Martial Elf

“Do you want me to teach you martial arts?”

I somewhat expected this.

Golb nodded at my question, while Silv stared at my face, nodding his head eagerly in response.

It seemed that only Golb was genuinely interested in learning martial arts, and Silv had just come along for the ride.

“You know it’s ridiculous, right?”

I leaned my body against Rudolf’s neck, resting my chin on my left arm.

“Although our meeting wasn’t particularly friendly from the start, fundamentally, you are a giant that eats people.”

I pointed at myself with my right hand.

“In my case, it’s a matter of hindsight. If I had been weaker than you, I might have been eaten or at best turned into Silv’s toy.”

“That’s not true… The Elf is not a toy…”

Silv waved his hands in a panic, but it was his ignorance and innocence that made it all the more cruel.

Silv couldn’t properly comprehend the difference between an Elf and a Giant.

If I had been weak, I might have experienced something so horrific that being eaten as a sentient being would have seemed preferable.

“I don’t think the Elves I’ve taught would fare any better against you, but should I really be empowering a species that might become a natural enemy?”

“Well…”

“Look.”

I raised my right arm.

The ample sleeves of my martial arts uniform fell back, revealing a child’s delicate arm.

However, the two who had been knocked out by that arm turned pale.

“This arm is so small. If we’re talking weight, your forearm must weigh a thousand times more.”

Golb looked at his own right forearm.

It had been shattered from our clash, from his knuckles to his lower arm bone.

Even with the Giant’s extraordinary vitality, it was still a dire situation.

“A rock that weighs a hundred thousand pounds was shattered by my willow-like arm. And this is the power of martial arts.”

“Of course, not everyone who learns martial arts achieves this level. It’s special in my case. But that’s the innate divinity. Just that alone is a disaster for humans. It’s something Elves can’t afford to ignore either.”

“Just by being a Giant, you possess that much power. As the ultimate predator in nature, the amount you consume is substantial. If you strengthen yourself by learning martial arts, you would unleash a calamity upon the world, even carrying the mission of being a coordinator of the ecosystem inherited from your mother.”

Considering the implications of a being with such physical attributes mastering martial arts raises curiosity as a martial scholar, but I couldn’t dismiss the potential influence it could have on the world.

I relaxed my jaw and stood up straight as I continued.

“Above all, a martial artist has one rule when bestowing their martial arts upon a disciple.”

“…What is it?”

“Non-humans cannot be taught.”

Golb, visibly disappointed, asked back, thinking that he had lost the chance to learn martial arts.

“Non-humans cannot be taught?”

“It means you can’t teach those who are not human.”

“…But Giants are a branch of humans.”

“That’s not the kind of human I’m talking about.”

While martial arts granted many transcendent powers to humans in the Central Plains, it was also the root cause of many tragedies.

Like how blades have no eyes, martial arts are merely excellent tools; ultimately, it is the individual possessing those martial arts that determines their use.

Among the events that occurred even before birth, there were numerous colossal tragedies like the War of the Great Powers, and the martial world caused such devastation that the enshrining of a prohibition against invading was considered a law, while the weak were simply bullied by those with more power. A cursory glance would reveal countless instances of bloodshed in the history of the martial world due to martial techniques falling into the hands of the unworthy.

Thus, clans that inherited powerful and dangerous martial arts along with their noble lineage strive to cultivate character as much as they seek martial accomplishment.

“By the way, this refers to the duties and conduct of a human.”

“What reason do you have to possess power beyond that? While I might consider it a calamity, living by your instincts should suffice with what you already have.”

Hearing those words, Golb slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with intense emotion.

“I want to go back to the village.”

“The village? Are you talking about the Village of Giants where you originally lived?”

Golb nodded.

“The number of Giants that can live in the Village of Giants has been fixed for some time now.”

“We need many times more food, clothing, and weaponry than other beings.”

“If we can no longer endure the village’s consumption, duels are held to decide which Giants remain in the village.”

“My father lost in such a duel and passed away, leaving my mother and me as Wandering Giants.”

Golb spoke with a sense of injustice.

“A banished Giant has nothing. Moreover, the things out here, like this clothing, are not suitable for Giants. There’s always something lacking. A banished Giant ends up dying endlessly from constantly searching for food and resources.”

“So when the duel for selection occurs, you have to defeat a warrior from the village to re-enter, but the warriors are all surviving Giants, well-fed and well-cared for in the village.”

“Until now, no Wandering Giant has ever defeated a Giant from the village and returned. Frankly, if I were alone, I would have challenged them either way, but…”

Golb glanced at his sibling.

And perhaps at his mother, Bryonia.

Especially with his younger brother Silv, whose intelligence was significantly lower.

If he were just a strong Giant with poor intelligence, he wouldn’t likely survive long.

For a Wandering Giant, lacking intellect would be a major weakness, especially when a few failed hunts could be catastrophic.

Nature operates on survival of the fittest.

Yet the more I listened, the stranger the story of the Giants became.

‘It sounds like the fundamental design of the Giants is the problem.’

While I understand that merely eating and growing makes them almost a disaster to the ecosystem, the method of population control seems excessively brutal.

Elves are also destined for long lives, but they are allowed to form a romantic relationship only once.

Having children is not easy, and establishing such bonds is inherently challenging. Even considering loss through bereavement, souls and bodies do not permit a second partner.

Still, Elves consume fewer natural resources than ordinary beings, so even if their population grows, they are a race capable of adapting and surviving.

In contrast, outside the ecological niche of the Village of Giants, the environment is unsuitable for most of the world’s spaces for Giants to live.

And to maintain their population, they kill and drive each other out at regular intervals.

‘In some ways, it feels like a solitary man’s brew.’

In the previous life in the Central Plains, there existed a lethal poison technique that involved placing poisonous insects or creatures in a narrow jar to devour each other, until only one remained.

The last one, poisoned, would serve as a material for wicked sorcery and was itself a potent poison.

Is it an excessive leap of logic to feel like they are caging the Giants in the Village of Giants, allowing only the strong to survive?

It might be necessary to investigate the Village of Giants.

Simply feeling pity wouldn’t suffice, as I couldn’t risk allowing dangerously empowered Giants with martial arts to become more powerful through meddling in their rules.

However, if there was a necessity…

“If I were to teach you martial arts…”

At those words, Golb’s head snapped up.

“I will do anything!”

“What if as a result, you betray your kind?”

He flinched at that and took time to contemplate.

Then, it seemed he had reached a conclusion and nodded.

“Anyway, they already cast us out, and my priority is my brother and mother. As long as it doesn’t harm my family…”

“That’s enough. I hope you won’t have a reason to do so in the first place.”

I slowly stated the other conditions.

“And don’t eat humans.”

“Humans?”

“Elves and humans look alike on the surface. If you start eating humans, chances are you would subconsciously consider Elves as part of your prey. I have no desire to cause harm to my own kind.”

“I understand.”

“If you break this promise, I will personally kill you and your brother, as I sowed the seeds.”

At my quiet declaration, he swallowed hard.

“The reason I didn’t kill you despite being ambushed last time is simple. You are not a threat to me and have merely lived your way as Wandering Giants. Elves hunt only as much as needed. In cases where it doesn’t upset the balance of nature, they rarely take lives. But this situation is different.”

I stepped outside the forest for the first time, displaying my intent to kill.

The energies around me resonated with my will, overwhelming the space.

In a realm that obeyed my will, the beings that seemed to sense hostility everywhere turned pale and struggled to breathe properly.

“I cannot tolerate the idea of my martial arts harming my own kind as an unarmed Araya. If you break this promise, rest assured, your proud massive body will come to understand the hearts of the humans who mocked you as a dwarf. Do you still wish to learn martial arts?”

As I withdrew my energy, Silv collapsed as if his string had been cut, while Golb gasped for air.

“Is… Silv?”

“He’s not dead. So, what’s your answer?”

“…I will. I will never eat humans for my whole life. Nor will my siblings or mother.”

“Good. Then I shall impart martial arts. But… hmm…”

Saying this after establishing a grandiose stance feels awkward.

“I cannot teach you the entirety of martial arts.”

“What do you mean by that…”

I understood this might sound absurd after all the pompous declarations, but I had my reasons.

“To be precise, I cannot teach you the heart and intent behind martial arts. What I can teach you right now is merely the form.”

“……”

“Don’t look at me with such a discontent expression. There are two reasons for this.”

I extended my index and middle fingers to continue my explanation.

“The first is that martial arts come into being when the form and the intent align.”

“The intent in martial arts is the direction, and following that direction, the form is given strength by aura. In martial arts, it is referred to as inner power.”

“The issue is that this aura is fundamentally energy from outside and not an inherent power of any being, and circulating or moving this energy within the body carries inherent risks.”

“That’s why the mind method is needed. It is to gather the energy of nature within your body and control it with your will.”

“The problem is that the mind method I possess is tuned to an Elf’s physique and is likely to be vastly different from a Giant’s characteristics. This means there’s a low chance it would work properly, and even if it did, it would be dangerous.”

“Since I cannot accurately know how a Giant’s body operates, I cannot provide the knowledge immediately.”

“The second reason is that I still do not trust you. If you were to learn everything and break your promise when I’m not around, how significant would the damage be, even if I kill you?”

“I will teach you the form, and you must build up your virtue so that I can come to trust you. If by the time we meet again you’ve kept our promise, I will receive the ritual of discipleship from you and pass on the mind method.”

Golb nodded in agreement, perhaps seeing the logic in my words.

“Then let’s start by examining the basics of the form. We need to see how the overall flow is working in your body. Wake Silv up and have him join us.”

The prepared Giants then began swinging their fists in place.

“Swing with all your might.”

Though their movements were clumsy, the sheer mass caused the air to rip with the sound of their swings.

As the Giants moved their bodies, I checked their muscles, the movement of power and center, and the twisting of their body shapes.

“Stop, I understand for now.”

With that command, Silv dropped to the ground, exhausted, while Golb barely remained standing, leaning against a large rock.

“First, we need to address the initial aspect.”

Perhaps it was sufficient due to their immense strength, but there was a complete mess regarding how they used their bodies.

“Giants, the first problem you must overcome to learn the form is…”

Recalling the Giants’ poor posture, I declared.

“You are not swinging at all.”

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