At the archery range, after Yuki Yoshino's father finished teaching Kael every fundamental technique he needed, he finally stepped back and let Kael handle the bow on his own.
Kael looked toward the distant target, drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and released without any extra preparation or hesitation.
He could rely on his Divine Senses to improve his archery in an instant, but even with that, experience still mattered. He needed to fire at least one arrow before he could analyze the data properly.
The moment the first arrow shot out, the air resistance, speed, and surrounding environmental feedback poured into him through Divine Hearing and Divine Sight. The arrow landed at the lower right corner of the target—off-center, but still a clean hit. And the power behind it was frightening; the arrowhead buried itself completely.
The target they were using was extremely sturdy. For an arrow to punch into it like that… it was hard to imagine what in the wild could withstand a hit like Kael's.
"That's insane…"
Everyone froze for a moment. None of them expected Kael's shot to carry that kind of force.
Kael didn't care about their reaction. He drew again, this time with enough data to adjust properly. The moment the bow reached full draw, he fired—this arrow slammed straight into the bullseye with enough force to rattle the entire target. If it wasn't fixed into the ground, it would've toppled over.
Before anyone could react, Kael fired three more arrows back-to-back. No pause. Draw—release, draw—release. All three landed dead center. Perfect hits.
Now that he understood the mechanics of shooting a stationary target, Kael was essentially landing bullseyes every single time. Moving targets? He hadn't tried those yet, but with a few attempts, he could match that accuracy too.
"You really never touched a bow before?"
Yuki's father looked like his worldview had just collapsed. He'd grown up training with a bow; guns weren't always available, so bowhunting had been his main skill for years. He knew exactly how hard archery was. And Kael just… broke the rules of reality.
"Maybe I'm just gifted in this area," Kael said casually. Whether anyone believed it wasn't his problem.
"Forget it. Use this bow for the next few days." He handed Kael the bow and a quiver full of arrows. For this hunt, the team wouldn't be returning midway—they'd stay deep in the mountains until the event ended.
After gathering equipment fit for trekking the forest, Kael even bought herbs to make his own mosquito-repellent ointment. It worked far better than anything from a pharmacy.
Once everyone was fully prepared, the hunting party assembled at the village entrance early the next morning.
"Hey, isn't that Kael-kun and Nakiri-san? And Yoshino-san too, right? Didn't expect to run into you three here."
The three turned around and found a fully geared young woman smiling at them.
"Aren't you third-year Rindo Kobayashi-senpai? What are you doing here?"
Yuki recognized her instantly—every Totsuki student knew the Elite Ten, and their photos were all over the school network.
Rindo Kobayashi, Second Seat of the Elite Ten—one step away from being a Five-Star Chef. In the original timeline she joined the traitor side not because Azami brainwashed her, but because she followed Eishi Tsukasa.
"What else? I'm here for the Hunting Festival. Looks like you guys are too."
Since they were all from Totsuki, they naturally started chatting. Rindo had pulled strings to join this hunting group, but meeting underclassmen from her own school made things easier.
Once all the hunters gathered, Kael was placed at the very front of the formation. After witnessing his Special Ability yesterday, Yuki's father made the decision instantly. In the forest, Kael's Divine Hearing worked like a radar, making him perfect for scouting.
And since Yuki's father had personally seen Kael's raw strength, Kael was also considered one of the group's main firepower.
"Looks like Kael-kun must be pretty good with that bow if they're putting him in front," Rindo said, eyeing the massive bow in his hand—along with the huge blade strapped to his back.
Kael was carrying the largest knife from the Seven-Star Knives set. It was useless in the kitchen, but during a hunt, it was perfect.
Before Rindo even finished speaking, Kael had already drawn his bow. An arrow shot out with a sharp whistle and disappeared into a patch of grass more than thirty meters away.
A dull thud followed.
The team rushed over and found a venomous snake pinned straight through its head, nailed to a tree. Its body was still twitching, but only because of the remaining muscle reflex—its brain had been completely destroyed.
"A venomous snake? From over thirty meters? And it was hidden in the grass… How the hell did he notice it?" The hunters crowded around, glances full of admiration.
This was a marksman's shot.
"Incredible. So that's Divine Hearing, huh? Your Ability is ridiculously useful in a forest. Nothing dangerous could ever sneak up on us." Rindo instantly caught on.
"Pretty much. The snake only flicked its tongue once—just enough for me to hear it," Kael replied with a smile.
They continued forward. Every so often, Kael would make a tiny gesture—and before anyone realized what was happening, another animal would already be down. Things the others couldn't even see, Kael picked up effortlessly through sound.
"A perfect hunter… It's a shame real hunters barely exist anymore," Yuki's father muttered. With Kael's Ability, he could've become a legendary hunting king himself.
After several hours, guided by Kael, they reached their first camping point. Normally, they would arrive by nightfall—yet with Kael eliminating all dangers, and picking up extra game along the way, they arrived just after noon.
"Too fast… At this rate, we're finishing the same trip that used to take all day."
The veteran hunters were stunned, but also understood—Kael's Divine Hearing was absurdly broken. He'd killed five venomous snakes alone.
With the sun still high, Yuki's father split everyone into groups to hunt separately, instructing them to return before nightfall.
Kael naturally ended up grouped with the girls. After seeing Kael's abilities, Yuki's father didn't assign any additional veteran hunters to their team. With Kael present, they were the safest group by far.
Yuki carried a hunting rifle; every group needed one for emergencies. Hunting was always dangerous—even with guns, injuries and casualties were common.
"Kael, which way should we go?" Yuki asked.
"Left. Make markers as we go."
Kael picked up the faint scent of wild boar on the ground. He didn't know exactly where they had gone, but following the trail should eventually lead to them.
Yuki marked the trees as they walked. Getting lost was easy in a forest—though Kael didn't need it. He remembered every path perfectly.
After about thirty minutes, Kael suddenly heard a faint grunt.
"Found them. This way," he said, moving quickly.
A few minutes later, they reached the mouth of a cave. Even from outside, the sounds of pigs inside were clear.
"We really found a boar den… but we can't tell how many. We should call the others," Yuki whispered. Wild boars always moved in groups—they were far more dangerous than lions or tigers.
"Three adults. Eighty-five kilos, sixty-three kilos, and seventy-two kilos. Seven smaller ones…"
Kael listed them calmly—weight, size, everything.
Rindo blinked. "That accurate? Three large ones… Yeah, we should call backup."
But Kael stepped forward and smiled. "You three back up. I'll handle this."
Inside the cave, there was barely any light, but that didn't matter—Kael had Divine Sight. He could see clearly enough to shoot blind into the darkness.
He pulled the two-stone bow to full draw and fired. Then again. And again.
His movements blurred. The bow became a rapid-fire weapon, each arrow slamming through the darkness. Ten arrows fired in just a few seconds.
The moment the first arrow landed, the cave erupted with boar screams—but none of them made it outside. The noise quickly died down.
Kael had aimed every shot straight into their eyes, the arrows piercing through into their brains. Even tough wild boars couldn't survive a hit like that.
No normal hunter could replicate this. Even with a gun, hitting ten boars in the head within seconds was impossible.
Once everything went quiet, Kael slung his bow over his shoulder, walked inside, and dragged out the boars one by one.
Ten total—three big, seven small. All dead instantly.
And the forest fell quiet around them.
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100 Powerstones = 1 bonus chapter.