Augustine Blaise was a wizard. Well, not officially. Augustine still had one more certification to pass before that happened, but he was close enough to call himself a wizard. Anyway, while studying for his final certification test, Augustine found himself becoming lethargic and anxious. So, at the suggestion of one of his friends, he decided to give exercising a try.
Sure it might seem strange to see a wizard working out, but using magic to change your own body was seen as risky. After all, if anything went wrong with the spell, you could become stuck like that for a long time. Plus, his mentor always said that it's not a good idea to rely on magic for everything.
That was how Augustine found himself entering 20 Fitness. The wizard didn't know much about gyms, but this one was highly reviewed online. First impressions, yeah, this place lived up to the reviews. Everything was modern and clean, plus the atmosphere somehow energized him. As he was looking around, however, Augustine spotted Neil and Matt's crew near the bench presses. Seems like there was some drama stirring in that group; it probably best to avoid them.
After looking around for a bit longer, the wizard ran into Bradley, the lead personal trainer. Bradley had recognized Augustine as a potential new client, so he put on his winning smile and greeted the other man.
"Hey, you're new here, right? The name's Bradley Channing, and I'm a personal trainer here. You look like you could use some help."
"Y-yeah, is it that obvious?" The wizard was feeling a bit intimated that this hulking man suddenly approached him. The fact that he didn't talk to mortals often and his unfamiliarity with the gym didn't help matters either. "B-but yeah, I could use some help. I came here because my friend said I need to get some exercise in and take my mind off my studies. I don't know if I'll come here regularly, but I at least want to try it out, you know?"
Bradley noded. While Augustine's motivation wasn't common in this day and age, Bradley did know how to handle this type of clientele. "Well, why don't I show you around the place? Teach you how to use the equipment, and if you like it, maybe we can make this a regular thing."
"Oh sure, sounds good." Augustine had to admit that Bradley was a pretty good businessman, but then again, you probably had to if you wanted to get new clients. Thankfully Bradley was also a great personal trainer. He was fantastic at motivating Augustine, and his explanations on how to lift and such were easy to understand. By the end of the day, Augustine was really enjoying working out with Bradley.
"Come on! Just one more rep! You can do it! Push!"
"Yarghhh," the wizard grunted as he successfully completed the rep. He was going to feel that in the morning, for sure, but right, now he didn't care. Right now, he was feeling like he was on top of the world.
"Nice work, Mr... Oh, right, I didn't catch your name before."
"It's Augustine Blaise and thanks."
"Augustine, nice name. Anyway, what do you think? Think you want to make this a regular thing?" Make this a regular thing, huh? Honestly, Augustine didn't think he would enjoy exercising this much. It was different from magic, but it lit a fire in him all the same. Perhaps he liked the challenge. Though instead of the challenge of figuring out what spells could handle the situation, it was the challenge of how far he could push his body. He always thought he would use his magic to do all the heavy lifting, but maybe that wouldn't be the case.
"Yeah, I think I can." When Augustine said that, he paused. Was that magic he felt? It was brief but, he definitely felt magic, right? Unfortunately, the wizard's train of thought was interrupted by Bradley's response.
"Nice. Well, follow me to the back, and we can take care of the paperwork." The trainer led his soon-to-be client to the back. The magic Augustine sensed was still in the back of his mind as he filled out all the paperwork.
"So, now I got to take the progress photos, so if you would please take off your shirt?" Bradly asked. Augustine silently nodded and took off his shirt. He was a tall man with fiery red hair but not much muscle to speak of. He wasn't nearly as thin as Neil, but he also wasn't much better. Anyway, being shirtless around a stranger made the young wizard feel self-conscious and bashful. However, Bradly saw the potential in Augustine's body. With a bit of work, he could mold his client into something impressive. "Yeah, now stand just like that. Good. Now bring your arms up and flex. Yeah, just like that. Good, good. And now turn around. Right, that should be good enough, one last thing I need from you. I want to know your fitness goals so I can write you up a routine."
"Uh... Well, I guess I just want to be healthier." Augustine murmured while scratching the back of his neck. Bradly subtly rolled his eyes at the vague response.
"Aw, come on. I need more information than that. How about you tell me what your ideal body would look like."
"W-well, I guess I wouldn't mind looking like you." A wry smile crept up on Bradley's face when he heard this response.
"Heh, is that so? Well, you're going to have to work hard to get a body like this, but if you're willing to work for it, I can help you reach those goals. So what do you say? We have a deal?" Bradley extended a hand. Honestly, Augustine didn't put too much thought into his response, but now he was curious what it would be like to be that big and strong. So much so that he didn't notice the subtle shifts happening to his physique.
"Deal." However, right as he shook his trainer's hand, Augustine sensed magic in the air again. It only lasted for a little while, but why would magic be here? Ultimately, Augustine shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him. Too much stress from studying, he thought. But in actuality, it was a side effect of Sandra's curse. Sandra was a talented witch, after all. So much she was able to cause people with magic to not immediately detect the curse. Of course, she wasn't THAT talented, and was she wasn't accounting for other magic users when casting that curse. If a magic user was actively looking for magic, they would be able to detect it. This was especially true with spells or tools to assist them. Perhaps they could even protect themselves and others from certain aspects of the curse. Or they could even change the curse...
Two gym sessions later, Augustine woke up and felt like something was wrong with his body. So, he conjured up a mirror to check himself out, and his eyes widened at what he saw. He had muscle, not a lot of it, but he now had some impressive definition. He actually had the beginning of pecs when his chest used to be flat. His chicken legs now had some meat to them. His back and shoulders had widened, making his body more v-shaped. He even had abs now! But how did this happen? There was no way his body could change this fast without... magic! It finally hit him. The magic he sensed at the gym wasn't just his imagination. Something was going on at the gym, and Augustine was going to get to the bottom of it.