Chapter 320: There is a Reason Behind Strength (1)

Ten people gathered at the Second Training Grounds. The three brothers Myle, Anis, and Taragon. Sefira’s one and only magic archer Katherine. The commanders of the Sacred Order of Sefira, Order of the Star, and Order of the Galaxy. Mizar and Pekda of the Seven Stars of the North. Lastly, Elder Panir. All of them were key figures of Sefira.

Keter, who had summoned them, was leisurely warming himself by a campfire inside the igloo with Daat.

“You crazy bastard! You dragged us out in this weather, and you’re sitting in a warm place just to watch?”

Panir snapped angrily and tried to enter the igloo, but the ground rose and blocked the entrance.

Using the power of the Terra Ring, one of the Five Element Relics, to control the terrain, Keter created a small gap and replied, “I said it was first come, first serve for five people. Did you make it into the top five?”

Katherine, who had arrived fifth, gave up her spot. “Yes. Elder Panir arrived exactly fifth. I know because I arrived sixth.”

In truth, Panir had arrived sixth at the igloo just a second too late.

The igloo entrance opened and Keter gestured to the people outside. “The first five can come in. The rest of you can listen from out there.”

“

Ahem!

”

Thanks to being nearby, Myle had arrived first. He cleared his throat and entered the igloo, followed by Mizar, Anis, and Taragon.

“Katherine, there’s no need to pity me. You go in,” Panir said to Katherine.

Despite Panir’s refusal, Katherine firmly pushed his back and replied, “This has nothing to do with pity. I’m doing this purely for my own training. I would’ve yielded no matter who it was, even if it wasn’t you, Elder Panir. So please, quickly head inside.”

“

Hm

...”

However, Panir could neither easily accept nor refuse. Accepting would wound his pride as an elder, and refusing meant enduring the cold.

“Three, two...”

As Keter grew impatient and started counting, Katherine panicked and shoved Panir’s back even harder. Panir could have gone along with it as if giving in, but he also held his ground.

“If you won’t go in, how could I possibly go?”

It was a deeply moving statement, but the igloo entrance closed without mercy.

“From now on, I am the instructor, and you are trainees. Anyone with complaints can leave now.”

Keter’s voice was colder than the brutal cold itself.

Of course, no one left. It was widely rumored that Keter’s training was ruthless and that it was undeniably effective. He never held back on elixirs, and he was the one who opened a new horizon in archery. Not only that, but he was also the one who had passed on the advanced technique known as Heavenly Strength. Moreover, Panir, known as the proudest in Sefira, had come, so who among them could possibly refuse this opportunity?

“No one wants to back out? Let me warn you in advance. You might die. I’ll do my best to keep you alive, but even I can’t save you if your head gets blown off.”

To forget the cold, the vice-commander of the Order of the Galaxy cheerfully said, “Getting our head blown off...

Haha

, are you really trying to scare us that badly?”

But at that moment, thread veins appeared across his cheek.

“

Huh?

”

Feeling a warm sensation on his cheek, he froze in confusion. When he touched it just in case, blood smeared across his fingers.

“The arrow I just fired is the arrow that will be shot at you, and also the speed you’ll need to reach. Next time, I won’t be firing carelessly like now since I don’t want to stay in this cold for more than a week either.”

“A-an arrow passed by just now?”

“The one who just spoke, what place did you arrive in?”

“Tenth...”

“Then from now on, you’re Number 10. Same goes for the rest of you. You’ll be called by numbers, not names. Additionally, you will follow my lead without question as your instructor. Anyone who has problems with that can leave. Understood?”

“Y-yes, understood.”

“Keep your answers short and sharp!”

“Yes, sir!”

Number 10 felt no shame being taught by Keter, who was far younger than him for good reason. He hadn’t even felt the arrow graze his cheek moments ago and still had no idea where it was fired from, or when it had passed by. He only realized he had been attacked after the blood appeared.

He had stood at the front lines as vice-captain during the Family War and kingdom battle. By the principle of fighting with death in mind, he had achieved phenomenal growth. His rank had instantly increased from five-star Intermediate to Upper. With just two battles, barely over a month in total, the wall between Intermediate and Upper which he hadn’t been able to cross through decades of training had been shattered through real combat.

Because of that, his confidence had soared. However, he realized something after experiencing Keter’s arrow just now. He had been a big fish in a small pond. And the others were no different.

He just shot an arrow?

I was right beside, but I felt nothing at all.

There wasn’t even a motion of shooting an arrow.

Those outside the igloo weren't able to see anything, but the shock among those inside was even greater.

Can we really learn to do something like that?

Grab a bow, nock an arrow, draw the string, aim at the target, and release. Shooting an arrow inevitably required these five steps in order. But for Keter, none of that existed. From grabbing an arrow to releasing the string, he had overturned the very concept of archery itself.

“Do you think it’s impossible?”

No one answered Keter.

“Do not answer me with silence.”

Anis and Taragon, whose desire for power was stronger than anyone else’s, spoke on behalf of the group.

“I can’t even imagine doing something like it.”

“I don’t even have a clue where to begin.”

Keter nodded in return. “That’s right. You can’t do it like I can. Katherine, even you, who learned to wield Magic Archery, are no exception. Magic Archery alone isn’t enough to use the Limitless Archery that I wield.”

With shining eyes, Taragon asked, “Instructor, does that mean you intend to teach us Limitless Archery?”

“You can’t learn Limitless Archery as it’s not a matter of talent. You need to have perfect control over both aura and mana, and without Ein, the power that fuses the two, Limitless Archery is incomplete.”

Having decided to pass on Limitless Archery to Sefira, Keter revealed information about Ein without hesitation.

“But that doesn’t mean it won’t help you. Because the foundation of Limitless Archery is Zodiac Archery,” Keter added.

“B-but that doesn’t make sense, does it? The foundation of Limitless Archery is Zodiac Archery?”

Everyone was shocked and horrified, and that was only natural as Keter’s Limitless Archery was an independent archery art. It wasn’t archery he learned from Sefira, so naturally, he had never learned Zodiac Archery either. No one had ever taught it to him.

“Are you saying you already knew Zodiac Archery before you even came to Sefira?!” Panir shouted as if it were absurd.

Panir had doubts from the start. Keter’s archery was different from Sefira’s, yet there were undeniable similarities. At first, he had accepted it under the logic that archery was inherently simple and thus bound to be similar, but hearing that it was an archery style personally created by referencing Zodiac Archery made it even hard for him to understand.

Keter had learned Zodiac Archery in his previous life. After Sefira fell, Besil had given him everything Sefira possessed. That was when Keter first learned Zodiac Archery and quickly reached its limits. He then fused it with the combat experience and techniques he already possessed, and the result was Limitless Archery.

How could he possibly explain that? He couldn’t. He could explain it if he revealed his past life, but that would only complicate things further. Therefore, in moments like this, lying was easier.

“There’s nothing that doesn’t exist in Liqueur. The original Zodiac Archery was there too. As a result, my Limitless Archery is essentially an improved version that compensates for Zodiac Archery’s flaws and shortcomings.”

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Once again, a lie that could not be verified was infinitely close to the truth.

***

“The original Zodiac Archery was in Liqueur?”

“We knew Zodiac Archery had flaws, but you’re saying what Sefira has isn’t even the original?”

“Why would it be in Liqueur?”

Everyone murmured to themselves. Still, it felt plausible.

Keter had returned from Liqueur with truly unbelievable things. Sacks full of elixirs and all kinds of priceless ancient relics and artifacts. Sefira’s finances had improved largely thanks to the Ultima Trading Company, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Keter also played a major role.

“In any case, you don’t need to think about perfectly copying my Limitless Archery. Just drawing inspiration from it is enough. Steal the clue from me that will break Zodiac Archery’s limits.”

The more Keter layered lies upon lies, the more questions would arise. Thus, Keter quickly changed to a more important topic, and the trainees gathered there completely fell for it.

“The limits of Zodiac Archery...!”

“Come to think of it, Zodiac Archery never had a realm of enlightenment.”

“But Instructor has already gone beyond mere enlightenment at such a young age, to the point of even improving it...!”

Sefira had already undergone two major phases of growth. The first was when Keter came to Sefira and instilled a sense of tension, and the second was the training he had shown while preparing for the tournament.

On top of that, through the Family War with the Bydent family and the war against the kingdom’s army, Sefira had clearly reaped the fruits of its training. As a result, its overall level had risen dramatically. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say everyone had improved by one star rank. And all of that had happened in just one month.

However, since no one had advanced from Master to Grandmaster, Keter found this very disappointing.

“Enough with the admiration. I intend to raise all of you to at least Master or Grandmaster within a week. I’m not even aiming for Prime.”

Keter snapped. At once, a fist made of the earth rose up directly in front of each person. When the fists slowly opened, a radiant elixir revealed itself with a beautiful glow.

“An elixir!”

“

Haha,

as expected!”

Some openly showed their excitement, while others rejoiced inwardly, thinking it had been worth swallowing their pride to come.

“It’s Radiant Life Jade. One pill costs a million gold.”

“M-million? Pure Spirit Pellets even cost two hundred thousand!”

Even Pure Spirit Pellets were considered among the finest elixirs in the Lillian Kingdom, but this one cost five times more. There was no need to even ask how effective it must be.

Everyone carefully picked up the Radiant Life Jade. However, no one swallowed it recklessly. All elixirs could turn into poison if taken improperly, after all. There was always a specific method of consumption.

“Everyone out.”

As expected, Keter sent all the trainees inside the igloo outside. The ten trainees lined up on their own without being told.

Then Keter said with a satisfied expression. “Everyone, get undressed. Now.”

Everyone flinched at the order to remove their clothes. Undress in this cold? Even layered in thick fur clothing, the cold felt unbearable. Fingers and toes could freeze and necrotize within a minute.

“Trainees, what are you doing? Are you deaf? From now on, if you don’t follow my orders, I’ll take it as you wanting to get dismissed.”

At Keter’s sharp rebuke, Taragon was the first to take off his clothes. He even tried to boldly remove his underwear, but Keter stopped him.

“Enjoy that only when you’re alone.”

Keter allowed them to undress down to their underwear. Katherine also undressed without embarrassment, and there were no exceptions just because someone was elderly. Even Panir, the oldest among them, got undressed.

No matter how much they protected their bodies with aura, they couldn’t completely block out the cold. All the trainees took the same posture to shield themselves. They hunched their bodies and tucked their hands into their armpits.

But Keter immediately stopped them.

“Attention.”

He had just said moments ago that disobeying orders meant being dismissed, so everyone hurriedly snapped into attention this time.

“Consume the Radiant Life Jade. Go!”

At Keter’s command, the trainees quickly poured the elixir into their mouths. Unlike other elixirs, the Radiant Life Jade didn’t slide smoothly down their throats. It was dry and crumbly, just like hardtack.

“Chew thoroughly before swallowing. Elixirs aren’t free. I’ll give a special discount just for you guys. I’ll only charge the base price of five hundred thousand gold per pill, so be grateful.”

The trainees’ eyes began to tear up. Though, no one could tell whether it was from the elixir’s effects or from only now realizing they had to pay five hundred thousand gold.