The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 7: The Disgrace of the House of Whitewolf (2) (Part 1)

The Trial Grounds of Frost.

Literally, it meant “the place where frost falls for a trial.”
Loosely interpreted, it was a location for practicing martial arts.

In simple terms, it was the training ground of the County—where the soldiers of the Whitewolf territory conducted physical training and military drills.

In other words, Adrian was currently at the training grounds.

That Kai’s face turned blank with confusion was understandable.
Even Serapia, who had been quietly listening beside him, tilted her head in puzzlement.

“That bastard is—”
“Sir Kai!”

Serapia cut in sharply, and Kai quickly corrected himself.

“…You mean Lord Adrian is at the Trial Grounds of Frost?”

“Yes.”

Bernard nodded immediately.
Naturally, Bernard had no reason to lie.

Which meant Adrian truly was at the Trial Grounds of Frost.

But did that make any sense?
A debauched good-for-nothing who wasted his days gambling and chasing pleasure—at the training grounds?

“What’s he doing there?”

Kai furrowed his brow as he asked.
Of course, there was only one thing to do at the Trial Grounds of Frost—training.

But he just couldn’t believe it.

Adrian, as Kai knew him, had never trained there once in the past ten years.
Not only had he never trained, he had never even gone near the place.

So what could’ve possibly changed overnight to get him to start training there?

Unless the man himself had changed, it was impossible.
And people… didn’t just change.

There had to be another reason he went to the Trial Grounds.

“He’s undergoing training.”

But Bernard’s answer left them stunned.
Even Serapia, who normally stayed composed, spoke up in disbelief.

“You’re saying my brother is training?”

“Yes.”

Bernard’s answer didn’t change.
They both knew Bernard wasn’t the type to lie.

Even so, Kai found it hard to believe.

“What kind of training is he doing at the Trial Grounds of Frost?”

It was a valid question. Adrian had zero talent in swordsmanship.
Not just swordsmanship—spear, staff, archery, you name it.

He had no martial talent whatsoever.

More precisely, his talent for Aura was utterly miserable.

So miserable, it was as if he’d been shattered from the start.
If one were to quantify his aptitude for Aura, Adrian’s would be a flat zero.

So was he perhaps talented in magic?
Not that either.

Adrian couldn’t use any form of Mana Force at all.

In other words, his aptitude for mana was also zero.

So what kind of training could someone like him possibly be doing at the Trial Grounds?

“Well…”

Bernard hesitated for a moment, a faint look of awkwardness forming on his face.

“He’s doing something so… unusual, I’m not sure how to explain it…”

“Something unusual?” Serapia asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

But Bernard didn’t answer immediately.

What kind of training could it be that even Bernard—rarely one to show emotion—looked so uneasy?

“I’ll go see for myself,” Kai declared.

And with that, he headed to the Trial Grounds of Frost, located just outside the manor.

A simple wooden structure stood over bare earth.

Inside, thick ropes connected sparse poles and logs, while heavy stones and massive timbers lay scattered all around.

Worn-out training shields and swords were hung on the wall.
Roughly stitched leather scarecrows, secured with crude belts, were stashed nearby.

Despite the bitter cold of the snowy mountains, this place was filled with heat and sweat.

[Trial Grounds of Frost]

It was the main training site for the soldiers of House Whitewolf.
As expected, a great number of soldiers were gathered there.

But oddly, they weren’t training.

“Wh-what the…”

“Is that… really happening…?”

They were just standing around, watching someone train.

Following their gaze, Kai saw one man in the midst of training.

Jet-black hair and a well-defined, handsome face—
It was Adrian Whitewolf, firstborn son of the House of Whitewolf.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

His heavy, ragged breathing was rhythmic.
Controlled, yet intense.

But it wasn’t the kind of breathing that came from training in martial arts.

“Hngh…! Hrrk…!”

It was the strained, pained exhale of someone lifting immense weight.

It was the natural result of exertion, nothing more.

In short—Adrian wasn’t doing martial training.
He was doing physical training. More specifically, he was focusing on building muscle.

And that mattered.

Building muscle was vital for a knight.
It affected the efficiency of one’s Aura.

With the same amount of Aura, one’s physical base could determine the resulting power—
From several times stronger to even hundreds of times stronger, depending on the body.

A strong body produced strong power.
That remained true even after mastering Aura.

Which is why physical training was just as essential as Aura training itself.

But still—

“Hrrrghh…!!”

…this wasn’t what they meant.

“Training” your muscles was one thing.
Completely destroying them was another!

“C-Commander… Is that even possible…?”

One of the soldiers whispered.

But Leverton, knight of House Whitewolf and their physical training instructor, didn’t answer.

More accurately, he couldn’t.

“!!!!!!”

The shock Leverton was feeling was closer to pure disbelief.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Just look at Adrian, lifting that utterly ridiculous barbell.

He was training his lower body while carrying a barbell that looked to weigh at least 300 kilograms on his back!

‘Even I wouldn’t dare try that weight…!’

Translatin_Otaku

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