Chapter 46 The Strength Test

Meira turned toward Elizabeth before asking, “have you seen a Flashstride family member using their bloodline ability?”

Elizabeth glanced at Evernya while answering, “yes, but why would that apply here? Sure, she has a bloodline, but in its current sealed state she won’t have bloodline abilities.”

“I know she doesn’t have an active bloodline, but what if it's a racial trait like her Omnilingualism?” Meira theorized.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened in realization as Evernya butted in, “Will you two quit talking as if I’m not here?”

Meira ignored Evernya’s comment as she turned to her kitten and ordered, “please unseal your mana. If my theory is correct, further mana sealed testing won’t give us proper results.”

Evernya sent a glare at her elf before complying. Evernya rapidly poked through her suit computer to unseal her mana as fast as possible, forgetting her previous annoyance. Using the drop-down menu, she found the option to unseal her mana to the right of the suit activation icon.

Upon selecting the unseal option, the filter impeding her mana disappeared, allowing it to rush through her body. A moan escaped her lips as the delicious mana flooded her mana veins. Her knees buckled as the orgasmic sensation overcame her.

Several minutes later, Evernya finally came down from her orgasmic high to find her keepers staring down at her with differing expressions. The elf had a mischievous look while the human was red-faced, trying desperately to hide her interest.

Catching Meira’s expression, Evernya sprung to her feet, filled with anger. “You knew that would happen, didn’t you, Meira!” Evernya accused the smirking elf.

Meira’s smile grew wider as she responded. “Of course, why didn’t you? You know surges of mana cause you pleasure, so why would this be any different. I ordered a suit with increment mana unsealing for a reason.”

“And when were you going to tell me about this feature?” Evernya inquired, staring daggers at her Elven keeper, tail whipping.

“Where’s the fun in that? Why are you complaining? You’re the one who received a few free orgasms.” Meira teased.

“What about Elizabeth? She looks uncomfortable, though I do smell a hint of arousal.” Evernya pointed out to get a bit of revenge on one of her observers.

Elizabeth’s face somehow turned a brighter shade of red, but Evernya didn’t let up, knowing Elizabeth had to have known about the unsealing feature. “To answer your unasked question, it felt amazing, but not quite as good as sucking mana. Instead of a buildup of pleasure, I got blasted with everything all at once.” Evernya explained, embracing her shifter side, showing no embarrassment on the subject.

“I didn’t want to know that!” yelled the flustered human.

“Oh, yes, you did. I caught your expression too. I always wondered if you swung to the feminine side since you never got married or even had a boyfriend as far as I know.” Meira teased to join in.

“I’ve been too busy with my training and career to have a relationship.” Elizabeth denied while fidgeting.

“Thomas married decades ago, and he is just as if not busier than you. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, nor will I judge you on your sexual preferences.” Meira countered.

Evernya added her own encouragement to the flustered, prudish human. “I have no problem with you being interested in women either. Watching my unintentional orgasm show would probably arouse many people. I don’t know my preferences yet. I could swing either way. So far, I haven’t seen anyone male or female that has interested me.”

I wonder why I never found a connection with anyone as a human? I tried both men and women, but no one felt right. I hope I can find someone in my new life. Though I won’t be settling down to have a family anytime soon.

“I am saving myself for the right person, but she won’t notice me,” Elizabeth whispered so quietly Evernya barely caught it, along with a subtle glance at Meira.

Evernya’s face displayed surprise for a split second before she concealed it, but Elizabeth still caught it. Elizabeth stared at Evernya pleadingly, for which Evernya responds with a lips sealed gesture.

“Why did you two get so quiet all of a sudden?” Meira asked, having missed the silent exchange.

“So, what’s next?” Evernya asked to change the subject, for which she received a grateful look from Elizabeth.

Meira took the bait, directing them across the alley, bisecting the gym toward an open matted area. Evernya stood in the middle of the matted area, awaiting Meira’s next test.

Without warning, Meira materialized a melon-sized ball, sending it flying toward her kitten at blazing speeds with her air magic. Evernya’s hands moved on their own, flashing up to meet the incoming projectile inhumanly fast. With a loud smack, the ball impacted Evernya’s waiting hands, positioned at chest level.

Ball in hand, Evernya turned her furious gaze upon her elf. “What the hell! What was that for!”

Meira smirked at her kitten, showing no remorse. “As I suspected, your reaction time and hand-eye coordination are excellent.”

Meanwhile, Elizabeth stood off to the side with wide eyes, missing the entire sequence. To her, the ball appeared to teleport to Evernya’s hands. “Excellent reaction time!? Few beings below arisen stage could even follow that!” Elizabeth exclaimed in shock.

“True, but most beings capable of exceptional speed also have enhanced perception.” Meira justified, ignoring her fuming kitten.

Evernya lobbed the ball at the offending elf. Without even bothering to glance in her kitten’s direction, Meira casually caught the ball with her left hand. Evernya’s eyes flashed in rage, but she reined in her mana before anything happened. She grumbled while plopping down on a chair with arms crossed and tail flicking behind her through the gap in the backrest.

Evernya watched silently as her caretakers conversed about her. Envy flashed in her eyes as Meira stored away the offending ball in her storage ring. Those storage rings are like a purse on steroids. Meira seems to have everything in there. I never understood how some of my fellow women stuffed so much stuff in their purses, but If I ever get a storage ring, I will pack it with everything I would ever need.

After spending several minutes listening to her caretakers dissect her results, she became impatient. “What’s next? Please, no more surprises, I don’t like being surprised.”

Seemingly just now noticing Evernya existed, Meira returned her attention to her kitten. “Next is testing your jumping ability, which I suspect you will excel at.”

After rolling out a tape measure, Meira instructed her kitten what to do next. “Stand at this end and jump as far as you can. You have three chances we will take the longest jump as your final result.”

Evernya followed her Elven caretaker’s instructions. She bent her knees and jumped with all her might. To increase her distance, she jumped mostly vertical but misjudged her jump, going too high.

“4.05 meters. Your vertical jump will be as excellent, but you were supposed to jump forward, not up.” Meira commented, goading her kitten to try harder.

Evernya’s next attempt focused on distance but sacrificed height, causing her to land short again.

“5.21 meters, better, but still below average for a female shifter,” Meira announced, with a hint of disappointment.

With a growl, mana flooded her legs as Evernya launched herself airborne forward with all her might on her last attempt.

“6.28 meters, there we go, nothing earth-shattering but definitely above average for a female shifter. With some practice, you could jump further.” Meira announced while recording the result on her tablet.

Damn, I can jump further than my old body without a running start. Still, I can’t get complacent. I need to continue focusing on improving myself. Evernya thought as Meira led her to the next test.

Meira stopped at a wall at the far end of the gym to the left of the door leading outside. The wall and a ten-meter tall ruler painted in black lettering against the light blue wall. “This test is for measuring your vertical jumping ability.”

“Please shift your claws,” Meira ordered.

After Evernya complied, Meira continued, “You will use your claws to leave a mark at the highest point of each jump. Please stand next to the wall and reach as far up as you can while staying flatfooted.”

Evernya did as instructed, allowing Meira to measure her reach.

Evernya stared up at the pristine wall. “You sure you want me to scratch your wall?”

With a shrug, Meira responded. “I can always fix it later.”

Evernya bent at her knees, then propelled herself straight up. Unprepared by the height she achieved, she flailed her body in a panic. Her flailing pushed her out of arm’s reach of the wall, wasting the jump. Evernya’s tail swiveled on its own, correcting her orientation mid-air. With a quiet slap, her feet landed softly on the padded gym floor several meters away from where she jumped.

“Well, one thing for sure, you have the hops. Now, if only you could scratch the wall.” Meira commented, amused. Elizabeth, standing to the right of Meira, had her hands covering her mouth to smother a giggle.

With a red face, Evernya turned back to the wall, determined more than ever to scratch the damn thing. She placed herself within arm’s reach of the wall before yet again bending her knees to launch herself vertically.

She stretched her right pointer claw as high as she could, leaving a faint scratch in the light blue paint before gracefully landing back on her feet. She spun toward her observers with hands on her hips chest, puffed proudly of her accomplishment, only to find her observers not paying attention to her.

Meira floated up to the mark to measure the jump while Elizabeth recorded the results on the tablet. “Damn 252 centimeter vertical! You jumped nearly a meter higher than you are tall.” Meira exclaimed, just now turning her attention to her crestfallen kitten.

Evernya’s mind raced, immediately forgetting her previous dejection. I wonder, do dunk contests exist in this world? Does basketball even exist? It would be awesome to drunk on a bunch of tall basketball players. I may even have the coordination to dribble the ball while running now. Though if I can jump this high, I’m sure there are plenty of others who could too.

Meira moved things along, seeing her kitten staring off into space. “Take your last jump so we can move onto the next test.”

Evernya shook her head to clear her random thoughts while trotting back to the wall. She achieved 255 cm on her last jump, getting used to the sensation of being airborne.

Without wasting time, Meira herded her to the next section. She stopped next to a bench, gesturing for her kitten to lie down. “Now we will test your strength to see how your petite frame stands up to full-size female shifters,” Meira teased

“I have no problem with my size, so tease me all you want,” Evernya commented upon sitting on the padded bench.

“No fun. You are so cute when you’re mad.” Meira pouted.

Taking the bait, Evernya’s eyes flashed as she sprung back to her feet. “So, that’s why you keep teasing me!” Evernya accused.

Meira pretended she heard nothing while continuing her explanation. “We do each exercise until we find your one-rep max with Elizabeth healing your muscles to ensure the best results. The first exercise will be the bench press.”

Evernya grumbled while laying back on the bench, sliding herself until she was within arm’s reach of the bar suspended over the head of the bench.

Meira placed her hand on the circular plate at the right end of the bar. The number showed on the side of the plate increased by five kilograms increments as she funneled mana into them. She stopped at eighty-five kilograms, then returned her attention to her kitten. “This is below average for a female shifter, but it’s best to start lower, just in case. Do you know how to do this exercise?”

“Yeah,” Evernya replied shortly, still annoyed with her Elven keeper.

She grabbed onto the bar, causing a piercing pain to resonate through her palms. She immediately let go of the bar to find her claws fully shifted. Elizabeth tapped Evernya’s shoulder for a second, instantly healing the deep puncture wounds on her palms. She hid her reddened face behind her hair as she shifted away her claws.

With her claws gone, she re-wrapped her hands around the bar. With a heave, she focused all her arm strength into lifting the bar off the stand. Veins bulged as she exerted force onto the eighty-five kilograms barbell, only for it to remain on the stand. Evernya’s mana acted on its own, pumping into her straining arms, giving them a boost in strength, but still, the bar refused to budge.

Meira used some air magic to float the bar off the stand to assist her kitten. With the full weight of the bar pressing down on Evernya’s arms, they instantly gave out. Evernya clenched her eyes and awaited the pain as the bar dropped toward her chest. A second later, she opened her eyes to find the bar floating back toward the stand via Meira’s air magic.

After scanning through the readings from Evernya’s training suit, Meira turned her attention to her embarrassed kitten. “Well, that’s concerning. I thought for sure you could lift that with your mana unsealed. The three races we know make up your genetics all have exceptional strength, especially dragons. The average bench press for an adult female shifter is around 100 kg without a mana boost, though you are the size of a 12-year-old shifter, so prepare to be carded for all eternity.”

Evernya disregarded the jab instead, focusing on the current issue. “Well, apparently, I didn’t inherit the upper body strength.”

“No, you did not,” Agreed Meira.

“By the way, what is this about carding? Do you mean for alcohol?” Evernya asked to change the subject.

“Alcohol is one reason for carding, yes. Thirty is the legal age for drinking alcohol for a shifter because of the risk of losing control while drunk. However, you don’t even pass as an 18-year-old so good luck with 30.” Meira replied.

Interesting age requirement, but I suppose it makes sense. I wouldn’t want a drunken shifter to go on a rampage either.

“Wouldn’t it be impossible for me to get drunk with my tolerances?” Evernya questioned.

“No, alcohol specially brewed for shifters or any other race with high tolerances exists. The alcohol content isn’t stronger, but the concoctions for a greater effect on those with high tolerances.” Elizabeth informed while healing any damage in Evernya’s body.

“I have no interest in getting drunk anyway, so no rush,” asserted Evernya.

“You may change your mind when all your college classmates go drinking, leaving you out. I suppose you wouldn’t have much choice either way since it would be difficult to smuggle in shifter alcohol in a mage-only campus. I suppose if you drink enough of regular alcohol, you may receive a buzz, but it would probably require multiple 12 packs.” Meira stated, causing her to receive a glare from her human friend.

“Don’t give her any ideas, remember she has to follow the rules to the letter.” Elizabeth scolded, shooting a squirt of water into her Elven friend’s face.

With a minor application of air magic, Meira dried her face off, ignoring her scowling friend. Meira pressed her hand against the weight plate again to drop the weight down to fifty kilograms.

“Try now. I hope you can at least lift this. A strong female human, your size could lift this.” Meira commented, mentally crossing her fingers that her kitten succeeded.

Evernya laid back down on the bench and grabbed the bar. This time, she managed to lift the bar off the stand, locking her arm straight above her chest. With unsteadiness, she lowered the bar to her chest before she exerted all her strength to lift it. Veins bulged as her face reddened from the strain of the weight, but the bar inched upward at an excruciatingly slow pace. Several unladylike grunts later, she relocked her arms above her chest. After accomplishing her goal, the bar began to sway, held up by her trembling arms, forcing her to drop the weight on the stand with a bang. Evernya’s arms fell limply to her sides, spent.

“I would say we found your max on the bench press. Fifty kilograms is good for a human female, but not for a shifter. I’ve never heard of an adult shifter so weak.” Meira callously commented, causing her to receive a spray down by the human next to her.

“Have some tact you’re supposed to build her self-esteem, not destroy it.” Elizabeth scolded.

Evernya took the results in stride. “Well, thanks for making me feel better.”

Under the piercing gaze of her human friend, Meira encouraged her kitten. “You have ways to increase your strength with telekinesis, but yeah, in upper body strength, an average 12-year-old female shifter is about as strong. At least your leg and core strength are likely above-average from your speed and jumping tests. With your strengths, you more than make up for lack of upper body strength.”

“So, what’s next?” Evernya asked, wanting to move on to something else.

“Next is Squat. I wanted to do a deadlift, but I’m worried your wimpy arms couldn’t withstand the high weights your legs may handle.” Meira replied, sneaking in another jab, earning another glare from Elizabeth.

Evernya rested her hands on her hips while glaring at her elf, proclaiming, “I’m not weak! Sure, in shifter terms, I am, but I can still lift my body weight. Plus, I’m sure I can strengthen them up to your lofty standards by the fall.”

“Well, the issue is you can’t increase your upper body strength much more. Since your base starting point is so low, you would have to work constantly to achieve average strength. There is a limit on how strong your base strength can be from its natural levels. It’s not a big deal though, you more than make up for it with your speed. With your body type, focusing on brute strength would be counterproductive anyway. Most people and creatures you try to overpower will have greater reach and weight. You’re better off using the speed and agility of your slight frame to win those confrontations.” Meira explained, with her human firetruck friend nodding in agreement.

“Makes sense if I try to fight another shifter head-on, they will toss me like I weigh nothing.” Agreed Evernya, cringing at the thought of being tossed like a rag doll by a big burly shifter.

Elizabeth inputted her observations so far. “From what I’ve seen from these tests, your body is better suited for a fast and agile combat style when forced into close quarters. Remember, unlike most shifters, you can fight from long range.”

“let’s get these tests over with before we draw too many conclusions.” Meira directed.

Meira gestured for her kitten to stand under the squat rack with a bar hung at approximately shoulder level. As with the bench, she set the weights to eighty-five kilograms.

“Do you know how to do this exercise?” Meira inquired.

“Yeah,” Evernya replied, as she used her shoulders to lift the bar off the rack.

Evernya squatted several times, feeling as though the bar was weightless. Next, using her tail to balance, she did several one-legged squats without trouble. With a bounce in her step, she placed the bar back on the rack.

“See? I’m not weak!” Evernya beamed, tail proudly raised.

“I set the weight low on purpose,” Meira admitted, earning her a blast of water to the face.

Elizabeth hugged you the dejected shifter while whispering words of encouragement. “Don’t listen to her. You did great. I am sure you will blow her away soon enough.”

After Elizabeth released her from her embrace, Evernya glared over her shoulder at the drenched elf as she strutted toward the bar. Following Meira’s example, she pressed her hand to the weight and funneled as much mana as she could into the weight. In five kilogram increments, the weight increased at a snail’s pace. After a minute, the number reached one hundred eighty kilograms.

Satisfied with the number, she stepped under the bar once more to lift it. With slightly more strain, she rested the bar on her shoulders before performing several squats. A frown marred her face as she set the bar on the rack. Another minute passed before the weight reached two hundred eighty kilograms.

Evernya’s muscles bulged as she lifted the bar off the rack. Once rested on her shoulders, a noticeable bend in the bar presented itself. She performed ten perfect form squats before placing the bar back on the rack.

As she trotted to the right end of the bar to increase the weight, Meira stopped her. “You’ve proven enough. My barbell can’t handle much more. I think it’s safe to say we can skip leg day for the foreseeable future.”

“Oh, come on, I want to see how high I can go.” Evernya pleaded, still not satisfied with her results.

“My equipment isn’t shifter rated. If you add another twenty kilograms, the bar may permanently bend. If you want to know your one-rep max, wait until college. I’m sure they have the equipment to handle your absurdly strong legs.” Meira stated while reducing the weight of the bar hung on the groaning rack.

“We have several pieces of equipment capable of handling up to a metric ton.” Informed Elizabeth as she checked over Evernya’s legs, but found nothing to heal.

“See? Please leave my poor squat rack alone.” Meira pleaded as her kitten continued to eye the squat rack.

“Fine, but you can’t call me weak.” Evernya asserted while as she stared up into her Elven keeper’s eyes with her hands on her hips, tail raised high.

“I lost that right when you casually lifted over two hundred kilograms with barely any use of your mana.” Admitted Meira.

“Damn right, you did!” Evernya beamed her previous confidence returned.

Meira failed to stop a smile from blooming on her face. “I don’t know how your tiny legs can do it, but your leg strength is at least on par with a male alpha shifter double your size.” Meira praised.