"Really?" Woohee peeks at me from between her wings.
[Nevermind.]
"Yeah, it goes to show how much you enjoy laughing. You make people happier just by being nearby. I'm glad I could make you happy enough to laugh like that." Woohee cautiously looks around at our reaction. Inari nods at her while smiling. The young fairy smiles widely and flies back up into the air. I change the subject while I have the chance.
"Alright, I'm going to finish my workout and then go hunting. Want to help?"
"Yay!" Woohee agrees and throws her hands into the air.
"Okay."
"I'm going to head back to the village. I still need to handle the bandits." A chill runs down my spine at the casual way Inari talks about killing those people. Probably sensing my fear, she winks at me before turning to leave. I push the terror out of my mind and try to think about my workout. While outside, I can see it's still bright out, so we should have a few hours left. Also, now that the weights are more properly balanced, we can use heavier plates.
I head back down into the cave with Woohee by my side. The kids are surprised to see the fairy so I explain what occurred outside. Once they're informed of the situation, I lay down on a rack to do some bench presses. My progress is shocking. I do some quick math and calculate the weight at one hundred nineteen pounds. To think that I can now bench more than my body weight after only a few weeks of doing push-ups is unbelievable. I take a few deep breaths and bust out a set of five reps. This seems to be about the max I can do without a spotter. When I finish, I sit up and check on the kids. Since they're new to weight lifting, I instructed them to always use a spotter, so they don't get hurt. Next, I move on to squats which are my least favorite exercise. I add two heavy plates to either side of the bar and do a set of six. The lactic acid that builds up in my limbs makes me lightheaded, so I have to sit down for a moment.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Woohee doing some exercises in the corner. It looks like she is trying to copy us by using some spare sticks like a barbell. I'm not sure how her strength compares to her size, but the sticks she is uses look almost as big as her.
[I'll have to talk to Josh about making fairy-sized equipment. The wood is too light, so we'll have to wait until we start working with stone or metal to make them.]
Speaking of stone, I look around the cave. The walls are sturdy and made of igneous rock, probably granite. Considering how dense granite is, we might be able to use it later to craft some weights.
I turn back to my workout and walk over to a bar on the ground. After adding two heavy and one medium plate to either side, I get in position for a deadlift. Originally, I hated deadlifts because I was doing them wrong, and they hurt my back. To fix this, I would straighten my back and lift with my legs, but it would only engage my quadriceps. I didn't know the difference, so that was how I deadlifted for years. The quads are what you focus on when you squat so it turns out I was basically just doing a variation of that exercise when I deadlifted. One day while I was in college, someone pointed out that I was doing it wrong. They explained that I needed to activate my glutes and hamstrings to do a proper deadlift. I'd always heard that one should lift with their legs, but it never occurred to me that you could do so using only the muscles on the back of your legs. Since then, I've learned to enjoy deadlifting since I'm working different muscle groups. Pushing that memory out of my mind, I get down into my stance and do a set of five.
[I don't think I could lift anywhere near this much when I was ten.]
As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent exactly how much we benefit from the system. We're lifting weights similar to someone twice our age after only a few weeks. This reminds me of games like Skyrim, where I could become a master at blacksmithing in a couple of hours. I think about how this affects skills and whether they can be leveled up just as quickly.
[I might have to start learning some skills at this rate. If I can learn a bunch of them quickly, I should be able to accumulate a whole bunch of bonus points.]
I finish my workout while fantasizing about how strong I can get in the future. Before we call it a day, I give the kids and Woohee a few pointers about which muscles they should be focusing on. I'm still fairly sore from the first workout we did a few days ago, so I don't push myself too hard.
We make our way outside and gather some fungus for the road. A few Mankas drop below the leaf line that separates the forest's well-lit upper sections from the dim undergrowth. They're horrible-looking creatures but remain harmless for the most part as long as they aren't threatened. These monsters look like monkeys with a shell on their back. They have large blunt beaks and a prehensile tail with suction cups covered in teeth. We make sure to give them a wide berth as we move. They watch us silently as we pass by.
After we finish hunting, we make our way back to town. We say goodbye to Woohee and arrive at the gate shortly before dark.
"Did you get anything good?" Sampson asks.
"Just the usual. We didn't find any dead monsters this time." I try to cover up our tracks a bit with a white lie. The fewer people that know about the fairies, the better.
"Well, you kids have a good night."
"""Thanks, Sampson!""" We say our farewells and go to the Adventurer's Guild. The fungus doesn't stay very well, so we need to unload it as quickly as possible. We meet Shelly at the front counter and lay everything down in front of her.
"That's quite the haul." She compliments us with a smile. I can tell she's still being cautious around me due to how I reacted to the news of Ashley's death. I ignore her hesitation and just try to act normal.
"Yup, I can't complain."
"Just a second, let me get some coins so we can buy those off you." Shelly hums to herself as she walks away and comes back with a small pouch. "Alright, the total comes to two hundred and five Denarii."
"Thanks." I take the pouch and pour it out onto the table. I do some math and give each of us sixty eight Denarii. There's one piece left, so I give it to Josh since he worked hard to make the equipment for us today.
"Great work today, everyone. Classes should start up here in a few days, so let's work hard until then."
"Right!" Sakura says excitedly while Josh just nods.
"Let's meet up again tomorrow. Same time, same place."
We all agree and head home. I stop by the clothing shop and pick up more gloves. This time, I ensure to cut the shirt lower so it isn't midriff-bearing. I make a couple of red, white, black, and blue sets of clothes before sleeping. After a few tumultuous nights, it feels good to have a nice sound sleep. I close my eyes with the next day's excitement fresh on my mind.