"Excuse me what?" George asked Grim, wanting to know if what he said was right.

"Dumbass, read the sign." Grim pointed to the sign with a blank face. George looked at the sign, read it silently, and muttered a curse.

"Shit..." George muttered as he saw the part where it said, 'P.S. This is a fighting tournament, not a lottery.'

"So, are you going to resign?" Grim asked bluntly at George who was still looking at the sign.

George was silent for a while, thinking of what to do. In the meantime, Grim grabbed the sacks that were on the ground. One by one, he took them. Once he was all done, that was when George spoke up.

"No." George replied, his voice was firm and sounded like it was an order, his eyebrows were furrowed and it seemed like he was mad at someone.

"So, you aren't going to back down?" Grim asked, going near George.

"Yes." George said firmly, his face was filled with determination before looking at Grim and it was replaced with shock and surprise. "Oh, you already got the sacks?"

"Yeah..." Grim mumbled. George then grabbed some sacks that were with Grim, helping Grim out.

"You know, me bumping into something and seeing that sign was really convenient." George said to Grim. "Like, is there a god watching over us?"

George then looked at you, yes you, the one reading this. Grim just stood there, confused as to why George was looking at a store. George then spun around, looking at something.

"George, what are you doing?" Grim asked, hoping George didn't get a mental illness. George stopped, turned to Grim, then replied.

"I don't know, just felt like someone was watching me." George said, nervous and paranoid that someone was watching him.

"Yeah, me, watching you do stupid things." Grim answered. "Now come on, let's go to the cave."

"Wait a minute, there are rules to the tournament right?" George asked.

"Duh, there are always rules." Grim replied. George sighed before going back to the sign-up place. There, he saw the same person he met sleeping on a chair. George cleared his throat, startling them awake.

"What? Who!?" The person screamed awake before calming down as they saw George. "What do you want? Do you wanna resign?"

"Nope. I just want to see the rules in the tournament." George said. The person stood up, went to the desk, opened the drawer, and gave him a piece of paper. George dropped the sacks, took it, and silently read it.

'Most Important Rules in the Competition:

1. One must require to use only melee weapons and/or your fists.

2. No usage of Offense Magic and Elemental Magic.

3. Defense magic can be used as well as Support Magic and Enchantment Magic.

4. We are not at fault for one's death since it was in the contract.

5. Your most likely going to die so why bother joining?'

"What the hell..." George muttered to himself as he read the last part. "Why is that even in the rules?!"

"Because people don't even read the contracts nowadays!" The person piped in. George sighed, gave back the paper, grabbed the sacks, and exited.

On his way, Grim was there, waiting for him. The two walked away from the place, silent as they went.

"So..." George started. "I might need a teacher...or a trainer."

"Why?" Grim asked.

"I...don't know how to fight." George said the sentence quickly.

"Well, shit." Grim said. The two were now in an alleyway, hiding from others. Once they saw that no one was there, Grim snapped his fingers, teleporting the two into the forest they were once in. The two then ventured inside the forest, looking for a cave.

After a few minutes, they were a few meters away from a cave, though it was empty. George was confused as to why no one was there.

'Must be a very deep cave.' George thought as Grim walked to the entrance. That was where Grim's body started to disappear like entering water, the more he walked forward. George was shocked, not knowing what to do, George just did the same thing Grim did. George first put his hand further, noticing that his whole forearm was gone and its surroundings were warped, he then closed his eyes and entered.

As George entered, he felt a strange sensation, he felt a wave of force pushing him out, like it didn't want him to be there in the first place. George withstood it and used all his strength to move forward. He felt a hand hold his own, then he felt a strong tug as he was being pulled forward.

He then felt that half of his hand no longer had a strong force restraining him. A stronger thug then pulled him more, and with it, his whole body was pulled forward, he opened his eyes, noticing that his head was almost halfway out of the wall. Half of his body was out of the place, he felt the force that was holding him back disappear as he proceeded to walk further. With one act, he used all his strength to exit.

He was now out of the weird place. He noticed that Mileena was the one who was holding his hand and pulling him along.

"Phew!" George mumbled as he wiped off the sweat that he had, then he looked behind him, noticing that it was clear and it showed the outside surroundings where he once was. "What the hell was that?!"

"U-um, t-t-that was m-my b-barrier..." Mileena spoke up shyly, blushing as she still held on to his hand.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Huh, so when you're inside of it, it hides you yet leaves the surroundings? Nice." George replied. "So, I'm guessing that the weird place that I felt was a defensive barrier that stops people from going in?"

"Y-yes..." Mileena answered shyly.

"Fascinating, was the barrier meant to hide us?" George asked more.

"Yes." Mileena replied. "That is a hiding barrier. T-there are more barriers though."

"Wow..." George said, fascinated by the magic. He then remembered what Grim and he were there for. He turned towards the cave and saw a Chimera resting while another was resting on top of it. Grim was by the entrance using magic. George ran towards him, pulling Mileena along.

"Hey Grim, what're you doing?" George arrived near the entrance. Grim was holding Tina and Emily's clothes. The sacks were right beside him.

"Oh, their clothes broke so I'm using magic so that whenever their clothes are destroyed or ripped, it can repair itself." Grim explained.

"Neat." George said as he put the sacks he had on the other sacks, making a pile. He looked at the resting Chimeras and asked. "How long have they been resting?"

"After they transformed, they've been resting the whole time." Mileena replied.

"Okay, so they won't be a problem for now." George said. He looked at something that was on the ground, it was a sketch pad with a pencil. "Who's that?"

"T-that w-would be mine..." Mileena answered weakly, embarrassed and flustered. She stopped holding onto George's hand.

"Oh, a hobby I assume?" George asked to which Mileena just slowly nodded." Well, at least you have something you like to keep you company."

At that, Mileena was confused and so was Grim. George then started another topic before they could ask what he meant.

"Anyways, we should eat." George said as he got one of the sacks in the pile, and opened it, revealing 5 loaves of bread.

They then ate 2 of the loaves of bread that were inside. The three ate them quickly as the day was almost ending and George needed to find a teacher to teach him how to fight. Once they finished, George and Grim teleported back to the guild and headed towards some parts of the city. There, they found some sword training schools.

Finding one that could accept him was easier said than done.

They went to the schools and asked if George could train but some of the teachers laughed and left them outside, others were much more dismissive. Some accepted but demanded money, which George then declined.

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"I never thought it was going to be hard..." George said weakly and disheartened, a mug of beer in hand. He turned to Grim who was gulping down his mug of beer.

The two of them were inside a bar that was nearby. Feeling tired, they ordered beer and sat down on chairs. George collapsed on the chair and proceeded to lay his head on the wooden table that was near them.

Chatters were heard as other people were there, having fun. Suddenly, they were quiet as the front door slammed open. George and Grim snapped their heads towards the door and saw someone standing there.

The person had armor on from feet to neck, it was studded and bright. The person had a thin waist and long hair. The person then entered the place, slowly walking towards the bartender. Once they got a good look, they noticed that the person was a woman.

A young woman in armor. She had long blonde hair and a sheathed sword at her side. And she was hot.

'A pretty woman...' The men in the bar thought as they took a good look at the hot knight as she ordered a beer.

'A possible teacher...' George thought as he took a good look at the sword. George recomposed himself, straightening his sitting position.

The female knight got her beer and sat down at the corner. She sipped some of the beer. She looked stoic, to say the least.

'I'm going to ask her if she can teach me.' George thought as he prepared to go to her. But he was interrupted as a man went to her. George sat and looked at what was about to go down.

"Hey, Bab-" The man didn't go far as the woman brought out a finger to silence him, she then continued to sip her beer. Suddenly, she gulped the entire thing, once done, she put her mug on the table. The man tried again. "He-"

The knight interrupted him with a loud burp. The man was frustrated.

"H-" He was again interrupted by the woman standing up and going to the bartender. There, she ordered another, once she got it, she went back to where she once sat.

Again, the man attempted to flirt with her.

"Hey-" The man was once again interrupted as the woman spoke up.

"No." She said, coldly. This angered the man who just left, grumbling to himself.

George and Grim didn't hear them but knew what the man was trying to do but failed multiple times. George knew what was going to happen if he went there and spoke up. Hesitant, he was, but he was also persistent. His mind was torn between asking her or not. Feeling troubled, he quickly gulped down his beer, drowning his thought process. Then, out of nowhere, he stood up and walked towards the female knight.

Grim and the others were shocked and surprised at the act. The female knight just eyed George as he went near her, putting the mug down for a while.

Once in front of the woman, George was silent, not knowing what came over him.

"Canyoutrainmetoproperlyuseasword?" George said as fast as he could.

"No." The female knight replied before realizing what he had said. "Wait what?"

"What?!" A crowd of men shouted as they were also caught by surprise by what George said.

"I said, can you train me to properly use a sword?" George said again, sweating nervously.

'First time talking to a woman who's not Mileena or the Chimera sister and what does he say? Can you train me with a sword? Dear God, George!' George thought to himself.

"Hmm..." The knight looked at George's physique. She looked at his muscles which were somewhat toned due to his exercises. "Let's talk privately."

"S-sure." George said as the female knight gulped her second mug of beer and stood up.

The female knight and George exited the place and went to an alleyway to talk.

"So, why do you want me to train you?" The female knight asked skeptically.

"Well, I signed up for a tournament that requires the use of a weapon." George replied.

"The Warrior Tournament?" The female knight asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think so..." George replied hesitantly.

"Well, why do you need me?" She asked again. "Aren't there other trainers or teachers you can learn from?"

"They don't exactly...think of me as a good student. The ones who did, are too expensive for me." George explained.

"Sorry to break it but, I can't do it." She replied. That disheartened George a lot.

"W-why?" George asked curiously.

"First, it would be a waste of time for me, and seeing that I have little free time...yeah no, second, I don't think you can do it. You can always resign from the tournament." She stated.

George sighed in resignation. He couldn't find a teacher to help him.

'Well, there goes our chance.' George thought to himself. 'No! George! Don't stop. Remember who you're doing it for! You can always train yourself and there's always next year.'

'But that would mean that we'd be here for years. When are we going back home then?' George was lost in thought. 'So...?'

"Then I'd just have to train myself." George mumbled to himself. The female knight heard his mumbles. "Even if it takes me years to win...if it's for the two, I'll help them, no matter what."

Hearing those words, the female knight was amused. Normally, the people she met were persistent but not like that. She cleared his throat, waking George out of his stupor.

"Maybe I could teach you." She said, gaining George's attention and lightening up his mood.

"What will it cost?" George asked nervously.

"Nothing!" She replied, George was livid, he finally had hopes of being able to be taught how to fight. "Starting tomorrow, meet me by the east gate at noon."

"Okay!" George said, happy that he finally had someone to teach him.

"I'm Catherine by the way!" Catherine informed him.

"I'm George." George said.

The two then parted ways as Catherine went somewhere away from the bar whilst George went inside the bar to go see Grim.

'What a peculiar guy.' Catherine thought as she stared at the night sky. She heard some rustling behind her, turning around, she saw some thugs with weapons ready to attack her. She sighed, unsheathing her sword. 'Thugs are idiots, they should know better than to mess with a Royal Knight.'

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George and Grim both left the bar as they headed to the inn. George told Grim what happened. Grim grinned and chuckled.

"I don't know how but you did it." Grim replied, chuckling. Though happy for him, he also felt guilty. 'Sorry I couldn't teach you. I just can't.'

They then arrived at the inn, went to their room, and went to sleep. But before sleeping on the ground, George grabbed his broadsword from the old room and brought it to their new room.