〈 Chapter 117 〉 Graduation Tournament (2)
*
“Phew…”
I exhaled a shallow breath.
And, aiming my bow, I waited for a target to appear.
Zing.
‘It appeared.’
I released the bowstring I had been pulling.
The arrow flew straight and pierced the target.
‘Not yet.’
It wasn’t time to stop.
I grabbed another arrow from between my fingers and placed it on the string again.
Zing.
The moment a new target appeared, I aimed at it and shot.
This arrow struck the target as well.
‘Next.’
I nocked another arrow and shot at the newly appeared target.
I repeated this process over and over without relaxing.
Although my movements weren’t large, beads of sweat had begun to dot my face.
“Phew…”
I took another shallow breath and aimed my bow at the targets appearing around me.
The sweat that fell stained the sandy floor of the Archery Exam Hall.
After hitting I didn’t know how many targets, I felt it.
‘Maybe I’m reaching my limit.’
In a matter of 5–6 seconds.
I focused to the max and hit dozens of targets. Thanks to my bow being completely familiar to me now.
But I was reaching my limit.
Ping.
Finally, the arrow missed the target.
The magical targets began to vanish, and the number of targets I had hit was displayed.
[Shooting Training: Advanced]
Targets hit: 20
’20…’
It seemed that I had actually hit 20 targets, not just a dozen.
The importance of this was that it was the goal I had set for myself.
‘Took long enough.’
I could definitely feel that as my archery skills improved, the growth was slowing down.
It hadn’t taken long to hit 15 targets when I first started advanced training, but it took quite a while to increase that number one by one after that.
It felt like my archery had reached the same stagnation phase I had experienced when learning swordsmanship with Libero.
‘Status.’
Checking my status made this clear.
‘Archery (A-)’
My archery rank, which had originally been stuck at B+, seemed to have recognized my growth and reached A-.
This had been achieved after a year of learning archery from Ludmilla and sneakily observing Wilhelm’s training.
…To be honest, I was quite satisfied with the results.
An A- meant that I could hold my own as an archer, equivalent to the rank I had achieved in swordsmanship after awakening my Precocious trait and undergoing several months of hellish training with Libero.
Of course, hitting an A- in archery and achieving the same in swordsmanship felt slightly different.
There’s a saying that all martial arts eventually lead to one place. While I don’t think that applies to everyone, it seemed to apply to my archery, at least.
‘Thanks to that, I somehow managed to raise it to A-.’
A rank of A- certainly meant I could hold my ground as an archer.
Of course, from here on, growth would likely slow down, just like my swordsmanship, making it harder to raise my rank further, but I probably wouldn’t even have time for that after graduation.
So ultimately, what mattered was that I had reached that rank of A- before graduation.
‘This is enough.’
With this, I could consider my training in archery, one of the goals I had set when enrolling, accomplished.
It was the result of many things combining: the traits [Precocious] and [Blessing of the God of Regret], Ludmilla’s guidance, and a rich practical environment.
‘And…’
I couldn’t leave that guy out of the equation either.
Zing.
It seemed Wilhelm was also finishing his archery training.
Similarly drenched in sweat, he lowered the bow he had been holding.
[Shooting Training: Elite]
Targets hit: 41
He was clearly on a different level than me.
Right from the start of our enrollment, he had been at Archery A-.
It wasn’t just the starting point that was different; his limits were on another level compared to mine.
‘He could probably reach Archery S+ too.’
Of course, that would be if he continued to diligently hone his skills until the end.
But the gap between what was possible and impossible was quite significant.
It would greatly affect his growth rate as well.
‘Already reached Archery S-.’
While I had climbed from Archery C+ to A-, he had already jumped from A- to S-.
At first glance, the distinction in ranks looked larger for me, but considering that it was several times harder to go from A+ to S- than from C+ to A-, he was a tremendous prodigy.
Of course, he had also practiced a lot to reach that level.
“Seong Yoo-rang.”
He called out to me.
Knowing he had natural talent as an archer, he must have already sensed that I was watching him.
Me merely observing his archery from the sidelines was just a show of goodwill on my part.
So I decided not to act like I wasn’t looking at him.
“What’s up?”
“Your archery has improved quite a bit.”
We had both started practicing at the same time.
For him to evaluate my archery while still hitting top-tier targets meant he had been watching me even as he practiced.
‘Truly a monster.’
I replied, clicking my tongue.
“Improved? It’s barely on the same level as your beginning.”
“No, to be honest, I couldn’t imagine you’d reach this level in such a short time. But you did it—within a year, no less.”
I didn’t feel particularly insulted by that.
Falseness is usually aimed at someone with malice, and Wilhelm didn’t have that intent in this context.
On the contrary, he had just said that because he recognized the effort I had put in.
“Still, it doesn’t feel unreasonable. I’ve watched you practice all this time. You’re the first person I’ve seen that might practice as much or even more than I do. I can’t even imagine the life you’ve led.”
“It hasn’t been smooth sailing.”
“It hasn’t been smooth sailing, huh…”
Wilhelm fell deep into thought for a moment.
Then he spoke.
“So, if I don’t lead a smooth life, could I end up like you?”
That was such a ridiculous statement.
To think that the prodigy born with immense talent in archery, Wilhelm, would envy me for barely achieving Archery (A-).
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“It may sound foolish and overindulgent, but I’ve lived a mostly easy life, being born into a good family.”
“So what does that have to do with wanting to be like me…?”
“I see my own limitations.”
In that moment, I realized the true nature of the dilemma Wilhelm was facing.
It was something I also recognized as his problem.
‘Lack of potential.’
Wilhelm could shoot an arrow better than anyone else.
But that was all there was to his character.
It was no wonder he ranked among the least enjoyable characters to cultivate, as rated by users.
The builds available were limited to either inheriting the family’s stable bow or timing it right to inherit Ludmilla’s bow.
However, until now, thanks to the existence of the Divine Seat, this issue had not been highlighted before Wilhelm.
He had been a character who diligently followed the orders of the Divine Seat rather than thinking about his own path.
‘But he has no Divine Seat now.’
This absence caused Wilhelm to gain a new perspective.
He began to think about his own path.
‘And he probably started to see that limited path as a limitation.’
Sure, he could consider it a limitation.
In any case, he was bound to be weaker than characters like Elsie or Gwen, who had the Royal Blood trait.
But that didn’t mean he was weak.
‘At least, not compared to me.’
I asked him.
“What do you think your limit in archery is?”
Without hesitation, he answered.
“If we use the best targets as a standard, I’d say about 100 targets. No, if I keep honing my skills until I die, maybe even the best standard might not have a limit.”
That level would probably reach Archery (S+).
So, he had a good grasp of himself.
“Then what about my archery limit?”
“To be honest… I’d say you’ve probably already reached your limit. Maybe you could get one or two ranks higher, but it’d be tough.”
He was spot on.
He had accurately assessed both his own and my levels.
That meant I could say this to him.
“Well, you’re still stronger than I am. Now and in the future. So what’s the problem?”
“Of course, there’s no real problem. However…”
He wore a rare expression of bitterness.
“No, let’s leave it at that. I feel like I’ve said too many sorry things to you.”
“Wilhelm?”
“I’m not even sure if this worry is justified.”
He lifted his bow again.
It seemed he was about to start training once more.
“Maybe it would be better to hone my archery instead of worrying.”
He drew the bowstring.
“But…”
His posture was as steady as ever.
With that unwavering stance, he asked.
“If I lose to you in the graduation tournament, can I get your advice again?”
In that moment, I realized.
He was intending to use me as proof of his method.
And he was now asking for my permission.
‘What’s there to ask for permission about?’
I decided to accept his request for proof.
After all, the odds of him losing to me were pretty slim.
“Of course.”
*
Thus ended the quickly passing second semester.
While training, I continually reviewed and prepared for my plans ahead.
“The matchups for the graduation tournament have been announced.”
Amidst this, I heard from Elsie that the matchups for the graduation tournament were out, and I checked the matchups.
‘This is…’
The matchups fell within the range of my expectations.
But the problem was that within that range, it was one of the worst levels.
‘Elsie’s opponent is too strong, while Yusera’s is the opposite.’
The relic that Elsie would get this time wasn’t that important, so I didn’t need to worry much about that.
However, Yusera’s situation posed a problem.
My strategy was to showcase only the necessary aspects to achieve the desired relic while not fully exposing Yusera’s strength.
‘But if that opponent is too weak…’
There was a high probability that the essential aspects wouldn’t come to light either.
‘I might have to set up a second plan.’
Fortunately, I wasn’t short of ideas.
I weighed the pros and cons of those methods while looking over the matchups.
And at the bottom of the matchup list, I found my name.
It was the matchup for the top four in the Archery Class.
‘Wilhelm Rosemond – Seong Yoo-rang’
Since Wilhelm and I had effectively claimed the top two spots in the archery class, the matchup was practically predetermined.
‘But…’
Perhaps due to my recent promise with Wilhelm, I lingered a bit longer on that matchup.
