Chapter 73: Gym

Aur made his way through the paved roads; however, he didn't head towards his own dorm. Instead, he went towards the workout place, essentially the only gym in the academy. Since wizards could naturally strengthen their bodies with spells, physical training as they progressed was often ineffective and useless.

So, only in the early tiers of wizard realm did one need to train their own body if the imprinted spell didn't help in strengthening it. The gym was unpopular due to this reason.

Aur sighed as he looked at the familiar one-floor building covered by mirrors. Entering, he found Jonathan snoring in a chair. The entire gym was empty except for him and the equipment.

"What are you doing here, kid?" Slowly, Jonathan opened his eyes with an unpleasant expression on his face.

"I am here to train, of course," Aur stated in a simple tone.

"Weren't you on vacation for a week, kid? What happened to you?" Jonathan suddenly spoke with a glint in his eyes.

Aur hesitated to speak.

"I don't want to talk about it." He quickly went to the changing room, changed clothes, and came out wearing more casual attire suitable for the gym.

"You have some good physique, kid," Jonathan commented, nodding his head in admiration.

Aur ignored the man and started to do some warm-ups.

"Kid, as a teacher, it is my duty. If anything happens, you can tell me," Jonathan spoke in a warm tone.

"This..." Aur hesitated.

"Don't worry."

"Me and my family fought, and we are in disagreement now," Aur said with an expressionless face.

"Why is that?" Jonathan asked with a frown.

"I don't want to share."

"Okay, fine, kid, if you don't want to." Jonathan scratched the back of his head. "You can train here for now. I am leaving." He said as he left the gym.

"How interesting," Jonathan's eyes glinted with a strange light after he exited the gym. "I can gain some contribution if I report," he snickered. "Don't hate me, kid, for these. Hate your own naivety besides it isn't harmful for you in fact it might be a blessing to your family."

The academy rewarded teachers with contributions if they reported significant events in their students' lives. This made it easier to control them, either physically or even mentally, attaching them more tightly to the village.

As the butler went inside, he frowned. "Can these kids even afford these? Even if he can, what would he need it for?"

The only reason he was so polite, aside from the fact that Aur was a customer, was that the butler knew the kid was from the middle-grade talent of the next batch that had just been registered.

These students had the chance of becoming an elder. So maintaining a good relationship with such a person was undoubtedly beneficial.

Even if they were ungrateful in the future, just to uphold their own reputation, there would undoubtedly be a small favouritism toward their shop.

"Oh well, I can show him anyway. It doesn't matter to me. Who knows, he might be a prodigy like Jonathan." The butler sighed as he took out a box from one of the compartments. "These should be the box."

He walked out, seeing Aur looking around the place with curious eyes at all the things displayed.

"Young master, if you like, I can show you some things..." the butler smiled.

"No, thanks." Aur shook his head, looking at the old man who held a small black box in his hands, almost like a watch box.

The butler maintained a businesslike smile and opened the box, revealing a simple black watch. However, it didn't have a timer; instead, it had a screen with a red "0" displayed.

"Young master, this is the newly made weight in the market," the butler explained with a smile.

"What does this do?"

"You can try it yourself." He handed the box to Aur.

Aur looked at the butler with a questioning look.

"Just wear it, young master."

"Hmm," Aur frowned before he finally removed the two metal bracelets, gently placing them on the ground.

Boom!

Even though the bracelet was gently placed, it still made a terrifying sound, as if a boulder had crashed into the ground at full force. Remarkably, nothing happened to the floor.

Aur wore the watch and tightened the knot, feeling it stick to his hand.

"Increase the number by spinning the pin to the right, young master," the butler instructed.

Aur spinning the pin at the corner to the right. As he scrolled, the "0" number quickly went up to one, two, four, ten, hundred, two hundred. The higher the number went, the heavier the watch became, causing his eyes to widen with astonishment.