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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Seo Yoo-rang.”
What on earth did she want to say? Was she dissatisfied with the content of the recent tactical meeting? I had no choice but to listen to her for now.
“What is it?”
“You have the Mark of the Raven, don’t you?”
It was a rather sudden question. But it was a question that could have easily come up. I had occasionally used Overload in recent mock battles.
In fact, it was Overload that I used to kill her in the first mock battle, so it was strange that it hadn’t come up until now.
‘In that case, there’s no reason to hide it.’
It was an ability I would be using frequently in the future. Since it was a power I didn’t have during the last incident, it was practically the only power I could use without any reservations.
I answered her as casually as possible.
“That’s right. I have the Mark of the Raven.”
Then she made a strange expression.
“I knew it…”
She scanned me with her eyes. And then she hesitated for a moment.
‘It doesn’t seem like she just called me to ask about the Mark of the Raven…’
I couldn’t just keep waiting for her.
“If you have something to say, feel free to say it. We’re on the same team after all.”
At my urging, she finally spoke.
“Could you perhaps show me your archery?”
That was an unexpected request. But there was no particular reason to refuse.
“Alright. Follow me to the archery range.”
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The archery range was always open except during the late-night hours. It was open for any student in the archery class to use. And I was using that archery range to the fullest.
When did it start?
The decisive moment was the 100th round of the second trial. I seemed to have become a so-called ‘growth pervert.’
Although I was still clumsy, I was addicted to practicing archery, which improved the more I shot, and I couldn’t get out of it.
In the end, if there was nothing else to do, most of my time was spent practicing archery. But there was one other guy who was similar to me.
‘That guy is here again.’
It was Wilhelm.
He was also holed up in the archery range every day, practicing. Of course, the intensity was different from mine.
Small targets appeared at random positions above the target, set by some kind of magic. He was shooting them down as soon as they appeared.
Even that seemed a little insufficient for his training because he was too perfect.
“That person…”
Yuseora, who came with me, also recognized Wilhelm. But Wilhelm didn’t seem to pay us any attention. He seemed to be focused only on his training.
‘That’s probably what a real sniper looks like.’
I decided not to pay attention to him either.
At first, I couldn’t help but be bothered by it, but now I was used to it, so it really didn’t bother me. Moreover, I came here today to show Yuseora my archery, not to practice.
I picked up the bow I had on my back without wasting any time. And I took an arrow from the quiver and nocked it on the string. It was a practice arrow, not a holy relic arrow used in mock battles.
“Then, I’ll show you.”
I activated the inherited trait on the arrow at my fingertips.
‘Overload.’
Then, a black aura began to envelop the arrow. The advantage of Overload was that it could be activated on ordinary objects, not just holy relics. Yuseora had a clear reaction when she saw it.
“I’ll shoot now.”
I took a deep breath again and released the bowstring. The arrow flew with the sound of the released string. And the arrow, reinforced by Overload, made a loud noise even though it was a regular arrow and lodged itself deep into the target.
‘That should be enough, right?’
But for some reason, Yuseora was staring at the arrow in the target for a long time. Just when I was about to ask if I should shoot another arrow, Yuseora spoke to me.
“As expected, the Mark of the Raven and archery go well together.”
Stating the obvious.
It wasn’t for nothing that Yuseora’s standard build was an archery build.
Unlike Wilhelm, whose build was strong no matter how he was developed but had a fixed limit, Yuseora’s growth limit was nonexistent, making her more explosive.
Even so, the current Yuseora was sticking to a swordsmanship build. Yuseora’s swordsmanship build… according to Seo Yoo-rang, who had invested 12 runs into that build, it was an impractical build.
That’s why I asked Yuseora,
“Judging by your ‘as expected,’ you seemed to know about it to some extent already.”
Yuseora nodded instead of answering.
“Then why do you keep using swordsmanship?”
I saw her expression slightly contort. Naturally, there was no answer. Because she herself wouldn’t know the reason. If she had to give a reason, there would be only one.
‘Because the constellation ordered it.’
It overlapped a little with Elsie’s case. She had also escaped a crisis in her childhood thanks to a constellation. That’s why, no matter what, she was following the constellation’s orders.
‘It’s not my place to interfere.’
In the first place, she wouldn’t listen to me no matter what I said to her here. There were only two ways. Either the constellation changed its guidance, or she realized that the constellation wasn’t perfect.
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‘Why do I keep using swordsmanship?’
Yuseora mulled over Seo Yoo-rang’s words. Why was she so fixated on swordsmanship? In fact, by now, she had become accustomed to swordsmanship.
But the beginning was definitely that day 10 years ago. The day she was saved by the being called a constellation. He ordered her to learn swordsmanship. He promised to make her a hero if she learned swordsmanship. And he had kept that promise well so far.
Her swordsmanship was certainly strong.
Originally, the Mark of the Raven was used to improve the quality of consumables such as potions and pills, but it also showed destructive effects on weapons.
Thanks to this, her swordsmanship was invincible in the mock battle environment of the Hero Academy.
‘There’s nothing wrong with my swordsmanship.’
Most of the other team’s swordsmen couldn’t last three exchanges against her. Right now, she was fine using swordsmanship.
In fact, she was clearly performing better than Seo Yoo-rang, who used Overload for archery. Instructor Setia also acknowledged her performance. So, there was nothing wrong with her swordsmanship.
‘Right? Constellation?’
In this particularly difficult battle, she had barely managed to defeat her opponent in nine exchanges.
She looked up.
She didn’t know where the constellation was. But the constellation had always answered her questions. Always gave her confidence. But why…
‘Are you not answering?’
Her tightly closed lips tightened.
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Today, I was again settled in a shaded spot on a tree.
Perhaps because they judged that my influence on the battle wasn’t very significant, Setia, the instructor of Swordsmanship Class 2 who was in charge of our team’s tactics, practically left me alone.
However, there was definitely something that bothered me.
‘She’s disqualified as an instructor.’
As I participated in the tactical meetings with her, I realized it clearly. She was subtly encouraging Yuseora to keep using the sword.
That must have been the reason why she brought Yuseora into her class in the first place.
‘She must have realized that the penalty of Overload almost disappears in mock battles.’
She was blinded by her own performance rather than the growth of her students. Well, it was understandable since she lost to Sigrit of Swordsmanship Class 1 every year. But that didn’t justify her actions.
‘Even if the instructor ordered her to use a bow, it’s uncertain whether Yuseora would listen, though…’
I watched Yuseora defeat another team’s swordsman using Overload. This match was against Team B of Swordsmanship Class 1, led by instructor Sigrit.
This time, even Yuseora had a hard time, exchanging nine strikes with the opponent’s swordsman.
‘Still, she’s definitely strong.’
The swordsman she faced was a tough opponent. Since she defeated such a guy single-handedly, Setia must be feeling pretty smug.
‘From Yuseora’s perspective, she might start to suspect that there might be a limit to her swordsmanship.’
With the output of Overload that Yuseora just showed, the limit would be around ten strikes. Nine strikes were very close to that limit. She must have started to have some doubts about her path.
‘That doubt is surprisingly correct.’
Yuseora shouldn’t just end it with doubt. She needed to correct it. But the one to correct it wasn’t me.
‘The match tomorrow.’
It was a match against Team 4-B. And Team 4-B… was the team Elsie was on. She would finally face her first hurdle.
‘It will be a watershed moment.’
Either her trust in the constellation would be broken a little.
Or her will would be broken.
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