17. Lecture hall

"Fuck!"

"Why is nothing I try working!"

Aiden was about to head back and collect more arrows when he suddenly heard a voice from behind him.

"If you're trying to shoot two arrows at the target, it isn't going to happen if you keep trying as you are now."

Hearing the voice appear behind him, Aiden nearly jumped out of his skin. When he turned around to look, his fear only grew even further.

"I-Instructor Kyros!"

The instructor didn't seem to care about his sudden ghost-like appearance and continued explaining.

"The way you learned archery is magnificent, yet it is also unorthodox. For you, shooting an arrow would be less systematic and more instinctive, almost like moving a body part. Naturally, if you wanted to accurately aim two arrows at once, it would be like using your mind to do two separate things at once. So before you continue, let me ask you this: can you do two separate things with your arms at the same time?"

As Aiden heard Instructor Kyros's question, he paused for a second before shaking his head and replying.

"Instructor, I'm afraid I cannot."

Hearing Aiden's words, Instructor Kyros wasn't disappointed and instead smiled.

"Well then, you know where to start. When you can confidently move your arms to do two separate things at once, shooting two arrows should come to you as naturally as breathing."

Hearing this, Aiden was naturally excited and started thinking about how to train this and develop this ability. He quickly came to the conclusion that the first step would naturally be to develop a sense of ambidexterity.

As Aiden was having these thoughts, Instructor Kyros lightly smiled and then turned to look towards the trainee next to him.

Feeling Instructor Kyros's gaze, Oliver's skin jumped, but he didn't dare make any large moves.

The instructor looked at Oliver and nodded.

Although he was paying special attention to Aiden due to his unique circumstances, if there was a student in front of him, he wouldn't ignore their struggles. Although he could appreciate talent, normal trainees were still important. Furthermore, the trainee in front of him could still be considered very talented, even if it was not to a monstrous level.

"You also seem to be sharing a similar problem to the boy from before. Although you can shoot arrows in rapid succession more skillfully than your friend, you have talent and can go much further. The next step for your archery should be just like what your friend is trying to achieve: shooting two separate targets at once."

Realizing what was happening, Oliver's eyes showed a look of joy before he bowed respectfully.

"Please guide me, Instructor!"

Instructor Kyros smiled before beginning to speak.

"Unlike your friend, your archery is conventional and follows the orthodox training system. Your foundations and fundamentals are perfect and as solid as rock. Learning to manipulate two arrows like your friend will only do more harm than good. Since you learned systematically, you should continue to do so. Calculate with your mind the two different trajectories of your arrows before you even draw them. Although your archery will lack a sense of fluidity and change, such problems can be fixed when you can shoot multiple targets at once."

Oliver thought for a while.

If the instructor's words were correct, then his next step forward would be to develop his mind's separate and parallel thinking while also developing his calculating and predictive abilities.

Realizing he had found his next path forward for his immediate training, Oliver was overjoyed. Just as he looked up to thank the instructor, Oliver was left speechless.

The instructor that had clearly been in front of him only moments ago had completely vanished.

It was as if he had disappeared into thin air.

Oliver stood there confused for a second, but when he looked over to Aiden and saw that he had already started training with impressive vigor, he just chuckled.

Even a complete newbie like Aiden was training hard. How could he fall behind?

Without wasting any more time, Oliver picked up his bow once again, ready to work his heart out!

After training, Aiden and Oliver quickly rushed back to their dorms to take a shower before their next class.

Their first training session had passed, and now it was time for the first actual lecture of the training camp.

No one knew how long the lecture would be, and Aiden and Oliver didn't dare risk being crowded in a room filled with hundreds of other trainees after sweating it out this morning.

The two took their notebooks and rushed towards the lecture hall, which wasn't too hard to find. As they walked in, they could already see it beginning to fill up with other students.

Since the front seats were already packed, Aiden and Oliver walked up and found some seats about two-thirds of the way up the auditorium.

After sitting down, the two friends watched for a few minutes as the lecture hall quickly filled up. Then, a slightly older, middle-aged man walked into the room.

The man was dressed neatly, with dark brown pants and a loose robe covering his body. He wore silver-rimmed glasses.

The man was calmly walking into the room, but with just one glance, you could sense that he had a strong scholarly air about him.

The second the man walked into the room, the light background chatter quickly disappeared as the hall descended into silence.

None of the trainees were stupid.

Theory was just as, if not more, important than physical training.

Everybody was ready to write down every word spoken.

The teacher didn't need to ask the class to be quiet or anything like that.

If anyone dared to mess around and disturb the lecture, the first one to deal with them would not be the lecturer but the furious students all around them!

The professor looked at the full lecture hall and smiled.

"Good afternoon, class, and welcome to your first lecture at Olympus Academy."