The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 13: The Wastrel Has Changed (2) (Part 2)

…Not that I was one to talk.

Still, I could clearly see Kai’s intense determination not to lose to me, even if it killed him.

And so, our back-and-forth match continued for several more hours. Even the soldiers watching us started leaving one by one, exhausted from just spectating.

Before long, only Kai and I remained in the [Trial Grounds of Frost], still running.

……This wasn’t going to end like this.

The [Trial Grounds of Frost] were too small for a proper match.

We needed a harsher environment to settle this.

I subtly turned my head and looked at Kai.

And at the same moment, Kai looked at me—he must’ve been thinking the same thing.

Without a word, we both sprinted out of the trial grounds. Expanding the stage to encompass the entire [County], we kept running.

Snow piled high on the snowy fields clung to our ankles, rapidly draining our stamina.

The biting cold froze the muscles in our legs.

Just like that—

A full day passed.

“They’re… still running?”

Serapia looked less shocked and more utterly dumbfounded.

Of course, she had heard yesterday that Adrian and Kai were racing each other.

“Are you saying they haven’t slept?”

“That’s correct,” Bernard nodded slightly.

Which meant Adrian and Kai had been running all day.

It wasn’t a metaphor. Literally, all day.

If you counted by time, it had been about 21 hours—close enough to call it 24. Either way, it was far beyond normal.

“N-no way… What even…”

Serapia looked as if she might lose her mind.

More than anything, she was seriously worried they’d harm their bodies.

Especially Adrian. Her concern for him was far greater.

He hadn’t exercised even once in the past ten years.

Lately, she’d heard he had started training hard.

But still, it had only been about ten days.

Was Adrian pushing himself too far?

She was worried… but also, deep down, a little happy.

‘He’s really changed…’

Since Adrian returned to the family, Serapia hadn’t had a proper conversation with him even once.

Every time she tried, Adrian would avoid her.

Even though they lived under the same roof, she hadn’t even seen his face properly, let alone spoken to him.

Rumors spreading throughout the House of Whitewolf and the estate were her only source of information about Adrian.

Maybe that’s why—

‘I’m jealous…’

Just a little, she envied Kai—who got to spend an entire day glued to Adrian under the excuse of a running match.

When would Serapia get to properly talk to her brother?

Even just seeing his face properly would be enough.

It was a selfish wish, but one day, she hoped to sit down and eat with him like a normal family.

So for just a moment—

‘If I learned how to work out too, maybe I could…’

Serapia allowed herself that tiny daydream.

It had now been two days since we started running.

To be exact, I didn’t know the time.

But since the sun had risen and set twice, I could only assume it had been two days.

At some point, the packed meals I had stored in my inventory had run out.

I couldn’t use [Regeneration] anymore—but thankfully, Kai seemed to be in the same boat. His [Aura] appeared to be depleted too, since his pace had slowed dramatically.

From here on, it was a pure battle of human endurance and stamina.

“Huff…! Huff…!”

My lungs were about to burst.

My heart pounded wildly, and my blood surged to my ears, making my eardrums hum and throb.

My throat, raw from inhaling cold air, felt like an icicle, but my dry mouth still desperately craved even a single breath of frigid air.

Every inhale stabbed my lungs like an icy blade, like something was piercing through my ribs.

And yet…

“Hoo…! Hoo…! Hoo…!”

Kai’s breathing didn’t waver at all.

A perfectly steady rhythm of deep abdominal breaths.

His legs kicked off the snowy ground with flawless form—solid, without the slightest tremble.

‘This lunatic.’

He was absolutely insane.

‘Is he even human? What if he’s actually a Lich?’

A reasonable suspicion.

Even if mind ruled over matter, this was beyond ridiculous.

Especially since Kai was wearing full metal armor.

How the hell could a human run nonstop for two days straight in that?

Granted, stamina was a special talent of humankind.

Every living creature evolves to maximize traits best suited to its environment—like how Ice Trolls have superior regenerative abilities.

Likewise, humans also have traits unique to their species.

And that’s [intelligence]… and [stamina].

Intelligence needs no explanation. And human stamina—far from average—was outright superior to that of any other living creature.

Not just competitive—overwhelmingly superior.

Which is why I never needed to use Predation to steal stamina-related traits.

All I had to do was hone what I was born with as a human.

Back in the special operations unit, I once ran for six straight days during a mission, purely to survive. That’s how far human stamina could go.

I clenched my jaw and slammed my foot into the snow again.

No way I was losing.

Honestly, I hadn’t meant to go this far.

But since we were here, we had to see it through.

Kai clearly felt the same. As I caught up, he kicked up his speed even more.

And then it happened.

Krrrrrrrk—!

A sudden monstrous roar made both Kai and me stop in our tracks.

Translatin_Otaku

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