Basic Archery and Hunter

"Do you know him?"

Roland shook his head helplessly.

If you counted the days he used to be a groom for this young noble, they could barely be considered acquaintances.

But judging by Darko's current demeanor, he had clearly forgotten all about the past when Roland used to hold his reins and whip.

"Then what exactly does young Master Darko want with me?"

Roland pondered for a moment, recalling the scene of yesterday's assessment, and a guess immediately formed in his mind.

"Could it be that this young noble saw my talent in blacksmithing and specifically came to recruit me?"

Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

After all, from what he understood, the nobles of the Golden Valley Kingdom did not have much of a habit of treating talented individuals with respect.

Someone like Hawk was already an exception.

After all, based on his observations while learning from Hawk these past few days, the old blacksmith's forging skills were extremely exquisite.

Even with the boost from his Profession Panel, it would likely take him at least half a year to a year to surpass Hawk's level.

Could his current blacksmithing skills truly gain the favor of these arrogant noble lords?

"Never mind, what will be, will be."

Giving up on dwelling on it, Roland turned to John and said.

"Captain John, is your patrol duty over?"

"Nonsense! Why else would I be standing here?"

John rolled his eyes and tossed the shortbow over.

"Take it."

Roland took the shortbow. It was lighter than he expected.

It was a very ordinary shortbow, made of common birch wood, with only the simplest polishing on the surface, not even painted.

The bowstring was made of twisted hemp rope and was already a bit blackened. There were also a few small cracks in the wood grain, indicating it had been used for quite some time, but it didn't affect its use.

"What? Do you think it's shabby?"

John crossed his arms, watching Roland examine it carefully.

"This was the first bow I used when I practiced archery back in the day."

Roland shook his head, his fingers gently stroking the bowstring.

"No, I'm just thinking about how to improve it."

His gaze fell on the slightly rough grip in the middle of the bow. His professional habits made him start conceiving polishing plans in his mind.

"What's there to improve? Once you learn archery, you can forge a new one yourself, can't you?"

"Alright."

John patted Roland on the shoulder.

"Go practice archery first. I don't have much free time."

"Okay, Captain John."

Roland withdrew his gaze from the shortbow and followed John through the gravel path of the manor, finally stopping in front of a spacious training ground.

This training ground was located in the northwest corner of the manor, surrounded by a low wooden fence, and the ground was covered with fine gravel that crunched underfoot.

On the east side of the field stood several heavily worn targets. The straw in the center had become loose, clearly having endured countless arrows.

On the west side, several training wooden swords and shields were placed, their edges covered with tiny nicks.

John walked up to the targets and casually picked up an arrow from a nearby wooden rack, handing it to Roland.

"Try it out first."

He pointed to the target twenty paces away.

"Don't try to hit the bullseye. Just feel the strength of drawing the bow."

"Uh, Captain John…"

After taking the arrow, Roland spoke.

"Won't you demonstrate it for me first?"

Having previously used the [Focus] trait to learn the Lion Swordplay, Roland naturally wanted to try the same trick to see if he could quickly master archery.

"Demonstrate?"

John stood to the side, scratching his head, and said somewhat confusedly.

"Didn't I already tell you the key points of shooting an arrow last night? And besides…"

John nimbly drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud as the bowstring snapped back.

The arrow hit the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy, not deviating an inch.

"This thing is different from other skills. Stance, breathing, finger placement, power application—there aren't any rigid standards for these. Everything needs to be adjusted based on yourself."

As John spoke, Roland's gaze refocused, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

John was right.

When the other party drew his bow just now, Roland had quietly activated the [Focus] trait to observe carefully.

The archery posture seemed casual, but in reality, it was completely undisciplined.

At the very least, the key points meticulously taught last night were almost nowhere to be seen on him.

"It seems that at least when learning archery, I can't rely on the [Focus] trait to take shortcuts like I did when learning Lion Swordplay. But it doesn't matter."

Roland shook his head gently, no sign of annoyance on his face. Instead, a smile of eagerness appeared.

"Anyway, I still have my Profession Panel. At worst, I'll just grind it out like I did when awakening other skills."

John, completely unaware of Roland's peculiar state, tapped his temple with his index finger, a mysterious smile on his face.

"And more important than those techniques is… the feeling!"

"Feeling?"

Roland frowned in confusion.

"That's right, the feeling!"

John nodded decisively, even though his words sounded incredibly esoteric.

"As long as the feeling is right, even with your eyes closed…"

He said this while genuinely closing his eyes, skillfully drawing his bow.

"...you can hit the target!"

"Whoosh!"

With a sound of air being sliced, the arrow once again precisely embedded itself into the bullseye.

Seeing this, Roland couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

He hadn't expected that the feeling John spoke of was actually real.

"Alright, now it's your turn to try!"

Roland nodded gently, then took a deep breath and nocked the arrow onto the bowstring.

As the archery tips from his mind continuously flowed, his posture became increasingly standard.

"Bang!"

But with a dull thud as the bowstring snapped back, the arrow flew straight down, burying its tip in the sand a few steps away from the target.

"Hahaha!"

John burst into laughter.

"Your strength is decent, but… it seems your feeling needs more practice."

Roland rubbed his slightly numb arm and could only nod gently.

"And your body was too stiff just now!"

"Archery relies on muscle memory and instinctive reactions. Thinking too much is actually a bad thing."

John walked behind Roland, adjusting his stance.

"Left foot a little further forward. Yes, just like that. Relax your shoulders, don't be stiff as a board."

Roland adjusted his posture according to the instructions and found that it was indeed much more comfortable.

"Now, don't stare at the bullseye."

John's voice sounded in his ear.

"Look at the entire target, let your body remember this distance."

Roland tried to do as he was told, and strangely, when he stopped deliberately aiming, his arm naturally found the correct position.

"Release!"

The arrow cut through the air, this time grazing the edge of the target, at least hitting the mark.

"Progress!"

John nodded in approval.

"Remember this feeling, keep practicing until your arm knows where to shoot the moment you raise it!"

For the next few hours, Roland repeated the actions of drawing the bow, aiming, and releasing countless times.

Sweat soaked his back, and the fingertips of his right hand were rubbed red by the bowstring.

After each failure, he would gradually integrate the techniques John had taught him the night before into practice, continuously adjusting and refining them to better fit his own way of moving.

As the sun began to set, Roland's archery skills started to show results.

Out of ten arrows, at least three or four hit the target.

Although it was still far from the bullseye, John was quite satisfied.

"Not bad, kid."

The old soldier gently patted Roland on the shoulder.

"At this rate, you'll be able to catch up to those new recruits in less than a month!"

Roland shook his slightly sore fingers and asked, "Captain John, what was it like when you first shot an arrow?"

John grinned, revealing a few yellow teeth.

"Much worse than you, my first shot went right past the instructor's scalp!"

He stroked the stubble on his chin.

"That old geezer chased me all over the training grounds."

The two burst into laughter, their shadows stretching long in the setting sun.

"Alright, kid."

John brushed the dust off his clothes.

"I've taught you everything I can. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself to get better."

"You can train here with peace of mind. I've already spoken to the patrolling guards!"

"Thank you, Captain John!"

"You kid, always so polite."

Seeing Roland's humble bow, John didn't say much more. He waved his hand and left the training grounds directly.

Glancing at the sky, which hadn't completely darkened yet, Roland took a deep breath.

"It's still early. I'll practice a bit longer and see if I can awaken Basic Archery!"

With that thought, he fetched a bundle of arrows and placed them by his feet, then nocked another arrow.

As one arrow after another whistled through the air, Roland's movements became smoother and more fluid, and the landing points of his arrows grew increasingly accurate.

He felt like he was starting to understand that feeling John had talked about.

Time passed, and it wasn't until dusk was about to fall.

A golden subtitle suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Basic Archery mastered, current level: Lv.1] [Detected, eligible for the basic profession Hunter] [Requirements: Strength 1, Agility 2, any Lv.1 Archery-related skill, two Survival-related skills 0/2] [Host does not meet the job change requirements]