Arc 7. Death to what came before

  Road to a Hero:

  Three Chances in Another World

  Chapter 15. The Way of the Archer

  Standing in Lincoln's large backyard, dressed in a long pink coat with a large collar, along with a large pink witch hat, is Lisa. She holds a magical wooden wand that has a small red gem on the end, which she begins focusing mana into. As it slowly begins to light up, Frederick, still wearing his principal attire, walks around her.

  Frederick: “You have great potential as a mage! You have a rather large sum of mana, a large offensive spirit, arts affinity, and a mark of providence! But with all that, do not strain yourself, hurting your OD, as well as your pride, doesn't equal a good outcome. From what I’ve seen, the best results come from a calm mind, a good work ethic, and a nice group of supporters.”

  Lisa continues to struggle, as she can’t manage to feel for the spirits. While Gray got an advantage because of his outright massive connection, she’s a bit on the above-average side. And even with the god-like connection Gray possesses, it took him around a month of training with Ryo to get the hang of things, but becoming a mage is far harder. While Gray only trained the basic abilities, being spells, Lisa’s moving toward becoming a mage, forces you on the advanced track immediately. You also need to form a contract with the elemental spirits, breaking your connection to the base spirits.

  Lisa: “I know I shouldn’t strain myself, but we’ve been at this for days, and still, nothing. I’ve only just gotten the crystal to light up!”

  Frederick begins to touch the crystal, allowing his tough skin to feel the sheer heat of the crystal.

  Frederick: “Okay, it seems hot enough. Now, cast it.”

  Lisa takes a deep breath and tries to feel for the fire spirits around her. While she struggles to do it, she pushes through, casting the flame spell.

  Lisa: “Ig-num!”

  Red spirits circle the crystal of the wand, pulling Lisa’s mana, and swirling into a small, bubbling ball of flames. It quickly shoots off at a high speed, pushing her back, and almost flies into the nearby Leviathan soldiers, who are currently training. Frederick reacts quickly, but the soldiers react faster, slicing the ball of flames in two with ferocity and vigor. Frederick waves awkwardly to the soldier who pays no mind to the encounter, quickly returning to practicing his sword swings.

  Frederick: “Well, that’s the Leviathan army for yah.”

  Frederick is quickly grabbed by the giddy Lisa, who’s jumping for joy at her success.

  Lisa: “I DID IT! FINALLY! Now do I get my stuff!?”

  Frederick: “Calm down now, this is a success, but don’t let it overwhelm your pride.”

  Lisa wiped the sweat from her face, lying on the ground to relax. But she quickly stands up when she sees Gordon, Ryo, and Peter walking over, standing as straight up as she can.

  Gordon: “Sleeping while training are we? How shameful.”

  Lisa: “I WAS JUST TAKING A BREAK!... I mean. I was taking a small rest.”

  Gordon and Peter both chuckle, while Frederick doesn't know how to react.

  Gordon: “I’m only kidding. I came out here because Peter wanted to practice the bow, and he said you wanted to learn as much of the world as you could. So, I invite you to hear about my teachings.”

  Lisa: “I WOULD LOVE TO!”

  This brushes off the dirt around her, jumps up and down in the air, and begins following them out of the training grounds.

  Peter: “I saw that fireball you made! That’s pretty hard right?”

  Lisa: “I guess, it took me a while.”

  Frederick: “Well I’d say you’re a prodigy. It takes some six months to a year before they can begin practicing spells! It only took you a little over a week.”

  Peter: “That’s great!”

  As they continue to walk, Gordon remains stern, Ryo and Frederick stay quiet, while Peter and Lisa continue to chat. But, Gordon chimes in when they begin walking out of Greenvale and into the forest of the mountain.

  Lisa: “Why are we going into the forest? Aren’t there areas for this in the training grounds?”

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  Gordon: “There are, but this is different. I want to find a live target. During the winter, for training, we send out soldiers to fight off monsters that walk the mountains, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

  Ryo: “I taught Gray in the same way last year. He showed promise with the bow, but he preferred more close-up encounters.”

  Gordon: “Well his “promise” was only a bit better than most at the start of their training. His mana supply helped his arrows shoot far straighter, but he didn’t move much further than that. The same with the rest of them, the best at archery was Edward, but Peter here has a fantastic aim. I’ve seen you shoot your “guns” as you call them, and I struggle to fire an accurate shot with your rifles.”

  Lisa: “I’ve read stories of your skill, how you devoted your life the way of the bow.”

  Gordon: “Well you need to, It’s the same reason Musashi had so much skill with the blade. The art of swordsmanship is chosen by most, but it was forced onto him, and he embraced it, living solely for it. But with both of you, I don't want you to go down the same path as all of my friends. Peter, you enjoy crafting, and creating, and you’re a stand-out blacksmith, while here you want to be a historian Lisa. These are great paths, so don’t get caught up in the ways of the warrior.”

  As they continue to track through the yet-to-melt stiff snow, Peter pays close attention to the pristinely made bow, quiver, and arrows on Gordon's back. After a few more minutes of walking, they come across a strange creature. A Wolf-like beast with human hands, spikes going down its back, about to walk over a pile of snow emanating a strange smell of pure mana.

  Gordon: “Here, there is a Five-fingered Wolf. It’s a low-level spirit monster that travels in packs, but right now it’s alone, easy pickings. Now, watch closely.”

  Everyone gets down, stays quiet, and watches as Gordon elegantly sets up his longbow. The bow itself isn’t overly designed, being strange otherworldly wood with runic symbols carved into it. He shuffles his hand around in his quiver, trying to find the perfect arrows, taking out one for the beast that had wandered away from its pack.

  He gracefully places the arrow onto the bowstring, using his two stern fingers to pull back the stiff string.

  Gordon: “While bows used by hunters are fairly basic, the ones made here, and especially the ones by me, are quite special. My bow, Rakurai, was crafted with mana, and woven around the ruins carved into it. The ruins all help each other, build upon each other, to strengthen the arrows. Most enhanced weapons are something simple, like the silver enchant or mana deflection on most well-trained swordsmen, this is different. You won’t find enchanted weapons just anywhere, as they require pristine mana control, so you can ride the weapon of any sort of corruption.”

  Peter: “Did Musashi, or Kioshi have enchantments?”

  Gordon: “No. I have my bow on me at all times, because the stronger the enchantment, the quicker it corrupts. But Kioshi nor Musashi were in battle at all times, and Kioshi didn’t have the mana control that the legends will tell you.”

  Gordon takes a deep breath, putting the exact amount of mana he needs into the ruins, which causes the arrow to light up in a blue aura. The second it shoots, it causes a loud but quiet boom that shakes the OD’s of everyone around it, blasting into the five-fingered wolf, decimating its body.

  Gordon: “In Oni-mas, there is a sword called Megumi. It was made by one of the many Shoguns of Oni-mas, Satori Kami. He was the Kioshi of his era, born during Sultans era as the strongest over one hundred years ago. He had a World Order, just like all of the other Shoguns, which allowed him to see mana differently than everyone else.”

  Peter, intrigued, begins talking over Gordon. While Peter has been trying to stay calm and be more polite, he slips out of this thought process the second he thinks of something.

  Peter: “It’s crazy that all of these crazy strong families always get the rarest of abilities! The Kami’s get World Orders, the Helsings get Marks of Providence, and the Elves get wind affinities! Seems unfair.”

  Lisa: “Well technically they don’t have a hundred percent chance of getting one! It is the same chance to not get one as it is for a normal person to get one though, so I guess it is unfair. But Gotsu Van Helsing didn’t get one, and neither did Edward!”

  Their outburst of both complaints and knowledge annoys Gordon, but not enough to actually make him mad. Instead of stopping them, he waits a moment, and continues.

  Gordon: “Well back to the story. Sartori, using his World Order of perfect sight, wanted to craft a sword so perfect that it would be held as the greatest weapon to ever be used, one that is passed down for generations. It was to cut through everything, no matter what it was. The density of it was no worry, as it always made it through. It would also strengthen the user once pulled out of its sheath, an enchanted sheath that was meant to keep the blade enchantments from corrupting.”

  Lisa: “Well did it work?”

  Gordon: “Even with the man's masterful mana control, even when he carried it everywhere, the second he made the weapon, it instantly corrupted. The ruins fell apart, and shifted into the metal of the blade, creating a presence unlike any other. It kept all of its powers, but the second the man unsheathed the blade, it crushed his OD and killed him on the spot. That is the danger of weapons like these. Even something as simple as a flame enchant, when left unchecked, can burst into a wave of fire, turning into ash. Almost no one dares to enchant a blade or any other type of weapon, but I was able to perfect my bow, even if it took years to do so.”

  Frederick: “A sad tale, one of pride. I’ve read it in a book of tales from one of my trips to Oni-mask. I went there years ago, before the ban on sea travel. I heard about the tales of Satorti and Sultan, one of love, and misfortune. It’s rumored that Ruen Kami is their child!”

  Gordon: “That is a tale I cannot confirm if or not.”

  Frederick: My king, might I ask, do you ever plan on assisting the warring islands? The South has been fighting the same endless battle for over a hundred years, and the ban on sea travel has been for what? Fifteen years.”

  Gordon: “I’ve thought about it, but with all the issues Saga is having, the only way we’d be able to help is if Valatrositce and Ravoria came together with Walgonia and sought out the ocean.”

  While Gordon and Frederick converse, Peter takes note of Ryo, who seems to be lost in thought.

  Peter: “Ryo, you good?”

  Ryo: “It’s just…I’m not going to ever reach the highs that Gordon reached as a teacher.”

  Peter attempts to cheer Ryo up, but Gordon grabs Peter's shoulder, handing him a much smaller bow.

  Gordon: “Now, take one of my arrows, and do what I just did.”

  So, Peter carefully follows Gordon’s instructions, though a lot more flimsily. He struggles to get the arrow in the right position, and can’t seem to get the bowstring to draw back right. Gordon tries to help, pulling his string for him, getting his shoulders straight and firm, but it doesn’t seem to help. While he assists him, the rest of the pack walks out of the forest, inspecting the dead animal. They quickly walk toward the strange snow, licking and sniffing it.

  Gordon: A bow, just like a sword, is an extension of yourself. What helped me really understand it, is that a sword is a longer, sharper arm, but a bow is another eye, one you can strike with. You see with the bow, you live with the bow, and the arrow, that’s all of your thoughts and emotions that you shoot out in a clear whistling vein of glory.”

  Peter takes a deep breath, shifts his body just right, tilts the bow a bit up so the arrow will fall onto one of the beasts, and releases the arrow. It flies through the air, but lands in one of the five-fingered wolves' legs, causing it to whimper and scream out. The whimpering noise shakes Peter to his core, causing his lip to quiver. Everyone takes note of this, but their attention is quickly taken by the snow, which shoots out from the ground. In a flash, it grabs onto the animal that Gordon had slain, going into its head. The snow coats the beast, sinks and melts into its skin, and begins to ravage the other wolves. Now being three times the size of what it once was, it’s able to easily take out the four other animals, absorbing their essence to grow even larger. It then turns its dead eyes toward Peter and the others, charging through the forest to get to them.

  Gordon: “It’s undead! Ryo, you do this!”

  Ryo hesitates for just a second, as his eternal hatred for fighting takes over. But that quickly subsides as he holds out his hand, focuses spirit mana around the charging animal, and readies himself.

  Ryo: “El-Puric.”

  A large blue light rushes over the beast, consuming it, killing the corrupted mana inside of it, and leaving it lying on the ground as nothing but bone. With a sigh, he begins walking off, to be followed by Lisa, Frederick, and Peter. Gordon tries to stop Peter, but with a somber glance from him, Gordon lets him go.

  Peter: “Gordon…I don’t think the bows are for me. As you said, I’m a creator…”

  Gordon: “Yeah…”

  End of Chapter Fifteen