Nox Reven finally returned.
The sun was almost setting, warm orange light breaking through the clouds while a cold breeze brushed against his face. As soon as he stepped back into the clearing, the knights who had not been named earlier rushed toward him like excited children.
"Lord gave us names!"
"My name is Gareth!"
"I'm Roland!"
"Thane!"
"Cedric!"
"Alaric!"
"Brennan!"
"Darian!"
"Torren!"
Eight swordsmen introduced themselves proudly one by one.
After them:
Lucan, the spear wielder, bowed politely.
Elara, the lady knight, smiled shyly.
The entire group buzzed around Nox like he was the local celebrity.
But Nox slipped past them and hurried straight to Raizen.
"Did you buy everything I told you to?"
Raizen asked without turning his head.
"Yes, my lord."
Nox pulled off the spatial ring and tried to return it.
Raizen shook his head.
"Keep it. Just hand me the items when I ask."
In his mind: He'll need the ring from now on anyway…
Nox nodded and handed Raizen the pack of bread.
Raizen took a single piece, then pushed the pack back toward him.
"Distribute it," Raizen said. "Everyone eats."
Nox nodded.
"You all can eat."
David was standing on top of the entire pile of goblin corpses, hands on his hips, laughing like a complete idiot.
"Hahaha! I am the lord's FAVORITE! STRONGEST! HAHAHA!"
Remi grabbed him by the hair and yanked him down.
"Stop doing that! It's embarrassing!"
Nox blinked.
"What… happened to David? Why is he acting like that?"
One of the knights whispered:
"He killed the most goblins today… and the lord complimented him once."
Nox clenched his fist.
I… I also want a compliment from lord…
Raizen ignored the chaos behind him.
He ate bread with one hand while staring at floating panels.
In his left hand was a black cube—the reward from the quest.
Panels flickered:
[10 hours remaining till Wave 10]
[David upgraded: Bronze-2 → Bronze-3]
[Remi upgraded: Bronze-1 → Bronze-3]
[Gareth upgraded: Trainee → Bronze-1]
[Roland upgraded: Trainee → Bronze-1]
…and many more.
Raizen smirked.
Everyone's at Bronze-1 now. David and Remi are Bronze-3.
We cleared up to wave 9 easily…
But next wave will have a boss mob. Need to be prepared.
He asked:
"System, how many points do I have left?"
[Available Points: 2000]
Raizen nodded.
Hmm… I can upgrade the trainee summon feature to summon Bronze-1 knights directly…
In the background, Nox was handing bread to each knight.
"Thank you for the food!"
When they saw David had only half a bread piece, they all shoved their own half pieces at him.
"Here, David!"
"Take mine!"
"Eat! Eat!"
Nox suddenly found himself holding an entire mountain of half-bread pieces.
"U-Um, I don't need so many—"
"No, take it!"
"Eat mine!"
"Eat mine too!"
Nox ended up taking a tiny piece from each half and returning the rest.
Raizen examined the black cube.
[Item Details
Name: Black Box
Use: Training Space
Time Ratio: 8 hours outside = 100 days inside
Environment filled with pure mana]
Floors:
Floor 1 – A field with mountains, boulders, trees, hut with food and water, adjustable gravity.
Floor 2 – Modern gym equipment + training field + adjustable gravity + hut with food and water.
Floor 3 – A pitch-black mental training room. Once entered, cannot leave until timer ends. Not recommended.
Raizen raised a brow.
"I should make myself stronger too."
He asked:
"How do I enter?"
[Hold the box and think of entering.
But before entering… know this:
Your troops can also grow stronger with training.]
Raizen's eyes widened.
I thought only points could upgrade them…
Hehe… if I summon many new knights and send them inside—
A panel instantly popped up.
[Maximum Capacity: 14 individuals]
Raizen glanced around.
There were exactly 14 of them including himself.
"Tsk… so you're limiting me."
He asked:
"What happens when we enter?"
[Your bodies vanish from the world and appear inside the box.
Outside, only the cube remains.]
"Only the box remains… huh."
Raizen upgraded the feature:
[Summon Trainee Knight → Summon Bronze-1 Knight
Upgrade Complete]
He immediately summoned a Bronze-1 Axe Wielder, upgraded him to Bronze-3, and gave him a name:
Rex
"Guard this cube for eight hours. Don't let anyone touch it."
Rex knelt.
"I will not let even a single insect approach, my lord."
Raizen called out:
"Knights! Come here!"
They sprinted toward him.
"WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS, MY LORD!?"
Raizen winced.
Damn… I'm going to go deaf at this rate.
"Touch the box and think of entering."
They placed their palms on the cube—
Raizen did the same—
FLASH!
They vanished from the physical world.
Inside the Black Box:
They appeared in a vast, white room.
The knights panicked slightly.
"W-Where are we!?"
"My lord!? Is this heaven!?"
"No, idiot, we're not dead!"
"Everything is so white… my eyes…"
A new panel appeared:
[Choose Floors & Assign Troops]
Floor 1
Floor 2
Floor 3 (Not Recommended)
Raizen commanded:
"All of you, go to Floor 1. Train hard."
Before they vanished, he added:
"Do NOT slack off."
Raizen selected Floor 2 for himself.
A glow enveloped him—
And the training began.
Raizen's vision cleared.
He found himself standing on a wide training field—flat earth stretching out until it met the thick line of trees surrounding the area. Beyond the trees stood a small wooden hut, smoke gently curling from its chimney.
In front of him?
Modern gym equipment.
Benches.
Weights.
Bars.
Ropes.
Squat racks.
Everything you'd see in a top gym—except placed in the middle of a forest.
Raizen's eyes widened.
"This is… insane."
A system panel floated up when he asked:
"How do I adjust gravity?"
[ Gravity Control ]
Current Level: ×1
Raizen thought for a moment and slid it to ×2.
A soft chime sounded.
[ Gravity set to ×2 ]
1 kg now weighs 2 kg.
His body instantly felt twice as heavy.
"Ugh—this… is manageable… actually."
He took a slow step forward, feeling the difference, then made the worst decision of the day.
"…Let's try ×10."
He dragged the slider straight to level 10.
[ Gravity set to ×10 ]
And then—
KRSSH—!
Raizen's entire body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
His face slammed into the dirt.
His teeth cracked.
His nose smashed.
Bones trembled under the crushing pressure.
He couldn't even lift a finger.
Every breath felt like an elephant stepping on his lungs.
"Guhhhhh—!!"
What the… hell!!
He barely managed to grit out:
"S-System—! Y-You bastard—! Put it back—! Level 1!!"
The panel blinked.
[ Gravity set to ×1 ]
All the pressure vanished.
Raizen gasped, rolling onto his back, completely soaked in sweat.
He lay there for a moment, arms spread out, staring at the ceiling of the sky.
"…Damn… I almost died in my own training room."
He rubbed his jaw, checking if his bones were even intact.
Then…
A single terrifying thought hit him.
"What about the knights…?
Did THEY do something stupid too…!?"
His eyes widened with genuine fear.
If they were crushed like him, they'd be paste on the ground by now.
But the system responded calmly:
[ Do not worry.I am monitoring them.
Their gravity automatically adjusts to a level where they will struggle,
but never be harmed. ]
Raizen let out a massive breath and dropped onto the ground again.
"Good… good."
He sat cross-legged, relief finally settling on his face.
His breathing steadied.
His body relaxed.
"…Training, huh?"
His lips curved slightly.
"Alright then."