Chapter 45: Lifting Contest
Genken was still looking around.
"So how much weight can you lift, boy?"
The man bent down a little.
"If you want to find a dumbbell your size, the weights with less than 10 kilograms are in the back."
"I think I'll pass. As experienced as you think you are, you get the first pick."
"Oh, you want to check me out, huh?"
The man approached the big dumbbells.
"How about I start with a warm-up?"
He positioned himself in front of a 100-kilogram-weight.
"I could lift even more, but this should be more than enough to show you that you are in the wrong place."
The man grabbed the dumbbell with his right hand first and then with his left.
"Let me show you how it's done."
He flexed his giant muscles and straightened up while letting out a deep sigh.
"Can you see this?"
Locus has followed the man and was standing face to face with him, disregarding the difference in height. Even though he looked like he was hiding it, the man seemed to be struggling a little, but every second intensified the pain.
Because of the loud declaration of their contest, some people were looking over at them, and many seemed quite impressed by the guy's display of strength.
"And now how much will you be trying to lift?"
Locus looked around.
"Let's see..."
He was clearly searching for something.
"Ah, I've found it!"
Locus had laid eyes on a dumbbell that looked just like the one in his opponent's hands.
"101-kilograms."
"Ha, you must be kidding."
The laugh hadn't been just a way of mocking Locus, but rather, it had actually been real. The aftermath was the guy not being able to hold the dumbbell any longer.
It fell down, but before it could reach the ground, Locus had already caught it. With his left hand.
"I don't think that dropping this will be good for the ground."
He gently put the dumbbell down and blindly reached in the direction of the dumbbell he had chosen. With just his right hand, he casually picked it up from the ground.
"I thought it would be heavier."
Locus felt a hand on his shoulder, and Genken's whispering voice reached his ear.
"That's the wrong dumbbell."
Locus turned around and looked at the marking. 210-kilograms. Everyone was just staring at Locus.
"Oops, sorry."
He took a few steps in the wall's direction and put down the weight.
"Didn't mean to grab that. Who put such a high weight in the wrong area?"
The people around were still staring.
"Ahem, I meant to say, 'Oh, that was so heavy.'."
The other contestant was stuttering.
"B- But you- You're a kid!"
Genken raised his voice.
"My fault. I let him lift too much weight during the past year."
"Then you really are-"
Locus grabbed his adventurer card and presented it to the man.
"May I introduce myself... I'm Locus, a B-rank adventurer of the Mastermind Guild."
Some people began chattering.
"You? But how?!"
Locus shrugged.
"Stuff happens."
"I don't understand. You look so weak. What did you do?"
Locus voice got slower and calmer.
"I just have a clear goal in mind. And I cannot allow anyone to stop me."
He went to a specific part of the dumbbell section and took one in each hand.
"Th- Those are 500 kilograms each."
Locus chuckled.
"Yeah, who would have thought they had stuff like this?"
He began using the dumbbells and did some sets.
"I believe you lost a bet. Don't you want to leave the gym?"
The man was still standing in the same place. Without saying a single word, he turned around and left, while still having the same shocked expression on his face.
That was when someone else approached Locus.
"Hi, my name's Dean. I'm a C-rank adventurer. You're new here, right?"
"Yeah, I've just moved to the capital."
"Then how about I show you around the gym? Maybe we find something more suited for you."
He pointed at the dumbbells, which seemed to bore Locus a little. Locus smiled.
"I'll take you up on that right away."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
MdM002
MdM002 I just realized that I had kept "[title]" as the last chapter's title. Embarassing...
And by the way, sorry for few new chapters.
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