The Utility of Perception

"Stand straight, feet naturally apart, shoulder-width. Left hand controls the direction of the landing point, right hand maintains stability. Use your index, middle, and ring fingers to hold the string, with the index finger above the arrow tail and the middle and ring fingers below."

Malcolm continuously adjusted Thea's posture, correcting every mistake. As an archery master, his guidance was highly skilled, explaining the key points and reasons for each movement. Many people could excel at something themselves but struggled to articulate it when teaching others. Malcolm was clearly not among them.

Holding a red, low-poundage recurve bow, Thea didn't have a sight or stabilizer. On average, men tend to have greater physical strength compared to women, and despite the abundance of female archers in games and anime, it was genuinely challenging to train in reality. Low strength meant low damage output, and in ancient wars with significant manpower consumption, few monarchs recruited women as archers.

In the original storyline, Thea Queen, known as "Speedy," had the idea of compensating for low damage output with high firing speed. However, seeing her quietly fade into obscurity, even temporarily leaving the team, indicated that this path didn't pan out.

Future events could be dealt with later; she had already glimpsed her own fate and was confident she could rewrite that unpleasant life trajectory. Thea focused her mind, silently reciting Malcolm's teachings. She aimed at a large tree 10 meters away, where Malcolm had drawn a red circle on the trunk.

Exhaling, adjusting her breathing, and staring at the red circle, Thea released the arrow with a "whoosh." In a highly concentrated state, Thea had an inexplicable feeling, as if a part of herself followed the trajectory of the arrow, guaranteeing a hit.

With a muffled sound, the arrow securely lodged just inside the red circle on the tree trunk, very close to the center. Judging by competition standards, it was at least a seven or eight out of ten.

Achieving such a good result on her first try made Malcolm secretly envious. He remembered that when he was trained by Ra's al Ghul, it took three sleepless days to reach this level of shooting at a 10-meter target!

Afraid that his daughter might get too proud, he found a 20-meter target and gestured for her to shoot at that.

As expected, Thea missed the shot, but the deviation was smaller than Malcolm had expected. The arrow grazed the tree trunk.

This balanced Malcolm's mood a bit. He began explaining the precautions in detail. The truth was, Thea's success with the first arrow wasn't due to mastering archery skills but to pre-emptively predicting the result with her far superior perception. The entire 10-meter range fell within her perception, allowing her to achieve a perfect score with focused concentration. It wasn't a superpower; many people, when shooting a three-pointer in basketball, instinctively knew the shot would go in. It was a mysterious feeling.

However, shooting at 20 meters exceeded her cheating range. While the first ten meters maintained accuracy, the next ten were as expected—off-target. It seemed that she was still far from those top-notch marksmen! People like Prometheus had a helmet that could download all martial arts knowledge, search for a target, and immediately acquire the skill! Just like Neo learning martial arts in The Matrix, it was so convenient. Where did he find that helmet? The comic didn't mention it!

Listening patiently to Malcolm's explanations, Thea couldn't help but admire how well he explained things, breaking down several key points and habits. No wonder he graduated as an outstanding student from Nanda Parbat. Thea absorbed this knowledge like a sponge.

The fusion of two souls not only expanded her perception but also enhanced her thinking depth, quickened her memory, and heightened her reflexes. This was an all-encompassing improvement. If the original Thea's lifelong goal was to become a quasi-hero, the current her already possessed the qualifications of a frontline hero.

As the teaching session neared its end, Thea could now shoot at a 20-meter target. Although not perfect, hitting nine out of ten arrows already made Malcolm melancholic. This was only the first night of teaching! Back in the day, reaching this level caused him to experience soreness, back pain, and leg cramps for a week!

Ah, youth was truly wonderful! Silently finding an excuse for his lack of talent compared to his daughter, Malcolm escorted Thea into the Queen mansion from a distance before returning home.

At home, after changing into casual clothes, he asked the butler, "Has Tommy returned?"

"No Sir, he hasn't. There's just a message left on the answering machine saying he has something to deal with," the butler replied honestly.

"Hmph." Malcolm snorted lightly. What could be his issue? Surely he was out with Laurel again, taking advantage of the fact that he wasn't home today. A sense of helplessness washed over him as he contemplated his son, left behind by his deceased wife. He didn't know how to educate him properly. Tommy lacked the same mindset, courage, and resilience as himself. If it weren't for his trust in his late wife's fidelity, he would doubt if Tommy was really his son. Especially in contrast to certain other daughter, the differences were even more apparent.

In truth, everyone has talent; it's just a matter of whether you discover it or not.

Returning to the issue of Tommy, he wasn't without talent; he just hadn't found the right place to shine. When he returned to the city in the future, Oliver discovered his potential and encouraged his friend to open a bar. Sure enough, Tommy made a success of it. If it weren't for Malcolm's earthquake of a plan, he might have even succeeded in expanding his business and going public!

The more Malcolm thought about it, the more saddened he became. He looked at his wife's photo and reminisced about the past, resolving to wait another six months. If there was still no progress, he would let Tommy do whatever he wanted. He would ensure that his son lived a happy and carefree life, even if it meant he couldn't fulfill his wife's wishes in heaven.

When Thea returned home, she found Moira waiting for her in the living room. She gave her mother a big hug. "Mom, I'm back."

Moira had heard that Malcolm had arranged for someone to train their daughter but didn't know that this "someone" was himself. So, she was worried that her pampered daughter wouldn't be able to handle it or that Malcolm would be too rough and hurt her. She had been waiting anxiously in the living room. Deep down, she didn't think it was necessary. They had more than enough money at home, so why bother training herself instead of hiring a bodyguard? Seeing her daughter return happily, she felt it was necessary to confirm her daughter's thoughts.

"If you're very tired, you don't have to go tomorrow. Mom is very worried about you," Moira said with concern in her eyes.

Looking at her mother's worried expression, Thea showed a strong front. "I'm not afraid of hardship, Mom. I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you, to protect this family."

"My poor child, I've said before that I'll respect any decision you make. If one day you don't want to learn anymore, you must tell Mom, okay?" Moira said earnestly.

"Okay, I understand," Thea nodded with a smile, and mother and daughter embraced as they walked into the bedroom.