The Feast of Achievement
Munch, munch. Crunch, crunch.
Every time the plates piled high with all sorts of dishes emptied in the blink of an eye, the gazes around him filled with awe. And the one devouring that enormous amount of food was a child even smaller than the growing stack of empty plates beside him. It was no wonder the onlookers were stunned.
"...Is that really a person?"
"That hair color—surely not a demon, right?"
"Nah, the Duke accepted him."
Even as the stares directed at him multiplied, the boy paid them no mind, focused solely on his meal. The binge that had been going on for hours showed no sign of stopping.
Gulp, gulp.
"Man, this is delicious. As expected from the Valentia knights' mess hall!"
When eyes met his, the boy flashed a bright smile and gave a thumbs-up. But his jet-black hair and eyes—utterly unfamiliar—and his inhuman appetite made the servants flinch and look away every time.
Of course, Tiny didn't care a bit.
Almost full now. Just a little more!
It had been three full days of this routine at every mealtime—not so much eating as shoveling food into his gut. No matter how tasty, consuming this much was labor in itself. Fortunately, his body, already half-monstrous, broke down the endless chewed masses into energy in seconds.
And in that process, over just three days, the boy had grown about 5 cm taller.
Sure, he was still small for his age, but the real marvel wasn't the visible growth—it was the changes inside.
Crack, crunch.
Muscles and bones compressed in real time, becoming even more elastic and sturdy. His heart, brain, and abdominal organs brimmed with tough resilience and vitality, surpassing human limits.
Finally, as the mountain of food on the table vanished...
"Urp."
...It was complete.
Thud.
Just stomping lightly sent vibrations rumbling everywhere, drawing a sly smile from Tiny.
The third stage of his Nian Ti secret art's body refinement was done. A weight nearly ten times his apparent size, now backed by perfect elasticity and muscle power to wield it fully.
More precisely, eight times? Yeah...
His newfound ability to gauge his body's volume and density precisely came courtesy of the 'gravity' attribute.
Thanks to that oddly warped power, he'd half-expected this exact limit. Of course, such heaviness could cause issues in daily life—like crumbling weak floors.
Eh, doesn't matter now. Actually, better this way.
The Mana Body infused with gravity mana lightened his weight the instant his will stirred. Precisely one-eighth.
"Hoo."
Now his build matched his mass perfectly. Yet with enhanced strength and elasticity intact, he felt almost weightless.
Let's test it...
Hop.
Bam!
"...Oof!"
A casual leap over the table had smashed straight into the ceiling.
Thud.
"Ow, my head..."
He hadn't even used mana—what the hell? It was because the third-stage body was fresh, and he wasn't used to handling gravity yet. But the onlookers didn't know that.
Plus, in the Valentia knights' mess hall, servants saw 3-4 meter jumps all the time, so it wasn't shocking. Their reactions were sharp.
"...What the hell was that?"
"A bit dim?"
"Tsk tsk, His Excellency picked up a weirdo."
Thinking he couldn't hear, they whispered openly. Tiny's face flushed crimson.
"So embarrassing..."
Tsk. He really needed training. Assimilating a new concept bodily wasn't easy, he realized anew.
And that's not all.
Conversely, he could now multiply his weight up to eightfold on command. Keep it light normally, amp it for clashes—move eight times faster, strike eight times harder with his already monstrous body.
It rivaled the 'explosion' special attribute from his past life. Incredible results.
Of course, the Sword Emperor saw it differently.
- If you'd truly grasped gravity, you wouldn't have this rigid output.
- Mana use decides it: feather-light or mountain-heavy. That's true gravity's secret...
He sounded genuinely disappointed, but Tiny thought otherwise.
...Says the guy who can't do it himself.
The Sword Emperor's ideal was dreamy, even for a legendary Aura Master. The fixed 1/8 to 8x output stemmed from the Nian Ti secret art itself—his unconscious aggregate body drawing efficient limits.
A side effect of forcibly awakening the attribute in the Duke's staged crisis.
But an unexpected boon too.
Mana cost is negligible.
Far better than capped output. His body was freakishly reinforced, mass already beyond normal, and it'd grow heavier with realms ahead.
Roughly doubling per stage?
Gravity output would scale too. Regain past life's realm and...
How much stronger? Five stages left.
Setting Nian Ti pride aside, even assuming burst power matched peers via mana...
His wondrously enhanced body plus instant weight amp via gravity. With growth-scaling personal weapon, reaching past peaks—the output gap alone...
...How many times?
Hmm...
"...Screw it, whatever."
Math hurt his head, but he got the gist. Not just top-tier—overwhelming dominance. Even with rivals' secrets, he could crush those a cut above.
If so...
"Demon King aside, a 1st Legion Commander... Heh heh."
His fist trembled. Smashing Beast King Glutterni's skull solo felt real. Heart pounding just thinking it.
So, right now.
"Time to train."
A feral grin curled Tiny's lips.
* * *
Thwack.
Kicking off the stone floor shot him forward like lightning.
Nice!
Savoring the wind-whipping rush, Tiny circled the training ground's edge.
Explosive power in a feather-light body—miraculous speed, even to him.
Plus, max weight here...
Boom!
One step cratered the stone in his footprint, cracks spiderwebbing with shrieks.
Blue Wing's arena used expert-grade materials, yet one step shattered it.
Grk.
Wincing at the heavy impact, Tiny minimized weight again.
Whoosh!
His burst leaped several times prior speed.
That's it!
Mastering one gravity trick, Tiny repeated lightning dashes and thunderous stops.
Whoosh, boom!
...Whoosh, boom!
The boy wrecked the grounds amid deafening noise.
Onlookers, who'd watched covertly, gasped.
"That possible?"
"Can't believe my eyes. How?"
"Kid's an Expert already—shocking enough..."
"Looks stronger than you just running."
"What, asshole?"
The curious stares belonged to Blue Wing knights.
Recently, their lord had muttered offhand:
- Whoa, that kid... Broke through in three days.
Rumors spread from there. Now the source dashed before them.
Word was, this kid shone against the black mage assaulting Valentia's angel.
Knight escorts vouched, so interest in the black-haired genius peaked.
"A thirteen-year-old Expert? Fuck... What've I been doing?"
"Never heard talent like that..."
Their lord denied taking him as disciple or Blue Wing recruit yesterday, but curiosity burned hotter.
"Not lord's disciple or our junior—spar okay?"
"...Yeah, just a friendly bout."
His seclusion fueled the fever. Now this absurd dash-kick display?
"Worthy opponent now?"
"Total monster."
"Blood's pumping!"
Elite Expert+ knights gauged him sharpest, eyes gleaming.
"Kid, spar?"
"Me too!"
"Been waiting!"
"Shut it! I lined up first!"
A potential legend drew Blue Wing knights swarming post-run Tiny.
"Ah... Haha, sure..."
Perfect timing—he needed sensor tuning. But a booming voice cut from behind.
"Outta the way, you lot! Kid's got prior engagement!"
The gruff brown-haired man Tiny knew: Blue Wing Vice-Captain Drexler.
"Whoa!? Vice-Captain!"
"Cutting line!?"
"Even you can't..."
Unlike his fierce face, Drexler was kindly to subordinates. They yielded with jokes, hoping he'd yield.
But today, his gentle aura turned menacing.
"I owe him!"
Drexler swept them back grandly, beckoning the black-haired boy.
"Rematch, kid?"
"...Gladly."
Exactly what Tiny craved.
But.
"No weapons this time. I'll just defend—show me your stuff."
From menacing to soft. Tiny tilted his head.
His left-hand kite shield looked sturdy, but right was empty. Offering as a sandbag?
"...Why go that far?"
"Why? Senior guiding a junior, obviously."
"Then arm yourself?"
The giant flinched, waving it off.
"I-If I arm up, my style changes... Ahem! Enough talk!"
Raised voice, averted eyes. Classic liar trait.
Doesn't match his look.
Tiny half-guessed why.
"...Feeling bad about last time?"
Another flinch—bullseye.
Tiny sighed.
"That was my choice. Not your fault. I won the bet."
Drexler darkened, recalling.
"Still, I lost control, swung a warhammer at a kid. Unknightly. My mistake."
"I'm fine..."
"I'm not! So come at me full-force, boy! I'll help you adjust to your new realm!"
Brave shout, but he might cry if pressed.
Tough for that face...
His apology, in a way. Tiny, reluctant but compliant, grabbed a warhammer from the wall.
Think positive.
Liked the ignored weapon hanging there, thanks to Drexler.
Good weight.
Scraaaape.
Hammer head dragged stone—the familiar rasp smiled his lips.
Drexler's one-hander was smaller than past life's, but felt right now. And a two-realms-higher Superior—perfect gravity test dummy.
Eyes locked.
"If you insist... Here goes."
Light kick-off, vastly faster than before, charged Drexler.
...Been a while.
Familiar grip wrapped perfectly. Heavy feel grinned his face.
"Hah!"
Swept warhammer slammed the rippling blue-mana kite shield without mercy.
Kaaa-boooom!