Published: July 30, 2025
The moment Ryoma finished shooting through the five targets, Eliaria excitedly started to make a fuss. However, the other four were left speechless by Ryoma’s skill.
“This is amazing! Isn’t it, Father!?”
“Ah, ah...”
“I always thought archery was about taking careful aim, but he shoots so quickly.”
At Eliaria’s words, Sebas and Reinbach hurriedly corrected the misunderstanding.
“No, young lady. That speed is due to Lord Ryoma’s skill. Ordinary archers don't shoot that fast. If they don’t have to aim, perhaps someone accustomed to the bow might manage, but...”
“Eliaria, you mustn’t use Ryoma-kun as the standard. Shooting arrows at that speed and hitting the center of every target is impossible for an average person. Probably very few in the national army could do the same.”
“Really? Ryoma-san is incredible!”
“Indeed, he is...”
“It seems we underestimated Ryoma-kun’s abilities.”
Ryoma was unaware of it himself, but with training from his previous life and hunting experience since arriving in this another world, his archery skills had already become among the best in the country. And he hadn’t received any divine blessings besides magic. This was purely Ryoma’s own strength.
After finishing the stationary target test, the next phase was a clay shooting-like exam. Ryoma stood at the designated spot, bow in hand, but since the wall from which the targets would appear was on the opposite side from where Eliaria and the others stood, and behind Ryoma was the examiner, no one could see Ryoma’s expression.
He was focused to the extreme, with no tension or impatience, but also no excitement or eagerness. Calm beyond measure, his emotionless eyes stared straight ahead.
Though he looked young now, Ryoma was a man who had practiced for nearly 40 years since childhood in his previous life. The concentration he developed was often wasted in daily life but invaluable in repetitive, simple tasks.
Even his colleagues and superiors who usually treated Ryoma poorly acknowledged this single quality, exploiting him as a convenient work machine, making his already harsh treatment worse. However, this was not Ryoma’s full potential.
Ryoma’s true strength shone in martial arts he had known since childhood. Every day he repeated the same forms, ingraining techniques into his body so naturally that his movements flowed like breathing. His body moved freely without any mental hindrance, unleashing all his skills. This was Ryoma’s real full power and the talent he had carried from his previous life.
Adjusting to others, restraining himself, and holding back his trained power and skills was forbidden; using it would scare others away. The laws and common sense of Earth no longer mattered in this another world. Now that he had escaped the constraints of his past life, nothing could suppress Ryoma’s power here.
The examiner’s whistle sounded, and a target shot out from the pillar on the right. Ryoma released an arrow at its path, piercing it before it fell to the ground. The next target appeared from the left pillar. Again, Ryoma shot and brought it down.
Though the difference was whether the targets emerged from the right or left, what Ryoma did remained unchanged. Using techniques honed by long training, he read the trajectories of the flying targets and relentlessly shot arrows. It was a continuous repetition.
The speed and intervals of the targets gradually changed, increasing the difficulty. But Ryoma adapted. When multiple targets appeared simultaneously, he first shot one, then quickly drew another arrow from his quiver and shot the next before it disappeared into the opposite hole.
At the end, four targets appeared at once. Ryoma held an arrow between each finger, drew four arrows from his quiver at once, and fired them all within a single breath, accurately piercing all the targets before the whistle signaled the test’s end.
～Side Ryoma～
Phew...!!
“‘Earth Needle!’”
Just as the whistle blew signaling the end and I lowered my bow to catch my breath, a knife flew from behind. Reflexively, I caught it between my fingers and threw it back at the examiner.