Raviel walked up to the barbell, rolling his shoulders and exhaling once. "Alright, let's see what this thing's got."
Garion stood behind him, watching closely. "Careful. Don't rush it. Just lift it slowly first."
Raviel smirked, gripping the bar tightly. "Relax, I'm not some beginner."
But the moment he tried to lift the bar off the rack, his face instantly changed. His arms trembled. The bar didn't even budge.
"What?!" Raviel gritted his teeth, pouring more mana into his arms. "Move!"
He tried again, straining hard, but the bar remained still. Not even a twitch.
Garion frowned slightly. "Seems like it's still too heavy for you."
Raviel growled between breaths. "No, I can… lift this!"
He gave it one more push and finally managed to raise it a few inches... only for his legs to shake violently a second later.
His knees buckled, and the bar dropped fast... but before it could hit him, Garion stepped forward and caught it with both hands.
