Up on the platforms built into the trees, rows of female elves stood eagerly, whispering among themselves.
They were all looking down at Luca who was currently thinking about how he was going to take this training session.
Beside him, Nyx stood with her usual playful grace, though sothing about her was different.
Her skin practically glowed, and there was an unmistakable brightness in her eyes, a satisfied expression that made several elves whisper.
"She looks...so fresh right now."
"Yeah...what did she do to make her skin shine like that?"
"She must’ve used so kind of beauty spell!"
Nyx only smiled to herself, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
A few monts later, Luna returned—freshly changed and trying very hard to appear composed.
Her cheeks were still faintly pink as she whispered.
"I hope no one noticed..."
Lulu grinned wide, leaning close. "Noticed what?"
"Nothing." Luna snapped quickly, turning away, her ears twitching in embarrassnt.
Luca chuckled at the siblings before he looked around and saw dozens of eager eyes locked onto him.
They’d waited too long already, and from the way so of them were bouncing in place, he knew if he didn’t start soon, they’d probably tear him apart out of impatience.
He was just about to begin when he caught sight of soone slowly slipping away toward the edge of the clearing—Leona.
"Leona." He called out suddenly, his voice carrying easily through the clearing. "Where are you going? Are you not going to watch this?"
The entire crowd turned toward her at once, making her stiffen mid-step.
"You’re probably the best archer in the entire village. And since archery is your forte, if anyone should be here, it should be you."
He paused, his grin sharpening just slightly.
"So why are you sneaking away right now?"
Leona’s jaw tightened.
She felt the weight of everyone’s gaze on her, and though her face remained composed, inside she felt a flicker of embarrassnt.
It was awkward.
Incredibly awkward.
Being in close proximity to her sister and Luca after what she had seen behind that tree...
...it made her want to run away from this place.
But more than that, there was a bigger reason she didn’t want to stay.
She glanced around at the other elves, then looked down, her expression shifting into sothing almost...guilty.
"It’s not that I don’t want to stay." She finally said, her voice calm but tinged with sorrow. "It’s just...I don’t think anyone here wants around. After all, my presence...makes people uncomfortable."
Her words made the atmosphere turn awkward.
Technically, Leona was sort of an exile.
After all she technically sided with the male elves and was separated from the rest of the village.
And after everything that had happened, no one really knew how to treat her anymore.
Even Luna looked down, unsure of what to say to her mother.
Sensing the tension, Leona forced a small smile and said quietly,
"It’s alright. I already know enough about archery anyway. I’ll just step away for now—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—no."
Luca interrupted suddenly, waving his hand.
"You’re not going anywhere."
Everyone blinked, while Luca grinned and went on to say,
"This class is ant for every female elf in this village, which includes you, Leona. And actually..."
He added with a glint in his eye.
"...I need you for sothing right now."
Leona frowned slightly. "Need ? For what?"
"For my demonstration." He said, gesturing for her to co closer.
She arched a brow in a curious manner.
"Demonstration? A demonstration of what?"
Luca chuckled.
"Just co here and you’ll see. Besides..." He said, lowering his voice. "...if I let you walk away now, it’d make everyone else more awkward than letting you stay."
Leona hesitated.
She looked around—the elves were whispering but they didn’t look hostile.
Luna herself was watching her quietly with a faint look of worry rather then the irritated look on her face that she was expecting.
So, seeing that no one really minded too much, she sighed and stepped forward, standing beside Luca.
He nodded with a pleased smile before he picked up one of the bows lying on the table—an old, rough-looking wooden thing and raised it up for everyone to see.
"Alright." He began. "Before we start shooting anything, let’s talk about these or rather let give you my opinion about the bows you guys use."
He turned the bow over in his hand, examining it critically before finally saying,
"To give you the honest truth, these bows are..." He paused dramatically. "...horrendous."
A collective gasp went through the elves.
"Hero!" One protested.
"What do you an terrible? We worked hard to make those!"
"Oh, I know you did." Luca shrugged, feigning sympathy. "But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re garbage."
"I an, just look at it."
He turned the bow sideways, pointing out flaws.
"The curve’s uneven, the string’s weak—it looks like it’ll snap if you so much as sneeze near it. The wood’s too stiff, not flexible enough. And the arrows?"
He picked one up and rolled it between his fingers.
"Completely unbalanced. Feathers uneven, shaft rough—honestly, it looks like a child made it."
The elves exchanged embarrassed glances, so looking away in sha.
"Hey! It’s not our fault, okay?"
Lulu puffed up defensively.
"We used to make bows out of mana before! Back then, we didn’t even need strings or arrows—we’d just form them with magic."
She made a quick motion with her hand, mimicking how the old technique worked.
"See? You’d just gesture, and—poof—a perfect bow and arrow!"
"She’s right. This is all new to us." Luna nodded, joining in. "We spent years just learning to carve wood properly. The fact we even made these is already an achievent."
Luca chuckled softly, raising a hand in surrender.
"Alright, alright, fair point." His expression softened. "You’ve all adapted well enough given the circumstances. And you’re right, adapting is a huge accomplishnt."
"But, and this is a big but, I’m not here to pat you on the back for a valiant effort. I’m here to make you lethal. So, I’ll say it again: as weapons, these are really, really bad."
"But, don’t worry about it. I’m going to change that."
Then he looked toward Leona and said,
"But before we start improving anything, I want a demonstration."
He handed her the sa primitive bow and one of the uneven arrows.
"I want you to show everyone how it’s supposed to be done. Take that bow, Leona, and hit that target."
He pointed to a target far in the distance—much farther than any of the elves had dared to shoot earlier.
Leona hesitated. "With this bow?"
"Exactly." Luca replied. "What’s wrong? You’re not scared, are you?"
"Or maybe you think you won’t be able to hit it? Afraid I’ll compare you to myself?"
The mont he said that, Leona’s competitive spirit surged.
Her eyes flashed.
Without a word, she grabbed the bow and arrow, notched it smoothly, pulled back the string—
—and released.
The arrow shot straight through the air.
Thunk!
It struck the target perfectly.
Dead center.
Bullseye.
The elves didn’t cheer—it was still too awkward—but they looked at her in awe.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"She’s amazing..."
"No matter what, Leona’s skills are incredible..."
"She’s still the best archer in the village..."
Even Luna couldn’t help but look at her mother with the sa awe and pride she used to have before their fallout.
Luca also nodded, a satisfied smile crossing his face.
"Good shot."
Leona felt a flicker of satisfaction bloom inside her chest, though she kept her expression neutral.
But then Luca gestured toward another target, one set up much farther in the distance, nearly twice as far as the first.
"But that was simply a warm-up." He said casually. "Right now, I want you to shoot the target over there."
Leona’s eyes widened slightly as she followed his gesture.
She stared at the distant target, then looked back at him, her confidence wavering.
"I...I don’t really know about that." She admitted slowly, her voice uncertain.
She glanced down at the bow in her hands, then back at the target.
"I can definitely shoot anything within the range that I just hit. I’m confident in that. But if I try to shoot farther than that..."
She trailed off, frowning.
"Even if my aim is perfect, even if I do everything right—the arrow itself will falter. It’ll catch the air wrong, spin off course, drop before it reaches the target."
She t his eyes, her voice firm with conviction born of experience.
"I’ve tried. Many tis. It’s not feasible.."
Luca nodded thoughtfully, his smile never fading.
"I see. That makes sense."
Then, without another word, he opened a small portal in front of him—a shimring rift in the air that glowed faintly.
The elves gasped, as he reached inside and pulled out another bow, holding it up for everyone to see.
It was beautiful.
The wood was smooth, polished to a faint gleam.
The curvature was precise, perfectly symtrical.
Even the string shimred faintly with tension, like it was alive.
He handed it to her and took back the old one.
"Try this instead."
Leona’s fingers brushed the surface, and even from the touch alone, she could tell the difference.
Her grip tightened instinctively around it as she tested the string.
It pulled back fluidly, the resistance even and firm, unlike the clumsy stiffness of the village bows.
"This feels..." She murmured, eyes narrowing in focus. "...incredible."
Luca smiled knowingly.
"This is the sa type of longbow you’ve been using here." He explained. "But this one’s made properly—with accurate alignnt, balanced curvature, and a reinforced string."
He tapped the side lightly.
"No uneven pressure points, no weight imbalance, and no warped limbs. It’s precise. Try it—you’ll see."
He handed her a few new arrows as well—sleek, straight, perfectly feathered.
Leona looked at the target in the distance again, her doubt flickering for a mont, but when she felt the tension of the new string, sothing within her stirred—a long-forgotten thrill of mastery.
Drawing in a deep breath, she notched the arrow, pulled the string back to her cheek, aid steadily, and released.
The arrow whistled through the air with a sharp, clean sound.
Thwack!
It struck dead-center on the farthest target—bullseye once again!
And seeing this incredible shot, that they had never witnessed before—
—the villagers completely lost their earlier awkwardness and cheered like maniacs.
"OH MY GODS!"
"SHE DID IT!"
"THAT’S AMAZING!"
"FROM THAT FAR—HOW?!"
Leona herself stood frozen, bow still raised, staring at the tiny dot of red where her arrow now quivered.
She’d done it.
She’d actually done it.
The cheers washed over her, warm and overwhelming.
Elves were clapping, exclaiming, turning to each other with wide eyes and excited chatter.
Even Luna was staring at her with sothing that looked almost like wonder, rember why she always thought of her mother as her idol.
Luca laughed, breaking through the noise.
"See?" He said, gesturing at the bow in her hands. "This is literally the sa type of bow. Sa design, sa concept."
"But with proper modifications—accurate construction, quality materials, attention to detail—you can shoot distances you never thought possible."
He turned to address the crowd, voice rising with enthusiasm.
"This is the first reason your archery has been failing you. Your bows and arrows are faulty. The craftsmanship isn’t there."
"...But that’s fixable."
The elves leaned in, hanging on his every word.
"Later, I’ll gather your craftsn—the ones who work with wood, who carve and shape. I’ll teach them how to make longbows like this one. Properly. Precisely."
The elves erupted in excited murmurs.
"He’s going to teach us how to make these?!"
"This could change everything!"
"Our village will be unstoppable!"
It was a simple sentence, but the weight of it was enormous. Luca was basically offering them a treasure trove of knowledge—knowledge that could transform their entire way of life.
But before the excitent could fully take hold, Luca raised a hand.
"But don’t get too excited just yet." He said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I have another bow I want to show you."
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