Reinhardt was the knight's attendant with the weakest constitution in the Knight Training Camp.
He was sickly and frail, short and small. While others his age could already shoulder a full set of Knight Armor and sprint around the training camp, he struggled to even lift a single Steel Boot.
If the drill instructor hadn't admired his tenacious spirit, he would have been forced to pack his bags and get sent back to his rural home at the age of fifteen.
「Radiant Calendar 1442, November.」
The Abyss Legion was invading all corners of the world. The Steel Knight Order was commanded to station themselves at Frostfire Fortress to assist the Hearn Territory Guard in defending the Northern Empire.
"Reinhardt, you won't be joining the mission this time."
The boy was small and slender, with black hair and black eyes. He wore a standard-issue, brown, coarse-cloth tunic from the training camp, cinched at the waist with a hemp rope. His black leather boots were dirty and torn. With some effort, he helped the Knight don his Armor, then took out a cloth to carefully wipe away the bloodstains on its surface.
"Understood."
Compared to the boy, the Official Knight, Elias, had the stature of a mountain. He was nearly two meters tall, with bulging muscles and a robust Physique.
He sensed the disappointment in the boy's voice. Patting his shoulder and revealing a mouthful of white teeth in a hearty smile, he said, "This mission goes deep into the ice fields. It's a long journey. Don't be discouraged. Keep working hard. I have high hopes for you."
Although Elias had been gentle, the pat on Reinhardt's shoulder nearly sent him sprawling onto his butt.
This was the Physique and strength of an Official Knight. An ordinary person would be completely unable to withstand it, let alone a "sickly weakling" like him, who was famous for it in the training camp.
It wasn't just about a powerful Physique. For a knight's attendant to be promoted to a true Knight, they also needed to train painstakingly to coalesce 'Power'!
This was an Extraordinary Power unique to Knights, born from the fusion of one's physical body and Spiritual Power!
Courage! Tenacity! Wisdom!
There was no shortage of talented, powerfully built followers in the Knight Training Camp, but only those who possessed at least one of these three qualities had a chance to coalesce 'Power'.
The only reason Reinhardt was allowed to stay in the training camp was his three years of consistent, arduous training. Regardless of winter or summer, the Knights of the Steel Knight Order would always see him on the training grounds every morning.
Long-distance running, crunches, push-ups, one-handed handstands, swinging a twenty-jin Iron Sword...
Although the Knights had never seen such a strange training method, little Reinhardt's tenacious, never-give-up spirit was something they could all respect.
The winters in the Northern Lands were bitterly cold. The howling wind whipped up the snow, and Reinhardt's thin clothes offered little protection, leaving him shivering uncontrollably.
But at Frostfire Fortress, Knights training bare-chested in the biting wind and taking cold-water baths was just a daily routine.
After seeing Knight Elias off, Reinhardt prepared to return to his tent to warm himself by the fire. He hadn't gone far, however, when three boys who had been lying in ambush behind the stables jumped out, shoving him and aggressively blocking his path.
"Poor little Reinhardt, you don't actually think Lord Elias admires you, do you? I bet you when you get kicked out of the training camp next year, that great lord won't even give you a second glance!"
The boy shoving Reinhardt was about the same age as him, but he was built like an ox. He grabbed him as easily as one would grab a baby chick.
The jealous Big-nosed Robie, along with his two bootlickers, Ober and Lupu. Reinhardt would recognize those three bastards even if they were reduced to ash!
They were from the same batch of training camp followers from the Radiant Calendar year 1439.
Ever since he had arrived, these three bastards had bullied him relentlessly: stealing his pants while he bathed, deliberately dumping a handful of salt in his soup at mealtimes, snitching on him to the drill instructor...
This was especially true since the training camp's drill instructor and Knight Elias admired Reinhardt's tenacious spirit, believing he would one day coalesce Power.
Robie, a young noble master born with a silver spoon in his mouth, was jealous to death! All that praise and recognition should have been his!
But now, it had all been stolen away by Reinhardt, a country bumpkin.
So, they fought from time to time. Reinhardt even remembered the time last year when he broke Robie's nose with a single punch, and the guy just sat on the ground crying for his mommy.
This was the Knight Training Camp, directly under the Radiant Empire's Steel Knight Order. Birth and status were useful, but they were nowhere near as direct as muscle and wits.
If you wanted to win a fight, a strong Physique alone wasn't enough! Combat techniques, a quick mind, and knowing how to exploit your enemy's weaknesses and your surroundings—not one could be missing.
Reinhardt was born with a weak constitution, but his dream of becoming a great Knight had never died!
If it doesn't kill me, I'll train to death's door!
The other students from commoner backgrounds were more or less intimidated by Robie's high-noble birth, but Reinhardt couldn't care less about that. When it came to fighting, he had never been afraid of anyone!
Reinhardt swatted away the large hand Robie had on his collar. Completely unafraid, he stared directly into the other boy's eyes and deliberately taunted, "What's wrong? Missing your mommy again?"
Those simple words hit Robie where it hurt, and he immediately flew into a rage!
His eyes went wide as he gnashed his teeth!
"Reinhardt—! Get him!"
Ober and Lupu moved to flank him, trying to grab Reinhardt's arms from behind and pin him. But they had been fighting for three years; Reinhardt was long-since wise to the two little punks behind him.
He suddenly ducked, evading the two behind him. Planting his feet firmly, he charged forward and wrapped his arms around Robie's waist, hoping to use his forward momentum to tackle and throw him, settling the fight in one move.
Unfortunately, the difference in their builds was too great, and his plan failed.
As Reinhardt's arms closed around Robie's waist, a massive counter-force, as if he had run into a stone wall, made him realize things were bad.
The instant his body flew into the air, he cursed inwardly, 'Damn it! The food in the training camp is exactly the same for everyone. I really don't know how this bastard's body grows so fast. The ox at my village entrance didn't even grow this quickly!'
This proved that before one cultivated 'Power', physique and weight class were often the deciding factors in a hand-to-hand fight.
Robie staggered back two steps, planted his legs firmly into the ground, then hoisted Reinhardt up and slammed him hard onto the ground!
"KOFF—!"
The heavy slam made Reinhardt's eyes bulge. His back flared with pain as if it were about to split open, and he nearly coughed up a lung.
Seeing this, Ober and Lupu rushed over to pin him down and stop him from fighting back.
Robie hated nothing more than people calling him weak. A tall, strong training camp youth crying for his mommy after getting his nose broken—if word of that got out, he'd never be able to hold his head high in the camp for the rest of his life!
Robie's face was flushed red, his fury uncontrollable. He viciously punched Reinhardt in the face, sending blood flying from his nose and tearing the corner of his mouth!
"Do you submit?!"
But there was no fear on Reinhardt's face as he was being beaten. Instead, his expression was savage. Catching his breath, he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto Robie's face and roared in fury, "Three against one, and you think you're worthy of being a Knight?!"
Robie pressed his knee into Reinhardt's chest, blood rushing to his head. His eyes bulged like bronze bells. He was someone who cared immensely about saving face; the more he lacked courage, the more he hated people saying his character was unworthy of a Knight.
"You two, get lost! This is a personal grudge between him and me!"
Ober had curly brown hair. Ever since following the Steel Knight Order to the Northern Lands, he always had a runny nose that he could never seem to wipe clean, making him look like a dim-witted fool.
Lupu was lanky, with prominent cheekbones that made him instantly recognizable. He gave off an air of cleverness.
Ober obediently let go of Reinhardt, but Lupu hesitated. He lowered his voice and leaned in close to Robie.
"Boss, did you forget about last month..."
Indeed, last month Robie had come looking for trouble with Reinhardt by himself. The result was a lost front tooth, a broken nose, and a black eye on his right side that took half a month to fade.
"Get lost! Last month was last month! With Lord Carlos's guidance, I refuse to believe I can't beat him into submission!"
While he was distracted, Reinhardt saw his chance. He pulled a sharpened wooden stick he had hidden up his sleeve long ago and, with a backhand motion, stabbed it viciously into Robie's thigh!
Being afraid of pain and obsessed with saving face were Robie's greatest weaknesses. They had been fighting for three years, and this was a point Reinhardt had grasped with absolute certainty.
Sure enough, Robie cried out in pain and shot up as if electrocuted, reaching down to pull the wooden splinter from his leg.
How could Lupu, who was the only one left and not much bigger than Reinhardt, possibly hold him down? Reinhardt shot up, tackled the unprepared Lupu, and viciously punched him in the face!
At the same time, a crisp sound that only he could hear rang in Reinhardt's ears.
DING—!