After I warmed up on the treadmill, I decided to challenge the bench press. I had never actually done it before, but I’d seen it on television or something similar. It was the exercise where you lie flat on your back and lift a barbell.
"All right, we’ll take turns on the bench press here. For now, let's just see how much you two can lift," Namyl said.
"By the way... is there a general average for this?" I asked.
"I did some research before setting up this gym, but since racial differences are so massive, it’s hard to give a single number for Humankind. To give you some examples, both male and female Dwarves tend to be quite strong, while Elves of both genders lean toward being physically weak. As for the difference in arm strength between sexes, men of the Human Race tend to be stronger, but among the Mermaid Race, the women usually have the upper hand. If we limit it strictly to the Human Race, the average is around 30kg for women and 50 to 60kg for men."
"I see..."
I wondered if I could even lift the average. How was my arm strength? I’d been jogging regularly, so my legs and core were in decent shape, but my upper body... Still, out of a man’s petty pride, I really wanted to be able to lift more than Elis-san.
"Since both Big Bro and Elis-san are part of the Human Race, the trend suggests Big Bro should be able to lift the heavier weight... So, let's start with Elis-san."
"Understood. I just lie down here, correct?"
"Yeah, I’ll be right here to support you, so don't worry. Let's start with 20kg—a bit below the average."
It was a perfectly professional exchange with nothing weird about it. At least, there shouldn't have been. However, I was struggling to find a place for my eyes to rest, and I felt more than a little awkward.
To perform the bench press, Elis-san had taken off her jersey jacket and lay down in just her T-shirt. Naturally, that made it easier to move, and I expected I’d do the same when it was my turn.
But lying flat on her back in a T-shirt like that made the curves unique to a woman... well, even though I was trying to look away, my eyes would occasionally drift toward her. If I turned around completely, I’d essentially be confessing that I was looking at her chest and felt awkward about it. For now, I did my best to look elsewhere and keep my mind off it.
Besides, since I was next, I needed to watch her form to understand how to do it.
"That doesn't seem to be a problem at all," Namyl noted. "Can you move it up and down? ...Looks good. Next is 30kg, the Human Race average for women."
"I definitely feel the weight now, but I think I’m still okay," Elis-san replied.
"Then let's try 40kg. I’ve got my hands near the bar, so it won't fall. Give it everything you've got and lift."
"Yes... huff... ngh..."
"Looking good. You’re handling the reps well... though at this rate, 50kg might be a struggle. Shall we try it once just for the experience?"
"Kh... ugh... I-I can lift it, but... my apologies, repetitions are..."
"No, no, being able to lift 50kg puts you well above average. Good work. Take a second to relax your hands... I think training at about 35kg would be best for you, Elis-san."
I wondered if that barbell used magic to change its weight. It didn't look like Namyl was swapping plates; the weight just seemed to change whenever she held her hand over it.
That aside, Elis-san could lift 50kg. Surely I could do that too, right?
"All right, let's measure Big Bro next," Namyl called out.
"U-Understood."
"How about it? Do you want to start at the 50kg Elis-san just lifted?"
"Let's go with 50kg, please."
I swapped places with Elis-san and prepared for the measurement. I gripped the bar firmly and... huh? Wait, this felt incredibly light.
"Actually... this feels quite easy."
"You’re certainly moving it smoothly. You clearly have plenty of strength to spare. In that case, shall we try 70kg?"
"Sure."
Next was 70kg. If I could do reps with this, I was definitely above average. All right... wait. This was also pretty light. It was heavier than before, of course, but it wasn't a struggle at all.
"I can still do this pretty easily."
"Oh, Big Bro, you’re actually quite strong. Your form is smooth... Hmm, should we try 90kg? If you can lift this, you're quite powerful for a man of the Human Race."
It went up another 20kg to 90kg, but even that felt manageable. Was I actually this strong? I didn't remember ever doing strength training, but come to think of it, I spent a lot of time brushing Bell, a behemoth over five meters long. Maybe I’d built up more muscle than I realized.
"Hmm, Big Bro... it looks like you still have room to breathe. Pardon me a second. I’m going to move the barbell... Can you try pushing against my hands as hard as you can, like you’re doing the bench press?"
"U-Understood... Like this?"
"O-Oh... huh? Big Bro, you aren't using Physical Enhancement Magic... are you? No, you're not. Wait, if you have this much raw power... you could probably hit 200kg."
"What? No, that’s impossible..."
According to Namyl’s estimate, my arm strength was enough to bench press 200kg. If I had that kind of muscle, shouldn't I be a lot more bulky?
That meant it had to be something else. It felt like some strange correction was being applied to my body, independent of my actual muscle mass.
Serious-senpai: "Wait, what is this...?"
???: "I mean, just think about how many blessings this guy has piled up. Even if the effect of a single one is minor, when you bundle them all together, his Base Physical Ability gets a massive boost. There are even some that act as a Blessing that applies corrections under specific conditions. He’s so bad at Physical Enhancement Magic that his multiplier is pathetic, so compared to the people around him who use it, he seems weak. He just never noticed the boost until now... but for something like a bench press, there’s definitely a correction at play. It’s probably a strong correction that kicks in whenever he tries to move something heavy without magic... Kaito-san has so many blessings he isn't even aware of that I don't even have the full picture. It’s a pain to track..."
Serious-senpai: "I see... well, I should get ready..."
???: "What's with that tool?"
Serious-senpai: "I had Machina make it for tomorrow. She's always munching on my body, so I figured I was entitled to this much."