TLWD 37

Chapter : 37. Love and Hate (2)

The snow-covered peak of the snowy mountain.

When looking quietly at the mountain summit that stretched calmly toward the sky, the boundary between the sky and the mountain blurred, making them appear as a single mass.

The deep snow covered every ridge and valley of the mountain.
The rough surfaces of the rocks were dressed in a soft white cloak, like tender skin.

It was a snowy mountain buried under heavy snowfall.

In a landscape that looked like an endless world of pure white…

◆ Storing Snow in Inventory.
◆ Taking out Snow from Inventory.

I repeatedly stored and withdrew snow from the inventory, clearing a path.

Currently, my Strength stat was 29.

In other words, I could clear out about 1,160 kilograms of snow in one go.

Clearing a path through the snow-blocked trail wasn’t difficult.

I kept climbing the mountain.

First, to search for the Ice Troll.
Second, to collect monster meat to sell on the next trade expedition.

Since the so-called master of the snowy mountain, Gelu Drake, had been defeated, I had no reason to hesitate.

Now, I was the ruler of this snowy mountain.
There was nothing here that could pose a threat to me.

I searched the mountain without holding back.

And like that, I spent an entire day on the snowy mountain.

And unfortunately…

“…There’s nothing.”

Nothing.

I couldn’t find the Ice Troll, or any monster at all.

Well, considering the harsh season approaching, it was natural for monsters to reduce activity.
Especially now, with a snowstorm having just hit, it made movement even harder.

“Still, this is strange.”

Even so, something was off.
There shouldn’t have been this little activity.

I’d searched the entire snowy mountain.
Even with the weather making it difficult to move, surely one or two monsters would be out searching for food.

Even if it wasn’t an Ice Troll.

But there was nothing.

Only the sound of the distant wind whispered in the silence of the mountain.

“Did their habitat change after Gelu Drake disappeared?”

That could be possible.

But that alone didn’t explain everything.

“Hmmm…”

I tried thinking, but no answers came to mind.

“It’s a good thing I brought enough food from Preche, at least.”

The [Regeneration: B-] skill required food to activate.
Until now, I’d been eating monster meat for that. But now, I needed to start selling it instead.

I had to get nutrients another way—and I’d bought a large supply of substitutes from Preche.

“This snowstorm makes further searching impossible.”

It looked like I’d have to come back after the storm passed.

But that didn’t mean I would just sit and wait until then.

“My current stats are…”

As I muttered, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.

== Player Info ==

[Name] = Adrian Whitewolf
[Title] = Master of the Snowy Mountain
[Level] = 28
[HP] = 2,200
[MP] = 0
[Stats] = Strength: 29 (+5), Agility: 28 (+5), Endurance: 21 (+5), Mana: 6 (+5)
[EXP] = 34.7%

Thanks to completing the territory quest [Humble Beginnings, Glorious End!] in Preche, I’d reached level 28.

Compared to when I first returned to the past, my growth had been tremendous.

But I couldn’t be satisfied with just this.

“At this level, forget the Emperor—I can’t even beat a Lord.”

What even is a Lord?

I wouldn’t even be able to beat the generals.

Especially since I had absorbed Ian’s power rather than merely copying it—finding Ian and continuing to grow were equally important.

“At least my agility has increased a lot.”

That’s because I had invested all my level-up stat points into Agility.

As a result, my Agility was now nearly on par with the other stats.

“My Endurance’s already been caught up.”

But I wasn’t planning to invest more points into Endurance.

Going forward, I’d keep putting all level-up points into Agility.

Meaning I had to continue training my Strength and Endurance through effort.

“Looks like today’s a day for physical training.”

With that, I descended the mountain.

Meanwhile – The Frost Training Grounds

The soldiers were supposed to be in the middle of training…

But today, things were very different.

Before them was a shocking sight, leaving them all speechless.

A black-haired man was lifting an enormous steel bar.

Huff—! Huff—! Huff—!

Adrian’s breathing was not only rhythmic—it was exact.

Adrian was doing strength training in the Frost Training Grounds.

But…

“What the heck is that?”

“What’s he even lifting?”

The steel bar Adrian was lifting was no ordinary equipment.

It was nothing like the barbells used before.

It wasn’t something you could find anywhere in the county.

“That’s what Adrian brought back from Preche.”

“From Preche? That thing?”

It was a piece of equipment Adrian had purchased during the latest trade expedition.

The soldiers who had traveled with him testified—it was no mistake.

A circular steel bar made from highly compressed metal.

Its weight?

“They say it’s 1,500 kilograms.”

“What?! 1,500kg?! That’s 1.5 tons!”

“Insane…”

The soldiers were all slack-jawed.

Sure, you could say “1.5 tons,” but could a human really lift that?

That’s not exercise equipment—it’s construction material.

As expected, Adrian’s muscles were tearing, rebuilding, and compressing in real-time.

Yet his physique didn’t look bulky.
On the surface, Adrian’s body didn’t appear that large.

It was proof that his muscles were densely compressed.

Adrian didn’t frown even once.

Though his muscles must have been tearing and screaming in agony, he didn’t flinch—not even his eyebrows twitched.

Huff—! Huff—! Huff—!

He simply continued lifting the bar, unshaken.

A true display of immense mental strength.

The soldiers watching him looked not just in admiration, but reverence.

“He’s unbelievable…”

“I’m seeing it with my own eyes and I still don’t believe it.”

Naturally, someone asked:

“If Sir Kai and Adrian fought, who would win?”

“Well… I dunno.”

“Before, it would’ve been Sir Kai for sure…”

Their gazes shifted naturally toward Kai, who was practicing swordsmanship nearby.

And as soon as the attention shifted—

Slash!

Kai’s sword sliced through the cold air. His footwork was swift and fluid, yet balanced.

Perhaps he was imagining a foe—he suddenly twisted his waist and dodged an imagined attack, countering with lightning-fast precision.

“Wow—!”

“What was that?!”

Gasps and cheers erupted from the soldiers.

But Kai didn’t lose focus.

One hand swung the sword, the other maintained balance. His entire body moved as a unified mechanism.

His piercing blue eyes focused solely on the blade.

Kai, Chief Knight of the Whitewolf House.

His natural talent, which even the Royal Guard had their eyes on, was no lie.

On one side, Adrian.

On the other, Kai.

Both engaged in inhuman training, albeit for different reasons.

Then—

“Hyaaah—!”

A sharp, high-pitched voice interrupted the scene.

Clearly a woman’s voice.

Naturally, all heads turned.

And there—

“Yo-oop—!”

They saw Serapia lifting a light barbell with her thin arms.

To call it a barbell was generous.

Compared to what Adrian was lifting, it might as well have been a toothpick.

Still, her arms trembled.

“Hyo-oop!”

The soldiers watched nervously, wondering if she might break something.

The empty barbell she lifted weighed about 15kg.

But even that was too heavy for Serapia.

After struggling, she gave up and compromised—settling for 1kg dumbbells instead.

“Hyaaah—!”

Even that was a challenge.

(How does brother do this…?)

He does this every single day…

And with weights thousands of times heavier.

“Yoo-oop—!”

Serapia’s admiration for Adrian grew even more.

Her arms shook. As she finally set the bar down, she was drenched in sweat.

Her long silver hair, wet and tangled, clung to her neck and cheeks.

She tied it back in a quick ponytail.

The silver ponytail looked like a unicorn’s tail.

She had avoided this hairstyle because it exposed her neck—where a bruise from Adrian’s grip had once been.

(But it’s gone now.)

The bruise had fully healed.

So now, she could enjoy the cool breeze brushing her neck.

She felt oddly happy.

She smiled as she looked around the training grounds.

The reason she’d started working out was simple:

To silently watch Adrian train—
To feel a little closer to him.

He was lifting 1,500kg with rhythmic breaths.

(He’s amazing…)

Thud—!

The ground rumbled as Adrian set the steel bar down.

His shirtless body steamed from exertion.

Just as she averted her gaze in embarrassment—

(Oil…?)

He poured something dark into his mouth.

Serapia froze.

The liquid was blackened—practically waste oil.

(Why would he…?)

There was no reason to drink something like that.
He had tasty food available—food he had selected.

(Is it for the people…?)

Maybe he was saving the good food for the villagers.

“Just how long do you plan to stare?”

To survive the coming harsh season, they had to ration food carefully.

Adrian was giving the good stuff to the people—and drinking… that.

“Can’t you hear me?”

A sharp voice pierced her ears.

Serapia flinched and trembled.

When she refocused her vision, Adrian was glaring at her.

“Y-Yes?! Wh-What did you say…?”

“I asked how long you plan to stare.”

“Ah… um…”

“Stop staring. You’re distracting me.”

“…Okay.”

She answered, crestfallen.

Why didn’t he scold the soldiers when they were watching?

But even so—

(He talked to me…)

It was worth coming here to train.

Slowly, step by step, she could get closer to him.

Of course…

“Hyaaah—!”

Her arms felt like they might snap.

From earlier, Serapia’s gaze had been distracting me.

After finally telling her off, she stopped looking.

“Hyoot—!”

Now she was lifting dumbbells with a puff of air.

Her arms might break at this rate—but I didn’t really care.

I returned to drinking oil.

Cheap waste oil I’d bought in bulk from Preche.

(Oil has a ton of calories, after all.)

Monster meat gave about 250 Kcal per 100g.

But oil?

900 Kcal per 100ml.

Nearly four times the calories.

But it had no other nutrients—just fat.

Naturally—

◆ You can synthesize [Protein] by burning calories.
◆ Surplus Calories – 93,200Kcal
◆ Use skill “Nutrient Synthesis [B-]”?

Thanks to my skill [Nutrient Synthesis B-], that wasn’t a problem.

Its efficiency had greatly improved recently.

And because oil was a liquid, it was absorbed and digested quickly.

It was the most efficient food for me.

The only downside?

(Ugh—)

The nauseating greasiness.

As long as I gave up on taste, this diet was all upside.

I downed every last drop of the oil.

That was a 10-liter canister.

And I had 15 more in my inventory—
A total of 1,350,000 Kcal.

(I’ll burn it all today.)

I wouldn’t stop until I did.

(Let’s go again.)

I grabbed the steel bar once more.

Kai, swinging his sword, occasionally glanced at Adrian lifting that monstrous bar.

That was not something a human could do.

Bound by human limitations, it should have been impossible.

But Kai no longer doubted Adrian.

He had the power to make the impossible possible.

So Kai immersed himself deeper in training.

If he didn’t want to fall behind Adrian, he had to try harder.

He’d realized something important:

Half-hearted power couldn’t protect Serapia.

Kai didn’t have Adrian’s gift.

But he did have talent for aura and swordsmanship.

So—

He had to surpass the limits of those very things.

Just like Adrian was doing.

He had to become strong enough to slice through even the harshest winter.

Swish—! Slash—!

Kai’s blade moved faster and faster.

He lost himself in training—until suddenly—

DANG! DANG! DANG!

Urgent bells echoed across the Frost Training Grounds.

◆ A sudden quest has arrived!

A translucent prompt appeared before me.

DANG! DANG! DANG!

The urgent bell came from the castle tower—only rung in emergency situations.

“We’re under attack! A monster army is assaulting the County!”

One of the soldiers rushed to report to Kai.

Kai’s eyes widened.

So did mine.

It explained why there had been no monsters on the mountain.

They’d all gathered elsewhere…

That’s why my eyes weren’t just wide—they were filled with shock.

“A monster army…?”

It was the same question Kai muttered.

But the meaning behind the words was different.

Because the phrase “monster army” meant only one thing:

The Lord of Beasts.