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

Chapter 61: A Recurve Bow (3)

It took Viktor over an hour to fetch an effigy to his workplace.

A few complications and old faces interrupted him, but Viktor had nothing to lose and dealt with them in a way unbecoming of royalty.

That said, he looked pissed.

"Where is she?" Viktor asked Jake upon noticing that Ingrid was gone.

Jake turned around and replied, "Master's gone. She has to walk her dogs and eat supper before six p.m."

"It's already this late?" Viktor looked over his shoulder at the skies through the ajar door. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he could see he was away for a while.

Jake nodded.

Before Viktor returned, he had been sitting on the floor, lost in thought.

His Master's challenge was quite difficult. She didn't go easy on him and tested him to the extent so much that Jake's temporary bow broke.

She handed him another one and ordered him to continue with a commanding tone and inviting smile as though she enjoyed this mood change.

Jake swore not to waste a second of her time so he didn't lag. His high stats also allowed him to train for longer without a break.

Ingrid was compelled to leave, then. She'd not go against her rules and was loyal and stubborn to each rule she set for herself, which made her similar to Jake in this case.

The main difference between them was that she was clearheaded and responsible, which Jake lacked because of his young age.

Jake rested after she went back to the real world, thinking about what he had learned. He usually measured the distance between him and his opponents by the seat of his pants, and his training routines also helped him with that.

He could see distance well because he had trained with effigies on the tutorial island.

Jake came to the conclusion that the same would apply to the velocity of his targets. He'd ask Viktor for any tips, too, but that was for later, as he didn't have any friendly relationship with him.

They were now acquaintances, and Ingrid had encroached on his property, too.

"Uh, Mr. Viktor—"

"Drop honorifics. It makes me think of home," Viktor nonchalantly interjected.

Jake nodded, "I don't know what's your relationship with my master, but I can tell she has intruded here and paid quite a lot to make us acquaintances… so to make it even between you two and not to waste any of your time, I'd like to become a proper worker here before you teach me about a fletcher and woodman class.

"I have some woodman and wooden armorer experience. I cut down many tutorial forest trees and made my own bow and arrows. And here are my pets—Odin, Wukong, Ender, and Medusa. They're my precious companions who will watch my lessons to broaden their experiences." Jake finished the introduction by passing his Steel Ax to Viktor and showing him his Woodman Proficiency.

Viktor took a moment to study the ax.

The handle had been obviously changed, but even the current one had bruises and obvious signs of usage.

Nonetheless, the steel part said a lot about Jake's hard work. He couldn't fix that part because he lacked a class and resources, but he did his best to repeatedly sharpen the steel ax so that it was usable.

Viktor and his keen eye could tell that the Steel Ax had at most three months left before it'd crumble.

If it weren't for the unique grade, it'd have already been past its prime.

"An archer that makes his own bow and arrows? Surely, one of a kind." Viktor commented after passing the steel ax back to Jake. "I don't really care what kind of an archer you are, but it's impressive that you had been regularly cutting down trees for at least half a year. Which means we should find a common language."

He went past Jake, dragging the effigy.

It was similar to the ones Jake had seen on the training grounds.

Once Viktor perched it in the middle of his plantation, Jake could see it in all its glory.

The effigy's fur was dark and dense. It had unnaturally long limbs dangling on either side. The limbs in question were real weapons, topped by elongated claws. The abdomen was quite thick, too.

The head, however, gathered the most attention. The muzzle seemed to have been mixed from wolf kinds and bathed in humankind's worst nightmares, as it looked menacing and disgusting.

Two yellow teeth protruded out from its shut jaw.

Viktor commented, "It's the epic boss you can find in the forest dungeon. The same forest the villagers were forced to flee from."

"I see," Jake nodded. A few months ago, players discovered the dungeon, and the first ones made some fortune on it as the empire decided to make efficient effigies out of the epic boss found there.

The royal alchemists and artisans implemented unique mana crests into those effigies, which allowed them to self-repair themselves given enough resources.

The hide, flesh, fur, and other resources of the epic boss were required for that, but after so many months, the empire already had a considerable stock.

"It's yours, so you'll have to enter the dungeon to repair it. I can activate the mana crests with my mana to repair it. Can't pass them to you as it's a secret… but in general, this effigy is yours to train on," Viktor said.

Jake nodded, "I've already trained with my master, so I am fine to work for the remainder of the day. Should I cut down a few trees here or assist you with your work? Anything will do."

"The imperial mage will come in two days, so we had better cut down all the trees," Viktor decided.

Jake's first work on the mainland began.

Later that day, he jokingly told Mary that he spent time with his archery master, pissing her off so much that she hit him in the stomach.