Published at 26th of June 2021 8:19 am

Chapter 735: Cursed

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"Hm, it must've been when I was about 10 years old." The elderly Giant explained, "A real toddler, aye? Well, at that point, I had first learned about our 'Limit'. I felt it was unfair, and ran into the forests to change somethin' bout that. Nearly died then, you see?"

Eisen looked at the Giant next to him a bit confused, but he let him continue for now, "Kept trainin' for years and years, and then evolved for the first time. Then for the second time, and the third. First I became a Giant Fighter. Then a Giant Swordsman. And then, a Giant Swordmaster. Before I turned 100, I was already the strongest man in my pretty large hometown. But then, I was faced with the thing that I didn't want to believe in."

"And that was that 'Limit'?" Eisen asked, and the Giant nodded his head, "Mhm. The Limit that you established that wouldn't let Giants reach Rank 7. But I wanted you to lift that limit, and I searched ya out. Then I found you, and spoke to you." The Giant explained bluntly.

"I explained my situation, and you looked back at me and told me the thing that I never knew I needed to hear." With a soft smile, he thought back onto that time, and then quickly quoted Eisen from back then.

" 'Young Khan', you said, 'The limit won't let you evolve once more, but that doesn't mean you can't reach even greater heights. You concentrated on becoming stronger and stronger by increasing your level, but you never thought about those skills of yours. Practice them, and then come back to me.' This became my new meaning in life. And you were right. Monsters that I couldn't have hoped to make eye-contact with, were soon cowering below my feet." The Giant explained.

Eisen was even more surprised and confused at this point. This man, Khan, didn't seem particularly powerful when he was standing right next to Eisen. But maybe that was because the old man was used to seeing Brody so often.

But before Eisen started asking questions, Khan continued, "I found new meaning in life. Rather than striving for superficial things like 'strength', I searched for the peak of ability. And then I did. My swordsmanship transformed into a unique style that I created, the Mountain-Splitting Blade, and the skill reached its peak. But that was when I started to see changes within myself. And one day, a single message appeared in front of my eyes when I woke up."

It flowed into Eisen's mind. He already knew what Khan was talking about, "You finally ranked up once more."

" 'Ranked up'..? Ah, that terms that young'ins use these days. Aye, I 'ranked up', if you will. I reached Rank 7, finally. I broke through the Limit that you set, and then I went to search for you again. And when I did, instead of the happy expression I expected, you wore a bitter face. You felt sorry for me."

"Sorry...? Why would I..?"

"I did not understand either. Or so that was the case at first. Later, I realized what the issue was." Slowly but surely, the Giant next to Eisen pulled up his sleeve, showing something... horrendous. It was as if the Giant's skin was rotting away, but it was somehow halted.

"You gave me something to stop the spread of the corruption, but it was already too late for my arm. I was no longer able to hold a blade. Then I understood what the issue was, why you created our 'Limit'. Giants, as a race, are cursed beings."

"Cursed, what do you mean?" Eisen asked, and Khan replied slowly, "A man with power over the world, one that you despised from the grounds-up, cursed the Giants since you disobeyed him a single time. If they reached Rank 7, the average rank of Giants at the time, Giants would lose that which gave their life meaning. I became unable to wield my sword any longer, for example. Once you finally peaked, you used your power to establish that 'Limit'."

"Then why did you reach Rank 7 when your skill reached its peak?" Eisen asked with a deep frown, and the elderly Giant shrugged in response, "I don't know. Coincidence. You said that it could happen sometimes, since no wall was impossible to overcome. Even those meant to protect you."

Eisen looked at the distance in front of him, "But either way, ever since then, we became friends. In the 10 Thousand years I've known you, we would come to each other for advice, and you helped me find new meaning in my life."

"...Did you say 10... Thousand? Isn't the lifespan of Giants limited to 1000 years?" Eisen asked with a deep frown, and the elderly Giant nodded his head, "Hm, that is true, usually. But due to the unique situation I was in when I reached Rank 7, I became a 'Cursed Giant Swordsgod'. It seems like the 'Cursed' precursor extended my life by quite a few years."

"...It sure seems that way, yes." Eisen replied. 10 thousand years, huh? That must be incredibly long for normal people. The old man turned his head toward the Giant next to him, "I'm trying to find the current Grandour. Would you like to accompany me for a while?"

"Hah, that brat? As if I'd want to meet with someone like that! He dragged my style through the mud!" Khan exclaimed. The moment that he heard what Eisen was trying to do, his face became quite annoyed, "The only ones that were ever capable of fully understanding the style of my combat were you, Brody, and Jyuuk! Nobody else managed to master it like you three!" The elderly Giant exclaimed.

"I... mastered your style?" The old man asked, and Khan nodded his head, "Of course! After I lost the ability to wield the sword myself, I spent my time teaching it to others. You were the first I taught it to! And for the past ten thousand years, you've made use of it quite well!"

"Have I..? Sorry, but... Could you display the basic movements of your style for me? I have an idea. Maybe I could teach the Grandour a bit of a lesson."

"Hah! You wanna learn my style in the course of a few days? Khan exclaimed as if it was ridiculous, although he then remembered who he was talking to, "...You sure you can do that?"

"Of course. I have my ways, don't worry." The old man said with a smug expression on his face, while Khan was quite curious what he was talking about.

---

"Halt! Identify yourselves!" A guard exclaimed, looking straight at Askr and Khan, who were standing side by side in front of the gate. It seemed like they were focusing mostly on Askr, thinking that he was that special sort of Giant that Khan mentioned to Eisen earlier.

But the elderly Giant simply laughed into his hand, "This is not a man, dear friends. It is nothing but a mere Golem. The ones that you want to pay attention to are a bit lower toward the ground."

The two Guards in front of the gate looked down at Eisen and his entourage. This was exactly why Eisen didn't want to come to a country of Giants as regular-sized people. This would just be a bother.

The old man quickly increased his size and activated his True Demonic transformation on top of that. He suddenly appeared in front of the two Guards out of nowhere, so they jumped back a bit in surprise.

"My name is Eisen de Grandour. You must be awaiting me." The old man explained in a blunt tone without much further ado, and the two Guards looked at each other. Without a moment's hesitation, probably due to Eisen's ability to influence others' minds, they dropped to one knee, "Of course, your Majesty! Please, follow us!"

The Guards exclaimed in a loud voice, and quickly stepped through the gate. They called other guards over, and they were holding a large wooden board, finely decorated with fine metals and gems, that they placed down onto the ground. Eisen already understood what this was for. He held his foot over it and then decreased his size, quickly stepping down onto its center in his 'regular' form.

His entourage quickly joined him, and so did Khan, even. After all, every full Giant could change their size in this form as well, in this country, they simply didn't like to do so.

However, before the Guards could pick up the board, Askr grabbed it instead. Roots extended from his hands so that he could hold it properly, but the Golem then proceeded to carry Eisen and his entourage through the town like this.

This way of travelling was already much more comfortable, considering that it was far quicker. And since this seemed to be a formal way of transporting human-sized folks in this country, Girland couldn't complain to Eisen later either. Especially since he still tried to keep up his royal aura the whole time.

The people of this city were rather confused at what was going on, since they probably had a hard time seeing Eisen and the others, but the old man didn't care too much about that.

"Now then, are you sure you have mastered my style again?" Khan asked with his brows raised, and the old man slowly nodded his head.

"Of course I have. I wouldn't say so otherwise." The old man said bluntly, "That style is deeply rooted in my body again. I may not have the 'skill', but that doesn't change that I have the ability to make up for that itself."

Eisen smirked lightly. It was simple. After seeing Khan's movement related to his style of swordsmanship, Eisen managed to remember it the next time he slept. It was a simple style. But it was powerful. And it seemed to be something practically hand-made for Eisen, although the old man didn't really know why that was.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, or Khan created such a style based on Eisen for some reason. He didn't know, but he didn't care either. The reason why Eisen took the style on in the way he did was simple. It was one that could be easily combined with Craftsmanship.

Khan was the child of a Fire Giant and a Mountain Giant, so he learned some craftsmanship from his Mother, and basic swordsmanship from his Father. Combining those things, he made the Mountain-Splitting Blade style.

The movements were often similar to those of Craftsmanship itself. That's why it was perfect for Eisen, and he would be able to use it just perfectly.

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