The Potential of Archery

"Ugh!" Van groaned and pulled out the crude dagger from his shoulder. He then stood and pulled Sebastian whose eyes were flickering at his first act of killing.

"Snap out of it, we have to hurry!"

Sebastian finally regained himself though his breathing was rough and his heart felt like it was about to burst out. He felt that if they didn't need to run, he would have vomited on the ground. Just remembering the arrow piercing through its head made him nauseous.

Van didn't have the leisure to comfort him and continued running back to their group. For the first minute, Sebastian kept his pace behind him but after that, he began to slow down. He trained in archery and he trained his stigma, but he didn't train his body.

They continued to run and the gap between them was increasing. Sebastian was gasping for breath but his legs didn't stop.

"Kak!"

The goblins followed them and with their small stature, used the trees to move faster. At the rate they went, though Van might make it to the group, Sebastian would definitely be caught.

Van turned around and saw Sebastian out of breath. He clicked his tongue, stopped his feet and brought out a dagger and held out his arm with the vambrace.

Sebastian saw him stop and did do as well, he took out an arrow from the quiver and struggled to put it in the bow.

"Cover me!" Van yelled while brandishing the dagger.

There were four goblins and one hobgoblin following them. They didn't seem to be from the nest as Sebastian couldn't recognize them in the least.

Sebastian—still breathing roughly—aimed his bow at one of the goblins. It was a moving target but as long as it was within fifty yards, he had absolute confidence in hitting it.

Just before the fastest goblin entered the fifty yards range, Sebastian took a deep breath and released his grip on the arrow. It flew for less than a second and the arrow pierced the goblin's head.

After a short interval, the second and third goblins came. Their movements were less straightforward than the first. Sebastian released two arrows, one killed the second goblin while the other hit the third goblin in the leg.

"Kuryaak!" the third goblin cried, it no longer had the ability to move as fast as before.

"I missed," Sebastian muttered and took out another arrow. He planned to aim at the third goblin but the fourth one and the hobgoblin arrived.

"Focus on the new ones!" Van yelled and ran towards the goblins.

Sebastian followed his words and switched his targets. Unfortunately, the last two seemed to learn from the ones that came before them. He missed the hobgoblin and grazed the fourth goblin's cheek.

The goblins had already reached Van's position as he killed the third goblin. Sebastian hurried to grab another arrow and killed the fourth goblin with a little difficulty. He had used three shots all the while avoiding Van who was in a melee with the two enemies.

The hobgoblin was way stronger than a normal goblin. Its stature was somewhat larger and it could in critical spots like the neck. But, what makes it more dangerous than a normal goblin is the fact that it doesn't only attack mindlessly.

If Sebastian were to help Van, the hobgoblin would most likely attack him instead. He had to kill it in one shot.

Making that decision, Sebastian reached into the quiver and took out a black arrow. He had filled the quiver with normal arrows but had one black arrow in case he needed it.

Van rolled to the side as the hobgoblin continued pursuing him.

"Agh!"

The wound on his shoulder opened and the hobgoblin used that opportunity to stab his dagger into Van's arm. Just as the hobgoblin was about to do another attack, its eyes saw Sebastian pointing his bow at itself.

"Kak!"

Driven by its experience, it knew that what Sebastian is about to use would be fatal. It didn't finish off Van and instead began to run towards Sebastian.

It moved too beast-like that Sebastian couldn't get a good aim at it but strangely, he felt calm. It was only three seconds away from reaching him but he suddenly closed his eyes while taking a deep breath.

Accompanied by the thrumming sound of the bowstring, the black arrow flew. After a couple more seconds, he opened his eyes. In front of him was the body of the hobgoblin pierced through. It hadn't died yet but it would die if left alone.

The hole in its back made it evident that the black arrow met almost no resistance to pierce through the goblin's bones.

Sebastian looked ahead and saw the black arrow embed itself in a tree. If he had put more power, would it have pierced through? As he chuckled at the silly thought, he walked over to Van.

The eyes Van gave him were different than before. Instead of a lack of interest and annoyance, it was filled with awe and surprise. He looked over at the bodies of the dead goblins and realized he had only killed one goblin and Sebastian had taken care of the rest.

He looked a little embarrassed and tried to say some words but couldn't speak after opening and closing his mouth.

"We should go," Sebastian decided to help him out. Van smiled and clasped Sebastian's shoulders before giving him a nod.

Van's left arm was practically out of commission for a few days after all the damage it had taken. He accompanied Sebastian in retrieving the arrows but with the exception of the black arrow and two more regular arrows, the rest were broken.

He had also cut off one ear of each goblin and stored them in a pouch before walking back with Sebastian.

They didn't run like before, the threats chasing them were dead after all.

"Hey, why did you take their ears?" Sebastian asked. He felt a bit sick after seeing it but managed to stop himself from regurgitating his lunch on the ground.

"Ah, you don't know? When monsters are slain, the mercenary guild gives rewards. For monsters like goblins who aren't useful for materials, it's enough to take a body part and show it as proof. Monsters like the Red-eyed Rabbit can be brought back to sell for a higher price.

"You can also sell normal animals like wolves though a huge majority sell only monsters and their materials," Van explained.

Sebastian nodded in understanding. "The mercenary guild, does that mean all of you are mercenaries?"

"Yes, well, it pays after all. Nobles might think of it as a crude job but they can't deny that mercenaries are the reason that most small settlements are safe. After all, not many would risk their lives without a reimbursement," Van chuckled self-deprecatingly then continued, "by the way, was it your first time fighting with a bow?"

Recalling the scene that he hesitated and Van was stabbed in the shoulder, he apologized, "sorry."

Van waved his hand, "don't mind it. I'm not blaming you. I expected you to turn tail and run the moment the goblins spotted us but not only did you stay, you also killed them. Still, you were able to end most of them with just one arrow, I never knew bows could be so deadly."

He had truly been shocked. Barely any mercenaries used bows and those who did weren't very famous. If all of them were as good as Sebastian, then bows might make a comeback after losing its fame with the arrival of 『Inheritors』.

"I'm not that good," Sebastian didn't feel that he was being humble, he had missed quite a few shots in the end after all. When he trained with Kathrina, it was natural for him to hit the target in the center at all times. Missing was something he considered a great failure, even if the opponent was a moving being.

"If you say so. Still, you're the greatest archer I've seen. I may not be well-suited for combat but even I can tell your skill. You need to build up your stamina though."

Kathrina had said so as well. An archer also needs a lot of stamina. Not just to pull back the bowstring, but also to move away from enemy fire and change positions.

Sebastian's stamina... was insanely poor. He has less stamina than a person who doesn't exercise but has a normal body. His mental faculties are to be praised but his physical prowess is subpar.

His body had always been weak ever since he was born. He couldn't exercise for long because he would become out of breath. That's why Lyons told him that the weapon fit for him was the bow.

"That's true," Sebastian sighed. He really needed to build up his stamina. Gilbert wouldn't just allow him to shoot from afar after all.

—To your right.

Sebastian reacted instinctively. He took an arrow from his quiver and turned to the right. His eyes scanned the area for an instant and the second after, an arrow whistled through the air.

"Kak!"

The goblin cried out before flopping down onto the floor. The arrow in its head had been snapped in once it fell.

"..."

Van kept glancing at Sebastian and the goblin speechlessly.

If he was surprised, then the shock Sebastian received was many times more. He couldn't process what happened until he saw Van cut off the goblin's ear.

"You can tell where the enemies are? Why did you let the first one sneak up on us then?"

Sebastian asked Balanos.

—I wasn't alert but now that the situation calls for it, I've been concentrating on the surroundings. If you are able to kill hobgoblins in one shot like you did with this goblin, then perhaps you'll be able to kill the goblin lord.

"Nonono, that's way too big of a gap to even compare. A goblin lord is five meters tall, goblins and hobgoblins are only a meter high. Did I also mention that its skin is also very thick? My arrows would break before they pierce it, let alone kill it."

—Have you forgotten? The entire reason we trained your stigma is to imbue energy and fire into your arrows. If you can't even pierce a measly goblin lord's skin, then you won't be able to defeat that Apprentice boy in the future.

Sebastian fell silent. A goblin lord was something that required an Apprentice or a party of Novices to take down. But it was true that if Sebastian couldn't even wound it with regular arrows, then he wouldn't be able to defeat Gilbert.

While Sebastian was in deep contemplation, Van walked over. "What are you doing dazing around? Let's go."

Sebastian's consciousnesses snapped back to reality and followed Van. He looked at his left hand covered by a glove and the bow being held by it.

"...Maybe I should buy some bracers, fingerless gloves would also do."

It definitely wasn't comfortable having to wear a glove that covered his whole hand all the time. If it was just bracers, then there was still the possibility of the stigma being seen.

They didn't walk very far as they saw the group approaching them.

"You guys are injured?!" Rob ran ahead of the group and inspected Van's arm. Then, he turned his eyes to Sebastian who shook his head in response to Van's query.

"What exactly happened?" Yule asked.

"Those little sneaks snuck up on us then we were chased by several goblins and a hobgoblin. Luckily, this lad here killed them all."

At Van's unexpected words, everyone turned their eyes to Sebastian.