radicalducati Page 212
Page 212
The trees in the distance that Sarah could barely see a moment ago are now completely blurred.
Seeing this, Susanna couldn't help but speak up, suggesting that Shirou come back for the match the next day during the day, as that would be fair.
But Shirou silently refused the other party's kindness, and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot it into the dark distance.
Without any extra techniques or skills, Shirou didn't even use his clairvoyance; he simply shot arrows.
"Snapped!"
In the darkness, the arrow pierced through space, its crisp sound echoing in the distance.
Compared to the stunned reactions of everyone else present, Shirou didn't react much. He simply pulled out another arrow, shot it again, and repeated the action.
"Snapped!"
"Crack!" "Crack!"
After firing all the arrows mechanically, Shirou put away his bow and turned to look at the adventurers behind him.
Susanna and the other adventurers were at a loss for words, because it was too dark for them to see clearly in the distance, so they could only run to the tree to observe.
Then I witnessed an incredible scene.
Except for one arrow that hit the target in the tree, all the arrows Shirou shot afterward fell to the ground and were pierced through the middle, splitting in two.
This means that every arrow Shirou shot hit the bullseye, causing subsequent arrows to collide with the earlier arrows, creating such a spectacle.
In contrast, while Sarah's arrows generally hit trees and most of them landed on the target, their accuracy was far less impressive than Shirou's exaggerated hit rate.
The difference in their abilities is too great; they are not even in the same league.
Chapter 285 Sarah's Resentment! The gap in talent can be devastating!
After Shirou and Sarah's duel ended, all the adventurers present were stunned.
They carefully examined the targets that Shirou and Sarah each hit and found no possibility of cheating or using any other techniques.
Shirou truly relied solely on his archery skills to repeatedly hit the same spot.
This level of precision is less exaggerated and more monstrous; it's beyond what humans can achieve.
"Is this really possible? How is it done?"
Susanna looked at Shirou with a shocked expression and a look of doubt.
She couldn't imagine that anyone could take archery to such an exaggerated level, and she couldn't understand why Shirou could hit the bullseye so accurately every time under such a dark night.
"Because I don't shoot arrows with my eyes."
Shirou responded silently, “When I shoot an arrow, I don’t look directly at the object being shot. Instead, I imagine it in my mind. After imagining the arrow hitting the target, my body will naturally move. This method is not very effective against moving objects, but if it is a stationary target, I can make the arrow hit the target countless times even with my eyes closed.”
"Shooting arrows based on imagination?"
Susanna and the other adventurers couldn't understand Shirou's words.
This is normal. For ordinary adventurers with limited talent, if they want to kill their opponents, they must observe their opponents' appearance, make corresponding judgments in their minds, and then launch the appropriate attack.
For adventurers who have grown through real combat, imagination is a superfluous and utterly meaningless activity.
But this is precisely the foundation of Shirou's archery skills.
Through his imagination, he merged himself with the arrow, much like the unity of man and sword in swordsmanship, erasing his own will and becoming a pure arrow.
Ordinary people cannot do this. Just as Shirou could not reach the level of a sword god in swordsmanship, no one else could reach the same level in archery.
This is what is known as the difference in talent and ability.
It is something that cannot be seen or touched, yet it can create a real barrier, thus blocking every challenger who aspires to climb to the top on a certain path.
Susanna and Captain Timothy, being adventurers themselves, could understand this to some extent.
They had also encountered geniuses in the past whose talents far surpassed their own, and whose minds could not be understood using the thinking of ordinary people.
They just didn't expect that Shirou was also someone of this caliber.
They then looked at Sarah with worried expressions.
Although they have experienced a long life and understand the so-called gap in talent, and know the root of inequality between people, it is still too cruel for a young person like Sarah to witness the huge disparity in talent firsthand.
Sarah's reaction was exactly as they expected.
The blonde girl had been staring blankly at the arrows that had been split in two, her eyes wide and lifeless.
Susanna and Timothy couldn't help but exchange a glance, both looking unsure of what to say.
They then looked at Shirou, as if they could only rely on him for guidance.
The two knew that as mortals, they couldn't possibly enlighten Sarah. No matter how much they explained the profound truths, they couldn't make her instantly understand the true meaning of the so-called difference in talent.
Only Shirou, a genius himself, could possibly make Sarah face reality.
"..."
Despite the immense difficulty of the task, Shirou ultimately did not refuse.
Because he knew that he had caused the trouble and that he had to clean up the mess himself.
"Hey Sarah, don't be discouraged."
Shirou hesitated, deciding to try reassuring her first, "Your archery skills are already very good. If you could improve the details and increase your accuracy..."
"Please don't talk to me!"
Before Shirou could finish speaking, Sarah, with an angry expression and even tears in her eyes, turned and left the scene.
A moment of silence fell over the scene.
Everyone was at a loss.
Susanna then revealed a bitter expression, never expecting that her good intentions would lead to such a helpless result.
She finally understood why Shirou pursued so many skills; it was because his talent was so extraordinary, far surpassing that of ordinary people, that he didn't limit himself to just one path.
Although Susanna's idea was wrong—Shirou wasn't a genius, but just an ordinary person—she still managed to reach the conclusion Shirou wanted her to reach.
The group then returned to the campfire, chatted briefly, and parted on a somber and unhappy note.
The next day, Susanna went to find Shirou again, but Sarah did not appear.
Susanna said that Sarah had not come out of the carriage since last night, and had remained in the carriage in silence without saying a word.
Shirou couldn't help but apologize, saying, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have shown that kind of technique just to be competitive."
"No, it's not your fault. If I hadn't forced you to come here for a sparring match, that wouldn't have happened."
Susanna's tone was complicated. "Although I realized I had underestimated you when I saw your magic, I still didn't expect you, Shirou, to possess such exaggerated skills, which are far beyond what a mortal like me can understand. Don't take what I said before to heart."
"Ok, I know."
Shirou knew that Susanna meant well in wanting him to study a certain path, but she had simply misjudged Shirou's strength.
Susanna scratched her cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed.
She wanted to continue talking with Shirou, especially since she was curious why Shirou, who was so talented, still wanted to pursue more skills.
As an adventurer, she has seen many powerful beings and talented young people, but most of them do not have Shirou's obsession with strength.
Most people can make a living from one skill for the rest of their lives once they master it to the highest level.
Despite possessing intermediate-level magic and superb archery skills, Shirou still tries to master other skills and martial arts, making it hard to imagine what kind of belief he holds.
Of course, she regrets it even more now than Shirou.
If I hadn't forced Shirou to show off his skills, Sarah probably wouldn't have been provoked.
The thought of Sarah evoked complex emotions within her, for she had seen too many ordinary people who, after being crushed by genius, gave up on themselves.
Even if Sarah has a strong enough personality, she might not be able to withstand such a huge drop in status.
Susanna sighed instinctively.
On the other hand, seeing Susanna so distressed, Shirou realized that he might have to find a way to help her, that is, to solve Sarah's problem.
If it were an ordinary genius, they might indeed be unable to solve the problem, because they cannot understand the suffering of ordinary people.
Fortunately, Shirou was not a genius; he was just an ordinary person.
Therefore, he completely understands Sarah, and he also knows very well what Sarah needs right now.
……
Sarah sat in the carriage, staring blankly at the snow falling continuously in the air.
She has somewhat accepted what happened last night.
But acceptance doesn't mean letting go, especially for Sarah, who can't accept the fact that she lost to Shirou.
She disliked Shirou from the first time she met him because she heard him mention his surname – Greirat.
In the Kingdom of Asura, Grerat is not an uncommon surname, as it is a noble surname. Although Shirou does not dress like a nobleman and is dressed very simply, the fact that he can appear alone in the northern part of this continent is enough to show that he is not short of money. If it were an ordinary person like Sarah, without joining an adventure party, she would simply find it difficult to make a living in this world.
Therefore, she assumed that Shirou was a nobleman who might have traveled alone simply because he fantasized about the life of an adventurer.
This can be seen from the fact that Shirou carries so many different weapons and seems to have received no systematic training—which perfectly fits the image of a noble young man who hastily bought a large number of weapons because he read too many adventurer stories and ran off on an adventure.
Sarah hates nobles because when her original family was afflicted by monsters in the Kingdom of Asura, the noble family called Notos Grerat, as their lord, offered absolutely no help or even compensation. They were a bunch of heartless bastards.
She originally didn't want to have anything to do with Shirou, that annoying nobleman.
Unexpectedly, Susanna cared so much about Shirou that she spent all her time trying to persuade him to get on the right track.
Such aristocratic fellows should simply be left to fend for themselves.
Sarah had this thought in her mind.
Therefore, when Susanna proposed the contest, Sarah undoubtedly had the idea of completely defeating her and making her realize the gap between them.
When Shirou demonstrated his talent for magic, Sarah not only failed to think highly of him, but instead became even more hostile towards him.
It's only natural that nobles would use magic.
Nobles receive education from a young age, including literacy and arithmetic, and can attend schools for higher education. The barriers to learning magic that exist for ordinary people simply do not exist for nobles.
This made Sarah even more certain that Shirou was a nobleman who had run away from home after reading too many adventure stories.
Born into a wealthy family, they received a carefree education and could enjoy a life of abundance simply by daydreaming.
Sarah found it hard to accept that this guy wanted to become an adventurer.
Even if we were to back down a hundred steps, the idea of wanting to become an adventurer is forgivable in itself, but they are completely unprepared to live as adventurers, nor are they prepared to lose their lives.
If they encounter monsters and get injured, or if their companions are in danger, they will run away because they still have a place to escape to. They never think that there are people in the world who have nowhere to escape and have to make a living by being adventurers. They also never think about what will happen to such people if they get injured and are forced to end their adventurer's path because of their entertainment.
Sarah thinks Shirou is that kind of person too.
Moreover, Shirou not only came to be an adventurer, but also brought so many different kinds of weapons, completely disregarding the hardships of the adventurer's profession, treating it like a child playing a game.
She then decided to use her most prized archery skills to show Shirou what it means to never use a hobby to challenge someone else's livelihood.
She fought with her life on the line, risking her life to become an adventurer, not just casually taking up a bow and arrow to hunt monsters.
Sarah had thought so, but she never expected that the result of the competition would be her complete defeat.
To be honest, the moment Shirou drew his bow, Sarah, as a seasoned archer, already realized the problem. His movements were incredibly skilled and precise, definitely not those of a novice; on the contrary, they likely possessed an exaggerated level of proficiency.
Of course, at this moment, Sarah didn't think too much, and she never imagined that Shirou's archery could completely suppress her, to the point that the idea of a difference in talent couldn't even cross Sarah's mind.
Shirou is a true genius in archery.
Moreover, the other party was not only talented, but also put in far more effort than she had imagined.
The result of this is a kind of archery skill that is miraculous and completely defies common sense.
Yes, Sarah did acknowledge Shirou's strength; she recognized that Shirou's archery skills were something she could never reach.
But that's precisely why she lost her composure.
What people fear is not high mountains and long rivers, because no matter how high the mountain or how long the river, as long as you put in enough effort, you will eventually reach it.
What can truly instill fear in a person and destroy them is the sky.
Only the sky is so unpredictable; it seems within reach, yet it is an insurmountable distance that even the smallest human being can never cross in a lifetime.
Shirou's archery skills gave Sarah that impression, making her experience what true despair is.
But this shouldn't be the case.
The fact that a nobleman she despised possessed archery skills she could never achieve in her lifetime was a cruel reality for Sarah.