章 45: Unseen Limits
"Young master, don't you think it's about time you search for a real mentor?"
Kathrina put a hand on her hip and asked him with a raised brow.
"Aren't you teaching me just fine?" Sebastian answered without looking back. He was still practicing archery. The courtyard was no longer enough for him as he already mastered firing an arrow at this range but with his powers revealed, the places he could go to without a disguise became limited and he ended up practicing in the courtyard again.
"That's the problem. I'm only capable of teaching you to this degree. You need an expert in archery—or the spear to help you. When you first sought me for training, you improved greatly, but now, your growth is being limited. As someone who has held a bow far longer, I can give you tips, but because you've already surpassed me in terms of skill, there's only so much it can do."
Sebastian lowered his bow and turned his head, "then, do you know anyone?"
Kathrina opened her mouth only to close it again.
"..."
Three months ago, there were a lot of people to choose from but now, Sebastian might just be the capital's best.
It wasn't that the capital's archers were lacking—it was just that Sebastian was a monster when it came to archery. With a regular practice bow, he could hit a moving target at three hundred yards and never miss.
With his black bow, Sebastian could hit up to nearly a thousand yards, though he had to shoot in angles as the arrows lost their power.
It was the result of three months of training—something that Kathrina thought impossible.
"...None."
Sebastian shrugged his shoulders and continued firing arrows. He didn't improve as fast as before but he was still leagues ahead of the army's archers. It was strange, it felt like the bow was a part of him.
'The Godslaying Arrow'
It was the name of the stigma of the person who rebelled against God.
'Could it be because of this?'
He had no prior experience in archery but in just these three months, he managed to top the archers in the capital. It was absurd.
His knowledge of the stigma was still shallow. Could they have hidden abilities?
Without Balanos, he really had no way of finding out for sure.
Once again, Sebastian sighed at his overreliance in Balanos.
...
The reason why Sebastian answered the Blue Rose's invitation was because he knew it himself. He had hit a rut. From this point, he would improve slowly until he came to a sudden halt. He needed to find a way to break out of it and joining Blue Rose was the only way he could think of.
"The miniature crossbow is ready," Pine informed Sebastian as he walked in. He walked to the back and came out with a small mechanism with three holes and a strap.
"Like you've designed, you load the bolts in reverse until they click into place and then pull on the strings to fire each one."
Sebastian looked at the small mechanism in surprise, "you made it already?"
The plans were only given to him last week.
Pine scratched his head in embarrassment, "I was too excited to test out a new invention. Here are the bolts."
The bolts looked like tiny arrows but they were completely made of iron.
Sebastian took them in hand and loaded them. His fingers had protection against the pointed tip of the bolts and it loaded in perfectly. He tried shaking it but the bolts didn't even move.
"Other than the time it takes to equip and reload, there are only a few other flaws such as range and power."
With the strap wrapped around his wrist and forearm, Sebastian aimed the bolts at the target on the wall and pulled the strings with his other hand.
THUNK THUNK THUNK
All three bolts stabbed into the target and aligned perfectly.
"It's perfect."
Pine's face lit up in joy and began taking out more plans.
"I've thought of several improvements but it'd take me longer to make them. I'm not even sure if they work but if they do, then this crossbow will be revolutionary."
The crossbow attached to Sebastian's forearm was created under his request. When he realized that he had nearly hit his limit, he turned to external tools. With this, he could catch an opponent unaware and use that opportunity to strike. However, it was still inconvenient to have to pull on the string with his other hand.
The design that Pine had him look over would allow him to cut down on that much needed time.
Sebastian spent most of the afternoon discussing the crossbow and several other ideas. After his shop was restored, Pine was practically Sebastian's private blacksmith. Although his shop's exterior was repaired and some customers come in from time to time, he prioritized Sebastian's orders over anything else.
'If I told him to work only for me, there's no doubt that he'd do it...'
Even Sebastian felt a little overwhelmed. If he were to suddenly disappear, then Pine would definitely have problems. Even if he has enough money to support the shop financially, he already had an extreme reliance on Sebastian.
Before leaving, Sebastian put a hand on Pine's shoulder and spoke with a serious face, "you should go out more."
"???"
Naturally, only question marks were left around floating around Pine's head at the unexpected piece of advice.
...
"Huff..."
Sebastian put down his spear.
Surrounding him were dozens of small logs split in half. Though some of them were crooked, most of the logs were finely sliced—as if an axe had been the tool used to split it.
"That's the last of it!" A boy walked up to Sebastian with a bright smile on his face.
"Nice work Sybil," Sebastian spoke while ruffling the boy's hair.
He was at a small house in one of the villages near the city. There were too many people who knew his face in the cities. Not just in Aurum, but in Argenti as well. Although there were still some people that knew his face in the villages, there wasn't enough to cause any problems.
As part of his training, he travels to nearby villages and helps them with tasks. This was the fourth day he visited this village and helped this particular family of three in chopping up firewood.
"I'm definitely going to be a strong spearman like you!"
Sybil puffed out his chest proudly and raised his head high. Sebastian could only chuckle and rub his nose in embarrassment.
"I'm not really that strong. In fact, I'm very weak. It's why I'm training like this."
Although he had confidence in being able to defend himself in the forest, he couldn't risk his life when news of the hawk's death still hadn't reached him.
"Thanks for everything." A woman with her hair in a side plait walked out carrying a few drinks on a tray.
Sebastian accepted the drink, "it's really nothing, ma'am. I'm doing this because I want to train myself."
The woman handed Sybil his drink then touched the side of her face, "still, are you sure you're fine without any compensation? You've practically emptied out our unchopped firewood and saved my husband from a lot of work. Though it really was strange that you used a spear."
After convincing the woman that he didn't need any compensation and promised that he'd drop by from time to time to play with Sybil, Sebastian left the village and began running. He removed the energy coating his body and ran with his unaided legs.
He was training his actual body without the use of the stigma. Ever since he had gotten the stigma from Balanos, he neglected training himself (not like he trained very much) and relied on the energy provided by it. His stigma had run out of energy several times before and it nearly cost him his life. Being chased by the fox was the most dangerous, sure, but there had been a couple of other close calls as well.
It didn't take long for Sebastian's breath to become rough. He was only wearing his lightweight armor—the plates on his hands and the one on his chest. For weapons, he was only carrying his spear and knives. But because of his physical body's lack of training, he was only at the level of an average person at most.
Though it was true that while he used the stigma, its capacity and his control over it became even more refined, that would show his extreme reliance.
"Haa... haa..."
He had only run for about five kilometers but his knees already threatened to give out. He slumped down on the floor and tried his hardest to catch his breath.
"Was I... really this weak...?" He spoke through breaths.
If he was using the stigma, he wouldn't even notice that he had already run this much.
Four days ago, he could barely run three kilometers without falling flat on the floor. He improved, but his progress wasn't consistent. Just yesterday, he ran six kilometers but now, he broke down a kilometer before then.
Sebastian took a few more minutes to catch his breath and grit his teeth. Though his knees ached and his lungs felt like they were about to snap due to the lack of air, he continued to run. He had reached this village the same way and recovered for an hour before using his spear.
The distance between Aurum and the village he had just left was about sixty kilometers, give or take. He had taken a little over six hours to run that distance the first time and four hours today. Although it seemed like a lot, Sebastian knew that he just managed to endure greater today.
When Sebastian finally saw the houses of the next village from afar, the sun was had already passed the very center of the sky. He leaned his body over to a nearby tree and began resting. He took out his spear and leaned on it.
He wanted to close his eyes and sleep but he couldn't even if he wanted to. Who would be able to sleep in his condition?
"...Soon," Sebastian muttered.
Only the person himself knew what he meant.
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