30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 128

“...Wow.”

A girl with striking golden hair, as if spun from fine threads, and vivid blue eyes let out a small exclamation.

Thud! Boom! Thud-thud-thud!

“How is it even possible to do that while holding something like that?”

[Indeed....]

The two—one a living girl, the other a ghost—were completely stunned.

The girl and her ghostly companion had stopped by their neighbor’s house to greet the owner, who had finally returned after being away for over two weeks.

The girl had gone out of her way to tidy up her usually unkempt hair and even put on makeup for the occasion, excited at the thought of meeting and possibly chatting with him.

...She even secretly hoped they might have dinner together.

However, the neighbor, whom she was seeing for the first time in two weeks, had a rather unexpected request for her.

Her reaction to that request was:

“What?!”

It was a somewhat foolish response, but honestly, who wouldn’t react like that after hearing such a request?

Thud!

“He lifted it again. That thing.”

The girl, Irene Windler, couldn’t help but question the physical feasibility of lifting that object she had created herself.

A disk of compressed water.

It was roughly the size of a bull. No, calling it a disk at all was a misnomer. It was more accurate to describe it as a massive lump.

At first glance, it might appear light since it was made of water, but Irene, the one who had crafted it, knew better.

‘How many times did I compress that to get it into that shape, and yet he lifts it so easily....’

She had compressed the water of a flowing river more than twenty times to form it. This meant that its actual mass was far greater than it appeared.

The process had consumed half of her magical power—an amount that would be overwhelming for most mages. Considering that her magical reserves were double those of a typical mage, the feat was even more shocking.

The water lump was a marvel of magic, weighing 800 kilograms per piece. With two of them combined, the total weight came to 1,600 kilograms.

And yet....

“Phew, can you make it heavier?”

“A-Are you sure?”

“I can still manage.”

“.......”

The fact that the weight wasn’t even close to his limit left Irene utterly speechless. The idea that it felt “too light” was more surreal than the water itself.

‘He wasn’t exactly normal before, but now it feels like he’s become even less human....’

What had happened during those two weeks?

Irene’s curiosity grew.

“I’m sorry for bothering you with such tedious requests. I should’ve offered you a meal or a gift in return first....”

Perhaps worried he’d inconvenienced her, he looked genuinely apologetic. Irene quickly shook her head to reassure him that wasn’t the case.

“It’s fine! ...But dinner does sound nice.”

“I’ll treat you to something great next time.”

“Hehe.”

Thud!!

As the weight increased again, the ground beneath him caved in slightly.

Each lump now weighed 1,000 kilograms.

Moreover, the bar supporting those water weights had to endure their immense mass, bringing the bar’s weight to an additional 300 kilograms.

In total, the barbell now weighed 2,300 kilograms.

“Add another 700 kilograms.”

“.......”

Now it was 3,000 kilograms.

Irene’s jaw dropped once more as he casually...

Crack!

...lifted the colossal barbell.

He looked like he was exerting some effort, but still...

“----.”

He began performing squats.

Three tons.

He completed 10 sets of 30 reps.

“.......”

[Suddenly, I’m convinced that the pyramids were built by humans.]

“...Me too.”

Watching this, they were certain the pyramids must have been built by humans.

However, they felt the need to make one correction:

‘Our instructor could probably build a pyramid by himself.’

With near-religious conviction, Irene stared in awe at the man she admired—not just a strongman but...

‘Heracles seems like a more fitting term.’

Ssss...!

She watched the living embodiment of Heracles, his muscles dynamically rippling as though alive. Unconsciously, her lips parted as if she were salivating.

...Am I just really hungry?

Ihan noticed the young mage’s subtle drool from the corner of his eye and thought to himself that perhaps he shouldn’t work out for so long.

‘Hmm, next time I’ll just call that magic slave kid instead.’

With a mix of guilt over bothering a young girl who should be out having fun and a resolve to buy her a nice dinner since she seemed hungry, Ihan resumed his barbell squats.

Apologies were apologies, but when the opportunity to train presented itself, one had to seize it!

Lift!

Hoo!

Ihan mentally roared as he hoisted the water barbell.

It was the signal to activate [Diamond Body] instantly. In 0.5 seconds, his entire body was reinforced.

However, since he wasn’t yet fully proficient, the activation sometimes stretched to over a second. When that happened—

Creak!

...His body would scream in protest.

“Ugh.”

Fortunately, his body was durable enough to endure “this level of weight,” and he still felt it was manageable.

The real problem, however, was...

...Dizzy.

Repeatedly activating [Diamond Body] during such strenuous exercise was taking a toll.

Throb!

A sharp pain ran through his head.

Using [Diamond Body] even once required a considerable amount of mental focus. Reinforcing his body like armor might sound simple, but in practice, it was anything but.

In fact, it was one of Ihan’s most complex techniques. Combining it with exercise was...

...Like riding a unicycle on a tightrope while carrying an angry zebra on my back.

The sheer amount of focus required was overwhelming, leaving him lightheaded and constantly on the verge of making a fatal mistake.

Yet, without [Diamond Body], lifting three tons repeatedly would push even him past his limits, significantly reducing the risk of injury.

Most importantly, though...

This is the right path.

He had reached the limits of developing his body using traditional methods. It was time to challenge himself with bolder, crazier approaches.

Especially after...

Witnessing a body like his.

The recent events had introduced him to someone with a physique far beyond his own.

Maximus. A man with a divine golden body, the pinnacle of physical perfection.

His strength and reaction speed overwhelmed Ihan’s abilities in countless ways.

Would you believe someone could match the speed of an arrow with just the force of their stride?

...Unbelievable.

Yet, it was precisely because Maximus was so exceptional that Ihan found inspiration in him.

After fighting him, Ihan had gained a clearer sense of direction for improving his own body.

He would increase his muscle density—a goal he had always pursued.

But more importantly, he would focus on something deeper:

The unification of skill and body.

He would move with the precision of an arrow in flight.

He would master Split-Fist Tiger Stance to the point it became as natural as using his own limbs.

Boom!

Thud.

─This tastes amazing.