Chapter 7: The Count’s Delinquent Son (2)
The Frost Trial Grounds.
Literally translated, it meant a place of trials where frost descended.
In practical terms, it referred to a place where Martial Arts were practiced.
Simply put, it was a “Training Ground” where the county’s military education and training were conducted and where soldiers conditioned their bodies.
In other words, Adrian was currently at the Training Ground.
It was only natural for Kai’s expression to go blank with disbelief.
Seraphia, who had been silently listening beside him, also tilted her head to one side.
“That bastard is currently—”
“Sir Kai!”
Seraphia immediately shouted.
Kai quickly corrected himself.
“....Are you saying that Lord Adrian is currently at the Frost Trial Grounds?”
“That is correct.”
Bernard immediately nodded.
Naturally, Bernard had no reason to lie.
That meant Adrian truly was at the Frost Trial Grounds.
But how could that possibly make sense?
Why would a delinquent who spent every day immersed in gambling and pleasure visit the Frost Trial Grounds?
“What is he doing there?”
Kai asked with a frown.
Of course, there was only one thing someone could do at the Frost Trial Grounds—
“Train.”
But Kai could not believe it.
The Adrian Kai knew had not trained at the Frost Trial Grounds even once during the past ten years.
Forget training—he had never even gone near the Frost Trial Grounds.
Why would he suddenly begin training there overnight?
It would be impossible unless he had become an entirely different person. And it was nearly impossible for a person to change so completely.
He must have gone to the Frost Trial Grounds for some other purpose.
“He is training.”
However, that was Bernard’s answer.
Even Seraphia found that difficult to believe and questioned him in Kai’s place.
“Brother is training?”
“That is correct.”
Bernard’s answer did not change.
Kai knew that Bernard would never tell a lie. Even so, he simply could not believe it.
“What kind of training is he doing at the Frost Trial Grounds?”
After all, Adrian possessed no talent whatsoever for swordsmanship.
Nor was it limited to swordsmanship.
Spearmanship, Saber Arts, Archery, and everything else—
He possessed absolutely no talent for Martial Arts.
More precisely, it would be correct to say that his talent for “Aura” was abysmal.
It was not merely abysmal. It was completely nonexistent.
If talent could be expressed numerically, Adrian’s talent for Aura would be “zero”.
Did that mean he possessed talent for magic instead?
No.
Adrian could not use Mana Force at all.
Ultimately, his “talent for mana” could also be considered zero.
What kind of training could someone like Adrian possibly perform at the Frost Trial Grounds?
“Well….”
Bernard hesitated and drew out his response. A hint of bewilderment appeared upon his face.
“He is performing such unusual training that I am uncertain how I should explain it….”
“Brother is performing unusual training?”
Even after Seraphia repeated the question, Bernard could not readily answer.
What kind of training could Adrian possibly be doing?
What could Adrian be doing that caused Bernard, who rarely displayed his emotions, to reveal “bewilderment”?
“I shall go and see for myself.”
Kai headed toward the Frost Trial Grounds on the outskirts of the Count’s Castle.
* * *
Simple wooden structures stood upon the dirt floor.
Inside, poles connected by thick ropes and wooden pillars were sparsely positioned throughout the area.
Heavy rocks and enormous logs lay scattered randomly around them.
Old shields and swords used for training hung upon the walls.
Training dummies crudely stitched together from leather were secured with rough belts and stored nearby.
Despite the bitter cold of the snowy mountains, this place was filled with sweat and heat.
[Frost Trial Grounds]
This was the Training Ground used by the soldiers of the White Wolf Count’s Castle.
True to its purpose, countless soldiers had gathered within the Frost Trial Grounds.
However, contrary to that purpose, the soldiers were not training.
“N-No….”
“W-What the hell is that….?”
They had gathered together and were merely watching someone else train.
Following the soldiers’ gazes led to a man devoted entirely to his training.
He possessed dark black hair and a delicately handsome face. Adrian White Wolf, the eldest son of House White Wolf.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
His breathing was not merely rough but feverish, yet it remained rhythmic.
There was firmness and restraint within it.
However, it was not the kind of breathing produced while practicing Martial Arts.
“Huuup...! Hup...!”
They were merely pain-filled groans caused by lifting an immense weight.
His rough, heated breaths escaped naturally from that exertion. In other words, Adrian was not practicing a combat technique.
He was performing “Physical Conditioning”.
More specifically, Adrian was focusing on training intended to develop his “muscles”.
Muscular development was an extremely important factor for a knight.
That was because it affected the efficiency of Aura.
When the same amount of Aura was used, differences in fundamental physical ability could produce anything from several times to hundreds of times more power.
A strong body produced great strength.
That fact did not change even after one awakened the power known as Aura.
Consequently, Physical Conditioning was just as essential and important as Aura training.
But even so—
“Huuuuup...!!”
….That did not mean anyone should go this far.
The objective was merely to “train” one’s muscles.
It certainly did not mean completely “destroying” them like that!
“I-Instructor….is that even possible….?”
One of the soldiers asked.
Leverton, a knight of the White Wolf Count’s Castle and its Training Instructor, did not answer the question.
More precisely, he was too stunned to answer.
The shock Leverton was experiencing bordered on horror.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
Just look at Adrian lifting that absurdly heavy barbell.
Look at him training his lower body with a barbell that appeared to weigh at least three hundred kilograms resting across his shoulders!
“How is he lifting a weight that even I wouldn’t dare attempt….?”
Was something like that even possible?
It would be impossible without borrowing the power of Aura.
Did that mean Adrian was using Aura?
Absolutely not.
Adrian possessed no talent for Aura. It was not merely that he lacked talent. His talent approached zero.
There was no one in the Count’s Castle who did not know that fact.
In other words, Adrian was doing this entirely through raw physical strength….
“U-Ugh….!”
Leverton simply could not believe it.
How could a human being possibly do such a thing?
Furthermore, this was none other than “Adrian”.
He was the count’s delinquent son who had spent his life immersed in gambling and pleasure.
He was a pale, sheltered young nobleman who had never trained or practiced anything in his entire life.
This was the frail Adrian who looked as though he might break apart from a single blow.
Before becoming the Training Instructor of the White Wolf Count’s Castle, Leverton had been a mercenary.
Then the Former Count offered him a position, prompting him to abandon his life as a mercenary and become the Count’s Castle’s Training Instructor.
He had already served as its Training Instructor for approximately ten years.
Yet even after all that time, he could say with certainty—
This was his first time seeing anything like this.
‘What a relentless….!!’
He had never encountered anyone so relentlessly tenacious!
Tenacious?
Could Adrian truly be described with a word as inadequate as “tenacious”?
The Physical Conditioning Adrian was performing—it was not something a human being could do.
Crack! Creak! Crunch!
Every time Adrian lifted the barbell, bizarre noises erupted from his thighs.
Those sounds indicated that his muscles had gone beyond tearing and were now rupturing completely.
‘What the….!!!’
How could something that had already surpassed the boundaries of Physical Conditioning be considered human?
As long as one was born human, biological limitations inevitably existed. Aura allowed people to overcome those biological limitations.
However, Adrian could not wield Aura.
At this very moment, Adrian was nothing more than a “human”, and yet—
Crack! Creak! Crunch!
‘How in the world….?!’
The common sense Leverton had always believed without question began crumbling completely.
Furthermore, muscular growth was founded upon “recovery”.
High-intensity exercise repeatedly damaged the muscles. As those damaged muscles recovered, they grew stronger.
But even that possessed a “limit”.
If the damage escalated into complete rupture and reached an irreparable state, the person would permanently lose their muscular strength.
A limit was called a limit precisely because it could not be exceeded. The price of violating it was never insignificant.
* * *
However—
Gurgle, wriggle.
‘What the hell is that now?’
Beginning with that message, additional messages poured into my vision.
Boom! Thud!
When I threw the barbell onto the ground, an enormous tremor shook the area.
My skin had gone beyond flushed and turned completely crimson.
My body felt hot enough to burn. Hot steam rose from my bare upper body. My muscles had entered a state from which recovery was no longer possible.
The ruptured muscles could no longer support me.
Just as my body lost all strength and collapsed onto the ground—
◆You can use the skill [Regeneration (C+)] to regenerate your ruptured muscles.
◆Required nutrient – Protein.
◆Would you like to consume protein to regenerate your ruptured muscles?
[Regeneration (C+)] was the skill I had obtained by consuming the Ice Troll through Predation.
There was no reason to hesitate before accepting.
However, with every muscle in my body ruptured, I could not even move a finger.
Fortunately, activating the skill required nothing more than my will.
◆Y-You are completely insane!!!
◆Activating the skill [Regeneration (C+)].
◆Consuming a large quantity of protein to regenerate the ruptured muscles.
As the messages appeared, the muscles throughout my body began writhing like clay.
It was almost as though this was how muscles would move if they possessed minds of their own.
The ruptured muscle fibers reconstructed themselves, twisting together even more tightly than before.
The reconstructed muscle density became so tightly compressed that there appeared to be no room left between the fibers.
Once the regeneration was complete—
◆Your muscle fiber tissue has surpassed its limit!
◆Your muscle fibers are being reconstructed!
◆Your Strength stat has increased by +4!!
I confirmed that my strength stat had increased by four.
* * *
“Uwaaaagh!!”
Leverton involuntarily screamed.
How could he not when faced with that sight?
Gurgle, wriggle.
Adrian’s muscles were undulating.
The movement clearly showed that Adrian’s ruptured muscles were recovering.
“W-What….?”
“W-What the hell is that….?!”
Leverton and all the soldiers stared with their mouths hanging wide open.
How could something like that possibly happen?
Human regenerative capabilities naturally possessed limits.
A cut in the skin or a torn wound could heal.
But what if someone’s arms or legs were severed?
That would be the end. Human regenerative capabilities could not regrow severed limbs.
The muscular ruptures Adrian had just suffered were injuries of comparable severity. They were fatal, irreparable injuries equivalent to having one’s limbs severed.
Yet they had healed in an instant.
That was not human regeneration. How could something like that happen without magic—
‘That’s supposed to be magic?’
No.
Even magic could not accomplish something like that. Divine Power was said to be the power of a god. Perhaps something of that magnitude could bring this phenomenon within the realm of comprehension.
Even then, it would require the Saintess of the distant Holy Kingdom.
Only then could someone accept it by saying, “Hmm, that might be possible with the Saintess’ Divine Power!”
This was….
Simply put, it was no different from Adrian having the Saintess as his personal training coach.
He was using something equivalent to the Saintess’ Divine Power to develop his body at an extraordinary speed.
In technical terms, he was receiving “Emperor Training”.
‘He’s receiving Emperor Training….?’
No.
It would be more accurate to say that he was personally “performing” Emperor Training on himself.
“I-Impossible….!”
“How can something like that happen….?!!”
The shock experienced by Leverton and the soldiers finally surpassed even horror.
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