The arrow was launched to its target—dancing through the wind in a silent glide.
Fwoosh!
Bullseye, I bet. Maeyurai thought to himself as he looked dead ahead. He confidently flashed a grin and lowered his longbow.
"Oh," Huizen uttered. "That was a pretty good stance for someone who doesn't know how to use a bow."
A pause.
"However, you can't aim properly," Huizen added.
The arrow completely missed the target by a hair and merely grazed its edge. It didn't even hit it. Seeing as the arrow dodged the target, Maeyurai's confident glint immediately lost its way in the dark.
"WHAT?! I swear, I aimed that properly!" he recoiled back in surprise, turning his gaze towards the smirking Huizen.
Huizen took a step and approached Maeyurai. He reached his hand out and gently took the bow from his hands, who merely let him take it.
"While you properly plant your feet on the ground, what you did with your upper body was wrong," Huizen said, demonstrating the same form that Maeyurai used when aiming.
"When you aimed, your shoulders were hunched back. This is not ideal since it can throw off your aim and consistency. Another flaw I noticed is that your head was tilted forward, which, again, is not ideal since it makes your aim worse," Huizen continued.
Once more, Huizen shot a quick smile towards Maeyurai. "See the connection on why you missed?"
Right. Even if I thought I had done it properly, it doesn't really mean that I did.
Maeyurai listened intently, observing Huizen's form, noting every detail.
"Yeah, I see the connection. It makes sense," he said. "Now I know what I did wrong. What should be the proper form, then?" he asked.
"Let me show you," Huizen said, before passing the longbow to Maeyurai. "I'll get another longbow so I can demonstrate."
As he caught the bow, Maeyurai gave a quick nod. "Got it."
Walking over to the bow rack, Huizen got himself a longbow. He then returned to the shooting line and took a stance. "Come on, try copying me."
Okay, let's see what I can do. With a nod, Maeyurai held his longbow firmly, watching Huizen closely as he copied his stance.
"First, you need to have both of your feet anchored to the ground firmly,' Huizen said. "Are you following?"
Adjusting his footing, Maeyurai planted his feet on the ground. "Yeah, I am."
"Good," Huizen said with a nod. "Next, you have to square up your shoulders when aiming. Your head also has to stay upright; don't lean forward."
He demonstrated the stance: left hand gripping the bow firmly, shoulders squared, head still.
Maeyurai copied each movement, his eyes still carefully watching Huizen's motions.
So, I made two mistakes earlier—that's why the arrow missed.
The next step, Huizen took one arrow and nocked it to the string. "While using your chin as the anchor point is fine, it isn't what longbow users traditionally use, as it can sometimes lead to some inconsistencies."
Huizen pulled the bowstring steadily, anchoring it to the corner of his mouth. "It's better to use the side of your face or the corner of your mouth as the anchor point."
"Understood," Maeyurai said as he nocked the arrow and drew the bowstring, stopping when his finger made contact with his lips.
Huizen released the bowstring, and the arrow went flying straight towards the target, hitting the center.
"Just like that," he said.
Maeyurai gulped as he watched the arrow glide across the range, striking its target with a bullseye.
Woah... He isn't the captain for nothing. The target is quite far; if I were to estimate the distance of the target from the shooting line, it should be around 60 meters!
"Your turn," Huizen said as he turned to Maeyurai with a grin.
Looking ahead, Maeyurai aimed the bow dead straight towards his target. Then, he let go of the bowstring, allowing the arrow to fly ahead.
This time, he did not miss. However, he only managed to hit around the edge of the target—in which Maeyurai was disappointed because he wanted to hit a perfect bullseye.
"Oh, wow. You learn fast," Huizen commented after seeing Maeyurai's shot.
"For someone that just learned how to shoot a few seconds ago, that was a good attempt! You truly do have high potential," he continued, praising Maeyurai.
Maeyurai turned his gaze towards Huizen, brushing off his words by shaking his head.
"I expected better," he said, a hint of disappointment in his tone. "I wanted to hit a bullseye as well.
Huizen raised his eyebrows, surprised by what Maeyurai just said. "You expected better? Newbies would go crazy if they were able to hit the target at this distance."
Hm?
What I did was amazing for new people? Is he just trying to hype me up, or is what he's saying true?
I don't know.
I don't know much of the world yet. But at least I'm making progress.
"Is that so?" Maeyurai said, his expression and tone neutral. He didn't really think that what he did was impressive.
To him, maybe, it was the standard for new archers. So Huizen's praise felt quite underwhelming—despite him being an exceptional archer and even the captain of the archers in the army.
"You sound a little bit displeased," Huizen said, cocking his head to the right a little. "Why don't you try shooting for the next five minutes so you can get the hang of aiming?"
"Can I?"
"Of course. Go ahead; feel free to shoot as many as you'd like. I'll just go get something."
"M'kay," Maeyurai uttered before taking a stance and starting to shoot once more.
As Maeyurai was exploring his form and aiming at the archery range, Huizen walked back to the bow rack to return the longbow before going inside his house to grab something.
This is quite fun; I love using this bow. I can probably ask to borrow this from Huizen.
Oh well, I'll ask later once he comes back.
He continued shooting for the next three minutes. Most of his shots hit the target, some missed; but they never got to hit the mark.
Growing impatient, Maeyurai started to shoot hastily. He was incredibly eager to hit the center of the target; at least once was what he was looking for.
Crack! The first arrow landed near the mark.
Thwack! The second one knocked on the target's edge.
Fwish! The third arrow missed.
Due to reloading arrows much quicker, his shots started to lose consistency and wouldn't land.
"Tch," Maeyurai clicked his tongue in frustration. "I don't understand—how the hell did Huizen hit the mark earlier at first try?"
Realizing that shooting faster wouldn't fix it, Maeyurai took a deep breath and slowed down.
Recalling the fundamentals taught to him by Huizen earlier, he steadily aimed his bow.
All of his focus was placed into this one singular shot. His eyes directed to the very center of the target, which was his only goal to hit.
"Hahh..." he exhaled.
For a few seconds, he stood still. Then, he released the bowstring. The arrow flew across the wind, creating a sharp sound that was pleasant to the ears.
Then, the projectile landed.
Maeyurai's eyes widened.
Oh—Bullseye!
The arrow landed right in the middle of the mark, almost perfectly at the center.
He pumped his fist forward near his stomach in a silent celebration. Excitedly, he looked around for Huizen and saw that he still hadn't returned—still inside the house, searching for whatever it was that he needed.
Wow, it feels good! I finally hit the bullseye! I'm going to brag about this to Huizen, heh.
"You sure look like you're having fun—with that smirk and all that," Huizen said, finally returning. He seems to be carrying a book.
"Well, of course, since I finally got what I want: hitting a bullseye."
"Oh, really?" Huizen said, a grin forming on his mouth. "Haha! Great job! Not many people get to hit the mark during their first time of doing archery. Be proud of yourself. Though, it's possible that was just a lucky shot."
"Lucky shot, you say?" Maeyurai asked, an undertone of skepticism in his voice. "It definitely wasn't; I aimed properly and steadily before I managed to pull it off."
Huizen scoffed. "You're getting quite confident now, eh? Do it consistently, then maybe I will change my mind."
Hearing a challenge, Maeyurai's eyebrow perked up. "Watch me, I'll do it—"
"Not now," Huizen cut him off before he could finish. "I have something to ask of you first," he continued, speaking in a stern tone.
"I—okay."
"Since you didn't recognize me when we first met, is it safe for me to assume that you don't know what's happening outside of Gangumen?" Huizen asked, his face solemn.
Maeyurai froze. This was quite the unexpected question; it took him by surprise.
"You're right. I've never heard of what's outside of Gangumen," Maeyurai answered, his voice weak. "As for the reason why... I believe it's because my father hides it from me."
"Your father is hiding it from you? Why do you think so?"
"I can feel it in his tone. There's always an underlying sense of worry whenever I ask what's outside."
"So you don't know the existence of Hell's Spawns?"
Once more, Maeyurai would fall silent in thought.
Huh? Hell's Spawns? What the hell are those? It's my first time hearing them.
No, wait. I might've heard of that term before. But where did I hear it? Damn, I can't remember.
"You're right again; I don't know what that is."
Huizen sighed, shaking his head. It seems that he's in dismay. "Are you serious? Damn... You've been living under a rock. How old were you again?"
"I'm only sixteen years old."
"Quite young. Very youthful indeed. Okay, one last question. Do you even know of the existence of magic?"
Magic? As in, controlling the classic elements, like fire? I don't think that kind of thing exists. What is this man talking about?
"Magic? I know that. Are you saying that it exists?"
"Yes, that," Huizen said, nodding his head. "And yes, I'm saying it exists."
"...Prove it to me," Maeyurai requested, his voice tinged with incredulity.
Huizen bobbed his head, bringing his hand up to stomach level, palm facing up. "Watch closely, okay?"
Then, a small ball of fire formed in Huizen's hand—swirling, bright, and hot. Maeyurai could feel the radiation of its heat from a meter away, indicating that it was real.
His eyes widening in shock, Maeyurai couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Wait, what?!" he exclaimed, stepping closer to inspect the fire.
Magic does, in fact, exist! What is this? How is he doing it?!
I'm going to have him teach me how to use magic; I want to learn!
"Well," Huizen spoke up, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips. "Believe me now? I bet you do."
"How did you do that? Teach me!" Maeyurai eagerly said, excited to learn something new again.
"I will teach you, though not today," Huizen replied, putting the fire away by closing his hand. "We'll need to educate you about the world. You know absolutely nothing, don't you? You're naive, innocent, and unaware of what exists in this world."
Huh? Teach me what exactly? I only want to learn more about magic and become an archer. I don't need any extra information!
"Ugh, fine," Maeyurai replied in a reluctant mutter. It seemed like a hassle to listen to. "I'm only going to listen because I want to learn magic. You better keep your word and teach me afterwards."
Huizen smirked. "That's the spirit! At least you're eager to learn magic, so you're also willing to listen to my teachings."
Not like I want to listen anyway. Just keep babbling until you finish—I won't listen unless it's about magic.
"Okay," Huizen said. "First, I'll teach you about basic history, then about the Hell's Spawns. And after that, we can move on to how people are ranked based on their power."
"Do I have to listen while standing and holding a longbow?" Maeyurai raised his hand and spoke.
"Well, yes. It's how I do things in the army. I talk, you listen. If I'm standing up, so are you."
"Fine," Maeyurai said, shrugging.
Huizen cleared his throat. "Ahem. So, the first thing I'm going to tell you is all about the Dark Age—or, as it's more commonly known, The Depression Age."