Two hours! Another run. It sounded simple enough—except this time, Ats had to climb up and down hills over rough, uerrain. To make it even harder, he had to carry his spear the eime. No matter what, he couldn’t let go of it.

  Taking a slow, deep breath, he steadied himself, feeling the weight in his chest, and then grinned. “Alright!” he muttered, g his teeth as he began his run, with Kurogasa following close behind.

  How should he carry the spear? Across his shoulder? That seemed manageable at first. He jumped and maneuvered over rocks, his grip firm. But the uphill stretches were brutal, making everything twice as difficult. He felt the strain quickly—but he pressed on, quering the first steep ine.

  Now, it was time for the dest. Let’s go!

  The two hours felt like four—or even five—but finally, the time passed, and Ats pleted the training. Exhausted, he trudged bap and colpsed onto the chair, utterly spent.

  Two cooks approached, him water and a meal, but he shook his head, deg to wait for the others to join him. He leaned back, catg his breath. The training wasn’t over yet—he still had another four-hour session ahead, after a one-hour break.

  A few mier, he heard the faint sounds of others returning, but he paid no mind. Instead, he focused o his stamina, closing his eyes to rest. Until… What was this?

  An ued sensation washed over him, not an arm of danger, but a sudden warmth and fort that seemed to seep into him. It brushed against his cheek, refreshing him in an instant and stirring him awake.

  He opened his eyes a a soft hand on his cheek. Turning to his left, he saw Lyrassa sitting beside him, smiling warmly.

  “My Lord… you’ve been training so hard.”

  Ats nodded and closed his eyes again, allowing himself to sink into the calming effect of her touch. The floral st from the flowers woven into her hair filled the air, melting away his fatigue.

  But… was this allowed? Kurogasa had explicitly told him not to take any healing potions during training.

  Opening his eyes, Ats gnced over to where Kurogasa stood. The Ninja Rat simply gave him a respectful bow, signaling his approval.

  So, this is okay.

  After a moment, Ats opened his eyes.

  “My Lord… your feet…” Lyrassa murmured.

  “It’s okay,” he replied. “I e.”

  She nodded quietly, then added, “But… I sense your mind is troubled.”

  Troubled? he thought. By what?

  “If you want to talk… I’m here,” she ently.

  Ats frowned slightly, trying to uand what she meant.

  A troubling thought?

  He sifted through his mind, trying to find the source.

  Then, suddenly, an image of Kurogasa fshed in his mind. He straightened instinctively, realizing what had been lingering at the edge of his thoughts.

  "Lyrassa..."

  “Yes, my Lord?” she replied softly.

  “Tell me… do you think a Beastkind Rat smile?”

  “Huh?” Lyrassa looked momentarily fused, then giggled. “My Lord… anyone express themselves. With a smile, ughter, tears, er.”

  Ats sighed. “It’s just… every time I look at Kurogasa, I feel like he’s smiling, and it’s been nagging at me.”

  Lyrassa houghtfully. “Master Kurogasa does often smile after speaking with you. He’s very friendly and humble. I’d say he answers almost every question warmly, and usually with a smile.”

  “So… it’s not just in my head, then.”

  Still, the image of Kurogasa’s persistent smile lingered, an odd detail that somehow kept nudging at the back of his mind.

  The closeness between Ats and Lyrassa didn’t go unnoticed. A few nearby troops even paused mid-meal, staring openly.

  “Hey, eat properly,” one of their friends hem.

  “I’m just touched,” the other replied, eyes glistening. “Our Lord is so humble and approachable with everyone.”

  “True,” another nodded. “It’s rare to see a Lord that friendly. He evehem call him by name.”

  “Where is my food? I need my food!” came a sudden shout from the other side of the camp, startling Ats.

  He turoward the makeshift kit, where two or three people had gathered, looking frustrated.

  “What’s going on?” Ats asked as he approached, causing them to back up and bow in respect.

  “Is there something I help with?”

  “My Lord, we haven’t gotten our food yet,” one of them expined.

  The cooks quickly apologized, looking nervous. “My Lord, five us. We did prepare extra portions.”

  Ats raised an eyebrow. “How many did you make?”

  “Fifty portions, my Lord,” one of the cooks replied.

  “Fifty portions? And we only have… what, 22… and 2, and 5… 29 people here?” Ats murmured, trying to figure out the number.

  “My Lord, five us, but…” the cook trailed off, gng to the side. Ats followed their gaze and saw Karian sitting fortably, with a pile of meal boxes stacked o him.

  Ats sighed, rubbing his temples. "Karian..."

  “My Lord, five us,” one of the cooks said apologetically. “We thought ten portions would be enough for Mr. Karian.”

  “It’s alright,” Ats replied calmly. “Give my portion and those for Lyrassa and Kurogasa to the others.”

  “But, My Lord—” the cook began, looking ed.

  “My Lord, no, we won’t take your portions,” one of the troops said, shaking his head. “We’re fihout eating.”

  Ats pulled out a bag from his Iory. “Then I’ll have these. A bag full of carrots. Just wash them, and I’ll make do.”

  The cook protested, “My Lord, you’ve trained hard today. You need more than just carrots! We’ll prepare something for yht away.”

  At that moment, the atmosphere grew tense as a figure approached. The troops fell silent, their posture rigid.

  Ats turned and saw Manna walking toward them. Without a word, she extehree meal boxes to the troops, her gaze cold.

  “Take these and go far from here,” she anded in a tone so firm it left no room fument.

  The three troops, visibly intimidated, accepted the boxes with trembling hands and quickly bowed before hurrying away.

  Manna turned without another word and walked away.

  Ats had arranged for extra portions for both Karian and Manna earlier, so it seemed she had given up her own meal for the troops.

  Ats sighed, realizing that even small issues like this required his attention.

  This is a remihat I o uand my subordinates better. They’re living beings, not tools.

  After lunch, he moved on to the raining regimen.

  2 Hours: Bodyweight strength training, including push-ups, lunges, and core stability exercises, all with 10kg weights strapped to his wrists and ankles.

  The session was grueling, every movement pushing his endurao the limit. By the end, he realized just how far he’d surpassed normal human limits.

  He was level 44, damn it! This was far beyond anything a regur person could ever hope to handle.

  Up - 2 Hours: Refle and cooldown stretg, fog specifically on grip ditioning for his spear.

  [Your Strength has increased by 1 point.]

  Ah, eveer—it was a direct Strength point increase, not just from leveling up. Damn, he was thrilled to see that notification!

  And so, the first day of hellish training on this hellish isnd was finally over!

  The entire group gathered, ready to return to Gacha Haven. Some had injuries, some had fainted, and a few had given up halfway through. But the rule was absolute—no one was allowed to use healing potions or healing magic to recover. They’d have to bear their aches and exhaustion until the day.

  They returo Gacha Haven, taking turns to up and prepare for dinner and an evening of camaraderie. Ats had anized a cozy routine for them—plete with a mini stage, a big s, and plenty of space for everyoo unwind.

  They watched a movie together, sang karaoke, ughed, and shared stories, the exhaustion of the day slowly melting away in the warmth of panionship.

  They had e here to train, to prepare for battle, but there was no rule against having fun.

  After a while, Ats stepped up onto the stage, smiling as everyouro him with excitement. It was time for his Gacha Pull!

  He tossed 10 standard tickets into the air. The tickets spun and began glowing one by one as they took on their ranks: brown, brown, brown… purple.

  “Yeay!” The crowd cheered as the first purple appeared.

  Brown, brown… purple again.

  “Yeay!”

  Finally, the st one—purple!

  The result: 7 Rank-B items and 3 Rank-A.

  “Yeay!”

  Not a big jackpot, but everyone cheered anyway, sharing ihrill of the pull.

  ***

  (Author’s Note:)

  Hey! Dive into beautiful character art and stunning se illustrations—all free at patreon./ganteo.

  Plus... extra chapters await—for the price of a cup of coffee... heheh!