The Elf Teaches the Heavenly Slaughter Star: Body Technique Training
Rionne slumped before the charred, splintered remains of the tree. “M-my tree…”
Enoch glanced away. He fidgeted with his fingers until a stray fly buzzed around his face, mocking him.
A crackle of electricity snapped in Enoch’s eyes. But when he looked at Rionne’s devastated expression, the sparks died. He quietly lowered his gaze.
“I-it’s fine, Enoch. It’s just a tree…! We can always plant another!”
Ignoring the water spirit’s grumbling, Rionne wiped her tears. Farewell, my precious little tree… Even in her sorrow, she analyzed Enoch’s progress. His learning speed was extraordinary. From the moment they first met he had shown potential far beyond his years. Even accounting for the Heavenly Slaughter Star’s rampage at the time, no ordinary child could have moved like that.
“I believe the influence of his authority plays a major role as well.”
Rionne raised two slender, pale fingers. One folded down.
“First, Enoch, you carry the blessing of the Heavenly Slaughter Star.”
“…Shorty dwarf?”
“That’s right. You remembered!” Rionne ruffled his hair. “If we’re talking purely about the talent it bestows, the blessing of the Heavenly Slaughter Star is incredible. There are individual differences, of course… but your talent, Enoch, seems to rank among the very highest.”
“Yeah.”
“And there’s one more thing.” Her second finger folded. “The authority of lightning. As far as I know, no previous bearer of the Heavenly Slaughter Star was born with an authority. Being born with one at all is an exceedingly rare occurrence.”
In other words, Enoch possessed both the prodigious talent of the Heavenly Slaughter Star and the power of lightning.
Perhaps… when he grows up, he might just flatten that wretched human’s nose.
Rionne swallowed the pointless thought and looked once more at the dead tree. Her heart ached.
“A-anyway, from what I’ve seen, Enoch, you need to learn how to handle your power with delicacy first.”
“Delicacy?”
“Yes. If you can control your strength gently and exactly as you intend, no one will get hurt by accident, right?”
Rionne paused, searching for an example that would click for him. “Oh, I know. Imagine you’re eating and you swing your arm.”
“Okay.”
“But you put far more power into it than you meant to.”
“Mhm.”
“And you end up hitting me right beside you.”
She clutched her side with an exaggerated “Ouch!” and collapsed dramatically onto the grass.
“……!”
Enoch fluttered around her in helpless panic. The sight of him looking guilty when he had done nothing wrong was so adorable that Rionne couldn’t help but laugh.
“To prevent something like that, you must learn to control your strength properly, yes?”
“Yes…!”
“Hey!” Elves were sensitive about their age.
Rionne was proficient with dozens of weapons. Her favorite remained the three swords, but the others were more than adequate for teaching Enoch.
“Hmm…”
She pondered as she laid out the wooden weapons she had carved herself after meeting him.
“Enoch, do any of them call to you?”
People with exceptional talent were usually drawn to weapons that suited them.
“……”
But Enoch’s reaction was lukewarm. He didn’t seem particularly interested in any of them. Rionne handed him a simple wooden sword to start.
Undine bounced with excitement, staring at her friend with sparkling eyes.
“You, Undine?”
Rionne narrowed her eyes at the spirit. Undine returned the gaze with the most innocent expression imaginable.
“Well… all right. No matter what, you wouldn’t do anything cruel to a child.”
“You promise?”
There wasn’t a single speck of trust in Rionne’s face, but Undine paid it no mind. In truth, Rionne did believe her friend wouldn’t genuinely harm Enoch.
Glurp—!
Undine’s watery body swelled dramatically. Enoch ignored her entirely and looked at Rionne instead.
“It’s a simple spar, Enoch. We’re trying to figure out which weapon suits you and gauge your current strength.”
“Okay.”
Without another word, Enoch faced the water spirit. Undine had grown to the size of an adult woman and was now flashing a sinister grin.
“Then…”
Before Rionne could even say “begin,” Enoch hurled the wooden sword with all his might.
Undine jerked her head back, barely dodging. Throwing your weapon right away? She was startled, but she was still a veteran spirit. She quickly reset her stance—only to find Enoch had already vanished from his spot.
Crackle—!
Wreathed in lightning, Enoch appeared behind her. Both hands curled like raptor talons, crackling with ominous violet electricity.
She spun and threw a punch. Enoch’s hand and her fist collided.
BOOM—!
A surprisingly loud impact rang out. Undine grabbed his hand tightly and smirked.
Sparks exploded across her blue body.
She frantically shook him off. The force sent Enoch stumbling backward. Undine immediately conjured dozens of water bullets in the air.
He was a child who hadn’t even lived ten years. His realm should still be shallow. At that level, most phenomena followed natural laws—water extinguishes fire, fire burns wood, electricity doesn’t flow through pure water. Yet somehow this brat had managed to hurt her.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
The water bullets streaked forward. She had held back, but they would still sting like a hard flick to the forehead if they hit—
Crackle—!
Enoch charged straight into the barrage without hesitation. His eyes darted rapidly, reading the gaps. He sidestepped at an angle and swatted one bullet aside, then slipped through the newly opened space.
Thud, thud—!
The bullets that passed him slammed into the ground. In that instant, Enoch closed the distance to Undine.
Panicking, she swung her arm. A massive water droplet formed in midair and shot toward him.
Rumble—!
Enoch compressed lightning into his clenched fist. Electricity danced in his black eyes. Just as the droplet and his fist were about to collide—
“Enough.”
Enoch dangled helplessly in the air. He stopped growling and blinked innocently.
“Undine, that was too much. Enoch is still a child.”
Undine jumped in protest as she dissolved the droplet. She was the one who had gotten hit! Besides, she thought the brat could have blocked an attack like that on his own…!
In a fit of rage, she blasted a jet of water into the sky. A poor innocent cloud drifting overhead gained a perfect hole.
Enoch quietly clung to Rionne’s side. No matter what, he didn’t want to get hit by that.
“By the way, Enoch, does the sword not feel right in your hand?”
“No.”
“I see… That’s a shame. The sword would have been the easiest to teach.”
Though disappointed, Rionne understood. After watching him fight, she realized he probably didn’t need a weapon at all. He seemed especially gifted in bare-handed martial techniques.
“Then I’ll teach you as much as I can.”
Rionne taught Enoch the fundamentals of fist and foot techniques.
“Fist techniques are exactly what they sound like—how to use your fists. Foot techniques are how to use your legs.”
She didn’t teach him any complicated forms. Since this was Enoch’s first time learning martial arts, she kept everything simple and foundational.
Wham—!
Even so, it wasn’t something that could be mastered in a single day. Watching Enoch punch the air, Rionne beamed with delight.
“Undine! I think our Enoch might be a genius!”
What Rionne had taught was the proper way to extend a punch and the correct way to kick—foundational movements that kept the body stable and prepared for the next action. As she had said, mastering even that usually took more than a day.
It’s annoying, but he really is overflowing with talent.
Undine grumbled but still watched Enoch’s movements closely. If he had simply absorbed Rionne’s teachings at face value, she wouldn’t have been surprised. That much was possible with decent talent. But Enoch was going further, instinctively advancing into areas she hadn’t even taught yet like a model student.
Wham—!
Every punch he threw was clean, without a single wasted movement. Instead of fighting the wind’s flow, his fists rode it—straight, powerful. Anyone watching would think he had spent years doing nothing but practicing straight punches.
“All right, Enoch. The lesson ended early today, so shall we play with big sister?”
“Yeah!”
Undine fought the urge to plant a great spirit spell on that tiny head of his. Instead she zipped over and yanked hard on Rionne’s hair.
The water spirit was starved for her friend’s affection.
The next day, Rionne led Enoch to the forest near their home.
She planned to let him play in the woods for a while, feed him, wash him, let him nap, and then teach him more martial arts.
“Y-you can’t bite, Enoch…!!”
Whether the day would actually go according to plan, however, remained to be seen.