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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Phew…”
I exhaled a shallow breath. Then, with my bow drawn, I waited for the target to appear.
-Bzzt.
‘There it is.’
I released the drawn bowstring. The arrow flew and pierced the target.
‘Not yet.’
It wasn’t time to stop yet. I nocked another arrow from between my fingers.
-Bzzzt.
The moment a new target appeared, I aimed and fired. This arrow also struck the target.
‘Next.’
I nocked another arrow and shot at the newly appeared target. I repeated this process without relaxing my focus.
It wasn’t a strenuous movement, but beads of sweat were forming on my face.
“Phew…”
I exhaled another shallow breath and aimed my bow at the targets appearing from all directions. The fallen sweat stained the sandy floor of the archery training ground.
After hitting an unknown number of targets, I felt it.
‘Reaching my limit, huh.’
A brief moment of 5-6 seconds. I had hit over a dozen targets, pushing my concentration to the limit. This was thanks to the bow now being completely familiar to my hand.
But I had reached my limit.
-Thwack.
The arrow finally missed the target. The magically appearing targets disappeared, and the number of targets I hit was displayed.
『Archery Training – Advanced』
Targets Hit: 20
‘20…’
It seemed I had hit 20 targets, not just over a dozen. The reason this was important was that it was the number I had been aiming for.
‘It took a while.’
I could definitely feel my progress slowing down the better I got at archery.
It hadn’t taken long to hit 15 targets when I first started advanced training, but increasing that number, even by one, took a considerable amount of time.
It felt like my archery had reached a plateau, similar to when I learned swordsmanship from Libero.
‘Status.’
Checking my status window confirmed it.
‘Archery (A-)’
My Archery rank, which had been stuck at B+, had finally reached A-, acknowledging my recent progress.
This was the rank I achieved after a year of learning archery from Lyudmila and surreptitiously observing Wilhelm’s training.
…To be honest, it was a quite satisfying result.
A- was the same rank I achieved in Swordsmanship after awakening Precociousness and undergoing months of hellish training with Libero, even though I only inherited a B-rank in Swordsmanship.
Of course, reaching A- in Swordsmanship back then and reaching A- in Archery now felt a little different.
They say all martial arts eventually converge. I didn’t think that applied to everyone, but it seemed to apply to my archery.
‘Thanks to that, I somehow managed to reach A-.’
A- was a rank where I could definitely hold my own as an archer.
Of course, from this point on, progress would slow down, just like with swordsmanship, making it difficult to raise the rank further, but I wouldn’t have the time for that after graduation anyway.
So the important thing was that I reached A- before graduation.
‘This is enough.’
I could consider one of my goals upon entering the academy, improving my archery, as achieved.
It was a result achieved through a combination of the Precociousness trait, the God of Regret’s Blessing, Lyudmila’s guidance, and a rich training environment.
‘And…’
I couldn’t leave him out.
-Bzzt.
It seemed Wilhelm had also finished his archery training. He lowered his sweat-drenched bow.
『Archery Training – Highest』
Targets Hit: 41
As expected, he was on a completely different level. He had already been A- rank in Archery when he enrolled. Not only was his starting point different, but his limits were also different.
‘He’ll probably reach S+ in Archery.’
Of course, that was assuming he continued to hone his archery skills throughout his life.
But there was a big difference between what was possible and what was impossible. It significantly affected the speed of growth.
‘He’s already reached S- in Archery.’
While I went from C+ to A- in Archery, he went from A- to S-.
At first glance, the difference between my previous and current rank seemed larger, but considering that going from A+ to S- was several times more difficult than going from C+ to A-, he was a true monster.
Of course, he had also put in a tremendous amount of practice.
“Seo Yoo Rang.”
He called me. He, with his natural talent for archery, would have already known I was watching him.
The fact that I observed his archery indirectly, rather than openly, was just a pretense. So I decided not to pretend I wasn’t watching him.
“What is it?”
“Your archery has improved quite a bit.”
We had clearly started practicing at the same time. The fact that he evaluated my archery meant he had been observing me while hitting the highest-level targets.
‘He really is a monster.’
Clicking my tongue, I replied,
“Improved? It’s still only at your level when you enrolled.”
“No, honestly, I never imagined you would reach this level. But you did it. In less than a year, no less.”
I wasn’t offended.
“Mockery” was a term used when there was malice, but Wilhelm didn’t have any such intentions. He simply spoke those words because he had witnessed my efforts so far.
“But it doesn’t feel that unbelievable. I’ve been watching you practice next to me. You’re the first person I’ve felt has practiced as much as, or even more than, me. I can’t even imagine what kind of life you’ve lived.”
“It wasn’t a smooth one.”
“Not a smooth life, huh…”
Wilhelm fell into thought for a moment. Then he spoke,
“Then if I don’t live a smooth life, can I become like you too?”
It was a preposterous statement. Wilhelm, born with a genius-level talent for archery, was envious of me, who had barely reached A-.
“What are you talking about?”
“It might sound pathetic and spoiled, but I’ve lived a smooth life, born into a good family.”
“So what does that have to do with wanting to become like me…”
“Because I can see my limits.”
At that moment, I realized what Wilhelm was struggling with. It was a problem I was also aware of.
‘Lack of potential.’
Wilhelm was the best archer, bar none. But that was all he was. With the limited number of bow-related relics, his build was practically fixed.
‘He was even ranked among the characters with the least build diversity by the users.’
His only build options were to steadily inherit his family’s bow or to time it right and inherit Lyudmila’s bow.
But until now, the existence of constellations prevented that problem from becoming prominent for Wilhelm.
He was a character who diligently followed his constellation’s orders rather than thinking about his own path.
‘But now, he doesn’t have a constellation.’
That gave Wilhelm a new perspective. He began to think about his own path.
‘And he must have come to see that limited path as a limit.’
It could certainly be considered a limit. He would inevitably be weaker than growth-type characters like Elsie or Gwen. But that didn’t mean he was weak.
‘At least not compared to me.’
I asked him,
“Where do you think your archery’s limit lies?”
He answered without hesitation,
“Based on the highest-level targets, probably around 100. No, if I continue to dedicate myself to archery until I die, there might be no limit, even at the highest level.”
That would likely put him at S+ in Archery. Then he already had a good grasp of his own capabilities.
“Then what do you think my archery’s limit is?”
“Honestly… you can consider yourself as having already reached your limit. You might be able to go up one or two stages more, but that’s it.”
He was accurate. He had a proper understanding of both his and my skill level. Then I could say this to him.
“Anyway, you’re stronger than me. Now, and in the future. So what’s the problem?”
“Of course, there’s no problem. But…”
He made a rare, bitter expression.
“No, let’s stop here. I feel like I’ve only been saying sorry to you.”
“Wilhelm?”
“I don’t know either. I wonder if I’m even right to be worrying about this.”
He raised his bow again, seemingly about to resume training.
“Perhaps it’s better to focus on improving my archery instead of worrying.”
He drew the bowstring.
“But…”
His posture was unwavering. In that steady stance, he asked,
“If I lose to you in the graduation competition, could I consult with you again?”
At that moment, I realized he was trying to use me as a means of proving something. And he was currently asking for my consent.
‘Why ask for consent?’
I decided to accept his challenge. The probability of him losing to me was low anyway.
“Of course.”
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The remaining time in the second semester flew by quickly. While training, I steadily reviewed and prepared for my future plans.
“The graduation competition brackets are out.”
I received the news from Elsie and checked the brackets.
‘This is…’
The matchups were within my expectations. But the problem was that they were the worst possible outcome within that range.
‘Elsie’s opponent is too strong, and Yuseora’s opponent is too weak.’
Elsie’s upcoming relic acquisition wasn’t that important, so there wasn’t much to worry about. Yuseora was the problem.
My strategy was to not reveal Yuseora’s full strength while still showcasing the necessary aspects to obtain the target relic.
‘But if her opponent is too weak…’
There was a high probability that she wouldn’t be able to properly showcase even those necessary aspects.
‘I might have to come up with a plan B.’
Fortunately, I had a few ideas. I weighed the pros and cons of those methods as I continued scanning the brackets. And I found my name at the bottom of the bracket.
It was the bracket for the top 4 archers.
‘Wilhelm Rosemound – Seo Yoo Rang.’
Since Wilhelm and I were ranked 1st and 2nd in the archery class, it was practically a guaranteed matchup.
‘However…’
Perhaps because of my recent promise with Wilhelm, my gaze lingered on that matchup a little longer.
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