chapter_0151

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
151

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
151

Watching Grandpa’s
triumphant smile, I felt a cold sweat running down my back.

Why is Grandpa here?

Practice Mode is supposed to
be a place where I test skills by myself. No other characters are
supposed to enter!

I wondered if I was so
exhausted that I was hallucinating. To check, I pinched my cheek. My
soft flesh stretched, followed by the pain of reality.

Ouch. Why couldn’t this just
be a dream? If it was a dream, I could just brush it off as a weird
one.

“It seems that because our
souls are connected, this phenomenon has occurred.”

‘Our souls, Grandpa?’

“Connected to an old man who
smells like a geezer? Eww. Disgusting.”

Offended by the translation
using the [Mesugaki] Skill, Grandpa frowned slightly and approached
me, raising his fist to give my head a light, punishing flick.

I clearly saw Grandpa raise
his fist and swing it, but I couldn’t avoid it.

By the time I regained my
senses, his fist had already hit my head, and I had to clutch my head
from the pain, feeling like my skull might crack.

What?! I don’t get it. Why
couldn’t I defend myself?! Even my [Iron Wall] Skill didn’t react
to Grandpa’s punch.

What is this?

“Little girl, mind your
language.”

‘Do you think that’s easy
for me?’

“Enough! Why should I have
to listen to a geezer who might need dentures! Absolutely disgusting!
Such an old fogey!”

As I unwillingly muttered
complaints under my breath, Grandpa raised his fist again.
Remembering the excruciating pain from earlier, I instinctively
covered my head.

Nooooo!

I’m so wronged!

Grandpa, of all people, should
know best how hard it is for me because of the [Mesugaki] Skill!

What did I ever do to deserve
this?!

Sure, I’d ignore most of
Grandpa’s nagging!

And sometimes, when I got
really angry, I’d make him take bathroom or dumpster tours!

And yes, there were times I’d
tease him by saying all he does is talk!

But still, I’ve been
relatively good to Grandpa…

Hmm. Looking back, it might
have been my karma.

Anyway, I feel so wronged! So
unfair!

While screaming internally, I
braced myself for the incoming pain, but fortunately, it never came.

Grandpa only pretended to
throw a punch, amused by my frightened reaction, and let out a
mischievous laugh.

“You stood proudly even in
the face of death, why are you so scared now?”

…So, Grandpa’s just
teasing me, right?

‘Graaaaandpa! Do you really
enjoy bullying a little girl who could be your granddaughter?!’

“Are you starting to copy
the tastes of that sloppy Armadi’s? Is that it?!

Just you wait! You might have
a body in Practice Mode, but in reality, you’re just a mace that
can’t do anything without me!”

“Haha. I’m sorry. Forgive
me. If we can settle your various misdeeds with just this, isn’t that
a good deal?”

Well, that’s true.

Hmm.

Sigh.

Fine. Grandpa. You’ve done
things for me, and I’ve made mistakes. I’ll let it slide this time.

I have more pressing questions
to ask right now.

I understand that since our
souls are connected, our mental worlds are shared. But then, what
happens to my body in reality?

Assuming this is my mental
world, surely reality doesn’t just freeze like it does in the game.

‘Grandpa…’

“Grandpa, do you know what’s
happening to my real body?”

“It’s asleep. Do you know
how startled I was when you collapsed as soon as you entered?”

So that’s why I got the
message saying I can only enter Practice Mode when I’m in the
dormitory. If I entered Practice Mode outside, I’d end up sprawled on
the ground.

Considering Armadi, that’s
quite caring.

So, have I checked everything
I needed to in Practice Mode?

It doesn’t seem much different
from the game at a glance, so it looks like I won’t need to come here
again.

I opened the interface and
chose to exit Practice Mode.

[Not all members have agreed.]

The message popped up, and I
couldn’t escape from Practice Mode.

What’s the meaning of this!
Why can’t I leave when I, the owner of this place, want to go! Why!

I need to escape quickly! If I
don’t, the Evil Spirit that escaped from my mace will catch me!

“Little girl, where do
you think you’re rushing off to?”

As I was repeatedly pressing
the exit button, Grandpa’s voice from behind startled me.

‘Uh, well…’

“Grandpa, aren’t Sloppy
Swordsman and Airhead Lady waiting? Have you gotten senile and
forgotten such a basic thing?”

“It’s fine. Didn’t you
tell them not to worry if you didn’t return for a while? They can
handle it on their own.”

But what if they need me?

Fighting a duel with Frey or
giving Joy advice on magic training…

“Enough. That’s not
something you need to worry about. There is something far more
important in front of you right now.”

I had a feeling about what was
waiting for me, but I desperately ignored it.

No matter how much I thought
about it, the conclusion seemed to be that I would end up suffering
like a dog. I really didn’t want to face him.

“As the founder of the
[Divine Martial Arts], I will pass everything I know down to you.”

Grandpa’s kind smile was mixed
with an overwhelming determination that even I could sense.

I take back what I said about
him being like Possell.

Possell pushed me to my
limits, but out of some respect for me as the family’s Miss, he
adhered to a final boundary. He at least gave me time to catch my
breath.

But Grandpa is different.

He doesn’t have to consider
anyone’s feelings. The only thing he cares about is how to impart
his skills to me.

“Don’t worry. This is a
mental world, isn’t it? You don’t need to worry about physical
fatigue.”

Sure. No matter how much I
train, my real body is resting, so no matter how intense the training
gets, it won’t harm me physically.

But what about my mind? Don’t
you care about mental fatigue?

I have [Unyielding Will], so
it won’t be too problematic, but still, this is a pretty important
issue!

“First, I need to explain
what [Divine Martial Arts] is.”

This man always avoids
addressing inconvenient truths!

“It’s a martial art I
created in the past, utilising divine energy. It diverges from divine
magic and allows divine energy to directly interact with reality.

Though parts of it have been
informally passed down among the Paladins before, I was the first to
systematise it into one cohesive martial art.”

With that explanation, Grandpa
gathered divine energy in his fist.

The divine energy he harnessed
was different from the warm glow of sunlight; it was fervent, as if
ready to burn away shadows from the world.

“If the people from the
Church heard this, they’d call it heresy. After all, divine energy is
just another sort of energy like mana or qi. The principles are
similar, even if the applications differ.”

He then drew back his fist
imbued with divine energy.

“So just like a Knight
can infuse their sword with aura, we too can coat our attacks with
divine energy.”

He punched towards the
scarecrow.

While the motion was a
standard straight punch, the result was anything but ordinary.

Grandpa’s fist strike
half-destroyed the training ground.

The scarecrow that had been
standing there moments before lost its form, the bricks on the ground
shattered, exposing the dirt underneath, and a hole in the wall
revealed a bleak, white landscape behind it.

…Was it even possible for
that scarecrow to be smashed to bits?!

And how could this training
ground be so easily torn apart?!

As I stood there in shock at
the sight defying my common sense, Grandpa shrugged his shoulders, as
if his recent feat was nothing special.

“That punch increased in
power by using both mana and divine energy simultaneously. This is
the essence of [Divine Martial Arts] that I developed, and what I’m
going to teach you from now on.”

Ha ha. Grandpa. The [Divine
Martial Arts] I saw in the game didn’t have such absurd techniques.

It was just a passive skill
that slightly increased damage by a few percent.

“Don’t worry. I won’t
start teaching you anything impossible from the get-go. As someone
who once led the Paladins and taught countless people, trust me. By
the end of this training, you will undoubtedly become stronger.”

No matter what I say, Grandpa
is going to put me through the wringer.

Every time he speaks, his eyes
burn with even more passion rather than diminishing.

If resistance is futile…

Ha. What choice do I have?
I’ll just have to go along with it.

It’s not like getting
stronger is a bad thing, right?

I still don’t know exactly
what Armadi expects from me. But somehow, I have an inkling.

That guy probably wants me to
follow the path the protagonist walked in the game. Maybe he even
wants me to become the hero who saves the world.

I’m not ready to see the end
of the story by just following that desire. I need to grow much
stronger than I am now.

Though I’m showing rapid
progress comparable to the characters I raised in the game, veterans
like us are not satisfied with just being fast.

What we always strive for is
the highest efficiency.

‘Alright. I’ll do my
best.’

“A grandpa obsessed with a
little girl? What an eyesore. Puhut. Alright. I’ll do it.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Grandpa seemed satisfied with
my response and ruffled my hair.

His touch was different from
Benedict’s. While Benedict’s touch was filled with affection and
caution, Grandpa’s was brimming with trust and vigour.

Not long after, the training
ground returned to its original state.

So, even if it gets destroyed,
it comes back. Well, it’s a mental world, so I guess it’s not too
strange.

“The first thing we’ll
practise is handling divine energy. You must have gained some
proficiency while learning divine magic before, but martial arts
require different techniques.”

With that, Grandpa gathered
divine energy into his fist.

This time, it wasn’t a
concentrated divine force that seemed impossible to replicate.
Though, it was still awe-inspiring.

“For now, let’s set a
goal to achieve this level of power.”

Grandpa said this as he
lightly punched a scarecrow, causing its neck to snap and the
scarecrow to tumble to the ground.

Hmm, I feel like I could
manage that much too.

I haven’t specifically trained
in martial arts, but it’s basically just channelling divine energy
into a punch, right?

Considering my physical
abilities, it shouldn’t be a big deal.

“Do you want to give it a
try?”

Standing where Grandpa had
been, I recalled his demonstration and infused divine energy into my
fist.

Alright. Thanks to the skill’s
assistance, controlling divine energy has become much easier. Now, if
I just wrap it around my fist and punch the scarecrow with all my
might, the scarecrow’s head should…

“Ouch!”

But it was my bones that
shattered instead.

The force I used, aiming to
destroy the scarecrow with all my strength, simply demonstrated one
of the laws of physics back to me.

What the heck! Why’s that
scarecrow so tough?!

I swear, that should’ve been
enough force to shatter a decent-sized stone! Really!

As I danced around, clutching
my painful fist, Grandpa, standing behind me, chuckled and said,

“Come on, no whining.”

Whining? I’m seriously in pain
here! It feels like my bones are broken!

Instead of comforting me, he
just brushed off my pain as whining! Grandpa, you really…

“Again.”

I turned my head to protest
but, seeing Grandpa’s stern eyes, I quickly looked back at the
scarecrow.

…I knew I shouldn’t have
tried practice mode.

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