Aiden was happy that the hostility had been dissolved, but he was uncomfortable being called an idiot and tried to defend himself. However, the more Aiden spoke, the more the pity in the girl's eyes grew.
To her, it was one thing to be stupid, but people who are stupid and unaware of it are truly the ones to avoid.
Who knows, trying to reason with them might have the opposite effect and turn you into an idiot just like them!
Realizing this, the girl shivered. She didn't dare stay any longer and patted Aiden on the shoulder, speaking in a comforting voice.
"Keep trying hard at archery; I'm sure things will work out, okay?"
"Cough!" Aiden couldn't stand it anymore and nearly choked, but by the time he had recovered, the girl had completely vanished from sight.
The girl disappeared, treating the incident as a rare and ridiculous encounter.
If the girl knew Aiden was someone who could get the hang of archery within just one day of picking up a bow, her reaction would have been completely different.
It just goes to show that Aiden wasn't the one who was crazy—his talent was!
The things he did were so outlandish and unbelievable that normal people would think you were crazy if you tried to convince them it was the truth!
...........................
The night turned into day, and Aiden was awake the next morning, preparing for their morning training. After Aiden got back from the encounter last night, he had told Oliver about his strange experience. But when Oliver heard it, he couldn't stop laughing.
"Wait, so you met a mysterious and beautiful lady, but after speaking to you, she treated you like an idiot and ran away?"
Aiden tried to explain and defend himself, but unfortunately, even Oliver wasn't on his side this time around.
"If somebody insisted that they had mastered archery in less than a day, I would look at them like they were an idiot and try to avoid them as well!"
Because of that, Aiden had a disgruntled expression on his face the entire morning. Fortunately, they were having combat-related training this morning, so Aiden didn't have to think too much and could blow off some steam.
Soon, the boys made their way to the training grounds and were greeted by the stern-faced Instructor Kyros.
"All of you will have made some progress in your training and absorption of divinity, but you should know that strength is only maximized when it is used in conjunction with the appropriate skill. Regardless of which weapon you use, regardless of which god your blood comes from, a basic mastery of weapons and close combat is imperative for a student at Olympus Academy. So, as you can guess, that's what today's training will be based on. You will be split into pairs and duel against someone as a way to temper and polish your close combat skills."
After Instructor Kyros gave the instructions, each trainee was given a specific number and told to head to a specific area to begin their close combat sparring.
Although the training ground was big, there wouldn't be enough space to have the entire cohort dueling at once. Fortunately, there was more than one training ground in the camp, so they were able to allow everyone to spar simultaneously.
Aiden was one of the lucky ones who didn't have to trek halfway across the camp to go to another training ground, as his assigned area was still there. After talking to Oliver for a while, Aiden made his way to his assigned area, but as he arrived, Aiden was left stunned. But it wasn't just Aiden—his sparring partner was equally stunned.
"It's you!" they both blurted out at the same time.
"Idiot boy."
"Wolf girl."
Aiden was about to ask more questions when he froze. "Idiot? Just what about me makes you think I'm an idiot?"
The beautiful wolf girl tilted her head to the side and blinked her beautiful blue eyes. "I would explain it to you, but you're an idiot, so I don't think you'll get it."
Hearing her say this, Aiden's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. He was ready to bring out his years of online gaming experience and curse her into oblivion, but Aiden calmed himself and took the higher ground.
"Let's introduce ourselves. It's rude to call people by strange titles, after all. My name is Aiden Evans."
"Raelia."
As they spoke, a faint, malicious air began to form between them. After all, Aiden would be lying if he said he didn't want to use this training experience to teach this little girl how to respect her peers. Raelia obviously sensed Aiden's intention and met it in kind.
The two quietly drew their wooden training swords, but before anything could happen, Aiden suddenly smiled as he spoke.
"Ah, you might think I'm an idiot because I mastered archery in a day, but just because you're not talented enough to do it doesn't mean others aren't. You shouldn't dismiss others' achievements; it just makes you look ignorant."
As Aiden spoke, there was an obvious mocking smirk on his lips.
Even though Raelia had classified Aiden as an ignorant idiot, hearing another person mock her and put down her talent and hard work greatly irritated her. When she looked at Aiden, a light snarl escaped from her mouth as she growled,
"You're noisy."
Before Aiden could get out another word, she leapt forward at him like a wild beast, swinging her sword.
Not wanting to be outdone, Aiden snorted as he stepped forward and swung his sword, ready to meet Raelia blow for blow but Aiden instantly regretted it.
"Bang!"
The two wooden swords clashed, but Aiden's expression immediately changed. He felt a terrifying power in Raelia's sword that passed through every bone in his body.
Shocked and embarrassed, Aiden could only stumble backward as he tried to control the recoil from their last clash.