Show Off Muscle

Kein nodded softly, unintentionally swallowing his saliva as if in the next few minutes he would receive a somewhat mentally offensive input.

"You just need to..."

"Ouch!"

Coach Marlon stopped his explanation instantly after seeing Kein close his eyes deeply and suddenly. The look on the coach's face showed a hint of concern.

"What happened to you, Kein? Are you okay?"

"Sorry, coach. It's just that something suddenly attacked my eyes." Kein closed and opened his eyes for a few times until he realised it wasn't anything to be surprised about. He stared at the coach for a moment and then looked back at the carpeted floor while imagining what he should do after this.

"You can resume your advice. I'm so sorry."

"Just relax. Well, you just need a 'start'. As you know, I rarely bring you guys to this place so your bodies have a hard time adjusting to the tempo of the game that I expect. As a beginner, you should know that lifting weights is very useful for basketball athletes like you.

"You will encounter enemies that are much bigger than you. Although this is just an opinion, some young athletes like you are more likely to get a mental attack when faced with an opponent who may weigh twice as much as you. If you are mentally affected, you will not be confident and that affects your game.

"So at least try to build up your muscle mass even if you don't want to. Indeed, whatever we say seems easier to understand and practice, but not many of them are able to maintain that consistency and finish in a matter of months."

Kein understood everything Coach Marlon was saying. He was trying to motivate each individual to stick with what they had started without thinking of a way back. The coach's words struck a chord in his heart and Kein was even more motivated to become a player that everyone could truly rely on when he stood on the pitch.

"Back to the original conversation, as a beginner at least lift the lightest dumble first." Unbeknownst to Kein, Coach Marlon had hidden one of the dumbbells behind his back, completely unexpectedly.

Kein accepted the dumble and could feel how light it was. Spontaneously, he saw the number on the side of the dumble, which surprised him a little and made him regret it.

"Three kilograms? Do I really have to start this early?" Kein wondered until he couldn't believe it because this thing in his hand really wasn't a tool that should be available in the gymnasium.

"I don't know if outside of training sessions, you frequent this place that you can show such obvious disappointment. But for now, put aside what you've learnt before. Let's just say that you're really a beginner human who has to start from scratch.

"Besides, I also took your weight into consideration. Unlike Davies and the others, they weigh more than you so there's no need to start from the bottom."

'Sounds like discrimination. But at least Coach Marlon has a point in minimising the chances of me getting injured.' Kein thought for a moment before he completely refused to lift the 3-kilogram dumble.

"Alright, I don't mind. I'll start everything from this three-kilogram dumble."

"Good, I'm proud you heard me. Now lift the object for 10 reps. Do 3 sets first. If you can't lift 10 times, you can reduce the number of reps as long as you don't reduce the total. Do as much as you can without hurting your hands."

"Yes, coach." Kein replied as he raised his hands with the dumbbells in both hands.

The coach then left, leaving Kein to consistently lift the dumbbells with both hands while counting the number of reps. After no one watched him, Kein put the two dumbbells down next to his feet, let out a long sigh, and blinded his eyes slightly.

'Well, what do you want that you don't bother interrupting our conversation, system?'

[Warning! You have not completed your daily task.]

[Do Squad for 40 reps]

[Do push-ups with your feet on a chair for 30 reps]

[Do sit ups for 50 reps]

'Yes, yes, I know! Try not to interrupt me when I'm talking to my coach. I already know what to do anyway!'

If Kein had voiced his complaint at that time, perhaps the players and coaches would have heard what he said since the New Ares Dormitory's gymnasium was very closed and there was almost no way for them to hear the noise from outside the room. And there was no way there wouldn't be an uproar afterwards.

How could it not be, during Coach Marlon's input, Kein could barely focus his mind thanks to the 'system' that kept flicking the screen on and off right in his eyes over and over again. His head was dizzy although now the 'system' was no longer showing anything after the body owner was completely overwhelmed.

Not wanting the same thing to happen again, Kein immediately took a standing position and performed the squad position that the 'system' had scheduled for his daily mission. As a result of his actions that were suddenly out of sync with Coach Marlon's direction, Damian came over with both hands still clutching the dumble.

"Hey, idiot! What are you doing?! Why are you even on the squad? Is that what Coach Marlon told you?" Damian hissed right next to his ear.

"Shut up. I'm training. Don't try to interrupt my focus, Damian. Just do what you have to do."

"But you..." Damian almost threw one of the dumbbells in his hand because he was so annoyed with Kein. But his mind was made up and there was nothing else Damian could do as he picked up the dumbbell again with the same repetition as his friend.

From a distance, Sherla could see the two of them who had been bothering her ears. They were observed and there was a deviation by one of them. But the girl did not try to remind them because she had no desire to organise people who liked to stay away from the rules. More precisely, she was too lazy to deal with them.