"Stop relying on your strength, Boy!"
I felt a hit to my head, and I didn't even flinch, not feeling it at all.
I sighed, putting my sword on my shoulder and looking down at the old man who was using a rather thick stick as a makeshift cane, which just made contact with my head.
He was looking down at the disintegrating Beowolf, which I now knew the name of, one that they shared with the Alpha one.
"What else do you want me to do? This thing is heavy, you know?"
I muttered as he looked up at me, rolling his eyes.
"I can tell, brat, but you suck at using it. Why don't you stop sucking at swordplay and start sucking-"
I raised my hand to cut him off. I did not need to hear another word about how I needed to get laid with one of the village girls who seemed rather interested in me specifically.
"Aaaand I'm going to cut you off right there, you walking relic..."
I grumbled, What a dick.
"How about instead of yelling at me like a broken record, you actually tell me what to do?"
A huff escaped the old man as he turned around and started walking back to the village, slowly, very slowly.
"If you can't control your strength, what's the point?"
I rolled my eyes in response, following after him at a snail's pace.
My duty as the default exterminator was dealt with for today, unless there were more attacks.
And, the past seven days, this little shit was following me around, practically attached to my hip, since he heard that I was, allegedly, trained.
He watched and criticized, every damn time. He didn't even tell me his name, and everyone just called him gramps, and I felt too awkward to ask at this point.
"You're good at dodging, at least, so you won't get mauled after you leave."
I could hear the care in his voice, I really could.
The walk was short, but with the old man, it seemed to stretch on, mostly because he was tiny and had a hard time walking due to what was most likely back pain, considering he was perpetually hunched over.
The man had no sense of social cues, or he was old enough to get away with it.
From what Daniel told me, Gramps was a huntsman, whatever that meant. It seemed like a common phrase everyone knew, and questions would be asked if I questioned what it was. Questions I wasn't comfortable answering yet.
"So, Brat, are you planning to go to one of the academies?"
I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts and looking down at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Academies?"
I asked curiously, tilting my head to the side as he scoffed.
"You really grew up under a rock, didn't you? One of the Four Academies? Did your grandfather teach you nothing?"
I wanted to groan at how vague he was, but I held myself back.
"Oh, I don't know about that... I was hoping to find someone who could give me a second opinion."
I prodded carefully, and Gramps grunted in what seemed like annoyance.
"If you want training against Grimm, go to Beacon-"
Beacon, the place I was told to go, this old man was spitting gold for me right now.
"If you want any actual training, go to Atlas, it's militaristic, but best equipped."
I quirked an eyebrow, that was two.
"What about the other two?"
I asked curiously, adjusting my sword on my shoulder absently so the blade didn't dig into the clothing.
"Bah, Vacuo is decent, more dangerous Grimm there, but the place itself is full of idiots and debauchery, and Mistral? It's decent, too, but that's all you're going to get."
I hummed, now really curious, decent, it seems like they just met the standards. But the other two were definitely above it in some ways.
"I'll... take your words into consideration..."
I muttered, as we finally reached the gates, Daniel and his friend, whose name I did not know, were on guard duty again today, every three days in rotation.
I nodded at them as Gramps and I walked into the settlement.
"Those brats..."
The old man muttered as he continued, and I resisted the urge to ask. I had a feeling he was the one who trained Daniel, but that was about it.
"Get yourself a smaller sword, Brat, and a shield."
The old man practically spat at me, and I raised an eyebrow at him, grumpy bat.
"I have a sword stashed outside the gates, but I don't have a shield..."
I shrugged as he turned to me with a raised eyebrow.
"Why would you have a sword stashed outside the fence?"
I pursed my lips.
"Well, when I first saw the fence, I didn't know for sure if I wouldn't be run out, so I brought things that wouldn't weigh me down, I could come back for the things I stashed later at night..."
That was a lie, of course, one I came up with over the last week, but it did get a grunt out of the old man.
"At least you have a good head on your shoulders, brat."
I scoffed. That was the first real compliment I had gotten from the old man, and even if I could hear sarcasm in his tone, I was willing to take it.
"Thanks..."
A grumble was what he got from me in return, though.
"If you're so insistent on using that oversized piece of scrap, learn not to break a building when you swing it first with smaller swords, stupid brat. No academy will let it slide if you break their foundations when you train."
That was a good piece of advice, but the way he said it pissed me off a lot. Though I would be sure to do that now that he mentioned it.
Though I was more partial to the greatsword I had right now, the unga bunga in me demanded it.
On the other hand, I was fully aware that this was no longer a game. The NPCs did not respawn for me to farm them infinitely, and these were people, and I myself wasn't some edgy mother fucker that did not care about other people that my actions might affect.