The sound of leaves drifting along below the trees, and the sound of arrows flying by. Those were the only two things I could hear right now.

Those arrows were only meant to scare me, meaning they're probably not paying attention to concealing their position. Most of them were fired from my left, but that last one was fired a little more straight. They're probably moving over to my right, so if I... can... just...

[?] Ow!

I knew it!

[?] Fine, you win! But I'm beating you next time!

[Akira] I'll hold you to that.

I come out of my hiding place fully and face my little sister, Kori.

[Kori] Let's head home, I'm huuungry!

[Akira] Let's go eat something.

30 Minutes Later

[Kori] We're home!

[Akira] Hello Mother!

[Mother] Hello girls! You came just in time! I just finished making the soup. You can go sit at the table.

We both sit at the table and Mother brings us our soup bowls.

[Mother] So, how have you two been doing? Is archery practice alright?

[Akira] We're doing alright. Our teacher is working us pretty hard, but that's to be expected. I think we've gotten better recently, too.

[Kori] Sister is waay better than me. I want to get as strong as Sister, so I'm working really hard!

[Mother] Good job! Just don't work yourselves too hard.

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After we finish eating, I step outside to get some air.

Recently, our teacher has been pushing us more and more. Kori hasn't realized it, but I think it's because The Undead have been pushing closer and closer to our country's border. They'll probably be here in no more than a year and I think he wants us to be prepared to fight by then. I hope we'll be ready...

[Mother] Akira! Come help me with the dishes!

[Akira] Coming, Mother!

A Few Weeks Later

Me and Kori are at archery practice. Our teacher told us there was a big group of Slimes right outside the city which would make good target practice.

We get to the slimes, take out our bows, and start shooting the Slimes. We deal with them pretty quickly, since our aim has become better than before.

[Kori] Sister! I only missed one arrow!

[Akira] Nice job Kori! If you keep it up, you might be able to keep your promise from the last time we dueled.

[Teacher] Alright everyone! Time for something a little harder than shooting those little guys. You'll be fighting each other in that forest over there.

I sat and talked to Kori until it was my turn.

[Teacher] Next up... Akira and Yuuko!

Yuuko... This girl looked pretty confident in her abilities when shooting the Slimes. This will definitely be a harder fight than the one with Kori.

[Akira] Good luck, Yuuko! May the best archer win!

[Yuuko] ...

She didn't even acknowledge me.

We both went into the forest and got ready.

She hit every Slime she aimed for earlier. I think my best plan would be to stay hidden and take her by surprise.

I move behind a tree and shoot an arrow in the grass to my right, behind another tree.

A split second after I did that another arrow appeared in the same tree's trunk. Damn, she's fast.

I peek my head out to try and shoot in the direction her arrow came from, but before I could even pull the string,

[Yuuko] Found you.

I then see an arrow shooting right next to my head. Did she miss on purpose?

I hear something to my right. Before I could turn around, Yuuko tackles me to the ground.

When did she get there?

[Yuuko] I win.

[Akira] You do. Now, can you please get off? My arm's starting to get numb.

[Yuuko] Fine. Let's go back.

As we start walking back, I notice a faint glow on her right arm. I look closer and see a bracelet with a bunch of gemstones inside, one of them glowing. I've heard about magical gemstones being used by soldiers, but I didn't think a child like us could get their hands on them. I guess that's how she moved so fast.

[Kori] Sister, you're back! Who won?

[Akira] I don't know how, but she managed to beat me. I couldn't even get one shot on her.

[Kori] I see... I guess I'm not the only one who needs to get stronger.

An Hour Later

[Teacher] Training's over! You can all go home!

[Akira] Let's head back home, Kori. We both did well today.

[Kori] We did! But I'm so hungry...

[Akira] *chuckles* That's why we're going!