The laughter was so loud it felt like it was shaking the air out of my lungs.
Brogy and Dorry. These guys were huge, like actual mountains with beards. Their shadows covered the entire clearing, including the dead dinosaur I had just punched out.
"Did you see that, Dorry?" Brogy laughed, hitting his shield. "That tiny guy just swatted that lizard like a fly!"
"GABABABA! I saw it!" Dorry's voice was a deep rumble that made the ground shake. He leaned down until his face was right in front of mine. His eye was as big as a table. "Tell me, little guy. Where did someone as small as you learn to hit like that?"
My heart was still racing. I looked at my hands and noticed the scrapes were already healing. This new body was strong, but it was also making me incredibly hungry.
"I'm Haon," I said, my voice a bit shaky. "I don't really know how I got here. All I know is that I'm starving."
Brogy grinned, showing teeth the size of tombstones. "Hungry? GABABABA! A warrior's request! You killed it, Haon. Now you eat it!"
The First Lesson: Eating to Survive
The next hour was all heat and smoke. The giants started a massive fire using whole trees. As the dinosaur meat roasted, the smell filled the air.
I didn't wait for a plate. I just tore into a piece of meat that Brogy cut off with a knife the size of a door. My body didn't just eat; it felt like it was soaking up the food. Every muscle in my body started to feel better as the energy hit my system.
"You eat like a giant," Dorry said, watching me finish enough meat to feed ten people. "But you move like a scared bird. You have the strength, but you don't know how to use your feet."
I wiped my face and looked up at him. "I'm still learning how to handle this power. I once heard someone say you have to be like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. Water can flow, or it can crash."
I looked at the ground, then back at the giant.
"Right now, I'm just crashing. I haven't learned how to flow yet. I have all these moves in my mind from watching great fighters, and my body is finally strong enough to actually try them. I just need to find the balance."
Brogy laughed again. "Water? You talk like a poet, little guy! But even water needs a path to follow."
"If you want to stay alive here, listen well," Brogy said, his voice turning serious as he grabbed his axe. "A man who moves like a man is limited by his skin. But a warrior? A warrior does not seek to fight the world; he seeks to become the very storm that shakes it. We've been fighting for ninety-eight years. We know how battle works. If you want to survive, you must stop being a guest in this jungle and start being its master."
Training Arc: Part 1
The training wasn't about fancy moves. It was about balance.
"Watch this," Dorry said.
He didn't do anything special; he just walked. But every step he took was solid. He didn't waste any energy.
I watched him closely. My talent kicked in, and I could see exactly how he was shifting his weight. I tried to do the same. I took a step, trying to use all my new strength.
CRACK.
I stepped too hard, smashed the rock under my foot, and nearly fell over.
"Again!" Brogy yelled. "Don't fight the ground! Flow with it!"
For hours, under the hot sun, I practiced just walking. I used what I knew about speed and combined it with the heavy, solid way the giants moved. I kept those words in my head. Empty your mind. Be formless.
By sunset, my clothes were trashed and I was covered in dirt. But I wasn't tripping anymore. When I moved, I felt solid. I felt ready.
"Better," Dorry grunted as the nearby volcano erupted, signaling the end of the day. "But a warrior needs a weapon. Tomorrow, we'll see if you can actually hold one."
I looked at a snapped, hard branch laying near the fire. I picked it up, feeling its weight. My mind instinctively shifted. The image of a man with glasses and a deadly smile flashed in my head.
Goo Kim.
I gripped the branch, and for a second, the wood didn't feel like a stick. It felt like an extension of my arm. I flicked my wrist, and the tip of the branch whistled through the air with a sharp sound.
The giants stopped laughing. They looked at the stick, then at me.
"GABABABA," Dorry whispered, a new look in his eye. "This is going to be an interesting year."