[ Day 7 ]

‘Should I start with the most basic part of it?’

Since the course had already been decided, Damian directly jumped into the first task of his new routine. Exercise!

When most people thought about exercising and working out, their minds always flew to weight-lifting or hopping on a treadmill.

In reality, however, there was more than one path towards a productive exercise, most of which were far less demanding compared to those two.

‘One.’

The most basic example was push-ups. It was an exercise where one relied only on their body weight without the need for anything else.

Of course, it wasn’t something that could be used to build up muscles quickly because it used too many muscle groups, but that was never Damian’s focus to begin with.

‘Two.’

Despite having above-average Stats, Damian was still struggling through such a basic exercise. This would have already been impossible if he hadn’t chosen to invest a total of two points into Constitution, but even now, he barely touched the basics.

However, it was all worth it, compared to the time-consuming time building, there was one effect of training that could be obtained very quickly. Although it was far from the instant gratification that came with adding Stat Points, it was something that Damian currently needed.

‘I need to build it up.’

Endurance building! When it came to a body that had stayed dormant for a while, any form of intense activity felt like hell, but as much as it hurt, the body quickly adapted to it.

Of course, having monster-like endurance wasn’t achievable by spending a few days doing push-ups and squats. However, what Damian was after was the initial buildup that took little to no time.

While Iris had been diligent in the past, it didn’t seem like she moved her body that much as of recently. Otherwise, why would Damian have too much trouble moving her body around?

Rather than just lacking stamina, she lacked the fundamental endurance to keep her body going.

This was exactly why Damian was still suffering after increasing his Constitution. Having plenty of stamina was nothing if he couldn’t use it all in one go.

‘Ten.’

It was no different from how Damian had so much Aura, yet could only utilize a small portion of it every 15 seconds.

‘That should be enough for the first day.’

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Still, Damian had to make sure not to overdo it. There was a clear difference between tempering the limit of exhaustion and going at it until you hit that limit.

Both were valid ways of training, but for Damian who still had to spend the majority of the day exploring the Labyrinth, he couldn’t afford to burn up all of his energy at the very beginning.

‘One.’

While he didn’t restrict himself to just pushups, Damian didn’t go beyond 10 to 12 reps of each set, that way he could recover after some rest.

Push-ups, squats, jumping jacks… Damian did quite a number of exercises for the first day to filter out the more convenient ones. He even did some basic weightlifting to compare.

‘Everything really does come in handy at one point.’

Although Damian still couldn’t use it in a fight, the Hobgoblins’ stone clubs did very well as preliminary weights.

In the end, Damian excluded a few exercises based on how much energy he could invest before resting.

The very act of Labyrinth Exploration itself could be called an exercise that built up stamina, so Damian needed to make sure that the morning exercise wasn’t a hindrance rather than a meaningless obstacle.

‘I would rather not shoot myself in the foot.’

Doing too much was even more of a poison compared to doing too little. In the end, just as with everything in life, moderation was the key.

‘Next is…’

After resting for half an hour, Damian started preparing for the second part of morning practice.

“Iris. What we talked about, you will help me, right?”

While Iris herself needed a teacher, she was the one to learn the skills that Damian currently had access to. He just had to do with what he had for the moment.

{...I don’t think I will be of much help. I only listened a few times from the sidelines.}

No one bothered to teach her since she was a disregarded existence in the Duke’s House, but that was also what allowed her to come and go as she pleased within limits.

In order to prove herself, Iris eavesdropped on many lessons in an attempt to master them. Unfortunately, what she did never amounted to much.

{Are you sure you want to waste time like that?}

“Who knows? Just because you were a bad student doesn’t mean you can’t be a great teacher. In any case, I’m willing to give it a try.”

Damian was naturally aware of Iris’ limitations. However, what he wanted to try was something else entirely.

‘I wonder if those benefits will make a difference.’

Since the main obstacle that stood in Iris’ way was her lack of talent in handling weapons, then did leveling up twice mend that hole?

[ The Possessed Subject’s Skill Learning Capacity has been slightly enhanced. ]

Damian could still clearly remember the message he had heard even without going through the System Log. He had great hope for its effect.

{Then, I will oblige. I will personally demonstrate before verbally guiding you through the moves. Make sure to stay focused.}

It had already been some time since Iris’ personality underwent a new change. She still had little to no self-confidence, but she no longer cared about her own opinion.

‘I will do anything.’

As long as Damian believed in her, then she was going to do whatever he wanted her to. Iris believed that he deserved at least that much.

It was so liberating to finally be capable of ceasing her self-doubt. If it was a trustworthy person like Damian, she could accept his judgment regardless of how illogical it was.

“I will give it my all.’

That was how Damian’s first swordsmanship lesson came to start.