Supreme Archer: Taking The Game's Weakest Class To The Top

Chapter 174: Aftermath (4)

It was so early in the morning that Jake didn't know if Viktor and Master Aaron were up for a talk.

He was also nervous despite his father's encouragement and advice.

That said, it was inevitable talk.

Jake needed to know if his duels had somehow helped Asta Bow's Household.

'It's early, and I fought until evening yesterday… The Emperor might not even be aware that an archer player had taken the training grounds by storm,' Jake thought.

He still walked to Viktor's workplace.

'Oh, maybe I should get a sushi… it's too early for that, but…' Jake thought. He wasn't close with Viktor but knew a few things about him. One of them was that the man loved sushi made by a player known as Sushi God!

Master Aaron also often mentioned that Viktor was a tsundere, so Jake also considered him as such, as he understood the meaning of this slang. The old man could be blamed for that!

"It's you, Archer! I have heard about your battles! I knew my clients were the best!" Sushi God exclaimed after seeing Jake's nickname and connecting the dots.

Jake chuckled. "Thank you for your support."

"A few players talked about you yesterday! Will you make a video about your battles?" Sushi God asked.

Jake nodded. "That's the plan. I bought a camera and also the first point of view feature. I think I will search for an editor this afternoon. I'm ready to spend on a good one!"

"Great choice! I didn't hold back while splurging on my sushi booth, either! It was worth it! Good luck, Archer! Get more fame so I can boast that Archer God is one of my clients! Haha!" Sushi God grinned.

His casual and merry mood infected Jake.

Jake brightly smiled, "I will."

With four packs of sushi in his inventory, Jake headed straight to Viktor's house. He was in a much better mood now that he had talked with his father and others, and he had regained a lot of confidence.

In fact, Jake didn't even bother thinking about potential assassins lurking in the shadows.

He couldn't do anything about them anyway.

That said, a few of them had been waiting for Jake in the shadows. There were no longer traces of them as a beautiful and curvaceous assassin that Jake would recognize had taken care of them.

Carla leaned on the tree as she stared at Jake, who was making his way to Viktor's house.

A moment later, she sighed.

She still hadn't managed to get her personal loss over with.

-

"Oh, yer back!" Master Aaron waved at Jake as he noticed him walking up to the house. He was sitting outside on a log, sucking on a pipe.

Jake said, "I didn't know you smoked, Master Aaron."

"Meh, I sometimes need to get in different toxins. Yer don't try it!" Master Aaron replied.

Jake chuckled, "I'm safe drinking alcohol in this world… and a few drinks once in a while in my world also shouldn't hurt me in the long run! But I care about my physique, so don't worry much about me."

"Yer good," Master Aaron nodded three times, content with Jake.

As his heartbeat got a little louder, Jake sat across from Master Aaron on the other log. He looked down briefly before looking up at the old man and beginning a new topic.

Aaron had been expecting this since Ingrid's warning.

Jake asked, "How did I do?"

"Masterfully," Aaron replied. "We're proud of yer… and couldn't be more thankful. Yer inspirations were spot on, and yer used them a day after putting them into yer bow! Yer fought with so little experience and defeated all but that single mage! Yer performance was enough to get Viktor's ass to the castle! Jake!

Yer are great, too great!"

A wave of emotions went through Jake as he listened to the old man.

"I thought… I had disappointed you," Jake hung his head low as he said that.

Master Aaron laughed like a Santa Claus, "Hoho! Yer still a kid Cough! Have yer enjoyed those duels?"

"Huh? Of course, I have! It was so fun to fight them! They pushed me past my limits and forced me to adapt! It was enjoyable to try new stuff and fight stronger opponents. I didn't want to stop until that loss!" Jake replied.

Master Aaron cheerfully nodded, his lips curved into an old grandpa's smile. He looked so kind no one would think he had been a drunkard a while before.

He said, "Yer were smiling so much. I'm glad that the burden of Viktor's house and yer objective of being a pioneer didn't hold you down."

"My objective…" Jake repeated. "Why would my objective hold me back?"

"Yer think that magic is supreme and the best, am I correct?" Master Aaron asked. "But that's not the case. Magic might be the most popular for us and players, but other occupations aren't as behind as it seems. Our Emperor is a mage himself, but his rule has been threatened by the sword and spear. Mana is wondrous but also shapeless.

If it can be shaped into a sword and harnessed through a perfect sword craft, it'd excel against anything mage dished out with his skills.

"The current yer moves to make archery the best and the strongest."

"I don't think… that's the case," Jake said. He wanted players to take archery. It'd be so cool to be the one to reignite it and introduce it again to the world. He didn't think much about his pioneer stuff.

He hadn't gone that deep into his obsession.

He wanted to become the best archer—that was true.

But did it also mean he wanted the archery to be the best? Even if yes, then why was that precisely bad?

Aaron laughed. "Magic is not the best despite it being the most popular! Countless great mages can be defeated by others. Then, there's yer. A single archer that wants to bring archery to the top—yer own archery, at that! If yer goal is to make it the best, yer will undoubtedly fail."

Jake silently stared at the old man.

Master Aaron grinned. "It's the truth, Jake. Yer will fail at this… and it will hold yer back the more yer try to convince yourself that yer can do it. It will hurt your archery, your passion! That's why yer goal should be much simpler—to give archery its deserved spot in the world! It's a much easier goal.

Ye?"

Jake thought about it. "It sounds like Master Aaron wants me not to focus too much on pioneer things but on myself."

"Yes," the old man nodded.

"But won't that turn me into the second Grin Gird?" Jake asked.

Aaron shook his head. "Yer two are different. She's unapproachable. On the other hand, yer have a charisma and archery that makes people interested in yer. I saw the crowd of players and residents. I listened to their support as yer fought all yer opponents.

Yer are much different than Grin Grid. Even if yer two were to follow the same path and both wear masks, people would follow yer while she'd be alone. I don't want to badmouth her, but she's selfish and not interested in anything else other than her own archery. It does not concern her what others think of her and her bow."

Jake nodded.

He needed some time to process the old man's words.

It seemed he wanted to lessen Jake's burden or somehow help him after that loss.

Jake didn't know what it was, but he could see where the old man was coming from.

"I have sushi."

"Oh, it's too early… but I can take a bite or two!"