"Excited? . . " Scarlet asked as we entered the training room, that slight weird feeling hit me as i passed the door way .
"Yeah!" I said filled with excitement .
"Alright . . . . lemme take off my armour . . " She said taking off each piece of her armour and placing them on the ground . "See this is my tattoo!" She said showing me her Golden Phoenix tattoo on her Right upper arm .
"It looks so nice!" I said as it glistened in the light .
"I got the feeling one day you'll have a golden Tattoo one day . " Scarlet said with a smile .
"Really? . . You think I'll be S-ranked one day? . . " I asked in excitement .
"Of course or at least S-Rank equivalent . " Scarlet smiled .
"So let's get some physical training started . " As she stood up and began to stretch .
I felt a little embarrassed that i never really took exercise seriously and only managed to maintain my figure through diet and some bits of walking, I awkwardly copied her trying to mimic what she was doing but didn't really know what to do .
i replied tot
"You don't really know what you're doing right? . . " Scarlet asked looking at me .
Feeling extremely embarrassed I froze not knowing what to say, I could feel the temperature of the room rise by a hundred degrees . . . . . " . . . . Ummm . . . . not really . . . " I embarrassingly confessed standing up straight looking to the ground .
"That's okay . . . that's what I'm here for!" She replied standing up and stood beside me . "Okay just copy me . . . we'll start with something Paul calls lunges she said placing one foot forward bending her back knee . "So it's important to keep your back straight and knees bent like the corner of a square . " She said demonstrating for me .
"Like this? . . " I asked copying her .
"Yes! Nice!! Ohh and make sure you don't you knees go past your ankles .
"Okay now we'll do some leg stretches" she instructed sitting down with her legs stretched reaching for her toes and pulling them back gently . "Make sure you don't bend your knees .
The years of lacking any real exercise was starting to show as even doing stretches felt a little strenuous, to the point when after a few minutes I felt my breathing getting heavier .
"Don't worry . . . the more you exert yourself the more your body will learn to metabolise Arcanum . " Scarlet explained .
"What does that mean?" I questioned utterly confused .
"So generally creatures and people here are slightly faster rand stronger then you expect because our bodies naturally metabolise the surrounding Arcanum… . from what I understand… your home plane contains Arcanum . . . . But it seems like you guys went a different way . "
" . . . . . There's no way in Earth I can do 100 push ups . . . . " I said in disbelief .
"Not with that attitude . . . . besides we aren't Earth . " Scarlet smiled with a cheeky grin . "Right let's get started" she requested happily assuming a push up position beside me .
"Okay . . . . " I agreed hesitantly assuming a push up position .
"We still have about two and half hours, just do as many as you can . " She said looking at me with a smile and began doing her push ups at a very vigorous pace .
Starting the push ups I began to struggle at thirteen my arms and stomach burning with pain, I began to feel my body perspire around my armpits and forehead . Despite my initial doubts I somehow managed to squeeze out another twelve before collapsing trying to desperately eek out one more .
Turning around on my back slowly I laid there huffing and puffing the perspiration now feeling like a thick dense mist under my armpits .
"You take a rest while I finish mine . . . " Scarlet asked, somehow she began doing them even faster without showing signs of fatigue or a bead of sweat .
" . . . . . I'm so weak . . . . . " I mumbled resting on my back, my arms aching to the point where I refused to move them .
"Don't worry . . . we all start somewhere . . . . " Scarlet replied still going and without being out of breath .
"What else? . . . . we have left? . . " I asked dredging her answer .
"Some squats and sit-ups then a few laps . . . . then we can begin some spell casting and weapon drills . " Scarlet answered with a smile .
I rolled my head away from her disliking her answer with a sigh . If I'm already knackered from the push ups how am I meant to survive the rest . . . .
"Okay done!! Ready for sit ups?? . . . " Scarlet asked with a giant smile .
"How are you not tired . . . . and not even sweating? . . " I asked .
"Ahhh you know . . . I'm used to it by now . " She replied . "Sit ups now? . . . " She questioned .
"Okay . . . . . " I begrudgingly agreed getting up assuming a sit up position and Scarlet went to hold my legs down .
"How many?" I asked hoping she wouldn't say 100 .
"100!" She answered with a giant smile .
"Arghh . . . . . okay . . . " I agreed
"Don't worry just do as much as you can . . . and as long as you keep pushing yourself you'll defiantly feel and see an improvement . " She said .
To my surprise I did almost fifty before my stomach felt like it was gonna cramp up . Falling back exhausted trying to catch my breath and stop myself getting a cramp . "I swear I feel like dying . " I commented lying on the floor causing Scarlet to chuckle .
"Did you expect to magically be good at everything? . . " Scarlet asked .
"No . . . but I didn't think it was this hard . . . . " I huffed in exhaustion .
"This is only the beginning of your adventure . " Scarlet chuckled . "Paul told me that you've always wanted to experience a magical adventure . . . . " She smiled, "What was that saying Paul told me . . . . . " she began to ponder .
"By the way . . . . do you think we have control of our future? . . . " I asked .
"Yeah of course . . . . everyone has control of their own destinies . . . . " Scarlet answered lying down beside me .
"How do you know for sure? . . . " I asked turning to her remembering the vision what was shown to me that my future was set in stone .
"In another life . . . . let's just say I've done horrible things destined to walk a dark path . . . . until I met Paul . . . and he changed me . . . . . Changed me to who I am today . . . . . " She said staring up into the ceiling as if contemplating about something .
"Is he still a good person?" I asked similarly staring into the ceiling reminiscing on out past .
"Yes he is . . . but he doesn't look after his own interests enough . . . he always put himself second . . . . willing to make the sacrifice or sacrifice himself . . . . . Sometimes when I look into his eyes it feels like he's trying to redeem himself for something . . . . as if he's he believes he doesn't deserve good things . " Scarlet added .
The mention of sacrifice shook my soul connecting what she said to the visions I experienced . . . . . Each one of them he was no longer here . . . . and I blamed myself . . . . . In that future did he sacrifice himself for me? . . .
"What about Ashley? . . . . . " I asked .
"Yeah all three of us share a dark history . . . . . His being loss of family and love . . . . when he was younger his village was savagely raided . Women and girls taken in as slave . . . . and the men and boys mercilessly slaughtered . That day hiding in a barrel with his childhood friend they watched as their village was torn apart . . . . his mother taken away and his brother and father slaughtered like cattle . Unable to hold back his cries he gave away their hiding place . . . As the men approached him his childhood friend ran to buy him time to escape running in a different direction . He turned around to take one look at her before she was snatched away . . . instead of pleading for mercy she screamed out to him to run and live . . . So he ran… . . but he didn't escape unscathed . . . . he was hit with an arrow in his arm . He ran, carried on running for days till his legs gave out on him and collapsed exhausted . He awoke on a bed with a missing arm . . . He was rescued by gnome inventor . . . . who barely brought him back from the brink of death, the arrow that struck him was no ordinary arrow . . . . it caused the wound to fester and decay so it had to be cut off . There is where he learnt about Artifcing . " Scarlet recited the pain in her eyes more obvious than ever .
"I would have never imagined that he had such a horrible past . . " I said unable to even comprehend the pain and hurt he's gone through .
"Yeah . . . . the metal arm he has is a constant reminder of what happened to him . . . he hides it well beneath his constant carefree demeanour and smile . . . . . But in the back of his mind he can never forget even at her last moment of freedom she told him to run and live and her sacrifice for him . " Scarlet mumbled her voice cracking slightly .
"So how did all of you meet? . . " I asked .
"Well . . . . Paul and I came across each other by chance . . . . I heard of his accolades and challenged him to a duel, he would only agree to the duel on the basis that if he won I will follow him and change my ways . . . . and if I won he will forfeit his life to me . Despite my best efforts he defeated me . . . It was close but undoubtedly I lost . So I reluctantly joined him, to my surprise he treated me like family despite my prior eagerness to defeat him and take his life . From there on he slowly changed me to who I am today . Soon after he enrolled me into Atlantis, Paul was fascinated with Artificing he says it something that reminds him of home, so he befriended a young aspiring Ashley and then we all became family . " Scarlet said still maintaining her stare into the ceiling .
"Was Paul already strong as he is now before or after he joined Atlantis? . . " I asked .
"Before . . . . way before . . . he has improved himself a little while he was here but there's no way he learnt everything in Atlantis specially his Ancient Magic . " Scarlet answered .
"How did he get so strong? . . " I asked .
"No idea . . . . . But individuals from your plane are extremely gifted . . . . and I guess he met the right teachers . " She guessed .
"Enough resting shall we get the rest of the work out finished? . . " She asked .
"Yeah . . . I think I'm quite rested now . " I said getting up feeling slightly sore but no longer aching and out of breath .
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