NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4 Martial Artist?
Chapter 4 Martial Artist?
SFX: Cough, cough.
The coughing sound brought Chen Fan back to reality. The limping man, who had been watching Chen Fan, said nonchalantly, “Kid, the bow in your hand is just the most basic one. Beyond thirty meters, it doesn’t do much damage to low-level beasts. Besides, you’ve only drawn it once. Look outside.”
He gestured outside with his chin. “See those guys with long spears?”
Chen Fan glanced outside and nodded.
“When they first started, they also practiced with bows. Some even used the second bow, which requires sixty pounds of force. But so what? They couldn’t keep it up for more than two or three days.”
He glanced at the bow in Chen Fan’s hand and said, “Let me give you a piece of advice. It’s better to practice spear techniques like they do. When you encounter a fierce beast in the wild, you might stand a chance.”
“Uncle Zhang, thank you for the advice, but I still want to give it a try.”
Chen Fan looked at the progress bar behind “Basic Archery” on his panel, feeling a strong urge to max it out.
“Suit yourself.”
The limping man wasn’t surprised.
Young kids are all like this; they don’t turn back until they hit a wall. He’ll realize the difficulty after drawing the bow a few more times when his right arm becomes too weak to lift.
“Uncle Zhang, can I try the other bows?” Chen Fan asked with a smile. He had a question: the stronger the bow, the faster the progress in his “Basic Archery”?
“Sure.”
The limping man replied without hesitation, “The second bow is sixty pounds, the third is eighty pounds, the fourth is one hundred pounds, the fifth is two hundred pounds, and the sixth is three hundred pounds. Which one do you want to try?”
“Three… three hundred pounds?”
Chen Fan’s gaze fell on the black longbow on the far right, which was about his height. Three hundred pounds meant that one would need at least three hundred pounds of force to draw the bowstring with one arm?
“Does that scare you?”
The limping man smirked. “Three hundred pounds is nothing. Some people can draw a five hundred-pound battle bow and kill an armored rhinoceros from a thousand meters away.”
“An armored rhinoceros…”
Chen Fan muttered. In his memory, this was one of the top mid-level fierce beasts, with a body seemingly covered in armor that could supposedly withstand small-caliber bullets.
“Uncle Zhang, is that person an Awakened?” he asked subconsciously.
After all, in this world, Awakened individuals stood at the pinnacle.
“No.”
Surprisingly, the limping man shook his head. “He’s a martial artist.”
“Martial artist?”
Chen Fan’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Becoming an Awakened is a one-in-a-million chance. Ordinary people, without the aid of firearms, struggle to fight fierce beasts. The good news is, with the world’s changes, human limits seem to have been broken.”
The limping man muttered, “These people temper their bodies and toughen their muscles, gaining strength beyond ordinary humans. These are martial artists. A few kilometers from our camp, in Zhao’s Fort, there’s someone who can draw that three hundred-pound battle bow. He’s a martial artist.”
Chen Fan took a deep breath, feeling like a door was slowly opening before him. He asked excitedly, “Do we have any martial artists in our camp?”
“Not like the one in Zhao’s Fort, but we do have people who can draw a hundred-pound bow, like the Wei brothers. They’re the main force of our hunting team, though they probably won’t stay here much longer.”
The limping man sighed, worry written all over his face.
“And how do martial artists compare to Awakened ones?”
Chen Fan continued to ask.
“The difference is vast.”
The limping man looked at him. “A newly Awakened individual can easily be killed by a martial artist. But once they master their abilities, killing a martial artist is as easy as turning over a hand. Take the person in Zhao’s Fort, for example. Can he withstand bullets? But an Awakened can. Some powerful Awakened individuals aren’t even afraid of large-scale weapons; they can destroy a town with a wave of their hand. It’s simply not on the same level.”
Chen Fan’s mouth gaped open.
Awakened individuals were that terrifying?
He had a hunch that his system might be related to martial arts. According to Uncle Zhang, following the martial arts path was a fallback for ordinary people with a very low ceiling.
Is that really the case?
“Enough, why do you have so many questions?” The limping man looked at Chen Fan with displeasure, tossing the sixty-pound bow from the wall to him.
“Try it.”
Chen Fan came to his senses, put down the forty-pound bow, and tried to draw the sixty-pound bow. Halfway through, his face turned red, and his right arm trembled. When he had almost drawn it fully, he had no strength left and had to give up.
This body is still too weak.
The limping man gave a meaningful smile, “Do you still want to try the eighty-pound bow?”
“No, no need.”
Chen Fan shook his head with a wry smile, looking at the remaining bows.
He couldn’t do it now, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t in the future. In a few days, after accumulating enough potential points, he would be able to draw the sixty-pound bow, and the same principle applied to the others.
Next, the limping man gave him a quiver of arrows and led him outside.
At the open space at the entrance, he nocked an arrow and aimed at a target twenty meters away. He demonstrated the basic posture and added, “Remember the three alignments when drawing a bow: wrist in line, elbow in line, and the wrist and elbow in line with the shoulder. These are the basic movements.”
After speaking, he released the arrow with a “whoosh,” hitting the earth wall beside the target.
The limping man nonchalantly looked at Chen Fan and said, “Practice here today. If you have any questions, come and ask me.”
“Yes, Uncle Zhang.”
Chen Fan glanced at the arrow stuck in the wall and nodded.
“Hmm.”
The limping man turned around, his old face blushing. He wasn’t skilled in archery; otherwise, he wouldn’t be watching the warehouse.
Chen Fan took the bow and arrows, stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, held the bow in his left hand, and nocked an arrow with his right. Being the first time he practiced archery formally, he felt a bit nervous.
He took a deep breath.
Then, he slowly drew the bowstring, squinting one eye to align the sight with the target.
Gradually, the bowstring was fully drawn, emitting a creaking sound. A great pulling force came from his right shoulder. At that moment, he released his right hand, and with a “whoosh,” the arrow shot out.
As expected, he missed the target.
Chen Fan had prepared for this. Only geniuses could hit the bullseye on their first try. He had that much self-awareness.
Moreover, that wasn’t what he was concerned about.
The next moment, he focused his mind, and the attribute panel appeared before him. Seeing it clearly, he smiled.
**Basic Archery, LV0 (3%)**
It meant that although he missed, the progress bar had increased by 2% with that shot.
If he repeated it 49 more times, he could level up Basic Archery to level one!