Chapter 33

The professor teaching ancient history waved her hand in the air, and words began to appear on the massive board in the auditorium.

“It may be hard to imagine in an era where there are those who recognize only pure humans as humanity, but in ancient times, elves were revered as gods by humans.”

“In the present day, elves have become difficult to trace due to a long history of environmental changes and human interbreeding, but ancient elves were seen as transcendent beings by humans who could scarcely manage mana.”

“Beautiful appearances, lifespans of a thousand years, and innate mana sensitivity comparable to pure-bred demons.”

“And the elves of that time had a significant historical impact on various cultures and technologies among humans.”

“The metric system, which is known today, was originally a measurement system used by elves. Until a thousand years ago, humans used their own measurement system known as yard and pound alongside the elven Eltet method. Nobles or professionals generally used the relatively accurate Eltet method, while the yard and pound, although not precise, were more intuitive and commonly used by the general populace.”

“Furthermore, the advanced culture of elves at that time was considered the culture enjoyed by the nobility.”

“The first encounter between humans and elves is surprisingly recorded in humanity’s first epic, ‘Priegoss and the God of War!'”

“The reason I said humans is that if we limit it to humanity, the epics of the elves are slightly older.”

“And most importantly, it is called the greatest discovery for all of present humanity.”

The professor looked at the students spread out in a fan shape across the auditorium.

“This story is so famous that you all know it, right?”

“The meeting of King Priegoss and the God of War!”

Particularly, the men responded enthusiastically.

Most modern humans had read the manga version of ‘Priegoss’ at least once in their elementary school required reading list.

The professor smiled and continued writing on the board with magic.

“At that time, King Priegoss had just begun to merge nearby forces and was starting to create the first nation in world history.”

“Now it’s unimaginable, but at that time, humans were a race at the bottom of the ecological hierarchy in this vast nature.”

“When King Priegoss started to refer to himself as king in the capital of the first nation, Pohelrn, a fateful encounter was approaching from the west.”

“The seventh Einherjar of the World Tree, a hero who provided humanity with the greatest invention.”

“The High Elf Araya, whose teachings form the roots of all modern mana systems and are revered as a god of martial arts in all martial veins.”

At that moment, a woman stood up and raised her hand.

Perhaps a student from the knight department, there was a sword sheathed at her right hip.

“Professor Dellores said that the God of War was actually human.”

“Well, history should not be viewed with prejudice, but the theory that the God of War was human is also considered heretical in academia. The records of the God of War extend from the first record to the first human-god war, with about a 600-year gap. A human wouldn’t live that long, right?”

The professor then positioned herself as if to whisper to the air and said softly.

“And Professor Dellores is quite an extreme human supremacist at our university.”

All the students quietly laughed in response.

Upon seeing the professor’s ears, which were slightly longer than a human’s upon closer inspection, the girl who had asked her question sat down, nodded her head once, and the professor continued her story.

“The feelings of King Priegoss upon first meeting Araya, as recorded in ‘Priegoss,’ are detailed. It describes the despair of seeing an unreasonable existence and the hope of seeing a new possibility for humanity…”

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‘This is unreasonable.’

Priegoss thought as he looked at his former comrades, who had been with him for a long time, collapsing like harvested sheaves of wheat.

It was the work of an uninvited guest who had brazenly broken through the barrier of Pohelrn, which had been built with countless sacrifices and efforts.

Wondering if the martial arts possessed by the uninvited guest were something that could be imitated, he requested a demonstration from the soldiers.

Despite the obvious ulterior motive, they readily accepted and even boldly declared they would take on all the soldiers.

While he worried about precious soldiers getting hurt, it was the ability of someone who had broken the barrier created by Alia with the body of the land god and subdued a giant.

If even a fragment of that were obtainable, it would be worth it.

Even if the price for it was the lives of his long-time comrades, the soldiers.

However, Alia had reported that there had been no casualties among those who had clashed with the elf, including her younger sister Lamia and even the pests from the back alleys.

And now, there were over 150 soldiers present in the royal court.

He thought that he would be able to see a sufficient number of things while all the soldiers collapsed.

He borrowed a sword that had been used by one of the soldier captains.

The elf that walked to the center of the soldiers raised a sword that was as large as his petite body.

Then, as if possessed by a spirit, the sword began to tremble and make strange sounds before something suddenly burst out from the elf’s center.

At the moment he intuited the approach of a wave, Alia rushed in to block his line of sight.

Fortunately or unfortunately, neither Alia nor Priegoss nor Alia’s sisters, who stood behind Priegoss, seemed to face any issues with the elf’s bizarre actions.

If there was a problem, it should be everything else apart from that.

In his line of sight that Alia couldn’t adequately block, he saw soldiers surrounding the elf, rolling their eyes and collapsing like harvested sheaves of wheat.

The energy radiating from the elf had meticulously stopped in front of Priegoss’s throne.

The energy that spread out from the center was carving away the stone floor of the royal court and seemed to indicate how far it had spread.

Alia seemed to have judged that this was not an act that threatened Priegoss’s life, so she stepped back.

After seeing the soldiers laying collapsed like dead bodies, Priegoss glanced at Alia, as he couldn’t muster the courage to ask with words.

Alia seemed to have checked all the soldiers’ conditions, nodding as if to say not to worry.

‘This is truly absurd.’

Perhaps even the sisters of Alia were shocked by such a miracle, as they seemed unusually pale.

The one who caused all this turmoil walked forward, seemingly unfazed by the situation, and finished a brief demonstration.

“I feel worried that I might have inconvenienced my master’s hands by showing such an awkward skill.”

As he heard insincere words, Priegoss strained to force a smile.

“Indeed, it was certainly different from the fooleries I’ve seen before. The power of martial arts is truly impressive.”

Seeing the elf responding with silence, Priegoss pondered.

At first, there was despair.

The feeling of powerlessness as he had to simply watch his father offering his long-time friend as a sacrifice to the land god, while villages of humans disappeared at the whims of supernatural beings like nature and land gods.

Then came the relief of having the long-cherished strength gained gradually, assisting in the slaying of Anakthus, the massive serpent that had dominated Pohelrn for a long time.

After that, he had subjugated nearby villages, gathering humans into one and purging the land gods of those villages.

Thus built up was Pohelrn.

The first stronghold for humans, built by humans.

But suddenly, everything was negated by an incoming existence.

Soldiers who had bravely faced any land god in front of them were collapsing without being able to do anything.

More despairing was that the existence before their eyes was not an isolated individual but someone representing a whole race.

A race made up of such beings?

Can humans contend with that?

This damn world that is never satisfied even when chewed continuously is always the same.

Amidst despair, it dangles hopes only to turn around and present much greater despair.

He grit his teeth and shook off the nearly infiltrating despair like rainwater soaking into the ground.

It was already too late to despair at the absurdity before his eyes.

Too much had been sacrificed for the sake of prospering Pohelrn.

How many lives had been crushed under the pretense of a greater cause?

Outside the walls of Pohelrn, humans had been enslaved and were building the walls.

Not by nature or land gods, but by humans who had lost their home and were pushed into the harsh west where humans could live.

Slowly, he took a breath that was invisible.

The monster before him might feel it.

With a nonchalant expression, Priegoss boldly asked.

“Truly an incredible ability. I’ve heard you took in a giant as a pupil; can humans learn this martial arts skill?”

The elf thought for a moment and then nodded.

“While it might not be the same as with elves, humans could indeed learn it.”

That was enough.

Priegoss reflected.

In an era where there were no records.

Since humans arrived on this land, they had never held a superior position in the ecosystem.

Beings that thrived and vanished according to the whims of nature and transcendent entities.

But at the end of it all, in his era, he had stacked a cornerstone atop the corpse of that transcendent entity.

It didn’t have to be now.

In my next generation, a hundred years later, or a thousand years later, or even thousands of years later.

So that weak humans may stand as the last ones on this land.

He could not let this opportunity slip away.

Priegoss slowly rose from his throne and went down the stairs to stand in front of the elf.

“I wish to learn this martial arts. Can you teach it to humans?”

For the sake of human prosperity.

Priegoss, who would be recorded as the first king in the history of mankind, knelt before the uninvited guest from the west.