As the class came to an end, he followed the four down the halls, a bit lost on what was next for the day.
"Where are we going?" He asked, keeping up with the girl in front's rather fast pace.
"Physical training!" May announced.
There was no person more excited in their group than Alexander, who walked down the hall while puffing his chest.
A great laugh emitted from the towering student's mouth, "Training is the spark to growth!"
The energetic claim brought odd glances from the passing students of other classes, though Alexander didn't pay them any mind. Without nearly the stature nor muscles of the giant, Lily mimicked the flexing of her peer, walking alongside him.
"Muscle!" Alexander cheered.
"Muscle!" Lily joined.
Guided along, he followed the others into a vast, enclosed space with false grass and enough equipment to fill a dozen gyms.
"Woah," Seven said under his breath.
To his right, he watched a group of students running on one, wide treadmill of sorts with ground that completely resembled a bumpy desert.
On the other side, another treadmill of the same kind mimicked a chilling tundra.
"State of the art, as they say," May said, gesturing with her hands as if showcasing the plentiful equipment.
"Oh, you probably need to get your physical assessment done," Shin mentioned as he unbuttoned his blazer, tossing it in place of his tank top beneath.
"Assessment?" Seven repeated.
May tugged on the newcomer's sleeve, "C'mon, I'll take you there."
Across the sizable walk of the training facility, a pair of automatic doors opened, guiding into a room outfitted with beeping monitors and a metal platform in the middle.
"Just stand on that and Mercury will record your specs," May said, pointing towards the sleek, metallic circle.
He listened, stepping forward, though was quickly intercepted as the brunette girl waved her hands to stop him.
"Wait, wait–you've got to take your shirt off," May informed him. "It has to properly scan your body, y'know?"
"Right, okay," he accepted, unbuttoning his blazer, taking it off along with the undershirt.
With nothing left covering his torso, he stepped onto the platform as it emitted a click, locking into place.
As he stood there, staring back at the girl that watched the process, she gave him a small wave.
"Just state your name and ranking to get it started."
He nodded, "Seven, rank zero."
The silver machinery began to him as metallic rings began to rise and spin around the platform. It hummed, vibrating the air around him.
"//Assessing vitals…healthy. No diseases detected.//"
"//No fatigue detecting. Clearing any migraines…//"
The sensation was rather odd; it was like the air around his body was studying him, down to each individual cell.
"//Physical profile downloaded successfully. Class-S physical attributes stored.//]
All of the humming stopped as the platform clicked again, bringing him to slowly step off. The clothes he had thrown off were handed back to him by his helpful peer.
"Class S, huh? First time I've seen that," May said with a curious smile.
He pulled his shirt down, though kept his blazer off with the prospect of physical activity on the horizon, "What's that about anyway?"
"It's the numerical value that Mercury has assigned to your body. Think of it like the "level" of your physical attributes," she explained.
"Oh, I sort of already have that," he noted.
"What?"
"…Never mind," he brushed off.
Returning to the training facility, the sight of Alexander lifting massive weights was found, along with onlooking students in awe.
"The Modern Hercules!"
"I bet he can beat a Fulminare!"
Alexander was in the process of deadlifting a bar packed with dense plates that marked well over two thousand kilograms.
"Fffuuu…!" The massive man exhaled before setting the bar down.
A girl not even half the size of Alexander was standing ready with a wet towel and water bottle, gladly giving it to him.
"Thanks!" He said with a smile before squirting the refreshment into his mouth.
Seven watched curiously, though the one beside him seemed to notice his interest.
"He's the most popular student here. A lot of people have placed their hopes in Alexander being able to contend with the Fulminare," May explained.
"I can tell why. He's amazing."
Inevitably, Alexander noticed the onlooking peer, waving him over excitedly, "Seven! C'mon—let's run some reps!"
"Me? Sure," he accepted, walking past the spectating students to join the number-one ranked student.
An even larger crowd gathered around the two as he brought himself before the titanium bar.
"Don't push yourself to match my weight. Take it at your own pace, friend," Alexander advised from the side.
"No, I'm good," Seven said, staring down at the bar as he wrapped his fingers around it. "This is lower than my last max."
"Oh?—" Alexander remarked in surprise.
There was an air of disbelief from those that watched as with a single straightening of his knees, he casually lifted multiple tons off the ground. He didn't take the time to feel any fatigue, quickly performing a few reps with the weight.
On the treadmills, Shin watched the workout performed, "It's going to be hard getting used to seeing that kind of strength."
After ten repetitions, Seven set the tremendous weight down while breathing out. To his surprise, there was no adaptation spurred from the performance, not even feeling any exhaustion in his body.
"How're you feeling? Bet your gluts are on fire!" Alexander asked with a mighty laugh.
"Actually…I think I need more weight," Seven said. "I'm not gaining much from this."
"Really now…?" Alexander remarked in surprise, raising an eyebrow as he coughed. "Well…Yeah! That's just the warmup, friend!"
"Oh, right. Yeah," Seven nodded.
Following the experienced strongman over to a rack of heavy steel, he prepared for perhaps the most fundamental strength exercise of them all—"squatting."
Of course, spectators followed as if the twos workout was a spectacle.
Alexander led, holding a weight on his shoulders that would crush even the strongest men as he squatted, "Fffffuuu…!"
Next, his turn came—
He quickly performed his repetitions, feeling the weight against his shoulders, though having no trouble with it.
"Feeling the burn?!" Alexander asked from the side.
"I guess…a bit?" He exhaled as he straightened himself out, setting the bar back in place. "Can we up the weight?"
The idea caught the blonde peer off guard, though it brought him to laugh, "That's the spirit, my friend!"
With a higher weight entering thrice tons, he squatted down, looking towards the distant, pale walls as he focused entirely on enduring the burden. As he went down, the impossible weight made it difficult to rise, as much as Alexander cheered him on.
[Heightened stress registered on targeted muscle groups. Adjusting density of hamstrings, glutes, calves…]
[Gathered experience: +50] [203/500]
"Phew. There we go—I felt that," Seven said, exhaling as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
To his surprise, a rather short student with a bob cut was waiting in front of him with a towel and water bottle.
"Here you go, Seven…Sir!" The nervous boy said.
"Thanks."
He accepted the gift, guzzling the cold liquid as the short student watched as if he was some sort of superstar.
"I-I'm Todd, by the way…!" The boy whose eyes were hidden by his fringes spoke up.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Seven," he said, wiping the sweat off himself.
"Oh, I know! You're a legend around here! Everybody knows your name!" Todd nodded vigorously.
"Oh really?—"
While he was curious, his attention was turned back towards the squat rack, where Alexander looked about as red as a tomato.
Seven watched in surprise as the man's thighs bulged to the size of a great bull's own. By some Herculean effort, Alexander rose with over three tons on his shoulders.
"Nothing…to it!" The blonde-haired giant burst the breath from his lungs.
While Alexander looked ready to burst, the large student went down for another rep, though going up seemed to be his limit.
"Need some help…?" Seven asked.
"No…!" Alexander declined.
By some miracle, the tons were lifted once more by the superhuman quads of the number-one ranked student. An entire three hours were dedicated to physical training, with breaks in between to maximize rest and recovery.
With Alexander, he developed his skin.
Alongside Shin, he built his stamina on the treadmills.
May guided him along with yoga movements, aiding his flexibility.
All the while—Lily sat around, popping candy in her mouth.