Men Love to Make All Kinds of Excuses

'Maybe… my method of training you was wrong. Should I arrange a few more girls for him or what?'

He seriously thought, then turned to the maids and gave an order with a wave of his hand.

"Go and prepare the Rejuvenation Herb. He'll need it to recover."

"Yes, Lord!" the maids replied in unison, quickly retreating.

"9995… 9996… 9997…"

"9998… 9999… 10000…"

"Hah… Hah…"

Liam gasped for breath, sweat dripping from his brow, his body trembling slightly under the weight of exhaustion.

"Clang!"

Once he stopped, he was so tired that he couldn't even firmly grab his sword as it dropped down, making a loud sound.

"Thud!"

Liam sat on the ground, breathing heavily, as he felt that he had never been so tired before—not in this life or the previous one.

'Damn! That old geezer… almost killed me.'

He cursed under his breath, unable to even express his hatred. He just leaned down on the tree and looked at the panel in front that appeared once he finished swinging that damn sword 10,000 times.

Honestly, even he was surprised that he could pull it off in one sitting. Maybe the recent increase in strength made it possible—who knew?

[Ding!]

[You have successfully completed 10,000 swings of the sword.]

[Congratulations! The Unstoppable Quest: 'I Can Do It 10,000 Times' has been completed.]

[Rewards: Strength +10, Endurance +10, Agility +5, Perception +5, Trait – Sword Body (Lv. 1), Skill – Battle Rhythm (Lv. 1)]

[Sword Body (Lv. 1): Sword Affinity +10, Attack Speed +5%, Pain Resistance +10%, Stamina Recovery +5%.]

[Battle Rhythm (Level 1): In the heat of combat, the body finds its tempo. The longer the rhythm holds, the faster and smoother the movements become.]

[Note: You can increase the level of traits and skills by practicing regularly, consuming treasures, or using other available means.]

—

[Name: Liam Cromwell]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 19]

[Title(s): None]

[Affiliation: House of Cromwell (Duke's Heir)]

[Alignment: Chaotic Neutral]

[Class: None]

[Trait – Moonlit Physique (Lv. 1), Sword Body (Lv. 1)]

[Attributes:]

Strength: 16 + 10 = 26

Agility: 15 + 5 = 20

Endurance: 6 + 10 = 16

Intelligence: 8

Perception: 5

Charm: 11

Mana: 0

[Skills:]

[Basic Swordsmanship] – Lv. 2

[Battle Rhythm] – Lv. 1

[Noble Etiquette] – Lv. 1

[Horse Riding] – Lv. 2

[System: Unstoppable]

[Quest Completion: 2/3]

—

The moment the prompt from the system finished, Liam felt his whole body refresh at an alarming rate. Suddenly, his extreme fatigue completely disappeared, followed by a rush of strength that made him almost feel like Superman.

He felt like he could kill his previous self with one punch.

"Calm down!"

Liam hurriedly controlled the divergent thoughts that sprang into his mind as soon as he felt himself growing stronger so quickly.

After all, this world wasn't his previous one, and although he was stronger than before, his power was only physical, and he had no way to properly channel it yet.

As far as he knew, in this world, power systems were divided into tiers from First to Tenth. This was because of the presence of multiple classes throughout the world.

In this world, mages weren't stronger than knights, nor were other classes like summoners, berserkers, etc.

In fact, there was no real distinction between classes like in a game, and it was even possible for one person to hold multiple ones—only it wasn't advisable.

For example, the protagonist of this novel, The Return of the Emperor, was a magic knight versed in both physical and magical methods.

His secret technique, Helios Wrath, was truly one of a kind—something he inherited from his fallen empire, the Helion Empire.

'Only, that was also the reason why his empire fell.'

Liam smiled, remembering the plot of the novel.

Since there were all kinds of classes in this world, of course, there were also god-level classes. And the reason why the Helion Empire fell from its throne was precisely because of its secret technique.

Apparently, the Sun God, Zarion, didn't like anyone having authority over the power he controlled.

'Anyway, I don't need to think about these things. First, I need to become a mage fast and stop that geezer from being reckless.'

Liam shook off his thoughts, smiled, and stood up from the ground as if nothing had happened. All the exhaustion from swinging that sword 10,000 times had already disappeared after he received the reward from the system.

"See his smile? How happy is he after completing the challenge? And you still say it was a misunderstanding?"

Just as Liam was about to return to his room to take a bath, he suddenly heard a quiet whisper from afar.

It seemed that after his perception stats opened up, his ability to hear things had improved.

So, when Liam turned around, he saw Duke Edward at the gate, and his mom Emma and Fiora behind him, looking at him with admiration. He noticed his mom quietly whispering something to Fiora, who looked stunned and confused.

"Let me tell you something. Although he is my son, the rumor outside that he is a useless dandy isn't wrong."

Liam heard his mother's words and unconsciously twitched the corner of his mouth.

Why was his mother slandering him all of a sudden?

"Do you know how much we tried to train him? But no matter what we do or say, he never listens. He has no interest in training or meditation. He just wants to goof around."

Mother Emma went on fully slandering her own precious son without batting an eyelid.

"However, suddenly, he managed to train like crazy. Even his father only asked him to swing that sword a thousand times, but he did ten thousand times anyway, and he is even smiling.

Do you really think it's because he suddenly wants to train?"

Mother Emma asked with a serious look, causing Fiora's heart to skip a beat.

"But… L-Liam and I only met a few times, and it was I who asked him to kidnap me at my wedding."

Fiora couldn't help but protest while fidgeting nervously, grabbing the folds of her dress with trembling fingers. She couldn't help but bite her lips and look at Liam's figure from afar in confusion.

'Does he really like me?' she thought.

Why was she completely oblivious? And he clearly wanted to kick her out before. So, she was having a hard time believing Mother Emma's words.

"Tch… that's where you fail, stupid girl."

Seeing her getting conflicted and still not believing her words, Emma slapped her forehead exaggeratedly.

"Men like to make all kinds of excuses and don't make them obvious. Tell me one thing, when you asked him to kidnap you, where was he?"

Mother Emma asked in a whisper like a girl ready to gossip.

"Umm… I believe it was at the Golden Griffin Inn," Fiora answered, not understanding why she was asking that.

"And who owns that Golden Griffin Inn?" Mother Emma suddenly asked with a smile.

"My father… wait…"

Fiora suddenly understood Emma's thoughts and widened her eyes as if realizing something.