The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned - Chapter 43
The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned 43
43. Interlude – Berald’s Martial Arts
After parting ways with Juliet.
I headed to the training ground with Berald.
‘As expected, the Ryu family is the Ryu family.’
Berald already had a private training ground that I had intended to acquire with the gold I ‘borrowed’ from Juliet.
“A private training ground is indeed nice. There’s even a noise-canceling barrier around it.”
“It was provided by the family.”
Berald changed into comfortable workout clothes with a somewhat bitter smile.
As he lightly warmed up, he asked.
“By the way, why did you suddenly suggest learning martial arts? Did you forget that I’m a candidate for the Magic Department?”
Judging by the ‘too’ in ‘did you forget too,’ it seemed he was often mistaken for a warrior by those around him.
‘Well, who would believe he’s in the Magic Department with that build.’
In fact, when I first met him in supplementary classes, I naturally assumed he was in the Warrior Department.
‘I even thought he was an upperclassman older than me.’
Who would have thought that Berald was actually a candidate for the Magic Department a year below me.
Now, I’m so used to it that it doesn’t seem strange, but it was quite a shock when I first saw him.
“There’s no rule that says a candidate for the Magic Department can’t learn martial arts, right?”
“That’s true, but….”
Berald scratched his head with an awkward smile.
“Well, alright. If it’s just for a light lesson.”
Berald clenched his fist and nodded.
“Alright. Shall we start with a light test?”
“Test?”
“We need to know your current level in advance.”
“Ah, I see what you mean.”
Berald took a stance as if he understood.
“Hoo.”
He raised both fists to face level and lowered his body.
Breathing short. Relaxing his muscles so he could spring forward at any moment.
A stance that came naturally even though no one had taught him.
‘As expected, he’s a natural when it comes to throwing punches.’
I smirked and stood a little distance away from Berald.
I didn’t take any particular stance.
As if I had just woken up from a nap, leisurely.
With my arms hanging long and my back straight.
“……”
Berald’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he saw my stance.
There was no sign of ‘combat’ readiness in my posture.
“Heh. It seems you’ve gained some great insight while I wasn’t looking.”
Did he think he was being ignored?
Berald glared at me with fierce eyes and tightened his clenched fists.
“But there’s one thing you should know, brother.”
The stigma engraved on Berald’s left chest glowed, and the magic spread throughout his body.
“I may not know magic, but I’m quite confident in my punches.”
Boom!
With a heavy sound that shook the floor of the training ground, Berald’s body shot forward with terrifying momentum.
The distance closed in the blink of an eye.
A fist imbued with magic swung at my philtrum with a fierce tearing sound.
Indeed, as Berald said, it was a precise strike that was hard to believe came from someone who had never properly learned martial arts.
“That’s good to know.”
Tak.
I leisurely extend my hand towards the approaching fist.
Like a hawk snatching its prey, I grab Berald’s wrist, kick his ankle, and simultaneously yank his wrist roughly.
“I’m pretty confident in my punching skills too.”
In an instant, Berald’s massive body floats into the air.
Sky flip.
The martial arts technique I learned directly from Berald reverses time and flips his body upside down.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Berald crashes onto the training ground floor, back first.
He exhales a broken breath and groans in pain.
“What, is it over already?”
“Ugh… Whatever it is, it seems you’ve gained some insight!”
Berald staggers to his feet and charges again.
Thud, thud, thud!
The training ground floor trembles as if an earthquake has struck, and the two-meter-tall giant rushes forward.
“You think brute force is all it takes?”
I don’t avoid the terrifyingly charging Berald; instead, I run towards him.
A fearsome swinging fist.
Berald’s fist and my fist collide.
Bang!
As soon as our fists meet, there’s a sound like an explosion, and Berald’s fist is flung backward.
“Ughhh!”
Even though Berald’s raw physical strength and the magic in his fist are much stronger.
It was Berald who groaned and retreated, clutching his fist.
I took a step towards the retreating Berald.
“If the stronger guy always wins, why would we need martial arts?”
Thud, thud, thud!
This time, my fists pounded Berald’s entire body.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
First, a blow to the philtrum.
Then, two consecutive blows to the uvula and the solar plexus.
I kicked his knee to break his stance and swung my hand like a knife to strike his head.
“Ugh!”
Berald clutched his crown with both hands, letting out a bizarre scream.
“Want more?”
“N-no! Stop! I’ll stop!”
The overwhelming gap made it unnecessary to continue the fight.
Berald blinked at me in disbelief.
“Where on earth did you learn such techniques?”
“That…”
I couldn’t help but let out a faint laugh, trailing off.
“…Who knows?”
How could I explain?
It was none other than you who taught me this.
Because you were there.
I could be here.
“Well, if it’s hard to say, you don’t have to tell me.”
Berald shook his head and stood up.
“Anyway, I thought I was pretty confident in my punches… but a warrior candidate is on a different level.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Among all the warrior candidates, there are probably only a handful who could beat you in hand-to-hand combat.”
Even now, Berald had already acquired an exceptional skill level that made it hard to believe he had never learned martial arts.
An innate, brute strength that could only be described as natural talent, supported by immense magical power.
A heavy yet sharp punch that didn’t seem like it came from someone who had never learned.
Even the instinctive sense to adjust his breathing with his movements.
‘Indeed, he’s a natural when it comes to punching.’
Despite having such innate talent, there was only one reason he couldn’t put up a proper fight against me and got beaten unilaterally.
‘Because his opponent was me.’
It’s a bit awkward to say it myself, but…
Honestly, there was a gap between Berald and me that mere talent couldn’t dare to bridge.
Even Professor Lucas wouldn’t be able to match me in bare-handed martial arts, so how could Berald, who hasn’t even properly learned martial arts, stand a chance against me?
‘Don’t think it’s unfair.’
Because it’s none other than you who made me who I am now.
“But what you just showed me… was that really martial arts?”
“Huh?”
“It felt a bit different from the martial arts I know.”
Berald continued, narrowing his eyes.
“Remember when our fists collided earlier? At that moment… before your fist even touched mine, something exploded and my fist bounced back.”
“……”
“How should I put it… It’s hard to explain exactly. It felt more like a mix of pure martial arts and some kind of magic.”
“…Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
‘Yeah, no matter what anyone says, this is the martial art you created.’
I never thought you’d figure it out in one go.
“That’s right. This is a martial art that can only be properly used if you learn magic.”
“A martial art that can only be used if you learn magic…? Is there such a thing?”
“Yes.”
As I nodded slightly, Berald let out a low hum.
“What’s the name of that martial art?”
“Name?”
“For a martial art of that level, it should have a name, right?”
“A name…”
I swallowed a chuckle and shook my head.
Suddenly.
Fragments of my past life flashed through my mind.
-Hey, come to think of it, what’s the name of this martial art?
-Name, you say?
-Yeah. You’ve borrowed a lot from here and there, but it’s essentially a martial art you created, right?
“Hmm. I haven’t really thought of a name.”
“Hey, but you created such a high-level martial art, and it doesn’t have a name?”
“Haha! If it needs a name, let’s call it ‘Berald Martial Art’!”
“Seriously, you’re going with that name?”
“Isn’t it cool?”
I shook my head as I watched Berald shrug his shoulders.
“There are names like Taijiquan or Xingyiquan… Aren’t there many impressive names?”
“Haha! But I like Berald Martial Art!”
“Why?”
“Because the only ones who know this martial art on this vast continent are you and me.”
“So?”
“You’re immortal, so you’ll live for a very long time, right? Our old man was just like that. When you get old, you even forget your own children’s names.”
“……”
“But no matter how long you live, you won’t forget the name of a technique you’ve practiced your whole life, even after thousands of years, right?”
That’s why.
Berald Martial Art.
“Even if I die, please remember the name.”
“Who’s dying, you idiot.”
“Hehe. Anyway, since I created this martial art, I’ll name it as I please!”
“Sigh. Fine, let’s call it Berald Martial Art. Just… don’t talk nonsense about dying.”
“Haha! Of course! Do I look like someone who would die easily? I’ll live until I smash the demon’s head and paint the walls with dung!”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll clean up the dung when that happens.”
Not long after that.
Berald fell before me, a cold corpse.
“……”
Crack.
Thick veins bulged between my clenched fists.
“Huh? Brother? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
“Hmm. So, what did you finally name that martial art?”
“Name is….”
I shrugged my shoulders as I looked back at Berald.
“No specific name?”
“Huh, a martial art of that level doesn’t even have a name?”
“Well, martial arts itself is a niche skill.”
“Even so….”
Berald sighed and shook his head.
“Then how about this?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“If you completely master this martial art… you can put your name on it.”
“My name?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and continued.
“We’ll call it Berald Martial Arts.”
“No, how can I put my name on the martial art I learned from you? If anything, it should have your name.”
“Shut up, man. If I say so, that’s how it is. Or I won’t teach you.”
“Hmm.”
Berald swallowed hard with a troubled expression and then nodded.
“Alright, if I completely master the martial art you taught me, I’ll call it that.”
“Good. Let’s start right away.”
I looked back at Berald and held up two fingers.
“There are two main ways to handle magic. One is to circulate it within the body, affecting the inner world. The other is to release it outside the body, affecting the outer world.”
The core principle of Berald Martial Arts was to use these two methods in harmony.
“Why a lecture on magic all of a sudden? Weren’t you going to teach me martial arts?”
“Just listen, man. You need to know this to use the martial art I taught you.”
“I’m terrible with theory….”
Berald trailed off with a sullen expression.
Seeing him so scared before even starting made me want to smack him on the head.
‘Hold it in.’
Wasn’t that exactly how I reacted when Berald first suggested I learn martial arts from him?
From noble mtl dot com
“Generally, what we call ‘magic’ refers to releasing magical power externally to affect the outer world… that is, the macro world.”
“Is that so?”
“…What do you mean ‘is that so’? You learned this in your first year, you idiot.”
“Uh, uh-huh! That’s strange… I don’t remember learning that…”
“……”
Hold it in.
Just hold it in.
In my past life, even that b*stard Berald must have been terribly frustrated inside, but he taught me without a single harsh word.
“Anyway… what’s more important here is not the macro world where visible phenomena occur, but the micro world.”
“Oh, the micro world! So that’s what it meant!”
Berald nodded, stroking his chin as if he understood.
‘Yeah. No matter how much you skipped classes, you should at least know this basic common sense.’
Feeling a bit proud, I was about to continue explaining when…
“I didn’t know you had the same taste as me, brother!”
“What?”
What taste are you talking about?
“Haha! Indeed, when it comes to women, the micro is the best, isn’t it?”
“No.”
What nonsense is he spouting now?
“A woman who harbors the sorrow and loneliness of losing her partner! That rich charm that you can’t feel from young girls…”
“Bang.”
“Hmm? What do you mean by bang?”
“I mean bang your head.”
You idiot.