Rylan did push-ups on the floor, shirtless. Sunlight peeked through the curtains, shining upon his well-defined body. The sun was just rising above the horizon. After finishing his set, he lay his back against the floor and started doing sit-ups. He then moved on to squats and lifting the heaviest books in the bedroom to work out his arms.

I need heavier stuff.

His body was incomparable to before he remembered his past life. His training had paid off, with the help of the Free Points. His appearance hadn’t been the only thing that had changed. His stats were now much higher, which meant that he needed to intensify his training to keep pushing himself further. From now on, he would do handstands instead of push-ups and seek heavier objects to work out with.

He moved on to the four-poster bed and started doing pull-ups. He could feel the way his muscles contracted as he moved, sweat flowing down his body.

He continued his small training session, which came before the one with the soldiers. Finally, once he finished, he wiped the sweat off his brow and looked at Sarah, who was sitting on the same stool as usual by the table. She stared at his body for a few seconds before turning away. He tilted his head.

“What?” he asked.

She looked at him again before shaking her head.

“…No, nothing. It’s just that your body has changed.”

He looked down at his figure. The feeble appearance of some time ago had completely disappeared. Well-defined muscles were all that remained. He hadn’t had much fat to begin with, so his muscles only became more visible as time went on. A wide chest was lined by powerful shoulders and arms. He mentally nodded to himself.

“As it should. I’ve been training, after all.”

Sarah took one last glance at him from the corner of her eye before he turned to the door.

“Come in,” he said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow and turned to the door as it opened. A short man dressed in white clothes carried a tray of food. He bowed as Sarah stood up.

“Thanks, John,” Rylan said. The man smiled and nodded, bowed again, then left the room after handing over the tray to Sarah.

She put the tray on the table and looked at Rylan with a raised eyebrow. Was she surprised that he had heard the servant before the man knocked, even though he’d done the same before? He sat down on the chair next to the stool, grabbed Sarah’s plate, and gave it to her. As usual, his food was determined by his meal plan.

“Do you like the food?” he asked after swallowing a bite.

“What I like or not doesn’t matter, young master. I only hope that you enjoy your meal.”

“Stop that. Do you like it or not?”

“…Yes. I do.”

With a satisfied smile, Rylan nodded. The two continued to eat.

“How is your family doing?” he said.

“My income allows my parents and siblings to live well,” she replied with a small grin. Rylan smiled at her. Slowly, he was managing to rebuild his relationship with her.

“I’ll ask Father to let you take a break and increase your salary. Thank you for everything until now.”

She stared deep into his eyes. Her green eyes looked like pieces of beautiful jade, complementing her shoulder-length blond hair. For the first time in a while, Rylan took notice of how beautiful she was.

“Thank you, my lord, but there’s no need.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Why, though? You’ll get some time to stay with your family and get away from me. Two birds, one stone.”

She smiled. Rylan’s eyes widened. It was as if another source of light had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. How long had it been since he had last seen her smile at him? No, she hadn’t smiled at anything or anyone in a long time. A bit shocked, he barely heard her next words.

“I don’t want to get away from you. I’m watching you change, even if I don’t understand how or why. Even though you seem like you’re a completely different person. You promised that you would explain it one day and I believe you.”

Rylan merely stared at her for a few seconds. His expression became dead serious.

“I won’t disappoint you, Sarah. Ever again.”

Over the years, he had caused too much trouble for her. As the one who knew him the most and had to take care of all the mess he left in his wake, her job had been flat-out shitty for too long. He was certain that if she hadn’t needed the money to support her family, she would have left long ago. Still, she stayed by his side, even as she grew to despise him.

Her smile widened as she nodded. Together, they finished their meal and stood up. A bit lost in his thoughts, Rylan headed to the training grounds. He greeted the soldiers on the way, taking notice of something.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

There are a lot more Mages in the squads.

His wing was no longer guarded by the soldiers alone. Was it Gerard’s way of protecting his new self? Rylan didn’t really mind, but he liked it better when the soldiers were the only ones guarding his wing of the mansion. With a small sigh, he continued on his way. Finally, he arrived.

Once he stepped into the training grounds, all soldiers there turned to him and bowed with smiles on their faces.

“Good morning, young master!” Their voices echoed in unison. Rylan smiled.

“Good morning, everyone. Let’s begin.”

Soon, a soldier emerged from the storage room carrying a wooden box. Rylan knew that it was his armor. His usual group approached him, led by Jack and Scott. They bowed again.

“My lord,” Jack said. Scott smiled as he raised his body.

“Hello, master.”

Daniel and Raniel stood at the back, nodding at him. The soldier carrying the wooden box got closer and put the box on the ground. Rylan looked at the group as he opened the box and started putting on his armor.

“There’s something I want to talk to you guys about,” he said after putting on his breastplate. Jack and Scott nodded at the same time, letting him continue. “It’ll be a while before we go on more hunts together. I’ll be doing the quests alone for the time being.”

Jack furrowed his brow while Scott veritably deflated. Before Jack could say anything, Scott spoke.

“Well, that fucking sucks. I enjoyed our hunts a lot. Are you still going to train with us?”

Jack and Sarah threw him reproaching looks at the same time, but Rylan just smiled. He preferred this type of relationship.

“Yes, I’m still going to train with you guys and help you become stronger. Honestly, this is beneficial. The higher your stats before you Level up and spend your Free Points, the better.”

He knew that the average Level of the group was around 17, since they shared Experience whenever they killed a monster together. They still had a lot of room to grow before they reached Level 25 and needed to worry about their Class Evolution. He would help them slowly polish their skills and reach their full potential.

After answering a few of the soldiers’ questions, Rylan and the others started their run around the family estate. His breathing was stable and his muscles didn’t hurt. After a few laps around the estate, he could hear the soldiers behind him breathing roughly and panting. Their steps were no longer as firm as when they started, and their speed had decreased. However, he was still fine. After two more laps, Jack slowed down and stopped, then turned to the soldiers while taking deep breaths.

“We’re done here. Let’s go back to the training grounds,” he said. He had barely finished speaking before sighs of relief echoed from the soldiers. Rylan shook his head.

“I’m gonna keep going. I’ll meet you guys there,” he said, turning around to face the soldiers. As determination slowly filled their expressions, he continued. “If you’re at your limit, be careful. You still need to train after getting back to the training grounds. Limits are meant to be surpassed, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Jack and Scott stood by his side. The soldiers threw looks at each other. Some looked ready to keep running, others only seemed tired.

“Everyone, go back! We’re going to run with master for a bit longer!” Scott yelled.

Some wore frowns and dejected expressions, while some looked relieved. Most of the soldiers went back into the estate. The only ones that remained were Rylan’s usual group of seven.

“Alright, let’s go,” Rylan said.

Together, they resumed their run. His breathing was rhythmic and steady, while his steps were firm. He could keep going for much longer. As they ran around the estate and the others started heaving, he finally heard the notification that he had been waiting for.

[Endurance has increased by 1.]

He smiled, but didn’t stop running, paying close attention to the others. He was ready to stop at any time, but didn’t say anything. Challenging one’s limits over and over was the best way to awaken Aura. These soldiers needed to internalize that and work on it. Of course, he didn’t intend for any of them to be injured, but this much strain was necessary. He glanced over his shoulder at the soldiers.

Their eyes are still burning.

He could see their desire to keep up with him and not slow him down. Without exception, they all looked determined. They could keep going for a while longer. He inwardly nodded and maintained the same pace. With every step, he could hear the soldiers’ heavy breathing. Daniel and Raniel ran next to each other, panting. Even with unstable steps, they kept going. Jack and Scott were doing better, but their breathing was still hurried. Rylan observed the two of them.

Scott is rubbing off on Jack. He looks more determined.

It was a good thing. The two of them complemented and inspired each other well. Their determined expressions made Rylan smile before he turned his head and faced forward again. Bit by bit, he pushed the group past their limits.

After a few more laps, Rylan finally stopped.

“We’re going back. Once we arrive, go straight into the weapons training. Don’t rest.”

“Why?” Daniel replied, heaving with his hands on his knees and a lowered upper body.

“To become powerful, of course. You’ll understand in due time. For now, just follow my advice.”

Scott was the first one to nod.

“Sure. You’re making us stronger. I believe you,” he said.

Jack looked at Rylan with a serious expression.

“We’ll be waiting for you, my lord,” he said, then decisively turned around and waved at the soldiers. “Come on, all of you.”

As they walked back to the estate, Rylan turned around and kept running. The simple act of running while wearing almost full metal armor was straining, but his current body could bear it, even if he didn’t circulate his mana. His muscles burned and his breathing became rough, but it was a familiar feeling. Roland had experienced it countless times to a much greater extent. He ignored his body’s complaints; he knew that he hadn’t reached his limits yet.

Every lap was progressively more exhausting than the one before it, but that only made him smile. He was finally back in his home turf. This was what he knew best. The armor felt heavier and heavier, but it didn’t matter, even as his pace slowed down. His lungs burned, as did his muscles, but he didn’t stop, even as his legs felt like they weighed thousands of kilograms. Sweat flowed down freely, dripping off his chin. He kept going.

Almost dragging himself along, he finished another lap. In the middle of the next one, he felt it. It was as if he had been walking on an empty road, only to reach a wall at the end of it. This was the wall he needed to overcome, as Roland had done many times before. With every second that passed, he got closer and closer to the wall. This, too, was familiar.

Finally, he got close enough to the wall to touch it. In his mind, he extended his arm, then brushed his fingers against it. It was only then that he stopped running, placing his hands on his knees and breathing deeply.

For now, this will do.

He had touched the edge of his limits. He would do so once more when he went back to the training grounds and trained in the Stormcaller Sword Style. He would keep getting closer and closer to overcoming the wall, until he could go right through it. Only then would he have taken the first step to awakening Aura.

Roland didn’t need to overcome many walls before getting Aura.

But Rylan didn’t have the Prodigy Trait. That only meant that he would need to try harder. He steeled his resolve and started walking back to the training grounds. After training his swordsmanship with the soldiers, he would study magic and mana with Gerard in the afternoon and evening. Rylan let out a breath as he walked through the estate’s gate, then smiled.

The challenge only made him feel alive.