I started watching with much more attention.
The breathing is controlled—seems like they have some martial arts skills, but nothing extraordinary since they haven't noticed me yet. Considering the number of wounds they've got, they must have fallen into multiple traps.
The man missing a hand looked the liveliest. His amputation seemed old, and he had no visible fresh injuries. The one with the deep wounds was the quietest and hadn't spoken a word, likely being dragged along by the other two to disarm traps. The last one, with a visibly traumatized left leg, had no open wounds but was clearly unable to use his leg anymore.
Okay, I should start.
From a branch about 150–170 meters away, I took an arrow, placed it on my bow without fully drawing the bowstring, and began charging it with aether.
In 7 seconds, I was ready. The arrow took on a green tint as it absorbed the aether. I drew the bowstring and released the arrow.
Archery Technique: Tornado Archery (4 ☆)
1st Stage: Guided Arrow
The arrow gained additional speed as air currents directed themselves toward the prisoners, enhancing its trajectory. It hit its target—the man missing a hand. The force caused him to lower his head as though bowing under pressure, and he was on the verge of collapse. In his chest was an arrow, half embedded and half protruding.
"No!"
These were his last words before he fell lifeless to the ground.
Movement Technique: Wind Kingdom (4 ☆)
1st Stage: Territory Formation – 4m
I jumped diagonally to the ground and immediately started running to change positions. After covering about 200 meters to the left—while maintaining the same distance from them—I climbed another tree using the movement technique.
No, you bastards don't get away that easily.
The two remaining prisoners chose different tactics. One hid behind a tree, hindered by his injured leg, while the other started running in the opposite direction of where I had released the arrow.
"Who are you, fucker? Come out and fight like a man!"
That's a weak argument.
I began preparing another arrow when I noticed the air currents around one of them converging toward his body.
He's using a breathing technique!
I paused, carefully observing his movements before deciding not to react hastily with another technique. Instead, I waited.
"Come to me, motherf****r," he yelled.
Does this ever actually work on anyone?
"Are you afraid to show yourself because you're so ugly, or are you just a little chicken?"
Once again, I shifted my position, carefully maneuvering to bring him into my line of sight.
Here you are, handsome, I thought, spotting him clearly now.
He had minor armor covering his hands and feet. Time was slipping by, and the aether current around the third prisoner was fading fast. Not wanting him to escape, I decided to act quickly.
Breathing Technique: Tempest Flow (4 ☆)
2nd Stage: Wind Acceleration
Mana Armis: Left Foot + Hand – 2nd Form Condensation
The arrow was already charged. I aimed and released:
Archery Technique: Tornado Archery (4 ☆)
1st Stage: Guided Arrow
The arrow struck true, piercing his skull and eliminating him instantly.
Without deactivating my breathing technique, I sprinted after the third prisoner, determined not to fall into a state of fatigue.
After covering more than 500 meters, he came back into view. But something was off—he wasn't running anymore. He stood there, almost as if he were waiting for me. Unsure of the situation, I stopped about 200 meters away and began charging my next arrow with aether.
When I halted, he began sprinting toward me. Sensing his intentions, I bolted to the right, ensuring he remained in my visual field.
Wind currents began converging around him, and his armor materialized fully. His speed surged dramatically. Forced to run at my own maximum speed, I found him steadily closing the gap between us.
Archery Technique: Tornado Archery (4 ☆)
1st Stage: Guided Arrow
I released the arrow in his direction, but he dodged it with relative ease. Not wasting time, I prepared a fourth arrow, which now took only 4 seconds to ready.
The distance between us shrank alarmingly fast. With just 50 meters left, I had the fourth arrow prepared but chose to hold my fire, unwilling to waste the shot.
When he was a mere 20 meters away, I suddenly stopped. My pursuer, unable to react in time, continued charging forward at full speed.
I turned my entire body to face him just as he closed in, and when there were only 4 meters between us—
Movement Technique: Wind Kingdom (4 ☆)
1st Stage: Territory Formation – 6m Radius
I launched myself into the air. Now we were back-to-back, separated by only 2 meters. Executing an acrobatic maneuver, I bent my back to its limit, aiming my bow and locking my gaze on him, ready to deliver the decisive strike.
Archery Technique: Tornado Archery (4 ☆)
1st Stage: Guided Arrow
In a fleeting moment, I released the arrow and fell to the ground, rolling several times before regaining my balance. As I stood, I saw the arrow embedded in his leg, pinning him to the ground.
"You f****r!" he yelled angrily.
Despite his injury, he yanked the arrow out of his leg and began approaching me again. His speed was slower now, his face twisted in pain.
I grabbed the fifth arrow and started preparing it. However, I felt the circuit within me wavering—eight minutes had already passed since I activated it. I was nearing my previous record of twelve minutes, but that was achieved in a calm, controlled situation.
After stabilizing the circuit, I suddenly noticed a hand lunging toward my face.
Movement Technique: Wind Kingdom (4 ☆)
1st Stage: Territory Formation – 6m Radius
I activated the technique instantly, shifting to his back while simultaneously nocking the arrow onto my bowstring. I released it, though this shot lacked the power of the technique since I hadn't charged it with enough aether.
Still, the arrow struck its mark, piercing his forearm as he raised it to shield his head.
"AAAAAAAARGH!" he screamed before leaping toward me.
I sidestepped to the left just in time, and he crashed face-first into the ground. Before he could recover, I released another arrow, this time into his other arm. His armor dissipated completely, and he began breathing heavily and erratically.
Drawing another arrow, I pointed it at him and demanded, "Who are you?"
"That one who's f***ing your mom," he spat back with venom in his voice.
Not willing to waste time on meaningless insults, I released the arrow before he could say another word.
Moments later, a familiar voice spoke from behind me:
"Good job."
I turned to see Mr. Evans standing there.
"Was this all organized by you?" I asked.
"Exactly," he confirmed.
"Am I adapting to killing people?"
"In part, yes. But also to how you handle situations involving potentially dangerous individuals."
"And how did I do?"
"Five out of ten."
"Huh? Why?"
"The most correct approach would have been to ignore them entirely and avoid interaction."
"Then how am I supposed to adapt to murder?"
"I would give you the order to kill them, but that's different. In such a situation, I would already know the full context, and you would interact only if absolutely necessary."
"I could have interacted even now."
"Perhaps. But I wasn't entirely sure you understood."
"You weren't sure?"
"I was about 70–80% sure. It wasn't likely they knew your position or could survive the traps to reach you. But anything is possible—after all, I found you."
"Fine, then I'll give myself a six out of ten."
"That's still poor. The ideal approach would have been to eliminate them all at once or individually, without alerting the others—cleanly and precisely."
"But I still can't do that!"
"You must learn."
Wonderful…
"How are you feeling?"
"About what?"
"About killing three people."
"I know what I've done, and I feel nothing for them."
"Maybe they had families or loved ones."
"I have people who are dear to me too. That doesn't mean I should give up my life for theirs."
"Perhaps there was a way to resolve it without killing."
"Maybe. But I don't know. This is how our world works. If I'm constantly worried about others, I'll lose my own life."
"Fine. Now clean up the mess you made. Retrieve the arrows and bury the bodies."
"Why? The forest animals can handle it."
"Take responsibility for your actions. You killed them—no one else will clean up after you."
"Ugh, fine…"
By sunset, I finally finished. When I returned home, my Master greeted me with yet another task.
"It's time for your evening run."
Wonderful. I wasted hours cleaning up, and now I've lost time for meditation. I keep confirming that my birthday is the worst day of the year.
Kail had turned 15.