Chapter 48 - Work

Your Archery has reached level 01.

"This is easier than I imagined…" Zaos thought.

When Zaos assumed the correct firing position, he heard that voice. Still, soon he came to learn that Archery was harder than he had thought. When he fired the arrow, Zaos frowned when his projectile fell before it could reach the dummy.

"Oh? It looks like we are at the same level, Zaos," Drannor said.

"Shut up," Zaos said and then nocked another arrow.

The short bow had a lot less power than he had predicted, so Zaos would have to take that into consideration while aiming. His arrow also flew a little bit to the left side thanks to the wind… in the end, Zaos concluded that swinging a sword and using magic was way more straightforward. That being said, he didn't give up. He needed to increase his aim, after all.

"Raise your bow a little bit, and stop breathing for a moment when you are ready to shoot," Ameria said.

"I know that… Your Highness," Zaos added.

Zaos corrected his arm's position, and thanks to it, the arrow flew for a while longer… and passed above the dummy. He had corrected his posture a little too much. After firing a few more arrows, Zaos came to understand that Archery relied a lot on instinct and experience. While those two seemed opposed to each other, Zaos was aware that they could complete each other as well.

"Bring my arrows, too," Ameria said when Zaos had used all the arrows in his quiver.

"This brat…" Zaos muttered under his breath.

It looked like America's spoiled attitude was still there, but it couldn't be helped. She was just a seven years old girl, after all. Regardless, even though it took a while, Zaos managed to hit the dummy a few times. Still, Zaos understood that Archery didn't suit him. Unlike swordsmanship and other melee fighting styles, one had to consider too many external factors like the position of the wind, the distance between the target, where to hit… training his body. Magic seemed way more satisfying as well. As if that wasn't enough, an archer could only carry so many levels. It wasn't malleable like magic, but archery had an even shorter limit of use.

"It doesn't seem like I can't use a bigger bow, but the training grounds aren't that big, so this will be enough for a while," Zaos said as soon as Drannor and Ameria left.

As usual, Zaos decided to train with bow hard for the next few days in order to obtain the bonus in status of that skill, but after that, he will have to consider what he should do with his limited time. Training with weapons, studying magic, and now improving his aim… his free time has been getting shorter lately.

While learning several things would be useful in the long run, Zaos couldn't make all of them reach a higher level. Sword and magic will always be his focus, but even so, from his father's perspective, following a single path was the best option.

"Thanks to mom, now I can train harder and practice magic more," Zaos said while looking at his magic amulet. "Still, I want to keep increasing my focus. I need to find a way to make money… It is no good if I always rely on my family's money for that."

Zaos had one year to solve that problem, but since Lyra saved some money for two years to buy one, the amount to buy the item wasn't something to laugh at. Trying to find a solution to that problem seemed like the best way to avoid certain problems, but since Zaos's knowledge about the world was limited, he should consult with someone else, and of course, his best option was his mother.

"Mom, is there any way for a child like me to earn money?" Zaos asked.

"… Do you want to buy something expensive?" Lyra frowned after a brief moment of surprise. "Come to think of it, you just finished studying that magic book, didn't you? If it is about that, then…"

"No, it isn't about that, even though I want a new one…" Zaos corrected himself. "It is just that I thought it would be good if I have some coins stored in the case, I need something, and I don't want to trouble you every single time."

"How dependable," Lyra said while she was poking Zaos's cheeks. "I have a few ideas, but it will depend on how much you want to earn."

"I want to earn as much as possible," Zaos said.

"Don't be so greedy…" Lyra pinched Zaos's cheeks. "Do you want to earn as much as possible even if you have to use the influence of our family?"

"That is…" Zaos hesitated.

Now that Zaos thought about it, his family had a lot of influence, if he wants to earn some coins, even someone of his age should be able to do certain things with the skill that Zaos has. Still, would that be wise? Zaos wanted to earn money on his own merits, and using his family's name right off the bat was something pretty shameful to do, at least from his perspective.

"No, I don't want to," Zaos said.

"I suspected as much, but if you ask me, you should do that," Lyra said. "I heard that Ameria and Drannor are having a hard time learning how to read. You can do that fairly well, so you would be able to help them and earn some nice amount of money."

"I would like to avoid that," Zaos said.

"Refusing a job already?" Lyra frowned.

While that wasn't something wise to do, Zaos didn't want to spend too much time with them. Besides, he was fairly sure those two wouldn't take the lessons seriously if another kid tries to teach them. Even if they are from prestigious families, most kids tend to respect older teachers. Since they have an air of confidence around them.