I opened the doors to the training grounds and I saw a child also practicing and a woman teaching her.
"Ate! There's a new member of the Archery class!" she jumped up and down while pointing at me. She looks overly happy to see a fellow member.
"Yes, yes Rea," the woman pats her head and tried to calm her down, "It's nice to meet you, I'm Nea Martha and this is my younger sibling, Rea Martha," she said with a gentle soothing voice.
"Hello, mister!" She happily greeted me and shook my hand.
"The name's Ras Yggrel, nice to meet you."
"Yggrel? I've never heard of any nobles having that last name. Is it perhaps a ruined nobility?" Rea asked me with curiosity in her eyes.
So only nobles have last names? Another reason why Elaina is probably hooked on me and thinks I'm rich. I should really learn more about this world. Also, the name Martha sounds familiar.
"Are you guys the daughters of Duke Martha?" Nea was shocked.
"I'm quite surprised, most people scorn us if they hear our last name and realize our family." I was confused, I don't know why and I don't want to bother asking.
"I don't really mind, I don't have business with you after all," I guess they were here before one of them was kidnapped by the goblin lord in a few days.
"Then, I'll start training," I said to them and head towards the red line.
"Okay kuya Ras, I will also train!" She said with so much determination.
It felt so long since I've been called kuya. I scoffed and grabbed a bow and quiver of arrows.
I chose the 10-meter distance. I want to test out how much my accuracy increased.
...
Out of the 48 arrows I shot, 34 of them hit the target and 10 hit the bullseye. I better continue with this while I try to recreate my old skill. I kept on shooting and condensing the wind on my hands to try and create {Razor Wind} again, it's the most useful one, especially with its extreme penetration.
Hours had gone by and it was already night, the sisters already left too. I'd shot almost a few hundred arrows by now and the target was full of arrows. I also wasn't able to get the {Razor Wind} skill. It must have been deleted. But some of my skills are retained though, is it because they're already part of my body or is it because I leveled up {Basic Mana Mastery} that it didn't get deleted?
I headed back to my room and took a shower immediately. Then I lay down and meditated until morning.
Morning came, and I checked my progress in meditating...
- Meditate for 10,000 minutes (1038/10,000)
A long way to go, but how about I try to meditate while I shoot arrows, similar to being on autopilot? I head to the training grounds and Rea was there alone still practicing. I didn't want to bother her so I just grabbed a bow and arrows quickly and practice first on the 10-meter one.
"I need to achieve 100% bullseye here," I mumbled to myself.
I breathe slowly to concentrate and enter a meditative state while my body repeatedly shoots like muscle memory. It was hard to do at first, I keep getting in and out of the meditative state because of hearing different noises. But as time went on, I came to fully master it.
...
*Ding*
{Basic Mana Mastery leveled up. Lv. 3 > Lv. 4}
{Normal / Basic Mana Mastery Lv. 4: Passive}
Proficiency: Meditate for 30,000 minutes (0/30,000)
- You have learned how to fully control your mana. The efficiency of casting and control of magic increases.
I was overjoyed at the sight of leveling up my {Basic Mana Mastery}, and it seems like I'd meditated for too long that it went from Lv. 2 to Lv.4. I tried to move my body but I felt every part of my body aching and fell down. I looked at my arms and it was full of blood, my sight becomes blurry then I passed out.
I slowly opened my eyes and I see a woman beside me like a nurse checking up on me. The sounds started off faint and barely understandable then they slowly became clear along with my sight.
"Sir Ras, are you okay now?" Nea said with concern spelled out on her face.
"Where am I?" I faintly mumbled in a raspy voice.
"It's the academy's clinic, you've been out for 10 days you know. Seriously, I'm glad Rea found you or else you could've died of blood loss," She pouts in frustration and weakly punches my arm.
"Seems like I'm indebted to you guys," I tried to sit up and give a smile but I still find it hard to move my muscles.
"Ah, don't move yet, you the doctor healed you fully since he can't do it while you are unconscious cause things might go wrong if his mana goes inside your body and your body suddenly reject it." She explained to me before she ran and called the doctor.
A few minutes later an old man came in along with Nea. I was shocked.
"Are you feeling any better young man?" he asked with a boisterous tone.
"Y-you are the guard, right?" I'm confused, was he acting as a guard?
"HAHAHA YES! I'm glad you remember me!"
"You are still energetic as ever, so is the guard thing an act?"
"No! I am the guard of these walls in and out. That's why I'm also the doctor of the academy."
"I see, then can you please heal me now." I impatiently asked.
"AH RIGHT!" He hurried over and pulled me to sit down. He then drew something on my bare back and placed his hands there. He started pouring soothing mana that puts my body in pain.
"Keuk!"
"Endure it, I'm currently healing your muscles, and the pain that is stored in there is what you are feeling," he explained while he calms me down.
I felt his mana all throughout my body and in every muscle fiber, it was hard to stay calm but I still endured through it. I let out a deep breath.
"Feeling refreshed now?" he asked.
"Yes," I laughed out of relief, "With you around I can train more insanely now."
"Tsk tsk, you know I cost 50 silver per treatment?"
"WHAT? Uhh, I'm sorry I don't have enough money to pay you for this treatment."
"HAHAHHAHAHA!" Both Nea and the old man burst out laughing, "I'm just joking with you, no need to take it seriously, the treatment is free since you enrolled in the academy. Please limit your insaneness so this stuff doesn't happen again." He said to me while he is hollering.
"Can't believe you actually fell for that," Nea said to me with tears in her eyes from laughing.
"haha..." I just got played.