Chapter 13

The Wastrel Has Changed (2)

Adrian followed behind, breathing hard, keeping only a short distance from Kai. He had stripped off his shirt, and his body was drenched in sweat.

He seemed to have joined the soldiers' endurance training from the start. In other words, he had now been running for over three hours. Yet he kept going. His breathing might be ragged, but his running legs never faltered. The soldiers, captains, and instructors had all dropped out, yet Adrian was still on his feet and running.

Then, in an instant, Adrian ran past Kai. As they briefly drew level, Adrian flicked his eyes toward him. Their gazes met for a moment, and Kai glimpsed the emotion in Adrian's eyes.

It was the look of a winner. The easy confidence of someone who had beaten him. The sneer that said he was nothing but a loser. That was what Adrian's eyes held as he overtook Kai.

SNAP!

For an instant, Kai heard something snap inside his head. Before he knew it, he had sharply increased his pace. He ground his teeth.

... He would not lose. Whatever happened, he could never lose to Adrian, of all people.

Kai ran to overtake Adrian. The distance closed in an instant, and once again they briefly drew level. Kai cast Adrian a fleeting, indifferent glance. Then, just as he casually pulled ahead—

GRIND!

He heard teeth grinding behind him. Just how hard was he clenching his jaw? It sounded less like grinding teeth than crushing them.

THUD-THUD-THUD!

A tremendous noise followed. There was no time to check what it was. No need, either. Adrian was already shooting past Kai like an arrow.

... He was sprinting flat out. Adrian was wringing out every last bit of strength to go faster, as though he, too, refused to lose to Kai, of all people.

Naturally, Kai could not let himself lose.

He tensed his thighs.

BOOM!

With a tremendous crash, the ground cratered beneath him and his body shot forward. Startled, Adrian looked back. The moment he saw Kai rapidly closing the gap—

Not to be outdone—

BOOM!

... The entire patch of ground beneath Adrian's feet caved in.

"Wh-what the..."

"This is insane..."

The watching soldiers were dumbfounded. Adrian and Kai sprinted at full speed, overtaking each other again and again. Neither would give an inch. Their fierce struggle truly...

BOOM! BOOM!

...looked like a bloody battle to the death.

* * *

Word of Adrian and Kai's all-out endurance battle spread through Whitewolf Castle in no time. Eventually, people even began betting on who would win.

"Sir Kai will win, obviously!"

"Of course! You know what Sir Kai is capable of!"

Most predicted a victory for Kai. It was only natural; the head knight certainly hadn't won his illustrious reputation at a gambling table. But some people did predict Adrian would win.

"But... Lord Adrian might actually win this."

"He's not just keeping up. He's even overtaking him."

That was how evenly matched they were. Their contest instantly became the biggest topic of interest in Whitewolf Castle.

* * *

◆There is no telling how much longer you intend to run!!

◆One thing is certain: you are out of your mind!!

Translucent messages clamored for attention before my eyes. Line after line appeared, obstructing my vision, and I had no idea what mechanism produced them. I wanted to wave a hand and clear them away, but I couldn't even manage that.

"Hah...! Hah...! Hah...!"

... I seriously felt like I was dying. I was so out of breath I thought I might keel over. I had reached the limits of my stamina.

Perhaps that was why my strength drained away without warning. My legs suddenly gave out. Just as my trembling legs refused to move another step—

◆You can use the skill 'Regeneration[C+]' to restore your cardiovascular endurance.

◆Required nutrients - Carbohydrates, fat

◆Would you like to consume carbohydrates and fat to restore your cardiovascular endurance?

Translucent messages suddenly streamed into view. I accepted without a second thought. Stored fat burned away in an instant, carbohydrates rapidly converted into energy, and my stamina recovered all at once.

◆Your stamina has surpassed its limits!

◆Your Stamina stat increases by +2!!

A message announcing the increase in my Stamina stat followed. From that, I could tell the principle of overload applied to stamina just as it did to muscular strength. Exercising beyond the limits of my endurance improved it. And just as with strength, that meant there was a price to pay.

◆Massive nutrient consumption has left you extremely hungry!

GRRRRROWL...!!!

Thunder erupted from my stomach.

Ravenous hunger. My stamina had returned, but a dizzy spell nearly overwhelmed me. I hurriedly pulled a packed meal of innards from my Inventory and stuffed them into my mouth.

The Inventory, my reward for completing the Tutorial Quest, was essentially an extradimensional pouch. It was a supernatural ability that bound a virtual space separate from reality—a subspace—to me, allowing me to use it freely.

Because it was bound to me, only I could see it. In other words, it was a private storeroom and vault that only I could use.

I chewed noisily and swallowed the innards, and the dizziness faded. They were mostly protein, but they weren't entirely devoid of carbohydrates and fat.

With my stamina restored, I drove my legs harder again. Not to be outdone, Kai picked up his pace as well. He could do that because he was using aura, just as I was using Regeneration.

In other words, he was cheating.

... Not that I was one to talk.

In any case, I could see his fierce determination to die rather than lose to me.

And so we kept overtaking one another for several more hours. Even the soldiers watching us seemed to grow tired and began leaving one by one. Before long, Kai and I were the only ones left running at the Frost Trial Grounds.

... At this rate, we would never settle this. The Frost Trial Grounds were too small to decide a winner. We needed a harsher environment to bring this contest to an end.

I turned my head slightly to look at Kai. As though the same thought had just occurred to him, he looked at me too. Without missing a beat, we ran out of the Frost Trial Grounds, expanding our racecourse to the entire county.

The accumulated snow on the snowfields dragged at our ankles. Our stamina drained even faster. The bitter cold froze the muscles in our legs.

And so a day passed.

* * *

"The two of them are still running...?"

Seraphia was beyond bewildered. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Of course, she had heard that Adrian and Kai were having a race.

Yesterday.

"Do you mean neither of them has even slept?"

"That is correct."

Bernard gave a small nod.

That meant Adrian and Kai had been running all day long. Not figuratively, either. Literally all day long. Twenty-four hours, in other words. To be precise, it had been about twenty-one hours, but that was still insane.

"B-but... how could they..."

Seraphia felt as though she might lose her mind. Above all, she was deeply worried they would damage their health. Her concern for Adrian was particularly acute.

He hadn't exercised even once in the past ten-odd years. She had heard he was training hard lately, but it had only been about ten days. Wasn't he pushing himself too far? She was terribly worried, yet inwardly, she was also happy.

'Brother really has changed...'

Since Adrian had returned to the family, Seraphia hadn't had a single proper conversation with him. Whenever he saw her, he left. As a result, despite living under the same roof, she couldn't even get a good look at his face, much less speak to him.

The rumors circulating through Whitewolf Castle and the lord's residence were her only opportunity, her only means, of hearing news about Adrian. Perhaps that was why...

'I'm jealous...'

She was just a little envious of Kai, who got to spend the entire day with Adrian under the pretext of a race.

When would she finally be able to have a proper conversation with Adrian? Never mind talking—she just wanted to look him in the face. It was greedy of her, but someday, she wanted to share a meal with him like an ordinary family.

So, if only for a fleeting moment—

'If I learned to exercise too, I could join Brother...'

Seraphia allowed herself to imagine it, however briefly.

* * *

Two days had passed since we started running. I didn't actually know the exact time. I was only guessing from the fact that the sun had set twice and risen twice.

At some point, the packed innards in my Inventory had begun to run out. I could no longer use Regeneration, but fortunately, Kai was in the same boat. His aura seemed to be running out as well, because his pace had slowed noticeably.

From this point on, it was a contest of pure human physique and endurance.

"Hah...! Hah...!"

My lungs expanded as though they would burst. My heart pounded madly, and blood rushed all the way to my ears, making my eardrums thrum.

After constantly drawing in the frigid air, my throat was ice-cold. Yet my parched mouth desperately craved even one more breath of it. Every inhalation drove cold into my lungs, as though it were stabbing my ribs.

Kai, on the other hand...

"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!"

His breathing hadn't faltered once. Steady breaths from his diaphragm. Legs driving off the snow-covered ground. Firm and unwavering.

'That crazy bastard.'

He really was completely insane.

'Is he already a lich or something?'

It was a reasonable suspicion. There had to be limits to mind over matter. He was even wearing metal armor. How could anyone who ran for two days straight without a break like that be human?

Of course, endurance was one of humanity's exceptional talents. Every living creature in the world evolved around abilities optimized for its environment, maximizing its advantages. In other words, every species possessed at least one exceptional ability, like an ice troll's regeneration.

Humans, too, had exceptional abilities unique to them: intelligence and endurance. Intelligence needed no explanation. Human endurance likewise compared favorably with that of any other living creature in the world.

No, it went beyond comparing favorably. Humans were overwhelmingly superior.

That was why I didn't need to acquire any endurance-related abilities through Predation. I only had to hone the ability humans were born with. It was how, during my time in the special task force, I had been able to run for roughly six days without rest to return alive from a mission.

I ground my teeth and kicked off the snow. Whatever happened, I couldn't lose. I hadn't actually intended to take things this far, but now that I had, I needed to see this contest through to the end.

Kai was thinking the same thing. As I caught up, he pushed himself even faster.

And that was when it happened.

GRRRR!

At the sudden monstrous growl, Kai and I stopped moving at the same time.