Typhon was running on a treadmill with weighted anklets on, trying to build up some strength and cardiovascular health. It was two days since he successfully formed his magic circle, and he had been using the time since to read more advanced magic textbooks and work on his fitness. Typhon's body was already in pretty good shape minus the missing arm and eye, so doing long workouts wasn't hard. Using Qi and mana, he was able to push his body past its natural limits and regenerate it overnight, allowing exceptionally high-intensity workouts to be beneficial instead of harmful.
It was his 12th hour in today's workout, so he was slowly wrapping it up with his current cooldown run. He would have usually kept going, but tomorrow was an important day for him; he would be learning to cast his first spell from Carmine. From what he had learnt over the last few days from his books and Carmine, the first step for any prospective mage was learning the most basic spell, magic missile. It was the first spell since the steps used were the foundation of all magic spells; formation, target and release.
Suddenly, the timer on the treadmill's control panel beeped, and the tread slowed until it stopped. Typhon grabbed his towel that was draped over one of the handles and wiped his brow. He slung the towel over his right shoulder, grabbed his water bottle from the cup holder on the treadmill, and squirted some of the water into his mouth.
"Still training hard, huh?"
Typhon spun around to see a woman in a sports tank top and spats standing with her arms on her hips and a smile on her face. This woman was someone Typhon had become well acquainted with over the past two days.
"Kate, what a surprise to see you here."
Typhon said sarcastically. She was the owner of the campus gym and also a personal trainer. She was an exceptionally attractive woman, and her presence seemed to increase the number of boys from the campus who regularly came to the gym. Kate didn't particularly mind if they went for the wrong reasons as long as they worked out seriously, she could overlook the lecherous looks from the young boys. Though, if anyone overstepped the boundaries, she was pretty quick to beat them into submission and kick them out.
"Well, you know, I am the owner. It'd be pretty bad if I let someone like you just do as you please without any supervision."
Typhon gave a light chuckle and sat on one of the benches close to the treadmills. Kate sat down next to him, not hiding her curvaceous body as she did, lithely stretching her back and pushing her chest out. Her outfit left little to the imagination, and Typhon couldn't help but appreciate her chocolate skin that sat nicely over her toned muscles. Though he could admire her beauty, Typhon had been with enough women in his time to not lose all his sensibilities as soon as he saw someone attractive. Kate smirked and lightly slapped his back.
"Like what you see?"
"Well, you are rather attractive, I admit."
"Heh, really? That's the best compliment you can give a girl?"
"I have to keep it modest. After all, last thing you need is an even bigger ego."
The two of them laughed at their banter until they naturally settled into a silence that felt comfortable for the two. They had become close quickly after Typhon's first session in the gym. Kate always tried to accommodate everyone, and when she saw Typhon for the first time, she saw him as a challenge for herself. Yet after his first session, she was amazed at how well someone with his disabilities could cope with such a high-intensity workout. She approached him after one of his sets started talking to him about his fitness goals and asked if she could help him in any way.
Typhon appreciated her gesture of assistance and asked her for some of the training equipment he was currently using, like the weighted anklets. He was on a tight schedule and needed to quickly improve his strength so he could start practicing the Celestial Beast Steps technique. Kate had been exceptionally helpful, and they had gotten close reasonably quickly through their shared interest in training. This had earned the ire of some of the other gym users, but Typhon wasn't one to let those sorts of things bother him. After all, he was used to the public eye being on him, just for a different reason than the current one.
"You holding up okay after the last few days? You've been going pretty hard."
"I don't really have the luxury of waiting around. I have a week and five days to get into fighting shape. With the help of Carmine and her regenerative medicines, my body benefits from these long training sessions."
While a small lie, explaining the whole situation to Kate was too risky, so Typhon chose to cover up the truth with small white lies. He would have to keep the fact that he was a reincarnated soul in a different body a secret from everyone for now, so there was no way he could explain that his Qi nourished his body during his cultivation practice which he did as a substitute for sleep.
"I'm not talking physically, I meant mentally. I heard about the duel and everything from some of the other members, are you sure that doing this so soon after such a traumatic accident is a good idea?"
Typhon turned his head to face Kate so that they were looking each other in the eye.
"I let that piece of shit walk all over me for long enough. I need to prove that I'm not who they made me."
There was a fire in Typhon's eye that made Kate shudder slightly. Even though he looked completely calm, she recognised that glint in his eye. It was the look of someone who enjoyed fighting, the type of person who enjoyed testing themselves against other people. While Kate was sure that what he said was true on some level, there was also that part of him that just wanted to let loose against another combatant.
"Well... no matter how it goes, you can come to my gym at any time."
"Thanks Kate, I really do appreciate it."
Typhon picked up his gym bag from the floor as he stood up from the bench.
"See you tomorrow morning Kate."
"Sure Typhon, see you tomorrow."
Kate watched Typhon's back as he retreated into the locker room to get changed and shower. Once he was gone, she sighed to herself. Of course, she had heard the rumours of Typhon before, who on the campus hadn't. Yet when she looked at the current Typhon, Kate couldn't help but wonder how such stories were accepted.
'Maybe the accident changed him in more ways than physical? Going through something like that must have been traumatic. I just hope he can slowly open up to me as he goes; he needs someone to talk to.'
Kate knew better than anyone how much having your family name stripped of you could hurt someone. She lost a close friend to a similar situation when she was a student at the academy, and the echoes of that tragedy still stuck with her. When she looked at Typhon, she could tell that he wasn't the type to take his own life, but she worried that he would throw it away, trying to make a name for himself.
"I suppose I'll just have to keep tabs on him."
With that final thought, Kate stretched her back, raising her arms over her head and cracked her knuckles before walking off in the direction of the manager's office. While she was passionate about fitness, she really enjoyed helping young people overcome their own personal challenges. Typhon was one of the most intriguing people she had met thus far, and she wanted him to succeed from the bottom of her heart.
'Do your best Typhon, I'll be rooting for you.'