“Hello.”

 

“Oh…oh, hello. Is this your first time here?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Strictly speaking, it was my first time at ‘this place.’

 

As I took a deep breath, a strong rubbery smell filled the air.

 

In addition to that, the mix of various scents in the air precisely indicated where I was.

 

This place was none other than,

 

[Fitness Gold]

 

A gym.

 

Or the very source of all pain and groaning.

 

I stood at the entrance.

 

The person at the counter couldn’t hide their surprise at my appearance.

 

Still, not losing their sense of service, they promptly stood up – with slightly stiff movements – and began to guide me somewhere, which was quite impressive.

 

I glanced around to check the overall layout of the floor. To the left of the entrance, there seemed to be a shower room, shoe locker, and locker room, and the front was open on both sides.

 

I quickly memorized the building’s structure as if taking a photograph and followed the guide to what appeared to be a reception room.

 

Inside, a large man who looked like the owner was sitting at a table.

 

Seeing the unusual presence of my tail behind me, he hastily replaced his chair with one that had a backrest.

 

The problem was….

 

“….”

 

The chair looked too weak.

 

The door closed with a click.

 

With that, the counter staff went outside, leaving the muscular man to speak first.

 

His voice was softer than expected.

 

“Haha, nice to meet you. I’m Kim In-ho, the owner of Fitness Gold. Are you here to register?”

 

“It seems so.”

 

“Ah, please feel free to have a seat.”

 

Although it was a kind gesture, it could lead to a very unpleasant situation if I carelessly sat down without knowing the chair’s weight capacity.

 

I had broken a few chairs before.

 

That’s why combat muscles are tough to manage.

 

“…Is that chair sturdy?”

 

“Well, it might not look like it, but it can hold up to 200 kg. You can sit without worry.”

 

“Ah, then it’s not suitable.”

 

…Seriously, Murray. Could you stop looking at me with that weird expression?

 

He seemed to ponder the meaning of my words for a moment before he got up and disappeared somewhere. It looked like he went to get something.

 

How long did I wait?

 

“This one isn’t open at the back, but it’s as sturdy as possible. Please give it a try.”

 

A chair that appeared to be made of steel frames was placed there, and I could finally sit down carefully.

 

It’s okay to sit gently on chairs attached to the wall or with steel frames – unlike that restaurant earlier – but anything made of plastic tends to be quite unstable.

 

I adjusted the position of my tail and carefully settled into the chair.

 

It’s good that this one was fine.

 

───Creak….

 

…Was it just my imagination that the chair seemed to scream?

 

It must be.

 

Anyway, as I sat and placed the desk in front of me, a board was slid towards me. It had a somewhat old piece of paper attached to it.

 

As I looked at him, asking for an explanation with my eyes, he continued.

 

“Long ago, we offered a 40% discount for individuals with abilities, but there were many fake applicants, so we put that paper aside.”

 

“Do such people exist?”

 

“Some even tried to video call with animal ears attached to their heads… It was chaotic.”

 

What a nuisance.

 

After verifying my identity card, I asked if the discount was still valid.

 

The answer was affirmative.

 

“We can’t take back what we said. Instead, if you don’t mind, could we take some photos for gym promotion in the future?”

 

“Hmm….”

 

“If you wish, we can draft a formal contract and give you a definitive answer through a lawyer. We would be the ones in trouble if we joke with individuals with abilities, so you needn’t worry too much.”

 

It was a serious joke.

 

In any case, it was naturally decided to discuss this more thoroughly later.

 

As I neatly signed the contract, a thin yellow paper attached below was gently separated. I took one copy, and the other was kept by the owner.

 

That’s how the money was withdrawn.

For some reason, I felt a chill on my back.

 

“Would you like to measure your body composition first?”

 

Nodding my head while thinking about this, I followed him.

 

The machine was attached to a wall near a private room, so it didn’t take long to get there.

 

Soon, I was standing on the footplate, holding switches in both hands.

 

Up to that point, there didn’t seem to be any issues.

 

­Excessive weight detected. Placing heavy objects on the machine can cause malfunctions.

 

…It was a problem that this kind of message popped up whenever I tried to shift the load slightly.

 

The gym owner moved his heavy body around, trying to fix the machine, muttering things like ‘why isn’t this working?’.

 

However, fortunately, with a bit of adjustment, the body composition results came out soon enough, though everyone else except me seemed a bit flustered.

 

Flutter.

 

­Height: 171 cm.

 

­Weight: 216.3 kg

 

­Skeletal Muscle Mass: ■■■ kg

 

­Body Fat Mass: 9.1%

 

­BMI: ERROR

 

­Body Composition Analysis……….

 

­Extracellular Fluid Analysis………….

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“…Sorry, it seems something’s wrong. I mean, how could there be an issue with a new machine….”

 

“Did my body fat percentage increase slightly because I haven’t been moving much? Other than that, it seems similar to before.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Do you have any weight vests here?”

 

While checking the friction level of the gym shoes – which seemed never to have been worn before – I began warming up lightly.

 

I used to lift 2200 kg in total during my prime.

 

“Wow….”

 

“Is that even a person?”

 

“How on earth….”

 

Clang.

 

A heavy yet appropriate weight pressed down on my whole body.

 

As the barbell, which had fallen off the catcher bar, pressed gently on my trapezius, I could feel the bar bending slightly due to the weight of the plates attached to both sides.

 

After stretching and doing a few sets of bodyweight squats,

 

I decided to try various exercises rather than focusing on specific parts, aiming for an overall check-up today.

 

First up was the squat.

 

Feeling a bit sorry for the others, I grabbed as many plates as I could within the allowable range. About a few dozen 25 kg plates.

 

Remembering the painful experience from the past when I started with heavy weights right away, I began with a slightly lower weight.

 

After doing about two sets of 10 reps with a moderate weight of around 210 kg, I felt that my body wasn’t in bad condition.

 

“…What the….”

 

So I started with 270 kg for seven reps in one set.

 

I felt as if my body was on fire. The heavy load on my lower body made my muscle fibers contract and relax repeatedly, far exceeding human limits.

 

After reaching the target number of seven reps and gently placing the bar back on the catcher bar, the gym owner, who had been watching just in case, looked at me with a bewildered expression.

 

But this was only about 1.25 times my body weight.

 

I still had a long way to go.

 

I removed the clips and happily loaded more plates on both sides. The weight surged, entering the powerlifting stage.

 

As all eyes turned to me, the total weight on the bar exceeded 400 kg, except for the lively music from the wall speakers.

 

When I worked out hard in the past, how much did I do with the bench suit? I remember the first digit being 7.

 

I can’t remember. All I recall is shooting guns all the time.

 

With a clanking sound, over 450 kg, more than twice my body weight, was added,

 

Although no one said anything, the gym owner, who naturally became my spotter, was giving me slight assistance from behind.

 

Though I was worried about the weight, having a partner’s role is always crucial.

 

After doing about three sets of two reps, I was already feeling hot and sweaty.

 

As I drank water and leaned slightly against a partition bar, I heard a voice.

 

“…I’ve heard a few times that people with abilities have incomparable muscle density to humans, but it seems to be true.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“I know a powerlifter with an E2 rating, so I’m somewhat familiar with it. But… EM is certainly different.”

 

…Why are you only talking about things you guys know?

 

Seeing my puzzled expression, he added some further explanation after a moment of thought.

 

“Ah, is it labeled differently abroad? I didn’t know. In Korea, E indicates how distinct the physical feature is, and 2 indicates the number of physical traits.”

 

“Then….”

 

“That person is a white tiger. He has both ears and a tail, and both are prominent, so Evident/2, thus E2. His hair is white, too. He has stripes….”

 

I see.

 

Sometimes, I wondered what those strange English abbreviations on the internet meant, and now I understood.

 

I roughly figured out what EM in EM/IPN on my physical identification meant.

 

…Let’s ignore the fact that everyone saw me as someone who returned from abroad.

 

By the way, there was hardly any space left to load more plates.

 

This was a sign from the god of muscles to stop at this point.

 

“Excuse me, but what’s your maximum squat?”

 

“Though it’s not an official record, and I don’t remember the last time I measured, it was definitely in the 700s.”

 

“Is that possible?”

 

“When I first tried, the bar bent because of the plate’s weight, and I almost got hurt.”

 

I remember that incident clearly.

 

I almost tore all the skin off the back of my neck.

 

Later,

 

some crazy guys I worked out with searched all over New York and brought a new material bar that could withstand 900 kg.

 

Fortunately, there were a few items here that could withstand up to 700 kg.

 

As I removed the plates, I said,

 

“I’m not prepared for heavy lifting today, so I can’t show you lifting 700 kg.”

 

“Oh, no, no. It’s fine. You don’t need to overexert yourself.”

 

After promising not to drop the barbell on the floor, I moved on to deadlifts.

 

Similarly, considering the bar’s weight limit, lifespan, and my physical condition, I stopped around 600 kg.

 

That aside….

 

“…Whew. Everyone seems very interested.”

 

“It’s impossible to resist such a sight.”

 

All the people who had come to exercise before me were staring this way with wide eyes.

 

I roughly understood their feelings.

 

If someone came to work out and saw someone lifting 500 kg, even if it was just a squat, they would be extremely curious.

 

But here’s a disappointing fact,

 

“I can’t do the bench press.”

 

“Is there a problem?”

 

Whoosh.

 

I pointed at the gym owner’s arm with my tail.

 

This is the problem.

 

Through numerous trials and training, my tail had become almost like a third arm,

 

But still, the fact that this huge thing didn’t interfere with my movements at all was not true.

 

I would probably need a big hole drilled in the bench, like the one in my bed at home, to rest my back comfortably.

 

The people from the strategy department who stayed with me at Central Park HQ had customized it for me back then, which was a bit regrettable now.

 

“Oh….”

 

“Such inconveniences are part of it.”

 

Similarly, I couldn’t do leg presses or leg extensions. In other words, any exercises that required pressing my back and butt simultaneously were all sealed off.

 

Although it was quite a hassle, having obtained and effectively used this level of physical capability for so long, it was an unavoidable part.

 

Anyway, I did various other exercises as well. Although there wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy, here are a few that I remember,

 

“It seems impossible to completely hide your muscles. Your back certainly….”

 

“That’s… true!”

 

Pull-ups with a 50 kg weight vest,

 

“Are you running too hard?”

 

“It’s for… a reason…!”

 

And sprinting on a treadmill with the same weight vest. That was about it.

 

For the latter, I mentioned that I would compensate if the machine broke.

 

Anyway, after the workout was over───

 

“Hah, I feel refreshed after a long time sweating. Thank you for helping as a spotter.”

 

“…It was worth it to see such a spectacle.”

 

My whole body and clothes were drenched in sweat.

 

Fortunately, the gym provided workout attire for its members, so I avoided the situation where the clothes I wore in got soaked.

 

At least for the upper body.

 

The lower body didn’t work because the pants wouldn’t go up due to my tail.

 

“I’ll shower at home. Thank you very much for today.”

 

“Have a safe trip back.”

 

Leaving behind a dozen bewildered people, I headed to the locker room and threw my sweat-drenched top into the clothing bin.

 

Putting on my sweat-soaked top again felt uncomfortable, but what could I do?

 

By the way,

 

───.

 

My stomach was growling, signaling that it wanted food again after burning some calories.

 

It seemed urgent to find a way to make money soon.

 

…I needed to retrieve my pay information from the other world as soon as possible.

 

* * *