Chapter 22 : The Art of Elbo

“I’m mainly guiding players who are visiting the Hell Desert for the first time on how to deal with the Elves.”

His counterpart extended a hand to Wansik and introduced himself.

“Huh?”

No matter how many classes exist…

“What’s an Elf Counselor?”

It was a class name that made no sense at all.

“In the Hell Desert, if you’re not careful about your relationship with the Elves, this kind of thing can happen repeatedly. There’s a reason the name combines ‘Hell’ and ‘Desert.’ It’s the desert of hell! This place right here.”

Breeze spoke in a stern tone.

“…That’s definitely not a name King Hwang Jaeho came up with.”

Wansik was certain.

If it was the King Hwang Jaeho he knew, there was no way he’d give such a ruthless name to his own land.

“Still, you’re lucky. If your mental state isn’t too shaken, we can start the education immediately.”

“Ed…ucation…?”

“Yes. It’s a process that all humans in the Hell Desert have to go through. If you only take my counseling, you’ll be able to ‘greet the Elves’ properly!”

“…Sorry, but the guy over there is my friend.”

“Who are you talking about…?”

“Al…icia…?!”

Breeze quickly covered Wansik’s mouth!

“Rule number one! Never speak carelessly about Lady Alicia! ‘That guy’? What were you about to say after that…?”

Wansik was growing more convinced.

The man before him was crazy.

“I’m just meeting a friend. Why do you have to be so strict about it?”

“That’s how it is here! And honestly, you can’t even trust your so-called friends.”

Breeze’s suspicion was natural.

If he really was a friend, why was he shouting from outside?

“That bastard cut off my path. What can I do?”

“Hmm.”

Breeze’s expression darkened upon hearing that.

“Maybe this man is the most difficult customer I’ve dealt with so far.”

But he couldn’t give up.

Since recently resurrecting the Giant and transferring to become an Elf Counselor, he’d started taking great pride in his class.

***

While Wansik was going through his ordeal, Jaeho was actually absent from the Hell Desert.

“Temperature control device, you say? Hmm… I’ll ask the Mage class about it.”

Jaeho asked Samantha and quickly got an answer.

That was why he set off on this journey.

Heading toward the Red Mage Tower in the southeast of the Terras Continent.

It was quite a long trip.

He struggled a bit to stop the two women who insisted on following him, saying things like “I’ll accompany you!” or “I’m your assistant, after all!”

Since the Cofei soldiers couldn’t manage things without Jaeho, the two had to stay behind to manage the garden.

But that didn’t mean Jaeho traveled alone.

Those clingy, annoying types wouldn’t leave him be.

“Haha! How could we just stand by when the Spiritizing Agent is going on a long journey?”

“Honestly, dealing with humans isn’t very pleasant, but I’ve adapted pretty well on the way here!”

The Elves!

Not just one or two, but a whole group of ten had tagged along on the journey.

Traveling with the Elves wasn’t too bad aside from their overwhelming respect and rigid way of thinking (limited to Jaeho only).

What was especially convenient was their proxy hunting.

Most monsters encountered while crossing the desert were easily handled by the Elves.

[Experience points gained are minimized due to level difference with party members.]

But the system didn’t fool anyone.

Almost no experience was gained through proxy hunting by the Elves.

Typically, regular soldier NPCs were set around level 200, and knights started at a minimum of 300.

Semi-Rankers could deal with appropriate NPCs, and Rankers were on par with most combat NPCs unless facing Named NPCs.

Experts estimated Elves’ levels were higher than most knight NPCs.

At least 400 or more.

The fact that no player had defeated an Elf was proof.

Even the bus drivers heading to Luxi Forest avoided fighting Elves at all costs by mobilizing every skill and ability.

So Jaeho, favored by such Elves, had no reason to worry about danger.

But that only lasted for a while before he started feeling restless.

No matter what, it felt like a waste to just watch the opportunity for leveling pass by during such a long trip.

Besides, watching the Elves’ graceful, agile movements was quite educational.

Used to only basic fighting, Jaeho began to notice certain patterns in the Elves’ movements and tried to imitate them little by little.

That proved his companion Wram’s desire to have him learn martial arts wasn’t just about pure physicality.

“Oh! Impressive!”

The Elves who saw him imitate their moves were amazed.

“Ah, thanks.”

Since the Elves always applauded whatever Jaeho did, he wasn’t that interested.

But their admiration was genuine.

“Lady Alicia doesn’t seem very close to the sword.”

“Oh, this?”

Jaeho lowered the rapier hanging at his waist.

“Not much use for it, really…”

“Hmph. It seems you tried to imitate our Elf-style swordsmanship but changed it into a form more suitable for unarmed combat.”

“?!”

That was a very sharp observation.

Jaeho was intrigued by the Elf’s words.

It wasn’t just flattery; it meant they had carefully observed his movements.

“Could I possibly learn the swordsmanship you guys use?”

Jaeho asked excitedly.

Even though he’d been playing the game for months, Jaeho only had one combat skill.

Tentacles… no, <Rapid Mutation Growth> using plants.

And on the few hunting occasions, he always chose a striking move using the Sacred Tree Seed.

Now he didn’t even have that.

Though the flower shop was his main business, having zero combat skills in the RPG game felt pretty lame.

The Elves silently watched Jaeho with serious faces.

Shocking as it was, they eventually shook their heads.

“It might be a bit difficult.”

“Oh…”

Jaeho expected to be rejected.

“Well, I guess that’s possible…”

He tried to hide his disappointment, but the Elves clearly had good reasons for refusing.

“Your body type isn’t efficient for rapier swordsmanship.”

“Teaching archery would be even more difficult…”

“Have you considered martial arts?”

“Hm? Martial arts? Is there a separate Elf-style martial arts?”

That was actually good news.

Jaeho was far more accustomed to close combat than to wielding a sword.

“Of course. In fact, the basis of all Elf martial arts, whether sword or bow, is ‘Elbo.’”

“…Elbo?”

“That’s right. Elbo is a compound word of Elf and boxing… (omitted).”

Though it was confusing in many ways, the biggest mystery was how Elves knew boxing.

“Elbo is originally a self-defense martial art. It’s not meant to harm others. That’s the basic spirit of our Elf tribe.”

[You have learned about the Elves’ secret combat martial art, <Elbo> .]

“Self-defense, you say?!”

Ignoring that, the Elves began demonstrating Elbo moves for Jaeho.

Indeed, punches and kicks aimed at empty space weren’t very threatening.

Their soft and graceful movements looked more like exercises.

“These are the basic moves. But they’re only a hint of the true nature, which lies in harmony with nature.”

Swish!

At that moment, a giant desert scorpion suddenly sprang out.

Perfect timing. This would be a proper demonstration.

The Elf took a stance in front of the scorpion.

“The number of earth spirits in the desert is overwhelming.”

Suddenly, golden light began to glow from the Elf’s entire body.

The atmosphere was completely different from the earlier demonstrations in empty air!

“Earth spirits possess firm and destructive power. That’s not really compatible with Elbo’s nature.”

The Elf calmly said, then thrust a fist at the scorpion.

Kuuung!

With a heavy shockwave, it felt as if the space in front was being torn apart.

Paaargh—!!!!

One of the scorpion’s claws burst apart instantly.

Jaeho was speechless.

How on earth was this self-defense?

At the same time, he realized the Elves had actually been holding back when beating up rude humans.

The heavy spirit-infused destructive power in Elbo’s gentle movements hit the scorpion’s entire body, and in about five seconds, it was dust.

[ <Elbo> learned.]

[ <Elbo Basic Strike> Lv.1]

[Increases attack power when using melee strike skills.]

[Increases evasion rate.]

[ <Elbo Spiritization> Lv.1]

[The power of surrounding spirits flows into Elbo.]

[Different properties apply according to spirit type.]

[* Currently available spirits]

[Spirit of Vitality:

1. Adds holy attack power.
2. Grants additional attack power to class skills.
3. Grants bonus experience when defeating enemies.]

[Spirit of Epfeltz Flower:

1. Provides continuous life regeneration buff to allies. (Stacks with Epfeltz Flower spirit buff.)
2. When stamina falls below 5%, reduces damage taken by half for 3 seconds.]

“Oh?”

Jaeho had never imagined the effect of the Spirit of the Epfeltz Flower.

“As expected from the Spiritizing Agent!”

“To be able to use the power of spirits directly!”

“Ah, well…”

Kiiiii—!!

Swish—!!

Suddenly, scorpions leapt out from all directions, threateningly wagging their tails.

“Oh! Perfect timing. We’ll protect you, so let’s start real combat practice immediately!”

The Elves, who had been fiercely protective of Jaeho until now, now pushed him forward to fight.

But would that actually work?

Ah, Jaeho could manage.

As mentioned before, Wram was no ordinary physical specimen…

Jaeho’s Elbo was not the soft and elegant movements, but rather fierce and destructive motions.

A result of natural physical talent.

[ <Elbo Spiritization> set to <Spirit of Vitality>.]

There was only one choice anyway.

The Spirit of the Epfeltz Flower was more suited for support than offense.

Flash—!

Jaeho’s bare fist struck the scorpion with a holy gleam.

“Ohh! Truly…!!!”

“The living Tinlight must be watching!”

The Elves praised him sincerely.

But Jaeho had no time to appreciate their reactions.

“Ugh!”

Unlike the Elf who had shattered the scorpion’s tough shell in one blow, Jaeho’s attack power wasn’t that great.

Besides, bare hands!

He had already experienced how weak unarmed attacks were in the past.

Swish—!!

Suddenly, three scorpions surrounded Jaeho.

Still, the Elves cheered and encouraged him.

“C-Can you please… help now…?”

Swaaaak—!!

A poisonous sting struck swiftly from behind Jaeho.

By the time he saw it, it was already inches away!

Pewing—!

At that moment, a holy gleam flashed and the scorpion’s tail was blasted away by a powerful blow.

“Don’t worry! Lady Alicia, just focus on mastering Elbo perfectly!!!”

“?!!!”

By now, some Elves had drawn their bows and aimed at the scorpions.

“Y-You guys…”

Jaeho was moved by their protection.

They had been tolerating everything all this time.

“Good punch!”

“Lady Alicia! Put more strength into your stomach!”

[Thanks to the Elves’ guidance, Elbo skill proficiency increases.]

[You struck a hard target 100 times with bare fists.]

[Strength and stamina permanently increased by 3 each.]

It was the best training, being able to practice skill mastery and stat boosts without any fear of death.

But that was only when done moderately.

[You struck a hard target 200 times with bare fists.]

[You struck a hard target 500 times with bare fists…]

[You struck a hard target continuously with bare fists…]

Because of the level difference with the scorpions, no matter how much you hit them, they wouldn’t die.

[You struck a hard target 1000 times with bare fists!]

[Strength and stamina permanently increased by 10 each.]

[ <Million Dollar> title obtained.]

[When combat lasts more than 5 minutes, fatigue gain rate decreases.]

“Hyeok! Hyeok! Hyeok!”

It was way too Spartan training.