Arthur arrow dodging full context

Rather than dwelling on the past, I focused my attention on the task at hand. It felt rude to train Ellie so half-heartedly when I saw how concentrated she was.

Let’s try kicking things up a notch.

With a wave of my arm, I conjured a current of fire that began twisting and shaping itself into a beastly shape. The ground where its ‘legs’ touched sizzled from the heat as I willed my creation to walk toward Ellie.

Boo, who had been watching beside me, tilted his head in curiosity at the flaming beast that mirrored his form.

“Your offense is good, Ellie, but what happens when a spell that you can’t just shoot down with arrows comes at you?” I called out.

Some of the noble kids a few yards away let out gasps as the instructors let out murmurs of praise.

Ellie’s lips just curled up into a confident grin as she drew her bow. A shimmering arrow manifested, glowing white due to its elementless nature. Just before she let go of the string, however, a slight undulation rippled across the shaft of the mana arrow.

The arrow quickly approached my ‘fire Boo’ with a shriek. I had expected Ellie’s spell to simple pierce through harmlessly, but as the point lodged itself into my spell, the entire arrow exploded in a ray of light, dispersing the flaming beast I had conjured.

I blinked. “That was…”

“Impressive? Superb? Jaw-dropping?” my sister finished, her eyes twinkling.

“Not bad. It was not bad,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Mhmm.” Ellie sniffled, trying to hide her smile.

The day went on with me moving on from conjuring various elemental targets for her, to testing her body’s defenses. Though I hated to admit it, her ability to conjure a protective layer of mana over her body was flawless and fast enough to rival some of the upperclassmen I had seen at Xyrus. Due to her unnaturally intricate control over her mana, she was able to layer mana in specific portions of her body almost instantly and create a fairly durable panel of mana.

I put the scabbard of Dawn’s Ballad that I had been using to spar with Ellie in close range back inside my ring. “Did you learn close quarters combat with your bow from Helen too?”

My sister fell down on the ground, sweating and panting. “Yup… I read a couple books too that helped, although there weren’t that many.”

“Most archers carry around a dagger or even a light sword around for close combat,” I informed. “But since your archery doesn’t depend on you taking out an arrow from your quiver and nocking it on your bow before firing it, learning how to fend off a few attacks in order give yourself some space for a quick shot was the right decision.”

“Your compliments seem… somewhat dull,” my sister said in between breaths.

“Because that wasn’t a compliment. Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I smirked. “We’ve been drilling for only a few hours. Your stamina needs improvement.”

“That’s… not even fair,” Ellie huffed.

“What your brother means to say is that he’s very proud of your growth,” Sylvie comforted with a smile.

“Woah, no verbally expressing my thoughts!” I protested.

“This was rigged from the start, anyway.” Ellie stuck out a tongue. “I mean, how do you even dodge an arrow shot at point blank—repeatedly.”

“A lance has to be able to do at least that much, right?”

My sister narrowed her eyes, discontent by my reply. “You didn’t even break a sweat.”

“You’ll get there with enough training and experience,” I replied.

Chapter 206, TBATE