Chapter 4: First Disciple Signed Up
The girl soon woke up, blinking. She looked around and realized that the room was unfamiliar.
"Where... where am I?"
She then remembered her final memories. It was the moment she was running away from some bandits, and then a strange man appeared and helped her.
The man fought and mercilessly killed the bandits. She watched, and exhaustion and fear had stacked too much, quickly making her pass out.
She quickly checked herself. Her clothes were still on. Her hands and her legs also weren’t tied.
She then sighed in relief.
"Good. I’m not at bandit then... but if I’m not there, then where am I?"
Before she could think further, the door was opened, and from it, Garion entered.
"Oh, you have woken up."
The girl stared at him for a moment and quickly remembered that this was the one who had saved her.
She quickly jumped out of bed and bowed deeply, lowering her head.
"Thank you, sir, for saving me from those bandits."
Garion smiled, waving her off.
"Don’t worry too much. Killing bandits isn’t so hard, and honestly, they were more like wild animals."
The girl raised her head and nodded.
"Still... you save me from them."
Garion only smiled and then crossed his arms.
"Alright, alright. But tell me, I’m quite curious about why you, a young girl, were alone in the middle of the forest?"
The girl frowned, clenching her fist.
"My family... They are killed by bandits, and I managed to run away before they got me, too."
"But I never expected that I would meet another bandit group and, seeing me as a young girl and alone, they thought I was an easy target."
Garion’s smile faded the moment he heard it.
"So you’re on your own now. You don’t even have anywhere to stay now, right?"
The girl looked around the room nervously, knowing it didn’t look bad.
Then, she quickly made up her mind, knelt down, and bowed again.
"Please, sir. Please let me stay here. I don’t have anywhere to go. I’ll do anything."
Garion rubbed his chin, thinking hard.
He had been planning to recruit disciples anyway, but he never expected that the first one he recruited to be a girl.
But then, he suddenly thought of something.
Wait a minute... Back in my old world, gyms always used female models for posters and ads, and it worked every time.
Why don’t I use the same strategy here? I can build her into a perfect, beautiful, and fit girl.
There will be a lot of men and even women who will come to register right away, wanting to become her or know her.
Garion smirked, thinking about how perfect a plan he had made in his mind.
---
The girl blinked a few times, not knowing what Garion was thinking.
She just hoped that Garion would accept and let her stay here.
Garion then finally turned to her and nodded.
"Sure. You can stay here, but on one condition. You need to become my disciple."
The girl’s eyes widened in surprised.
"Disciple? Sir, is this... a sect?"
Garion shook his head, laughing.
"Not exactly. I call this place the God Gym, a training ground for the gods."
The girl tilted her head in confusion.
"A... gym? For gods? What is a gym?"
Garion smiled, folding his arms.
"Think of it like a sect. I just like to be a bit different, and that’s why I called it a gym."
The girl raised her brows, muttering slowly.
"A sect... but with a strange name...?"
Garion just shrugged.
"Names are important. There were too many sects with long names like ’Burning Sun Sect’ or ’Moon Sword Sect’."
"I’ll just name mine a bit unique and also replace the word ’sect’ with ’gym’. It is also a bit different, and later you will know it. Just don’t worry too much."
The girl thought about it slowly and nodded.
"I see. Then... I will become your disciple, Master."
Garion grinned, stretching his body.
"Good. Then welcome to the God Gym..."
The girl quickly bowed, telling him her name.
"My name is Dahlia, Master."
Garion nodded, hands on his hips.
"Good. Welcome, Dahlia. You’re my first disciple."
Dahlia blinked in surprise.
"Your... first?"
Garion nodded without hesitation.
"Yeah. You’re the first. This is a brand new gym after all."
Dahlia’s shoulders quickly stiffened.
"A... new one?"
She looked down at the floor, biting her lips. There were too many thoughts on her mind right now.
What the hell did I just agree to? I thought it was joining a strong and old sect... but no.
I’m actually the first disciple in a brand new sect that was called God Gym.
That means two things will happen to me sooner. Either I become famous as the sect grows or...
I’m the first one to die when the sect becomes too famous or is attacked by another one.
Her eyes twitched as she pictured both outcomes.
Great... really great.
She rubbed her head and sighed.
"My head hurts."
Garion tilted his head, completely clueless about her inner panic.
He just smiled as usual and reassured her while bringing some food he had cooked.
"You’ll be fine. Just eat some food and rest. You have been through a lot. Your body is still in shock."
Dahlia sat down slowly, her stomach growling.
"Yes, Master."
She took a bite, chewing quietly.
Garion crossed his arms and watched her eat before leaving her.
---
Garion moved into another room, closing the door behind him.
Garion kept the bandit corpses and also a messy stack old old martial arts and cultivation books he looted.
He crossed his arms and thought.
"Now that I have a disciple, I can’t just train her in my old ways. This is a new world after all."
"I need to make a proper routine for her, something that fits both this world and his style."
He sat down, picked up the first book, and flipped it open.
"Alright... let me see just how the people in this world cultivate with mana."