Chapter 76: Dahlia Becomes the Gym Demon
Garion was now in his room, sitting by his desk and thinking about what he should do next.
"Now that I have so many disciples... I’ll need to make some Divine Supplements. Can’t have them collapsing halfway through training."
He opened the system’s [Divine Supplement Creation] list, scrolling through the available formulas.
Rows of glowing names appeared before him, and then two names caught his attention.
[Demonic Creatine]
[Effect: Rapidly boosts muscle power, explosive strength, and short-term endurance. Enhances mana absorption during intense training and increases the body’s mana–muscle connection.]
[Side Effect: Causes overheating, glowing red veins, and bursts of extreme focus or aggression. Overuse leads to dehydration and mana strain.]
---
[Demonic Protein]
[Effect: Greatly accelerates muscle repair and recovery after training. Promotes stable mana circulation in damaged cells and enhances muscle growth efficiency.]
[Side Effect: Causes extreme drowsiness and a heavy appetite after consumption. May temporarily make the body emit faint demonic energy or a smoke-like aura.]
Garion smirked.
"These two look perfect."
The effects were strong, effective, and exactly what he needed for large-scale physical training.
He checked the ingredient list and nodded in approval.
Most of them came directly from Demon Gate Island, making it easy for him to produce them on a regular basis.
"Good. Most of the ingredients were readily available. With this, my disciples can consume them every day."
He read the side effects again, shrugging.
"Overheating, hunger, glowing veins... nothing they can’t handle. Better than exploding, at least."
With a faint smile, he stood up.
"Alright then. These two will become the new standard supplement. Every disciple gets one of each before training."
He stretched, feeling satisfied.
"Let’s see how my little disciples handle Demonic Creatine and Demonic Protein."
---
The next morning, all the disciples had gathered inside the training hall.
Some of them whispered quietly, unsure if they were inside the sect or some kind of mysterious metal temple.
Garion stood at the front, and Dahlia stood beside him, already grinning like she’d been waiting for this moment her whole life.
"Alright, listen up! Today will be your first day of training. Forget all those flashy mana techniques and mana cultivation arts. We start from the basics."
The outer disciples looked at each other, confused.
Garion turned to Dahlia.
"Train them all first. Introduce every type of exercise we do here. Just one set of each. Once they understand how to train properly, we’ll move on."
Dahlia’s grin widened.
"Understood, Master. I’ve been waiting for this."
Garion nodded.
"And remember. Until they master basic form, don’t let them cultivate mana."
Dahlia nodded, cracking her knuckles.
"Yes, Master."
As Garion stepped back, Dahlia clapped her hands loudly.
"Alright, everyone! Split into ten lines! We’re starting with push-ups, squats, sit-ups, planks, and pull-ups!"
Seeing their confused looks, Dahlia reassured them.
"Don’t worry if you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’ll show you how it’s done."
The disciple watched in awe as she dropped to the floor and performed each movement flawlessly.
"Do it like this!"
The disciples began to imitate her.
Some moved awkwardly, others fell flat halfway through, and Dahlia quickly became a drill instructor.
"Lower! Straigher! Don’t cheat!"
Meanwhile, a new notification soon flashed in front of Garion.
[Outer Disciple Rynar completed one rep of a perfect push-up. Owner gains two times the results.]
Garion rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"So outer disciples only give me two times the gain, huh? Quite low compared to the ten times from private disciples..."
Still, a faint smile crossed his lips.
"But with a hundred of them training nonstop, that’s still a lot of progress."
Garion also didn’t forget about the two supplements that he had made.
"Let’s wait for them to perfect their form before giving them the supplements. No point wasting the supplements on bad forms."
Garion then went to a nearby rack, picking up some dumbbells to do his own exercise while watching Dahlia whip the new disciples into shape.
Dahlia, on the other hand, was in drill instructor mode.
"Lower! I said lower! That’s not a squat, that’s just bending your knees!"
One disciple collapsed halfway through his push-ups, panting heavily.
Dahlia stood over him, hands on her hips.
"What’s wrong? Is the floor too comfortable for you? Want to take a nap?"
The disciple frowned, getting up quickly.
"N-No, Senior Sister!"
Dahlia’s low voice was then changed to sharp and loud.
"Then get back up and give me ten!"
The disciple immediately resumed, trembling.
Garion chuckled between sets.
"Heh. She’s got a good rhythm. Didn’t even need my help to teach them.
He glanced back toward the rows of struggling disciples and smiled faintly.
"Let’s see how far they can go before lunch."
Meanwhile, Dahlia’s voice roared again from the other side of the hall.
"Ten more push-ups! And if I see someone resting, I’ll make you start over!"
Garion smirked.
"Yep. Definitely doesn’t need my help."
---
By lunch time, the training hall was filled with the sound of groaning disciples.
Some lay flat on the floor, others leaned against the wall, gasping for air.
Their arms and legs trembled like jelly after hours of nonstop push-ups, squats, planks, and sit-ups.
Dahlia clapped her hands once.
"Alright, that’s enough for now! Lunch break!"
The disciples didn’t even cheer. They just collapsed further, too tired to move.
One disciple mumbled weakly, "Lunch break? I can’t even lift my spoon..."
Another groaned, "Is it too late to join another sect?"
Someone beside him replied, "I think we already sold our souls the moment we entered the God Gym."
Dahlia smirked, placing her hands on her hips.
"Oh, come on, it wasn’t that bad. This was just warm-up training."
That line made several of them stare at her in pure horror.
"W-warm-up? This was just a warm-up?"
Dahlia nodded casually.
"Yep. The real training starts after this."
At that moment, the entire group collectively realized they might have made the worst decision of their lives.
Garion, sitting by the table in the corner, sipped his water calmly.
"Welcome to the real God Gym. You’ll get used to the pain eventually."
No one found that comforting.