Chapter 11 First day at the gym

The bus stop was a few meters from the apartment. Once there, Aurore double-checked her bus schedule and the route she had to take.

"Phew, I'm on time." Aurore thought, "according to the plan given to me by doctor Anne. I have to get off at the central square stop and take the metro to the 5th street station. The gym where I have an appointment -you are right in front of the station."

After confirming her itinerary, Aurore put her phone away and began to observe around her. The landscape did not disorient her as the city looked like a modern European city. There were hardly any skyscrapers, and vegetation was all over the place. On the other hand, people fascinated her. Most humans were Caucasian, but it was not uncommon to see people of different ethnicities.

Aurore was very excited because it was the first time she had seen people of other races. She passed a beautiful elf who had ash-colored skin and dazzling white hair. On the other side of the street, she saw a beast-woman. She was almost 2 meters tall and had impressive muscles. From her ears and tail, she was a tiger girl.

She noticed one thing that demoralized her a bit. Compared to the people of her old world, Arcadia's inhabitants seem much more beautiful on average. By comparison, Aurore was unremarkable. Aurore knew the reason for this difference.

It was because of mana. The circulation of mana in the body had several effects. People lived longer and healthier lives. The life expectancy of an average human was around 150 years, and people of this age looked as young as 60 years old. The non-human races, thanks to their greater affinity with mana, lived even longer. It was also the same for human mages. This was also why the Federation awarded anyone with a certain level of magic a title of nobility.

Aurore had noticed it while watching television and social networks. Polaris had explained to her that it was because of her difficult childhood, deprived of the material support of her parents, that such a difference existed. In this regard, Luna had been luckier. Polaris had also told her that the pill rewarded by the system would fix this problem.

The arrival of the bus distracted Aurore from her thoughts. She put on her mask and climbed inside. She quickly found a seat. It was 10 am, so the rush hour was already over. The trip took about half an hour and went smoothly.

Aurore was in front of the gym. The interior was decorated in orange and dark gray and appeared clean. The young woman could see people running on treadmills, lifting weights, or hitting bags through the window. After observing for a short time, Aurore enters inside.

Aurore walked towards the reception. Behind the desk sat a young woman with dark hair in a ponytail. She was dressed in a sports tank top and leggings. Her clothes show her abs, and Aurore noticed that she had a navel piercing. Aurore felt herself blush. She found the young woman very attractive.

The receptionist, noticing Aurore, smiled broadly and said in a friendly tone. "Welcome to the Greenoak Gym. What can I do for you, girl?"

Aurore was then pulled out of her daydreams. "Hello, my name is Aurore Willow, and I have an appointment at 10:45 a.m. with someone named Andrew Greenoak.

The receptionist looked surprised by Aurore's answer. She consulted her computer, and after a moment, she nodded. She picked up the phone next to her.

"Malik, you can replace me at the reception. I have to take care of a client. Ok, I'm waiting for you".

"Hi, Aurore, my name is Viviane, and I will be the assistant coach for your training. You're lucky. Coach Andrew rarely takes on new clients. She said with an air of excitement."

"I didn't know," replied Aurore "this place was recommended to me by my doctor."

What do you mean? Asked Viviane

"I was seriously ill for almost six months. My doctor prescribed me rehabilitation sessions. She told me to come to this place because the coach was her friend."

"My poor girl," said Viviane, visibly touched by the situation. "I'm sorry I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter," said Aurore smiling, "you couldn't know."

The door to the main room opened, and a young black man arrived at the reception. He said to Viviane.

"How long will it take?"

"According to the program, the session ends at 1 p.m," replied Viviane

"What? It wasn't planned, and I have other things to do."

"I can't help it. The boss didn't warn me. Don't worry, Emilie was supposed to come and replace me at noon."

"Ok, ok," replied the young man, visibly annoyed.

"Aurore, follow me," said Viviane, heading for the door. Aurore immediately began to follow her. As she passed the reception, she heard the young man muttering.

"It's always the same, the boss..."

Aurore caught up with Viviane and walked beside her.

"Okay, let me explain," Viviane began, "Here is the main room, where most of the clients train. To your right is the entrance to the changing rooms and showers. Right next to it you can see our shop where we sell drinks, proteins, sportswear, and many other things. The doors at the back of the room give access to the private training rooms. Upstairs are the offices. You will do your training in the boss's training room."

Aurore and Viviane crossed the room and entered the training room. It was decorated in the same way as the main one.

Inside was a man lying on a bench. He was lifting a bar with weights.

He was an elf. He had white skin and blond hair, indicating that he was a forest elf. It was relatively rare to see them in a city. Like all elves, he was very handsome. Although very muscular, he was not massive, but given the weights he lifted, his strength should not be underestimated. His musculature and square jaw gave him a rather manly air for an elf.

The man began to shout as soon as the two women entered the room.

"Viviane, you know very well that I don't want to be disturbed during my training." He was visibly annoyed.

"Your training was supposed to end half an hour ago, boss," replied Viviane with a scathing tone. "Your 10:45 client has arrived."

The man put the bar down and got up. He looked at Viviane, embarrassed, and said.

"It's already so late? Sorry, Viviane, I didn't see the time pass."

"Boss," continued Viviane in an icy tone, "the next time you designate me as your assistant, I would like to know beforehand."

"Sorry," replied the man, suddenly shy.

An awkward silence settled for a brief moment. Suddenly the man clapped his hands and got up abruptly.

"Sorry to make you see that," he said, laughing. "You must be Aurore. My name is Andrew Greenoak. I am the owner and head coach of this gym. Nice to meet you."

"Me too. I'm happy to meet you," answered Aurore, smiling.

Andrew burst out laughing and answered. "I don't know if you'll still be happy at the end of the session. Anne told me about you and from what she told me we have a lot of work to do. Let me warn you. It's going to be tough."

"Don't worry. I suspected it," replied Aurore.

"Fine, you can drop off your things and change in the locker room. As soon as you get back here, we'll start."

Aurore left with her bag and went to change. Five minutes later, she was back in the training room.

"Alright, let's start. Today I am going to assess you. I gave your program for the day to Viviane. She will help you do all the exercises. If you have any questions about the operation of the machines, do not hesitate to ask her. During this time, I will observe you, and according to the results, I will decide how your training will proceed."

"Alright, I am fine with it."

Viviane took Aurore by the hand and led her to the exercise mats.

"Well, we'll start with the stretches. I'll show you the exercises, and then you'll try to reproduce them.

This is how Aurore's training began. As the exercises progressed, Aurore understood how rusty her body was. She couldn't do half the stretches. Viviane remained beside her to encourage her.

Once the stretching was over, Viviane asked Aurore to run on a treadmill. Aurore felt like she was running at the speed of a snail. Several times she wanted to stop, but thanks to Viviane and Andrew's encouragement, Aurore persevered.

After 20 minutes, Viviane tells her to stop. After a short drink break and catching her breath, Viviane led her near the weight machine. They worked the whole upper body, increasing the weights little by little to find the most suitable ones. Twenty minutes later, they did the same for the lower body after another break.

Once that was over, they went back to stretching to end the session.

Aurore was exhausted. Her clothes were soaked with sweat and her muscles hurt.

"You did well," said Viviane, visibly proud of the young girl. "How are you?"

Aurore was catching her breath. After a while, she answered.

"I've never been so tired and sore in muscles that I didn't even know I had, but other than that, I'm fine."

Viviane burst out laughing when she heard Aurore's answer.

"If you still manage to joke, it's not going so badly."

Andrew looked up from his notes and spoke.

"First of all, Aurore, let me tell you that you did very well. I've seen people in better health than you give up where you persevered. You can be proud of yourself."

"With the results of your session today, I will have a training program ready for you for your next session."

"The next session is next week, right?" Ask Aurore

"Yes," answered Andrew.

"Do I have to continue training at home? A week between each session is a bit long, I think." Ask Aurore

"Your body is frail," replied Andrew very seriously. "If you train too intensely, you risk injuring yourself. However, I can give you some light exercises to do at home, but you must promise me not to do more than that.

"I promise," answered Aurore.

Andrew laughed again and said, "I wish all my clients were as enthusiastic as you. Let me think about it. I'll text you the exercises."

"Well, the session is over. You can take a shower and go home. Don't forget to drink a lot of water, it's very important".

"Ok, coach, see you next week. See you soon, Viviane."

"Wait, Aurore, let's exchange phone numbers so we can chat between sessions."

Aurore immediately accepted. Once they made the exchange, she was delighted. She had just made her first friend.

After taking her shower, Aurore returned home. The way back was more difficult as she was so tired.

Once she got home, Aurore had her lunch. Even if she felt like going to rest, she knew she shouldn't skip meals. Once she was done eating, she prepared to take a nap. That's when the phone rang. It was a message from Andrew with the daily exercises.

Reading the message Aurore couldn't help laughing. He said

Here are your exercises for the week: 15 situps, 15 push-ups, 15 squats, and a light 1 km jog. Good luck and see you next week. Andrew.

This exercise was the light version of the training, followed by a famous bald hero.

"I hope I don't lose my hair," Aurore joked.

Aurore closed her phone and fell asleep