2 Chapter 2:Joining the association

"Let me guess… he failed the magical class test" Linda said indifferently when John and Derik walked in. she could tell from the gloomy expression on his face. Her eyes were cold as she stared at Derik walk up the stairs to his room. With a disappointed expression on her face, she turned her gaze to her father who was taking off his jacket. The entrance of the house, it was easy to locate the stairs which lead to the first floor. Beside the stairs by the right was the dining table and by the left is just a chair made of animal skin meant for John and a study desk right in front of it. Beside the desk was a door which led to another room which served as the kitchen and storeroom. The first floor had three rooms which served as the bedrooms for John and his two kids.

"I told you not to waste so many resources on him… I told you he would fail... but no one listens to Linda!!!" Linda who was seated on the chair made of animal skin said. John's sorrow quickly turned to anger; his cold gaze fell on Linda and without even speaking the 12-year-old girl was already terrified. She quickly closed the book she was reading and ran up the stairs. John sighed and walked into his room.

"Archery… what a joke" Derik said when he entered his room. He shut the door and tossed a shirt on the ground. He moved to his reading table and picked up the books on the table one after another and glanced at the titles

"Magic Mastery in One Month"

"Life as a Sorcerer"

"Fire magic"

He slowly tossed them into the waste bin beside the table

"Crap… reality is cruel" he muttered. He threw himself on the bed and slept off a few minutes later.

Within those five days, Derik focused on running little errands for his neighbors to earn money, even though the reality was cruel and unfair to him he wasn't going to give up easily.

"Just like Dad said… I will become the greatest archer in the kingdom" he always told himself whenever he felt sad. John noticed the boy's enthusiasm and smiled.

…

…

After 5 days, Derik returned to the association branch with his father. Thanks to his hard work, he was able to earn 34copper coins.

"Derik… I'm sorry you couldn't become a mage… but I believe you can also excel in archery class… just give it your all" John said

"Don't worry Dad… I will become the greatest archer!!!" Derik said with a charming smile on his face. John smiled back and brought out three silver coins from his pockets, he gave it to Derik and the left on the hired carriage.

Derik stared at the silver coins in his palms for a while and smiled. Even though he knew he would receive some coins from his dad as a farewell gift, he didn't expect this much. He walked into the castle only to see a crowd there as well, but this time there were no parents or guardians only kids his age and many others older. He spotted the line meant for the identification of ranged fighters and joined the line. After thirty minutes, he identified with the lady in charge of the process, received his badge and was led to a different castle with other members of his class. Upon arrival, they were escorted to their various rooms by the servants in the castle which was located on the second floor of the castle.

Derik and a boy his age who had golden hair and yellow eyes were led to their room. The room was very spacious and two beds were placed at both sides of the room, with two windows directly above the beds and two wardrobes beside each bed. By the left at the entrance was a door which led to the bathroom. He dashed into the room and dropped his bag next to the bed on the right and sat on it. He slowly began to unpack, hanging his clothes in the wardrobe beside his bed. He noticed that the golden-haired boy still stood at the entrance refusing to enter, from the color of his hair and his high-quality attire, Derik knew this kid belonged to a noble family

"Hi…" He said "I'm Derik Angus… what's your name?"

The golden hair boy was initially inspecting the room and was disgusted by what he saw and now a commoner had the guts to speak to him. He had been watching Derik unpack and saw all the cheap clothes he put in his wardrobe and thought

[Not only am I forced to live in a filthy place but I also have to share a room with a commoner… what nonsense]

"How dare you speak to me without permission? ... Do you know what family I belong to? … I'm Mason Martinus … Bow and plead for my forgiveness you peasant!!!" The boy sneered.

Derik shook his head repeatedly and was confused for a moment, the Martinus family was one of the top noble families in the town of Briton let their child join the archery class. In most cases, nobles pay heavily just to get their children into the Magical class in hopes that their child's magic powers will manifest and reveal themselves. Some nobles even go as far as spending thousands of gold coins just to acquire potions that help enhance magic powers in hopes that their kid's magic powers will manifest. For a top noble family to let their child join the physical class there are only two possible reasons. The first is their child already specializes in that class and they wish to develop his talent but this is very unlikely because most nobles prefer the fame and honor gotten from the magical classes especially nobles residing in little towns such as Briton, this will greatly enhance their status in other parts of the kingdom. And the second reason is this; the child is a black sheep in the family. This is usually accurate most of the time when the children of noble families fail to meet up to their parent's expectation, most of them are forced to join groups like the adventurers association and the military in hopes that they either succeed and make a name for themselves or lose their life in a dangerous mission. Derik knew the boy was from a noble family because of his hair color but he didn't think it was one of the top noble families. A sinister smile appeared on his face

"Peasant?!!! Does a black sheep like yourself qualify to call me a peasant?" Derik snapped, his words were vicious and he didn't hold back at all. Masons expression darkened and he bit his lips in anger, he wanted to reply but he knew he couldn't beat this boy in a war of words. He threw his leather bag on his bed and left the room in anger. After two hours all the students were called to the canteen for dinner after which they returned to their rooms. Throughout the night Derik and Mason refused to talk to each other. The only glanced at each other occasionally and cursed silently.

…

…

...

BAM!

BAM!!

BAM!!!

Mason screamed and jumped off his bed when he heard the bell ring. His eyes were bloodshot and he silently swore to hang the man ringing the bell. At this time, Derik was already done preparing. He wore his normal white shirt made of textile, his usual brown trousers, and brown boots. He was putting on the brown gloves he bought for 12 copper coins when he heard the bell and watched Mason's hilarious response.

"Lame," he said staring at Mason who sat on the floor. He picked up the small leather pouch where he keeps his money and left the room. After having breakfast at the cafeteria, he went to the armory and bought a pair of brown leather vambrace, brown leather breastplate, a quiver and then a bow. He silently cursed as he handed over 1sliver and 12 coppers. By the time he got to the training field located behind the castle, it was already 9 am

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"I made it," Derik said.

Fifteen minutes later, a middle-aged man equipped inexpensive black leather armor. He had a bow in his hand a lady who followed carried a quiver filled with arrows.

"You will call me Master Stevens, your instructor…" he glanced at the faces of all 24 recruits who stood in a straight line. "Do not forget… if you fail to meet up to my expectations… you will be expelled from the association!!!" the man said indifferently. His short black hair and his handsome face made people around him feel relaxed but no one doubted his words. The man pulled out an arrow from the quiver the lady was carrying.He then aimed at one of the 24 practice targets which were just a hundred meters away.

Swooosh !!!

His arrow flew straight to the target and hit the little 'x' located at the center.

Gasps…

"Constant practice increases proficiency… 300 shots… that is your daily goal… no lunch or dinner until this goal is achieved… Those who can complete this task will be moved to another training ground for advance archery skill training" The black-haired man said before leaving the training ground. Each recruit had a servant who carried a quiver filled with arrows, these servants were also tasked with collecting the arrows already shot.

Derik was done around 5 pm, his thumbs were sore and his elbow hurt. Throughout the day he was able to make 300 shots, only 5 hit the 'x' target, 100 hit random places on the practice dummy and 195 missed entirely. This could be considered as one of the worst results. What shocked him the most was Mason's performance if someone had told him that this golden-haired kid had some skills a day ago he would have cursed the person to the grave but it was expected, nobles tend to hire skilled knights and archers who train their kids. 30 shots hit the 'x' target, 250 shots hit random parts of the training dummy and only 20 missed entirely. This was one of the best results, he is a genius. But unfortunately, this test was not all about skill endurance is also needed. On the second day, the process was repeated and the result was even worse. Due to the injuries sustained on the first day, their performance greatly reduced. Derik had 0 shots on target and less than 50 hit the dummy, the rest missed. Even mason was having a hard time coping with this. On the fifth day, no one hit the target and only a few could hit random places on the dummy!!!.