Destiny No More

Chapter 92

Pyrrha felt the strain building, her legs threatening to give out as she tried desperately to push them further than they had ever gone before. The weight wasn't anything beyond what she had once been used to, but her new body lacked the same level of disciplined training as her old, and nowhere was that more evident than in her legs. The shaking was difficult to control, but she managed to do so just long enough to bring the bar back up to the rack. The moment she was no longer supporting the intense load she collapsed, taking a moment to breath and reach for her water.

Beacon's gym was mostly empty, just as she liked it. The majority of the student body was either in classes or preparing for the upcoming dance. It gave her the time alone to work on her physical conditioning, something that she had been eager to get back to her former level. That took time however, and the road ahead for that was long. It started here however, with a new personal record for her current body. Standing, she slowly moved over to the outskirts of the gym and the track that circled the building. It wasn't a particularly long track, only sitting around an eighth of a mile, but that made it perfect for sprints.

She started slow, her legs having to find their strength as she pushed off the ground with worn out and tired muscles, but as she lengthened her stride her tired legs began to catch up. It was awkward, as it always would be if she continued to push her body to what it was fully capable of, but she managed to get a solid enough pace going for several laps before being forced to stop. Moving back over to where she had started, she adjusted the weight a little, dropping a plate on each side, before continuing with her next set.

It was the best way that she knew to improve, and she was determined to accomplish whatever she could. Half an hour later and she was unable to complete her laps, finally marking the end of her hours long work out. She was tired, covered in sweat, and yet a smile adorned her face. It was progress that she could easily track and that was exactly what she wanted. It was difficult to tell whether she was improving with her Magic, despite the Headmaster's lessons. She had no reference for it and much of her accomplishments felt influenced by her emotions and thus less in her own control; this she knew well, however. She knew that she was getting better and she could feel the progress that she had made, and she took pride in that.

"You look like a psychopath, you know." Coco tossed her a bottle of water as she approached. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone smile so much after literally collapsing after a workout." She had been off doing her own workout, though she had finished before Pyrrha and had gone off to take a shower before returning. "Don't forget you promised to help set up for the dance. Don't expect any sympathy from me when you can't move a table because your legs are jelly."

Pyrrha chuckled softly before drinking greedily from the bottle of water. She would manage it, even if at that moment the mere idea of walking was a daunting task. Her Aura would kick in and help to heal the damage, both mitigating the side effects and enabling her to do the same workout in only a few days' time. Just one more advantage that those with Aura had, so long as they knew how to properly command their Aura around their bodies.

"When are we supposed to start?" Pyrrha asked as she finally sat up fully.

"As soon as you get done in the shower." Coco offered her a hand. Usually, Pyrrha would have accepted in order to be polite, but as she was now she actually needed the assistance.

"I've still got to stretch." Pyrrha replied after Coco helped pull her up. "And rerack my weights."

"I can take care of the weights." Coco offered.

"Can't really help with the former." Pyrrha joked, moving over to a nearby bench to sit down as she began the process of helping her body relax.

"Not in public anyways." Coco teased back, causing Pyrrha to blush slightly as she focused on her sore muscles.