“Nnngh...!”
A groan burst through my clenched lips.
My lungs swelled as though they would burst, and sweat poured down my forehead like mad.
Pressure so immense that it felt as though I would be crushed at any moment weighed down my entire body, but—
“Haaah!”
—I somehow forced myself upright.
▶Sit-Ups(3,871/10,000)
My abs ached as though they would burst.
The thighs supporting me felt as though they would snap.
This training doesn’t end with simply strengthening my body.
‘I have to keep my mind focused so Gravity Field doesn’t waver!’
My Gravity Field was a Skill that spread a force field through an area and increased the gravity within it.
The gravity normally wasn’t this strong, but I had increased its intensity by shrinking the field’s range.
Ordinarily, modifying the form of a Skill once it had been set required extraordinary skill and effort.
Once that technique became refined through experience and repetition, it was classified as a new Skill called a Derived Skill.
The Mage in Underground Prison had used a Derived Skill earlier as well.
She had maximized the explosive power of the ordinary D-grade Skill, ‘Fire Boom,’ and modified it into the D+-grade ‘Fire Boom: Explosion.’
‘In other words, narrowing the range of Gravity Field and maximizing its gravity requires immense mental strength and Mana control.’
It was an extreme task that required fine control over Mana while pushing my body to its limits.
Yet a smile kept tugging at my lips.
“Nngh! Three thousand eight hundred seventy-two...!”
Even though the pain was enough to make me pass out at any moment.
Even though my stamina was constantly surpassing its limits.
Even though the heat rushing to my head was scorching my brain into a haze.
“Hehe... Hahahaha!”
For some reason, I was happy.
Happy enough to cry.
Anyone who saw me from the side would have been justified in recoiling in horror and running away.
I had lived my entire life buried in regret.
Regretting that I had become someone whose body could not use Mana, and that because of it, I had been left with no choice but to watch Earth’s destruction helplessly.
I was a bastard who didn’t even deserve to help shoulder humanity’s burden.
▶Sit-Ups(6,411/10,000)
That had been true until my Regression.
Only after throwing away everything I had did I gain an opportunity.
An opportunity not to repeat foolish choices.
And beyond that, an opportunity to seize a better future.
“After being given something like that... what does this little hardship matter...!”
I bit down hard on my lip until the taste of iron spread through my mouth.
My muscle fibers felt ragged and on the verge of tearing, but—
“Teeeen thousand!”
Twisting my body, I somehow completed ten thousand sit-ups.
▶Sit-Ups(10,000/10,000) [Clear]
Next, I turned over, planted both arms on the floor, and raised my body.
RUMBLE!
The crushing gravity felt as though it would snap the joints in my arms.
Each time, a weak thought rose within me.
‘Should I lower the gravity intensity just a little?’
“...Not a chance!”
I immediately cast the thought aside and bent my arms.
Sweat pouring from my entire body drenched the training room floor.
-CRUNCH!
That sound rang in my ears.
The sound that had been ever-present in my life before my Regression.
The sharp crack of a Mana Capsule shattering between my teeth.
-CRUNCH!
Again and again.
I chewed Mana Capsules.
Because without them, I could no longer exist as a Player.
-CRUNCH!
Continual exposure to external Mana that was not one’s own gradually eroded physical abilities and the senses.
I was the only one who knew about side effects like those.
After all, Mana Capsules had been designed to replenish the Mana lacking in the Mage Position while preparing large spells.
-CRACK!
Even though my body had become saturated with capsules, my physical attributes had declined, stabbing headaches sometimes pierced my head, and I suffered from the side effects—
I continued using Mana Capsules.
But not anymore.
“Argh!”
The gravity pressing down on me now was gravity created by my own Mana.
I had regained a body that no longer needed to rely on such things.
So how could I not be happy?
“Teeeen thousand!”
That I could go farther.
That I could set foot once again on a starting point others only got once.
▶Push-Ups(10,000/10,000) [Clear]
Seeing Clear marked beside two entries, I rose from my spot.
“Urk!”
My muscles spasmed, and I nearly collapsed, but I hurriedly caught myself.
The last remaining item was—
▶Hammer Swings(0/10,000)
This.
Without hesitation, I picked up the hammer lying next to me.
“Hup...!”
An immense weight ran through both my arms.
The hammer, made several times heavier by Gravity Field, felt less like a hammer and more like a house-sized boulder that I had uprooted and swung.
“Haaah...! Hah!”
My breath came short.
With each swing, the recoil from the hammer’s weight ran directly through my entire body.
My shoulders creaked, my legs screamed, and my bones and muscles twisted.
CRAAACK!
The cracks in the floor gradually widened.
Whenever my mind threatened to grow hazy—
CRUNCH!
—I bit my cheek and forced myself alert.
Then I swung the hammer again.
“Four thousand... one hundred eighty...!”
I can’t do any more than this.
This isn’t something a human being should do.
At this rate, I really might die.
“Five thousand...!”
No one would say a word if I rested for a little while and did it later.
This kind of murderous training would only hinder my growth.
Giving up on what I couldn’t do was an option too.
“Six... thooousand...!”
Giving up like that.
Giving up again, running away.
Regretting what I had left behind.
“Aaaaargh—!”
Like a winter bird chewing on rotten fruit.
Living an entire life regretting choices from the past—
“Seven thousand!”
—I had enough of it.
WHOOOOSH!
The heavy hammer cleaved through the air.
My body had long since reached its limit.
It sagged like a doll whose strings had all come undone, and every joint rattled like a rusty gear.
Naturally, my hammer-swinging form was a complete mess, but—
WHOOSH!
—I was still swinging it.
Somehow, I was still holding the hammer.
Even though blood dripped from my completely torn palms and my fingers had gone numb.
“Eiiight thouuusand—!”
The hammer was still swinging.
I was no longer a bird clutching its hungry belly while thinking only of fallen fruit.
I was an insect now.
My attributes and rank were lacking compared to just before my Regression, but—
An insect that looked not toward the spring that had passed, but toward the spring that was drawing near.
An insect that would finally shed its chrysalis and spread its wings once the snow melted and the warmth of spring settled over the world.
“From now on... a lot is going to change...!”
At the very least, it would be more fun than before my Regression.
All that remained was to gain the skill to lead the way at the forefront of such a world.
Fortunately, I didn’t think I needed to worry about that.
With a hammer, both before my Regression and now—
▶Hammer Swings(9,999/10,000)
—I was confident I could swing one better than anyone.
“Teeeen thouuusand—!”
With a shout like a cheer, I drove the final hammer blow down.
KRAAAASH!
When the hammer slammed into the floor, the surrounding ground cracked and the entire area shook.
The blow was powerful enough to shatter even the reinforced flooring of the sturdy Player training room.
▶Hammer Swings(10,000/10,000) [Clear]
“I... did itttt....”
THUD!
The moment I cleared every condition, I collapsed onto the floor.
I wanted to pass out and sleep right away, but—
[‘Trial of Gravity’ has ended.]
The message that immediately appeared set my fading consciousness ablaze.
[You completed all training at ‘maximum intensity,’ without ‘a single rest,’ and without using any ‘recovery item.’]
[The trial is impressed by you!]
[Your Constitution begins to awaken.]
A mystical sensation filled my entire body along with the message.
It felt as though something beneath my skin was writhing, as though my bones and muscles were being reassembled.
SHHHHH!
Violet energy rippled and filled my body with pleasant vigor.
“It paid off to clear the trial without resting even once.”
I had undergone the Trial of Gravity before my Regression as well, but I had no choice but to stop midway and resume the trial again and again.
Because I had to chew a Mana Capsule whenever my Mana ran low.
But now, there was no need for that, so I gritted my teeth and completed the trial in a single stretch.
As a result, my Constitution Awakening was occurring more intensely than it had before my Regression.
The density of my muscles increased, hardening them to the utmost as they settled firmly into my body.
My Mana Circuit became even tougher and expanded repeatedly, while the flow of Mana became purer.
Above all—
[Your evolved body affects your soul!]
Violet starlight wrapped around my body and soul.
[Your Constitution has awakened!]
[‘Strong Bones(B)’ has evolved into ‘Master of Gravity(S)’!]
[Your attributes increase due to your Constitution Awakening.]
[Strength +5]
[Stamina +5]
[Agility +5]
[Mana +5]
“S-grade?!”
The moment I saw the evolved Constitution’s grade, a cry of shock burst from me.
Before my Regression, the Constitution I had gained through the trial had been A-grade.
▶Constitution: Gravity-Adapted Body(A)
-Resists 80% of the effects of enhanced gravity.
A Constitution that could shake off 80% of the effects of enhanced gravity.
That alone had made me strong enough to overwhelm my opponents completely, carrying me all the way to Grand Master.
“Gulp!”
I swallowed dryly and opened my Status Window.
▶Name: Shin Jaeha
▶Level: 10
▶Rank: Under
▶Constitution: Master of Gravity(S)
-Completely escapes the effects of enhanced gravity.
-Proficiency with gravity-related Skills increases dramatically.
-The destructive power of attacks increases as gravity intensifies.
▶Class: None
▶Title: Peacemaker(D)
▶Position: Warrior
▶Strength: 16(+2)
▶Stamina: 15(+3)
▶Agility: 14(+1)
▶Mana: 15(+2)
▶Luck: 8(+2)
[Attribute Points: 10]
▶Possessed Skills
-[Gravity Field] (D)
-[Swing] (E)
▶Credits: 66,700
My heart raced madly as I examined my Constitution.
It wasn’t just the grade that had risen.
“What’s this absurdly overpowered Constitution?!”
A string of insane bonus abilities worthy of the name ‘Master of Gravity’ came attached to it.
For reference, only about five people in the entire world possessed S-grade Constitutions.
Every one of them was a top-tier Player commanding respect in the League.
And I had gained a Constitution of the same grade as theirs.
I quickly pushed myself up and stood on both feet.
I was still exhausted, but perhaps because my attributes had risen from the Constitution Awakening, it was much easier to move.
“...Phew.”
Catching my breath, I spread the Mana within me outward.
[Gravity Field] (D)
A violet force field spread out.
The air instantly grew heavy, crushing down on everything around me, but—
“Ha... Hahahaha!”
—I was still light.
I had become the only being able to move freely in this heavy world.
WHOOOOSH! WHOOSH!
To test it, I gripped the hammer and swung it.
A heavy air-rending sound burst out as it slammed into the training room wall.
My body and hammer still grew heavier under gravity’s effects.
But I neither felt it nor was affected by it.
A marvel made possible by the Channel’s system, which transcended ordinary scientific common sense.
Within this gravity, I could now land attacks heavier and more destructive than anyone else’s.
FLASH!
Training dummies materialized just then.
With a grin, I approached them.
CRAAACK! CRUNCH!
Every step I took cracked the reinforced panels in the floor.
When I finally reached the training dummies, their bodies sagged under the enhanced gravity.
“Now it finally feels like there’ll be some satisfaction in swinging this.”
I gripped the hammer in one hand and lightly brought it down upon one of the dummies.
BOOOOM! CRASH!
A massive explosion erupted.
As the thick haze settled, one dummy had vanished without a trace, and a section of the training room lay shattered into a chaotic mess.
“Well. This should be enough, right?”
Enough to win my bet with my brother that I would reach Silver within a month.
The only thing left now was to gain a Class, but—
‘Classes only unlock after my rank is set.’
The real race began now.
An event that could be called the test of a Player’s lifetime.
“The Placement Exam begins!”
It was time to raise the curtain on the Rank Placement Exam.