Ever since the incident of the trespassing thugs, Mercedes was about to train in the final forms of the Imperial Grim Art. Though, according to the old man, she would have to be stronger than her current self.
At first, she didn't understand what he was trying to say. But after displaying the last techniques of the Imperial Grim Art. Mercedes finally understood its intricacies in regard to the user's strength.
Without a compatible physique, she wouldn't be able to perform the techniques in their optimal forms. So with this in mind, Mercedes began training her body. She started running a 100-kilometer marathon which brought about the attention of many locals.
Obviously, the locals of the fortress city didn't dare to bother her. After learning that she was the disciple of the Paragon of War. None wanted to offend her or even have her attention. This sentiment was clearly emitted by the local gangs.
Along with the marathon, Mercedes also trained the endurance of her body. Being forced to carry 250 kilograms of weight was hard for Mercedes, even with her unnatural physique. But she persevered through the training and was exhausted every night.
It didn't even end there. Mercedes was forced to train her fingers by punching a tree. Like what? What would punching a tree even bring her? This was her question when Caesar brought about the training regimen of punching trees.
"No one would want their fingers to be broken when using the Imperial Grim Art, right?" That was the words that escaped from the old man's mouth. She couldn't help but silently mutter when hearing such words.
"So I'll have to break my fingers punching a tree instead of performing the art?" It was a sarcastic remark which made Mercedes have a short spar against the old man. Caesar wasn't holding back during the spar, so she was defeated in mere seconds.
The spar gave Mercedes a realization that she wasn't that strong when compared to the higher forces of the Imperium. The fact that she couldn't last half a minute against her master was proof of it.
She might be strong against weak opponents, but she might not stand a chance against stronger and more experienced ones.
With a newfound determination erupting from her heart, Mercedes went into training without a single complaint leaving her supple lips. She gritted through the suffering wanting to reach at least a percentage of the old man's strength.
Two weeks then passed and Mercedes was performing the training regimen of Caesar without that much of a problem. For some reason, her body quickly adapted to the harsh training, resulting in gaining strength, dexterity, agility, and endurance.
Mercedes was a bit proud to be able to do it easily without that much of a problem. However, her satisfaction was plunged with a wet bucket of water after Caesar announced the second part of her training regimen.
A second part, which Mercedes somehow expected but wished to not exist.
And as she had expected, Mercedes was horrified after hearing the second part of the training regimen. The bastard of an old man was trying to kill her. No ordinary human would survive in such a training. She'll die exhausted instead of being killed by the enemy's blade.
The second part of the training regimen was an increase of the current regimen along with a few new ones. She was given a 250-kilometer marathon, a weight of 500 kilograms strapped onto her body, punching a boulder, dodging while being blindfolded, and jumping across buildings.
'This bastard is trying to kill me.'
During the entire time, that was the thought trapped in her head.
Nonetheless, there was nothing she could do about it. Mercedes could only clench her fist in annoyance and start training right away.
Like she had expected, her body was sore during the entire night. She was barely sleeping, and sometimes a stray thought would pass her head. 'Should I just quit?' Mercedes didn't want to suffer anymore.
She wanted to go home and eat her mother's meals.
She wanted to hug her sister and play with her.
She wanted to rest in a park without worrying about other annoying bastards.
She wanted to stop training and sleep for an entire day.
But Mercedes shook her head and didn't want to continue thinking about it. She stopped dwelling on such useless thoughts. The reason why she was staying here to begin with was simple. It was to protect the useless thoughts that passed through her mind.
She didn't want to be weak, especially after seeing what humans were capable of.
So Mercedes must persevere through the suffering and reach the peak of existence. As long as she could protect the ones she loved, the pain wouldn't matter to her. Mercedes was truly lucky to have a high-spirit attribute.
Along with her mental fortitude skill, it wasn't hard to resist the temptation of quitting.
Mercedes then continued her training for days and nights. She would sometimes return late at night after falling asleep during training. She couldn't even clearly eat her meal, since her body was always sore.
Many would have died during such a training session. Their body would have been six feet underground. But nevertheless, Mercedes was alive and well. It was a statement of how good her physique was, with its high adaptability.
However, Mercedes's emotion of wanting the old man to eat filth was becoming stronger by the days that had passed. She wanted that bastard to get his toes hit by the edges of a table. Heck, might as well have him step some Legos.
However, never did Mercedes noticed that during the entirety of the training regimen. Someone was watching her from afar. It was none other than the old man who subjected her to the infamous coffin-bringer training.
Caesar had been observing her since the beginning and adapting her training based on the things he would see from her. Everything has been going well, and it wouldn't take time for his disciple to learn the last forms of the Imperial Grim Art.
A month then passed since the introduction of the second part of the training regimen.
On the outskirts of the fortified city was a figure undergoing heinous training. They were punching a boulder with their fist, unfeeling of pain and emotion. Cold sweat dripped from the figure's body and bandages could be seen throughout their fist.
They kept punching as cracks could be seen all over the rocky boulder. Marks of dried blood were also splattered with the cracks, but the figure didn't seem to be mind. They simply kept punching and punching without any care.
As the lights of the golden sun gleamed through the outskirts, its lustrous sunlight dazzled along with the figure's appearance. It was Mercedes, the infamous disciple of the Paragon of War.
Also known as the training maniac and the war hound.
*Bam!*
*Crack!*
With one last punch, the boulder cracked and was broken apart. Mercedes stopped the training session and sighed while glancing at the fractured boulder in front of her. She gazes back behind her, revealing four more boulders shattered into many pieces.
"I'd love to have a meal," Mercedes uttered before staring at her fist. Her once beautiful fist was now covered with bandages which was a bit saddening. But it shouldn't take time for it to heal. Mercedes was also fortunate that no scars would dwell on her body.
She didn't know why they weren't scars even though she was rampantly injured in the training regimen. But even so, it was a piece of good news. The only good news that Mercedes appreciated.
Before she could continue with her thoughts, the old man emerged before her. He looked the same as always, unlike the tattered Mercedes. Seeing him for the first time since the beginning of the second part of the training regimen, Mercedes gritted her teeth,
"Oi, old man. I thought you ran away after knowing that I'd beat you to death."
Mercedes was back to her rough ways of communication. It was something that she could only do in order to decrease her strength. She couldn't be bothered with manipulation of communication. It wasn't her training at the moment.
"Why would I run away from a weak opponent."
The old man grinned as if Mercedes wasn't a threat in his own eyes. A nerve emerged on Mercedes's forehead before she charged without any hesitation or delay.
Bloodlust was emanating from her body and she swung her fist towards the old man. Caesar did nothing more but smile and swiftly changed the orientation of his body. He managed to dodge her attack and Mercedes's fist then smashed the tree behind him.
*Bam!*
*Thud!*
The tree was cleaved into half while Mercedes's fist punctured through the bark. It fell down to the ground with a thud, meanwhile, Caesar's smile got wider and wider.
Mercedes heavily panted and was a bit shocked to see the result of her one punch. To destroy a tree in one punch was something she didn't imagine. But now that she had thought about it, she was training in breaking boulders.
Why would a tree even be a challenge to her?
"Looks like you're ready for the final test of the Imperial Grim Art, Mercedes."
"Follow me, and I'll teach you the complete last forms of the Imperial Grim Art."
Caesar walked towards the warehouse a little bit proud of how much his lousy disciple had grown. It would be easy for her to survive through the hell that was about to envelop the world.
Even without his existence.
"Tsk! Wait for me, old man!"
Mercedes followed the old man as they walked towards the abandoned warehouse.