Once more, Ei asked herself why she agreed to this. The answer was of course, because Miko talked her into it. The Plane of Euthymia had several guests: UHA members. They wore track suits, head bands, gym shorts, and even leg warmers.
Everyone prepared in her own way. Ganyu and Keqing went through warm up stretches together, helping one another push their limits. Miko, Lisa, and Sucrose took endurance-stamina potions. Yoimiya bounced on the balls of her feet, eager to begin. Amber and Collei hyped each other up. Dehya and Candace arched their backs, limbering up their joints. Nilou and Yun Jin jogged in place, while Noelle did full on pushups.
They stared expectantly at the archon, ready for their lesson. Ei got a little nervous. She'd taken apprentices in the past but never this many. Well, they already paid, might as well give them what they came for.
"Greetings. You are all here to exercise and improve your … stamina."
Eula nodded vigorously with a lewd expression. Then she caught herself, blushed, and muttered that whole vengeance thing.
"There are numerous methods to improve stamina. But you will only see improvement in four weeks. So regularity is key."
Ei ran them through a much lighter version of her aerobics training starting with high kicks and moving into yoga.
Their talent levels became quite evident. The performers Nilou, Yun Jin, Furina, Lynette, Barbara, Xinyan, and Eula had superb body control. They could kick up their legs and command every joint with ease. Warriors like Jean, Amber, Noelle, Shenhe, Ayaka, Dehya, Beidou, Clorinde, Fischl, Chevreuse, Jeht, Rosaria, Mirror Maiden, Arlecchino, Candace, and Katarina lacked flexibility but compensated with their athleticism.
Then of course, some ladies were simply used to strenuous work. Ganyu and Keqing kept up, along with strong minded women like Ningguang, Xianyun, Chiori, Yae Miko, Layla, Navia, and Kokomi. They had remarkable mental stamina that warriors strived all their lives to achieve. Resilience was their strength. Kirara, the nekomata, and the journalist Charlotte already had superb constitutions. Their occupations kept them on their feet so aerobics didn't faze them. Others like Hu Tao, Xinyan, Xiangling and Yoimiya threw themselves into the exercise, bringing their unbridled enthusiasm to every motion.
Of course, there were strugglers. Poor Sucrose was already short of breath. Additionally, she had a stiffness in her posture. Working out in front of so many people eked at her confidence. Collei matched Amber's athleticism but timidity kept her from going all out. Those two needed to drop their guards.
Lisa had flexibility down pat but she lagged behind the others. Not far off from the mage, Madame Faruzan and Mona floundered. The academics didn't have the constitution for this. Their mindset, one of sheer stubborn pride, pushed them both on. Faruzan wouldn't let these youngsters outdo her just yet. Yelan struggled with sustained activity. Despite her athleticism, she had a deceptively frail constitution. Cryo Cincin Mage couldn't keep up and started slacking on the moves. Yanfei had a tough time too. Even with adeptus blood, she wasn't used to this rigorous training.
No matter. After all, no baby learned to walk without a few stumbles.
Once their warmups were finished, Ei had them all jog a few miles around the realm. The archon went slowly, compared to what she normally did. If she went all out, they'd never keep up. Of course, even holding back, none of them kept up with her.
It hardly surprised her at who took the lead. Naturally, Amber, Collei, Kirara, Noelle, Charlotte, Dehya, Clorinde, and Jeht battled for first place. Not far off, Arlecchino hung back, biding her time. Lynette overtook Keqing who managed herself admirably beside Ayaka and Chevreuse.
As the jog continued, the order shifted. Forerunners lost their steam. Amber, Noelle, Clorinde, and Dehya were the only ones up front. The others had slowed their pace to conserve their energy.
Women who had maintained a steady gait all this time moved forward. Arlecchino and Shenhe were set to pass the frontrunners. Behind them, women with superb mental discipline kept pace. Ganyu, Ningguang, Kokomi, Chiori, Jean, and Navia were hardy, pushing on through the pain.
At the forefront of those runners, white curls bobbed. Clad in her blue track suit, the former Hydro Archon pressed forward leading the others. It hardly surprised Ei. Furina was, without a doubt, the most tenacious person Ei had ever known.
Keqing and Ayaka ran shoulder to shoulder, driven by friendly competition. Xianyun and Faruzan raced, their competition a little more prideful than friendly. Yae Miko found her exercise rivals in Yelan and Lisa.
Sucrose panted, her eyes glazing over as she pushed on. Beside her, Collei clapped, "Come on, you can do it!" Her encouragement kept the alchemist going.
At this point of the run, stamina began to flag. Even then, their spirits remained undaunted. Hu Tao and Yoimiya made a game of it. They watched one another, waiting to see who would crack first. Barbara, Yun Jin, and Xinyan picked up a call and response song that caught on across the plane. Every single person joined in the response, from the forerunners to Sucrose bringing up the rear.
Not one person had stopped jogging. It made Ei proud to call them her friends.
Ei slowed her pace and slowly came to a halt. She was about half a mile in front of the others and would have to wait for them to catch up. In the meantime, she surveyed the grounds. To her satisfaction, Ei saw all the exercise equipment she requested. Better still, the extra coaches were all standing, ready to take up their students.
First, Noelle caught up to her, followed by Amber, Dehya, Clorinde, and one seriously winded Furina. Noelle bounced on her heels, ready for more. The ladies behind her needed a moment to catch their breath. Furina doubled over, hands on her knees, sweat dribbling off her forehead upon the sand.
One by one, the others followed. They came so quickly after each other that Ei lost count. Finally, bringing up the rear came Sucrose and Collei.
Ever restless Yoimiya raced back on to the field and ran beside the alchemist. The fireworks maker cheered her on. "Go, Sucrose, go!" Noelle and Amber ran out and joined Yoimiya in cheering on their friend. Everyone in the UHA took up the chant.
"Go, Sucrose, go! Go, Sucrose, go!"
Even the normally reserved Arlecchino and Lynette joined the crowd, albeit in their subdued manner. It worked.
With a roar, Sucrose sprinted to the finish line.
Everyone clapped, patting her on the back, handing her sports drinks. Her glasses fogged up with perspiration. Her legs swayed uneasily. A certain junior forest ranger wrapped the alchemist's arm around her shoulder, supporting her weight.
Sucrose, too breathless to utter a word, gave her friend a grateful smile. Ei allowed them a moment to relax. Once they recuperated enough, she gathered up a handful of papers
"Now, we begin weight training. I have designed individual workout schedules for each of you based on my own observations. Come forward and take a sheet. Then, go to your assigned coach. I shall go around and observe your progress."
She distributed the pamphlets to everyone. They each went off.
The shyer, less talkative women like Chiori, Layla, Sucrose, Collei, Yelan, Lynette, Ningguang, Ganyu, Katarina, and Yun Jin got Coach Gaming. He invited them to give it their all and pledged to support them.
The more competitive ladies needed an equally competitive teacher. So, Xianyun, Keqing, Ayaka, Amber, Yae Miko, Faruzan, Mirror Maiden, Navia, Lisa, Yoimiya, and Hu Tao got Childe.
"Alright ladies," the young man smirked, "impress me."
The warrior women were split between two teachers. Eula, Chevreuse, Dehya, Noelle, Jeht, Fischl, and Candace got Kujo Sara. Meanwhile, Beidou, Cryo Cincin Mage, Clorinde, Jean, Shenhe, Arlecchino, and Rosaria went with Cyno.
The rest Ei handed over to that Oni-Mr. What's his face—she couldn't for the life of her remember that man's name for some reason. His infectious joyful attitude would surely motivate Barbara, Nilou, Kirara, Kokomi, Yanfei, and Xiangling.
The remaining girls found their coach. They got on weight machines and began their training. Sucrose struggled at the shoulder press. A little word from Gaming helped her find her pace. Close by, Ganyu did dumbbell squats and Collei did bicep curls. Their previous exercise energized the ladies to give it their all.
Those high spirits were pervasive. Yoimiya got into a fierce push-up battle against Amber and Hu Tao. Navia and Clorinde rapidly jumped rope while Layla and Chiori shadowboxed. Yae Miko, Lisa, and Yelan competed to see who could do the most crunches. Keqing, Nilou, Ayaka, and Furina were going to town at the chin lift station. Those girls wouldn't let a rival outdo them.
Perhaps the most impressive scene however came from the bench press. There, Noelle effortlessly bench pressed eight hundred pounds. Arlecchino bench pressed Noelle's bench. Beneath her, Shenhe bench pressed both women as well as a thousand pounds.
Ei was a little tempted to join in and bench press Shenhe. But no, she had to remain focused on her duty. The archon went about, correcting forms and offering encouragement. Remarkably, not one person looked remotely close to giving up. Even as their faces reddened and they couldn't breathe, they pushed on past their limits.
The hours went on and they still showed no signs of stopping.
At last, Ei had to call the session to an end before they hurt themselves. They almost all immediately fell to the floor. Even the most athletic girls didn't get out unscathed.
The coaches passed out water bottles and towels. Every woman guzzled down everything like it was the end of the world. A few found their footing, managing to sit up straight.
Once everyone had regained some strength, Ei addressed them all.
"Excellent work today. Now like I told you, the key to building stamina is consistent effort. That means we must exercise regularly."
She anticipated a groan or at least one complaint. None came. Ei couldn't help but admire their willpower. When she looked out on that sea of faces, not one of them showed dread. Each one was set and prepared to give it everything.
One month later:
The Board of Champions:
Most push-ups at 1,345,621: Noelle
Highest bench-press record at 150 tons: Shenhe
Most crunches at 1,212,721: Dehya
Fastest time on the five mile dash: Amber
Longest time spent jogging: two hours: Jeht
Jump rope champion at 2,319,124 reps: Clorinde
Aerobics Champion: Lynette
Squats at 2,321,560: Jean
Chin Lifts 1,234,567: Beidou
Shadow boxing champion: Arlecchino
Most flexible: Eula
Plank record: 34 minutes: Chevreuse
Long distance marathon champion: Collei
*Note: All of the above records are technically held by Ei, and these are just the second-best records.
Hardest worker: Sucrose
Most Improved: Sucrose