Rylan silently took in his surroundings. The training ground was small, as if its construction had been an afterthought. Eight armored training dummies stood next to one another, while a building in the back seemed to be a storage room for weapons and armor, but that was it, in spite of the fact that the group was composed of fifty soldiers. It was a woefully unprepared facility, but he hadn't expected anything different. People who couldn't or wouldn't learn magic, based on what he knew, were treated the same as this training ground. A slight frown made its way to his face. Even though he had readied himself for this, it was still disconcerting from Roland's point of view to see that honing one's body and technique was considered a useless practice.
While Rylan was lost in his thoughts, one of the soldiers stepped forward. He was a tall man with short black hair and eyes. Rylan quickly evaluated the man in a split second. Broad shoulders and thighs were indicative of a solid training routine, while the man stood unshakably. It made sense that he was the first to speak to Rylan.
"Good morning, my lord. My name is Jack and I'm the captain of the Flameheart family's ordinary guards. It is a pleasure to know that you will be joining us."
The man bowed. Rylan nodded at him.
"It's good to meet you, Jack. Please, don't treat me like nobility while we're training. There is no need for that."
Jack nodded his head as he raised his body.
"Sure, alright. Are you gonna follow our normal training routine?"
Sarah's brow slightly furrowed. Rylan could see the contempt deep within the man's eyes. His request not to be treated as nobility had been accepted too easily, and he felt as if he knew why. None of the soldiers, including Jack, held even a modicum of respect for him. Behind Jack, a few of the guards snickered. They tried to hide it, but couldn't shield themselves from Rylan's observant eyes. They weren't professional actors or used to hiding their feelings like Sarah; it was only natural for them to slip and reveal their true thoughts. Yet, Rylan didn't blame them. He fully understood their disdain for the person that he used to be.
"…Yes. Is there any spare armor in the building behind you? Even just a breastplate is fine."
Jack tilted his head, but nodded.
"I'm sure there are a few spare sets of armor that you could borrow."
Rylan smiled and nodded.
"Good. Where are they?"
Jack looked behind him and signaled a soldier with his hand. The man nodded at ran back into the barracks, soon walking out with a breastplate much like the ones the soldiers wore, along with a set of gauntlets, bracers, and greaves. With an unsure atmosphere, the man approached Rylan, who spoke with a grin.
"Good, this will do."
Before the other soldiers could say anything or try to assist him, he put on the armor with practiced ease, adjusting the necessary straps in the blink of an eye. Deep in his heart, he felt a strange type of satisfaction, as if he had just done something again after a long time, which wasn't inaccurate. He turned his attention to the soldiers, who were staring at him while completely mute. One could hear a pin drop. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that even Sarah was staring at him with raised eyebrows. But this amount of attention wasn't much to his current self. Roland had been worshipped and admired by millions and feared by just as many.
After putting on the greaves, Rylan turned to Jack, who had a confused expression on his face.
"How does your training usually go?"
The man blinked a few times.
"We… We start by running a few laps around the estate to develop our stamina and leg strength."
Rylan nodded. Running while in armor was a much more difficult endeavor than it appeared.
"Very well. Lead on."
While he spoke, he let his Mana Core follow his heartbeat. Mana flooded his body. Its enhancement effect would be crucial to keep up with the soldiers in his current body.
Still wearing a confused expression, Jack nodded. Once he turned around, the other soldiers immediately organized themselves in five lines.
"Attention! We will now begin today's training!"
After a few more shouts, the group started running. Rylan followed Jack, who was at the lead, closely. Mana continued to circulate throughout his body like Aura would, but he noticed the difference at once. The effects were much less than if he had Aura. It wasn't exactly surprising; based on what he knew, mana couldn't strengthen one's body by much. It might be for that reason that none of the books he read mentioned such an ability.
The weight of the breastplate pressed down on his chest, while the greaves weighed his legs down. After virtually no time at all, Rylan was out of breath and panting. Still, he persevered. His Trait made him want to quit, but he forcefully overrode its commands with Roland's memories and determination.
This will be harder than I thought.
His original objective was to keep up with the soldiers' training in full, but he was flexible enough to know that he should reduce his pace or rest if it proved to be too much. Injuring himself so early on would be crippling to his plans. He needed to be careful. At the same time, Roland hadn't been one to give up so easily, and Rylan needed to follow that. The training he had subjected himself to in his past life had been countless times more difficult and straining than a mere jog while wearing armor.
Circulating his mana and taking deep, rhythmic breaths, Rylan continued to run.
The group completed a lap around the family estate. This was no easy feat, especially when wearing armor; the estate was large and expansive. He knew that most of the soldiers had struggled at the start, even those with good fitness. Jack kept glancing at him, half the time with not-so-hidden sneers. The man spoke.
"Should we slow down? This might be too difficult for you."
Jack had failed to contain the mockery in his tone, but Rylan didn't care. Before acquiring Roland's memories, this would have been enough to make him immediately deliver heavy punishment to the soldier; mocking a noble could even result in death penalties among some families. The fact that Jack let out such a mocking tone despite these facts was a testament to how much he despised Rylan. The person Rylan used to be would have certainly tried to injure the man for such a slight, but no longer. In between deep breaths, he replied.
"No need."
Jack narrowed his eyes and nodded. In a way, he was playing a dangerous game, even if half-unintentionally. If Rylan decided to punish him, there would be nothing that could stop him. Rylan slightly shook his head and started analyzing his current capabilities.
His condition was subpar, to say the least. The need to take deep breaths had come too early, while he was already moving in a sluggish fashion. The armor weighed him down more than it should have, and it was hard to properly run while keeping his sense of balance, something that Roland had been able to do even when half-dead.
The group continued to run. By the end of the second lap, Rylan felt as if he were about to die. Yet, he persevered. Disdain still filled the Jack's eyes, who still threw glances at him, but the man no longer said anything.
At that moment, it felt as if the group had picked up the pace once again. No, Jack had distinctly started to move faster. Rylan said nothing and kept running. Behind him, the entire group of soldiers were panting and sweating.
Is he trying to make me quit?
The fact that even the other soldiers were having difficulties was rather telling. Without the mana coursing through him, Rylan would never have been able to keep up. After a few more minutes, Jack spoke.
"You're doing well."
Rylan's brow furrowed. He didn't need such backhanded compliments from the man who was responsible for the increased difficulty. He knew this was because of the life he had led so far, but he couldn't help but feel bothered.
"Worry more about your own running, captain. You're having enough trouble putting one foot in front of the other."
Jack's eyebrow twitched. The man gritted his teeth and turned his head to face forward. The group's pace seemed to increase once again.
By the end of the third lap, Rylan was half-convinced that he had already died and that this was the afterlife. In the middle of the fourth lap, he stopped running and lifted his hand. Jack did the same, making the group grind to a halt. The man approached him with a triumphant air.
"You wanna stop?"
An annoying grin adorned Jack's expression. Unfortunately, Rylan didn't have the energy to argue. He breathed heavily as he looked at the ground. His lungs burned, while he felt as if his legs were being weighed down by thousands of kilograms. Heaving, he tried his best not to throw up. He scoffed at his own weakness.
What a truly useless body.
From the perspective of someone who had the memories of the Sword Saint, it was pathetic. He turned his gaze to the man who had spoken to him, nodding. He was still too tired to speak.
He didn't want to argue with the captain. It was on him to prove himself after the life he had led. Still, it was very annoying. He didn't enjoy being disrespected and despised. A bit of Roland's unshakable pride had seeped into his bones.
I'll show them soon enough.
This thought made him grin slightly and shake his head, despite his physical condition. Jack spoke.
"Since this is your first day, we can move on to the next part of the training."
It was unclear whether he meant that it would be beneficial for Rylan to experience all steps of the daily training or if this was a way of saying 'We're going easy on you.' Rylan managed to eke out a word.
"Alright."
Then, he donned a bitter smile.
Strengthening this body will be about as hard as I expected.
However, it was something that needed to be done. He fully believed that. Rylan kept his eyes open, staring at the ground. Behind him, five lines of soldiers stood silently. All of them were sweating and breathing deeply, but were in a much better state than him. As if they had coordinated their actions, not a single one of the fifty men made a sound, even though they kept throwing one another glances. Rylan noticed it; the atmosphere had changed. There was a trace of confusion and expectation that did not exist before. Were they surprised by the fact he had lasted so long? Or did they want to see how far he'd go?
With a deep breath, he raised his upper body and looked at the sky.
"…What comes next in your routine, captain? Weapons training then formations, I assume?"
Jack nodded. Rylan continued to speak.
"Very well, then. Let's go."
Still with narrowed eyes, Jack made a hand sign toward the soldiers while nodding. The group made their way back to the training ground. One soldier unlocked a door inside the barracks. Inside the room, dozens of weapons fit for training were neatly organized. With familiarity, the soldiers passed one another swords and spears until they were all equipped. As one of them was about to give Rylan a spear with a complex expression, Rylan shook his head.
"Give me a sword."
The soldier looked at Jack, who had an eyebrow raised. The captain nodded. The man put away the spear he was holding and handed Rylan the nearest sword. Rylan touched the hilt and pulled the blade out of its scabbard in a smooth movement.
At that moment, it was as if the entire world had changed.