Ren’s life as an apprentice adventurer was going fairly well.
His mornings started early. In the dim light before dawn, he stood quietly in the yard, repeatedly drawing his bow. His target was a bundle of straw tied to a stake.
As a gentle breeze brushed his cheek, he carefully aimed and released an arrow.
Whoosh—
The sound of air being cut.
Thud.
A dull impact as the arrow pierced the straw bundle.
“…Alright.”
It was slightly off-center, but he felt like his accuracy had improved compared to before.
Ren let out a small breath.
He never skipped his morning training. The sun was beginning to rise, and soon his siblings would come out to the yard for their own practice. Until then, this was his most focused time.
His eldest brother Ryan trained in archery. His eldest sister Liese practiced wind magic. His second brother Lewis trained in shield techniques. And his younger brother, the fourth son Royce, practiced earth magic.
The fifth son Yuan and second daughter Yona, who had yet to undergo the Blessing Ceremony, trained in swordsmanship.
After Ren received the “Small Box” skill, the following year the fourth son Royce obtained “Earth Magic.” Since then, their parents had pinned their hopes on Yuan and Yona to finally produce someone in the family with a sword skill.
Before that, Yona, being a girl, hadn’t been made to train with a sword—but a while after Royce’s results from the Blessing Ceremony came in, she too had been made to take up a wooden sword.
The skill Ren had received was “Small Box.”
He still couldn’t forget the silence and disappointment that filled the air during that ceremony.
“Ren-niisan, are you still doing archery?”
Royce, the fourth son, stepped into the yard and spoke as soon as he saw him.
Ren let out a small sigh.
“Ren-niisan, even if you work hard at the bow now, you won’t gain a skill, you know?”
Royce said it with a slightly mocking tone. Ren said nothing and turned back toward the straw target, releasing another arrow.
Thud.
This time, it landed closer to the center than before.
The corner of Ren’s mouth lifted slightly—but Royce only glanced at it coldly.
“…It’s pointless…”
Royce muttered under his breath.
“As long as it hits, that’s enough.”
“Oh really? ‘As long as it hits’? It didn’t even hit the center. No matter how much you try, it’s useless! And you’re in the way! …Earth, rise!”
Bump!
The moment Royce chanted, the ground at Ren’s feet swelled upward.
Ren pulled his foot back from where the earth had risen, and at the same time, he glanced at Royce’s hand. Something near his palm shimmered faintly.
(Was that magic?)
While Ren was focused on Royce’s hand, a voice called out from the direction of the main house.
“Royce. Don’t mess up the training ground.”
“Ah! Ryan-niiue. …I’m sorry!”
Their eldest brother Ryan stood there with a bow in hand.
Royce immediately apologized and hurried to fix the disturbed ground, but before he could cast another spell, Ryan walked over and stomped the raised dirt flat with his foot.
“Using earth magic in a place like this—what are you doing?”
“Ren-niisan was shooting a bow even though he doesn’t even have the archery skill…”
Royce tried to justify himself, dragging Ren’s name into it. Ryan’s sharp gaze shifted toward Ren.
“…Why are you using a bow?”
Before the Blessing Ceremony, all the siblings had trained with weapons like swords, bows, and spears to gain strong skills. But after their skills were determined at the Blessing Ceremony, they only practiced what they had been granted.
So seeing Ren train with a bow despite not having the archery skill made Ryan look at him with suspicion.
“…Because it’s better if I can fight, even a little.”
“…I see…”
After hearing Ren’s answer, Ryan raised one eyebrow slightly, then turned toward the target and drew his bow.
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