Chapter 23: The Profound Mystery of the Great Hammer!

"Mr. Lamarck, I have finished reading this copy of 'A Study of Xerophytic Plants in the Sekmel Desert.' I have benefited greatly from it, and I am very grateful."

Orang handed the heavy, two-to-three-kilogram tome back to the old man before him and bowed slightly to express his thanks.

The elderly scholar, who appeared to be nearly seventy years old, looked refined and vigorous. He nodded with a smile. "Orang, you are a studious child, and you understand the importance of knowledge. However, merely understanding biological knowledge of desert regions is not enough, because I believe you will not spend your entire life in the desert. This book, 'A Comparative Study of Algae in the Old Wadrei Sea and the Reksai Sea,' examines the larger context through small details..."

"Alright, alright! The kid is a hunter, not a scholar. Stop stuffing him with books before you turn him into a bookworm just like yourself," a rough voice interrupted.

A massive piece of roasted leg meat, still attached to a heavy roasting tray, was slammed onto the dining table with a loud thud, crushing the books beneath it.

"I have never seen a hunter who reads more than he does. When I was his age, I couldn't even write my own name properly, and didn't I make it this far all the same?"

Faced with his wife's twisted logic, the old scholar Lamarck sighed helplessly.

He and his wife, Maridan, were polar opposites: he was thin and scholarly, while she was tall and powerful; he was mild-mannered, and she was hot-tempered. He was a scholar of the Royal Paleontology Scribe Team, while she was a hunter nicknamed "Black Bombing Dragon." In every respect, they were two extremes.

That they ended up together could only be described as a strange stroke of fate, or perhaps... well, Maridan had been incredibly forceful back in the day.

After their daughter, Haifa, was born, he had tried to supplement her academic knowledge while her mother trained her muscles. Unfortunately, their daughter was not very good at such things—to put it bluntly, she was a bit dull and could not even grasp basic biological classification. He had no choice but to give up.

Encountering a young man like this—one who was both capable in combat and genuinely studious—naturally made him want to teach him as much as possible.

While Lamarck was lost in his thoughts, Maridan was already waving a blade that looked more like a short sword than a dinner knife, slicing off a chunk of meat the size of a human head. She skewered the meat with the blade and slammed it onto the plate in front of Orang. "Eat! Don't you dare leave until you've finished it!"

Orang’s eyelids twitched. Judging by the portion, it was a tall order even for a hunter, but he dared not say he couldn't eat it in front of her.

"...Thank you, Ms. Maridan."

"Why are you being so distant? Call me Grandma Maridan!"

"Grandma... Maridan?"

"What’s with that hesitant tone?!" Maridan’s eyebrows shot up. Combined with her muscular build and the indigo tattoos covering her body, she looked quite intimidating.

"He probably thinks the term 'grandma' implies a softness that doesn't quite suit you," Lamarck remarked from the side.

Orang glanced at the old man, feeling a chill. He had expected such a mocking comment to make Ms. Maridan fly into a rage, but instead, she simply lifted her chin. "Fair enough. You two keep eating; I’m going to get the main course."

Seeing Maridan leave the dining room, Lamarck leaned in and whispered, "To her, the word 'soft' is purely derogatory, so it's fine."

"...I see." Is this how a scholar survives?

Orang struggled to finish the large chunk of roasted meat. After resting for half an hour, he was dragged out to the courtyard by Ms. Maridan to "aid his digestion"—if one could call swinging a multi-kilogram giant hammer "aiding digestion."

During the three-plus months since he joined the Citadel Guerrilla Force, he had repeatedly taken on missions to accumulate practical combat experience. Sometimes he worked with the brothers Sajie and Nuriasa or other seniors on hunts, and sometimes he was dragged off on patrols by Resha.

In his spare time, he often visited the home of Ms. Maridan and her husband. Aside from keeping the elderly couple company, he benefited immensely from their presence.

Mr. Lamarck was a senior scholar of the Paleontology Scribe Team; no question regarding biology had ever stumped him. Many of the books he lent to Orang were unavailable on the market, and the knowledge within them gave him a brand-new understanding of flora, fauna, the ecosystem, and the world itself.

Ms. Maridan was the exact opposite. She might not be able to distinguish between different subfamilies of dromes, but she was an absolute expert in combat techniques and practical field experience. Based on his current physical state and combat habits, she had tailored his daily training program and, recently, had begun systematically teaching him the techniques of the great hammer.

He could now add a fourth weapon to his repertoire, alongside the sword and shield, dual blades, and greatsword. Although he was still lacking in practical application, he was confident that if he were to focus solely on the hammer, he could master the path of the hammer-wielder—though it would be a waste of his other talents.

"Your stance is loose, and you've broken your momentum! What are you distracted by?" A thunderous roar rang in his ears.

Orang quickly pulled himself together, adjusted his breathing, and lowered the hammer. Turning around, he saw Maridan’s dark expression and hurriedly explained, "Ms. Maridan! I suddenly thought of a question regarding momentum!"

Maridan paused. "What question? Speak!"

Orang thought to himself: *Just as Mr. Lamarck said, Ms. Maridan isn't good at thinking about two things at once. If she looks like she's about to lose her temper, distract her with something else she cares about, and she'll forget she was angry. Just don't make it too obvious, or the consequences will be dire.*

Fortunately, the "question" he posed wasn't a lie—if anything, it was the main reason he had come today.

"I understand momentum when it comes to swinging or spinning attacks, but what does momentum have to do with the 'knock-back combo'?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Maridan looked puzzled.

"But..." Orang didn't know how to explain his confusion.

At that moment, Lamarck, who was watching from the sidelines, spoke up. "Your understanding of 'momentum' and hers might not be exactly the same thing."

Maridan raised an eyebrow and asked Orang, "What do you think momentum is?"

Orang recalled the knowledge from his books and combined it with his own understanding. "A force that maintains an object's state of rest or uniform motion?"

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Maridan blurted out.

Lamarck’s expression turned strange. While he was a biological scholar, he had a grasp of basic physics. Orang’s explanation was a case of "knowing a little, but not quite understanding." He wanted to properly explain that "momentum isn't a force, but a property of matter," or that "it's not about a state of steady motion, but uniform linear motion," but after seeing his wife’s expression, he decided against it. From a practical standpoint, Orang’s explanation wasn't entirely wrong.

"Maridan, tell us what you understand 'momentum' to be."

"It's the strength you haven't used up yet that you can find a way to take back and use again!" Maridan crossed her arms, looking completely certain.

Lamarck closed his eyes in agony. As a scholar, hearing such a thing was more painful than being punched in the face. He had no interest in speaking further, but his goal had been achieved. It didn't matter if he accepted it; as long as Orang understood, that was enough.

Hearing Maridan’s explanation, Orang finally understood. The "momentum" that hammer-wielders talked about wasn't what he thought it was. To put it more plainly, it was the recovery and utilization of force.

For example, if a sword-and-shield user misses a swing, it’s no big deal. But for a hammer, which is ten times heavier, missing a swing not only consumes a massive amount of stamina, but the immense momentum can also backlash against the user. Therefore, hammer-wielders continue their swings after a miss, recycling the power that would otherwise be wasted and even stacking it into the next attack. Based on this, they had developed various combo techniques.

Too impatient to explain with words, Maridan walked over, snatched the training hammer from Orang’s hand, and headed toward the giant target post in the courtyard.

"Watch my thighs and waist, and see how the 'momentum' of the hammer combo is used!"