Chapter 14 - Working out and Wolf (1/2)

It was a new day at the Blyth mansion. Now, there were more people, he knew about the crisis he was in. He was going to be trained by Salazar and was already set on a path which would enable him to know, the reason for which he was being targeted.

He also managed to get into the gaming world and if he paid a decent amount of attention to it, he would be able to get quite financially successful too.

It was 4.30 a.m when the alarm buzzed in Balthazar's room. He groggily went to bathroom to clean himself up. He drank a bit of citrus juice from the refrigerator in his room to get rid of the remaining effect of the drinks.

He dressed himself in a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt and got himself to the gymnasium to meet Salazar. The Blyth family gymnasium was a very big in the west wing of the mansion. It spanned two floors. The first floor had the basic equipment for everyday training along with a couple of fighting rings. There were also a bunch of automatons which assisted in the physical training.

The second floor had all the testing equipment, a few heavy weight training apparatuses and three special combat rooms. These combat rooms can be customized, and it required the special permission to enter and use them.

It was 10 minutes to 5 a.m. and Salazar wasn't there yet. None of the younger generation he knew were there. It only had a few elders and men of the older generation, working out. With nothing to do, he decided to warm himself up and joined them. He went to a tread mill beside Elaine Blyth, one of his aunts.

”You guys are here early,” said Balthazar with smile trying to strike conversation.

”Well, we just came back after a long trip and it was already sunrise,” replied one of them without looking at him as if it was something he was used to saying regularly.

”Oh. It's you,” said Elaine. ”Glad to see you have returned.”

”Glad to be back.”

”Heard Salazar would be training you.”

”How do you know about that?”

”Old colleagues. Salazar and I were on the same team as John.”

”Is he John's kid,” asked another man who just came to stand beside Elaine with a vitamin drink in hand.

”I am,” said Balthazar extending his hand.

”Marcus Price,” said the man as he shook his hand.

”Price? As in the Price family? One of the seven most influential families in the alliance,” asked Balthazar surprised. The Price family was considered the most powerful family in the alliance. Even the prime director of the alliance, who was elected had been a Price for the past 9 decades.

”He doesn't know?” Marcus asked Elaine.

”Of course not. He is still a kid,” said Elaine rolling his eyes.

”Marcus is my husband, Bel. We have been in collaboration with the Price family for a long time,” she told Balthazar.

She took the bottle from Marcus as she got off the thread mill. ”Hope you join us soon. Be careful. Salazar has no patience with apprentices.”

”If you are done badmouthing me, you can f.u.c.k off,” said Salazar from behind her.

”Always sneaky and silent. Can't even come to the gymnasium through the main door,” teased Elaine shaking her head.

Salazar calmly walked past her and asked Balthazar ”What are you doing here? I was waiting for you at the second floor.”

He didn't wait for a reply and just gestured Balthazar to follow him.

”He was very nice yesterday. What is with the sudden change of personality?” he asked Elaine.

”He is always like that when it comes to physical training. He was considered a hardworking freak when he first joined us. Even John, who brought him aboard didn't expect that. And he is always a bit candid.”

Balthazar ran after Salazar, who was already at the second floor. It was completely empty except for the pair of them. He was standing by the machine which measured punch strength.

”Punch strength? Do we actually ever even punch our targets?” asked Balthazar.

”Don't be foolish. What do you think we do here? We don't just go killing people. Many times, we need to interrogate them. What if you are attacked in public or if you end up in a brawl or if you must provide a distraction? Complete physical strength has to be above the required standard for being an agent,” said Salazar in admonishment.

”Come on. Be quick about it. Today, we test your present capacities. Based on that we will continue as required,” continued Salazar.

Balthazar had spent a decent amount of time in his past life on martial arts. As an assassin, he mainly focused on escaping. Head on long fights was something he was not that good at. Moreover, due to the tough situation he used to be in after he lost his job at the military, he focused a lot in developing his body physique. He continued it even after he started a civilian job at Rudra's workshop.

But now, he hardly was the same man. Though, he had been working to improve his physique by habit, it hadn't even been ten days after the miracle with him reverted to his old weak physical self.

”I shall try my best,” he thought as punched the machine as quick and hard as he could.

”532 kg? You can do better than that. Put your back into it, have a running start, show me the best you can.”

Balthazar took a few steps back. He suddenly accelerated leaping towards the machine, put his foot down half a metre from it and using it as a fulcrum put the entire weight of his body behind his punch. A couple of pops sounded off him as he struck the machine.

”612 kg. That's better. You got decent strength, but your form is not that good. You heard the pops when you struck. That is your body telling you that you can do better. Your ligaments failed to properly handle the stress of your movements,” said Salazar.

”The attempt was good though. But the movements were not suitable for your musculature. You should either change your style to suit your body or improve upon your body. Don't repeat that again in your workout or training.”

”OK”

”Before we continue through the rest of it. Let me first tell you how to disable the recovery function of the pico-tech serum using your wrist band. Always do it when you work out or train. It would hamper your body growth and development as it always helps to quickly repair any muscle strain or stretch. That kind of beats the entire point of training doesn't it. Keep it disabled for two hours after your workout and supplements intake.”

”Now let us move on to the rest of them,” he said directing to another machine.

Twenty minutes later. They were sitting on a bench discussing the results. ”Your kick strength peaks at 781 kg with an axe kick. Both punch and kick strength averages just cross the mark. Your throws of light weapons have a max range of 7 meters. Can improve on it. Max running speed is 32 mph. That's not bad. Weightlifting fails to cross the mark. I have your shooting results from the force. It is decent but can actually be improved on,” said Salazar marking things on his wrist band screen.