Then Archery is my path

August 28, 3104

"The only really good option—and those thrown in the trash. I can't change anything. I have to look further."

"Ehhhhhh."

"What's with that heavy sigh? Your treatment is going well, isn't it?"

"Yes, the treatment is going well, but what should I do next, even if the limbs are potentially whole or small?"

"I can't even argue with that. You won't get further than ManaWarrior."

"Mr. Han, it would be better for you to keep quiet than to say things like that."

Han Stonehelm, a veteran of the war from 20 years ago, was now retired, with damaged Etheric Arteries in his chest.

"But if you think that way, let me tell you—during the war, I knew a ManaMaster who still didn't have the Etheric Artery in his leg. Even so, he developed a speed that outclassed other scouts who had etheric armor on both legs. Poor guy, though. Toward the end of the war, a GrandMaster appeared and took the position of Chief of the scout team, so the medal that should've been his went to someone else."

Hearing this story, Kail grew much more interested and agitated.

"By any chance, was that guy's name Evans Hidklife?"

"I don't even remember anymore; it was a long time ago. But the Old Fox should know. At one time, he was in the same team."

Saying this, Mr. Han turned and shouted across the room.

"Old Fox!"

From the chessboard table, a voice answered.

"Go to hell, you stone with legs!"

"Were you in a team with…?" Mr. Han turned to me and asked, "Remind me, what was his name?"

"Evans Hidklife," I replied.

Hearing this, Mr. Han turned back to the other side of the room and shouted again.

"Evans Hidklife!"

No immediate answer followed, but after a few seconds, a response came.

"Yeah, there was someone like that… in a past life. What do you need him for?"

Mr. Han turned to me and said, "That's as far as I go. Just don't marry that beast in human skin; it'll leave you with nothing."

"Thank you very much," I replied, heading toward the table where the answer had come from.

Arriving there, I saw two strong women. Both were well-trained, with pronounced but not excessive musculature, similar to Mr. Han.

"Good day, gentlemen."

"Ho ho ho, hello, bunny."

I don't know why, but that's what most of the elderly patients who frequented the room started calling me, including Mr. Collins, whom I approached.

"Let me understand. You were the one interested in Evans?"

"Can you tell me something about him?"

"Of course I can, but why would I do that?"

Saying these words, Mr. Collins raised the queen from its previous place and approached the king, who was sitting alone in the corner of the gaming table.

"Mat, heh, the amateur. Look who you're playing against."

With these words, Mr. Collins took a silver lighter from the other side of the table.

"Go to hell, Old Fox!"

With these words, his opponent got up, his face irritated, and headed for the exit of the hall. But his description isn't entirely wrong, because Mr. Collins actually had orange hair and eyes, though I don't think that's the reason for his nickname.

"And if I play with you, will you tell me?"

"Quite a cheap price for information about a former ManaMaster."

"Then what do you want? But I'll tell you right away, I don't have any money, and I'm no longer part of the clan."

"Let me think… Then, one week."

"One week?"

"For one week, you will play with me whenever I'm free."

Kail didn't think much about the proposal and accepted it.

"Okay, but I also have to do my daily exercises."

With a fox-like grin and smile, Mr. Collins said, "Wonderful."

Thus began my ordeal on the chessboard, though I had no idea what awaited me.

e4 e5; moves were played

"So, Evans, what do you want to know about him? How did you hear about him in the first place?"

"I'm looking for someone who could teach me martial arts with the body I have now, and from what I found out, Mr. Evans had a similar defect."

One thing must be made clear here: It is not possible to learn martial arts from scratch alone. This is simply a waste of time because you cannot learn a technique just from reading about it or seeing images. You need to take into account the body's balance, the muscles involved, the concentration of ether, and the way it circulates through the body. If you're using a weapon, you also have to consider how the ether circulates through it. If you're a genius of the millennium, you can succeed in such a thing, but the average person cannot. That's why we need someone to point out what's being done wrong. What's the point of building a new road when you don't know where it leads, what materials it should be made from, or how thick it should be?

"What can I tell you? Evans really didn't have the central artery in his left leg. If I'm not mistaken, it ended just above the knee. From there, he wore the exoskeleton (non-ether armor). Looking at what I've learned, I can't say much. All I know is that the techniques he practiced were quite effective and advanced."

"Speaking of techniques, can you tell me about the martial arts he practiced?"

"These don't come from any clan, family, or HTU. He was the only one with such techniques. In areas with many obstacles and low visibility, he was like a fish in water. I personally didn't see how he acted in direct battles, but the number of ElderMasters (ManaMasters for Elves) he eliminated from a distance exceeds the number of fingers you have."

"Do you know what happened to him after the peace was declared?"

"I have no idea. I only know that if it hadn't been for the ManaGrandmaster who appeared near the end of the war, Evans would have received the recognition medal. But unfortunately, fate is unclear."

"Mate, bunny, see you tomorrow."

It's like I found out a lot of things, but I got little meaning from them.

The next two months passed in rehab. Mr. Han coached me on strength training, often mentioning how he wished his own nephew were as focused. Chess games with Mr. Collins was brutal; he'd leave me with nothing but my king while he paraded his three queens around the board.

Once a week, Lia would appear. As soon as I saw her, I would immediately try to make a 180-degree turn and move as fast as possible, hoping the nurse wouldn't shout at me for running through the hall. That never worked properly. She was always scolding me or yelling across the hall. She could have just asked the nurse or the doctor directly about my whereabouts. What's the problem with this girl? Why does she stick to me like that? Even the people at the festivities didn't push their business cards at me with such intensity. I don't understand it at all.

Finally, I narrowed down my search to Evans Hidklif and two other individuals who had adapted without certain Etheric Arteries:

Alias: Blaze Slash

Name: Hitoshi Kuriyama

Rank: 583

Specialization: Knight

Main Weapon: Katana

Missing Ether Arteries: Left forearm

Maximum Ejection Fraction: 89%

Constitution: Ignis

He relies on quick and deadly attacks. The katana is wielded with his right hand, while his left hand remains on the saya (katana case). He only uses both hands to attack out of necessity. His style focuses on deflections rather than direct power.

Alias: Sharp Rock

Name: Hardy Miller

Rank: 3564

Specialization: Knight

Main Weapon: Sword and shield

Missing Ether Arteries: Right leg, from the middle of the calf

Maximum Ejection Fraction: 85%

Constitution: Earth

The model of an ideal knight, his technique revolves around deflecting with the shield and attacking the exposed openings with the sword. However, it strongly relies on the non-etheric armor for his leg.

Both are acceptable variants, but neither was superior in their chosen niche like Mr. Evans from Mr. Collins' stories. Evans had enormous skill and involvement; the information he transmitted was the fastest, and the number of leaders he eliminated without direct combat was close to the record of some legends in human history.

October 21, 3104

Two days before my discharge, Lia found me again.

"Hey, Kail!"

"Hello, Lia."

"Guess what the doctor told me?"

"That you're completely healed?"

"Yes! How'd you know?"

"You mentioned your treatment would end after two months, and here we are."

"Yeah, that's right! And the doctor said I'm going to become the strongest ManaDomain user ever!"

I was taken aback. Our doctor wasn't the type to say things lightly.

"What's your ejection fraction?"

"Kail, that's not something you talk about openly. But I'll tell you." She leaned in and whispered, "110%."

But how? how? 100% means that the entire surface of the skin removes ether, what the hell does 110% mean

Then I remembered that the reason she came here was that it was difficult for her to breathe and after taking preparations her skin hurt

Her central arteries have such a large diameter that the ones she had open until now were not enough to remove the iron from the arteries

She really can have the ejection fraction equal to 110%, not always but when she takes it by force to eliminate ether from the arteries, the amount of it eliminated in the atmosphere will exceed that eliminated by 100%, of course this comes with a lot of possible complications because you can't withstand such an intense elimination, but the very fact that she can do such a thing makes Lia unique so unique that I wouldn't be surprised if the Kingdom of Therianthropes and the Imperial Clan of the Elves intervened with some actions

"Lia, seriously, don't tell anyone—not friends, not relatives. Please don't repeat what you just told me, okay?"

"Kail, you're exaggerating, aren't you?"

"I'm absolutely serious. Promise you won't tell anyone."

"Ahhh, fine."

"Say it properly."

"Kail, I promise I won't tell anyone about… Mmm!"

I covered her mouth to stop this fool from endangering herself without realizing it.

"That's it. I believe you; no need to make it more specific."

As I started to pull my hand away, I felt her kiss my palm.

"Kail, if you wanted to get close to my lips, you just had to ask. Why so serious?"

"You are definitely not normal."

"I don't want to hear that from you, emo boy. Your only redeeming quality is that pretty face of yours. Why do the prettiest people have to be the strangest?"

"If that were true, I guarantee you'd be at the top of the pedestal."

For the first time in two months, I replied back to her jokes and the result was amazing—her flustered expression was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

Wow, this is too beautiful and cute. It's way too easy to get addicted to this.

Without another word, Lia turned and headed for the exit.

And again, these old farts appeared from who knows where. I made sure they weren't near at the beginning.

"Better than in the cinemas!"

"I almost shed a tear."

"Bravo, bravo, bravo!!"

"Ah, I feel young again."

"That's how I met my wife."

"Don't lie, you scumbag."

Extremely stupid comments started to surface.

"HahaHaHaHa!"

Only Mr. Collins was dying of laughter and approached me.

"Our bunny seems to be a carnivore. Well done, boy! For such a show, you deserved it."

He held out his hand, which contained a letter and a map.

"The letter isn't for you, but the map is from Forest Elderwood. On October 23rd, I've arranged a car that will take you to the entrance. After that, you'll be on your own. If you're lucky, maybe you'll get a teacher. If not, here's everything I could help you with."

Looks like I'm lucky after all.