14 A tree

Twak!

Twang!

Twak!

"Phew".

Jin placed his bow on a rack nearby as he walked up to the log and pulled the arrows out.

He then replace the log with another one of similar appearances, cut halfway down the center.

Jin pulled out the dagger he had gotten from the weapons shed that he had strapped onto his waist and carved another shabby target onto the log before placing it in position and walking back to the bow.

According to Luca, this dagger was apparently what he had used in his younger days. Though it wasn't anything precious or important, it still held a slight symbolic meaning to him so he had kept it until this day.

The blade itself was around 15cm or so, it wasn't a very large dagger but it did its job. It had a very basic level of wind infusement on the metal which caused the actual range of the swing to be slightly longer than the actual length of the blade when it was swung.

Luca had reminded him that despite practicing the bow, he should still learn how fight in close combat as not every opponent would allow him the distance. The dagger was a good choice in his opinion since larger weapons would be too clunky to use alongside the bow as well.

Jin placed the dagger back onto his waist and picked his bow up again.

It had a few days since Hayes had completed his bow. It took about 2 weeks for the bow itself to complete but unfortunately, Hayes had to return back to the main branch to his store.

According to him, he was a owner of a small weapons store that was within the territory of the main branch's mountain.

And ever since his departure, Jin had been practicing and learning archery under the guidance of his father.

It didn't take long for Jin to grasp the initial concept and posture behind how to shoot an arrow out of a bow but it would take a lot longer for him to become comfortable with the weapon itself.

Luca told him that until he was proficient in hitting falling leaves without missing, it would be hard to say he had reached the small mastery of the bow.

As for the bow itself, it was a very short bow of around 80 cm. It was indeed a recurve bow with a special structure that caused it to have an incredible amount of draw strength for its size. At the current moment, Jin could barely use it properly as its draw strength was at the upper limits of his strength.

This would help him develop the necessary muscles for shooting and continue to train him, molding his body towards the path of an archer.

The bow was dark green, so dark that it was almost black unless it was under a bright light. It had a few strange effects due to the various special materials that had been poured in and one could even say it was extravagant for a beginner to use.

But who was his father? To Jin, who had lived a mediocre life amidst a mediocre family for most of his precious life, having such a strong backing felt strange but at the same time very good.

As someone who stood at the peak of this world, though not openly told, he could gather certain materials that someone at Jin's level could not easily obtain.

Out of the various woods that Luca had obtained, the wood that was finally decided was a piece of wood called Swirlwood. The wood was named so because as it grew, it twisted itself into a shape of a thin tornado which added various properties that was very good for making a bow. And due to the area it grew in, high above the cliffs, it was used to being exposed to a large amount of wind essence and had great effects when infused with wind essence.

As for the string, it was the silk from a spiritual level spider demon that was chosen. This wasn't a very difficult material to obtain as spider demons often covered large amounts of land in silk when they hunted but finding a spiritual level spider demon's silk was an issue as it would be dangerous for anyone below a certain level to even approach the areas of its dwelling.

The result was a bow that was extremely lightweight, short and powerful. Infused with a tremendous amount of wind essence that increased the speed of every arrow shot out which resulted in more penetrative and punching strength of the arrows.

As for the arrows, he simply used basic arrows made from special tree called Steelwood. It was a common type of tree that liked to grow in metallic soil and was extremely dense. Due to the strain that each arrow had to go through, there were only a few suitable materials for arrows that he could obtain with ease. It didn't make much sense to invest so much into training arrows and so they decided onto a material that was easy to obtain anywhere within the nation.

But despite how good his bow was. There was no point unless he was proficient in wielding it. You could give a small boy a heavenly artifact but it would perhaps take that boy years if not decades of continuous use and practice for them to become proficient in it even if they used a similar weapon type before.

This was a lesson Luca had taught Jin the night when the bow itself was finished. It was to tell Jin that all his future weapons should replicate the bow he is currently using if possible in terms of size and how the weight and draw strength feels to him at this moment.

This was because every slight alterations in a weapon change various aspects of how the weapon is used bit by bit. And the more alterations there were, the greater the change was. Yes, reaching a certain mastery in a specific weapon, such as a sword, would allow him to use other similar swords at a similar level. But in a high level battle, every disadvantage stacks and could possibly cause one their life.

Mastering a weapon was similar to growing a tree. A tree starts from a weak and malleable existence and steadily grows year by year into a large, towering and unwavering figure. The longer one uses a specific weapon, the more one gets accustomed to that weapon. Wielding a similar weapon would be like the same 'type' of tree but with different amount of branches, leaves and perhaps with different twists and turns of the main body itself. Once a lot of change has occurred, it won't be the same tree anymore but an entirely new and strange tree one has never seen before.

This didn't mean that everyone was limited to the first weapon they use but rather it was best to focus on a specific weapon type.

Jin had entirely replaced his morning muscle enhancement period with archery instead as this doubled as training his muscles as well.

Twak!

Twang!

Twak!

It was repetitive and boring but Jin knew that only persistence would open up the path of strength. The sore and aching muscles were the proof his hard work.

Sure there were geniuses in the road to cultivation, but only those who practiced and trained more than others had the final laugh. Talent only existed to amplify the effects of training and practice to a certain degree, it wasn't a free ticket to glory. He knew this all too well from his past life.

Luca, who had been silently watching Jin, smiled as he sat upon the peak of a mountain with a sword on his lap.

"A tall and strong tree, does not grow over a single night."

And with those words, he stood up and started to practice his forms.