Chapter 066 Beginner Archery Tips from the Assassin Mage Changeling

Day 7. Wednesday 12:00pm.

Jack stood between Toma and Sam in Training Room 13, waiting for his turn to state his class and level to the Guild’s system.

One by one, they responded to the console.

“Novice Archer, level one,” replied Ella.

The soft voice acknowledged her answer:

Adventurer one.
Novice Archer, level one.
Please prepare your weapon.

“Novice Archer, level zero,” replied Nessa.

The soft voice acknowledged her answer:

Adventurer two.
Novice Archer, level zero.
Please prepare your weapon.

“Apprentice Healer, level one,” replied Linda.

The soft voice acknowledged her answer:

Adventurer three.
Apprentice Healer, level one.
Please prepare your weapon.

She headed to the back wall, where the training bows and quivers were stored. “There are a lot of bows,” she muttered.

“Novice Mage, level eight,” replied Sam.

The soft voice acknowledged her answer:

Adventurer four.
Novice Mage, level eight.
Please prepare your weapon.

“Which bows should we use?” Sam asked Linda.

When it was Jack’s turn, he swallowed. His voice cracked. “N-Novice Archer, level zero.” His eyes widened, he was so flustered, he’d stated his archer class and level. “Fuck! No! I mean… Novice Scribe, level zero!”

The system paused for a beat before the soft voice acknowledged his answer:

Adventurer five.
Novice Scribe, level zero.
Please prepare your weapon.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Behind him, Sam chuckled. “Forgot your own class? See, Linda, I’m not the only one with a bad memory!”

Linda laughed. “Ella!” she called. “Which bows should we use?”

Jack clenched his jaw, his eyes fixed ahead. Don’t look or engage them. Just get through this. He took a calming breath. Stay calm.

Toma finished last. “Non-classed.”

The soft voice acknowledged his answer:

Adventurer six.
Non-classed.
Please prepare your weapon.

Ella called back. “Whichever ones you can pull all the way back without breaking a nail.”

Nessa snorted.

A symphony of pneumatics and dull impacts echoed through the room as targets deployed from the far wall. Energy pulsed through the training room walls, ready to empower the archery targets.

The two women began pulling bows from the wall, before drawing the string and releasing without an arrow.

Jack moved on autopilot. He forced himself to go through his stretching routine, keeping his head down, focusing only on the bow in his hands. It didn’t work. He winced at their actions. They don’t have a clue what they’re doing. Why are they here? He felt Sam’s presence behind him… Don’t draw attention. Just one hour. Fuck! This was supposed to be relaxing.

He heard Linda’s light laughter echoing as she tested a bow that she couldn’t pull back more than a couple of inches.

They can’t know, but what if they do? Jack’s hands trembled as he prepared his first arrow. What if they’re here for me?

To his left, Toma called out, “Jack! Look! I can draw it back properly now!”

Jack turned. “Good, Toma. That’s great.” His heart still hammered like a war drum in his chest. They’re here. What if the other one is outside waiting? He imagined the swordsman with the shield hidden just outside the Guild’s entrance, ready to strike. If they find out who I am… His bow grip tightened. …then this room becomes a cage.

“System,” Ella said. “Set training room to Novice Archer, level one. Beginner level one.” She looked over at the two young women testing bows and shook her head. “Set my area to Novice Archer, level one. Beginner level four.”

A restless breeze stirred near Ella, gusting in and out like the wind was debating its mood. The lights on the right side of the training room flickered and dimmed, while the left side, where Toma and Jack stood, stayed bright.

Like before, Toma left his settings at Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level zero, the lowest setting. Without thinking, Jack set his lane to Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level two.

“Don’t do that to the bows, you’ll break them!” Nessa shouted.

“Do what?” Sam asked as she shot another empty bow.

“That!” Nessa called out as she approached Sam. “You’ll damage the bows if you draw and release them without an arrow nocked.”

“Oh. Really?” Linda asked.

“Yes!” Nessa snapped. “Do you know nothing about archery?”

Linda and Sam shook their heads.

“It’s our first time,” Sam said. “We need more protection.”

Nessa shook her head. “The bows on the right are the weaker ones. Start with those.” She pointed at Toma. “Like the boy is using.”

The female voice returned:

Begin when ready.

At the end of the six lanes, the targets either remained still or moved according to the individual lane settings.

“Awesome!” Toma shouted as he pulled back a nocked arrow.

The two women each grabbed a bow with a low poundage and headed back to their training lanes.

Thunk. Toma had already started loosing arrows.

Nessa chuckled. “You need a quiver of arrows as well.” She grabbed two quivers and passed them over before returning to her lane while muttering something under her breath.

“This is more complicated than we thought,” Sam said to Linda.

The healer nodded before asking, “Should we change our settings?” She aimed the question towards Ness and Ella.

“No. Start at the lowest setting. Like the boy,” Ella advised while she pulled back a nocked arrow.

Jack had been observing in silence as the two women, who wanted him dead, showed how little they knew about archery. What are they doing here? He thought about what one of them said about them needing ‘more protection’. Is that because of me?

Thunk. Ding.

“Jack! Jack! I got one,” Toma called, pulling him from his thoughts.

Jack turned to the teenager. “Well done. Practice makes perfect.” He focused on his own targets. Ignore them and concentrate on archery, he told himself, before missing three targets in a row.

For the next few minutes, he found it impossible to concentrate on archery practice. On his left, he had Toma vying for his attention like a toddler trying to get their big brother to acknowledge their achievements. On his right, Sam and Linda complained to each other about how hard archery was as they fumbled through.

Jack was hitting fewer targets than Toma. Damn it! This isn’t working, he thought as he missed another target. I’ll help the boy until I calm down. He turned towards Toma. “Your shoulders are dropping as you release,” he said after watching him shoot a couple of arrows. “Try to maintain your form through the shot.”

Toma nodded with a big grin. He pulled back another arrow, held his shoulders firm, and released. Thunk. Ding. “Yeah! Got it!” he celebrated. Pumping his bow arm in the air.

“Much better,” Jack said. At least one of us is having fun.

The boy nocked another arrow.

“Twist your right foot a little to your front,” Jack advised. “Yep. That’s it. Remember, don’t rush your aim, hold for at least three seconds when training.” As Toma held his aim, he continued. “When you choose the Novice Archer class, one of your first skills will be True Aim. For it to activate takes six seconds at level zero.”

Thunk. Ding. “Yes! Three in a row.” Toma jumped in the air. “Thanks, Jack, you’re awesome!”

He smiled under his mask. “You’re the one doing the work, I’m just giving advice. You’re going to make for a skilled archer someday.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. The kid appeared to be a natural; he was absorbing Jack’s advice and progressing fast.

“I wish I had half your natural talent,” Jack complimented him. Helping Toma calmed his nerves. They aren’t here for me. It’s a coincidence… or maybe the Gods are messing with me! There were plenty of tales where the Gods had messed with the lives of mortals.

Toma released his arrow, thunk, and missed. He’d flushed pink at the compliment. “Thanks, Jack.”

Someone tapped Jack on the shoulder, making him jump, spin around, and reach for his dagger. “Shit!”

“Erm… Jack, is it?” Sam asked, stepping back when she saw his hand on the hilt of his dagger. “Erm… could you give us a few tips?” She gave him a smile. “Please.”

He took a deep breath, relaxing his grip. “What?”

“Some archery tips,” she repeated. “Like… erm, Toma.”

By the Gods. You have to be kidding me? Under the mask, Jack’s mouth had dropped open. “Y-you want some tips?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah… we need to protect ourselves.” Sam turned to Linda. “We have a madman after us!”

Linda nodded.

“What?” Jack repeated like a broken clockwork automaton.

“We’re being hunted by a crazy madman. A Gods damned lunatic.” She looked scared. “He-he’s already killed three of us… unprovoked.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They think I’m a madman. A lunatic, that’s after them?

Toma, Nessa, and Ella stopped loosing arrows to listen.

“We think he killed our rogue,” Linda added. “Hunted him down in the forest like an animal after stealing our kill and loot.”

“I saw Kyle last week,” Ella said. “The idiot had knocked his front teeth out.”

“He went missing on Saturday,” Sam snapped. “We haven’t seen him since.”

Ella put her hands up in a way of an apology.

Jack felt rage well within and gripped the hilt of his dagger tightly. Fucking lying bitch! That was my kill! They stole from me! Is this the trollshit they are telling people?

Sam continued, “Then he hunted down Boris in broad daylight, through the city!”

Linda moved closer. “It was at the back of Ron’s Diner.” She pointed in the general direction of Ron’s. “The bastard hit him with a Fireball spell, then finished him off with his dagger like it was nothing. We-we were there. His-his eyes glowed red like a monster’s. We had to run for our lives. He said he was coming for us next. I can’t sleep… I’ve had nightmares.” A few tears rolled down her cheeks.

My eyes didn’t glow red! You lying Medusa. Jack stood in silence, listening to the manipulation of the truth. If you’re having Nightmares… you deserve them.

“Boris is dead?” Nessa asked.

“Yeah,” Linda replied. “The bastard killed him and looted his body. Even took his shoes.”

Nessa shrugged.

What? I didn’t take his shoes.

Thwack. Ding. “Got ya.” Toma had gone back to training.

“Now Mo’s missing…” Sam clutched her bow tight, tears welling in her eyes. “Mo’s an Apprentice Mage. He’s powerful, but we think the madman is an Apprentice Mage and an Expert Assassin. He can change his face to look younger…”

“Or a changeling,” Linda added. “We thought he was a kid at first, but he’s so powerful. He has to be an old man. We’re scared.”

Jack shook his head in disbelief. “You think a hybrid assassin mage class… who might be a changeling, is after you, and you want beginner archery tips? From me? From a Novice Scribe?” His panic was gone. He couldn’t believe the trollshit he was hearing. Are they high on drugs or just stupid?

The two women nodded their heads. Tears and desperation in their eyes.

He wanted to laugh, but saw an opportunity.