Aaron found himself led to a large, enclosed archery range. Walled in on every side, it offered plenty of privacy and space to focus. On one side, straw stuffed mannequins were lined up in a row before a limestone brick wall. Some were looking a little worse for wear, holes poked though the cloth holding them together, straw sticking out in odd places and littered all over the ground.
On the other were large round painted targets, much like those he had seen in archery videos online back home, with layered different coloured paints encircling a red dot in the centre. The range was deserted but for a young woman, sinking arrows into one of the hay targets, a male servant standing by to either retrieve her arrows or offer her a cool beverage.
She took barely any notice of Aaron, giving him the quickest of glances as he entered the walled private range before ignoring him and continuing her archery. She was quite good, each of her shots sinking deep into the targets either in or close to, the red dot at the centre.
The woman who led Aaron here, stayed close at hand yet not so close as to get in the way. He shrugged his shoulders a little guilty, hoping he had not distracted her from an important task. Glancing at his status screen he saw that his MP had not yet filled up completely.
Name: Aaron
Title- None
Class: Water Mage
Level: 1
Experience: 5/10 to level up.
HP: 22/22
MP: 4/6
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 12
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 8
Perception: 8
Passive Skills:
???,
Language Comprehension- Level 10 (Inherited)
Sense Hostility- Level 1
Resistances Unlocked
Lynx: 2%, Clawing: 0.1%
Active Skills:
Inspect- Level 3
Magic:
Water Magic- Level 1
Spells:
Water Bullet- Level 1
Cost: 3 MP
Creates a tiny water bullet that is propelled with great force. Can be upgraded.
Classes Available:
Class: Swordsman
When selected, this gives the user a 10% bonus damage with swords and increases speed of damage resistance gains to bladed weapons by 20%
Water Mage
When selected, Water magic will be 20% stronger and resistances to Water and Water magic will increase 20% faster.
Class: Hunter unlocked
When selected, you deal an additional 10% damage to beasts and low-level monsters. Increases speed of resistance gained to bestial creatures by 20%
Obviously, after only a bit of thought he realized that Water bullet could currently only be used twice with his current mana at full capacity. From memory of most books and tv shows he could recall; characters often ran into this issue at lower levels. Having low mana capacities meant he needed to either reduce the mana cost or find a way to quickly replenish it.
Being still fairly new to this world, he wasn't sure if mana potions existed. Even if they did, they would most likely be prohibitively expensive. Right now, his whole class was living on the King's dime and kindness. Asking for expensive potions would not be a great way to return that kindness. So, the best thing to do would be develop a skill to regenerate mana quickly.
Right now, his mana regenerated at roughly 1 point per 10 minutes which would be nowhere near fast enough. First things first though, to empty his mana more so that he had room to regenerate and build up his skill.
Lifting his right arm up once again in the gun like pose, Aaron tried to focus all his attention on one of the mannequins. Aiming at the dead centre of its chest he tried activating the skill with the system instead of the way he'd practiced. A small notification popped up.
Casting Water Bullet, -3 MP
Far easier and quicker than his clumsy attempts out his window, the water droplet was instantly generated using his mana. Aaron took a moment, realizing he could hold it there and change his aim as needed. Then using his other arm to stabilize, he pointed as close to the centre of the mannequin as he possibly could and released it.
BANG
The droplet surged forward, piercing through the dolls upper left shoulder leaving an apple sized hole and continuing to crash into the wall behind, once again leaving an outer crack. The servant who had brought him down looked at the target and wall with bewilderment as the large hole caused by the bullet made the arm flop, held on by the barest minimum of fabric.
Aaron wasn't blown off his feet this time, his body only rocking back slightly now he was prepared for the sensation. Its power was surprising! Having a spell like that in his back pocket made him feel a lot more confident, although clearly his aim could use some work.
Now that his mana was at 1/6, it was time to practice gathering mana quickly yet before he could…
"What was that?" The young woman had wandered over, her curiosity piqued. She was wearing a simple, sturdy pants with plain white shirt covered by a leather vest. On her left arm was a leather arm guard, to protect it from being flayed by the bowstring as she releases. Her face on closer inspection, was incredibly beautiful. Her skin a pale white, with a cute, dimpled smile and long flowing blonde hair. She was the same age as he was, perhaps older, and quite slim, although these ease with which she drew her bow implied her muscles were bigger than they appeared.
She clearly had to be a noble of some description. Her clothes while simple, were fine quality, both cleaned and freshly pressed. Her face and hair had not an inch of dirt and a pleasant fragrance traced the air in her presence. Aaron might not know much of this world, but he was absolutely sure that a common girl off the streets in this city would not have any of these while also practicing archery.
These thoughts crossed his mind before he also remembered, he was still in the palace grounds, so obviously she was a noble. Or perhaps royalty. God I'm a moron. Doing his very best not to make the red flush on his face obvious, Aaron turned, and half tripped as he instinctively tried to bow a little. He hadn't seen anyone bow before, but it just felt like what he was meant to do in her presence, making him even more embarrassed. His cheeks flushed even brighter. Clearing his throat, he attempted to brush it off.
"Ahem, just a spell I've been practicing. My apollo… sorry, um I didn't mean to bother you"
Yep. Cool as a cucumber.
The woman giggled, seeing his obvious discomfort. Clearly, he hadn't been smooth enough to downplay the scarlet flush of his cheeks, which by now had reached up to his ears. If a mirror had been handed to Aaron at that particular moment, it is highly likely he would've just laid down and died. Luckily for him, none were present at the time.
Aaron would wonder, not for the first or last time, if a magic spell existed to keep a man from tripping over his feet and losing his marbles in a beautiful woman's presence. Unfortunately, even the Gods weren't able to grant him a power like that.
"It was impressive. Did you learn from Master Aedir?" The woman smiled at him, trying to put the poor guy more at ease.
"He's only spoken to us a couple times so far, most of the magic we're learning is from Kiera" Aaron replied, eager to find a conversation topic not requiring him to embarrass himself further.
"Oh! So, you must be one of the Summoned Champions? It's a pleasure to meet you, I am Princess Daphne Ambrose of Aestria"
She curtseyed deeply, the smile still pulling dimples into the corners of her mouth.
"And may I ask what your name might be?"
Aaron again kicked himself for being rude and not introducing himself first. He was right, she was a princess. That checks out. Now to find a way to escape the conversation with his dignity more or less intact. Taking a deep breath, he gave a hopefully equally comforting smile and replied.
"I'm Aaron Drage, your highness. It's a pleasure to make your… to meet you as well"
Acquaintance clearly wasn't a word he could manage to voice, not with his teenage hormones bouncing around like popcorn in a microwave. He didn't even try to bow this time. Attempting to save himself the embarrassment of another awkward failure.
Again, her soft laughter rang out across the range. Not a hint of mockery could be detected, however. While Aaron's skills at dealing with the opposite sex could be described as 'lacking' if not 'completely nonexistent' the gentleness of her character made her a lot less unsettling. Despite the fact she was of course a princess and could have his head lopped off for looking at her wrong.
"Is there a sport nearby I can sit quietly? I'm hoping to practice absorbing mana before I try casting the spell again" Aaron asked again trying to steer the conversation onto a subject he might be able to handle.
"Oh, you want to learn to meditate? Of course, come with me" The princess reached out nonchalantly and grabbed his wrist before leading him over to a nearby building. It had plenty of storage space for arrows and other equipment as well as several chairs and a couple thick woven mats. Daphne grabbed a pair and handed one to Aaron, before leading him to a cool quiet part of the range, eclipsed under the shade of a large oak tree.
Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron could see a concerned look on her attendant's face, ensuring he hovered near enough to intervene should he turn out to be a threat to his charge. Placing the mats down, the princess directed him to take a seat beside her. Then she held out her hand.
Cautiously taking it Aaron actually saw Malice flair behind the nearby male servant's head, anger mixed with loyalty and fear as he prepared himself to strike Aaron down if necessary. He really was an exemplary attendant though. Without his skill, Aaron would have had absolutely no idea the man was preparing himself to kill him. Barely a trace of his intentions touched his face, if anything it grew plainer and colder.
"Leave us, Francis" The cold tone coming from the sunny princess's mouth was a surprise. Perhaps he wasn't as careful at hiding his intentions as he thought.
"But My Lady, I cannot…"
"I said leave. Beru here will be able to attend to both of us. As well as protect me, should the need arise" The older woman bowed her head gratefully. Aaron wasn't sure if it was common for Royals to remember their servant's names, but this woman clearly was touched that she had.
Francis, however, was not nearly as amicable. A number of emotions flushed his face in quick succession. Embarrassment, anger, disgust, fear and finally, acceptance. Bowing low to Daphne he gave Aaron a last repulsed look before heading out the doors to the archery range.
"My apologies, he is one of my brothers' servants and can be a bit… overzealous. Please forgive him" Daphne said quietly. Aaron smiled and waved it away, indicating there was nothing to forgive.
"Now, let me explain the basics to you…"
A couple of hours passed as the princess taught Aaron about meditating, drawing in the mana in the air to replenish your own. It may not be possible to do while moving, but after he'd got the hang of it, the skill increased his MP regeneration by a huge margin. A Ding notified him the skill had been added to his list.
Skill: Meditation Level 1
Regenerates mana at a rate of 0.1 per second. User cannot move while in use. Can be upgraded.
"Thank you so much for teaching me" Aaron said after they were done. At his current level, he could regenerate his full mana in a minute. Just for training purposes even this would be more than worth it.
"Of course, it was my pleasure. Can I see the spell you used again?"
"Absolutely!"
He practiced for twenty minutes or so, putting many holes in the mannequins until there was little left remaining. The gains he had made from this trip were more than worth the afternoon spent here, as he managed to get not only Water Bullet, but also Water Magic and Meditation to level up once each. His aim had also improved dramatically.
Finally, however the sun began to go down and the pair bid each other farewell, each being led to their rooms on opposite sides of the palace.
....
"Fuck off"
"I'm not joking"
"Nah come on, there's no way you met a princess and spent the whole afternoon having her teach you new skills"
"First of all, it was only one skill. Second, I promise you, it happened"
Aaron and Jarred were back in Aarons room, talking about what had occurred during the day. Jarred had been ready to blow him out of the water with his new Flamethrower spell he'd been practicing. But after hearing about Water Bullet and a chance meeting with a beautiful mysterious princess, his story ended up taking the backburner.
"Alright well you better teach me this Meditation skill tonight. Ah come on Nilarea! Where are all my beautiful princesses?" Jarred lamented in a mocking tone, causing Aaron's face to again go crimson.
"Only princess I need is your mum, now shut up or I won't teach you jack"
"Fine, fine!" Jarred laughed.