* *
9.10 P.M.
All my other physique tests are done now.
Huff.
'That was exhausting!'
Huff.
'Especially the running thingy!'
Huff.
I was supposed to run past Esther to tease her from the last time.
And in case you forgot her, she is the hot-headed noblewoman.
She has her own background and all sorts of things...
But if I have to summarize her personality...
Yeah, an angry noblewoman.
'But still... she ran so fast that I could not catch her...'
I didn't lose her, okay?
I just take a step back to make a comeback!
'It's okay, there's still time for my revenge.'
I'll meet her again at the field archery.
Although the results for endurance and speed are below average, they are still generally not bad enough to be at the bottom of the school.
On the test of reaction speed, I got a pretty high score, higher than the strength test because my [Perception] is just better than [Strength].
Looking at the points in my hand, my current score is at rank E-.
The score is high because my other two skills carry quite well...
But with this current score, it's hard to get into class B, not to mention class A.
But class A will be my primary aim because class A is where all the protagonists study.
The second and the last test will be based on the weapon we choose.
The teacher stood there and asked:
"Ryoshu cadet, which weapon will you choose to test?"
"I will choose a bow."
"Huh? Not a sword like your report card?"
"I decided to choose another weapon."
"Oh, it's okay as long as you want."
"But don't regret later."
"Thanks, sir."
"This way."
I followed the teacher for a while.
* *
Twang!
I went to the field archery.
This place is not as noisy as other places, but it is full of the sounds of arrows hitting the target.
Thwack.
I looked around to find her.
"Oh, there she is."
Esther was already testing her accuracy with her given magic staff when I came here.
Currently, she has the highest score too.
'Damnit? Why is every single one of the main characters so freaking overpowered?.'
With range weapons, they will test cadets for accuracy and mobility.
And those are 2 tests respectively for each criterion: hit the center and shoot the moving object.
I'm currently ranked somewhere in Class D so if I want to get into Class A I have to show my talent in these two lessons.
In the center shot test, I will have to go to Section 1 to test.
There are also a lot of other people doing the test.
Esther now is in first place with 49 points.
The second place is 2 points away from Esther.
Roughly speaking, cadets will be tested by shooting arrows or magic projectiles at the target.
Shoot as close to the center as possible, and if cadets hit a bullseye, cadets will get 10 round points.
Esther must have only missed the bullseye once.
'No wonder she is the valedictorian of the first year.'
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So I have to hit the bullseye 5 times.
With the help of [Aim Assisting], this should be quite easy.
I stand at the distance that the teacher specified, each target will be a little further away from the shooter.
The first is 50 meters, then 70, 90, 110, and finally up to 150 meters from the target.
This distance is almost equal to the distance I shot the slime.
'Activate [Aim Assisting],'
A virtual mind appeared before my eyes.
'I wonder if this counts as cheating?'
'The law only says shoot, doesn't it say you can't use skills?'
'Never mind, just shoot.'
'First shot.'
Twang.
"Got it?!"
"Yo, what the hell?"
"That guy actually has pretty good accuracy."
It was the same guys who insulted me in the [Strength] test.
'Second shot.'
Twang
'Third shot.'
Twang!
'Fourth shot.'
Twang!!
'The last shot was so close.'
"What the fu-? 4 times in a row?"
"He may get 50 points!"
Everyone was amazed at my score.
It's because I have a special skill in shooting in the heart that everything is so easy.
This skill is really hard to get.
Imagine having to hit something with a bow from a distance of over 100 with proficiency below E- to get this skill.
That's something not everyone can do.
I was just a bit lucky there.
And even if they had a new skill, they wouldn't be able to confirm it right away like me.
Because they have to go to a place where they can check the status board.
Like at the Adventure Guild facilities or at the Spiral Academy itself.
If you don't have that skill, it'll be difficult to hit the bullseye.
By then I might have to use bugs, but even then I'll lose a lot of good glitches.
'Okay, the last shot is pretty far.'
'150 meters... this is my first time shooting from this far.
'I don't know if I can do it or not...''
'I wonder if arrows can fly far away?'
'Hmm...'
'Charged Attack.'
Standing for a moment, I took a deep breath.
Once the move was fully charged, I tried to use the [Lightning Reflexes] ability to sense my surroundings.
The wind is blowing slightly in the opposite direction.
But if I finish charging, I'm not afraid of the wind anymore.
'My arrow will definitely hit the target no matter what.'
Huff.
I exhale evenly and:
'Fifth shot.'
Twang.
The arrow blows out and flies straight to the target without slowing down.
'Go for it.'
Thwack.
The target was pushed back quite a distance.
"What the fuc-!!!"
"YO, THAT'S INSANE!"
"He hit the freaking bullseye!!!"
[Your potential "Archery" has ranked up to E-]
[Acquired skill "Bullet Time" (Lv.1).]
Since during the test I kept shooting the bow with the highest possible efficiency, this skill also gained more Experience than I expected!
My score quickly went up to 50. And on the scoreboard, I surpassed Esther.
'Damn, my face looks so different from when I used to be handsome.'
It did change the look... And a bit of atmosphere, right?
Tell me that I'm not being delusional.
'I desperately need to raise my [Charisma] stat as soon as possible.'
"So one more test is over."
The score just now made me jump from class D to class C.
Ignoring those who admired the score I got, I went to section 2.
* *
By section 2, I see targets floating in the sky at different speeds.
This test cadets can select on a scale of difficulty from 1 to 10.
The closer to 10, the higher the difficulty.
And 10 floating targets will fly randomly at high speed corresponding to the difficulty.
In return, in 2 minutes, how many targets you hit will be multiplied by that level of difficulty.
For example,
Hit 10 targets on difficulty 1 for 10 points.
And if you hit 5 targets on difficulty 4, you get 20 points.
Similar to the calculation for the number of targets hit, the remaining time (unit: second) will also be multiplied by the difficulty level.
But keep in mind that if the difficulty goes up by just 1 level.
However, it is like a completely different test.
In return, cadets only need to hit the target, there is no need to hit the bullseye, but if they hit the bullseye, there will be a bonus point.
Despite all of that, in this moving object shooting test, I will choose the highest difficulty to earn as many points as possible.
I press the number 10 on the board near the designated firing spot.
10 targets appear and start moving.
"Was it that guy just now?"
"Difficulty 10?"
"That guy is crazy."
"Who does he think he is?"
"Even the best archers of this course only pick 8 or 9."
"Esther only picked 9, but he doesn't even know how to measure his limits."
"My Esther got first place with 230 points, 12 points ahead of second place!"
At the highest difficulty, the speed of each fly will be quite fast, about 5m/s and it will move in a random pattern.
Countdown appears and about 5 seconds to count officially.
At first, I closed my eyes, some found it difficult to understand, and some even laughed because they thought I must have regretted showing off so much.
I realized that the others only shot one at a time so even though it was more accurate, it still took a long time.
I will do the opposite. I'll hit all 10 at once!
Suddenly, I got into a preparation stance.
I use the skill "Charged Attack" to increase the damage to penetrate 10 targets.
Next, I activated "Aim Assisting" to try to hit the center.
After observing for about 35 seconds, I recognized its pattern.
The pattern is random, but sometimes all 10 targets will gather at a single point for about 0.05 seconds every 5 seconds.
It's all thanks to [Super Memory], [Lightning Reflexes], and SS+ rank [Alteration] that I could recognize that super horrible pattern.
I waited patiently for a while.
Huff.
"Bullet Time."
Everything moves more slowly, this feeling is almost the same as when I got [Lightning Reflexes].
["Bullet Time" (Lv.1)
Upon active, the time will be slowed down by 5 times in 1 whole second.
Usage: Three times in one hour. (2/3)]
Twang.
The arrow didn't hit anything because I shot too late.
Many people made fun of me but I didn't mind it, I did it again.
'Again!'
This time I just need to recharge for about 30 seconds.
"28.. 29.. 30.'
Thwang!
'Tsk. It's a little too early this time.'
Huff.
'Again, this is your last chance.'
This time I only need to load exactly 25 seconds.
"23.. 24.. 25!"
'BULLET TIME.'
Everything suddenly went slower as if I had entered the sped-up world again.
But this time, I had more reflexes and got used to the new skill.
'I started to get the hang of it, I just need to be a bit more precise!'
When the arrow is released, everything is still within the [Bullet Time] time.
Twang.
The arrow flies slowly out and hits the first target.
But the next thing I didn't expect was.
["Critical Hit" has happened.]
[Due to the talent "Weakness Detection", "Critical Damage" increased by a half.]
Arrows instantly gain power and fly 3 times faster.
After [Bullet Time] expires,
All 10 targets were penetrated nearly at the same time.
My points have been calculated.
"+100 points for hitting 10 targets!"
"+100 points with 10 seconds left!"
"+10 points for hitting 10 targets at once!"
"And finally +90 points for hitting the center 9 times!"
"Total Score: 300!"
My surroundings suddenly became eerily silent.
Huff.
"WHAT THE FUC-"
"HE TOOK THE FIRST PLACE FROM ESTHER WHITE AGAIN!?!"
"THAT'S NOT EVEN FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE!"
"DAMN, HE IS SO LIT THAT MY EYES ARE BURNING!"
"That's not what I mean but…"
"Still, HE IS SO LIT!"
"Bro is so cool!"
People nearby looked at me with admiration, and some looked at me with bitterness.
And there is one more character.
Esther was looking at me with jealous and indignant eyes.
I forgot that this is the nature of Esther, a competitive person.
'What is happening?'
And that's not all.
{You are being observed by the Higher Beings.}