Chapter: 150
As I watched the hearty laughter of the old man behind me, I felt a cold sweat trickling down my back.
Why is he here?!
The practice mode is supposed to be a place for me to test my skills alone! It’s not somewhere other characters should be entering!
I pinched my cheek, wondering if I was just so exhausted that I was hallucinating. Sure enough, pain found me at the end of that soft cheek.
“Ouch! Why is this not a dream? If only it were a dream, I could just brush it off as a silly one.”
“It seems that the connection between your soul and his has caused this phenomenon.”
‘My soul with Grandpa’s? Ugh. Gross. That sick old man’s smell? Yuck.’
My words, translated through the Mesugaki skill, seemed to aggravate him. He furrowed his brows and cocked his fist to deliver a playful punch on my head.
I saw his fist moving toward me, but I couldn’t dodge it!
By the time I regained my senses, his fist had hit my head, sending pain racing through my skull, forcing me to clutch it.
What the heck?! I can’t even fight back?! Even my Steel Wall skill didn’t respond to his punch!
What on earth is happening?!
“Girl, watch your mouth.”
‘Is that something I can just control?!’
“Shut it! Why should I be listening to the words of an old man who seems like he should be wearing dentures? Seriously, gross! Just a total geezer!”
As I blabbered away, he raised his fist again. The memory of the previous pain still fresh in my mind made me cover my head defensively.
Nooooo!
I’m innocent!
Why is he doing this to me, when I know better than anyone how tough this Mesugaki skill is for me?!
What have I ever done that’s so bad?!
Sure, I tend to tune out most of his nagging!
And sometimes when I get mad, I might force him on a toilet or make him take out the trash!
Of course, I’ve teased him with things like “Is that all you can say?” but still! I’ve been pretty good to him…
Hmm. Well, when I think about it, it might be karma.
Regardless, I’m innocent!
I silently scream in my head and wait for the pain to arrive, but thankfully, it never comes.
He only pretended to swing at me, chuckling at my flustered expression.
“Why’s a girl who has faced death looking so scared now?”
…So he’s just messing with me, huh?
Grandpa! Is it really that fun to torment a girl half your age?!
Looks like he really has a taste for bullying. Guess it runs in the family, huh?
Just wait! You might be solid here in practice mode, but in reality, you’re just a useless mace without me!
“Ha ha. My bad, forgive me. If I can settle all that you’ve done with this much, it’s not a bad deal, is it?”
Well, I guess that’s true.
Hmm.
sighs Fine, Grandpa. Since you’ve done some good for me and I’ve messed up too, let’s just call it even.
Besides, there’s a more pressing question I need to ask.
I get that our souls are connected, which means we share this mental world, but what about my body in reality?
If this is my mental space, then it’s not like reality has stopped, right?
“Grandpa…”
“Old man, do you know what’s happening with my body in reality?”
“It’s asleep. You collapsed right after entering, and I was quite shocked.”
So that’s why I got the message that I can only enter practice mode when I’m in the dorm. If I try to enter from outside, I’d be sprawled on the pavement.
For a pathetic god, he’s pretty considerate.
So that means I’ve checked everything I wanted to in here, right?
From what I can see, it’s no different from the game, so I probably won’t be back.
As I opened the window to exit practice mode, the message popped up:
[All members did not agree.]
What?! Why can’t I leave my own space when I want to?!
I need to escape! If I don’t, the demons freed from the mace will get me!
“Girl, where are you rushing off to?”
Jumping at the voice from behind, I turned around, startled.
‘Um. Well…’
“Old man, the useless knight and that clueless young lady are waiting for me, right? Did you forget the basics in your old age?”
“It’s fine. Just go back if it looks like you’ll be long. They’ll manage on their own.”
That may be true, but what if I need something?
See, like I could spar with Frey or give Joy tips for magical training, and—and…
“Enough of that. Those things are not your concern right now. What’s important lies right in front of you.”
I had a feeling I knew what he was talking about, but I desperately avoided looking at him.
No matter how I thought about it, merely considering it would lead to me rolling around like a dog!
“As the creator of the Sacred Martial Arts, I shall impart all of it to you.”
His kind smile masked a towering ambition I could clearly see.
Forget the idea that he’d roll me around like Possell!
Sure, he did ride me hard, but at least he respected the last line—he gave me some breathing room.
But this grandpa?
He doesn’t care about anyone else. The only thing on his mind is how to pass his techniques onto me!
“Don’t worry. This is the mental world. You don’t have to worry about physical exhaustion.”
Right, even if I roll around here, my body in reality is resting, so I won’t face any real harm from strenuous training.
But what about my mind? Are you not concerned about mental exhaustion?
While I may have an unbreakable will, it’s still an important matter!
“First, let me explain what the Sacred Martial Arts are.”
How sneaky! He’s glossing over his weak points!
“This is a martial art pioneered by myself, utilizing the divine. It transcends the realm of Sacred Magic, allowing the divine to interact with reality directly.
Previously passed down in whispers among the Holy Knights, I am the first to systematize it into a martial art.”
After saying that, he charged divine energy into his fist.
Unlike the warm sunlight I often felt, this was a fiery energy that seemed to scorch shadows away from existence.
“If the humans of the church heard this, they’d freak out, calling it blasphemous, but the truth is that divine energy is just another form of energy, like mana or spirit. While the manifestations may differ, the essence is the same.”
With that, he pulled back his divine punch and—
“Thus, by utilizing this, just like a knight overlays their sword energy, we can also cloak our attacks with divinity.”
He threw it towards the scarecrow.
His strike was close to a perfect form, but the result was entirely different.
His punch demolished the training yard.
The scarecrow that had just been standing there was reduced to nothing, the bricks that littered the ground shattered, revealing a muddy floor, and holes punctured the walls, uncovering a blindingly white view.
…Was that scarecrow really capable of being wrecked like that?!
Wait, was this training ground even supposed to break like this?!
As I stood there, aghast at the absurdity, he shrugged his shoulders as if his recent accomplishment was no big deal.
“What you just witnessed was the result of empowering my strike with both mana and divinity. That is the core of my Sacred Martial Arts and what I shall teach you from now on.”
Ha, Grandpa. The Sacred Martial Arts I saw in-game wasn’t this insane!
It was just a passive skill that increased damage by a percentage!
“Don’t you worry. I won’t teach you something impossible right off the bat. I’ve taught countless people in the past, so at the end of this training, you’ll surely grow stronger.”
No matter what spiel I put forth, Grandpa is going to roll me around!
His eyes spark with unyielding energy, growing increasingly intense with every word he speaks.
Given that resisting is pointless,
sigh What else can I do but roll with it?
Getting stronger won’t hurt, right?
I’m still not actually sure what role that pathetic god hopes I’ll take on. But somehow, I can guess.
He probably wants me to walk the same path the game’s protagonist did. Maybe he wants me to become a hero who saves the world.
To see how that wish unfolds, I still have a long way to go. I need to get a lot stronger.
While I’m already showing the sort of growth comparable to the various characters I raised in the game, the veterans aren’t satisifed with just being fast.
People like us are always pursuing maximum efficiency.
‘Alright. I’ll give it my best shot!’
“A man obsessively chasing after a girl, huh? What a pitiful sight. Heh. But fine, I’ll humor you.”
“That’s how it should be!”
He seemed satisfied with my response, chuckling as he ruffled my hair.
His touch felt different from Benedict’s. While Benedict’s strokes held affection and gentleness, Grandpa’s reassured strength was solid.
Not long after, the training ground restored itself to its original state.
Ah, so it returns back to normal? Well, considering it’s a mental world, that makes sense.
“First up, we’ll practice handling the divine. You’ve already learned how to use Sacred Magic to some extent, so you should be somewhat proficient, but martial arts differ greatly from Sacred Magic.”
After saying this, he once again charged his fist with divine energy.
This wasn’t the intense concentration of divine energy; it felt achievable. That said, it still radiated awe.
“For now, let’s aim for this level of power.”
With that, he effortlessly punched the scarecrow, resulting in its neck snapping and it tumbling to the ground.
Hmm. I feel like I could manage that, huh?
I haven’t specifically practiced martial arts, but in the end, all I have to do is channel divine power into my fist.
Considering my physical capabilities, that shouldn’t be a problem!
“Want to give it a shot?”
Standing where he did, I recalled his earlier demonstration, channeling the divine into my punch.
Alright. Thanks to the skill boost, moving the divinity should be easier.
I’ll overlay it on my fist, then launch it at the scarecrow with all my might, and surely I can—
“Ouch!”
What shattered was my own finger bone.
Expecting to smash it with all my might, I got a swift reminder about one of the laws of physics.
What is this?! Why is that scarecrow so darn hard?!
With that punch, I had enough force to crush ordinary rocks! For real!
As I stomped my foot from the pain, Grandpa chuckled and spoke up.
“Come on, stop exaggerating.”
Exaggerating?! I’m seriously hurt! I feel like my bone just shattered!
Rather than comforting me, he disregarded my suffering as mere whining! Grandpa, you really…!
“Again.”
I turned my head to protest, only to be met with Grandpa’s stern gaze, prompting me to face the scarecrow once more.
…Maybe I shouldn’t have tested this practice mode.
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