Stepping up to the weight set, Wren noticed that only one set of weights had been placed on either side of the barbell. The expectations for him were not very high. Perhaps that was for the best though, he didn’t want to stand out. He would do his sets, hopefully get a half decent score, nothing too high, preferably average, and then return to the rest of the recruits. He took a deep breath, bent his knees and gripped the bar tight. Although he didn’t want to stand out, he also didn’t want to make a fool of himself. Dropping the bar would be a big mistake.

Tensing every muscle in his body, he lifted. Straightening his legs and pulling himself up into the correct position, he felt the weights pulling him down. His arms were on fire, he could feel every muscle fibre in his arms pulled taught against the weight. He gritted his teeth and toughed it out for the three seconds before dropping the weights back to the floor.

[Strength: 5]

Those five points apparently didn’t seem to mean much. He was only on the first set and already his arms felt like jelly. He had a newfound respect for Liam, who seemed to keep lifting until there were no more weights to lift.

He couldn’t stop there though; his goal was average. He wouldn’t only be a laughingstock if he stopped after the first round, but he would also make himself a target. He remembered Xiao’s words, and although he didn’t want to appear strong, he also didn’t want to come across as weak.

“More.” He said to Lops, who only nodded and placed another set on either end of the barbell.

Looking at the second set of weights he prepared himself, swinging his arms in a circular motion, loosening them up, trying to get as much blood flow as possible. Wren would need all the help he could get to keep going.

He once again bent his knees and took a deep breath. Holding it, he gripped the barbell and lifted.

If he thought the first round was bad, the second was nothing in comparison. He felt as if his arms were being ripped off. Every single fibre of his being was telling him to drop the weights but he knew he couldn’t. Three seconds. He only had to hold them for three seconds and then he would have a reprieve.

One

Two

Three

He dropped the weights with a grunt and fell to the floor. He rubbed his arms up and down, trying to massage the pain away.

“Done Mr Spectre?” Lops asked him, his pen at the ready.

Wren looked from Lops to the rest of the group. They all had amused smug expressions on their faces as if they knew he wouldn’t amount to much. He looked from the group to the weight sets. He couldn’t give them the satisfaction of being right.

“More.” He said to Lops.

The instructor gave him a quizzical look.

“Are you sure Mr Spectre?” He asked.

“More.” Wren repeated, more firmly.

Lops simply nodded before adding another set of weights to either side of the barbell.

As he was looking at the added weight, Wren was starting to regret his decision, he hadn’t even lifted them yet and he could already feel the pain they would cause. But he had no choice now, he couldn’t back out after being so adamant that he could lift it.

Three seconds and he would be done.

For one last time, he bent his knees and placed his hand on the bar. The strain was almost too much, and it took him a good while to fully extend his body to the correct position. The three seconds would only start when he’d fully lifted the weights so he needed to do it as fast as possible, if only for his body’s sake.

He could barely think. The burning pain was the only thing on his mind, and when the three seconds had finally passed he dropped the weights and slumped to the floor.

When he opened his eyes he was surprised to see the blue screen in front of him.

[You have gained 10 XP]

He had gained ten points of xp. That was some sort of conciliation for all the pain he’d been through, although it didn’t seem like a lot. It seemed that putting his body through the strenuous exercise had improved him and, perhaps if he kept at it, he would be able to level up.

He wondered what levelling up would do. Would it increase his stats? Or would he be able to unlock a new power. Not that he’d even begun to use his first wind ability. Either way, there was no chance of him continuing on with what he had just done. The weight was too much and he’d be surprised if he even remained conscious if he tried to lift the next set.

“Are you okay Mr Spectre?” Lops asked from above him.

From the rest of the class’s perspective, Wren had just been staring off into the distance with a surprised expression on his face. They wondered why. He hadn’t lift that much weight.

“Yes. Yes I’m fine.” Wren finally replied.

He pulled himself to his feet and stood before Lops taking deep breaths.

“Well done young man.” Lops said, writing on his clipboard.

With a satisfied nod, Wren returned to the rest of the class to watch the last couple recruits perform the test. He was glad it was over.

Xiao came over to stand next to him and gave him a little pat on the back.

“You know that was only the first test right? We’ve got a whole day of this.” She said.

Wren only groaned.