〈 Chapter 121 〉 Graduation Tournament (6)

*

“Sung Yoo-rang.”

The tournament arena surrounded by countless heroes.

There, Wilhelm, facing me, called out.

“Why do you call?”

“Aren’t you nervous?”

“Nervous, huh…”

I looked around.

It was certainly something to be nervous about, fighting in front of so many heroes.

“If it were me three years ago, I would probably struggle just to stand.”

It would have been a miracle if I didn’t faint instead of standing properly.

I used to freeze in front of a dying wolf, unable to do anything without absolute obedience.

But I’m not the same person I was back then.

I had come too far to get nervous over something like this.

“I’ve never really been one to get nervous.”

But there was no need to reveal that here.

“Is that so? I’m envious.”

Wilhelm said that and nocked an arrow to his bowstring.

Silence.

Then, the countdown began.

[Three, two, one…]

Wilhelm and I drew our bows, aiming at each other.

Unlike swordsmanship, where one can adjust their power, in archery, once the arrow is loosed, it cannot be recalled.

For safety, barriers were placed over our vital points.

The victory condition was to inflict a certain level of damage on these vital point barriers.

So, I aimed for his vital point, the one with the largest surface area: his head.

[Start!]

Bang!

A blast almost like a gunshot.

At the same time, my arrow flew through the air towards Wilhelm with a slicing sound.

The same went for Wilhelm; his arrow was flying towards me at the same time.

And then, it happened…

Crack.

In the middle between us, my arrow collided with his and shattered.

Thus, both of our first shots ended up being nullified.

It was more accurate to say I hit his arrow rather than vice versa.

‘Was that a prediction based on his aim, his gaze, and analysis of me?’

That was pretty impressive, to be sure.

But even so, I wasn’t confident enough to follow suit.

Using an arrow to intercept an arrow shot by the opponent was almost miraculous.

‘So this is archery (S)…’

There was no time to lounge around.

I pulled several arrows from the quiver and nocked one while holding the others between my fingers.

Since my first shot had missed, I would have to rely on speed rather than accuracy from now on.

The sound of slicing through the air.

It was Wilhelm again.

He shot an arrow before I could finish aiming.

But there was no issue.

‘Wind’s Power.’

I used Wind’s Power to evade his arrow while standing still.

At the same time, my arrow was released from the bowstring.

At this distance, I didn’t even need Wind’s Power to aim anymore.

‘However…’

I missed.

It wasn’t that I shot poorly.

It was just that Wilhelm rolled sideways at the same time he shot.

He didn’t have a defensive ability like Wind’s Power.

So the only way to avoid my arrow was to actively move.

In most cases, he wouldn’t be able to attack while dodging an arrow.

But he was different.

Even while rolling, he shot an arrow at me.

It aimed precisely at my vital point.

‘Wind’s Power.’

I deflected it and shot back.

However, Wilhelm once again predicted my move and dodged it.

Simultaneously, he fired another arrow.

‘Is he reading my aim and gaze alone?’

I used Wind’s Power to deflect his arrow as I thought.

‘Surely I’ve reached the level of swordsmanship (S) where I can read my opponent’s blade movement.’

Reading swordsmanship (A) is pretty easy for me now.

Likewise for Wilhelm, who is archery (S) skilled, I’m barely at the level of archery (A).

So, even without Wind’s Power, he could dodge all my arrows.

‘I lack experience in archery against archery.’

During mock battles, I mostly performed the task of protecting mages from enemy archers.

I usually left fighting enemy archers, who had a clear advantage, to frontline troops.

However, that lack of experience was showing now.

‘If only I knew how to deceive the trajectory of an arrow…’

Of course, I wasn’t completely bereft of ideas.

But it was too late to apply them now.

I would just have to be satisfied with understanding the elements I still needed to grow in.

‘That being said…’

There was only one target available.

Soon, there would definitely be a gap in Wilhelm’s actions.

That would be the time he would need to gather another arrow after using the one he had.

‘Right now is the moment.’

With his last arrow already loosed, this was my opportunity.

I focused all my attention on my hand and arm.

Even if I shot now, he could still predict my shot and dodge.

‘But I can definitely control the tempo.’

I wouldn’t give him the time to get a new arrow.

To do that, I needed to push my practiced rapid-fire skills to the extreme.

As I drew the bowstring, his last arrow appeared in his hand.

Inventory.

‘So he knew how to use it.’

Until now, I hadn’t seen him use his Inventory in practice.

Thus, I had hoped he’d not considered using it in archery. But it seemed he’d just been hiding it until now.

‘Guess this is going to be harder than I thought.’

He started to unleash arrows without delay using his Inventory.

I had no choice but to give up rapid-fire and focus on Wind’s Power.

His rate of fire had increased as well.

‘But…’

From what I had seen so far, I didn’t think I was at a severe disadvantage.

After all, I was blocking all his arrows with Wind’s Power, while he was dodging my arrows based on predictions.

If the situation remained static, I would actually gain the advantage.

‘Provided he doesn’t find a way to circumvent my Wind’s Power.’

But as if reading my thoughts, Wilhelm soon found a way around it.

‘What is this…’

Wind’s Power is even more sensitive than one’s eyes.

Therefore, I had been relying entirely on Wind’s Power to detect and block his arrows.

Once again, I tried to sense his arrows through Wind’s Power.

But…

‘Why are the arrows coming from behind…?’

The arrows that were coming directly toward me were being detected as coming from behind.

If I misread the detection from the start, it would be impossible to maneuver them as I wanted.

“Ugh!”

I reflexively twisted the arrow with all my might.

Fortunately, it went off in a direction other than my body.

But right after that, the next arrow came flying.

‘There’s something weird about the spin on that arrow.’

It was deceiving my Wind’s Power.

The spin was also quite irregular, making it impossible to learn from it.

‘Wind’s Power.’

In the end, I chose to dodge rather than block the arrows.

I wrapped my feet in Wind’s Power and moved quickly.

Thanks to that, the arrow aimed at me whizzed past.

‘Damn.’

I dodged the immediate arrow.

But that just revealed my weakness to Wilhelm.

Just as I proved my point, Wilhelm began firing arrows with that same spin at me one after the other.

‘What should I do?’

I didn’t have the capacity to evade like Wilhelm while also making precise shots.

The only option left was one.

‘Close combat.’

Of course, I didn’t mean to beat him down with my bow at close range.

That applies to mock battles, but not here where too many people are watching.

I just meant I would close the distance enough to evade his attacks while landing effective hits.

‘The problem is…’

He was anticipating that as well.

As I tried to close the gap, he began to distance himself further.

He even mixed in arrows aimed at predicting my path as I attempted to close the distance.

‘It’s a sensation I haven’t felt in a while.’

It was a feeling I could hardly experience with swordsmanship anymore.

You’d have to match up against someone like Gwen to feel that.

But for archery, I was feeling it clearly now.

‘It’s a wall.’

Wilhelm’s archery skill felt like a wall.

That might have been to be expected.

Considering the difference in talent between him and me, and the time we had spent honing archery.

‘All this time, I was just covering it with Wind’s Power.’

However, the moment he found a way to overcome my Wind’s Power, that wall rose again.

Right now, I was merely standing on my tiptoes facing that wall.

‘Can I overcome it?’

Well, perhaps if I went through trials in swordsmanship for hundreds of years under a good master, I might manage it.

But such an opportunity wouldn’t come easily, and besides, it wouldn’t matter at this point.

But…

‘If I’m lucky, I might be able to create a hole in that wall.’

Though Wilhelm was trying to distance himself, the nature of my Wind’s Power, which accelerated, meant the distance between us was steadily closing.

If I kept this up, eventually Wilhelm might enter my effective range.

‘Be careful.’

If I hastily got hit by one of Wilhelm’s arrows in my vital point, it would be over.

So, even if it took a little while, I needed to cautiously approach him.

Ultimately, it was a contest of whether I could get close enough or if Wilhelm would hit my vital point first.

‘This time is it left? No, is it a feint?’

No, Wilhelm’s gaze was definitely the real deal masquerading as a feint.

Having observed Wilhelm for quite a while, I could read him to some extent.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I could hit his arrow, but it was enough to help me dodge.

‘Then I’ll go straight ahead.’

Just as I thought that, apparently it wasn’t the case.

The arrow came flying right at me, defying my expectations.

Predicting the exact position of my vital point, I had no choice but to shift the acceleration of my Wind’s Power back to defense.

‘The acceleration can be reapplied later.’

But this arrow had spin on it as well.

Thus, the arrow indeed curved and pierced into me.

“Ugh…!”

It struck exactly into my right arm.

In that fleeting moment, the anxiety of having made a grave mistake slipped through my mind.

An injury to the right arm is critical for an archer.

‘Damn it.’

Still, it wasn’t a fatal wound; I could still exert strength.

I should be able to draw my bow somehow.

Though I wasn’t sure about the accuracy.

‘But for now…’

I had successfully closed the distance I was targeting when I lunged forward.

Still, with my injury, I wasn’t confident I could hit from this distance.

Rather, it seemed more promising to close in again.

‘If I get in close and use my bow to finish him off?’

No matter how hard I thought about it, hitting Wilhelm’s arrows was impossible.

But maybe I could block one of Wilhelm’s arrows by swinging my bow staff.

If I could successfully get that close…

‘What am I thinking?’

I couldn’t possibly show myself deflecting arrows with my bow in front of all these people.

Also, I wouldn’t particularly want to do that.

‘Winning isn’t everything.’

What mattered to me now was the experience of facing the wall that is Wilhelm.

I wouldn’t be able to grow further by forcing a breakthrough through swordsmanship.

So I had to stick to archery in the end.

‘To the side.’

I gave up on approaching straight ahead and dashed sideways.

As expected, an arrow from Wilhelm passed by where I had been.

He had anticipated I would attempt to close the distance directly again.

‘No, I’ll fight him off with archery until the end.’

It would only have meaning that way.

I evaded Wilhelm’s attack while drawing the arrow I had nocked before.

Pain shot through my right arm.

‘Damn.’

I had to endure it.

Not only endure but focus.

So that the arrow hits Wilhelm’s vital point.

‘Now…!’

The moment Wilhelm leapt.

In midair, Wilhelm’s path of movement was fixed.

I let the arrow go from my hand.

Bang.

The sensation of my arm going numb from the injury.

At that moment, I realized.

I had missed.

‘Oh no.’

On the other hand, Wilhelm remained calm.

While I had been focused on my shot, his arrow was already on its way to me.

It was already too late to dodge.

‘Wind’s Power.’

I twisted the arrow flying towards my head.

But that arrow curved in a strange direction and struck the barrier near my heart.

Thus the tournament came to an end.

*

‘Did I win?’

Wilhelm gazed at the arrow he still held in a daze.

This was the arrow he had nearly released to ensure Sung Yoo-rang wouldn’t die just now.

However, that function was already void.

“Truly, Wilhelm is Wilhelm.”

With healing from the support mages arriving, Sung Yoo-rang said.

“I ended up losing. I had already anticipated it, though.”

He had anticipated it…

The same went for Wilhelm too.

There was that much difference in archery skill between Sung Yoo-rang and himself.

‘Moreover, he had prepared countermeasures.’

He had put a spin on the arrows to deceive Sung Yoo-rang’s powers.

And that had worked well, ultimately leading to victory.

Yet somehow, he didn’t feel relieved.

‘Why?’

Why did he feel so unfulfilled even though he won?

He turned his gaze toward the audience seats.

Everyone was focused on him.

‘Of course, I’m the one who won.’

Yet there was something lacking in their gazes.

It felt similar to how his father usually looked at him.

‘What could it be…?’

His gaze swept through the audience, seeking what was lacking, until he finally found it.

It wasn’t his father or any familiar figure.

But the look in those eyes was something he had never received before and had longed for.

‘But why…?’

A man with murky blonde hair.

He was sending that gaze not toward Wilhelm, but toward Sung Yoo-rang.

Wilhelm had never received that kind of gaze from anyone, yet Sung Yoo-rang had.

‘Did I… win?’

A sense of doubt arose.

*