2 Body Improvement Buddy

Ray stood outside the transparent double doors of a building that had the words "24 HOUR FITNESS" in large silver words on the front.

"Slippy's voice rang in his mind, "What are you waiting for? Go inside."

But the mission said [Go to the Gym]. I am already here, so isn't that all I need to do? Ray thought.

"Noo!! Not literally go to the gym, but you have to go inside and do something!!"

Well, next time the mission should say so with the details, Ray mused. Ray took many things literally and needed direct instructions because he had a hard time knowing there were in-between steps that were supposed to be inferred. You can't expect him to just guess that there were more steps to something if you didn't say it directly! He walked inside and approached the counter.

"Are you here for the drop-in, a free trial, or signing up for a membership?" the receptionist asked.

Ray wasn't sure what he was here for, so he thought hard for a long time. The mission just said to go to the gym, but how many times? 

Slippy got frustrated as Ray was standing still in front of the patient receptionist for at least 2 minutes.

[Mission Info!]

--

Mission: Go to the Gym - Update!

[Go to the Gym] is now [Basic Strength Training]

Time Limit: 1 year

Goal: Reach 15 Strength

Current Strength: -9836

Side mission(s):

(1) Pushups 0/20

(2) Squats 0/20

(3) Crunches 0/30

(4) Plank 0/30 seconds

(5) Running 0/10km

--

Slippy was satisfied with the number of details in the new version of the mission. Now there's no way Ray can misunderstand what to do. By setting the time limit to one year, Ray had to buy a year-long membership. 

"Psst, get the one-year membership!" Slippy hinted.

Ray automatically pointed to the one-year membership option on the counter, and the receptionist registered him and gave him a card.

Ray walked through the changing room and into the main area, with Slippy following him in the most hidden ninja way possible.

With the mission details left open in his vision so Ray didn't forget what to do, he found an open spot on the floor somewhere and began to do a pushup.

Ray laid face down on the ground, placing his palms onto the ground next to his face, and tried to push up. 

Slippy: Come on you can do it! You can do- it. 

Ray barely managed to lift off a few centimetres off the ground before collapsing onto his face. 

Slippy:...

This kid...

"You call that a push-up? Damn, how long am I going to stay as a piece of soap?!"

Ray contemplated while remaining starfished on the floor. You can just stay a soap forever. Being a soap isn't so bad…

Demotivatied Ray pushed his chest off the floor until his arms straightened and sat up.

"You did it! You did a pushup, Ray!" Soap was excited.

Huh? I did a push-up?

The menu in his vision still read that his pushup count was at 0.5/20. What was going on?

--

Mark's eyes were latched onto a newcomer to the gym that he was a regular at. The boy was clearly a newbie who had never worked out in his entire life. Good for him, he thought. Anyone who tries to better themselves deserves respect. Mark went back to his weight training.

Splat. He heard the sound of a body flipping to the floor shortly after. That newbie boy was lying face down on the ground. What happened?

The boy got up again to attempt what looked like a pushup, but then Mark nearly dropped his dumbbells when he saw how ridiculous the boy looked.

Is that a mutherfooking seal?!?!

The guy had managed to push his chest up, but his legs and feet were firmly attached to the ground and his back was arched up as if he were the little mermaid who just came out of the water. You know, except that he was a skinny boy with noodle arms.

The heck is wrong with this guy? Mark was incredulous at how bad someone could be at doing a pushup. The kid wasn't properly using the muscles he was supposed to be using! "F*ck it." 

 Being the nice guy that I am, I won't be able to focus! Mark placed down his dumbbells and walked over.

"Hey, your form's all wrong. Let me help you there."

The short teen looked up briefly at him and nodded in acknowledgement.

Mark showed him an example, "When you're doing a pushup, your feet and hands should be the only parts of your body that touch the floor " Mark said as he lifted his body off the floor.

Ray nodded as he watched Mark demonstrate. When Mark was done, he motioned for Ray to try. Ray got on the floor again and began to raise his body up, with only his feet and palms touching the ground when he lifted. 

"All right! Now bend your elbows and lower yourself back onto the ground."

Ray proceeded to complete the pushup, and Mark slapped his hand to his forehead.

He looked like he was dry humping the floor!!

Ray's weak hips led him to bend in the middle, so that every time he went down, his crotch touched the floor first before anything else making him look like modern art.

"Hey if you're this bad at regular push-ups. How about you do some sloppy push-ups first?"

Ray looked at him quizzingly.

"Oh so if a normal push-up is like this-

Mark does a traditional push-up and got back up.

"then a sloppy push-up is almost any push-ups. Like for example the so-called girl push-ups. You know what? You should try that right now."

Ray nodded and got down onto the ground with his knees lined up with his hips.

"No, put your knees farther back."

Ray puts it back.

"Now start."

"1, 2, 3, 4-"

Seeing Ray successfully complete push-ups. Mark seeing he was not needed to be faded and he left him to his own devices.

-

-

-

After huffing and puffing his way through 20 push-ups Ray noticed in his vision that the menu was finally logging changes in his mission progress!

[System: Basic strength training]

20/20 push-ups

Slippy: Wow, your form earlier was pretty sh*tty. But congratulations! You took your first step into becoming halfway decent!

Slippy couldn't even mention becoming a Martial Arts God at this point because getting this Weiner boy to normal human standards was already difficult.

Ray:... 

He was already drained just from the 20 pushups, so he decided to shower and head home for the day.

Slippy mentally sent Ray a sigh of disappointment but didn't try to push him. There's no point in destroying the body of its host too soon.

--

In the shower, Slippy continued to praise Ray for his insect-amount of strength training done, hoping to keep Ray motivated enough not to quit. Slippy didn't want to remain in the bar of soap forever. Ray had to get strong enough so that his body could proper host the system!!

"... and then your elbows were perfectly at 90 degrees when you bent-"

Mark had just entered the showers to hear someone talking, but he only saw that same idiot from earlier. And a bar of soap with a ridiculous face that looked a bit like Michael Jackson.

Slippy immediately dropped like a rock to the shower floor and erased his face to look like a regular, large bar of soap.

"Huh? I was pretty sure I heard you talking to someone."

Ray realizing what was happening staggered forward and grabbed Slippy, "Oh, I like to talk to my bar of soap."

Slippy: No!! You made yourself look like am idiot!! No wait, you actually are an idiot.

Mark looked at the bar of soap in his pupil's hand, "Well then, can I borrow your soap?"

Ray handed over Slippy without thinking, and Mark stared at Slippy in his hands a good long while to confirm while wasn't hallucinating, before roughly sudsing the soap up against his wash board abs.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!! HE'S SCRAPPING PARTS OF ME OFF!!! RAY YOU STUPID BOY HOW COULD YOU LEND ME TO HIM TO ABUSE?!?!"

Slippy screamed internally to his dumb master as Mark worked Slippy the Soap Bar as what he was meant to be used for.

….

"Well, I'm heading out. Find me if you need help again at the gym, all right?"

Shaking his head Mark headed out of the shower.

Ray, feeling refreshed, checked his status.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Status of the day:

Strength: -9836

Temporary Status Effect: Exhaustion (Lasting 6 hours): -500

Current Strength: -10336

Temporary Status Effect (Lasting 3 hours): Aching muscles: -300

Current Strength: -10636

Temporary Special Status Effect (Lasting |< 3 days): Awaken my muscles: If you keep working out within the next two days. Your mind will start kickstarting your muscles. 

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