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It was still the early hours of dawn, before the sun had risen.

The tavern that stayed open late was still not closed, and it was around the time when only the farmers, still half-asleep, were quietly waking up to head to their fields.

Huff, huff!

Thud, thud.

However, with ragged breathing that didn’t match the time of day, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the street, and one might have even felt an illusion that it was the sound of horses running.

The momentum from the one running was certainly unusual.

Then…

“Sir, are you running again today?”

“You really are dedicated.”

“Keep it up!”

The farmers, used to waking up early, sent their words of encouragement toward the man whose vigorous effort helped shake off the last bits of sleepiness.

No matter how diligent one is, repeating the same day over and over can eventually lead to mental fatigue, but the sight of the man breaking the monotony was a great source of joy and motivation for the farmers.

Especially…

“Oh my, how shameless.”

“Shouldn’t you at least cover your eyes?”

“I wish my husband were like that, ho ho.”

“…Is that a man or a beast?”

The women, pretending to cover their eyes, would sneak peeks at the half-naked man, drawing vitality from the sight.

On the other hand, some men, envious of the man’s physique, would also gain a boost of motivation. In that sense, it was a beneficial phenomenon for both sides.

Huff, huff…!

The man only gave a brief nod to the farmers who greeted him, but he didn’t engage with them warmly.

It wasn’t because he was unfriendly, but because he was so focused on his exercise that he had no time to respond to them.

The farmers understood this and didn’t mind at all. In fact, one of them even shouted.

“Here, take this!”

An apple was tossed toward him.

The man didn’t even look back, catching it effortlessly, and waved his hand.

It was a sign of gratitude.

The farmer who tossed the apple wore a proud smile.

“That man is really something.”

“It’s rare to see a knight living on the outskirts of the town like him.”

“That’s true, heh.”

For three years, whether it rained or snowed, there wasn’t a day the man didn’t run. There wasn’t anyone who didn’t want to cheer him on.

Even if no one knew what his goal was…

“He’s definitely going to be someone big.”

The farmer firmly believed it.

“I swear, this year, I’m definitely handing in my resignation!”

Crunch!

The man—no, Lee Han—bit into the apple, motivating himself once again.

His goal was retirement.

He was itching to quit.

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Lee Han ran again today.

But it wasn’t just any run.

His goal was to complete a 20km run, and to do so in under an hour.

That didn’t mean he was just running as fast as he could.

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The goal was to run for one hour, maintaining a steady pace, while keeping things stable. His wrists and ankles were weighted with sandbags.

Each one weighed exactly 10 kg.

The added weight increased the burden on his body, and sometimes he would even run wearing armor.

Thud, thud.

Perhaps because of this, every time his body moved, the ground shook loudly. The strain was doubled, but instead of focusing on the weight, he simply kept moving.

The running was over, but there was still much left to do.

Huff.

On one side of the open area stood a pull-up bar.

Lee Han grabbed the bar and immediately began.

Huff!

Pull-ups.

Also known as chin-ups. He maintained a perfect form as he repeatedly lifted and lowered himself without pause.

Biceps, latissimus dorsi, erector spinae.

And countless other muscles were activated, twitching as he focused, increasing his awareness of each muscle’s movement, down to the smallest detail.

It was his body, and the muscles were his.

He had to think about how the muscles were being used, when they were most strongly stimulated, and how to utilize them efficiently—just building strength wasn’t enough.

‘Even if I can’t move like that monster in increments of commas, if I can build a body strong enough to withstand his strikes, that’s good enough!’

As long as there’s a goal, thinking and strategizing must never stop.

At some point, he added a 20 kg sandbag between his legs and strapped 30 kg more onto his back. Climbing again, he felt an even greater stimulus and muscle tremor.

Crack.

The pull-up bar wasn’t supposed to scream, but with the intensity of the high-level pull-ups continuing for an entire hour, the bar began to waver under the strain.

…Or was it? Had he applied so much force that it was about to bend?

“…I should ease off a bit, damn it.”

Even he thought he might have overdone it, so Lee Han gradually relaxed and lowered himself to the ground.

After completing 90 minutes of relentless pull-ups, sweat rose from his body like steam, and it felt as though his entire body was radiating heat.

Sweat pooled on the ground, and his muscles, squeezed to their extreme, trembled uncontrollably.

He ran non-stop, tightened his body non-stop.

This entire process was weighing heavily on him.

Even a knight, no matter how strong, could end up suffering serious strain from such intense training.

Ugh!

But even then, Lee Han only loosened his body with a few stretches and showed no sign of taking a real break.

Instead, he immediately grabbed a large log from the yard and hoisted it onto his shoulders like a barbell.

The 100 kg log alone was a huge burden, but Lee Han went a step further and lowered his posture.

Squats.

There was no better exercise for training leg strength, but it was also one of the most grueling exercises.

He held a squat position and stood up again, repeating the movement.

Soon, pain surged in his thighs, as if they were burning, but he didn’t stop.

Just like with the pull-ups, Lee Han approached strength training as if it were cardio, and did cardio as though it were strength training.

It was an utterly reckless, brutal approach—if any expert saw it, they’d probably think he was deliberately trying to destroy his body.

Thud!

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The brutal, torturous squats that lasted for 70 minutes finally came to an end, and Lee Han carefully set the log down.

As much as he wanted to just throw it away, if it broke, he’d have to go out and find another one, so instead of focusing on immediate relief, he needed to regain his composure.

“Cough!”

As he coughed, he tasted iron.

He had an internal injury.

It had been a training session so reckless it could only be called mad, so in reality, it was surprising he hadn’t been hurt worse.

No prestigious knight family would train like this.

Most would have a professional healer or a priest on standby, using family remedies or potions to heal wounds and restore physical stamina during training.

In reality, Lee Han’s training was self-inflicted torment—body-damaging self-harm.

Ignorance? No, it was simply madness.

But this wasn’t because Lee Han was crazy or thoughtless.

On the contrary…

“His recovery is ridiculous, like a troll’s.”

He did it because he trusted in his own strength.

Lee Han suddenly began eating the food he had in his backpack.

He wasn’t planning to seek out a priest. Instead, he mindlessly stuffed food into his mouth.

Munch, munch.

He chewed with intense focus.

He wasn’t just swallowing the food; he was breaking it down meticulously, absorbing every nutrient as if he could feel it in his muscles.

Here’s what he consumed:

1 kg of chicken (skinless and boiled in water). Broccoli and nuts. Boiled and steamed potatoes and cabbage.

Healthy food, pure and simple.

Of course, it didn’t taste good.

He used minimal salt or seasoning. He ate it not for taste but for health.

But even without seasoning, it was as though the food were sprinkled with rare healing potions, as Lee Han’s body…

Crack, crack.

…was being healed.

At some point, the trembling in his muscles stopped, his pale face regained color, and though it wasn’t outwardly visible, his sore knees and internal injuries healed instantly.

His recovery ability reminded him of something monstrous.

The forest-dwelling, fearsome monster, the flesh-eating ghoul.

A troll.

It was precisely that kind of recovery he was experiencing.

And it was true.

One of the monstrous traits he had gained through countless experiments from a certain spellcaster was indeed the regenerative abilities of a troll.

Of course, it wasn’t like the trolls who could regenerate limbs or reattach severed heads.

At best, he had the ability to heal quickly through nutrient absorption and possess strong endurance.

If there were any bodybuilders or “gym rats” around, they would likely envy—and even feel jealous—of this ability.

Because when he consumed nutrients, they were absorbed immediately into his body.

The nutrients turned straight into blood and flesh.

Even if he suffered external or internal injuries, he could heal them immediately, making it an ideal ability for building a stronger body.

“Whew…!”

Lee Han confirmed that his strength and the pain from his injuries had all been restored and healed. He then stood up.

He still had three hours before he needed to go to work.

In the meantime…

Swish.

Whoosh!

He began to swing his sword.

Kingdom basic sword technique.

It was a simple sword technique where you slice through eight directions, a basic move that even a child could learn.

Lee Han could now perform this technique with his eyes closed, and he could easily execute it just by imagining it. However, he didn’t even blink and made sure not to lose track of the sword’s direction or its tip.

He focused on how he swung the sword, how his body used strength, and how to enhance his power, destructiveness, and agility—all of it, he thought about it deeply.

He practiced each step of the sword technique, looking for ways to improve it.

And at some point…

His sword, a simple longsword, became so fast and sharp that it seemed to tear through the air.

Eventually, it became so fast that there was no sound from the wind it cut through, and only the silver flash of the blade was visible, indicating it was moving at all.

Flick, swoosh!

Every time he swung the sword, dust flew into the air, and the ground was marked with deep sword cuts.

And finally…

Bang!

With a powerful strike, he put all his strength into the sword, and the ground exploded like a small crater from the shockwave.

Thud.

The shockwave sent dirt and rocks flying into the air, showering down on him and dirtying his body.

Yet, despite all of this…

“…Isn’t there a way to swing it even harder?”

He still didn’t seem satisfied, frowning.

The path to retirement was long and treacherous.

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