I kind of expected this but…

I’m currently witnessing a guy make a complete fool of himself. The whole class was ridiculing him.

Hugh Jass.

This guy, on top of being a complete mystery to me, was a gunman.

There were no complex weapon arts for guns. How could there be? The use of a gun is so simple! Aim, shoot, handle recoil— that’s it!

And this guy right here was simply taking out the twin handguns from the holsters on his waist, pulling their triggers and putting them back in the holsters real quick.

That’s all! That was his two-movement gun art— quick draw and shoot.

Just who was he and why in god’s name was he using handguns? Y’know, he kinda reminded me of the MC of this one novel that I read.

I forgot that novel’s name and plot but I do remember the mc in it was a transmigrator.

He used a Deagle in a modern world of sword and magic, and he was kind of cool, I have to admit it.

However, guns…

“Arghh,” as I watched Hugh handle his guns, a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn’t help but shudder at the mere sight of them.

I was killed by a gun.

Maybe that inflicted some kind of trauma on me and caused me to grow some kind of phobia toward guns.

“Tsk,” clicking my tongue and shaking my head, I averted my gaze from him.

Finally deciding to start my own training, I navigated across the concrete field, where cadets practiced various weapon arts provided by Leo Sensei.

The training field was vast and divided into three sections: an open area where cadets could practice freely, a dummy practice area where cadets could practice with close-range weapons like swords and spears, and a shooting range where cadets with long-range weapons could practice.

In addition to this, there’s also a training hall where we were before. It’s an indoor and smaller version of this training field.

Oh and the academy also has multiple gyms– personal and public, which are equipped with some super-advanced equipment. However, I’ve not been there myself.

Hmm? Why? Because I was too busy lazing around.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I should be getting stronger and all that, but old habits die hard… especially when you have a messed-up sleep schedule like mine.

Anyway, upon arriving at the shooting range, I noticed 40 lanes with circular targets positioned at the end of each lane. These targets had a set of concentric circles labeled on them.

I noticed Amelia and Anastasia, along with several other snipers from Class 1-C-8 and 1-A-1, using the targets to practice their weapon arts.

Without paying much mind to any of them, I went and stood a few meters away from one of the unoccupied target lanes.

I had to focus on myself. The first main event of the story was about to start any moment now, and I had to get ready for it.

From now on, no more procrastination. This world is cruel, and if I don’t put in the effort required to succeed, I will lose.

And in this world, losing means death.

I must be proactive and determined if I want to thrive in such a challenging environment.

And I have a definite idea of how to do just that.

According to my estimation, a cadet from class 1-C-8 will instigate a fight with William within the next hour.

Leo Sensei will dismiss the altercation as a mere children’s brawl, but it would escalate in the coming days and lead to a huge conflict between the two classes.

That would mark the start of the first arc in the story.

I had set two goals in mind for the first arc:

To seize every opportunity that can and will help me to grow stronger.

And to alter the arc’s ending in a way that allows me to avoid having a duel with Nero.

With that decided, I nodded and started reading the technique manual provided to me by Leo Kurogami.

The name of the archery technique I was going to practice was ‹Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike.›

Yes, I know. I know it’s a chunni name. I can’t do anything about it, okay?! Good lord.

Anyway, it was a mid-grade Lvl. 1 weapon art.

This archery art allows the user to infuse an arrow with mana. Upon release, the mana on the arrow will split and form into ten mana arrows and rain down upon the target.

The technique can be combined with an elemental spell too.

So why did it have ‘thousand’ and ‘lightning’ in its name? The fuck do I know about wuxia naming sense!

Anyhow, as I was saying, I was provided with a mid-grade Lvl. 1 art. Although it was a good technique, I could never hope to catch up to my peers with just this.

So what is my plan, you ask?

My plan is to focus on my goal number 1 as of now— to seize every opportunity that can and will help me grow stronger.

Archery techniques are not very strong. In fact, no long-range weapon art is strong enough when compared to the close-range weapon art.

A Lvl. 1 sword art will always be stronger than a Lvl. 1 archery art.

I chose a bow as my main weapon because I didn’t want to engage in close-quarters combat.

Why? Well, because it’s too messy for someone coming from a peaceful world like me.

I would much rather shoot from a distance and let all the other brutes do the fighting for me.

That said, I knew what I wanted was unrealistic.

I can’t just hope never to be put in a situation where I’ll have to fight at close range. Thinking that would be stupid.

And what’s stupider would be not readying myself for such a situation.

I think you all must’ve understood where I’m going with this, right?

What I need to do first is buy a spear art. Since I know how to handle a spear from Lucas’ memories, it would be a perfect weapon to master.

In fact, Lucas was originally a spearman in the novel.

What’s more, a spear is a mid-range weapon. So I won’t have to fight someone super up close while using it.

After that, I’ll start practicing some good unarmed combat arts just in case I ever find myself in a situation where I don’t have any weapons on me.

So my arsenal would look something like this:

Archery for long-range, Spearmanship for mid-range, and hand-to-hand Combat Arts for fighting at close range.

Yes, it would be perfect!

Coupled with magic spells that I’ll learn and my near-invincible armor, I would become the most versatile fighter among my peers!

Okay… not ‘the’ most, but at least one of the most versatile fighters among my peers.

Of course, achieving all that by the start of the ‘mock war’ will simply be impossible.

So instead, I decided to just focus on buying at least a Lvl. 3 spear art and mastering this Lvl. 1 archery art for now.

“Haa, let’s start practicing.” An extended sigh escaped my lips before I stretched and loosened my body.

Opening the first page of the technique manual in my hand, I started following exactly what was written on it step by step.

†

55 minutes later…

Ding—!

[Your knowledge about your profession has increased.

Techniques→ Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1)

Progress: [11%]]

Finally, after spending around 55 minutes on it, the status notification popped up and acknowledged my hard work.

Although, the progress level of my technique was still at 11%. I don’t know how long it will take to master it and get it to 100%.

Oh, by the way, did I ever fill you all in about what this status screen actually is?

Don’t worry. I won’t start a super long explanation.

In short, seven centuries ago, when mana started flowing on Earth, people who could wield it started seeing a translucent screen.

That translucent screen presented them with information about themselves, such as their name, race, profession/skills, magic potential etc.

It also provided them with a numerical representation of their physical and mental condition like attack, defense, charm, and intelligence.

Over the years, humans started calling it ‘Status Screen.’

The dwarves simply called it ‘Universal Window.’

And the elves and vampires called it ‘Akashic Records.’

Oof, so many flashy names. What’s wrong with people’s naming sense in this world?

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll just refer to it as the status screen like the rest of normal humans.

Anyway, with the arrival of the status screen, everyone was able to decipher what area they had to work on in order to improve and grow stronger.

And yes, before someone asks, much like in any other fantasy novel, only the owner can see their status screen.

Also… Oh wait, this explanation has stretched for far too long despite me promising not to let it.

Ahem, then I think you get what it is now? Pretty generic fantasy stuff and nothing special.

Anywho, after taking a short breather, I resumed training again.

I raised my bow and knocked an arrow on the string. Drawing magical energy from my mana core, I coated the arrow with a thin layer of mana before taking aim.

Sure enough, the arrow was enveloped in a light azure blue hue.

Pulling back the bowstring, I calmed my mind and let out a deep breath.

“Fuuuu”

Swoosh—!

Tak—!

As soon as I released my grip from the bowstring, the arrow shot forward and struck the center of the target.

Hah! Bull’s eye!

Err… but my arrow still didn’t multiply.

If I had performed the technique correctly, the mana I had coated on my arrow should have split into ten mana darts, creating the illusion that my arrow had multiplied.

Hmm, maybe I did something wrong?

It’s possible that I was not using the correct breathing pattern or my posture was wrong.𝔫𝔬𝒱𝗲𝓵𝑵𝖾xt.𝒸𝒪𝓜

It’s also possible that I did not coat the arrow with the right amount of mana or that I was not releasing the arrow correctly.

Scratching my head in half confusion and half frustration, I summoned the martial manual Leo gave me from my dimensional bracelet.

Page by page, I started taking a look at it, desperate to know what I was doing wrong.

–”What did you say to me?!”

Suddenly, the fierce shouting of a young man snapped me out of my deep concentration.

I whipped my head around to see the source of the disturbance.

There, I saw a muscular black youth towering over a smaller boy with bright green hair and matching eyes, blocking his path with anger in his eyes.

I recognized the scene instantly and couldn’t help but whisper to myself in a tone full of excitement, “Aaaah! It’s starting~!”