The Academy's Time Looper-Chapter 58: Target Practice
Giving one last disapproving glance at the crowded students in the lobby, Athen turned around and opened the lobby doors, immediately feeling a gust of wind rush against his face.
The sky was still lit a light orange, not pitch-black yet, so Athen watched the sky as he walked towards the training hall.
Within a few moments, he was already standing in front of the hall with his briefcase in hand.
According to Professor Caldris, he had run out of mana, so Athen doubted he would be able to train with it today.
However...he was at least going to try.
His body had reverted to the state it had been in before he entered the professor exam, with his wound being healed; however, his mana, for some reason, had been consumed.
In all honesty, Athen didn’t know anything about mana; he was simply making assumptions.
"There’s no way mana is finite, right...?"
Muttering those last words, Athen entered the training hall, which thankfully had fans all over the place to cool him down.
Glancing around the training area, Athen was surprised to find a familiar face in the exact same place as yesterday.
As Athen looked at her and remembered his time in the pitch-black void, he suddenly recalled his momentary encounter with the girl named Delphi after the admission ceremony.
He still hadn’t figured out she knew his real name.
Was she perhaps...also a regressor?
Or, had she somehow recalled memories of the past loops that Athen’s other selves had completed?
That would make sense...because Alice had called him "Aktaio," which was the name he had been called by in his second body possession.
Shaking his head, Athen brushed off the thought for now and carefully opened his briefcase, surprised to see his crossbow in perfect condition.
Recalling how he had mercilessly thrown it to the floor and called it useless, Athen sighed before eventually picking it up.
Staring at Alice, Athen confidently picked up his crossbow and walked towards her.
It was time to do some probing.
How had Alice found out about the name "Aktaio?"
Had she gone through a pitch-black void experience like him?
Then, standing a couple of feet away from Alice, Athen raised the crossbow to his eyes and carefully launched an arrow at the target ahead.
*WHOOSH*
At the exact moment Athen shot his arrow, another arrow flew out from beside him, easily surpassing his own arrow and hitting the target first despite being fired after.
Taking a glance to his right, Athen glanced at Alice, who... was simply standing still with another arrow in her hand.
After examining her light-blue glowing arm with a newfound respect for a couple of seconds, he nocked another arrow in his crossbow.
*WHOOSH*
Then, like clockwork, the second Athen’s arrow emerged from his crossbow, another faster arrow fired from Alice’s bow.
The arrow that Alice shot not only flew faster than Athens’ but also hit the perfect bullseye, while Athens’ arrow only hit the edges of the target.
Alternating gazes between his and Alice’s target, Athen couldn’t help but look down in disappointment.
Her arrow was faster than his. That much, he had expected...she was using mana with a bow, and he was simply using a crossbow.
However...the accuracy?
With the speed and strength she was putting into her bow, getting a high accuracy on the target should have been insanely hard.
On the other hand, all Athen had to do to get a bullseye was account for gravity and wind.
He even had a scope, for god’s sake!
Calming himself down, Athen placed another arrow in his crossbow and got ready to fire.
Of course, he was worse than her!
Like Kai said, she was the emperor’s niece.
As part of the imperial family, she had probably received the best training tutors and equipment to train with.
She probably had years of experience with the bow on her belt already.
However, this was his second day even touching a crossbow.
Sighing, he looked through the scope, leveling it a bit higher and to the right of the bullseye, and clicked the trigger.
*WHOOSH*
"..?"
Was she doing it on purpose?
Alice’s arrow zoomed past his own arrow, hitting the dead center of the target.
And, Athen’s arrow...was too high.
Landing a couple of centimeters above the target’s center, Athen’s arrow pierced the target, joining his two other arrows.
Athen glanced at Alice without bothering to hide it; however, she was simply looking straight at her target with a serious expression.
Though...Athen saw her cherry-ride lips slightly twisted up into a smile.
She...was doing it on purpose.
Although he had no evidence, Athen was absolutely sure about it.
Why?
Because she was...simply standing still and looking straight, not even bothering to shoot another arrow.
She was waiting for him!
Athen had seen her fire arrows off and reload them yesterday, and it had been much faster.
Still staring at her, Athen leaned downward and grabbed another arrow, and as if mimicking his movement, Alice’s hand reached down and grabbed one as well.
At that moment, Athen considered doing something drastic.
If he used his time-stopping ability, he could move her target slightly to the rate right as her arrow fired, making her completely miss the target.
Considering the pros and cons, Athen suddenly recalled another way to somehow beat her.
Use mana.
Taking a step back and facing the area where the bows were hung, Athen closed his eyes and tuned out the sounds of the fan.
*Thump~thump*
*Thump~thump*
As the sound of his heart beating echoed throughout his brain, Athen concentrated on the blood being pumped, trying to sense any unknown substances.
However, there was nothing.
Only the hot feeling of his blood and its crimson-red particle flowed through his heart.
With a sigh, Athen turned around and reopened his eyes, immediately stepping back upon seeing someone else standing by the glass doors of the training hall.
Through the glass, he could see a familiar figure with snow-white hair and matching pupils standing outside.
Before he could even react, the doors of the training hall swung open, and Delphi walked in.
