Chapter 51

“Is… is that really him? It’s not some other person…??”

The disbelief in Lana’s reaction as a close friend.

Elaine understood her friend’s reaction.

Considering the flamboyant(?) deeds that Max had shown so far, that was a natural reaction.

She would have reacted the same conclusion until not long ago.

But now she knows.

That Max had hidden other sides of himself.

The imperial swordsmanship style eight, honed to a level even her father would acknowledge.

She could tell how much blood, sweat, and tears went into reaching such a level without even seeing it.

The surprisingly good grades in the last magic school assessment were also a result of such efforts.

Known to everyone as a lazy troublemaker, in reality, he was an incredible hard worker who constantly strived unseen.

“It must be the fruit… of his efforts.”

The same goes for the performance now.

Although clumsy with archery, one could tell by feeling.

That he is shooting with a very stable posture, consistently without shaking.

Such fundamentals are not acquired in a day or two.

It’s the result of relentless effort.

Honestly, she still thinks he’s a schoolmate that doesn’t quite get along with her, in terms of personality or other aspects.

She accepted his apology, but his past conduct was too severe to understand.

But she had to honestly acknowledge such aspects.

He’s amazing.

“What? Effort? Efff-ooorrrrttt?”

On the other hand, Lana shook her head vehemently, as if the sound of it was preposterous.

Understood.

It must be a reality too unpleasant to accept.

But soon, whether they like it or not, everyone will have to acknowledge it.

That Max has changed.

Or maybe, he has always been…

“You saw it last time too, Lana. It seems like you might as well acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.”

Having competed in the same group against Max’s team in the magic school assessment, she must have felt it already.

It’s just that accepting Max is something she can’t stand.

“No way! Eh, Elaine saying something like that! This, this can’t be! This can’t happen! What the hell happened with that guy! Tell me the truth!”

Lana flustered with her eyes wide in shock.

…Suddenly, her head started to hurt.

Calming Lana down might require more energy than shooting an arrow.

In such times.

“Hmm?”

“The professor is glaring this way, you know?”

“Oops.”

Even Lana, as brash as she is, closed her mouth quickly, fearing Professor Lawrence.

Somehow, that was a successful damage control.

Elaine’s calm gaze turned back to Max.

—————————————————————–

‘Not bad.’

Professor Lawrence’s eyes sparkled slightly.

This is the second student worth noticing in the common class so far.

But among them, this student is definitely more promising.

You can tell just by looking at the posture.

How well he has mastered the basics.

Everyone knows the importance of basics, but not many actually manage to imbibe them into their system.

Basics are easy, insignificant, just a step in the process; that’s what many think.

Those who believe that flashy and powerful advanced techniques are the real deal.

They are foolish not to know what foundation those advanced techniques are built upon.

But he was different.

Max celtrine.

A student famous for his terrible reputation, as much as you don’t want to hear about it.

But he didn’t care about that reputation.

Because he judged only by what he saw with his eyes,

Even by that standard, Max was a terrible student.

Both his skills and his attitude in class were terrible.

There was no enthusiasm at all.

So the judgment was simple.

Trash.

That one short word was enough.

But then.

That ‘trash’ began to change from the new semester.

It was evident in his archery stance and expression.

The enthusiasm, which was completely absent, started to show.

Naturally, his archery skills improved as well.

Can a person change this suddenly?

‘Very rare.’

It’s not impossible.

But for most people, it’s not feasible.

A dramatic change of heart is needed for such a transformation.

Something shocking enough must have happened to induce such a change.

But even so.

‘Too fast.’

Basics can be learned by anyone, regardless of talent.

The issue is the speed of growth is too fast.

Can this merely be the result of lessons and practice?

No, it can’t be.

There must be a good teacher helping him.

Who could that be?

Such curiosity arises because of the speed of Max’s growth.

‘Having finished the basics means…’

Absolutely flawless fundamentals.

It’s time to move on to the next stage.

That means he may have already learned advanced techniques from that mysterious teacher.

‘No, it’s still too early.’

Advanced techniques are not so easily learned.

Assuming they are ‘genuine’ advanced techniques.

But the teacher aiding Max must be ‘genuine.’

As someone who also follows the path of archery, it’s intriguing.

What that technique might be.

‘I shall look forward to it.’

He’s shooting very stable arrows, but that’s the realm of basics.

Nothing beyond that.

Considering the growth rate and time, it would be right to assume that’s all Max can show.

Professor Lawrence looked away as if there was nothing more to see.

—————————————————

‘Two shots left.’

I took a moment to catch my breath and assess the situation.

Three tens and five nines.

I hit fewer tens than I expected, but it was still a score within the safe range.

If I don’t make a mistake in the remaining two shots, I should easily make it into the top ten of the year.

Of course, the chances of me making a mistake in the last two shots were zero.

Because I’m planning to use the technique passed down to me by the meat-loving elf.

‘Basic skills are up to this point.’

It could be very useful in battle, but if you ask if I can rely on it in critical moments, the answer is no.

That’s why advanced techniques are necessary.

Advanced techniques that can be relied upon in moments of crisis.

‘At least I’ve got one.’

The only advanced skill in my skill window, which is otherwise filled with only basics, is Hiresia’s Focus.

At first, I thought it was a fluke, but it turned out to be the result of human relationships.

‘Focus, there’s no better skill for archery training than that.’

The words she said at the lakeside.

From the beginning, she intended to teach me Focus.

To help with my training.

‘Alright, then.’

It seems necessary to show off her technique to everyone with a stylish gesture of gratitude.

‘That will do.’

Docking.

First, splitting the arrow already shot.

A divine skill that only master archers can achieve.

Since Focus can be used up to two shots, it’s definitely feasible.

I’ve done it before,

And it would be enough to astonish everyone.

“Huh.”

I let out a short laugh and nocked the arrow to the bowstring.

I could have activated Focus right away, but I waited.

Until a strong wind blew,

Of course, for a more dramatic effect.

Whoooooosh!

Soon after, the awaited gust of wind blew.

“The wind is crazy too.”

I could feel everyone frowning and lowering their bows.

Shooting an arrow in such a strong wind would be madness, so their reaction was natural.

But for me,

It was an opportunity for a dramatic effect.

I activated Focus right away.

Countless paths of arrows unfolded before me.

I quickly found the path leading straight to the center of the target.

My bow’s direction twisted.

“What is that guy doing?”

“You’re going to shoot in this wind? Are you out of your mind?”

“What do you mean shoot? It’s just putting on a meaningless show. That guy is really an attention-seeker, I’m telling you.”

“Ridiculous, really.”

It seemed like everyone thought I was just putting on a show to draw attention.

That would be the natural assumption.

But the thing is,

This is about riding the wind.

Those guys don’t understand the wind, anyway.

Snap.

The bowstring was released.

“Uh…?”

“You’re actually shooting?”

“Has he gone mad?”

Shoot!

The arrow flew.

Whoosh!

The strong wind harshly pushed the arrow.

To anyone watching, it seemed like a certain miss.

But,

Surprisingly, the arrow headed straight for the center of the target.

Thud!

And it perfectly hit the dead center.

“What, what, what the?!”

“Te, te, ten points?!”

“In this strong wind… Does that even make sense?!”

The astonished cries of the onlookers.

A refreshing exhilaration coursed through my body.

This is exactly the zest of life.

It’s too early to be surprised, lads.

I activated my focus again before the wind stopped.

Interestingly, this time ill shoot from the completely opposite direction.

Meaning, the dramatic effect could be maximized further.

My bow turned to the opposite side.

Snap.

Whizz!

Another arrow flew.

Again, the arrow was pushed by the strong wind.

But, even this time, it headed toward the center of the target.

Getting closer.

To the exact center.

Right into the tail of the first arrow,

Crack!

The first arrow couldn’t withstand it and split in two.

Exactly in half,

The new arrow pierced through the split arrow and hit the same spot.

With not a single fraction of deviation, perfectly the same spot.

A perfect docking.

This time, no screams of astonishment came out immediately.

It was too surreal to be believed as reality.

I smiled wryly, waiting leisurely for a while.

For their runaway senses to come back.

And then.

“What the…?!”

“Do, do, do, do, docking?!”

“Are, are, are, are you crazy?!”

“What, what, what is this! What is this?!”

As if time had resumed, an explosive reaction burst forth.

“What in the world is this?!”

Lana screamed almost in despair.

Elaine couldn’t respond to such a reaction from her friend.

She was too shocked herself to be in her right mind.

“Even so, no matter what… This, this, this can’t be right?!”

Elaine’s extremely flustered cry.

It was a very miraculous scene.

After all, she was not one to get flustered in the first place.

But these days, such flustered moments are becoming frequent.

The common factor is that they all involve Max Celtrine.

“Huff… Huff…”

Soon Elaine seemed to realize she was too excited and calmed herself down.

But still, this is too much.

‘That’s way too extreme!’

Magic evaluation?

If talent and effort are present, I thought it could be possible.

Because she had done it herself.

Imperial Style 8?

Persistent effort might make it possible.

It’s basic swordsmanship, after all.

Archery?

Persistent effort would again be possible.

It’s basic archery but… No, no, no!

How can you suddenly skip several levels like that?

It’s like you learn to walk with effort, and suddenly you’re flying.

Docking?

Docking, you say?

Through such a tremendous gale?

How incredible must your archery skills be to do that?

‘Insane talent? Or have you been hiding your true abilities?’

Now, it’s confusing.

It means I don’t understand anything anymore.

The problem is Max.

It’s Max’s fault.

How can there be such an unpredictable person?!

Smirk.

…………I saw Max smiling at this direction.

Embarrassed, I smiled back and then awkwardly bowed my head.

Ugh.

My face was burning.

This isn’t like me at all, but I got caught up in Max’s pace without realizing it.

‘Ugh, how embarrassing.’

Elaine hit her own head repeatedly in her mind.

But what can she do?

You can’t turn back time.

In the end, what she chose to do was…

To casually lift her head again and smile once more.

But…

………Max was looking somewhere else.

It was a futile act.

‘Relax… relax… rela… ugh, really!’

Elaine decided then.

From next time on, she would sit somewhere away from Max’s notice.