TLWD 12

Rough but rhythmic breathing.

Someone was training in the Frost Trial Grounds.

The Frost Trial Grounds were a place open at all times for training and discipline. Any soldier who wished to train independently could use them whenever they wanted.

But not once—

Had anyone ever arrived earlier than Kai.

Kai entered the Frost training field, curious.

And there he was.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Adrian was working out, training his body.

With his shirt off, Adrian’s upper body was exposed—solid muscles had now clearly formed across it.

Perhaps that was why.

Though the early morning cold could freeze one to the bone, it failed to overcome Adrian’s heat.

“Again today…”

It had already been ten days.

Of course, Kai had heard the rumors.

That Adrian had changed.

Everyone—from the soldiers in the count’s territory to the maids in the lord’s manor—was talking about Adrian. It was impossible not to know.

After all, Adrian practically lived in the Frost Trial Grounds, and Kai saw him almost every day.

But Kai hadn’t paid it much mind.

He thought it was just a phase.

When one day passed, he ignored it.

When two passed, still he ignored it.

By the third day, he figured Adrian would soon give up.

On the fourth day, he started to feel a slight stir.

By the fifth and sixth days, he briefly wondered “Could this be real?”

On the seventh and eighth days, he had to admit that perhaps Adrian really was trying to change.

But that was all he thought.

By the ninth day, he deliberately stopped thinking about it.

And now, on the tenth day—

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Adrian was once again training his body in the Frost Trial Grounds, as usual.

By this point, even Kai couldn’t deny it anymore.

Ten days wasn’t an exceptionally long time.

It was far too short a span to definitively say someone had changed.

But this level of training wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Frankly, even a single day of it was harsh—ten days was unimaginable.

Kai himself didn’t neglect physical training.

But he couldn’t push himself to this degree.

This was training that far exceeded the limits of the human body.

Yes, Adrian had an abnormally fast recovery rate.

It made Kai wonder how such a thing was even possible—but still.

That only helped him recover.

Pushing his muscles to the limit?

That required willpower and mental strength.

Without those, even troll-like regeneration was meaningless.

In fact, having a fast recovery meant the body took less damage. Without a strong enough stimulus, one couldn’t train effectively at all.

So unless one’s mind completely dominated the body, this kind of training was impossible.

Only sheer mental power could push the body past its limits.

But that was easier said than done—extraordinarily difficult, in truth.

Mental strength without physical endurance was nothing more than a piece of paper.

Adrian had kept up that training for ten days.

A man who had once been seen as a scoundrel pushed his body beyond its limits every day for ten days straight.

Now, not a single soldier in the count’s castle saw Adrian as the “scoundrel of the count’s family.”

Nor did the maids in the manor.

At this point, the only ones who didn’t know of his transformation were the general citizens of the territory.

In other words—

Even Kai was beginning to accept it.

That Adrian had changed.

That this wasn’t just a temporary effort.

Yet Kai’s eyes, as he looked at Adrian—

“….”

Still held doubt and suspicion.

* * *

◆ This guy… is absolutely insane!!!!

A dramatic exclamation floated through my mind.

As I dropped the barbell I was holding, it hit the ground with a thud!, causing a heavy tremor.

The soldiers nearby immediately turned their attention to me.

But I had no room to care.

My muscles were so torn I couldn’t even move a finger—breathing alone was now a struggle.

My body collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

◆ You can use the skill [Regeneration C+] to heal torn muscles.
◆ Required nutrient – Protein.
◆ Use protein to regenerate torn muscles?

The moment I mentally agreed, gurgle, gurgle!

Muscles throughout my body began to tremble as torn fibers started regenerating.

Stronger, more compact muscle fibers were being rebuilt.

“Gghhh…!”

It really felt like my entire body was being torn apart.

Each day, the intensity of my workouts seemed to increase exponentially.

The stronger the muscle fibers became, the more intense the damage needed to be to train them—and the pain increased just as rapidly.

This time, I might’ve really overdone it—it wasn’t regenerating easily.

I had likely pushed damage beyond my regeneration skill’s current rank.

It was time to hunt Ice Trolls again and gather more genetic material.

As I lay sprawled on the ground waiting for my body to regenerate—

My eyes happened to catch sight of Kai, training soldiers on the other side of the field.

Kai had always been like that.

He personally led the military training of the soldiers in the territory.

I’d questioned it at first.

Why would a noble knight go that far?

But during the time I spent in the allied army, I came to understand—

It was simply the knight’s duty.

A knight wasn’t just a title—it was a position of responsibility.

The lord might be the supreme commander, but in times of war, knights became commanding officers and led most military operations.

The “First Knight” essentially meant the top military commander.

Training and directing soldiers was part of that role.

Of course, most commanders just sat back and let others do the work.

But Kai wasn’t like that.

In my memory, not once had Kai shirked his duties.

He was a man who upheld his responsibilities with true knightly honor.

Though he had fallen to become the Legion Commander of Frost, in life, Kai had been the embodiment of knighthood.

Just look at him now.

Kai wore a metal suit of armor.

Because he was a knight? Of course not.

Metal armor weighs around 40kg.

A full set of plate armor? Nearly 80kg.

No sane person wears that casually.

And this was the snowy northern mountains.

In this environment, metal armor was a death sentence.

Metal rapidly absorbs cold. If it touches bare skin, the cold causes the skin to freeze and tear apart.

That’s why all the soldiers wore leather armor.

Wearing metal armor in this cold? Suicide.

And yet, Kai was fine.

Because—

“He’s protecting his body with Aura.”

And he did that all day long.

“That madman…”

Truly, he was insane.

And the reason he did all that?

First, because it was his duty as a knight.

Always being battle-ready, no matter where or when.

Second, for training purposes.

He had said it himself—

Even daily routines could be opportunities to train aura.

Kai didn’t even remove his armor during meals.

He even saw rest as a form of training.

In that sense, Kai didn’t just train in every moment—his very existence was training.

In all my lives, he was the most insane person I’d ever seen.

It made sense how he could become a Lich by sheer willpower.

They say:

“Genius can’t beat effort. Effort can’t beat enjoyment. And enjoyment can’t beat insanity.”

Kai was both a genius—and insane.

If I wanted to kill someone like him—

I couldn’t stay sane either.

I had to go just as mad.

◆ Your muscle fibers have surpassed human limits!
◆ Muscles are being restructured anew!
◆ Strength stat has increased by +4!!

As I shoved down my protein-packed lunchbox, I added more weight to the barbell.

* * *

After basic military training was over—

Next came endurance training.

This training included not just the soldiers, but Kai himself.

Even knights who wield aura couldn’t neglect physical fitness.

The efficiency of aura depended on the body that wielded it.

To a knight, the body was the foundation.

No matter how great one’s swordsmanship or talent, without a strong base to support it, it was meaningless.

Talent alone only made one second-rate.

Kai trained alongside the soldiers.

Unless there was a specific reason not to, this was part of his daily routine.

“Everyone. Run in sync with your breathing.”

Led by Kai, the soldiers began jogging in formation.

At first, everyone kept up well.

But as time passed, some began to fall behind.

Still, Kai didn’t rush them.

Even among soldiers, physical abilities differed.

It was wrong to expect everyone to handle the same training.

Endurance training wasn’t a competition.

Pushing your limits to the edge—and doing so consistently each day—that was all that mattered.

The process helped one discover their limits, and in overcoming them, built grit and tenacity.

Mental strength without physical backing is paper-thin, and physical strength without mental fortitude is hollow.

“Huff… Huff…!”

“I… I can’t go on…!”

After about an hour, some soldiers dropped out.

By two hours, most had collapsed from exhaustion.

Only centurions and instructors remained.

Even they couldn’t last more than three hours.

A few lasted a bit longer, but not by much.

Only then did Kai increase his pace.

Now it was time to test his own limits.

“Wow…!”

“That’s incredible…”

Cheers rose from the soldiers as Kai sped up.

Even after running for three hours, he was increasing his pace.

Naturally, it looked like admiration for Kai.

But Kai knew better.

Those gasps and cheers weren’t for him.

He slowly turned his head.

And saw someone following closely behind him.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

It was…

Adrian.