Grimm: Ch. 20

---Third POV---

"You lost."

"Uh..."

The man only snapped out of the earlier fight when that cool, detached male voice rang out. The chilling sensation at his neck was so sharp he had no choice but to drop his sword in surrender.

The swordsmanship he had relied on for most of his life had been defeated by someone who didn't even appear particularly strong.

"Hmph." Kadi scoffed softly as he withdrew his saber, flicking off the blood before sheathing it. If they weren't in the military camp, the man's earlier words alone would have earned him death at Kadi's blade.

Dumbfounded, huh?

With a glance at Grimm, he strode off.

Out of Grimm's view, he smiled, and walked away.

Grimm, still processing the intense fight he had just witnessed, was amazed by the combination of Kadi's technique and movement. It was extraordinary, unlike anything he had seen before. It was his first time seeing Kadi fight seriously, but the flexibility involved... Could he ever manage that?

Imagining himself trying to emulate such moves—like performing ballet—Grimm's face immediately darkened. Maybe he should just forget about it.

Seeing Kadi walking away, he quickly snapped out of his thoughts and grabbed Bernhardt to follow. He didn't want to risk getting into trouble again.

Still, it was surprising. Someone like Kadi had actually taken action today. Normally, Kadi avoided drawing attention by engaging in such trivial matters.

"..."

Meanwhile, the entire fight had been observed by Sonnyva's father. The incredible skill Kadi displayed was likely beyond even his own abilities. Watching his son still sprawled on the ground, he resolved to toughen him up through more rigorous training.

The Diocha family, however, had suffered utter humiliation today. Though many had resumed sparring, plenty of curious gazes still lingered in their direction.

Damn it... The man glared at Kadi's retreating back.

---Grimm's POV---

"Thanks for today, Kadi. Your skills are amazing. How do you do it?" I tagged along, visibly impressed.

"It was nothing," he replied dismissively, smirking. "But you—you finally recover, and the first thing you do is drag me into trouble."

"Hehehe, well, it's not my fault they tried a sneak attack... Ow!"

Kadi narrowed his eyes at my comment. Without warning, he turned and swept my legs out from under me. I spun 240 degrees in the air before faceplanting on the ground.

I must have been too obvious with my suppressed grin. His eyes were sharp.

"So, what if I sneak attack you? What can you do about it?"

"Uh, uh... cough, cough, phooey..." I spat out dirt, at a loss for words.

"Hmph. Out there fighting, nobody gives a damn if you got hit from behind. Drop your guard and get killed? That's on you. Get up. Let's see if you've improved at all."

"Alright!"

---

Predictably, I had taken a beating during training and was now struggling to do the splits. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I cursed under my breath. Did he really train this way? Wasn't this method asking for trouble? Wasn't I risking serious injury?

Damn it!

My fresh sword wounds had multiplied, and now I regretted wearing a shirt to training. My once-clean clothes were shredded, soaked with blood.

"Not good enough. Go lower," Kadi said disapprovingly. Without waiting, he pressed down on my legs to "help" a little.

"Ahhhh! Take it easy!"

I yelped, tears welling up. Damn it, it wasn't just painful—it felt like my hips were about to snap.

"Quit whining," Kadi said, clearly amused. "This could save your life on the battlefield. Didn't you say you really wanted to learn?"

"..."

"What if I..." I began, only to be cut off by the sting of his whip striking my waist. I let out a cry of pain.

"Focus on your training and stop daydreaming," he ordered.

"Ahh, I'm beat."

After a long day of training, I collapsed onto the grass. Riding a horse earlier had been a challenge—my legs felt like they no longer belonged to me.

"Don't just lie there. Keep training." A familiar, cold voice devoid of any mercy reached my ears. It was a cruel form of mental torture.

"What?! Don't be so harsh on a kid!" I protested as I dramatically played dead on the ground.

"Kid?" Kadi sneered. "You stopped being a kid a long time ago. Get up right now, or don't blame me if I whip you!"

"Yes, sir!"

I immediately scrambled to my feet and snapped to attention, giving a modern military salute. His deep blue eyes filled with confusion, as if wondering whether something had gone wrong in my head.

After a grueling day of specialized training, I felt like I was on the verge of death. During the precious afternoon tea break, I'd barely caught my breath before Kadi made me practice backbends. Now my back ached, and every complaint would only bring tears.

Bernhardt fared no better.

His legs were jelly from squats in the morning, and in the afternoon, while I practiced backbends, he had been forced to lift heavy stones repeatedly.

Both of us, sore and exhausted, flopped down inside our tent, relieved to finally escape the "blue demon." The man was practically a devil!

Completely drained, we ate an early dinner and slept until dawn.

[Health restored.]
[Mental Energy: 298/300.]

Despite my body recovering well, I woke up early the next morning with an aching back and legs. It felt like a giant had picked me up and snapped me in half over its knee.

After washing up, I thought about soaking up some morning sun to relieve my sore muscles. But as soon as I stepped outside the tent, I saw Kadi stretching. He turned and smiled at me, all friendly-like.

That woke me up real quick.

There was no doubt about it—he was outside my tent this early to make sure I trained.

Damn it! Why had I impulsively said I wanted to learn yesterday? It was all because of those three annoying brats causing trouble.

He was clearly taking revenge on me for stifling a laugh during the fight, wasn't he?

That must be it! This petty man was holding a grudge!

"A new day has begun," Kadi announced with a kind smile. "From now on, you'll practice backbends every morning and the splits in the afternoon. Occasionally, I'll check on your academic studies. Any objections, Grimm?"

His smile grew increasingly benevolent, but his aura exuded an undeniable authority. His slender fingers idly tapped the handle of the whip at his waist.

"Of course... no objections!" I forced myself to betray my true feelings, my gaze fixed on the whip, which seemed eager to come alive.

"Good. Then let's begin the training."

---

"Feels much better hiding here."

I lay lazily on the grass in Bacarat, hands behind my head. Having just sold a few thieves to a ransom broker, I jingled the pouch of silver dinars in my hand, grinning from ear to ear. If catching thieves every day were this lucrative, I'd be rich in no time.

Unfortunately, such good luck doesn't happen every day. Last time, my victory was thanks to my horse and a bit of skill with throwing knives. If I ran into bandits or something worse, I'd likely have no choice but to flee.

I glanced at the Mysterious Egg hanging around my neck. I'd picked it up at a street stall during a cosplay convention.

A Valkyrie cosplayer had sold it to me, claiming it was fate that brought us together and offering it for only 10 bucks.

I'd been into Akatosh at the time, so I'd bought it without hesitation. Now I wondered if this oddly fleshy trinket might be the reason I'd ended up in this strange place.

"Yikes!"

I felt a sharp prick on my fingertip. Hissing in pain, I moved to inspect the egg but stopped as it started to move in my hand.

Brrk.

The golden-red egg opened, revealing slit-pupiled golden eyes that stared at me. I yelped in surprise and flung it into the air.

"What the heck?!"

As I scrambled to catch the egg, it sprouted wings mid-air. A small, four-legged dragon with shimmering gold-and-red scales hovered above me, its tail still adorned with the black necklace chain.

---

[Guardian Spirit awakened.]
[True Name: Golden-Red Baligat (Juvenile Stage)]

[Abilities Unlocked:
[Spatial Storage]*6
[Absolute Immunity from Physical Death.]
[Soul Protection Lvl 20]
[World Key]
[Dragon Flame Lvl 1]
[Magic Resistance Lvl 20 (Species Trait)]]

---

"Rawr!"

The young dragon soared joyfully, circling a few times before landing in my hands.

"It's a dragon hatchling!"

I stared in disbelief as the miniature dragon blinked at me, its golden eyes gleaming with curiosity. It gnawed at the metal clasp on its tail, so I removed it. The ring-like clasp bore an engraved name: Grimm Baligat.

"Bal…i…gat."

The dragon uttered a series of melodic tones that I somehow understood. It wasn't just the dragon's name—it felt like an ancient echo calling to me. I could sense its state and even see through its eyes.

The young dragon roared as it dove into my chest and vanished without a trace.

My chest felt like it was on fire, sweat soaking through my clothes as my head pounded like someone was taking a hammer to it. I tore my shirt apart instinctively, revealing faint red light glowing across my skin.

My clothes disintegrated, and the grass beneath me charred, but the glow faded as quickly as it appeared.

"Grimm Baligat..."

I collapsed naked onto the grassy.

[World Reconnection in progress...]
[Connection Complete.]
[This stay: 2 hours.]
[Mental Energy Consumed: 20 points.]
[Daily Recovery: Mental Energy Restored.]

When I woke, I was in a tent. I was back in the world of Akatosh.

The cold night had left me tossing and turning, my blanket kicked far away and my shirt ripped open.

Groggily, I noticed something new on my chest—something hard and textured. I could feel its heartbeat in sync with my own.

The pendant had transformed into a ring, now hanging around my neck, and my chest bore the impression of the dragon. Touching it, I felt its scales—smooth and sleek like fish skin, but as tough as a crocodile's hide.

It wasn't just a mark; it felt alive. As I caressed it, it felt like I was touching a part of myself. This dragon, Baligat, was linked to me.

[Mark of Baligat Acquired.]
[Strength +5.]
[New Ability Unlocked: Dragon Flame Lvl 1]

"Incredible..."

I flexed my arm, feeling a surge of strength coursing through my body. Overnight, my muscles had grown firmer, as though tempered by the dragon's power.

Yawning, I rubbed my hair, now a disheveled mess. It had grown out quite a bit and was overdue for a trim.

I threw on my clothes carelessly and began my usual morning routine. My hair was pretty sweaty from the night before, so I jumped in for a quick cold shower before training.

I was up earlier than usual today, and the feeling of washing away the sweat from head to toe was invigorating, though the well water was a bit chilly for this late autumn season.

Perhaps due to Baligat's influence, the water droplets evaporated almost instantly.

After briefly toweling off the remaining moisture, I dressed and prepared for the new day.

Ah, the perks of a young body—my flexibility had improved so much that I could now almost bend completely forward, though applying it in actual combat would still require focused training.

My flexibility had indeed advanced significantly.

---

Over the past few days, I had been forced to adapt.

Fortunately, with the aid of healing magic, my strained muscles had recovered quickly. However, every time I pushed myself further, the challenges remained daunting.

Under Kadi's brutal training regimen, I could now just about manage a full split, though I still needed some external help to hold the position—it was a painful process.

At the end of another grueling day, Bernhardt and I collapsed onto the ground to catch our breath.

My tattered clothes were beyond repair at this point. In the first couple of days, the exhaustion had left me too drained to move, but I was slowly adapting.

Counting the days, I realized it was time to pick up my helmet and scale armor. I'd also retrieve my rawhide jacket and ask the tailor's wife for some thread and needles to patch my clothes myself.

It had been a while since I last did any sewing.

Having grown up an orphan, I had learned to mend my own clothes. Back then, I used fishbones and dried plant fibers to stitch together what I could. In this new world, I'd already patched up plenty of clothes for both myself and Gabriel, thanks to my resourcefulness.

"Let's go, Bernhardt! Let's grab our armor and clothes—and maybe have a good meal in the city while we're at it!"

"Alright!"

We ambled toward the city. I wondered if Gera was still searching for us. This time, I'd return her doll.

---Third POV--

Clang, clang, clang.

The evening bell tolled, signaling the arrival of dusk.

A silver-haired boy had just finished a day of games.

The castle's white doves, in harmony with the bell, began their final flight of the day, their wings fluttering as they soared above the city.

Today, Gerald wore a reddish-brown shirt. With the sound of the bell, he gazed toward the white castle in the distance, a childlike smile of innocence spreading across his face.

The commotion from that incident had finally settled down, and today, at last, he was free to go out and play.

As usual, he decided to head to the base of the hill to admire the white castle.

His sprinting figure darted through alleyways and leapt over stone steps. A few other children were on the streets, laughing and comparing who could push their iron hoops faster with wooden sticks.

But something felt off today.

The alleys were unusually quiet. He wasn't sure when he had turned down the wrong lane, but he seemed to have gotten lost.

How odd—how could he get lost today of all days?