Chapter 29

Not long ago, Zeidrick had somehow acquired Keith’s contact information and had been nagging him for feedback on the orbs. Zeidrick’s request wasn’t too strenuous, so Keith spent the few days before the bodybuilding competition relaxing at home and working on the report.

Keith began writing out a simple pros and cons list, but the part of him obsessed with organization loathed such a rudimentary method. No, he needed to write a multiple-page essay on the orb’s strengths and weaknesses, so what initially began as a simple task turned into a two-day project.

By the end, Keith was proud of his work. While he had a vested interest to give Zeidrick accurate feedback so the craftsman could make improvements on what was ultimately an experimental tool, Keith enjoyed the process of laying out information in a clear and detailed manner. Honestly, if Keith could sell the settings of his inventory, he was confident plenty of people would buy it. Anything he stored in his inventory or Grimoire was automatically sorted based on numerous parameters optimized over a decade. In Keith’s eyes, it was perfect.

Reviewing the report, Keith was surprised by how harsh he was. He considered changing his tone but ultimately decided it was better to be honest so that Zeidrick could address the orb’s faults.

After glancing over his work several times, he read the final paragraph one last time, ‘To summarize, the orbs are a pinnacle weapon against those up to level 300. Beyond that, they become increasingly useless. Ignoring the inability to level or control skills, the orbs themselves will eventually become limited by their speed and defensive ability. A powerhouse over level 400 would simply destroy them in a single blow.”

The final paragraph summarized Keith’s findings and highlighted his limit. Using the orbs in their current state would maybe push Keith to level 350 if he put in the time and effort, but anything beyond that was likely impossible. Even if the orbs could level skills, their base specs couldn’t keep up.

Though the report was largely negative, Keith was optimistic. It was easy to forget because they were so powerful – but the orbs were merely in their first iteration, and who knew what they would become in the future.

Nodding to himself, Keith sent the report over to Zeidrick through his magic tablet. The competition would begin in a few hours, and Annallee wanted to leave early, so Keith stood up and stretched before moving to his wardrobe to pick out one of his more normal outfits. He didn’t want to stand out during this event.

After getting dressed and doing his hair, Keith found Annallee, Uncle Ridger, and Uncle Doven waiting in the entry room. Annallee turned and said, “Great, let’s go.”

As they walked to the teleportation array in the courtyard, Keith glanced over at his sister. "Feeling anxious?"

"A little.”

Uncle Ridger caressed his beard. “Don’t worry too much. Although it’s a competition, it's also a social event.” The man glanced at Keith as he operated the teleportation array. “Don’t cause any trouble. Plenty of level 400+ powerhouses are participating, and I heard a special person is coming this time.”

Keith rolled his eyes as they teleported to a nearby city and made their way to a giant dome building a few blocks away from the nearest teleportation array. As human society accepted all races, orcs, elves, and dwarves were a common sight. Only demons were rare to see, as there was a lot of bad blood due to the last great war.

Due to the bodybuilding competition, numerous vendors set up stalls leading up to the venue. All the stalls set up by dwarves sold weapons, armor, and baubles, while the elves sold fruit, vegetables, staves, shortswords, and bows. Keith’s party browsed through the wares as they passed, with Keith buying a few mini peaches that he popped into his mouth. Elves had long since perfected their farming – you needn’t worry about seeds when eating their food.

Eventually, the party arrived before the dome, where two massive illusions stood on each side of the entrance. One depicted an orc and the other a human. The two illusions faced each other and remained frozen in the pose of clasping each other’s hands. By this point, Keith began feeling a little small. The people entering the dome alongside him were at least two to five times as big as he was, and he felt like a baby compared to them.

The dome was basically one big room, and when they entered, a female orc twice the size of Keith walked up to their party and handed them a brochure. As she did, she gave Uncle Ridger and Uncle Doven a nod before moving on to the next guest.

Keith glanced down at the pamphlet and saw a schedule for today’s events on the front page. He noted the competition wouldn’t begin until 4 pm, so there was still a good half of the day to go. The inside of the paper was a bird’s eye view of the dome showing all the activities and minigames.

At this time, Uncle Ridger spoke up. “I’m going to meet some old friends. You guys do what you want.”

Uncle Ridger quickly disappeared into the crowd as Keith turned to look at Annallee. “Do you want to play some games?”

“Sure,” Annallee nodded as she used the map on the brochure to lead them to another section of the dome. Five minutes later, they stood in line for one particular game. A crowd of people watched and cheered as a male orc picked up a large metal hammer. The orc grunted, heaved the hammer over his head, then slammed it down on a slab of metal in front of him.

An array flashed underneath the slab as it absorbed the force behind the blow. At the same time, a constantly changing number manifested above the slab before settling at 430.

“Not bad, lad! You’ve won four stamps!” A burly man overseeing the game handed the disappointed orc his reward.

There were around ten people in front of Keith and Annallee, who scored between 300 and 800. Keith couldn’t tell what their Strength stat was, so he didn’t know how he’d compare. As the game was quick, it didn’t take long until it was Annallee’s turn. When she walked up, Keith encouraged her in a loud voice, “Don’t worry, sis. You can do this. Remember to bend your knees!”

Annallee acted as if she didn’t hear anything and instead tested the hammer's weight. Keith obnoxiously clapped and cheered when she widened her stance, hefted the hammer behind her, and swung overhead in a long arc.

While lacking knowledge about posture and the utilization of muscles, Keith could still tell his sister’s technique was far beyond the previous people. Starting from her feet, she channeled strength up her legs and into her waist as the hammer reached its peak, and then she twisted and smashed downward with her upper body as the hammer fell, assisted by gravity.

There was an audible smack when the hammer collided with the slab, and it even rebounded upwards before landing again. A number popped up above Annallee’s head: 898.

“Oh, so close to 900!” The referee exclaimed. “Here’s eight stamps, young lady.”

When Annallee walked over to the side, she gave Keith a smug look. Crap, Keith thought, I should have gone first.

Strutting forward with bravado, Keith picked up the hammer and immediately grimaced, finding it much heavier than expected. Flexing his muscles, Keith awkwardly lifted the hammer and got into a stance. He mimicked his sister's technique and slammed the blunt weapon onto the slab. The thing nearly fell out of his hands from the recoil, but thankfully he held on.

Looking up, Keith clicked his tongue when he saw his score: 638.

Honestly, the result was disappointing. Ever since Keith acquired his Grimoire, his power had skyrocketed several times. Together with the orbs, it made him feel invincible. Even then, Annallee surpassed him in Strength.

Keith took his six stamps and approached Annallee with a frown. “What’s your Strength at?”

“Over 500,” Annallee answered with pride. “It’s been shooting up ever since I started training under Uncle Ridger.”

Keith was amazed and briefly considered joining her routine, then thought better of it. Working out wasn’t for him.

“Come on, let’s go to a different game,” Annallee said as she looked around for a nearby activity. Just then, a blast of wind shoved Keith forward as the ground shuddered with a resounding crack. Startled, he spun around and widened his eyes when he saw the slab, now shattered into pieces. The crowd who’d been watching the fun fell silent as they stared at the young girl responsible in amazement.

Seemingly around Keith’s age, the woman had a slender frame with short orange hair, with one side braided into a pattern. She wore a simple t-shirt and shorts but surprisingly didn’t wear any shoes. Frowning, she turned to the referee and apologized. “Sorry, I broke it.”

The referee returned to his senses and forced a smile. “No worries, young lady, we have backups. Your score seems to be 4,235, so here are 42 stamps.”

The girl accepted her reward before making her way to her next destination. When she disappeared into the crowd, Keith turned to his sister and noticed she was similarly shocked. Keith couldn’t help but ask in a low whisper, “What do you think her Strength was?”

Annallee clenched her hands. “It’s definitely over 2,000, but how’s that possible? She looks younger than me!”

Keith sighed and thought the same. Maybe like his Mom and Aunt, she underwent grueling training from a young age, and if so, she probably belonged to the four families. The thought that he would soon mingle among such people when he moved in with his father left him sweating.

He was going to get bullied, wasn’t he?