You obtained the Archer class.
You unlocked the Dexterity parameter.
You unlocked the Aptitude: Precision Training
You unlocked the skill: Power Shot.
You unlocked the skill: Rapid Fire.
I could tell that the atmosphere got even more tense once I made my choice, Rowan could tell what I chose and he didn't like it one bit since I went against the orders of Rayner. I couldn't deny that the choice was a bit stupid. The reasons were obvious.
Precision Training: Gain 1 point of experience per successful hit with a ranged attack when using a ranged weapon.
Power Shot: Fire an arrow with extra power, dealing higher damage equal to your strength and dexterity. It has a chance to knock back the target if your damage is higher than twenty percent of the target's health. Cost: 15 Stamina
Rapid Fire: Launch a quick series of three arrows at the target, dealing damage equal to your dexterity in a rapid succession of shots. Cost: 20 Stamina
I obtained two skills that I could only use a few times and I had essentially become someone who needed arrows to fight effectively. The downside of mages and archers was that they could only fight as long as they could attack from a distance. When they can't do it, they are essentially useless.
Traits: Minor Weakness to Sunlight, Minor Sensitivity to Holy Magic, Minor Aversion to Silver
Aptitudes: Precision Training,
Yeah, it was weird… if my parameters hadn't increased as I grew older, then I wouldn't even be able to use skills. However, I didn't regret my choice, I was betting on the future. I had planned a lot of things in the last two years, after all. I just had to show the results when it counted.
Once again, we walked in silence toward the family's home. That day was a day off, so the other kids were resting, but from tomorrow onward, I would join Ulric and Remi on the training. One was laid back, but he could find some willpower to beat the crap out of me, the other was truly desperate to prove himself, so he definitely would try to use me as a punching bag.
'I need a bow to use Precision Training… it will take a while to accumulate enough experience to increase my dexterity, though. I need a bow, or maybe not…'
I had some ideas in mind that would help me to speed things up, but I was still in trouble when it came to money, materials, and opportunities to gain strength and money as well. The only thing that I could use in my favor was my knowledge from my previous life and I was intending on using it as much as possible. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any point in keeping my memories.
When we returned home, I headed to my room wondering what I should do. The house had a warehouse and I probably could find some bows there, but I told Rayner that I would do things by myself. With that in mind, I had two options… look for materials or use the things in my room.
'I can always use the excuse that I can use his things and pay for them later, but it is better not to start this new journey like that. I can only use the things in this room… since they are mine and no one uses them.'
Aside from old clothes that had been overused, my bed, a table, my closet with the things that I still could use, there wasn't much else. There were the papers that I used to write down all the important information and my goals and each step as well.
I heard someone knocking on my door… it was time for lunch. As I began to eat, I soon looked at my knife and had an idea. As expected, my plans still could be improved. I finished my meal in a hurry, and then used the knife, to carve the base of a slingshot using the piece of my bed that fell of the morning. It was quite big, so it would work.
'Is this… fate? Telling me to make lemonade with my lemons?'
The knife wasn't that sharp and the wood was quite bad too, so it wouldn't last for long, but that was just an experiment, so it was fine. Once I was done with the frame of the slingshot. I cut down some of my old boots, they weren't that elastic, but they would do the trick.
Tying everything up was a bit difficult, and I also made the pouch using another part of the boot, so it took some time, but I eventually pulled off… I wasn't an engineer in my previous life for nothing. I also made some stuff from at school with essential trash since school, so the experience was there.
'All right, here goes nothing.'
There were no stones behind, or marble for that matter. However, I still had my knife with me. It wasn't the most optimal projectile, but it could do for the experiment. It would have been better if I had made the pouch with a proper slot for the projectiles, but that could wait. After making some adjustments, I shot the knife… yeah, that didn't sound right.
Still, much to my surprise, it flew while spinning before piercing the wall and sticking to it. That wasn't all…
You received 01 experience point.
I punched the air in celebration. Still, I couldn't destroy my room like that. I had to hide the hole too. I decided to head to the garden for some stones. There are some of them around some plants.
'It is like they say, the Archer class had a lot of people, not only bow users.'
After gathering some stones, I soon found a problem… when I shot them, I didn't gain any experience, even though I was aiming at the same spot in the wall. Only when I hit the spot I was aiming at would, I gain experience.
I stopped that and then went to check my notes… a bunch of classes with the information there and their aptitudes. I didn't notice that until I reread all of them, for the experience to be gained, some action that changes the world in some shape or form needs to be accomplished.
Hitting a target, suffering damage, using magic, escaping from the sight of others… all those actions had some sort of effect on the world.
'It makes sense, otherwise, there would be countless ways to exploit the system. However, there must be other tricks or facts about this.'
Albert didn't mention anything like that in his book, nor did I find such things mentioning the other classes. Perhaps that kind of information was that much valuable. In any case, over the course of the afternoon, I learned some other things about Precision Training… I didn't have to hit exactly my target, as long as I caused some damage. I learned that when I broke the window of my room.
A servant came outside to pick up the shards of the glass, but it looked like I would remain without a glass window. I would live as long as I had the curtains. Another hidden piece of information was that the 'area of experience', the name that I gave, increased the further I went from the target. For example, if I was two meters away from the target, I had to hit specifically the spot that was the size of the tip of a finger, but the area increased the further away I was. It doubled when I was four meters away and it doubled again when I was eight meters away.
The last thing I learned was that I would gain experience no matter what, as long as I hit something when my arm was exhausted and each shot consumed stamina.
'With training, a lot of people could become quite strong, but the combat classes have the upperhand since they can gain experience by fighting too, I guess.'
I checked my fingers and they were bruised for holding and pulling the slingshot. My arm was hurting quite a bit too since my stamina had dropped below half. The sun was already setting and since I had sword training waiting for me tomorrow morning, I decided to stop and rest. Still, I had to gain a minimal amount of experience every day to make progress. I had to test the limits of my body without making anyone realize what I was doing.
When dinner arrived, I was already satisfied with my progress for the day, but there was still the issue of money… heading to the dungeon to farm wasn't an option, so I had to use my brain. There was also the possibility that I didn't have permission to leave home by myself or even with company.
In any case, the next day, I woke up at sunrise like usual and then proceeded to head to the garden. I wasn't planning to give Rowan any reason to bully me, so I arrived half an hour earlier than the others.
"Ulric and Remi will spar like usual, you will swing your sword until you can no longer do so. Start with overhead strikes."
Rowan said that and then tossed me a wooden sword. That was something that I noticed that he had made the other kids do too, so aside from not using my name, at least he wasn't being any harsher on me.
I saw their posture and executions thousands of times, so I knew what I had to do. After lowering my stance a bit and then moving my wooden sword above my head, I stepped forward and then put all my body behind the swing. The whoosh sound was a bit pathetic, and the sword didn't move in a straight line.
"Put more power in your left hand."
That seemed like a piece of genuine advice, so I followed through. The sound got a bit better and the sword moved a bit more in straight line. I did it again and again, but it didn't take long before I got tired… as the sun rose in the sky, my health, mana, and stamina dropped, so my effectiveness dropped as well.
Once my stamina dropped to below twenty percent, my swings got quite erratic, so Rowan told me to run around the garden. I saw my brothers just jogging, though, so I did the same.
The exercises alone hadn't been that grueling, but spending two hours under the sun before breakfast had been hard… the world was spinning as I went to clean myself and there were two more hours, of training after eating.
'Maybe I made a mistake… or perhaps I will manage to overcome my minor weakness as a half-vampire.'
I spent a lot of time practicing the fundamentals of swordsmanship over the next six months, starting with the basic strikes. After the overhead cut, moved on to the diagonal strikes, which felt more natural. These cuts came down from my shoulder and sliced across an imaginary opponent's torso. I could picture myself striking through their defenses with precision. The upward diagonal cut was tricky at first, especially since it forced me to attack from a lower angle, but with practice, I started to get the hang of it.
Horizontal strikes were an interesting challenge. Aiming at the neck or midsection, these slashes required more control and timing than I expected, but when done right, they could easily break through an opponent's guard. I also worked on the thrust, a straight, penetrating stab. It felt efficient, with no wasted movement, just a direct attack to the opponent's chest or throat. It became my specialty… maybe it was because my dexterity eventually increased over the months.