said in a mock serious tone before chuckling. "That makes me laugh every time..." 

Shaking his head to get rid of his distraction, he focused on his workout session instead. For around an hour he moved from doing one light exercise after another until he heard the door open and someone's feet moving toward his direction.

Looking through the mirror hung on the wall, he noticed Bryn in her tight workout clothes, a long sleeve black shirt, and a pair of black leggings. Gazing briefly at her remarkable curves, his mind then registered the fact that she was still wearing her usual concealing clothes despite the heat outside. Granted, if it was too hot, the AC would turn itself on automatically, but still.

Turning his eyes back to her face, he noticed her body tensing up slightly when she noticed his gaze on her arms. It only lasted a brief moment, though, as she relaxed right after, almost making him believe that he was dreaming. Unfortunately, he knew why she reacted that way... 'Forget it. One day at a time.' He thought, not feeling ready to tackle that particular problem yet. 

Looking at Demian's body state, Bryn nodded, pleased. "I see you weren't merely boasting. You did grow a tiny bit. Hopefully, you'll keep up the pace." Nodding with a tired smile on his lips, he replied. "I'll do my best. So, what do you have in store for me, today? Are we gonna spar?"

His answer drew a small chuckle from his cousin. "As if. Don't let the little result you obtained get to your head. Your basics are too weak. And that's even without taking into account your utter lack of knowledge about martial arts." The cold facts calmed his ardor down, as his current weakness was once again hammered into his mind. 'Step by step. I can't eat more than I can chew.' He thought, putting aside his depressed feelings.

Noticing his despondency, the young woman said with some hesitation. "I... also had to start from zero... So, keep at it!" She then turned her head to the side, her cheeks reddening slightly from what he could guess was embarrassment. 'She's really terrible at cheering people up... But why do I find her adorable?' He thought in amusement.

"Thanks, sis. I was just thinking about all the work I'll have to put in to get to my goal, and I got a bit overwhelmed for a second. But I'm fine now. We can start whenever with what you planned." As her cheeks' color turned back to normal, she directed her gaze toward him before starting.

"Today, we'll go over three things. The first being all the normal exercises you can do for now to increase your strength. You probably know some, if not all of them, but it's always good to review the basics.

The second will be the flexibility exercises. Those are very important to avoid injuries and for agility purposes in combat.

The third will be a few simple punches and kicks. Nothing too technical, since you're not ready for those yet. Also, the latter are mostly variations of the former, so it's always useful to practice them."

She paused for a second before asking. "Do you have any questions?" As he knew how strict she could be when it came to her discipline, Demian did not dare joke too much and instead opted for a simple answer. "Nope, I'm good." 

"Let's start then." Following that sentence, the two started moving around the different machines and other weights, with one teaching and the other listening. From time to time, the young man interrupted her speech to ask questions, clarifying some of his lingering doubts about some of the machines present there that he knew nothing or little about.

Now, he knew that despite having his first perk, learning that knowledge was extremely important for him. Why? Simply because it taught him how to use his muscles effectively to create some level of force, which, in his opinion, would surely help him learn any martial arts more easily.

That was why he was so focused on Brynhild's words, and also why only a few seconds after she finished talking did he notice that the first part of her lesson was over. Turning his head toward hers, he caught a small smile on her lips as she was looking at him before it disappeared almost immediately, making him wonder if he imagined it. 

Shaking that thought aside, he looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that an hour went by without him feeling it. 'What was the expression? 'Time flies by when you have fun?'' He reflected jokingly. His thoughts were disturbed by a sudden swallowing sound. 

Gazing at the culprit, he found Bryn drinking from the water bottle she brought, probably parched from talking so much. Feeling his thirst grow as he looked at her, he decided to follow suit, grabbing his own bottle, twisting the cap off, and drinking from it. Of course, he knew he could not drink too much or he would end up throwing up if the exercises became too intense. 

'Unfortunately, I know that from experience...' Shivering at that cursed memory, he put the lid back on the bottle before putting the latter on the ground. Realizing that she was also finished, the two then started another one-hour-long lesson on flexibility exercises. Of course, the redhead made him try every exercise until she was satisfied with his proficiency, at which point they switched to the next one. Rinse and repeat until they reached the end.

Thankfully, they took their time, making it bearable for Demian with his lacking stamina. Nonetheless, he felt the need to take a small break or he would not be able to continue. After all, his will could only take him so far before his body failed to follow.

As the silence settled in between them, the young man decided to break it by asking her a question that came to his mind recently. "Big sis?" "Mmhh?" She grunted questioningly.