World Keeper

Chapter 646: The Essence of Archery

Register skill. Thessa said as she held her bow in front of herself. Like the others within the training facility, she had just been prompted by the arrival of this new system. Immediately afterwards, Chel had told them to register their most commonly used fighting techniques.

As there were numerous arrows provided in the archery range, Thessa did not stand on ceremony. She grabbed one, nocking it on the string of her bow, and aimed at a black wall ahead of her. There was a single red dot at the center of the wall, but the wall itself seemed to be releasing a type of strange energy.

Drawing the arrow back, she aimed at the target. After she took a deep breath, she let the arrow fly. This wall was only a dozen meters away, so she had not imbued the arrow with any of her divine properties. Simply a casual glance was all it would take to ensure that she would hit a target at this distance.

Sure enough, the arrow flew at the wall, striking perfectly at the dot. However, what was odd was that the arrow kept flying even after that. It sank into the wall itself, looking as if someone had drawn an arrow on the black surface. This drawn arrow seemed to fly forward for quite a distance before gradually falling off.

Firing Accuracy analyzed!

Short-Distance(10-100m) Accuracy: 100%

Medium-Distance(100-1000m) Accuracy: 85%

Long-Distance(1-100km) Accuracy: 15%

Extreme-Distance(100km-1000km) Accuracy: 0%

This prompt was not provided by the skill system, but rather by the wall itself. The skill system registered the Archery skill properly, but she was still captivated by what she had seen at the wall.

There was a faint clattering to her side, and she saw that an arrow had fallen into the quiver next to her. No… wasn’t that the same arrow that she had just fired. Picking it up, she was certain that it had the exact same feeling as the one she had just shot out.

Nocking the arrow on the bow again, she took aim at the red dot. This time, she treated it more seriously. The distances listed on the measuring device had definitely shocked her at first, but it also lit a desire to do better. Compared to the gravity on higher levels of Fyor, this is nothing… watch me break your ‘Extreme-Distance’ mark!

“Shine, the heart of my bow.” She muttered, her bow beginning to release a vibrant glow. “What I desire is a path that will never err.” The golden light seemed to spread over the arrow nocked on her bow, which was once again released. This time, an explosion of golden light fired back from the bowstring as the arrow shot out.

As before, the arrow shot straight into the wall, continuing to pursue that red dot into what could be considered an infinite depth. For the first time, Thessa could feel a significant drain on her divine power simply from the release of a single shot. However, she was eventually forced to cut off the supply of energy to her arrow.

Firing Accuracy analyzed!

Planetary(1000km-1au) Range: 100%

Interplanetary(1-10au) Range: 97%

Stellar(10-1000au) Range: 4%

Interstellar(1000au-1ly) Range: 0%

Thessa’s eye twitched as she saw the entirely new measurements. Of course I can’t hit something a light year away?! Since when does that even count as archery anymore?! And au… astronomical units? I’m not actually trying to shoot down the sun, you know! Although she complained in her mind, she was also greeted by yet another prompt.

Archery skill use detected at higher value! Updated skill proficiency!

She had not actively chosen to register her skill that time, so she was surprised to find that the system responded to her action. Thinking about it, she grabbed another arrow and fired again, having intended to do so casually. However, as soon as she thought about wanting to hit that dot, her body subconsciously adjusted, her muscles tightening and hips turning. Her fingers lightly pinched the base of the arrow, and she fired.

Although she had not infused any divine power into this shot, it still fired off with considerable force. Enough that she was shocked by the results of what was an otherwise normal attack. Naturally, this arrow did not reach the astronomical units in length. However, the Long-Distance accuracy was almost perfect, while Extreme-Distance was quite high as well.

So this is what the skill system is like? She muttered inwardly. She was positive that had she infused her divine power into the arrow, the results would not have been any worse than her previous attempt at the wall.

As she was thinking about that, she heard a faint chuckle from behind. Turning, she saw Chelsea walking over. “Have you figured out how the wall works yet?” She asked with a small smile.

“How it works…” Thessa blinked, having not given that much thought. “It pulls the arrow into another world to measure the distance, doesn’t it?”

The nine-tailed kitsune shook her head. “Not at all. It’s just a simple space folding trick. There is a ten-meter space trapped inside the wall, which loops in on itself. The measurement is simply determined by how many times the space has to loop before the arrow veers off course.”

“Is such an extreme unit of measurement really needed for what we’re doing?” Thessa asked in doubt, recalling how she had seen measurements even in light years…

“Hmm?” Chelsea shook her head. “No, not at all. This is just the initial testing mode, seeing how far your maximum shooting is. As long as you can accurately shoot up to ten million kilometers, you’ll be able to complete your part of the attack plan.”

“T-t-ten million… isn’t that a little much?” Thessa gulped, eyes going wide at the ridiculous requirement. Although she had certainly shown a much farther maximum range, that was against a stationary target. Live targets were almost impossible to hit beyond a dozen kilometers without the enhancement of her divinity, even if she used the best bows and arrows.

Even then, it was possible to miss from as close as a hundred meters, if the target employed special defenses. What sort of defense would a galactic armada have that they could deploy against feeble arrows?

Chelsea let out a faint sigh. “Your wish for your shot before was for the path to never err, right? You wanted your arrow to fly straight and true, that way you could hit the target, right?”

Thessa gave a faint nod at that, as she had even stated as much verbally. “That’s right, and…?”

“And you’re doing it all wrong!” Chelsea huffed out, shaking her head. “A path that will never err? How is that the essence of archery? Stop trying to hit your target and just hit it! You are the Goddess of Archery, for crying out loud. If you wish for an arrow to fly straight and true, it will do just that. It will fly to the ends of the earth and never hit its mark.”

Thessa raised an eyebrow as she listened to the woman ranting. “My accuracy is already remarkably high… how am I missing the essence of archery?”

Chelsea shook her head again with a sigh, holding out one hand. Within it, she formed a simple bow of spiritual energy, and grabbed one of the testing arrows. Nudging the goddess aside, she took a firing stance, aimed at the wall. Black light gathered around her fingers, seeping into the arrow. “Strike across the stars.” She muttered, releasing the arrow.

Thessa didn’t even see the arrow fly. One instant, it was nocked on Chelsea’s bow, and the next it was stuck in the wall ahead of them. However, unlike the arrows that Thessa fired, this arrow did not sink into the wall and enter the ‘measurement testing’ phase. It simply stuck straight to the center of the red dot.

“Did you turn off the measurement mode?” She suspected, clearly having a hard time understanding what she had just seen. Surely it had to do with the black energy that Chelsea used, right?

At her question, Chelsea grabbed another arrow, this time firing it normally at the wall. Like the ones that Thessa herself fired, it sank into the wall and entered the testing range. “You’re a Goddess that has regressed to using first-tier archery techniques. I know that you use special skills if your arrows miss their marks, but… why do you have to wait for them to miss?”

Thessa blinked in confusion as Chelsea dismissed her bow before continuing her explanation. “Void arrows pierce through space itself to hit the coordinates you set. What I just used was a pre-set void arrow, with the coordinates being the target. You’re so focused on polishing your fundamental skills that you forgot to continue your advanced abilities.”

“One arrow leaves the bow, one arrow strikes the goal. That should be your mission. As long as you know where the target is, distance is only a number.”

Thessa furrowed her brow, shaking her head. “But if you use a void arrow, the other enchantments on the arrow are erased. You can’t be saying that a normal arrow could be useful against galactic warships, right?” She was more than familiar with void arrows, but had always used them only if her arrow missed, because using them removed any magical or ki influences on an arrow. Using a regular arrow with a void jump directly to her target? That was simply wasteful, as things requiring that level of skill would never die from a normal arrow.

After she asked her question, Thessa felt a pair on her head, crouching down and covering her head with her hands. Chelsea chopped the top of her head with a hand, before placing her hands on her hips. “That only applies for normal enchantments. Divine bestowals still apply to an arrow. Why else would the arrows created with your bow’s divine ability be able to persist through a void jump?”

Thessa blinked at that, looking up at Chelsea. “You mean…”

Chelsea nodded her head. “You can use your divine energy to enhance your arrows, and then use a void jump to guarantee a hit. More importantly… Who’s to say that the arrow you fire has to be made of wood and steel? We can craft special arrows able to carry micro-bombs, nanite converters, or warp fields.”

Thessa gave a small nod, not knowing what most of those things were. She had spent her life in the upper levels of Fyor, where technology like that simply didn’t exist. The drastically increased gravity made it so that delicate electronics and machinery were not able to operate properly, forcing the planet to rely on advanced magical or ki-powered devices instead.

However, she knew that Chelsea was an incredibly intelligent person already, and that she was connected to several very powerful people. Even the servant of the Keeper himself was listening to her arrangements. So why would she, a little goddess from a backwater world, have the ability to refuse? Besides… it did seem like she was making sense.

Chelsea nodded her head when she saw that she had gotten through to Thessa, before moving on to the others. Phisher had ample combat experience, and understood at least part of the essence of the blade. But Jace was still having some trouble when it came to the understanding of his sword domain. With a sigh, she began walking towards the sound of thunder, shaking her head.

“Well, at least this new system will help get them sorted faster.”