Behind the door lay a vast room, separated into different areas, all decked out with different training equipnt and setups. There were already quite a few cadets using them.
Stepping inside, I noticed a weapons rack, stacked with such a wide variety of cold weapons that the ones I couldn’t recognize far surpassed the ones I did.
Of course, there were no guns in sight.
Before I knew it, Shin was already browsing through the halberd section. I took that as a cue to begin my search as well.
I began looking for crossbows first. From my ti going over the manual last night, I was already aware that there were different types of crossbows.
But among all the possible types only two had caught my attention. The repeating and compound crossbows.
Both had their pros and cons.
The repeating crossbows gave one the ability to fire rapidly, albeit at the cost of power. Typically they were built using lighter materials, but the hunter versions were specifically much more solidly built.
After all, firing quickly was useless if you couldn’t even kill the enemy.
On the other hand, compound crossbows were built for single shots. Of course, their power was on a completely different level compared to the repeating crossbows.
Ideally, I’d prefer a repeating crossbow, as it would reduce the amount of ti I spent reloading.
But the hunter version was said to be particularly heavy, even heavier than a compound bow.
’Surely, it can’t be that bad right?’
I quickly found out that it was in fact that bad, after nearly collapsing from carrying one.
’Compound it is then.’
The compound crossbow was pretty heavy as well, though it was still in the realm of manageable. I also picked up a quiver of bolts for the thing.
Next were the long daggers. It was a rather easy pick, as I selected a pair of cross-guard daggers in their sheaths, before clipping them on to the belt of my combat uniform.
I turned to find Shin giving a weird look.
"I thought your primary weapon was a spear."
"Eh, they’re overrated."
The wolfman glanced at the halberd resting on his shoulder, before laughing.
"You probably just don’t want to admit that you’re too weak to carry one."
Well, he was right about one thing, not that I’d give him the benefit of confirming it.
I quickly changed the topic.
"It looks like the ranged weapons area is separated from here."
Most of the equipnt here seed better suited for lee weapons,
However, there was a door to the far side of the room that I assud led to the shooting range. How did I know that? I’m the one that wrote the damned thing.
Plus it also helped that I saw a cadet with a bow enter not too long ago.
"You’re not practicing with your long daggers?"
"I’ll do so shooting practice before that."
The daggers served as a sort of last resort, if my crossbow failed in downing my opponent.
Shin nodded before walking off.
"Take it easy then, I’ll see you in a few."
"Sure thing."
He was headed to an area with multiple tal dummies.
I almost felt pity for the poor things, before rembering that they were designed to withstand hits from even master rank hunters.
Shrugging, I headed towards the door carrying the crossbow in tow.
Behind it lay a long dim corridor, with nurous doors lining its walls.
Checking the first few doors, I found a red sign on their fra, reading ’Occupied.’
When I pressed my ears to them however, I couldn’t even hazard a guess as to what was happening inside. It was dead silent.
’That’s so pretty good soundproofing.’
Soon enough, I ca across a door with a green sign on it. I didn’t even have to check to know what it was, as it opened imdiately when I twisted the knob.
The room behind it was much more sizable than I’d expected. Furthermore, it was stretched out not unlike a shooting range, multiple targets placed at different ranges.
A small screen protruded from one of the walls.
Checking it, I quickly found out it was used to adjust the settings of the range.
I couldn’t help but feel my face take on a strange look as I stared at the only five settings available.
It ranged from Expert all the way to Noob.
’Who the hell designed this junk!?’
I sighed, before swallowing whatever pride I had left and picked Noob.
Imdiately, multiple targets on the field dropped. As the range shuffled and rearranged itself, it eventually left only seven lined-up targets at the closest possible distance.
A display above showed: [Noob Lv. 1]
I began setting up the crossbow.
From what I read in the manual it should be rather simple.
I began by resting the weapon vertically on a tal outcrop just below the front of the crossbow. It was supposedly called a stirrup.
Hooking my foot through the small loop it made, I stepped on it, securing the weapon in place.
Next, I held on to a handle at the side. With a bit of effort I slid it back, which in turn gradually cocked the string into place.
I only stopped upon hearing the satisfying click of the string locking into place.
The last thing to do was fitting and locking a bolt into the flight groove.
’And... done.’
I raised the crossbow using both hands, periodically shifting my grip and stance as I tested its weight and feel.
’I have to learn how to reload faster.’
The entire process took much more ti than I was comfortable with. On the bright side, it was a kind of process I could easily get faster with repetition.
In the end I settled on resting the stock on my shoulder, with one hand wrapped near the trigger, while the other supported the front.
I didn’t need a mirror to know my execution of the stance from the manual was poor, and that my grips and positioning were awkward.
Regardless, I lined my right eye to the scope, before focusing on a target right in front of .
The mont the dot of the scope crossed the bullseye, I pulled the trigger.
And... the shot went wide.
’Of course it did.’
I wasn’t discouraged though, as I loaded the crossbow again.
Last night, when I’d been pouring over the manuals, I also took so ti to consider my ability and how to apply it in combat.
There were a few obvious ones, like skin-walker detection.
While my thod of detecting such creatures was crude at the mont, that was mainly due to my own lack of knowledge regarding them. Visualization got much easier with knowledge after all. It was a crutch I was sure to find myself relying on after the simulation.
The next possibility was finding and targeting enemy weak points using the ability. The only problem was the fact that the ability was contact based, and I wasn’t all too keen on getting up close with any enemy. Not with my body still like this.
It still did give so comfort knowing that I had sothing to rely on if I ever had to pull my daggers.
Most importantly, I’d also found another possible use case for the ability.
At its core, Error sense was a comparative ability. By setting a definition for perfection, it allowed you to find errors in whatever you were currently sensing in contrast to the ideal.
If, say, the definition of that ideal was a perfect execution of techniques shown in the manual, then by the logic of the ability, I should be able to find the exact mistakes I was making by comparing my current stance to the ideal. Making correction that much easier.
I got into position again, before visualizing the instructions from the book.
I imagined a figure standing, legs properly spread, hands steady, breath stable, positioning perfectly prid for shooting. At least according to the manual.
I ntally flicked on Error sense, and the familiar buzz of the ability began imdiately.
It originated from my hands, legs, shoulders, hell even so from my lungs. The overlapping buzzing made it a bit difficult to tell where one problem ended and the next began.
Still, I wasn’t in a hurry. I took my ti making small adjustnts to my stance, to the way I carried it, to the way its stock rested on my shoulder. I even adjusted the rhythm of my breathing, all until the buzzing reduced significantly.
’Not perfect by any ans, but much better than before.’
I placed my eyes near the scope, which started another round of buzzing. I didn’t panic though, and just carefully adjusted until that buzzing toned down as well.
Controlling my breath, I lined up the shot. Waiting patiently until the mont the dot crossed the bullseye.
The mont it did, I pulled the trigger.
I couldn’t stop the grin breaking out on my face.
Not a bullseye, but it was damn close.
Reviews
All reviews (0)