11/17 Bonus chapter thanks to @Stevie57 on Ko-fi!
The next day.
After class, I headed to the training room.
“Oh? Frondier.”
“Aster.”
In front of the training room, I ran into Aster again.
Ellen was there too.
Ellen silently waved her hand in greeting.
Standing side by side like this, they definitely looked alike.
“Training right after practicals? You’re diligent, Frondier.”
“So are you.”
Aster gave an embarrassed smile.
“…Just, the reputation of you being lazy now sounds foolish.”
Hmm.
Certainly, I’m not as slow as a human sloth, I guess.
“But it seems crowded in the training room today?”
I looked around.
Clearly, it was crowded.
It’s right after the midterm exams, so some rest would be expected.
Perhaps, students of Constel are always diligent, no matter the time.
“…Frondier, you don’t know?”
Ellen uttered something cryptic.
“Pardon?”
“I thought you’d definitely know since it’s related to Frondier.”
Still puzzled, I turned my head as Aster directed his gaze somewhere.
“Look over there.”
Following her gaze, I saw the public training room.
Unlike the private training rooms I usually use, the public training room can be used by many people, and the walls are made of reinforced glass so that people outside can see inside.
It appeals to the people watching from the outside, and sometimes, they even seek feedback.
And there was Aten Terst visible inside.
Moreover, Lunia Fricell was there too.
“Aten…?”
“You were always with Aten. So, I thought you knew.”
Ellen said.
It wasn’t that we were together; it was more like Aten followed me around.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that, so I asked Aster a different question.
“Are they competing?”
“No, it’s just that people around them think it’s a competition. Both of them probably aren’t thinking anything of it.”
…Is that so?
Aster, being inherently kind and optimistic, says it so casually, but Lunia isn’t as optimistic.
Even from here, I can see Lunia glancing at Aten next to her.
Aster, can’t you see that?
“Other people watching their training might find it motivating, and it could be an opportunity for them to draw out each other’s ambition to improve, well, it’s a good phenomenon.”
Aster nodded as he said that.
“Aster, that’s too kind of a thought.”
‘And far too optimistic…!’
Inside the public training room, besides the two of them, numerous other people could be seen.
Most of them were struggling to appeal to Aten.
Otherwise, they should be faces I recognize from coming to the training room every day, but they’re all strangers to me.
“…Hmm, I need to go train.”
“Aren’t you going to watch?”
“I’ve got my hands full taking care of myself.”
And above all, I’m scared of getting caught in the crossfire.
* * *
“It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
I entered the private training room.
It’s a place I used to visit daily to improve my throwing skills, but I couldn’t come because of the midterm exams.
However, today’s visit wasn’t for throwing skills.
I picked up my smartwatch.
I looked over the notifications on the screen again.
[‘Divine’ rank weaving succeeded.]
[Your unique skill ‘Weaving’ has leveled up.]
[‘Modification’ has become possible.]
[Current modifiable option ‘Degradation’]
[Degradation: Removes one option granted to an object.]
Finally, ‘Modification,’ which I’ve been looking forward to, became possible.
The first ability of modification is ‘Degradation.’
It removes one option.
As expected, the first skill I get is quite useless.
However, for me, this time, it was the most necessary skill.
Weaving, Obsidian.
Rank – Divine
Khryselakatos
I wove Khryselakatos and checked its details.
[Khryselakatos]
• Grade: Divine
• Description: A bow made by the god of blacksmiths, Hephaestus, and given to Artemis
Ability Details >
– Women Only: Due to a request by Artemis, only women can draw the bowstring.
– Sure Hit: The arrow always hits the target aimed by the user.
Here, I degrade Khryselakatos by removing the ‘Women Only’ option.
Weaving
Weapon Modification – Degradation
Target: Khryselakatos
[Option ‘Women Only’ has been removed.]
After confirming the details, I pulled the bowstring of Khryselakatos.
“It worked.”
The bowstring that wouldn’t budge before finally moved.
It felt as if the previously rigid steel-like string was a lie.
“Alright, let’s test it.”
I also wove an Ioke and strung it on the bow.
My mana pool has increased considerably recently.
The consumption of mana is one thing, but maybe it’s because the Dragon Heart expanded it once.
Of course, it falls short of when I consumed the Dragon Heart, but it should be around the average for Constel.
This is no different from the gift Aten gave me along with my life.
I set the target-hitting to the highest difficulty as usual.
Dozens of holographic targets appeared, multiplying in number.
All of them moved at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.
Moreover, they even dodged projectiles thrown at them.
“Still, with a divine weapon, I should be able to hit a few…!”
With that thought, I released the bowstring.
I didn’t know at that time.
The bow Khryselakatos, the arrow Iocheira.
These two, as a set, were completed as a ‘Divinity’,
And I had no idea what level their combination was.
Khryselakatos
Sure Hit
Iokheira
Rainfall
The arrow shot divided infinitely into ‘Rainfall’,
And every single arrow was imbued with the ‘Sure Hit’ effect.
As a result,
Kaboom!
A foolish noise erupted as if rain was piercing through a window.
“…Huh?”
All targets were shattered.
[Target-hitting highest difficulty cleared.]
[Frondier de Roach, record updated.]
[Previous best record 31.5 seconds. Your current record updates the best record.]
[Updated record 3.14 seconds.]
“…”
What’s with 3.14 seconds.
Is it pi?
No, this isn’t the time for such leisurely thoughts.
The records in the training room are shared by everyone.
Meaning, 31.5 seconds was, before I attempted, the fastest record among all students of Constel ever.
And I just broke it.
With 3.14 seconds.
And now, this announcement isn’t just for me.
“…”
I unwittingly threw my gaze outside the training room.
I came here to avoid sparks.
But now, I have a feeling a giant fireball is coming my way.