Moving Shot

The wild boar below charged incessantly, its tusks swaying and frequently blocking the trajectory of the arrows, making it even harder for Sylutia to aim.

Mick gradually lured the giant boar away from the direction of Karen and Ray, running nimbly through the mountains and occasionally turning back to throw stones to keep the giant beast's attention.

He landed heavily on the soil once more, his feet sliding slightly and kicking up dirt before he pushed off again to sprint forward.

Because his focus was entirely on the giant boar and his escape, he didn't notice that Sylutia had already leaped into the trees on the other side.

The enraged boar grunted and gave chase; despite its massive frame, it was neither bloated nor sluggish. Instead, it moved like a sturdy spring, crashing through the forest. Its fleshy body would occasionally slam into large trees, but they only swayed slightly, causing the boar no harm at all.

No.

After aiming for a moment, Sylutia lowered her bow. Under these circumstances, she couldn't get a clear shot; there were simply too many interfering factors and variables, and her arrow had to strike the boar's eye precisely to be effective.

Realizing it wouldn't work, she began leaping between the branches again. Thanks to her lithe body and keen vision, she always found a place to land, but such jumping consumed a great deal of stamina and required the support of her Breathing Technique to achieve the necessary power and speed.

Opportunities were limited; she couldn't drag this out forever.

After a few seconds of thought, she decided to descend and aim from the ground. The angle would be better, though far more dangerous.

With that in mind, she leaped from the tree, her toes touching the ground lightly before she took a few steps forward to cushion her momentum. She then drew her bowstring while running, aiming at the boar that was chasing alongside her.

At this angle, she not only avoided the interference of the boar's tusks but could also adjust her own speed to remain relatively parallel to the beast, minimizing the positional shift caused by its movement.

At this moment, Mick finally noticed Sylutia's actions. He was amazed at how agile the young girl was and understood that this was the critical moment, so he stopped dodging and ran in a straight line, trying to keep the pursuing boar on a straight path as well.

The passage of time became incredibly tense. Sylutia adjusted her breathing as much as possible to reach a state of absolute calm, then slowly aligned her arrow with the boar running in sync beside her.

1 second... 2 seconds... 3 seconds...

At the fifth second, Sylutia finally found that fleeting moment. She leaped into the air, and time seemed to slow down. In those brief two seconds, the arrow gradually aligned with the boar's eye until it was completely locked on.

The bowstring was released, and the white-feathered arrow shot forth, weaving through the gaps in the leaves toward the boar running in the woods opposite.

A flower of blood bloomed on the boar's face as the arrow struck its fragile eyeball dead center.

(Basic Archery proficiency +56)

The swaying arrow shaft was quickly snapped off, but the arrowhead remained embedded in the boar's eye. Injured, the boar became exceptionally ferocious. It changed direction in a near-frenzied state and charged toward Sylutia. Unfortunately, lacking the perspective from one eye, the boar could not effectively dodge the trees in its path, crashing through them one by one as its thick hide scraped off splinters from the trunks.

"ROAR—" It exhaled a long, thick white mist from its mouth before letting out a violent roar.

The sound wave made the hearts of the two nearby shrink, feeling incredibly oppressive and painful. If it had been a common small animal or a rabbit, its heart would likely have been shattered instantly.

"Go!" Putting away her bow, Sylutia left quickly, and Mick picked up his pace to follow.

Because one eye was injured, the boar's speed slowed even while in pursuit, and the two gradually widened the distance between them.

Ten minutes later, Sylutia finally stopped to lean against a large tree and catch her breath, while Mick simply collapsed against a tree to sit.

The stamina consumed by jogging versus sprinting at full speed was entirely different. At this point, both could only hope that the giant boar wouldn't follow them.

Seemingly remembering something, Sylutia reached into her waist pouch, took out a bracelet wrapped in black cloth, and put it on.

A wave of warm vitality instantly spread from the bracelet throughout her entire body, dispelling her previous exhaustion and soreness, and even the side effects of using her Breathing Technique were slowly smoothed away.

If this was the case, didn't it mean she could use her Breathing Technique for longer periods every day? No wonder the "Blazing Sun" Aspect Power was called one of the top three; its effects were so versatile and powerful.

About a minute later, Sylutia had completely recovered. Her heartbeat and breathing returned to normal levels; if not for the lingering beads of sweat on her forehead, one would never have guessed she had just been fleeing in such a sorry state.

On the other hand, Mick was not in such good shape. He had barely managed to stand up to recover some stamina, and the aftereffects of his Breathing Technique and his muscle soreness remained difficult to bear.

"Let's go." Knowing they couldn't stay long, he took the lead to guide Sylutia.

Half an hour later, the two reunited with the other three, and this thrilling forest excursion finally came to an end.

"Let's go back, let's go back. I don't dare stay here anymore," Comia said, raising her hand.

"Agreed." The others had no objections; after all, they had just been through a brush with death.

The five of them packed their things and began the descent. However, going down the mountain was not as easy as coming up, and their speed slowed significantly.

The journey was relatively smooth until they were halfway back, when several orange-furred Ti Wolves ran out from the woods and appeared before them.

"How come we didn't run into a single one before, but now five appear all at once?" Comia couldn't help but complain.

"They probably smelled the sweat on us," Karen analyzed. They had been full of energy and in no rush on the way up, so they hadn't sweated much.

"Ugh, is that even possible?"

"Time to fight, companions." Karen was the first to draw her short sword; at this distance, it was too late to shoot arrows.

The five Ti Wolves didn't waste time. As Karen drew her sword, they swarmed them. Karen kicked one away and blocked the bite of another with her sword, but she couldn't dodge a third, forcing her to let the wolf bite her bracer as she struggled to hold on.

The situation was urgent. Mick rushed forward, drawing his sword to intercept a wolf behind them. Meanwhile, Ray, who should have been protecting Karen's other side, couldn't keep up with the speed and could only watch as a Ti Wolf bypassed him and charged at Karen's back.

However, the wolf did not succeed. Another sharp short sword thrust out, piercing its neck and causing it to emit a struggling whimper.

Pulling out the blade, Sylutia stepped on the wolf and plunged the sword into its head again, killing it instantly. She then stepped forward to help Karen deal with the remaining wolves.

Soon, through their mutual cooperation, the five Ti Wolves were killed one after another without even a chance to escape. The cost was a shallow cut on Karen's wrist.

After cleaning the wound, Sylutia carefully bandaged it for Karen, and the group finally calmed down.

"That giant boar from earlier shouldn't be following us here," Karen said, looking back at the boundless mountain forest.

"And we've gained five more pieces of prey." Mick counted the Ti Wolves on the ground and nodded with satisfaction.

Once the group had settled down, they began to tally their spoils. Because they had been in such a rush to escape earlier, they had discarded many less important trophies and items; all that remained now was a small bag of herbs and the five wolf carcasses laid out before them.

As Karen and Mick skinned the wolves, Comia finally began to process a few things.

"Sylutia, you ran so fast earlier, your speed was incredible, and your swordsmanship was even more impressive!" she said, rattling off a string of questions.

"Yes, yes." The young girl sat on a rock, her short sword and longbow resting across her knees.

"Actually, I know a Breathing Technique and possess a certain level of combat ability," she explained, twirling a lock of hair beside her ear.

"Do you remember the assessment that day? I was originally prepared to step up."

"I didn't expect Teacher Heide to tell me I didn't need to, so I gave up on the idea."

"Although I had chances to explain later, I thought keeping a low profile wouldn't be bad—it could save me a lot of trouble—so I never mentioned it to everyone."

"Wow, doesn't that mean Sylutia is an all-around genius!" Comia exclaimed, voicing the thoughts of everyone else present.

No wonder she could offer pointers on the combat techniques of Ray and me, Mick realized, finally connecting the dots.

That's probably why Sylutia learned archery so quickly, too, Karen thought to herself.

"I wouldn't call myself an all-around genius; it's just that I happen to be better at the things we are currently learning," the girl shook her head slightly. She understood the principle that there was always someone better.

"Besides, Sylutia is also incredibly beautiful!" Comia added, pointing out something everyone else had overlooked.

Because of the constant running and fighting earlier, those cumbersome glasses had long since been lost somewhere, and now Sylutia had no way to conceal her naturally striking features.

"Yay, the most beautiful Sylutia, the most brilliant Sylutia, the cutest Sylutia~" Comia circled the girl, inspecting her and speaking with delight.

Faced with this, Sylutia could only show a helpless, shy expression, waving her hands to ask Comia to stop.

"Alright, alright, I know Sylutia is embarrassed, hee hee." Comia stopped.

After packing up the wolf pelts, the five of them set off again. The conversation along the way revolved almost entirely around Sylutia: her background, why she had hidden her appearance, where she learned her swordsmanship, and so on.

"Since everyone knows now, let's set aside time to train outside the city. Not only can we practice real combat, but it will also help Sylutia avoid the eyes of other students," Mick and Karen suggested.

"Outside the city? Doesn't that mean we'll have to walk a long way every time?" Comia felt a bit daunted.

"Comia, don't you want to train your ocular arts? For example, try using your eyes to charm the small animals in the bushes."

"Ah, I suppose you're right. There are never any suitable targets to practice on in the city." Thinking of this, Comia no longer objected.

As the three talked, they slowly arrived at Scorched Stone City.

"We're finally here. What an exceptionally nerve-wracking day."

"I need to head to the Hunters Guild in the city to report; that giant wild boar poses quite a significant threat," Karen said.

"Mm, I also need to go back to the Adventurers Guild to see if there are any short tasks to practice with and earn some money," Mick pondered.

The mountains were full of beasts, and those that had condensed a complete Aspect Power were often even more powerful than humans of the same rank. This was because the individuals that survived the culling of such an environment were, by definition, the strongest of their kind.

These ignorant beasts were once the overlords of the Fourth Era, the powerful rulers of the land. It was just a pity that as time turned, it was no longer their era.

--

Aspect Power [Beast Fang]: Fallen Star-Gazing Beast, the corrupted struggle and slaughter.