A full year.
That was all I gave myself.
A full year to rebuild a body that had once carried the weight of a transcendent martial artist… and now struggled to do ten push-ups without wheezing like a broken bellows.
I lay flat on my back on the cold stone tiles of the training hall, staring at the ceiling while sweat dripped into my eyes.
"…Still trash," I muttered.
My arms were trembling. My legs felt like someone had stuffed them with wet sand. My shirt clung to me in the most undignified way possible.
In my past life, this level of training wouldn't even count as a warm-up.
Now?
It felt like I'd just wrestled a bear and lost.
But I still smiled.
Because for the first time since regressing, the body beneath me actually felt like it belonged to me again.
Not the bloated, lazy noble brat.
Not the shell I woke up in two weeks ago.
Mine.
I forced myself up and staggered toward the window. Outside, the morning sun was rising over the Mangrave estate, bathing the gardens in gold. For a moment, everything looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
I rolled my shoulders, feeling the tightness in my muscles.
Still far from my old strength.
But enough.
Enough to go there.
I clenched my fist.
"I can't go back like this," I whispered.
If I showed up at that dungeon weak, sloppy, and undisciplined…
Master Seon Jin wouldn't even let me through the entrance.
No. He'd do something far worse.
He'd look disappointed.
That thought alone was enough to make my spine straighten.
So I trained.
Every day.
Running laps around the estate at dawn.
Basic spear forms using a broomstick I stole from a confused maid.
Breathing techniques in the dead of night, sitting cross-legged like a possessed monk while servants peeked through doors and whispered prayers.
I ate properly.
Slept properly.
Stopped drinking sugar tea like it was holy water.
The result?
My cheeks lost their softness.
My arms gained definition.
My eyes stopped looking like I was permanently five seconds away from a nap.
And apparently…
People noticed.
I caught it on the fifteenth day.
I was walking down the corridor when two servants froze like guilty criminals.
They bowed too fast.
Too stiff.
Then I passed another pair near the courtyard.
Whisper whisper.
Awkward silence.
Intense staring at the sky like it personally offended them.
"…Am I that scary now?" I muttered.
No.
They weren't afraid.
They were confused.
Daniel Mangrave, former trash noble, had suddenly started waking up early, training like a lunatic, eating vegetables voluntarily, and not yelling at servants for existing.
Of course they were eyeing me like I'd been replaced by a body double.
Honestly, fair.
By the time I reached the front gate, I already felt that weird pressure again.
That faint prickling behind my neck.
Sixth Sense.
I sighed.
"…He's watching again, isn't he?"
I didn't need to turn around.
Father was definitely standing near one of the upper windows, pretending to read documents while very obviously tracking my movements.
Subtlety was not his strong suit.
And then—
"Brother!"
A small blur slammed into my waist.
"Ugh—!"
I staggered back, barely keeping my balance as tiny arms wrapped around me like iron bands.
Seraphina.
My seven-year-old sister.
Golden hair.
Big red eyes.
Too much emotional damage packed into a tiny, adorable frame.
"You're leaving again?!" she pouted, pressing her forehead into my stomach.
I awkwardly patted her head.
"…I told you. Just a short trip."
"You said that last time too!"
"That was to the capital."
"This is worse!"
"How is a forest worse than the capital?"
"…It has wolves."
"…Fair point."
She looked up at me suspiciously.
"You're not running away, right?"
I almost laughed.
Running away.
From what?
From fate?
From guilt?
From a past life that refused to stay buried?
I crouched and met her eyes.
"I'll be back before you get bored of scolding the maids," I said.
"That's impossible," she said seriously.
"…You're right. Bad example."
She hugged me again, tighter this time.
"Don't die."
"…That escalated quickly."
"Promise."
I raised my right hand.
"I promise."
She stared at me like she was scanning my soul for lies.
Then nodded.
Satisfied.
As I straightened, that prickling sensation grew stronger.
I glanced up.
Third-floor window.
Curtain slightly open.
Yep.
He was definitely watching.
For a moment, I considered waving.
Then decided against it.
I shouldered my small travel bag and stepped outside the gate.
The guards saluted.
Too stiff again.
God, this was awkward.
Before leaving, I cleared my throat and turned back.
"I'm going on a short vacation," I said loudly, mostly for the benefit of the invisible audience upstairs. "Before the academy starts."
Vacation.
That was the excuse.
No one questioned it.
Because no one knew the truth.
I wasn't going to relax.
I was going to find the man who turned a worthless noble brat into someone who could challenge a demon king.
The forest stretched before me.
Dark green.
Vast.
Unfamiliar.
I smiled.
"…Same city. Different life."
I took my first step into what adventurers called the Whispering Veil Forest—a place rumored to distort sound, direction, and common sense.
Very on-brand for my life.
As the estate disappeared behind me, my chest tightened.
Not with fear.
With anticipation.
"Master…" I murmured.
If you're still alive.
If you're still there.
Then I'm coming back.
Not as trash.
Not as a regret-filled ghost.
But as your disciple.
Again.
The wind rustled the leaves.
Somewhere deep inside the forest…
Something shifted.
And I didn't know whether that made me excited…
…or terrified.