"Let me teach you!"
Three boys circled his position. It didn't take long for Sai to realise what they were trying to do: they were typical bullies. 'They came to make fun of my rightful ignorance, huh… may as well use them if that's what they want…'
"Sure, yeah. Go ahead." Sai stood from his seat and started walking towards a thin black-haired youth.
They weren't expecting that, judging from their raised brows. The front-most boy who was now closest to Sai took a step back, frowned deeply, and menacingly said:
"Are you making fun of us, old man? Wanna fight?!" He raised his chin to look down at Sai's 1.80m of height. But despite his action, they were all shorter than him, at least for now, which decreased the effects of the attempt at intimidating him.
Sai got annoyed by the way he was addressed and took a step closer to the boy while mumbling:
"Tsk! I'm at most a few years older than you…"
"O—Oi! He's a Lawrence! Don't even think about touching him!" The third, and most chubby boy panicked when he thought Sai was picking a fight.
When the family name made its way to Sai, he raised a brow and stopped completely, compelling the boy in front to get more courageous.
"Yeah! I'm from the Lawrence Clan and they are from the Ragnvindr Clan so you better forget about fighting us."
Sai was confused with their reactions, it wasn't like he was going to fight them. In fact, he thought they were picking a fight instead.
'Lawrence and Ragnvindr? Weren't they both strong noble clans? Ragnvindr… where have I heard that name…?'
"No, wait, I just stood up so you could show me how to do it properly." Sai tried to be a little courteous, but it was clear how the tone didn't fit it.
The Lawrence boy flinched and urged the dark-red haired young man.
"Leon, teach him how to do it."
The boy in question hesitated but proceeded with his demonstration. The machine was a little weird to modern eyes, since it used a special mechanism to increase the weight, but it worked just like those in gyms. Sai noticed that he wasn't doing it wrong, but that he simply didn't know how to regulate the weights.
The boy did a set of chest pushes and then fell exhausted at the chair. The chubby guy smiled and complimented:
"You are getting stronger, Leon. Ten in a roll while pushing one sixty is the new record among the trainees!"
'One sixty?'
"Hmm, good work man."
"Hehe, thanks!" He thanked his friends after standing back up. Then looking at Sai: "Your turn, new guy."
Sai nodded and proceeded to the machine. He decided to not change the weight and see what would happen. He put a little force, and then a bit more. A single drop of sweat ran down his forehead.
He stopped, pondering if they had meddled with the machine, but a quick glance at them told Sai they did no such thing. This time, a drop of cold sweat ran down his spine.
He tried putting force again, although never his all, but immediately changed plans when he couldn't even take it off the place. Sai acted unsurprised and asked:
"You said this is in 160, right? It's not 160 kilos is it?" Sai felt a sense of foreboding.
"Uh? Why, of course. What else could it be? I'm strong aren't I?" The teen sincerely and pridefully answered.
"U—Uh…huh…" Sai stood up and pointed to the Lawrence boy. "Let me see how many you can make in the same weight."
"No, I—"
"Don't tell me a Lawrence is scared to lose?" Sai raised a brow and teased.
"Hmpf! A Lawrence is never afraid to lose. You better show me your best afterwards!"
The black-haired boy sat down and lifted seven times before giving up.
"You go, too." Leon asked the chubby boy before Sai could.
The teen sighed and dragged himself to the machine. Once again, without touching anywhere he should not, the weights were lifted. This round, five times.
"I've seen enough. I'll come entertain you another day, cya!"
Sai took long strides as he left the gym place.
"Wait up!"
"?"
"…"
"Pfff! He must have been scared away!" The Lawrence boy laughed.
"No way! Look at his age, surely he can lift this much…" The chubby boy was confused.
"Yea… it didn't look like he even tried to lift it… let's ask him next time we meet." Red-hair answered (Leon).
…
Outside.
"What the hell was that? 160 kg? What kind of bul— oh, wait, this is a fantasy world… I should've expected that physical strength would be ridiculous… But how does it even work? I must ask an expert… But that explains why I had been lagging behind so much during the morning. Just me and Bertha falling behind everyone else. Hmm… I wonder how strong she is…" He dejectedly mumbled.
"On the good side, at least the measurement makes sense… it could have been in pounds…" Sai shuddered at the thought.
After leaving the 'gym' area, Sai decided to readjust his plans. Things were too weird and unforeseeable. He first needed to learn about the power system before making an investment such as joining the knights' training camp.
After all, his pride mattered little in the face of a Lawachurl. He could easily give up on the training and become a laughing stock among the trainees and instructors alike if it meant getting stronger faster. Likewise, not trying to get stronger was also not an option for him: he will pursue strength to the end!
"I just hope I don't get summoned again any time soon. No, it would be best if it never happened again…"
"For now, let's go talk to Luke." He firmed his resolve.