frightfiction Chapter 18 Weapon Replacement
Chapter 18 Weapon Replacement
"Forehead......"
In the room, I held my breath, enduring the excruciating pain coursing through my body. Why was I enduring this suffering?
It's simple, I need to become stronger. And this kind of pain will never stop.
"hiss......"
I gasped, clenched my fists, and felt them trembling. The training these past few days had been incredibly tough, pushing my body to its limits, even beyond them. But it was necessary.
“Hmm…Hmm…”
And so, as I looked down at my body, the pain came to an end.
“There are some scars left from the past month... When I have money, I can get medicine to treat them.”
I thought about propping myself up.
Today's training proved to be very effective; I feel my control over my magic is getting better and better.
It's like when you develop a new hobby; you quickly figure out how to master the basics. As things become more complex, it takes more effort.
That's how I am now. The process of infusing the arrow with magic went quite smoothly, and now the flow of magic is not difficult for me, just as I instinctively know it.
But that's not the real use of magic. At least, it's not just about adding magic to a bunch of arrows or bullets. So I know I need to learn how to use magic correctly.
But for now, this should be enough. As I thought about it, I started thinking about my new features.
【shadow】
This is one of the best features in the game.
It allows you to blend into the shadows; as long as you are in a dimly lit place, you can hide your presence.
'Swish'
I imagined myself moving behind the shadows, and soon, as I wished, the shadows yielded to my will, and I merged into the darkness of this world.
My vision was unobstructed, and I could clearly see the world around me, but at the same time, it felt as if I wasn't there.
In fact, I've been trying out this feature myself, even though I know its uses from the game. But experiencing it in real life is much better than seeing it in a game.
Let's call it a day.
As I was thinking, I fell asleep because it was already 1 a.m. and I had class the next day.
......
The alarm clock woke me up from my sleep.
"uh-huh......"
The lingering pain from training is still there, but it's bearable.
"Five in the morning, huh? That should be enough time for me to change my weapons."
Because I need to change my weapon, but I don't have enough money to buy one, I can only get one from the academy.
"I shouldn't be using a gun right now."
Guns are unnecessary because I don't want others to know I can enhance bullets with magic. I want to keep this talent hidden, and guns are relatively cheaper than bows, so I can make one myself before exploring the dungeons.
"The important thing right now is to improve my shooting skills, then using a gun won't be a problem when the time comes."
With that thought in mind, I left the room.
Because it was close to winter and the sun had not yet risen, there weren't many students around.
When I arrived at the student administration building, I saw a staff member waiting there. The working hours in this world are a bit different from usual.
Most of the time, student affairs or hunter-related work starts around 3 a.m., because portals and dungeons refresh at any time.
She nodded to me and said, "Which weapon are you planning to switch to? I'll make the preparations for you."
“Bow,” I replied.
She raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by my choice. "Oh, interesting. We rarely have students choose to switch from daggers to bows, but that's alright, we'll arrange it for you quickly."
She's right. Generally speaking, unless there are special circumstances, you won't see someone who uses a melee weapon switch to a ranged weapon.
Although I was the lowest-ranked student, she treated me with great respect. This was because she understood the difference between the Arcadia Hunter Academy and the outside world. Even though I was ranked last here, it didn't mean I was weaker than hunters outside...
I followed her instructions and went to the testing area. There, I received a recurve bow and a set of arrows to demonstrate my abilities. It was the same bow I used in training.
I trained on my own in the testing area for a while to warm up, and then an instructor came to meet me to assess my shooting skills. He was the archery instructor, someone I knew from the game.
“Joey Hartman,” I thought as I saw him.
The area is a wide open space with different shooting ranges set up at varying distances. The targets are made of sturdy materials that can withstand the force of arrows, and they vary in shape and size.
“Alright, let’s begin,” Instructor Joey said, gesturing for me to stand at the designated firing line. “We’ll start with the basics. Shoot those five stationary targets over there.”
The first part was easy; my eyes were fixed on the target. After observing the distance and recalling how it felt yesterday, I nocked the arrow, drew the bowstring, and aimed at the first target.
I took a deep breath, released the arrow, and with a "bang," it hit the center of the target.
"Not bad." The instructor nodded, and my confidence immediately soared. Just from his body language, I knew he genuinely approved of me.
As the stages progress, the difficulty increases. In the second stage, the number of targets increases to eight, and they also move left and right. I have to adjust my aim and timing to hit them as they move, and my Perception ability helps me see their movements more clearly.
In the third phase, the targets were set at greater distances, testing my accuracy and precision. I also had to consider the wind direction and adjust my shooting accordingly.
'boom'
However, it's not too difficult for me yet, and I hit the target again.
When I move on to the fourth stage, the targets are made of a harder material, and I need to use magic to enhance my arrows to ensure they can penetrate the thicker target surface.
This is an essential basic skill for archers. It allows them to imbue their arrows with magic and attributes.
On this point, I'm pretty sure I have the talent to be an archer, but it would be better if he thought I possessed bow-related traits. As I thought this, I infused the arrow with magic and released the string.
'Whoosh' 'Bang'
“Hmm, you’ve made good use of your characteristic,” the instructor commented, noticing how I infused the arrow with magic. As I expected, he assumed this was the characteristic that allowed me to power the arrow. In a way, he wasn’t wrong, but he was also wrong.
The fifth phase is the most challenging. It combines moving targets, long-range targets, and hard targets. I must remain focused, infuse my arrows with mana, and constantly change position to gain a better shooting angle.
But that doesn't matter, because I still managed to complete this stage within the limited time.
"Hmm?" I saw Instructor Joey exclaim in surprise. It seemed he hadn't expected me to make such great progress at this stage.
"This guy has potential..."
I heard him muttering to himself. At that moment, he had already started taking notes on his tablet.
"I think I've passed, but I want to keep going," I thought to myself.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and prepared for the sixth stage. The targets were now much harder, made of reinforced materials, requiring considerable force to penetrate.
My body was also aching slightly. Because the bow I was holding was a recurve bow, it required a lot of strength to keep pulling the bowstring, which made me feel very tired.
But I kept my breathing steady and kept walking forward.
I nocked an arrow, concentrated my magic, and infused it with power to enhance its strength. Then I released the bow and watched it fly towards its next target.
'call out'
The arrow struck the target's surface with force, but to my dismay, it didn't penetrate deeply enough. The arrow bounced off, leaving only a scratch on the solid material.
Instructor Joey remained expressionless. "Continue," he said, and I nodded. He wanted to assess the limits of my enhancement abilities.
I tried again and again, infusing more mana into each shot, but no matter how hard I tried, the arrows were not enough to break through the target's defenses.
"As expected, I don't seem to be able to penetrate the 6th stage target yet." I thought to myself, but I wasn't disappointed. After all, I had just acquired the trait and didn't yet know how to use it more effectively, as well as my mana.
'Whoosh whoosh'
I fired two more arrows, and the result was the same: they bounced off the target surface without producing any noticeable effect.
“Alright!” Instructor Ethan finally stepped forward and said. “It seems you’ve reached your limit for today.”
Upon hearing this, I lowered my head. Indeed, I had reached my limit for the day, so I remained silent.
"Hmph... Hmph..."
At that moment, I could no longer suppress the heavy breathing in my lungs. As a skilled archer, the most important things are balance and breathing, and to do that, no matter how fast my heart is beating, I need to hold my breath.
Instructor Joey approached me, his eyes filled with approval. "Your performance was impressive, especially considering you've just started using a bow and arrow. For a beginner, your mana control is excellent. I just checked your ability to use mana, which you couldn't do before; it seems you've finally got it."
As he spoke, he showed me his tablet. There, I could see a bunch of information about me and my past records. Just as I suspected, Morse had previously been unable to use magic, hence his reputation as a magic-less hunter in the instructors' records.
I nodded in response. "Yes, I only recently discovered my talent in archery and magic."
He nodded, his gaze shifting to my body.
"However, while your speed and movements are good, you lack strength and endurance. You look very tired."
"Yes."
"Then you should use a compound bow instead of a recurve bow. Although compound bows are heavier and more difficult to use than recurve bows, they require less strength. I believe that with your abilities, you can handle a compound bow better."
Sure enough, he saw through my thoughts. The reason I persisted until I was exhausted was to let him know this. Compound bows are expensive, so the academy generally doesn't like to give them to students, but my physical strength doesn't allow me to use a recurve bow.
"Understood, instructor."
“Not bad,” he said with a smile. “I’ll talk to the academy, and we’ll get you a suitable compound bow to practice with, and your weapon will be registered as a bow. But I need to confirm one thing. Has your dagger talent disappeared? Although this is rare, it’s not uncommon for previous talents to disappear.”
No, it's still there.
'咻咻咻'
I took the dagger from my belt and swung it quickly, just like before.
“Very good. I’ll submit the report. Your bow will arrive at noon.”
“Thank you, Instructor Joey,” I said gratefully.
And so, I left the testing area, feeling both tired and satisfied. My body ached a little, but it was nothing.
Now that we have all that, all that's left is to make money and buy guns.
And so, I went back to my room to prepare for class...