Milly stood next to the other adventurers, steadily firing her bow at the wooden target. She had given up trying with the target dummies and moved back to trying her hand at a much easier target. The wooden targets were closer to fire at and much larger too. The other adventurers surrounding her had been much nicer as well.

 

“You got it, Llewel!” One of them shouted. “We believe in you!”

 

Llewel readied his bow and pulled back on its string. He let loose and watched as his arrow made a pathetic journey straight into the ground. “Ah darn!”

 

“Hey at least you shot it this time!” The adventurer noted. “You’re gonna get it down eventually. We just know it!”

 

Milly smiled while she listened on. While these other adventurers weren’t anywhere near as good as Ailred, they were much nicer and more inspiring than he was. Where Ailred was judgemental, they were forgiving and motivating.

 

Milly notched her bow and let loose an arrow. It soared through the air and struck the target, but not nearly close enough to the center.

 

Qyria shook her head. “Good but not good enough…”

 

The class master wandered off back towards Ailred to check on him.

 

“Don’t worry about her,” one of the adventurers said to her. “She’s one tough person to please but we’ll get there soon enough. I’m Ioelena by the way.”

 

“Milread but you can call me Milly,” Milly replied. “It’s nice to meet you.”

 

“Likewise.” Ioelena focused her bow and shot towards her target. Her arrow landed its mark, coming close to the center.

 

“Wow, that was pretty good!” Milly complimented. “The master must like your skills, huh?”

 

“Not really,” Ioelena said. “Ailred is the only one she seems to like around here. He’s pretty good.”

 

“Yeah but he’s completely full of himself…”

 

“You got that right, sister,” Ioelena noted. “Unfortunately he’ll be promoted to Archer soon while the rest of us will train for weeks in order to get to his level.”

 

“Does it really take that long to become an Archer?” Milly asked.

 

“I’m afraid so,” Ioelena answered. “It’s quite a long time to spend here but it’s worth it if an Archer is what you truly want to become.”

 

“It is,” Milly responded. “I don’t think the Thief path is right for me.”

 

“Yeah me neither,” Ioelena said. 

 

Milly notched her bow again and fired another arrow. This time it flew well past the target, landing in the trees. “Darn. So a few weeks, huh?”

 

“Yep, at least,” Ioelena replied. “That’s usually the case for most of the people that come here. Every now and then you get a case like Ailred where you have someone who’s just really talented.”

 

“There’s no other way to become an Archer?” Milly asked as she fired another.

 

“Well there is one but you can pretty much rule that possibility out,” Ioelena claimed.

 

“Why is that?”

 

Ioelena lowered her bow and turned around. She faced towards a small cliff that stretched out far beyond the training camp. 

 

“Look up there.” Ioelena pointed to the top of the cliff, high above the fog, where a single target dummy rested.

 

Milly looked to see a single arrow embedded into the face of the target dummy. No other arrow came even close to the dummy, let alone the cliff. Thousands of arrows lay within the forest where a great many adventurers had attempted the shot.

 

“Land an arrow on that target from here and she’ll instantly approve you for an Archer,” Ioelena announced. 

 

Milly’s eyes lit up with disbelief. “What?! But that’s impossible! How can someone even shoot their bow that far?”

 

“I’m not sure but they say only one Scout in the history of this place has ever landed that shot,” Ioelena explained. “You can tell that much from the only arrow sticking out of it.”

 

“Who?” Milly asked. “Who can accomplish such a feat?”

 

“I’m not sure,” Ioelena answered. “But whoever they are, I can only imagine what they can do with a bow nowadays…”

 

“Impressive isn’t it?” Another adventurer asked Milly. “The arrow atop the cliff, I mean.”

 

“Yes it certainly is,” Milly answered. “Impressive might actually be a bit of an understatement. More like impossible…”

 

“Yeah that’s what I first thought too when I arrived,” the adventurer said. “But then I got to thinking about that arrow sticking out of it. Someone made that shot…”

 

“And if someone’s done it already,” Ioelena added. “Then it can be done again!”

 

“Exactly!” The adventurer smiled and reached their hand out. “I’m Koreib!”

 

“Milly!” She responded. “Nice to meet you all.”

 

Milly raised her bow and fired another arrow. It landed firmly near the bullseye mark. 

 

“Hey! That was really good!” Koreib commented.

 

“Yeah, you almost got the bullseye that time!” Ioelena added. “Way to go!”

 

“Thanks!” Milly smiled as she lifted her bow again. She began firing more arrows into the training target. Though her next few arrows wouldn’t come as close to the center, her marks still managed to land.

 

However, that would soon change as Qyria began to wander back over. Perhaps it was her presence that had caused Milly to feel a bit uneasy but her shots began to falter a bit. 

 

Milly notched her bow and let loose an arrow. It went soaring over the target, landing into a tree beyond it.

 

“Based on that performance, you’re going to be here for awhile,” Qyria observed. “You’d best start showing me something soon, kid.”

 

Qyria crossed her arms and watched on as Milly began to notch another arrow. The other adventurers could see the frustration in her eyes as she missed another shot.

 

“Darn!” Milly scoffed. “C’mon you had it earlier…”

 

“It’s ok, Milly,” Ioelena comforted her. “You can do it!”

 

“Hmph.” Qyria pulled her bow from her back and retrieved several arrows from her quiver. “Maybe if I show you all how it’s done then you can all show me something in return. Let me show you how it’s done! All of you stand back!”

 

The Scouts all dispersed as they watched Qyria step forward with each of the arrows notched on her bow. She aimed it towards the targets, with the arrows lined up horizontally. “Spread Shot!”

 

The arrows each shot forth in different directions, bursting through the air. Each one pierced through the thick fog and landed directly into the bullseye of each target.

 

“You see?” Qyria secured her bow back onto her backside. “If I can do it then so can you! It just takes practice and the proper gear.”

 

Milly glanced down at her bow again. It was worn and beyond ready for replacing. She carried with her the very same bow that she had received back in Novalgus. However, regardless of whether Qyria said was true or not, this is what Milly had. There was no turning back to the city now.

 

Milly was here, prepared and ready to take on the trials of her class advancement. Considering all she had to do was impress her class master, her task was fairly trivial. Even though Qyria remained present, Milly began to find a new found inspiration.

 

The motivated Scout turned her gaze up towards the lone target tummy that was mounted upon the cliff. It towered high above their sights, watching over them like a guardian. “It can be done…and if they can land that shot…then I can land this one…”

 

Milly turned back towards the wooden target and began to notch yet another arrow. She pulled back on the bowstring and glared deep into the heart of the bullseye. That was her target and she was determined to land her mark. Milly let loose the bowstring and listened as she heard her bow snap in two. It crackled and popped like a twig in her hands and the arrow fumbled to the ground.

 

“Oh no…” Ioelena brought a hand to her mouth.

 

“Aww that’s not good,” Koreib commented. 

 

Milly turned to her class master with her broken bow in hand. The look upon Qyria’s face reflected that of sheer disappointment. 

 

“Like I said before, it takes both practice and the proper gear.” Qyria shook her head. “Without the proper bow, you’ll never develop the appropriate skills that it takes to become an Archer. I’m afraid until you can come back with one, you are no longer welcome here.”

 

“B-but!” Milly attempted to persuade her.

 

“No buts!” Qyria interrupted. “This place is not a crafting station nor is this a weapon shop. Each and every individual must come here prepared. Archers do not arrive at the scene without a bow! They must already have one ready with a stack of arrows!”

 

“Here, Milly, you can use mine,” Ioelena offered.

 

“No!” Qyria stopped her. “Were neither of you listening to me? Do you expect to just walk out into the face of danger and expect someone to hand you what you need? That is not how the world works, my dear child. Leave this place and return when you have what is needed.”

 

Milly’s eyes sunk to the ground and her head lowered. “I understand…I’ll leave now…”

 

“Milly…wait…” Ioelena reached out to her.

 

“Let her go, Ioelena,” Qyria placed a hand on her shoulder, halting her. “This is an important lesson that each of you needs to take to heart. Here, it may not seem like an issue for your bow to snap in two. However, in the heat of combat, such a thing spells out certain death for even the most experienced of adventurers. Each and every one of you needs to take heed to what happened here today. There are three things that an Archer needs to survive in this world: a proper bow, a sizable supply of arrows, and keen precision. Take any of those out of the equation and you have a dead Archer on your hands.”

 

Milly continued to slowly make her way out of the training camp and back into the forest. She could still hear the words of Qyria ring through her head and the class master continued her speech, utilizing Milly’s failure as a means to educate the other adventurers. Though Qyria’s words stung, they managed to open Milly’s eyes to the reality that she was refusing to face. She would need more than a motivated spirit to make it through the trials ahead.