"Hmph~? Looks like I'm pretty amazing. I guess I'll have to protect Chang Yuan from now on."
Hearing Hua's words, Elysia smiled proudly.
Meanwhile, compared to Elysia, who was already ready to graduate, Chang Yuan hadn't even gotten started.
He only knew the form, and he often messed up the key points.
"But this is only for close range. To truly master it, you need to hit targets over 100 meters away."
"Hmm~? Can you take me to try it? I want to see how far I can go."
"...Alright, follow me."
After a moment of hesitation, Hua agreed.
She took Elysia to the archery range at the back of the mountain.
"From here, the first target is 100 meters away. Each subsequent target is 50 meters further. Give it a try."
"Leave it to me. Let's see how far I can go."
Drawing the bow, nocking the arrow, and releasing it—Elysia's movements were smooth and confident.
The first arrow hit the bullseye on the 100-meter target.
Seeing this, Hua was speechless.
A prodigy—that was the only term Hua could think of to describe Elysia.
As Hua was still processing, Elysia's second arrow was already in the air.
The 150-meter target was hit dead center.
Then the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth targets—all bullseyes.
By the seventh target, Elysia hit a nine, but that was due to the bow's limitations. Hitting a nine at that distance with a parabolic shot was impressive.
"...You've graduated."
After a long silence, Hua finally spoke.
There was no other choice. In archery, Hua had nothing left to teach Elysia. In fact, Elysia might even be able to teach her now.
"Hmm~? As expected of me. I'm just that good. But that means for the next month, I can just watch you train Chang Yuan, right?"
"...If you want, as long as you don't disturb him."
"Hehe, let's go. I want to watch Chang Yuan suffer."
With that, the two headed back to the martial arts school.
Meanwhile, Chang Yuan was still training hard.
"What's going on? It's been over two hours. Is Hua not teaching me anymore?"
After nearly two hours of non-stop training, Chang Yuan felt like his arms no longer belonged to him.
Goodness, he had never worked this hard in his previous life. If it weren't for his fear of losing the right to stand by Elysia's side, he wouldn't have pushed himself this much.
"Hey, Chang Yuan, I've got a surprise for you. Want to guess what it is?"
"Hmm, no idea."
Stopping his stance, Chang Yuan shook his head.
There were no hints. How was he supposed to guess? He wasn't Aponia, who could see the future.
And even if he could, that was only after Aponia became a MANTIS.
"Hmph~? I can hit a nine at 400 meters now. So, in other words, I've graduated.
For the next month, I'll just watch you train every day."
"...Impressive."
Hearing this, Chang Yuan wasn't surprised.
"So you better work hard, okay? Let's get back on the road soon."
Clenching her fist, Elysia cheered Chang Yuan on.
And so, for the next month, Elysia sat on the sidelines every day, eating fruit and reading stories.
Of course, she also handed Chang Yuan a wet towel whenever he was drenched in sweat.
By the end of the month, Chang Yuan had barely grasped the basics.
But that was enough. To improve further, he'd have to practice on his own. He had learned all he could; the rest was up to him.
"Goodbye, Hua, and goodbye, Hua's dad."
Packing their bags, Chang Yuan and Elysia prepared to continue their journey.
"Hehe, go on. Travel the world. It's rare to see young people like you with such dreams."
"...Goodbye."
Hua wasn't good with words. After a long pause, she only managed to say goodbye.
"Hehe, Hua, I have a feeling we'll meet again in the future. I'm looking forward to that day."
"...Yeah."
After saying their goodbyes, Elysia followed Chang Yuan, her pink backpack on her back.
Watching the two, who could barely be called friends, leave, Hua remained silent.
Hua's father sighed.
He couldn't understand why his daughter was so socially awkward.
One year later...
"Hey, Elysia, we need to be careful here."
"Huh? What's wrong with this place?"
Elysia asked curiously.
"Before coming here, I asked around. This is Twilight Street, a place full of criminals. It's chaotic and lawless, so we need to be careful."
"Hmm~? I see. We should definitely be careful, then."
Elysia nodded seriously.
In a lawless place, a kidnapper could jump out of an alley at any moment and take them both.
"Huh? Chang Yuan, look over there. There's a big crowd. Is there some special event? Should we go check it out?"
Noticing a large gathering, Elysia's curiosity was piqued.
Hearing Elysia's request, Chang Yuan immediately sensed something was off.
He quickly tried to recall the story to figure out what might be happening.
Twilight Street, a large crowd...
Combining the two, Chang Yuan immediately thought of a possibility.
And the next moment, that possibility was confirmed.
"I heard there's an amazing genius magician over there. Let's go check it out. They say there are free gifts afterward."
"A magician... Could it really be Vill-V?"
A magician, Twilight Street, and a genius—all three combined, plus Elysia's arrival here.
Chang Yuan felt his guess was almost certainly correct.
"Let's go, Elysia. Since you're curious, let's check it out."
"Yay, let's go!"
Seeing Chang Yuan agree, Elysia happily followed the crowd.
Chang Yuan quietly followed behind her.
When they arrived, Chang Yuan saw a figure wearing a magician's hat and sporting the iconic two-toned hair.
With just those two details, Chang Yuan was certain of her identity.