Aiden, Oliver, and Raelia didn't need to go far from each other. Although Aiden already had his suspicions, Raelia turned out to be a divine descendant of Artemis, and techniques for the bloodlines of Artemis and Apollo were placed right next to each other. Of course, this was all relative. Each section contained a vast sea of books that would take anyone a decent amount of time to get through.
Aiden browsed through the divine techniques and magical abilities. Naturally, he found himself drifting towards the section that held divine techniques based on movement. His thinking was straightforward: since he planned to focus on archery, he would definitely be somewhat lacking in close combat.
Unlike other divine descendants who had trained their entire lives for this moment, Aiden had just been thrust into the combat world. His talent was in archery, not fighting. While his fighting ability couldn't be considered bad per se, he was definitely behind his peers in comparison.
Don't misunderstand his duel with Raelia—she was a divine descendant of Artemis and someone who didn't specialize in swordsmanship. In the eyes of a true expert, it looked like two children throwing dirt at each other. Despite this, Raelia had controlled the tempo and momentum for the entire fight.
If it wasn't for his amazing talent and newly created sword technique that had effectively stunned Raelia, his defeat would have been assured. There was also the fact that Raelia obviously had some hidden cards and didn't go all out.
The more Aiden thought about it, the more his expression darkened. At least in the early stage, this would be difficult to fix.
If there was time, Aiden would be more confident, but the one thing he lacked was time. Although the true assessment for entering Olympus Academy was still some time away, the assessments at the training camp were already looming.
Performing well could allow you to receive extra bottles of ambrosia, increasing the rate at which you gathered divinity. It could even allow you to come back to the academy with substantial benefits. With such large rewards at stake, Aiden knew he couldn't give up on the training camp's rewards. He needed immediate results, not long-term gains that would make him suffer now.
Aiden's thoughts were clear: since he would be at a disadvantage in close combat, he would just avoid it altogether. Instead, he would rely on his talent in archery to crush his opponents. Naturally, there were risks, like what to do if a true master broke through and closed the gap, but Aiden would just have to accept the stopgaps until he could take some time to focus on archery.
Besides, his newly created sword technique, while not a divine technique, was clearly not something ordinary. If he could further tap into his archery talent and spread it to other areas, his gains might be worthwhile.
Aiden didn't rush. He read through several books and finally narrowed his choice down to three techniques:
[Chariot's Blaze]
A powerful technique inspired by Apollo's chariot that drags the sun across the sky. The practitioner channels solar energy into their body, building up an intense glow before exploding forth with terrifying speed and force capable of obliterating everything in its path.
[Sunbeam Ascension]
The practitioner gathers solar energy beneath their feet, launching themselves high into the air. They then descend rapidly, delivering a powerful strike infused with solar energy to crush their opponent.
[Sunlight Shuttle]
The practitioner gathers solar energy and divinity, transforming their body into a semi-photon state, allowing them to move as fast as light, granting them illusive and erratic movements. The semi-photon state also offers partial resistance to purely physical attacks. However, in the light energy state, the practitioner would be slightly vulnerable to energy-based attacks.
Aiden looked at these descriptions and paused to think. All three techniques were different and had their own advantages.
[Chariot's Blaze] offered a powerful burst of movement as well as some defensive and even offensive capabilities when moving. The only downside would be the lack of agility when using this technique. After activating it, it would be difficult to quickly change direction and move.
[Sunbeam Ascension] was also a strong technique that offered not only strong burst movement but also great vertical mobility as well as offensive capability. The vertical capability would add an extra dimension to Aiden's movements, making them more versatile and harder to predict.
The only downside would be that with vertical movements, it's hard to make any adjustments once in the air. If used at the wrong time, instead of adding to your evasive capabilities, it would just make you a sitting duck.
[Sunlight Shuttle] was seemingly the least interesting of the three. In a sense, it was the most traditional of the movement techniques, focusing not just on fast and continuous speed but also on high agility and dodging potential.
Although it did not share any offensive capabilities, its semi-photon state did offer some levels of physical resistance. The only weakness would be that in the semi-photon state, you would become slightly vulnerable to energy-based attacks. In addition to that, any physical attacks you would want to make would require you to exit that state before continuing.
From just a simple look, this technique seemed to be the most challenging. Effective use of the technique would require one to be able to quickly enter and exit the light energy state.