Adventurer of Many Professions

Arya pulled out one long arrow after another from her quiver and shot them with all her might. However, after switching from the armor-piercing arrow to the double-edged barbed arrow, she found that the arrows no longer penetrated the tree trunk as deeply, only sinking in about 20 centimeters.

By the time she shot six arrows, her arms and fingers were trembling with fatigue. When she fired the seventh, she was already panting, her body slick with sweat.

She turned to Raymond, shaking her head. "I can't shoot any more. The seventh shot was too inaccurate..."

Raymond nodded and asked, "If I told you to shoot without using your full strength, do you think you could still draw the bow?"

Arya immediately shook her head. "No, my arms and fingers are numb. I can't even pull the bow now. And if I manage to, the shot will be way off."

Raymond paused, then explained briefly, "So even if you use all your strength, you can only shoot six arrows. After that, you'll be useless in battle. You won't be able to shoot at all."

Arya nodded in understanding.

Raymond continued, "This means that if you're up against a large number of monsters, you can only shoot six arrows with full power. After that, you're in trouble. You'll be vulnerable, unable to protect yourself, and your arms will be too stiff to fight back."

Arya sighed, acknowledging the truth in Raymond's words. She knew what he was getting at.

"You can't afford to use your full strength every time, especially against weaker monsters. Wasting your energy in every fight could put you in a dangerous position if you're up against something more powerful," Raymond continued.

Arya listened intently as Raymond added, "So far, you've only encountered a handful of monsters on one commission. But if we venture into places like the Moonlight Forest or Sgla Forest, there will be monsters everywhere. If that happens, even if I can protect you, it'll cost me a lot of magic. The last time I went to the Moonlight Forest with Sylph and Lorene, the monsters weren't particularly strong, but there were so many of them. By the time we encountered the crazy baboons, I had already used too much magic, and we barely made it out."

Raymond's gaze sharpened. "Now that you're with us, you can help protect the team with your long-range archery. But if you're expending all your energy against the weaker monsters, how will we manage when we face more powerful ones?"

Arya's face grew serious as she realized the gravity of the situation.

"So, you need to learn how to conserve your energy and control your strength so that each shot is efficient, saving your power while still eliminating the monsters. This requires mastery over your own strength!"

Understanding dawned on Arya, and she nodded firmly. "Yes! I understand! I'll work hard to control my power more accurately!"

Raymond smiled, but then suddenly said, "But that's not the most important thing."

Arya looked at him, confused. "Huh? That's not the most important thing? Then what is?"

Raymond chuckled lightly. "Don't forget why we're here. The real purpose of today's training is to help you learn how to control your power. It's not just about strength, it's about mastering the speed of your arrows."

Arya's expression shifted to one of realization. As an archer, she knew the ins and outs of bows and arrows, but what Raymond was getting at was clearer now.

"The key lies in speed, time, and distance," she thought.

Raymond continued, "If the target is stationary, you can manage fine. But when it's moving, things change. If you can't control the speed of your arrow accurately, your timing will be off, and you'll miss your shot."

Arya nodded, now fully grasping the importance of what Raymond was teaching her.

If the timing is off, the moving target may not end up where you're aiming, and your arrow could fly right past it. Or, the target may move past your aim, and the arrow might not have even reached it yet.

"So, the next phase of your training will first focus on helping you control your strength accurately," Raymond explained. "Once you have that, we'll work on refining your ability to judge the speed of your arrows. Only then will we move on to training with moving targets."

Arya let out a hiss as she instinctively reached up to scratch her head, but a jolt of pain shot through her arm, causing her to gasp. Her fingers and arms, still numb from the previous exertion, were now starting to regain feeling and with that feeling came soreness.

"Does it hurt?" Raymond asked, his tone soft.

"Of course it does!" Arya shot him a glare. "By the time I shot the sixth arrow, my arm was completely stiff. I couldn't feel anything anymore. The seventh arrow? I used everything I had left!"

Raymond shook his head helplessly. "Come here. I'll help you relax your muscles. Otherwise, we won't get any more training done today."

Arya huffed. "You're the one who had me shoot seven arrows with all my strength!"

Raymond chuckled, offering no defense. He knew that after pushing herself to the limit, Arya needed rest. But instead of simply telling her, he wanted her to experience the consequences firsthand. He believed that feeling the strain would leave a deeper impression, helping Arya understand that constantly pushing for maximum power would be counterproductive in the long run.

After all, Arya was no "warrior." Her endurance and recovery times were not comparable. As an "archer," she was built for precision, not prolonged battles of attrition. Raymond himself could shoot at least fifteen arrows at full strength before his arms even started to feel sore, and that's not even considering his warrior abilities.

When he'd taken the archers to clear out the sewer of mutant rats, he was able to draw the longbow to its maximum each time without feeling discomfort, partly because his warrior skills allowed him to bypass physical limits. His full strength included not just his own power but also the bonuses from other classes like craftsman, archer, and hunter. However, the physical power boost from these classes was nowhere near the magnitude of the warrior class, so Raymond rarely felt much difference.

The longbow Arya was using simply wasn't designed to withstand Raymond's full strength, which is why his guess about being able to shoot at least fifteen arrows was just an estimate and a conservative one at that.

Raymond reached out and began massaging Arya's arms. With his experience as a fighter, he knew exactly how to relieve muscle soreness.

"Hiss… Oh~" Arya couldn't help but gasp as Raymond's hands worked into her muscles. The pressure made her feel both discomfort and intense relief, a strange but pleasant mix of pain and comfort.

Her body trembled slightly as she tried to hold back any more noises, biting her lip to suppress any reaction. Her face flushed a deep red, and she tried to focus on her breathing, but it was becoming harder with each passing second.

Raymond continued massaging, his hands moving fluidly, like an artist crafting delicate strokes. Slowly, the stiffness in Arya's muscles started to ease, and they softened under his touch.

"Hmm~" Without meaning to, Arya let out a soft moan.

Raymond froze for a moment, startled by the sound. When he looked up at her, he saw her flushed face and noticed beads of sweat glistening on her forehead. Some strands of her hair clung to her damp skin.

Raymond had never seen Arya quite like this before, and for a moment, he was taken aback. His hands slowed, giving Arya a chance to catch her breath. When he realized he was staring, Arya quickly turned her face away, clearly embarrassed by the situation.

"What are you staring at?" she snapped, trying to deflect his gaze. "Don't you want your massage to be finished?"

After the massage, Arya resumed her training. Raymond gave her the task of controlling her arrow to penetrate the tree trunk to a depth of five to six centimeters.

Since Arya had three types of arrows, each with its own unique force, Raymond knew the results wouldn't be the same. The armor-piercing arrow could penetrate to the desired depth of five to six centimeters, but the heavy-head arrow and double-edged barbed arrow would not reach the same depth.

The heavy-head arrow was especially problematic. Without the Blessing of Courage, Arya would need to use all her strength just to make a small dent in the tree trunk. While the heavy-head arrow could create a hole with one strike, without the Blessing of Courage, Arya's strength was simply not enough to fully utilize its potential.

Recognizing this, Raymond advised Arya to focus only on practicing with the armor-piercing arrow and the double-edged barbed arrow. Unless she had the Blessing of Courage, the heavy-head arrow wouldn't be of much use.

The armor-piercing arrow and double-edged barbed arrow would be sufficient for most regular monsters. If a situation arose where the Blessing of Courage was needed, whether it was for a more powerful monster or a critical moment, then the heavy-head arrow could be used. But until then, Arya's training should be focused on mastering the other two.