As per agreement, Defolta and June met up with Yolan after the conclusion of the archers' training for today.
"Right on time, Ms. Defolta." Yolan greeted with her trusty recurved bow in hand, the same bow that she used against the fight with the goblins back during her first bloody encounter with the Magical Girl.
"I'm here." Defolta sounded eager and was no doubt ready to learn, "So, master, what's the first thing in the agenda?"
"Master? Hooh, I like the sound of that, much better than ma'am as what my juniors call me." Yolan smiled, feeling quite proud of herself, "For starters, why don't you show me first what you got. I'll correct your mistakes along the way. If you don't have a bow, grab one at the nearest weapon rack just right there."
"Oh, I have a bow." It's a secret no longer when it came to her Inventory back when she revealed such an incredible feat to Commander Gregor when he pulled out Matilda's severed arm as part of the evidence to prove the Witch's death. As a result, Defolta felt no qualm when suddenly conjuring a bow with three arrows out of thin air, much to the fox-girl's surprise.
"Wow, so you can use 'Dimension Bag'!?" Yolan asked with pure excitement in her voice.
"Yeah… sure." Defolta just agreed and went with the flow, not wanting to arouse any more questions or suspicions about her ignorance as a whole. She quickly took note in her mind about the skill name and shall serve as a convenient excuse in the days to come.
"That's freaking awesome!! Wow, talk about convenience." Yolan sounded impressed, "Only a few Witches manage to do it. You must be some kind of prodigy, then!"
"I wouldn't call myself that." Defolta shook her head in disagreement, "I simply learned from the best, that's all."
"No need to be humble, Ms. Defolta! You sure are amazing." Yolan was more and more at awe by the Magical Girl in front of her, "A prodigious Witch and a mighty Warrior? What can you not do?"
"Uhm… Archery? Which is why I'm here…." Defolta stated the obvious.
"Oh, right! I completely forgot, hehe, sorry." Yolan chuckled sheepishly as if she was absent of mind.
"Am I going to be okay here?" Defolta sweat dropped at how the fox-girl was acting so carefreely despite her military background.
"Alright, let's see here." Yolan stroked her chin and eyed Defolta's bow, "A shortbow, made of pine. Easy to make, but not really the best material compared to other wood choices. It's a softwood, meaning it's not going to be as dense or strong compared to a hardwood. The bow also appears to be crafted by some kind of amateur. Do you mind telling me where you got this?"
"Plucked straight from a bandit's corpse." Defolta answered, remembering the times when she assassinated groups of bandits unaware back at the bandit camp.
"Right, no wonder. Perhaps a story for another time." Yolan said, "In any event, this bow is no good, especially when you're going to use it repeatedly for our training. It would be best to use one of our more durable bows from the racks."
"You sure know your stuff, Master." Defolta was genuinely impressed while she withdrew her pine bow back to her Inventory. All his initial worries were officially dump down to the ground right there.
"Of course I do, Captain Ayduin did not call me his best archer just for show!" Yolan beamed with pride.
After procuring a ranger bow from the rack, Defolta's training officially began, following Yolan's instructions religiously as the Magical Girl poured her every effort into learning how to properly shoot the bow.
***
The first day went adequately well for Defolta as Yolan imparted the basics of archery to her like the proper form in shooting a bow, shot sequence, the proper stance, how to properly nock an arrow, the right way of drawing the bow, and other bow related basics.
Because Defolta was quite an eager student, it did not take long for her to ingrain the basics in her mind. Of course, this does not mean that she was already an expert. But this should serve as a good foundation in applying her marksmanship to the next level.
Now, if only she could find some goblins for target practice, to see how she would fare well against moving targets coupled with the intensity of a battle.
But alas, Defolta was trapped here in camp. She unfortunately had to make do with the stationary dummy targets instead.
Yolan was also generous enough to hold a lecture about the basics of crafting a simple bow and its arrows, as well as using the right materials for the job. Aside from shooting, every self-respecting archer must be capable of crafting their own equipment as part of their survival.
Indeed, it was truly an enlightening experience for Defolta and she was really grateful for the fox-girl's teachings.
Even June was invested in the lessons and was listening intently to Yolan as well.
Not to mention, Defolta was also allowed to keep the recurve bow that she used during training. It was a respectable weapon and can also be used during the event of real combat.
After her Archery lesson for the day ended, Defolta inspected her new bow via the System, she was surprised at what it displayed.
Ranger Recurved Bow – A bow made of oak used by an Eagle Ranger. Its incredible light weight provides convenience unlike any other and as a result, you feel more agile upon using it. +5 Dexterity when equipped.
The added Dexterity certainly was a welcome addition to Defolta's growing arsenal and she nodded with satisfaction before putting it inside her Inventory. It was no doubt like night and day compared to the inferior short bow that she got from the bandits.
Defolta's lesson ended at around nine in the evening, a total of four hours of training. Both teacher and student were surprised by the time passing as they were really focused on the lessons.
While Defolta apologized for taking much of the fox-girl's precious time, Yolan was having none of that and simply smiled in response, saying that she enjoyed imparting her archery knowledge.
Like they say, time runs faster when you're having fun.
After the three took their late dinner in the mess hall, Defolta said her farewell to Yolan as she and June retired for the night in their cozy little cabin.
And just like that, the first day had passed, and Defolta was looking forward to the next part of Archery training tomorrow on her second day here.