Carter asked curiously, “Check your archery skill. You should have it now and I’m curious as to what it’s at.”
Startled, Jade nevertheless decided to check.
Archery
Beginner 9
86%
She laughed a little nervously, then said haltingly, “Beginner 9, 86%.” She heard Carter whistle as Jeremy shook his head.
“That’s just crazy. Does all your stuff grow this fast?” Jade considered Jeremy’s question, then shrugged.
“I haven’t been checking the progress of stuff more than once a day. I knew my speed was fast, but that’s it.” Jeremy and Carter were both shaking their heads in awe.
Jeremy said ruefully, “Guess that means you won’t stay in this class very long.” She pondered this, then shook her head.
“Actually, I think I’ll stay here even when my skill advances. If I’m not wrong, the intermediate archery class has a lot more people?” Carter nodded, so she went on. “Besides, it would screw up my schedule. I’d rather have a smaller class so I can get more instruction.” She shrugged and grinned. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but she’d rather have a tutor than class instruction. She’d learn more. “It might change because I think I’m going to have to move my schedule around next week, but a least for now, I’ll just stay here.”
Carter nodded, since her logic made sense. “Alright! Well, the best way to get better is to practice. Once you can hit bullseye ten times in a row, we’ll move you back to the next target.” The rest of the next thirty minutes was spent with her and Jeremy shooting until their quivers were empty and then collecting the arrows while Carter gave them tips and instructions on how to do better.
Both of them had managed to move on to the fifty-foot targets by the end of their class time. Grinning, Jade held her hand up. “High five!”
Carter and Jeremy both just stared at her, and finally Carter asked, “What are you doing?”
Jade groused, grumbling as she walked straight up to Carter as she took his hand, forcing him through the motions of a high five. She mumbled poutily, “Just because you’re old doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.” So Carter wasn’t really OLD, he was probably mid thirties like Stephen and Eric, but still. Both he and Jeremy burst into laughter.
“Is it something from your old world?” Jeremy asked curiously, and she nodded.
“It’s basically what people did to celebrate stuff. Like hey, you did a great job, high five! Or hey, we won, high five! Score, high five!” She didn’t mention the butt slapping. Probably too much for this world. She might give someone a heart attack if she tried, which almost made her want to try.
“I see. Then high five!” Jeremy put his hand up and Jade bounced like a little bunny to hit it, since him holding it at the top of his reach was way too high for her, but she was laughing as she managed to glance against his hand.
Carter was shaking his head, just laughing at her antics, and soon all three of them were giggling helplessly. Carter tried to calm down, but then one look at her and Jeremy would set him off again; it was the same for them. It was only when other people started to show up and look at them laughing madly that they finally calmed down. It looked like the intermediate class was here. Grinning, she nodded to Carter as she said gratefully, “Thanks for the help. See you Wednesday!” Glancing at her pocket watch, she realized she needed to hurry if she was going to make her small blades class on time. Quickly shoving her quiver and bow into her bag, she nodded in greeting to the students she passed.
“Hey Jade!” Jackson cheerfully greeted her as she passed. Adam was by his side and waved a greeting at her as well.
“Hey guys! Have fun with Carter. Catch you later!” They nodded, shooing her out because they also knew she’d be late. She began a slow jog to her next training field destination, a bright grin on her face.
She had sunshine, friends, and new things to learn. What more could a girl ask for?
Chapter Four – Impaling
Having realized that low numbers would be a theme in the beginner classes of essential weaponry, she was less surprised when she got to the small blades training ground and found herself alone with the instructor. It made a certain amount of sense. She’d pretty much seen that everyone carried around at least one dagger with them at all times. It was convenient both for food and as an emergency measure in case one was confronted by a monster. Maybe the commoners didn’t have proficiency with the bow, but all the nobles would at the very least. As for why there were none of the talent students here…well, if they were admitted because they were talented, then them having proficiency with knives wasn’t all that surprising either.
Plus, she figured even stuff like cooking could probably net you some proficiency. The beginner levels went by pretty fast, and most people probably got stuck in intermediate for a very long time, if they ever got out of it. They weren’t like her, who got insane bonuses to everything, it seemed. She couldn’t be sure, but she figured either siphon or adaptable were playing a part in her natural learning too. Maybe both.
Smiling, she dug through her memory for his name as she went forward to greet her private tutor–er, professor. “Hello, Viscount Xay.” He held out a slightly scarred hand to take hers, bending grizzled lips over her fingers. His wiry body spoke of extreme flexibility even as he bent. His hair was short with a few threads of white in the brown mass to signify his age of around forty, if she had to guess. Unlike many of the other professors who wore loose clothing, his was tightly fitted to his lean body. She wondered if he had an ounce of fat on him or if he was just pure muscle and bone.
“Jade, it’s lovely to see you again, but please, call me Brady.” His tenor voice was melodical, and she vaguely recalled seeing singing on his list of siphonable abilities.
Glancing around to make sure there were no other arrivals in sight, she asked cheerfully, “So, do I have you all to myself for training, or are we waiting for more to arrive?” She was barely on time, so she doubted anyone else was coming, but it never hurt to check.
He chuckled softly. “Just you. The rest of the herd was here last hour.”
She smiled apologetically. “Sorry to take so much of your time for just me.” Even though she was glad to have the personal instruction, because she was pretty sure she’d grow much faster this way, she was also sure a viscount had better things to do than teach her to wield the shinies.
He shook his head, grinning. “Don’t worry about it. It’s an honor to be able to teach a traveler.” Well okay, that kinda fit in with the whole hero worship that went on here, but she was glad not to see a fanatical gleam in his eye when he talked about it. Just humor and respect, which was swell as far as she was concerned.
Grinning back at him, she pulled out her bag and showed him her collection of daggers. “Thank you then! I’m looking forward to learning how to use these without impaling myself.”
He laughed upon seeing her collection. “You have enough there?”
She shrugged innocently. “I didn’t buy them. They were a gift! Was I supposed to say no?”
Shaking his head, he reached in and started pulling them out. “Alright, let’s start by figuring out which ones you want to use regularly. We’ll figure out which ones you’re comfortable wearing and then start with how to pull them out without, as you so eloquently put it, impaling yourself.”