Heretic Trainer: The Gym Is My Cultivation Method

Eliza soon arrived at Mersha’s laboratory.

However, the moment she stepped inside, she was slightly surprised to discover several enormous glass tubes standing in the middle of the room.

Inside three of them were the forbidden armors belonging to the three Dragon Slayers, each suspended within a strange liquid while countless mysterious instruments surrounded them.

Mersha, who was currently wearing her glasses and scribbling notes into a notebook, noticed Eliza’s arrival and looked up with a curious smile. ”Oh? Eliza? Hehehe, what brings you here? Do you need something?”

Eliza calmly glanced at the enormous tubes before turning her attention back to Mersha. ”Some newcomers need help.”

Mersha tilted her head. ”Help? What kind of help, exactly?”

Eliza replied in her usual soft, emotionless voice. ”Too weak.”

Mersha blinked before falling silent for a moment. Then, as though she had suddenly realized something, she let out an amused chuckle.

”Hehehe, I see now. So those new dragon customers have already collapsed from training, huh?”

Eliza nodded. ”Ten minutes.”

Mersha froze for a moment before her eyes widened behind her glasses. ”Only ten minutes? Oh my, that’s much worse than I expected!”

She slowly adjusted her glasses, a rather unsettling grin spreading across her face.

”Hehehe, well, well... It seems our new customers are going to need something a little more special than ordinary recovery potions.”

Mersha turned around and quickly walked toward one of the sealed glass tubes, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

”Actually, let me tell you something interesting, Eliza. Hehehe, I’ve been studying these forbidden armors for quite some time now, and since they’re all related to dragons, I’ve managed to discover several fascinating things!”

Eliza silently stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

However, instead of explaining further, Mersha suddenly reached into her spatial ring and pulled out a small glass bottle containing a strange, glowing liquid.

She held it out toward Eliza with a delighted grin. ”By the way, all those new dragon customers are in the Celestial Realm, right?”

Eliza nodded calmly. ”Yes.”

Mersha’s grin immediately widened. ”Hehehe, perfect! Then this little creation of mine should work wonderfully!”

As she spoke, the bottle’s surface began glowing, revealing its name.

[Celestial Dragon Training Serum]

Mersha pushed up her glasses, looking extremely pleased with herself. ”This serum was specifically designed to help Celestial Realm dragons endure much harsher physical training.”

Eliza examined the bottle for a moment before asking in her usual cold, emotionless voice. ”Side effects?”

Mersha casually waved her hand. ”Oh, nothing too serious! They’ll just experience extreme exhaustion afterward and probably sleep much more deeply than usual. That’s all!”

Eliza slowly raised her pale grey eyes and stared directly at her.

Mersha blinked innocently. ”What? Why are you looking at me like that? Hehehe, that’s already extremely gentle by my standards, you know!”

Eliza remained silent for another moment before finally accepting the bottle.

However, just as she was about to leave, Mersha suddenly raised her hand. ”Oh, wait! One more thing!”

Her cheerful expression became unusually serious. ”Remember, Eliza. One drop per bottle of water for each dragon. Just one drop, alright?”

She adjusted her glasses and stared at Eliza intently. ”And I mean it! Do not exceed that amount under any circumstances, okay? Remember, only ONE drop!”

Eliza glanced at the small bottle in her hand before calmly nodding. ”Understood.”

A few moments later, Eliza returned to the training hall, silently carrying the small bottle Mersha had given her.

The moment Clara noticed her arrival, her violet eyes immediately sparkled with excitement.

”Ohhh? Eliza! You’re back already! Hehehe, did our lovely Mersha give you something interesting?”

Eliza calmly raised the bottle in her hand and explained in her usual soft, emotionless voice.

”[Celestial Dragon Training Serum]. One drop per bottle of water. One bottle per dragon. Do not exceed.”

Clara blinked for a moment before a mischievous grin slowly spread across her face.

”Hehehe... Oh my! A special serum made just for dragons? How thoughtful of Mersha! Our dear customers are going to be so happy!”

However, the dragon customers sprawled across the floor didn’t share her excitement.

In fact, the moment they saw Clara’s increasingly delighted expression, a horrible chill suddenly crawled up their spines.

One of the dragons weakly raised his head, his exhausted face filled with suspicion. ”W-Why... why the hell are you smiling like that?”

Clara tilted her head sweetly, clasping her hands behind her back as though she were the most innocent girl in existence.

”Oh? Whatever do you mean? Hehehe, we’re just going to help you train better, of course!”

The dragon stared at her in horror.

Somehow, those cheerful words sounded far more terrifying than an outright threat.

Beside her, Eliza quietly added, ”Drink. Then continue training.”

The dragons immediately went pale.

Clara giggled at their reactions. ”Hehehe! See? Isn’t our customer service wonderful?”

---

Eliza stood guard near the exhausted dragons while Clara hurried off with several God Gym disciples to prepare the bottles of training serum.

The dragons watched her leave with pale faces, their expressions filled with growing uneasiness.

One of them quietly whispered, ”Why the hell do I feel like that smiling woman is even more dangerous than the disaster zone?”

Eliza, who had been standing silently nearby like a cold ghost, calmly replied, ”Correct instinct.”

The dragon immediately shut his mouth, not daring to utter another word.

A few minutes later, Clara returned with several disciples carrying trays filled with glowing bottles.

Her violet eyes sparkled with excitement as she cheerfully approached the exhausted dragons.

”Hehehe! Here you go, my dear customers! Special dragon training drinks, freshly prepared just for you! Aren’t we thoughtful?”

The dragons exchanged hesitant glances.

None of them particularly trusted that suspiciously cheerful smile, but under Eliza’s cold, silent gaze, not a single one dared to refuse.

One by one, they reluctantly grabbed the bottles and drank their contents.

”BLEEEGH!”

”WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS TASTE?!”

”URGH! IT TASTES LIKE SOMEONE BOILED A ROTTEN CORPSE!”

Almost immediately, the dragons began gagging and twisting their faces in disgust at the horrendous taste.

Some desperately covered their mouths, while others looked as though they were about to vomit their entire stomachs onto the floor.

Clara merely giggled at their miserable expressions. ”Hehehe! Oh, don’t be so dramatic! Good medicine is supposed to taste terrible, right?”

However, the effects were almost immediate.

Their exhausted bodies suddenly heated up, their draconic bloodlines began stirring violently, and a tremendous surge of strength rushed through their muscles.

The fatigue that had left them sprawled helplessly across the floor disappeared in a matter of seconds.

The red-haired dragon youth immediately shot to his feet, his eyes widening in disbelief. ”HOLY SHIT! I CAN MOVE AGAIN!”

Another dragon clenched his fists, feeling the renewed power coursing through his body. ”My body... it feels even stronger than before!”

Clara immediately clapped her hands, her face lighting up with delight.

”Wonderful! Hehehe! See? I told you our special drinks would help! Now that everyone’s feeling energetic again, let’s continue our training!”

This time, the dragons threw themselves into their workouts with renewed determination.

Thanks to the serum, they could endure much heavier training loads, and even their naturally powerful draconic physiques began showing noticeable improvements.

Unfortunately, the moment the training session finally ended, something rather strange happened.

The red-haired dragon suddenly staggered, his eyes rolling backward. ”Ugh... what the...”

THUD!

He collapsed face-first onto the floor.

Before the others could react, another dragon’s eyes rolled backward, followed by another, and another.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Within seconds, every single dragon had collapsed onto the training hall floor, completely unconscious and snoring peacefully as though they hadn’t slept in centuries.

Eliza blinked, her normally emotionless face showing a rare trace of surprise. ”So fast.”

She slowly turned toward Clara, her pale grey eyes narrowing suspiciously. ”Clara. You used two drops, didn’t you?”

Clara froze for a moment before slowly turning toward her with an innocent smile. ”Hehehe... Well, you know what they say! The more, the better, right?”

Eliza stared at her silently.

Clara clasped her hands behind her back and continued smiling, looking completely pleased with herself. ”Besides, look how peacefully they’re sleeping! Isn’t that wonderful?”

Eliza glanced at the unconscious dragons scattered across the floor before letting out a quiet sigh. ”...I hope they’ll be fine.”

Clara giggled. ”Hehehe! Of course they will! Probably!”