The Fairy Tail mage arrived in Hargeon Beach around noon, taking his time to leisurely stroll around the place, taking in the sights before heading to the gym that was located there. The first thing Houren did when arriving in Hargeon was hit the guildhall but had little intention of taking a job since he wanted to rest up for a few days before doing something like that. However, things rarely ever go as planned, right? He found a job there, an easy one that required him to spot for a bodybuilder who was apparently training for a competition. According to the report, the lad needed a spotter, someone to help him perfect his form for some insane bench press reps. Although he wasn't some muscle head who lived for the gym, he was fairly strong and was confident that he would be able to help the man get over his mental block, and hopefully, lift the unreasonable weights that seemed to be his goal. Houren knew, of course, that since this guy was a bodybuilder, his entire livelihood relied on whether he could win competitions or not, and if he wanted to win competitions, then he needed to train regularly. The Fire Dragon Slayer hoped that he could assist with that today.

Houren showed up at the outdoor gym, the first time has he ever been in an establishment like that and began to look around for Jay. Normally, in Magnolia, just outside the place where Houren lived, there was a place like this; an outdoor gym of sorts, although in actuality, it was just a senior citizens' fitness corner. There was no bench press there, or heavy weights, just simple cardio exercises that an older man could use to keep fit. In any case, the outdoor gym was practically empty with the exception of some guy using what Houren assumed to be a lacrima powered treadmill to run on. Houren watched for a bit before the man left the treadmill and began to do push ups on the ground, and his sheer look of concentration on his face suggested that he was in no mood to be disturbed. This scene actually looked incredibly funny to Houren, and since this wasn't an indoor gym, it looked like some garage sale that was specializing in fitness equipment. After the man, who Houren knew to be Jay by the name on the back of his shirt, had finished up his warm ups, Houren approached him and alerted him as to his presence and intention.

Jay examined Houren from head to toe, before raising his right arm as though signalling to Houren to be quiet for a bit. He panted heavily, grabbed a towel from the treadmill and began to wipe his face. He was tired, and rightfully so, and Houren had not heard of anyone doing such an intense warm up. After all, wasn't it the bench pressing itself that was supposed to make you feel as though you had just run a full marathon? It seemed to him that Jay's warm up alone would have beaten the average man, and that was before the actual work out had even started!

"You're my spotter for today, is it? Alright, then let's get started. You know what my name is, and I don't need to know who yours is, Spotter-kun," Jay went over to the bench press and began to do some reps without any weights. The bar itself must have weighed around 20kg by itself, and Houren did not need to do any spotting yet with the man known as Jay managing to do 20 reps before stopping. He did not seem even remotely tired though as he instructed Houren to put more weights onto the bar. "Shouldn't you rest first? Houren had asked, but the man simply dismissed such things, claiming that he was no novice when it came to the world of weightlifting. ''The day I rest after benching an empty bar is the day I retire," Jay had replied with the utmost of confidence, something that actually caused a grin to form itself on Houren's otherwise indifferent features.

This trend continued for a while longer before Jay began to request that Houren help him spot. At this stage, it was merely a case of the Fire Dragon Slayer telling Jay when he began to go unbalanced and to puff out his chest more when doing the exercise, as bench press was there to train your chest, and as such, it was not wise to begin using your shoulders to lift the weight. With that said though, there was still no need, as of yet, for Houren to actually physically lay his hands on the bar; at least, not until the last rep which Jay was just about to start, the sheer amount of weights was not normal, and the Fire Dragon Slayer estimated that three to four average men would not have been able to lift this off the ground for long even if they had tried to do so together.

''Up!" on Jay's signal, the Fairy Tail mage helped him lift up the bar, but did not let go as his fingers gripped tightly around the bar. Jay felt the contractions as he lowered the ball and pushed the bar up accompanied by Houren's help; that was the first rep, and this repeated for seven more before the set could be considered complete. Jay's handsome face was anything but that now, twisting strangely as he struggled, but he quickly relaxed after Houren assisted him to put the bar back on the support. The set had been done, and the look on Jay's features and his body language suggested that he had finally broken the mental block that was standing between him and his lifting goals. Houren was happy for him, but of course, it was the money that he was after, and upon mentioning that, Jay handed the Fire Dragon Slayer his reward before heading over to do some squats.

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