Lothar fell down once again as his knees buckled, the pain already too much to handle.
"I… I don't think continuing… Is a good… Good idea… M-Millana…" Lothar desperately tried to suck in air as he lay flat on the ground. His body was completely drenched in his own sweat, his workout clothes clinging to him.
"I apologize for this, but no, you must continue." Millana smiled gently as she patted Lothar's wet back. "Do not be concerned about your body; we have methods to minimize the damage done during exercises, ensuring rapid growth."
Lothar groaned, but ultimately stood up. If this is what it takes to strengthen his body so that he doesn't have to feel tired after a light run anymore, then so be it.
Weakly jogging once more, Lothar almost stumbled, but willed himself to continue, no matter what his legs told him to do. Once he fell down again, Millana quickly told him to commence push-ups.
Following as ordered, his biceps burned as he pushed his body up, before lowering himself down parallel to the ground. Pushing himself up again, he almost face-planted, the bones in his arms making cracking sounds as he continued.
Done with his reps, Millana then ordered him to go do some crunches. Abdominal muscles burning, Lothar gritted his teeth as he persevered.
After half an hour of exhausting basic, but tiring exercises, Elora came back with a grimace.
"I am sorry, Lady Millana, but the perpetrator hasn't been caught. The guards had no idea who the person was, and the common folk had no idea about the culprit." Millana sighed, and Elora grimaced further. "We also have no basic outline of the culprit. In essence, no one knows who did it, and no one would admit that they did it. Unless you give me permission to use my blade to seek them out, we will not be able to find them quite easily, and even that is something of a long stretch."
"I see… Thank you for informing me, Elora." Millana gently smiled as she brought her attention back to Lothar, who was writhing on the ground. "That's enough, Lothar. You have suffered enough for today."
"So… E-even you… Admit… T-That I was s-suffering…" Lothar gasped out painful breaths as his lungs burned and his muscles ached.
"Back in the day, one of the humans' sayings I learned was 'No pain, no gain.' I agree with them wholeheartedly." Lothar couldn't help but agree with that statement, no matter how much he wanted it to be false.
"G-great…" Lothar went silent as he tried to stabilize himself. It was only until Millana approached his downed figure and placed her hand on his chest that he felt the burn in his lungs subside slightly.
"Here, this might not be much, but this will help with the pain momentarily." She smiled, and Lothar thanked her with a pained nod. "Come on, up you go."
Helping Lothar up, the petite elf gently lifted his body with her short arms. Lothar, struggling to do so, took quite a bit of time before he was able to stand up on his own feet with the help of his master.
Not that he would admit to that.
"Thanks." Millana smiled at him before glancing at Elora.
"What time is it now?"
"Close to dusk. Dinner should be served a few minutes later." Elora replied, while glancing at Lothar.
"Then let us move to the dining room. I am sure that Lothar here is famished from the intense workout, but before that, you should go take a shower." Millana looked at Lothar, who nodded.
Heading for the shower room, Lothar accessed his status menu while walking through the pain.
Name: Lothar Edwin
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Class: Outsider
STR: 7
AGI: 8
INT: 5
LUC: Error!
'Baby steps, Lothar… Baby steps…' Lothar couldn't help but grin at his stats rising, even if it was point by point. 'Not gonna lie though, I hope there's something that can help me raise my stats faster.'
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"How is the food, Lothar?" Millana took a sip from her tea cup, her eyebrow raised as she glanced at Lothar.
"Delicious. My compliments to the chef." Millana giggled as Lothar slowly shoveled food into his mouth. His arm was slightly trembling, but not too much to be noticed by those not paying attention.
Millana, however, noticed this peculiarity, and only gave Lothar a sad, but sympathizing smile. Appreciating the gesture, Lothar continued to eat the liquid-based food he was given for dinner.
After their meals, Lothar and Millana were escorted by Elora to their quarters, her nose wrinkling at the thought of her Lady sharing a room with a human.
Her skill did tell her that Lothar held no malice, but previous encounters with humans molded her into the person she is today. She may not hate humans in particular, but she also does not like them. However, her outlook meter is leaning heavily on the latter.
Inside the room, Millana and Lothar were left alone, Elora retiring for the night while a new sentry took her place.
Millana turned on the lights with a light clap, her eyes glancing at Lothar.
Lothar hummed at the extravagant room filled with expensive trinkets, furniture, and the most eye-catching bed he had ever seen in his entire life.
"You shall be sleeping with me in the bed." It was then that Lothar's mind encountered the blue screen of death. Rebooting his brain, Lothar's jaw hung, and he looked at Millana with disbelief in his eyes.
"You can't be serious."
"I am." Millana turned away from Lothar before undressing herself. Quickly turning around, Lothar averted his gaze the moment he saw a hint of pale flesh enter his eyes.
"Why do you need to change in front of me?" As if predicting his question, Millana answered swiftly without any hesitation.
"Should I worry? I know you won't assault me, and elves have different values than humans." Millana grabbed her nightgown that was folded neatly on top of the bed and put it on. "For one, we have no problem showing skin to those we value like family, although we also make sure to not go too far in exposure."
"But still, I can't sleep with you in the same bed."
"I have a reason for that." Millana then approached Lothar before turning him around. Lothar stared at Millana, and couldn't help but marvel at her beauty. "I will share with you my magic while we sleep. It might help you with the trauma you're currently experiencing with your main element."
Lothar winced, then rubbed the back of his head with a small frown.
"Well, when you put it like that…" Lothar went silent as he was led to the bed by Millana, the nightgown she was wearing encapsulating her natural beauty.
Undressing himself, Lothar's cheeks blushed slightly, and he lied on the bed.
While he lay on the bed, Millana snuggled up next to him as he felt the warm, fuzzy feeling coursing through him once again.
He relaxed and dozed off, but one thing was prevalent in his mind during his trip to dreamland.
'This bed feels great…'