Lothar entered the changing room, the bag containing his training clothes slung over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
He checked the room quietly, the claustrophobia-inducing space ignored by the man as he dropped the bag on the floor. Closing the door behind him, he looked at the mirror in front of him, his clear reflection a reminder of his less than stellar self.
Sighing, he removed his top, then his bottom, leaving him in only his undergarments. Checking his body once more in the mirror, he poked his flabby belly twice, his finger sinking into the soft flesh, which made him wince.
'Back on Earth, this would be pretty normal for a person… Here though…' Lothar clenched his fist as he remembered all the walking he had done in the past few days.
The aching muscles, the sore soles…
Never again…
His resolve hardened. He grabbed the clothes that were hidden within the bag, the fabric made of cloth gracing his skin as he put them on without any hesitation.
Once he wore the clothes, he looked at the mirror again, only to have his resolve wither and be replaced with a deadpan.
"… Of course, it would be school P.E. clothes, 'cause why not?" Lothar sighed as he folded his clothes and neatly tucked them inside the bag. Slinging it back on his shoulder, Lothar reached for the door handle and twisted it open, the door creaking slightly as it opened.
Outside, Millana and Elora were seen talking to each other, their relaxed faces indicating that it was just a friendly chat and nothing more.
Heading towards the two chatting elves, Lothar's lip twitched slightly as Elora noticed his approaching figure and turned to look at him.
"I see you've changed." Elora stood up, ignoring Millana for a brief second, which the petite elf didn't mind. "Follow me."
Millana stood up herself and followed the fit elf, Lothar, following slightly behind. They traversed the wide, open field of wood, with sunlight shining from above.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination.
A low-hanging punching bag waited for them, a silly smile painted on its body, taunting anybody who tried to take a gander.
"Lothar, before we go into your training, first, I would like you to punch that bag with your full strength." Elora pointed at the sandbag, and Lothar, seeing that there was no other reason to deny it, complied.
Dropping the bag on the ground, Millana moved to pick it up and place it somewhere where it wouldn't hinder anyone, Lothar approached the punching bag and readied his knuckles.
He didn't know how to fight, much less throw a punch. Sure, he had been in a scuffle once in his life, but that was when he was a kid, and his punches only amounted to smacking his hands against the other kid.
What he did know, however, was the theory behind doing so. He had scoured the internet because he was curious and found some videos that taught a person how to throw a punch, unlike a pussy.
Getting into a boxer's stance, which Elora and Millana noted as sloppy, Lothar slowly approached the punching bag, fists raised in the air.
Once close enough, Lothar cocked his fist back and twisted his hips, before throwing his body weight forward, his hand arm outstretched as his punch landed on the punching bag, pushing it away slightly, a loud smack echoing across the field.
"Hmmm…" Elora hummed with her hand cupping her chin, her two ears twitching slightly. "For a beginner, that punch wasn't bad."
Hearing Elora praising him made him want to sigh in relief.
"But you are still sorely lacking." Lothar almost facepalmed. "You didn't use your legs, only using your upper body. In time, we will rectify that. For now, however, we're going to start with building up your muscles. You look like a skeleton."
Lothar responded with a sigh, before regarding the elf with a wary gaze. "So, what am I going to do? Push-ups? Sit-ups? Running?"
"All of the above." Elora stated, and Lothar sighed once more, expecting the answer. Not that he would shy away from this. He had promised himself that he would get into shape in this world.
As for why he was sighing, he was slightly hesitant because this would be the first time he would stick to a training regime.
"Now, drop and give me 20." Even without shouting, just hearing her voice was enough to force Lothar into submission, his body dropping on the ground with his hands breaking his fall, immediately going into push-ups.
"1… 2… 3… 4…" Lothar pushed up and down, his arms already burning slightly upon reaching his fourth push-up. "7… 8… 9...… 10........"
By the tenth push up, Lothar was already struggling, his arms trembling from the work-out, but he did not relent, not because of his resolve, but because of Elora staring down at him with a glare that could kill.
Fearing for his life, Lothar struggled, and a few seconds of agonizing pain later, Lothar was able to complete his 20 push-ups.
He was about to collapse on the ground, but a forceful tug from Elora brought him to his feet. Lothar's arms dangled at his sides, the pain from the light workout already taxing on his body.
"Now, jog. One lap around the field will suffice for now." Lothar wanted to protest, but a glare from the elf was enough to shut him up and force him to start jogging around the track.
Needless to say, once he was done with the lap that was the size of a single running-track, Lothar was breathing heavily and his legs were threatening to give in.
"Good, with this, I've surmised that you are physically weaker than even some of the children living in our village." Lothar's pride was stung by Elora's words. Being told that he was weaker than a child was demeaning to the man, but then again, the children here were used to living with hard work as their spouses.
Modern day Earth has rendered the majority of humans as weak as sheep.
"Because of that, I'm going to need to revise some of the plans I have for your physical training. In the meantime, go take five… You look like you need it…"
Lothar was too exhausted to even reply as he flopped down on the ground, his clothes clinging to his body due to the sweat.
'This is going to suck…'