novelraw Chapter 122
Chapter 122
Ch.122 The Duel of Mastery
When the soldier opened the bag…
long cylindrical tools spilled out.
“What’s… that?”
Nekhuf and Nephert looked puzzled at the unfamiliar objects.
“Looks weird.”
And Aria:
“Whoa… it stretches out!”
Curious, the girl picked up a telescope and began extending and collapsing it repeatedly.
Yeah—why wouldn’t you be curious?
“This is a telescope.”
Telescopes are essential for long-distance navigation, so they’re common here—
though expensive.
“A telescope?”
“Yeah. Hold on.”
I mounted the telescope onto a scope mount and attached it atop ‘Equality.’
“There. Now the match is ready.”
“What’s that?”
Nekhuf and Nephert stared incredulously as a long scope appeared on ‘Equality.’
I waved it off casually.
“Oh? It just helps you see far away.”
Unlike real guns, ‘Equality’ fires in a perfectly straight line.
So, with proper aim, it can hit targets hundreds of meters—or even kilometers—away…
but human eyesight isn’t sharp enough for that. Hence, I modified the telescope into a sniper scope.
“Well, fine. Let’s duel then.”
Nekhuf and I stood before the target.
It was close enough that the bullseye was clearly visible.
“Ten shots—ten hits. Whoever’s ready may begin.”
—Whiiish!
The sound of an arrow slicing the wind—
Nekhuf drew his bowstring with incredible speed.
—Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
All arrows struck true.
—Wow… is that elf magic? Did you see how fast he drew?
—Insanely fast—and accurate!
Watching the soldiers marvel at Nekhuf’s skill, I spun ‘Equality’ with a flourish.
—Whirrr…
At this range, the scope was pointless.
I struck a dramatic pose and declared,
“Watch closely. This is the power of civilization.”
—Click!
I gripped ‘Equality’ stylishly and calmly pulled the trigger ten times.
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
The loud gunfire echoed through the fortress—
—What… was that sound?
—Sounded like a Fireball spell detonating!
—So it’s archery versus magic?
After firing ten perfect shots, I turned to the judging soldier.
“Go check.”
He hurried to the target.
“Both hit all ten!”
“Well, of course.”
“Basic stuff.”
The soldier nodded.
“We’ll move the target farther.”
As soldiers lifted the heavy target, I called out,
“Let’s start at 250 meters.”
“250 meters already?”
The judge looked flustered at the sudden jump.
“What do you think? Fine?”
Nekhuf nodded eagerly.
“That’s easy for me.”
“But… our archery range doesn’t even go to 250 meters.”
“Then we’ll do it outside the fortress.”
“Yes. I’ll prepare it outside.”
Soon, a voice rang out from beyond the walls:
—My lord! It’s ready!
“Shall we go?”
Outside, the target looked distant.
“Wow… it’s almost invisible!” Aria gasped.
I smiled. “This is the proper distance.”
Frowning hard as she strained to see, Aria asked,
“Brother, can you really hit something that far?”
“Of course. To this scope, that distance is nothing.”
Nekhuf, seeming offended, stepped forward.
“I’ll go first.”
He nocked an arrow.
—Whish!
An arrow vanished with a gust.
—Thud…
It hit—barely audible.
—Whish!
He loosed another, then another.
No rapid-fire this time—distance demanded focus.
After ten shots, it was my turn.
“Watch closely.”
I extended my arm, rifle steady.
Through the glass—no bigger than a coin—the target came into sharp focus.
I pulled the trigger.
—Bang! Bang!
Bullets pierced the bullseye amid deafening reports.
‘Equality’ had no recoil—just a smooth click per shot, unlike real firearms.
Ten shots. Done.
“Let’s see the results.”
The judge sprinted to inspect.
He raised both arms in wide circles—Nekhuf’s perfect score.
Then he repeated the signal for mine.
“This won’t do,” Nekhuf groaned, rubbing his brow.
I agreed.
A tie? Unacceptable.
I needed to win—prove my brotherly dignity to Aria.
“Then let’s place the target at 1 kilometer.”
At 1 km, even elves struggle—barely visible to the naked eye.
“That’s too far! You’d need spirit magic just to reach it, let alone aim!”
Seeing Nekhuf flustered, I smirked.
“Heh heh—I can hit 1 km no problem.”
“That’s… tough. You’d have to account for wind at that range.”
True—for normal ranged attacks. Even real snipers adjust for wind.
“But it’s easy for me. So—can you hit 1 km?”
I taunted with relaxed confidence.
“Fine! Let’s do it!”
“You heard him—move the target to 1 km.”
—At 1 km, it’ll be invisible!
—Even 200 meters is hard… you can’t even see it!
—Can he really hit it?
—Maybe with that device? He seems confident.
The soldiers murmured as I snapped,
“Hurry up. I’m hungry.”
The sun was already setting—I wanted this over fast.
They scrambled to reposition the target.
Soon…
“Brother! The target’s just a dot! Can you really hit it from here?”
“No big deal.”
“I’ll start!” Nekhuf declared, nocking an arrow.
“Sylph! Pierce the target!”
A sudden gust swirled, and his arrowhead glowed faint green.
He released—
—Swwweeeesh!
The arrow vanished with a sonic crack.
Did it hit?
Too far to tell.
Then—a soldier far off waved a flag in an X.
“Missed.”
—Even an elf can’t manage that? Can magic even hit something so distant?
—Nah, impossible. Hitting with magic is harder than arrows.
—Then the Baron will lose, right?
Ignoring them, I watched Nekhuf tear at his hair.
“Aaargh! So close! It was right next to it!”
I stepped up to take my shot.
“Hmm… Can’t see well. Aria—bring that leather bag from earlier.”
“The bag? I’ll get it fast!”
As the little girl dashed off, I squinted toward the target—
just a faint speck… no, indistinguishable to the human eye.
Wow… 1 km really is far.
“Brother, here!”
Aria returned with the bag.
I opened it and swapped the current scope for the largest telescope—the old one was for 500 meters; this one saw things much farther.
“Why replace it?”
“Because this one can’t see 1 km.”
—Squeak… Click!
“Alright—let’s go.”
Confirming the swap, I extended my arm toward the distant target.
Now it was clear.
The red bullseye centered in my view—I fired.
—Bang!
A thunderous report.
Moments later—
the soldier waved his flag in a wide O.
“Direct hit.”
“Nooo! Lost again!”
—He hit it at that range?!
—Wow… Lord Hans is amazing!
—Isn’t this cheating?
—Maybe? Humans can’t even see that far—how’d he hit it?
—The sergeant better say it hit—he’d be an idiot not to.
I glared at the gossiping soldiers.
“We’ll know for sure when you bring back the targets.”
Soon, they returned—
one target neatly pierced, the other untouched.
Mine had the hole; Nekhuf’s was pristine.
—Did he… really hit it? Seriously?
—Can a human even do that?
Their murmurs ceased. I addressed everyone:
“Heh heh—this is the power of tools. Humans are strong because we use tools. Remember that.”
Just then—
Aria sprinted over and clung to my leg.
“Wooow! Brother won!”
“Heh heh—I told you! I know how to use tools.”
“Yeah! Humans are awesome! Even Mommy couldn’t hit that far with magic!”
She probably could with Breath—dragon-exclusive magic so vast it could level a fortress in one blast.
But seeing Aria so excited, I ruffled her hair.
“Brother’s the best!”
She bounced, arms wide.
“Heh heh—of course. Who am I? The God-chosen savior of humanity! This is natural for me.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Her bright eyes sparkled as she nodded vigorously.
“It’s okay. The match was unfair from the start,” Nephert consoled Nekhuf, patting his shoulder.
Nekhuf still looked disappointed.
I glanced at his bow—
a common Sand Elf recurve.
Rare-grade, but not exceptional.
With better gear, he might’ve hit it.
“Still…” Nekhuf gazed wistfully at the target.
“You did well. With better conditions, you’d have hit it,” Nephert added.
“Just a tiny miss. So close,” he sighed.
Nephert also seemed regretful.
“Well… the match is over.
“The sun’s setting—let’s head back for dinner.”
“Yeah! What’s for dinner tonight?” Aria brightened.
“No idea. It changes daily.”
Noticing Nekhuf still staring at the target, I called,
“Nekhuf, Nephert—ready to eat?”
“Yeah, coming.”
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