Chapter 2
Iam Grimm
Looking at the scenery in front of me, if someone was to look carefully looked at my face they would see twisted expression in shock and disgust at this depressing image I have the horrible opportunity to gaze
It was a nightmare.
This place was the slums—a sprawling mess of decay and filth.
Piles of dung littered the streets, mostly from sickly horses and the mangy livestock—pigs rooting through the mud, hens scratching aimlessly.
But some of it... some of it was definitely human.
Don't ask me how I know the difference.
I'm not weird for being able to tell.
Not at all.
No wonder there was no toilet or shower in that damn "box" I'd been trapped in.
Turns out, here, everyone just did their business outside.
And honestly? I might call my old place a "box," but compared to this nightmare—it was a palace.
Some of these houses were missing roofs, others had giant holes punched through their walls. A few looked like they'd been thrown together with sticks and mud, barely holding up against the sky.
I glanced down at myself as I trudged along the shit-coated path.
Plain brown clothes—nothing fancy—clung to my body, but damn, did they stink.
Like they hadn't seen a good wash in weeks. Maybe months.
And judging by how I felt—itchy, grimy, and downright gross—I was definitely overdue for a bath too.
Great.
Just great.
Holding my nose, feeling exasperated, I approached an elderly woman who was carrying what seemed to be a little kid on her back—deathly pale and exhausted.
I asked, "Hey, sorry to disturb you but do you know where I can clean my body?"
Feeling slightly worried she might not understand English, I was pleasantly surprised to hear her respond, "Fuck off," then spit on my beaten shoes and, with a huff, walk off in a random direction.
I stood there, stuck in place, watching her disappear...
Bruh.
After asking around the people nearby, and after several instances of them kindly telling me to go away, I finally got lucky.
A girl, maybe around eleven years old, gave me directions to a public bathhouse.
A tiny flicker of hope in this mess of a place.
I sneaked past the guy who was "overseeing" the bath—more like some sketchy dude collecting cash from anyone wanting to use the so-called 'bath.'
Turns out, the bath was just a river.
A river in the middle of a forest that was just as depressing as the slums. The trees were sparse, bare, and leafless—like they'd given up on life.
Honestly, who makes you pay to use a river in the middle of nowhere?
Actually, I do know who: the so-called biggest "gang" in the slums. They forced everyone to cough up money to use the 'bath.'
Only problem? I didn't have a single coin to my name.
Between the shock and chaos of getting dumped in this new world, I completely forgot to bring any money with me.
I took a big sigh, quickly stripping off my grimy clothes, and slipped into the river—far away from anyone else—trying to wash off whatever layer of filth I'd accumulated.
As the cold water bit into my skin, my mind drifted back to what little info I'd managed to scrape from that girl earlier. Not much, considering she was from the slums and didn't seem all that keen on explaining things clearly.
Here's what I got:
The planet I'd landed on? Not Earth. It's called Holem.
A planet home to around 23 billion people, and somehow, it's the size of the fucking sun.
It's also crawling with horrible monsters—but honestly, that felt less urgent right now.
Apparently, there's magic too—I think. The girl wasn't exactly the best at breaking it down.
The continent we were on was called Yewman.
The city? Hope.
And the slums? Well, naturally, it's called Hope's End. Yeah, the irony wasn't lost on me.
Currency here was the same everywhere—bronze, silver, gold, and something called ori.
100 bronze coins make a silver.
500 silver make a gold.
And 10,000 gold make an ori.
I wasn't really sure what an ori was worth, but from what I gathered, 20 silver coins could keep a family of four living decently for a whole year.
And I guess this is probably the biggest thing I learned: there's apparently a war going on between Hope and some other country.
But honestly, who cares? That's got absolutely nothing to do wi—
"Hey, Grimm!!"
A deep, rough voice cut right through my inner monologue.
I froze.
Glanced around in horror.
And immediately dropped into a defensive squat, covering my privates like my life depended on it.
I squealed. Like. A. Girl.
Not my proudest moment.
My eyes landed on a group of five men standing on the bank, all of them eyeing me with mischievous grins.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!" I shrieked.
"Shut up, princess. No one here is interested in you," said the one who looked like the leader—white vest, black trousers, dirty boots, and the smug confidence of someone who'd been hit in the face with too much testosterone.
"Come on. The boss wants you," he added, grinning in a way that made me incredibly uncomfortable.
"B-b-b-but the way you said that makes it sound like someone is interested…" I stammered.
That wiped the smirk clean off his face. His expression twisted as his cheeks flushed bright red.
"NOBODY IS INTERESTED IN YOU!!!" he bellowed.
I blinked. "What? Come on, dude. Out of 23 billion people, someone has to be."
Seemingly flabbergasted, the bald man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"Seems you've developed a slick tongue."
"Ew."
"Not in that way!!"
"What did you say?"
"Huh?"
"You said a name earlier."
"What…?"
"Have you forgotten your own name?"
There was a pause. A heavy silence that stretched a little too long.
"…What was it?"
"…"
"…"
"IAM… IAM Grimm," he finally muttered.
"IAM Grimm," I whispered, the name lingering on my tongue like something familiar and strange all at once.
It echoed in my mind. Not just as a name, but something heavier. Like a title. A burden. A curse.
Or maybe just a really weird name someone slapped on this body.