BXBX NOVEL Chapter 73: Gym
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.
After all, no matter how loyal people were to the village, loyalties could change over time. In the future, countless variables might occur, so it was better to have a handle on them before they became a potential threat to the village.
As Jonathan left, Aur smirked, continuing his training in the gym for an hour or so, and then left the gym again, casually tossing a low-grade mana crystal at the counter, which disappeared the moment it reached the surface.
Ting!
A mechanical sound echoed as the door opened for Aur to exit the place.
"The technology in this world has developed in such a strange way…" Aur thought with amusement.
These machines weren\'t actually machines at all; they were all magic-operated by mana instead.
The complexity of magic in this world had reached unprecedented levels.
However, to maintain the privacy of the students, there weren\'t any recording devices placed everywhere in the entire academy; only in the important areas were they installed.
That was why Aur could get away so easily. Even if they did have such devices, he wouldn\'t be blamed. After all, he was in a completely different get-up.
Aur walked to the normal market of the academy and headed with familiarity to one of the shops neatly arranged with a vibe of luxury, evident in the beauty of the shop.
As Aur entered the shop, a \'ting\' sound rang, and an old butler came from the inside with a classical smile on his face, bowing towards him.
"May I be of any help to you, young master?" the butler asked in an elegant tone while still bowing.
"I want better weights than these bracelets." Aur pointed at his own bracelet. "And also, can I get a refund?"
"Yes, young master, since you returned the goods with no damage in under a week, you can," the butler politely replied.
"Good. So, where can I find better weights?" Aur nodded with a satisfied expression.
"You mean weights heavier than the metal bracelet?" the butler asked with disbelief, finally breaking out of character.
"Yes."
"Hmm?" the old man glanced at Aur before he soon regained his calm. "Although there is a new device in the market which might meet your demand, but it will be expensive, young master."
"Show me." Aur said with a nod. "And I will need it for my legs as well."
"Alright, young master," the butler said tentatively as he went back inside. "Please stay here for now," he said respectfully.
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.