Eric brought two bow, a short one and the other long, and the clone hung on the wall the target. Eric later brought a bucket full of arrows from the closet, and waited for any instructions or directions from the Maximus’ copy.

'Take out the ring I bought you from the store that day. You didn't lose it, did you?'

'I didn't lose it, it's here.'

From his small bag, and from a pocket hidden inside, he took out the black ring decorated with a snake that was given to him.

'What are its characteristics? You haven't forgotten it after I told you about it.'

'You told me that it enhances penetration and increases the speed of magic projectiles. That's what I remember.'

The copy took the long bow and arrow from the bucket, holding the bow with its left hand and the arrow with its right. Like a magic wand, it waved the arrow like a magic wand and several thin layers of mana appeared in the air, ten of them and twenty centimeters apart. Maximus fired the arrow using only his pure physical strength towards the target. The arrow narrowly pierced four layers of magic.

He retried with another arrow after restoring the magic layers, but filled the arrow with magic and it became larger and sharper. Compared to the previous one, the arrow was faster and more accurate, aimed directly towards the target, penetrated all the layers, and hit the target behind it. The clone turned to Eric and asked him about the difference between the two shots, and Eric's answer was as follows:

'From what I saw and understood, the differences were in the use and non-use of magic, also in the number of layers penetrated and the effect left over in the magic layers. The second blow pierced the shields as if it were a leaf and did not break it unlike the first.'

'You have a keen eye, little one, we summarize it as follows: the difference is like the difference between penetrating through glass and paper and these are the most important features of penetration magic in general, energy is not wasted in the second case unlike the first one.'

A very simple example but it conveyed the meaning directly, then he gave the bow to Eric and asked him to try as well. The first shot narrowly penetrated the first layer while the second pierced three layers with magic and ring reinforcement, a satisfactory but insufficient result for Eric who wanted to achieve better than this which he considered a failure.

The copy patted him on the shoulder and gave him the most important lesson of a magical archer.

'Do you know what the most important thing is for a magical archer?'

'The ability to hit his target no matter the distance.'

'Mmmm, I didn't really think about that. You are right, but what I wanted to say is his ability to penetrate his opponent's defense, no matter what. No matter how hard your body is or if your shield is hard or thick, it is not enough to stop a magic arrow. Magic shields can stop an ordinary magic arrow but a penetrating arrow can't be countered, only avoided.'

'So how do I become more skilled, Master?'

'That's what I'm going to do now; did you know that a skilled archer is a nightmare for enemies? Once the first victims are injured, panic destroys the order of his victims, especially if they do not know about his location.'

The copy sat on a chair it brought and then looked back at Eric.

'My role is to guide you, you have to learn for yourself and I just correct your mistakes. Improve your harmony with the ring. For the rest of the day, you will shoot repeatedly until you can penetrate four layers; if you reach five layers, you have achieved a resounding success then. Getting used to your stuff is as important as improving your skills, little one.'

Eric took a deep breath, took an arrow from the bucket and pulled the bowstring ready to shoot.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"This is the first arrow, I will repeat until I succeed. Failure is for losers and I will not be one."

His heart quickened and his eyes flared with unwavering determination, with a goal in mind, which would be one of the means by which he would one day achieve his goals.

.........

In another corner, Mira stayed with another one of Maximus' copies while it was giving her a lesson on magic, a lesson she knew nothing about because it was an exclusive knowledge to those at the level of masters and above.

'Do you know why I taught you only vegetarian spells, Mira?'

'Is it because I have prior experience in it by virtue of having learned it before?'

'That's only half the answer. There is a way for a magician to get stronger very quickly but it comes at a price.'

'I don't really know, are you going to teach me this way?'

'The way is to give up on the other elements, if you give up all the elements except the one that you will use in the future, you will gain the highest efficiency, the effectiveness and power of the spells increases threefold. The price is that you will not be able to use the other types again. In my opinion, it's a good deal.'

Maximus, who is good at controlling all the elements, was talking about this thing quite casually; he was talking as if he did not feel the suffering of the weak who are trying with all their might. Mira had noticed this before, but she thought it was just an occasional remark that did not pay much attention to her.

'Is this why there are magicians who specialize in fire/ water/ lightning/ earth and so on? Great idea, but why didn't you, Master?'

'Good question, I wasn't a specialist in battles. My specialty is magic research and development and this field needs all the elements and this is a fundamental difference.'

'You're a research magician, teacher? But why are you so strong?'

The copy gave her a blow on the head to suppress her curiosity, almost biting her tongue and never saying a word afterwards.

'I'm the one asking the questions, not you. Do you agree with this proposal or not?'

She did not speak and nodded as proof of her acceptance of the proposal. After biting her tongue, she did not even dare to speak and decided to accept what the teacher was saying without further curiosity.

'All you have to do is copy the formula of this circle and inject it into the mana of the element you want and the energy of the rest of the elements will dissipate.'

The copy created a magic circle in the palm of its hand, which was more like a medallion decorated with a magic circle, which was sky blue in the color of natural mana. When injected with an element's mana, it changes to its color and denies the presence of the rest of the elements.

Mira was much focused to form a matching magic circle, watching and imitating the flow, forming shapes within the circle afterwards. After a long quarter of an hour, the circle was almost identical to the original, the Maximus' copy corrected the problems, and everything was fine.

She was quick to understand compared to her peers and was able to copy them in such a short period thanks to the speed of thinking.

'Now think of plant spells, think about the nature of the mana you feel then, and then pump as much as you can into the magic circle.'

Mira did not learn much from vegetarian spells, but the feeling was so familiar to her, it has been three years learning botanical magic from books. A green energy like leaves permeated from her fingers into the magical circle that has gradually changed color to grassy green. It was gradually filled like a bucket or bottle, slowly and steadily.

After the circle was filled to the brim. The copy moved it towards Mira's chest and seeped towards the center of the mana in her heart; the blue mana that was there began to gradually change its color to green and continued the process until all the mana in her body turned green. Pure vegetarian mana replaced traditional mana that faded, as it did not exist in the first place.

The operation lasted about an hour and the transition was successful, Maximus' version applauded this achievement and completed the explanation.

'Effectiveness increases threefold, mana consumption is halved, and the spell range increases dramatically. Let's try your new potential now.'

With a snap of his fingers, the two moved into a forest whose location is unknown. If Maximus was a criminal, he would be the best criminal and assassin in history (instantaneous teleportation towards the target - capturing the target and moving instantaneously to an isolated place - killing the target and disposing of the body in the ocean = clean crime??) However, he is a good person unfortunately; it would have been fun to see him on the other side for a while

'Try attacking me, to the best of your abilities. Don't be complacent about it.'

'I won't be complacent; I too want to know my new limits.'

The fight began between the two and the new feeling, a difference like the difference between a lame horse and a racing horse, amazed Mira. With great enthusiasm, she began to unleash her full potential and all the spells she had learned so far...