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Chapter 3
The knights were worried about Noah.
Yesterday, he had made a fuss about wanting to swing a sword even once, only to collapse unconscious in the training grounds. To them, Noah was that small and fragile of a person.
“1 gold says the young master finishes the run.”
“I’ll bet 1 gold he can’t.”
To them—
Noah was an easy enough target to bet on. Before long, wagers were being made everywhere on whether he would finish the run.
‘Thanks to my aura heart, I can hear everything.’
Although they were only knights in name, they weren’t complete fools. No one here was ignorant of what would happen if they were caught using a noble as the subject of a bet.
So everyone spoke in hushed voices, as if a mouse had died—careful not to be heard by Noah, nor by Baron Veratan.
But—
It was useless against Noah, who possessed two aura hearts. His five senses surpassed even Baron Veratan’s. It wasn’t difficult for him to understand what they were saying.
“Won’t he collapse again halfway?”
“No way. He rested, so his complexion looks a bit better.”
“I’m still worried.”
Through their conversation, Noah could tell how they viewed him.
‘More favorable than I expected.’
He had worried they might curse him as a useless noble, but surprisingly, their perception of him wasn’t bad. Most of them were concerned that he might collapse.
“I’ll bet 1 gold he won’t finish.”
At that moment, another knight behind Noah joined the wager. Now, there wasn’t a single knight in the training ground who hadn’t participated—
Except Noah himself.
“Then I’ll bet 1 gold that I do finish.”
Noah closed the distance with the knights behind him and spoke in a low voice. At that moment, one of the knights sighed and turned his head toward Noah.
He was about to offer some advice—
“Well, you see… Young Master—Huh?!”
He froze mid-sentence.
Because the one joining the bet… was Noah himself.
It was practically a life-threatening situation.
However, Noah had no intention of punishing them. So before they could drop to their knees and beg, he continued:
“Don’t kneel and beg for forgiveness.”
“Forgive—… pardon?”
“I came to place a bet too.”
The knight looked bewildered. The three others talking with him were no different. Noah looked at them and continued:
“I’ll bet 4 gold that I finish. You each bet 1 gold that I won’t.”
“…”
“I’m not joking. I’m serious.”
The knights wanted to say, ‘That’s not what matters right now…’ But saying something like that might get them in serious trouble.
“U-Understood, Young Master.”
So all they could do was accept the bet.
“Good. Then it’s settled.”
Noah smiled at the four knights staring at him in confusion and added in a low voice:
“Let’s see who wins.”
“…”
The four knights couldn’t say anything.
But they realized one thing—
The third young master had changed.
‘Did he hit his head…? Has he gone crazy?’
Of course… in a bad way.
‘Me leading the front… I don’t like this.’
After warm-ups were finished,
Everyone lined up for the run. Since Noah was treated as the “weakest,” he had no choice but to stand at the very front.
‘I’ll show them.’
Being in the lead during a run wasn’t a good thing.
The weakest person was placed in front of the formation. That was why Noah frowned.
‘Come to think of it… I ran like crazy in my past life too.’
Not only was Noah talented in aura control, but he also worked several times harder than others. Otherwise, he could never have become a Sword Master with a half-baked aura heart.
And that effort included running.
Every morning, he ran across the distance of two mountains. After becoming a Sword Master, he had quadrupled that distance.
‘It definitely helped.’
It greatly improved his stamina.
That’s why he intended to continue running diligently in this life as well.
“Noah. If it gets too hard, you can stop midway.”
Baron Veratan stood to Noah’s right, ready to take immediate action if Noah collapsed.
“Yes.”
Noah smiled as he answered.
Then—
“We’ll begin.”
Determined to show them what a real run looked like today, Noah stepped forward.
The knights thought:
Since the third young master was leading, today’s run would be easy.
“He’s running too fast from the start.”
“Looks like he’s never done this before.”
And indeed—
The moment the run began, Noah sprinted at full speed. He wasn’t jogging—he was running as if in a race.
Seeing this, the knights thought, ‘Just as expected.’
Starting too fast was one of the most common mistakes beginners made.
“He’ll tire himself out.”
The others nodded in agreement. Wearing armor and carrying swords, they were certain he’d soon collapse from exhaustion.
But—
“Ghk…! What kind of stamina is that?!”
That certainty was shattered before long.
Noah maintained his initial speed and crossed the mountain. The knights, even in lighter gear, struggled just to keep up with him.
“…”
Running beside him, Baron Veratan wondered if he was dreaming.
‘What on earth happened?’
He genuinely wanted to ask Noah what he had done last night to change his stamina so drastically.
‘But this is a good sign.’
He didn’t know the reason, but it was clearly a change for the better.
Thinking that, the corners of his lips naturally lifted.
“Excellent!”
Baron Veratan exclaimed excitedly.
He was proud of Noah, who now possessed stamina rivaling his own.
Noah nodded.
Then—
“I’ll increase the speed.”
He surged ahead, passing Baron Veratan.
With two aura hearts, it was only natural he would be faster.
“…?”
At that moment, Baron Veratan realized something was wrong.
The speed was beyond even what he could handle.
“Ugh—!”
“Water… water!”
“I see heaven…”
After finishing the run and returning to the training grounds, the knights—and even Baron Veratan—were practically dying.
But one person—
Only Noah remained completely fine.
In fact, he looked at them with slight disappointment.
‘As expected… it’s incredible.’
Two aura hearts.
He had even restricted one of them—and yet his stamina had increased dramatically.
‘This is comparable to my apprentice knight days in my past life.’
It was absurd.
That Noah now had stamina comparable to his 19-year-old self from his past life.
‘I want to run more.’
He wasn’t tired at all.
If anything, his body had just warmed up.
He wanted to push himself to the absolute limit.
“Noah… let’s stop the running.”
Baron Veratan said, panting heavily. Like the others, he wanted to collapse—but he had his dignity as the head of the family and their instructor.
“Stop?”
Noah couldn’t hide his disappointment.
‘Anyone else, fine—but not you.’
How could the head of a family give up so easily?
If Baron Veratan had been his subordinate instead of his father, Noah would’ve scolded him.
‘No one has any passion.’
From Baron Veratan to the knights vomiting on the ground—Noah shook his head.
At this level, they wouldn’t even be able to defend their territory, let alone seek revenge.
‘I need to change this stagnant water.’
Still water rots.
And Noah was convinced it needed to be changed.
So—
“At this level, you won’t grow. I think we should all run another lap.”
He said this while looking directly at Baron Veratan, adding:
“Surely… Father, who must set an example for the family, wouldn’t say this is too difficult?”
Baron Veratan fell silent.
There was no way he could admit that.
“…Of course not, Noah. As you said, we should run another lap.”
And so—
The second run toward hell began.
“Ha… haah!”
When they returned after the second run, everyone except Noah collapsed to the ground.
Even Baron Veratan.
“Just… kill me…”
The knights thought death would be easier.
That’s how painful the run had been.
“Not a single dropout.”
Noah smiled in satisfaction.
Not one person had collapsed midway. They lacked skill, but their determination was commendable.
“Today’s… morning training ends here.”
Baron Veratan forced out the words with the last of his strength. The knights nodded vigorously.
“But—”
Only Noah wasn’t pleased.
There was still so much training left to do.
“This is an order as your instructor. Rest is also part of training—accept it.”
Before Noah could drag them into another hell, Baron Veratan used his authority to stop him.
The knights quickly backed him up.
“That’s right, Young Master.”
“The instructor’s judgment is correct.”
Noah shook his head, but decided he couldn’t push further.
“Then I’ll accept the rest.”
Only then did Baron Veratan and the knights sigh in relief.
Step… step…
Noah walked toward the resting knights and found the four who had bet with him.
“…!”
Leaning against the wall, they looked terrified as he approached. They quickly stood up, legs trembling but posture straight.
Noah spoke calmly:
“I won the bet. Hand over the gold. You’re not thinking of invalidating it, are you?”
“N-No, sir!”
The knights felt relieved.
He wasn’t here to punish them—just to collect his winnings.
Noah pocketed the 4 gold coins, glanced at them once more, and turned away.
‘For now… they’re barely at the level of a rural militia.’
But he made a vow—
He would change these men, who couldn’t even be called proper knights.
“From now on, I’ll be in charge of the running.”
Leading by example—
That was how Noah intended to guide them.
And upon hearing this—
“Ah…”
“No…”
“We’re doomed…”
The rest of them let out deep groans of despair.
