The Gym Bro Discovers a Newbie
“Lord Ventri Ruckry, may I ask what you intend to do about the newbie?”
“Haa……”
In the study deep within the Ruckry baronial estate, Ventri stroked his signature Santa-like white beard as the butler posed the question. His face was etched with clear distress. At present, a certain existence was giving him an enormous headache.
“What else can we do? We will never retreat. You already know this, don’t you? I must protect the territory. And……” Ventri looked at the worried butler, trying to reassure him. “I believe in our knights. You know this as well. The knights of our domain are strong.”
“That…… I am aware. But that existence is far too powerful. Already……”
“I know. Even so, we must place our faith in our knights, mustn’t we?”
“……If that is what you say, my lord……”
“My lord!”
At that moment, a knight burst into the study, flinging the door open in a panic.
“The Second Knight Order and the mercenaries who went out on the subjugation…… have been annihilated!”
“What do you mean!? We lost again!? This time…… annihilation!?”
Ventri shot to his feet in shock. The previous dispatch of the knight order had not ended in total annihilation. This time they had even added mercenaries and equipped them with new gear. They had invested heavily to ensure that existence would be slain. Yet they had failed—and worse, been wiped out.
“How can this be……”
Ventri’s legs gave out. If they could not kill that existence, it would undoubtedly march straight into the territory.
“……Has its heading changed at all?”
“From what we have heard, no. It is advancing slowly in a straight line toward our domain.”
“……Damn it.”
Ventri slammed his fist onto the chair.
“What in the world are those elves thinking!? Why are they attacking us!?”
His blood pressure rising, Ventri clenched his fists in fury. The threat looming over the territory was the elves—those same elves said to have hidden themselves away from humans long ago in some unknown place. Now they were approaching the domain. Slowly, but surely.
“My lord……”
“What should we do……? This is dangerous. They are not in their right minds.”
The knight trembled. He had witnessed the horrific scene from afar through a telescope. The terror was beyond words. They looked like elves, yet if anyone tried to call them elves, it would be impossible.
“They are madness incarnate. They slaughtered the knights and even chased down the fleeing mercenaries to kill them.”
“That bad?”
“Yes…… And they are incredibly strong. Especially one among them—it withstood a combined assault from over ten knights and emerged unscathed.”
“Ugh……”
Ventri groaned. The knight’s face alone made it clear how deeply fear had taken hold of him.
“They are not elves! They are monsters wearing elven skins! My lord, we cannot stop them! Rather than this, we should abandon the territory……”
“Enough!!”
Ventri’s roar cut the knight off.
“Do not say another word! You know what kind of territory this is! Are you telling me to abandon the land our ancestors have protected for generations!?”
“B-but my lord, you must make a decision! They are true monsters!”
“I have heard enough. Leave.”
“……Understood.”
The knight bowed and withdrew.
“My lord……”
“Bax.”
“Yes……”
“When will the iron ingots arrive from the Flower Merchant Group?”
“They said they would match our supply. They promised to send them as quickly as possible.”
“Good…… Tell the blacksmiths to begin forging equipment the moment the ingots arrive. And contact the Flower Merchant Group again—ask them to send other equipment as well.”
“……My lord, instead of this, why not request aid from another house?”
“Which house? Do you truly believe any house would help us?”
The Ruckry family was a baronial house—the lowest rung of the nobility. Who would bother aiding such a minor family? Especially when the enemy possessed monstrous strength. How many knights had already died because of them?
“……There is the Legrian house.”
“The Legrian house? Haven’t they already fallen?”
“Rumor has it their eldest son returned after ten years. They say things have improved somewhat.”
“Improved or not, it won’t matter.”
Ventri shook his head. What could the returning eldest son of a ruined house possibly accomplish? Their territory bordered Monster Land and was constantly under monster attacks.
“Their situation is hardly different from ours. From what I hear, they don’t even have ten knights.”
“Still, we cannot be sure. Considering the path the elves are taking, Legrian will be next after us. So……”
“Enough. Requesting their help would be pointless.”
Ventri had never considered the Legrian house. Because it was a fallen family, he had not even bothered gathering information on them. With the elves’ appearance, he had been too preoccupied to pay attention to the rumors spreading through the land.
“Haa……”
Ventri was uneasy. It felt as though he were carrying a bomb that could explode at any moment. The once-peaceful territory was now desolate, its tension stretched so taut it could snap at any time. The people had begun avoiding going outside, and as a result the domain itself was no longer functioning properly.
‘I must find a way. To protect my territory.’
“For now, gather the remaining knights. And put in a request at the mercenary guild as well. We will defend the territory no matter what.”
“……Understood.”
“Uwaaaah! S-save me!”
Grating screamed while barely managing to block an Iron Ant’s attack.
“Ugh!”
Grating swung his sword desperately against the Iron Ant’s fierce assault. He could not afford even a moment of carelessness. The Iron Ant was trying to bite him and turn him into the queen’s next meal. There was no rest. His breathing grew ragged and strength drained from his arms and legs, yet he refused to let his focus slip.
‘Damn it…… How did I end up here……’
After enduring Albert’s hellish training, Grating had been resting to recover. But before long, Albert—who had returned from taking care of business—dragged him straight to Monster Land.
‘Hic! Th-that’s too much for today! I can’t go on!’
‘It’s fine. Just drink this.’
‘W-what is this……’
‘It’s called Bakhass.’
Bakhass! Just hearing the name made his teeth chatter. It was a demonic potion. The moment he drank it, a refreshing sensation spread through his body, erasing his fatigue and replenishing his lost stamina. That was not all. Minor wounds healed rapidly, and his body—which moments ago had been too exhausted to move—returned to perfect condition.
Seeing this, Albert declared the problem solved.
‘All good now?’
‘……’
‘Let’s go.’
And so they had come to Monster Land. Grating had asked,
‘What exactly are we doing here? Th-this is Monster Land……’
‘Farming.’
‘Huh?’
‘From now on, we’re going to hunt Iron Ants and farm materials.’
‘Materials? What do you mean?’
‘The Iron Ant’s antennae and shell are our farming materials.’
‘Iron Ants……’
Grating had always enjoyed reading monster encyclopedias because he wanted to become a knight. As the saying went, knowing the enemy and knowing yourself guaranteed victory in every battle. Just as a party that studied the strategy was better than one that simply charged in headfirst, it was wise to understand a monster’s traits, weaknesses, and patterns before fighting it. That was why he was familiar with the Iron Ants of Monster Land as well.
‘They’re known for their hard exoskeletons—monsters that even most knights struggle to defeat…… Wait, where are you going!?’
‘You take that one. I’ll go hunt deeper inside.’
Albert left Grating alone outside and disappeared into the dungeon. A single Iron Ant remained outside, and Grating was supposed to fight it one-on-one. It was absurd. There was no way he could defeat an Iron Ant with his own strength.
‘Y-you’re joking, right?’
‘Life is a documentary.’
‘What does that even…… Huh…… Huh!? A-Albert, sir! If you leave me here…… Hey! You crazy bastard!’
Albert truly left him behind. Before Grating could even process the absurdity, the Iron Ant’s attack began. The creature had been docile while Albert was present, but the moment he entered the dungeon it let out a screech and charged. It was obvious.
‘This thing was watching Albert’s every move!’
A fierce battle followed.
“Kugh……”
Each blow was heavy enough to make his hands go numb. If he relaxed his strength even slightly, those sharp mandibles would tear into his throat. He fought with everything he had just to stay alive.
“Haaah!”
Grating shoved the Iron Ant back with all his might and created distance. He could not simply keep defending.
“Huuuup……”
Grating drew up the mana within his body and reinforced his entire frame. With his enhanced leg strength, he kicked off the ground. His body shot forward like melted cheese.
‘The Iron Ant’s weakness is its joints. No point targeting its hard shell—I can’t cut through it right now.’
He aimed precisely for the weakness. The weak had no choice but to use their heads to find the path to victory rather than relying on brute force. They had to scheme and scheme again. That was the survival strategy of the weak.
‘The joints!’
Grating circled to the Iron Ant’s side, found an opening, and raised his sword high. Wind stirred—not a natural breeze, but a wind that gathered around him before flowing into his blade.
Wind Sword, First Form! Wind Blade!
The wind wrapped around his sword, forming a second blade that greatly increased its cutting power.
‘With this, I can cut it!’
Grating’s eyes filled with conviction. No matter how hard the creature’s shell was, its joints could not be equally tough! He was certain he could sever them. He swung his sword.
But—
Clang!
Unfortunately, Grating’s blade only sank halfway into the joint before stopping. He stared in disbelief.
‘……Isn’t it cheating for even the joints to be this hard?’
In that instant, an enormous impact struck his abdomen and sent him flying backward. The Iron Ant he had failed to finish off had struck him. More attacks followed. Grating tried to scramble to his feet and dodge, but the shock had been too great—his legs refused to obey.
“Ah……”
The next moment, the Iron Ant rammed him with its body. The impact felt as though his organs were about to burst out.
“Ugh……”
His arms and legs twisted at unnatural angles. He must have broken them when he crashed into the tree. Cold sweat poured down Grating’s face from the excruciating pain. Yet the Iron Ant’s assault did not end there. It would not stop until its prey was dead.
—Kieeeek!
‘Ah…… Am I…… going to die like this……? There’s still so much I haven’t accomplished……’
“What’s with that dead look in your eyes?”
At that moment, a welcome voice reached his ears. Grating lifted his head. Albert stood there, staring down at him with a sullen expression. And when Grating looked lower, he saw the Iron Ant that had been threatening him moments ago—now cleanly sliced into three pieces. A chill ran down his spine. Albert had slain the powerful Iron Ant without a sound, in an instant.
‘I knew he was strong, but……’
The gap between them was overwhelming. It felt as though Albert were an unreachable existence that Grating could never approach no matter how hard he tried.
“You’re still far from ready. You couldn’t even handle one……”
Albert shook his head. He had expected Grating to at least hold out, not to be on the verge of death like this. He was still far too weak. But that did not matter.
‘If he’s weak, I just have to make him strong.’
Humans were like iron. Just as iron grew harder the more it was tempered, humans grew stronger the more they were pushed. Training not working? Then the training intensity was simply too low. Keep pushing and even the dullest person would grow stronger. That was how he had forged his subordinates.
It was a training method with a 3% success rate. Grating could become strong enough as well.
‘Come to think of it, maybe I have a talent for teaching?’
[Isn’t that just a rain-prayer training method?]
‘Rain prayer?’
[Do you know why rain prayers have a 100% success rate?]
‘Why?’
[Because they keep praying until it rains. That’s why the success rate is 100%.]
[Your training method is exactly the same.]
[A rain-prayer training method that continues until the person gets stronger.]
Get stronger. Or die. The only way to escape the endless rain-prayer training was to become strong.
[I’ll say it clearly.]
[You have a talent for making people work, but none for teaching.]
“……”
Grating returned to the territory.
‘That really was a demonic potion.’
The Bakhass Albert had given him was undoubtedly a potion from hell. His bones had been broken, his entire body covered in bruises and fractures, yet drinking it had restored everything. The recovery was absurd. Even after that intense battle, he still had stamina left.
“Haa……”
Grating let out a small sigh. During the fight with the Iron Ant, he had realized his physical abilities were lacking. He should have been able to cut it. But he had lacked the strength to finish the job.
“……Is my strength insufficient? I trained properly……”
Another sigh escaped him. He had thought he was training diligently, yet he was still lacking. That was why the power behind his swordsmanship was halved—he could not use his full strength.
“My body…… Yes, I need to train my body. To use my swordsmanship more perfectly, I need to build muscle.”
To wield his swordsmanship to its fullest, he needed muscle. He decided he would add more muscle training to his future regimen.
But at that moment, someone overheard his determined muttering.
“You want to get stronger?”
“Huh?”
“You want muscles?”
“Ehh……? Y-you are……”
“You……”
The man—Aiden—looked at Grating and struck a pose. His overwhelming presence was on full display as his massive pectoral muscles flexed with powerful beats. Aiden flashed a grin, his white teeth gleaming brilliantly in the light, as if reflecting his inner excitement.
“Train with me.”
“……”
The muscle-obsessed gym bro had found a newbie—and was thrilled. Just another ordinary day.