Milly slowly began to ascend from the newly formed black pool that appeared back on the pathway she had traveled earlier. She reached her arm out and began to pull herself up from the portal with the help of the dirt path. Milly lifted herself from it and stood up on her own two feet.

 

“Well…time to head back.” Milly turned towards the direction of the training camp and began walking.

 

Milly peered down at her new bow as she made her way back. She wondered what unique abilities this bow possessed. 

 

“Khanjii claimed that Mori was the best Archer around but he also said that he never used this bow,” Milly observed. “Maybe it was just used for ceremonial purposes and there’s nothing special about it…”

 

Milly thought long and hard, continuing her stride as she approached the training camp. Though the soothing melody of the meadow had left her, the wonderful feeling that its presence had brought still remained. With it, she was able to push out her negative thoughts.

 

“Either way, I can’t give up now,” Milly declared. “I owe it to Zayd and Ivory to give it my all. At the very least I can try!”

 

Milly began to increase her pace, eventually bursting into a full on sprint. She ran along the dirt path, tracing her steps all the way back to the training camp. Milly arrived at the site to see the other adventurers steadily firing away at their targets. Ioelena, Koreib, and Llewel stood amongst a few others as they pelted their targets with arrows. Though they had been at it for what felt like a few hours, they hadn’t appeared to have improved much.

 

Milly turned towards Ailred, who was confidently preparing another shot. While Milly had hoped to see the others moving forward as Archers, Qyria attention only seemed to be focused on him. While their class master would move back towards the others from time to time in order to give them pointers, it was never for long. Most of Qyria’s time was spent praising Ailred for his display of skill. While it was frustrating, Milly had to hand it to him. Ailred was good.

 

Milly slowly approached the camp as she brought her sprint to a sluggish pace. The others looked over to see her walking up and much to her surprise, they began gawking at her. Each of them had seemingly been intrigued by the sight of her new bow.

 

“Woah look at Milly,” Ioelena pointed out. “Look what she’s got in her hands.”

 

“Is that a new bow?” Llewel asked.

 

“Sure looks to be one,” Koreib answered. 

 

Ailred burst into an excited laughter as he landed another shot on the far training dummy. 

 

“Aha! I did it again!” Ailred shouted. “That’s number fourteen!”

 

“Very good work indeed, Ailred,” Qyria praised him. “You’re on your way to swiftly proving your worthiness of becoming an Archer.”

 

As Milly approached, the sounds of her footsteps made them aware of her presence. They turned to her and saw her bow. 

 

“What’s this?” Qyria took notice. “You’ve returned already?”

 

“That’s right and I’m ready to continue,” Milly declared.

 

“Hmph!” Ailred scoffed. “What nonsense is this?! That bow looks too well designed! You can’t just bring that thing back here like this!”

 

“Actually she can!” Ioelena interrupted. “Master said an Archer needs three things! The way I see it, she brought back what she was missing.”

 

“Ioelena is right,” Qyria declared. “Part of an Archer’s journey may involve you facing unpredictable scenarios. Regardless of how well your bow is made, situations may arise where you lose it. Having the ability to quickly come back into the fight with a weapon is quite a useful feat. As Ioelena mentioned, an archer needs three things to survive in this world: a proper bow, a sizable supply of arrows, and keen precision.”

 

“Heh, she doesn’t have all of those though,” Ailred snickered. “You’re still missing keen precision and without it you’ll never be as good as me! You can keep your shiny new bow but you’ll be stuck here with those losers until you get better. And while you’re stuck practicing, I’ll have already risen to the ranks of Archer!”

 

Milly glared back at him as he began to burst into a mocking laughter. She tightened her grip on her bow and reached back to retrieve an arrow from her quiver. Milly notched her bow and began walking towards them.

 

“Oh what are you gonna do? Miss another shot!” Ailred continued to tease her. “Go ahead! Show us all just how inept you are!”

 

Milly proceeded past him and peered out into the open field of target dummies. It was the same one that Ailred had been practicing on all morning. She lifted her bow and aimed it towards the furthest one that still held fourteen of Ailred’s arrows.

 

Ailred began to holler with joyous laughter as he watched her. “You’re going to go for my target?! Ahahaha! I can’t wait to see this!”

 

Milly steadied her bow and focused her sight on the target. However, as Ailred’s mocking laughter filled her ears, she began to think back upon the meadow. She remembered Khanjii’s short but sweet words reminiscing upon his dear old friend. Milly recalled his claim of Mori being the best in the land and so she lifted her eyes even higher.

 

By now the morning fog had cleared and the cliff that stood over them in the far distance revealed itself to her. There, high above them all, was the single target dummy that was so out of place. It was mounted in a spot that was seemingly impossible to reach. Why would anyone place that there, she wondered to herself. 

 

“Look at her!” Ailred mocked her as the others gathered around. “She’s beginning to choke!”

 

The arrow that was embedded into the head of the dummy caught her eye. Suddenly, the soothing song from the strange beings she had met earlier began to fill her head once again. Though the song itself was not present, its warm reminder rang off throughout her mind. 

 

Milly lifted her bow even higher, aiming it high towards the sky.

 

“What?” Ailred grinned as he chuckled to himself. “She’s gone crazy now! What are you aiming for? The sun?!”

 

Milly took in a deep breath and slowly let her lungs decompress.

 

Qyria squinted her eyes as she took notice of what Milly was aiming for. “What are you doing, kid?”

 

“You’ve got this, girl…” Ioelena held her hands together as she whispered. “You can do it…”

 

“C’mon, Milly…” Koreib stepped forward, raising his fists high. “We believe in you…”

 

Milly pulled back on her bowstring, drawing the arrow back towards her. She placed her sights on the target dummy that lay mounted far beyond their reach. With a hopeful mind and a motivated spirit, she let loose her bow and watched as the arrow soared through the sky. 

 

Ailred’s mocking laughter quickly turned to silence as his mouth dropped. Ioelena and Koreib looked on as the arrow continued to fly high through the air, far above the forest top. Through the clouds and beyond the horizon, Milly’s arrow soared like a pursuing falcon with its eyes locked intensely upon its prey. 

 

They all watched intently as the arrow struck the target dummy, sending it waving around into a wild frenzy. Qyria’s eyes shot open as the dummy flailed around in the wind, an arrow resting firmly next to the existing one.

 

“Wh-what…,” Ailred muttered.

 

Suddenly, the others began to scream out into a cheerful praise as they ran over to Milly. Koreib and Llewel lifted her off her feet and placed her on their shoulders. The others joined in, jumping up and down as they complimented her on her achievement.

 

“No!” Ailred shouted. “This doesn’t prove anything! That bow is fixed! You couldn’t make that shot without it!”

 

“Quiet down, Ailred,” Qyria interrupted. “As far as I’m concerned that bow is fair use…”

 

Milly was lowered to the ground by her fellow Scouts as Qyria slowly approached her. Qyria reached out her hand upon arrival and gestured for Milly to hand over her weapon. Milly obliged and allowed her to inspect it.

 

“This bow…it’s quite well made indeed,” Qyria acknowledged. “I must admit I am certainly intrigued as to where and how you acquired such a well designed bow but that does not matter.”

 

Qyria handed the weapon back to Milly. The class master turned back towards the target dummy that was mounted upon the cliff and shook her head in disbelief.

 

“No…it matters not,” Qyria declared. “For a shot like that has not been made since before I was born and one such as that is more than enough to impress me, my child. You, Milly, are hereby eligible to accept my training to become an Archer.”

 

“What?!” Ailred cried out. “But what about me?! I’m the best Scout here!”

 

“You may be good, Ailred,” Qyria noted. “But Milly here possesses something far beyond the three traits I mentioned before. You see, kids, there lies within some adventurers a rare and unique trait that cannot be found in most…Milly here is most special indeed.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?!” Ailred questioned. “What exactly is this unique trait that she possesses? Tell me so that I may obtain such a thing!”

 

“You could never obtain something as precious as Milly has, Ailred,” Qyria explained. “No…something like that cannot be found, it is something that finds you. I speak of destiny, itself.”

 

“Destiny?! That’s ridiculous,” Ailred chuckled loudly. “You’ve lost your mind, you old bat!”

 

Qyria quickly turned towards him, her eyes piercing him with a fierce gaze. “You heard me, boy! It is destiny that compels this girl to move forward in the way that she has! In such a short time that she arrived here she has experienced both failure and humility; two very important lessons that one should learn in life! Lessons that one such as yourself has obviously failed to grasp. That is why you lack the ability to impress me well enough, Ailred!”

 

Ailred’s mocking laughs quickly turned to silence as her words pierced even deeper than her gaze. They spoke a truth that struck him like never before. Ailred was now stuck in an embarrassing silence, forced to now reflect on his actions.

 

Qyria turned back towards Milly. “Now, then. I think it’s time for everyone but Milly here to depart back to the lodge for the day. You’ve all worked long and hard for days now, I think it's time we call it a short day today. We can pick it back up again tomorrow.”

 

The adventurers began to say their goodbyes to the class master and Milly as they gathered their belongings. Words of praise and cheer filled the area as everyone except Ailred had something nice to say to Milly. Soon, the area would be depleted of everyone except Qyria and Milly as the others left to return to the lodge.

 

“Congratulations on making it this far, Milly,” Qyria complimented her. “No one has progressed this quickly in quite a long time. And an even longer time since a feat like the one you did today was pulled off.”

 

Milly nodded her head in response.

 

“As of this moment I now accept you as my pupil to be trained as an Archer,” Qyria announced. “Do you accept?”

 

“I do,” Milly answered. “I’m ready to accept your training!”

 

“Good. Now watch and learn.” Qyria lifted her bow with several arrows notched and aimed towards the field of target dummies. “You’ve already seen what an Archer’s Spread Shot can do. Now witness what the alternate variant of that skill can accomplish. Arrow Rain!”

 

Instead of firing the arrows in a horizontal fashion like she did before, this time she fired them vertically into the air. Milly watched as the arrows came tumbling down in a linear manner, striking a few dummies that were lined up.

 

“Amazing!” Milly shouted out. “You struck multiple targets just like before!”

 

“Exactly,” Qyria replied. “It’s up to you to decide which one to utilize as each one serves to fulfill a different purpose. Each skill is unique and tackles a different scenario. For example, your Long Shot can now be upgraded into a Distant Missile that grants you even more power than before. Or if you prefer to trade some of that power with range then you can use Expansive Range instead. Watch and observe.”

 

Qyria stepped forward and aimed her bow up high. She retrieved an arrow from her quiver and notched it to her bow, pulling back on the bowstring.

 

Milly stared back in confusion as it appeared she was aiming for the target dummy on the cliff.

 

“Extensive Range!” Qyria shot forth her arrow and watched as it flew through the air, high above the treetops.

 

Though the arrow did not make it anywhere near the target dummy, it had still achieved its purpose in displaying the range of the ability.

 

“I don’t know how in the world you managed to land a shot like that but that's as far as my ability will go and it’s the longest reaching skill in an Archer’s arsenal,” Qyria detailed. “I can only imagine what it can do when placed in your hands.”

 

Qyria turned away from Milly and began walking out into the field of dummies. She surrounded herself by three of them. 

 

“Before, you utilized your Strafe to dodge your enemy while performing an attack in the process,” Qyria began to illustrate. “However, now you can use Daring Escape to do the same thing against multiple enemies. Watch and observe.”

 

Qyria lowered her stance closer to the ground and began to glow with an energetic aura. She notched three separate arrows to her bow then immediately leapt into the air. 

 

“Daring Escape!” She shot forth the arrows, each of them striking her targets below. Qyria landed safely to the side of where she launched herself, facing her targets. “This ability will put you in an advantageous position to strike your targets again, if need be.” 

 

“Wow…” Milly observed in sheer delight as she took in her newfound knowledge. “That is simply amazing…”

 

“In contrast to that, if your enemy happens to approach you from behind rather than just outright surround you, then you can utilize Audacious Retreat instead. This will allow you to utilize the power of your bowshot to project you forward, pushing you even further from your pursuing enemies while also firing a shot at them. It’s more favorable when you’re being chased.”

 

“I see,” Milly acknowledged. “I’ll remember them both.”

 

“Additionally you may have used your Falcon’s Reach in the past to extend the range of your arrows,” Qyria detailed. “However, now you can utilize Eagle’s Dominance to obtain not only more reach but gain additional attack power for your bow too. If you prefer to trade a bit of that power and range for a bit more cunning then you may use Raven’s Shroud instead. This will help you to blend into the shadows around you, drawing the focus of your enemy away from you.”

 

“That would definitely help out in a pinch,” Milly noted.

 

“Absolutely it would,” Qyria replied. “As far as the last two abilities go, those will be something that you must discover for yourself. As you remember, a Scout must choose between the path of an Archer or the path of a Thief. The same is true for an Archer. You must also choose between two paths: the path of the Ranger or the path of the Sharpshooter.”

 

“The path of a Ranger…” Milly’s eyes brightened with intrigue. “That was my father’s choice.”

 

“Yes but that is far beyond your reach for the time being,” Qyria explained. “For now you must focus on mastering the Archer class before you can set your sights upon something further. I do believe that someday you shall achieve such a thing but for now, just enjoy being an Archer…”

 

“I will, master!” Milly gleefully responded. “I’ll practice everyday and become better!”

 

“I’m sure you will, Milly.” Qyria smiled back at her. “Do you have any questions for me before I wrap this up?”

 

“Just one…” Milly lifted her gaze towards the cliff. “The other Scout who made the shot on the dummy up there. Do you know anything about them or who they were?”

 

“Only a name. I’ve heard very little of the tales but from what I remember it was an individual who went by the name of Mori,” Qyria said to her. “I’m afraid that is all I can offer you.” 

 

“Mori…” Milly’s eyes sparkled with excitement. 

 

“Your training with me is complete and so I hereby declare that you, Milly the Scout, shall be henceforth known as Milly the Archer!” Qyria announced.

 

With that being said, Milly had achieved what seemed to be an impossible feat in order to impress her class master and achieve her advancement. Though the journey was a short one, she felt it had been an impactful one. She arrived at her destination earlier that day, unprepared for the venture ahead. However, with the help of a friend, she was able to overcome the challenges that laid before her.