Chapter 94 – Test Your Might

“Gahahahahahahahahaha, Master, you’ve brought along a very cute brat today!”

As I was impressed when I saw the inside of the dojo, a big man appeared.

He wore shorts and a shirt that extended to his shoulders. He had a shiny bald head, and only grew a mustache, such an overbearing man.

He’s a pretty muscular guy…. ¹

“Hmm. Instructor ‘Cadegha’…… How fare thy students?”

“Oh, there’s still a long way to go. They’re all motivated to win the tournament in three months… huh, well, I am too, you know.”

“Dear me… how deplorable.”

“But! Even if we can’t win the championship, we won’t lose to the soldiers of the old regime or the Magic School youngsters who know nothing of the civil war!”

“I see…even if they couldn’t beat ‘Machio’, both the masters and the students would benefit from such motivation… I’m glad I opened the door to the tournament after all…”

Muscular. Huge. He may have a decent amount of power and vigor, but he’s somewhere between the lower and middle-class Imperial warriors.

Because the High Priestess was too extraordinary, I was concerned about the level of the other teachers, but apparently the High Priestess was the only one in a different dimension.

No…..it looks like… there’s one other person…

“And, what of Machio?”

“Machio is out on Magical RoadWork… well, if I don’t have anything to teach him anymore, I don’t have anyone he can spar with…”

“Is that so… as expected, Machio will claim victory at this rate…. well, as it is now, however…”

“And that’s…… who’s the youngster? A student from the Wizarding School? Doesn’t seem to be an orphan from the slums …”

“Ah! He’s an initiate.”

“Nu-wai-wha!?”

No, no, no, I haven’t decided to join yet!

Well, Tre’ainar looked happy, so I think it’s okay to join, but…

『Just join, Child.』

「Eh, uh, Tre’ainar?」

『Of course, you need not ask them to teach you, but… this facility may be utilized…』

「Are you sure about this? In general, doing as I’m told seems irksome. I’m going to be sent to some weird tournament.」

『Even so, tis fine. What matters is that by taking advantage of this environment now, your strength could increase dramatically.』

「R, really?」

『Indeed! If you receive my proper training… fufufufu, I can barely wait to begin.』

Oh, Tre’ainar is completely up for it.

Maybe he’s already forgotten about the High Priestess’ plot, or why there was a statue of Tre’ainar, and so on.

“Wait, Master! Recently, there are a lot of pansies who start out at first then run away after a few days, so we can’t deal with someone who doesn’t have the guts for it.”

And before I replied, the bald man objected to the High Priestess.

“Even my decision?”

“I mean, when Bro brought his friends a few years ago, they immediately ran away, didn’t they? All the same, I must do some tests!”

“Test? …… Well, I don’t mind.”

Apparently, regardless of my intentions, I need to take a test to be initiated into this dojo.

Well, I haven’t answered yet, but Tre’ainar said that too, and…. well, I should probably stand up for my master here?

“Wow. I’m going to use the facilities here. And? What test do I have to take?”

“Hoh~, pretty confident guy. However, recently, there are a lot of wimps who talk big then run away immediately…. come on.”

“…… Hmm? Isn’t it sparring?”

“Ghahahaha! Hey, I’m not going to bully a newbie like that.”

With that said, the bald man went down stairs to the first floor.

I don’t mind if it’s a spar. I think I can beat this bald man….

“Well, even if the High Priestess brought him here, we don’t even know how strong big brother is… whether he’ll be sister’s Savior… I’m looking forward to finding out…”

“Un.”

Karui and Amae look excited about my test.

And the High Priestess was all smiles as well.

“That’s right… it will inspire the other students, and perhaps it’s best to know of the lad’s power…”

Oh, she’s got a wicked expression on her face. I knew it, that High Priestess is pretty suspicious!

Later, I’ll have to ask Tre’ainar about this woman….

“Okay, this is it. The introductory test is… Magical Bench Press.”

“…… Bench Press?”

And what the bald man showed me as a test on the first floor, he called a bench press.

It’s like a narrow chair for lying down, and a long bar on top with a ring at both ends.

“This is a training device specific to the dojo, for strengthening the arms…”

『Tis nothing so vague as merely arms. Upper body…… Pectoralis major, triceps, deltoid, and so on. The main muscle focused on is the pectoralis major, and you can gain a robust chest.』

Saying that, the bald man went under the bench press first intending to give a demonstration.

At that time, Tre’ainar beside me added more to the bald man’s explanation as a ‘supplement’.

“This way, I lie on my back on the table, so that my face and arms come right under the weight of the ‘Barbell’.”

『Lying on the bench, take hold the bar. At that time, hold the bar with a slightly wider width than the shoulders.』

“And, lift it up like this… Fununununununununu, Ndoryaah!! This way, lift the barbell and then lower it! Then place it on your chest once and then lift it again! In that case, the magic on this barbell…… is a mechanism that increases the weight according to the force put in to lift… that is, the power of the person… By the way, I’m at ‘120 Power’! Do this every day, and naturally your strength will increase!”

A magical light was generated on the barbell, and ancient figures emerged. Is that ancient magic, too?

According to the ancient figure, the number “120” is displayed.

But……

『What… I never, do they take simple ‘Max measurement’ as training… they do not understand, this fellow…. Bench press training should be raised and lowered multiple times…… at least 10 repetitions… Besides, this one, ‘Cheats’… he lowers the barbell and lifts with the recoil from hitting on the chest…. unless you properly kill the momentum on your chest and then lift, tis meaningless.』

While explaining it with a smug face, Tre’ainar exposed the bald man giving the demonstration.

However, the ‘120 power’ seemed to be considerable, and the people training in the dojo raised impressed voices.

“Huh, as expected, Instructor Cadegha…”

“I’m no match for Machio, but the power is top class of the Arcane True Zenith Style!”

“Haha, that’s amazing. Well, it’s big brother’s turn next.”

“Go for it”

If anything, there’s even a round of applause. I don’t know if it’s such a great figure or not.

“By the way, the average figure for men is ’40 power’. In other words, my power is three times that of a normal person.”

Saying that, the bald man smiles with his teeth shining.

So, I guess I’m next…

『In any case, for the child’s training, I will learn your Max figure as a reference… show me, child… you originally had a firm foundation, trained diligently, and repeated use of the breakthrough continued to put load on your muscles, so naturally your abilities have improved.』

The people around me looked on with interest, and Tre’ainar watched over me with enthusiasm.

So for the time being, I’ll learn by imitation, and then try it with the “proper form” as Tre’ainar instructed.

Lie on your back, take hold of the stick, and lift it….

“Oh, nu, oh, heavy!?”

『Obviously, tis Max setting. I shall adjust it later, but… for now, do not use the Breakthrough, just lift it with a full power burst.』

“Nugu, Gu, Nuoh, Oh, Oooooooooooooooooooooohhhhh!!!”

Does the weight change depending on my power? No, wait a minute… wouldn’t this be a great weapon if you figured out how to use it …? I clenched my teeth and used all my arm strength and even my broad back muscles, which I’m aware of when I punch, to lift the barbell.

“Uooooh, how’s thaaaaaaat?”

“””””…. Wha … Eh!!?? Hya……… 170!?”””””

170? Is that my figure? For the time being, it surpassed the bald man, and the people around him are surprised at the figure.

“Hoho, this is unexpected!”

“Hey, that’s amazing!”

“Oh, I couldn’t lift this much at that young age!”

“Even though his physique is normal, it’s a big deal!”

“Hey, seriously? No, even though it’s no match for Machio, it’s good enough!”

“… Oh …”

『I see… in other words, using the breakthrough… it could reach 200…. well, at this point, tis a passing mark, child.』

Well, let’s just call it a pass for now.

“Puha… huh, is this okay?”

“Oh! That’s great, isn’t it, youngster? I don’t know where you trained, but you are one hell of a gem!”

The bald man happily slapped me on the back.

Anyway, this bench press…… it’s true that it easily quantified my current level, so it’ll show if I’ve improved later on.

“Hehe, I didn’t even realize it until now, but I’m pretty strong…”

I had more strength than a guy who is bigger than me. The fact felt a little pleasant.

『Tis adequate. However, child, you gave a pretty good figure, but do not get swayed by it, alright? In the first place, bench press is simply a reference value, it does not equate to combat power. If the muscle mass is inflated unnecessarily, it could collapse the punching form and even become an obstacle. The ‘Supple muscle’ which is your character will become hard and your advantage will be lost.』

「Eh, is that so?」

『Tis so. Therefore, the ideal is to train everything in a well-balanced and even manner. Even a punch is not solely dependent on the strength of the arm, but also strong legs and waist. Perhaps the people in this dojo simply do not understand.』

「Heh… it’s really a lot of work… getting stronger …」

『Such is the way of things. However, child. Tis a great opportunity. Let us use other instruments, squats and running power may also be measured. Tis no good to be focused on numbers alone, but tis still very useful to visualize your physical abilities numerically. That way, you know what physical abilities are lacking, and on the other hand, where your strengths lie.』

And, Tre’ainar gave me instructions as soon as I passed the test.

Well, I was also interested in it, so I nodded and decided to give it a try.

But….

“See here, as the one Master brought along, he’s pretty impressive.”

“Oh. He’s no match for Machio, but he’s talented…”

While complimenting me, people around me seemed to imply that I’m below a certain person…

His name has been coming up for a while, but is this guy that amazing?

Well, as Tre’ainar said, if you don’t think this bench press alone will determine your fighting power, it’s nothing to worry about…

“Hmm?”

Then I saw a piece of paper on the wall beside the bench press.

The paper said ‘Bench Press All-Time Ranking’ on it, and at the top of it is…

“…… 1st place…… Machio Proteen……? …… 500 Power? ……?”

It was my first bench press and I found out that I was stronger than most other people, I was feeling good about myself. But that numerical value, felt like it was warning me ‘Don’t get cocky’.

Author’s Note

Because the unit of this story and the unit of reality are not the same, “170 power” is not “bench press 170kg”. Therefore, please excuse the retort that “the depiction of this power is strange at this level of bench press”.

[S1] Can’t help but picture Alex Louis Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist