Chapter 5. Day 49 — Strength Training
“Wow, I can’t do this.”
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
Wilson, whom I had lost my grip on, rolled and rolled down the ground.
The second floor, which I had dubbed the Obstacle Floor.
After making it about halfway through, I encountered a trial.
There was a section where two fallen trees blocked both sides, forcing me to skillfully steer in an S-shaped path to get through.
The difficulty here was absolutely ridiculous.
I had already lost control of Wilson so many times that I’d lost count.
Whether the slope was too steep or there was some sort of bump in the middle, I didn’t know.
Whatever the reason, I always slipped at the exact same spot.
🙂 (: 🙂 (:
Wilson rolled down without a care for my predicament.
His speed gradually increased, and his face passed by in an instant.
“Wilson, wait!”
I hurriedly ran after the falling Wilson, but he was much faster than me.
I’d gradually learned a few tricks for dealing with Wilson when he fell.
When his angle went off, if I ran down a few meters within three seconds, I could quickly catch him and stabilize him.
But when I slipped, if I couldn’t catch him within five meters, Wilson’s speed would eventually exceed my running speed.
In other words, there was nothing I could do anymore.
After that, all I could do was pray.
“Wilson, please! Stop there!”
On the left side of the second floor’s starting point stood a large stake where I could lean Wilson against.
It occupied about one-third of the slope, so if Wilson landed there, he would come to a stop.
But what if, by some terrible stroke of luck, he slipped past it on the other side?
The first floor, with no obstacles whatsoever, was basically a highway, so he would roll all the way back to the starting point, forcing me to start over from the beginning.
“Wilson!!”
I screamed until my throat hurt, but it was hopeless.
Whoosh—
Wilson disappeared into the distant horizon in an instant.
“Haa…”
Without realizing it, I lowered my head.
After letting out a sigh, I trudged painfully back down the slope I had worked so hard to climb.
Without Wilson, I couldn’t climb the slope by myself anymore.
The magical force only allowed me to descend.
When I returned to the starting altar, Wilson was waiting for me with his back turned.
Look at this guy.
“Hey, why are you the one acting exhausted? Sure, I was the one who pushed you too hard, but who do you think is more frustrated here? You can’t act like that.”
I turned him around by the shoulders.
”
His expression seemed to say, I’m tired too. I don’t care anymore. Do whatever you want.
“I’m pissed off too! Do you think I wanted to be born without any natural strength? Who would like having such a weak body? I want a muscular body like the heroes too. I want to be packed with muscles like this. It’d be great if I could just smack you and send you rolling!”
”
Blaming Wilson wouldn’t accomplish anything.
I knew that too.
There was an obvious reason why I kept rolling down at the same spot.
“It’s because I don’t have enough strength.”
I rested my forehead against Wilson and closed my eyes.
I remembered something someone had once told me.
“Someday, a trial that cannot be overcome with wisdom alone will inevitably come. When that happens, the only things you can rely on are your own arms and legs.”
The name of the person who had given me that advice was Penthesilea.
She was the Queen of the Amazons, a hero stronger and more formidable than anyone.
And she was the first woman I had ever been able to call my master.
“Hoho, Sisyphus. What have you made this time?”
“Ah, this machine? I named it a waterwheel.”
“A waterwheel?”
“Yes. Water is constantly falling in this stream. We can convert that force into rotational power to grind flour, and if we attach the proper equipment, we can even automate a loom.”
“My word, how did you ever think of such a machine? Did Hephaestus himself visit you in your dreams? Your cleverness is unbelievable for a nine-year-old.”
I’d often been told that I was wise from a young age.
I created many inventions that helped with farming, and every time I did, my father praised me.
Clea sometimes helped me with the designs, but most of the ideas were mine.
Because of that, I often earned the jealousy of my older brother, Salmoneus.
Working with knowledge suited me, and I gradually became more immersed in it.
Unlike Clea, who was always running around the fields, once I entered my teens, I spent almost all my time reading books.
“Lord, my neighbor planted crops on my land and raised them there. Doesn’t that make them mine?”
“My lord, the recent flood changed the terrain, making it difficult to cross to the west. How should we build a bridge?”
“These wagon wheels keep breaking too quickly!”
Whenever the people of my territory came to my father with various problems, his answer was always the same.
“Ask Sisyphus.”
Strangely enough, I was able to solve all their problems.
I enjoyed using my wisdom.
“So there really was a method like this.”
“It was a good thing I asked the young master.”
“Thank you! You saved us!”
Looking back, perhaps because I was a reincarnated person, I unconsciously recalled memories of modern civilization like déjà vu.
Thanks to that, our territory developed rapidly.
With advanced technology available, the people became more motivated as well.
We managed to rise again even after the monster attack.
But Corinth wasn’t rebuilt solely through the efforts of me and the people after I became the new lord.
We received help from heroes.
“The extermination is over.”
After my mother’s funeral and inheriting the position of lord, I went down to the polis and met a hero.
She had slender limbs, a narrow jawline, and large, round eyes.
Her flowing blue hair clearly indicated that she was no ordinary person.
Above all, she had long ears that extended sideways.
That was when I first met the Amazons, the mysterious warrior race said to live hidden deep within the forest.
“Are you the lord? I heard you have seven children. You look young.”
After I explained the situation, she lightly nodded.
“A common tragedy. You have my condolences. Now, stamp this for me. I need to report to the guild that the mission has been completed, so I need the lord’s approval.”
The hero held out a piece of parchment to me.
I don’t know what I was thinking, but I refused her request.
Of course, the monsters had been exterminated.
It hadn’t been an easy mission.
The heroes had received the summons and traveled a long way to get here, fighting desperately for several days.
Even the Amazon’s face was covered in soot.
But the state of our territory behind the hero was even more miserable.
I had a strong intuition that I needed these people to help rebuild the territory, so, without even realizing how frightening it was, I slipped the seal into my pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“I cannot give you the seal.”
“What?”
The Amazon carried a huge ax that seemed completely disproportionate to her slender frame.
I swallowed nervously, hoping she wouldn’t notice, and spoke to her.
“The mission you received was to ‘protect the territory of Corinth from threats,’ was it not?”
“That’s right. I exterminated the monster that was threatening it.”
“The threat is not over yet. The wounds left by the monster’s attack will continue to torment the city. Nothing will grow in the scorched earth, and with their homes and tools destroyed, the residents will soon be left clutching their empty stomachs.”
I looked straight into her lake-blue eyes.
“If you help us rebuild the territory, I will give you the seal then. Wouldn’t it be an honorable deed for a great hero to willingly aid citizens in distress?”
“Oh?”
The hero approached me and bent down.
From a distance where our foreheads almost touched, she asked,
“What is your name, little lord?”
“I am Sisyphus, son of Aeolus.”
“Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons. What would you like me to help with?”
I hadn’t expected her to be the queen after sensing such an extraordinary presence from her.
But there was no going back now.
I decided to go all-in and push my demands as far as I could.
“First, I’d like you to repair the waterwheel.”
I pointed toward a massive waterwheel, over twenty meters in diameter, that had collapsed from its axle.
After years of improvements and development, the waterwheel had grown enormous and had become a crucial facility for flour production and waterway management.
“…What is this?”
The Amazon examined the waterwheel for a long time before tilting her head.
She had probably never seen anything like it in another polis.
After I explained how it worked, her mouth finally fell open in amazement.
“Who developed this? The blacksmith god, Hephaestus?”
“I did.”
“Oh?”
“If you need it, you can use this rod here. Using the principle of the lever will reduce the amount of force required.”
“…How fascinating. I never thought a treasure like this was sleeping in such a backwater place.”
“I don’t have any treasure to offer as additional compensation right now. I hope you’ll take that into consideration.”
“Right. You don’t have any right now.”
Fortunately, the negotiations went smoothly.
The displeasure had disappeared from Penthesilea’s face, replaced by intense curiosity.
As it turned out, she was a hero among heroes.
The guild classified heroes from Delta (D) to Alpha (A), while heroes whose strength was too great to measure were given the special Sigma (S) rank.
Penthesilea was a Sigma-ranked hero.
Heroes valued their honor, so it would have been difficult for her to reject my proposal.
Without my approval, all the effort she had put into completing the mission could go to waste.
It was a little underhanded, but it was the best choice for my territory.
“Sisyphus, what other inventions do you have?”
But for some reason, the Amazon queen seemed to take a liking to me.
Even after the reconstruction was finished and she received my seal, she ended up staying in our territory for quite some time.
After more than a year had passed, I had started calling her ‘Pente.’
Pente was incredibly strong.
Her physical strength and stamina were on another level.
Thanks to her, Corinth was not only fully restored, but we were also able to dig several additional waterways and build a new assembly hall.
“Have you ever thought about becoming a hero, Sisyphus?”
It was the harvest festival the year after we had a bountiful harvest.
She rested her chin on the top of my head and asked me.
“How could an ordinary human like me become a hero? I can’t even lift Pente’s ax with both hands.”
“But you’re friends with someone who can lift it.”
She called it friendship, but to me, Pente was my master.
During the time I spent with her, I learned many things.
It was also the period after my mother was gone and I had stopped speaking to Clea, so my interactions with a hero were a great source of support.
“Your wisdom and your tongue are weapons that no one else in the world possesses, Sisyphus.”
“I’m aware of that. You fell for my silver tongue too, after all.”
“Oh, you really are something. What if someone hears you?”
“What?”
Bonk.
Pente flicked me on the forehead.
She might have only lightly tapped me with her finger, but it hurt a lot.
“As you live, a trial that cannot be overcome with wisdom alone will inevitably come someday.”
“…I suppose so.”
“When that time comes, the only things you can rely on are your own arms and legs. So…”
As though covering the spot on my forehead where she had struck me, Penthesilea left a light kiss there.
“When we meet again, make sure you’ve become a stronger man.”
Was that an Amazonian farewell?
“Next time?”
“Yeah. If I stay here any longer, I feel like you’ll end up growing taller than me.”
Following the nature of heroes, who wandered from place to place on adventures, Pente left Corinth the next day.
“To put it simply, Pente was nagging me to exercise. And I’ve been ignoring her advice all this time.”
🙂
Perhaps Wilson found my story worth listening to, because he had gradually rolled over and was now grinning brightly.
“I can’t just keep stupidly crashing into things.”
I need strength.
I need to build my muscles.
I looked around and found exactly what I needed.
Vines.
The plants that grew here were sturdy enough to tie down a boat if several strands were twisted together.
They were also long enough to make perfect ropes.
I wove the vines into a net, secured Wilson inside it, and hung the rope from one of the altar’s tall pillars.
Then I tied the remaining end around my body.
A makeshift gym was complete.
Now I could use Wilson’s weight to add resistance to my body whenever I exercised.
“Good.”
I positioned myself and took a stance.
I stood with my feet shoulder-width apart and slowly lowered my hips.
“Hnnngh.”
Squats. Begin.
[Name: Sisyphus]
[Strength: 15 (+5)]
[Stamina: 8 (+3)]
[Strength enhancement has begun.]
[Strength training for each body part has begun.]
[You have realized the training method ‘Squat.’]
[Gluteus maximus has increased by 1.]
[Quadriceps have increased by 1.]
[Hamstrings have increased by 1.]
[The supporting power of the skill ‘Endurance’ has increased.]
