Chapter 14: The Second Customer (2)
“Archers typically focus on building upper body strength to the extreme. It makes sense because in war, the goal of an archer is to shoot as quickly and accurately as possible from a fixed position, so there’s no need to train the lower body. But now, we have many enemies and no one to protect us. We need to focus on learning how to fight on our own and master shooting while moving.”
Taragon’s jaw dropped. Keter was three years younger than him; although he had grown up in the infamously tough lawless city of Absinthe, it couldn’t account for the enormous difference in perspective.
What kind of life must he have lived to be able to speak about things like that so freely and fluently?
Keter really didn’t seem like a junior to Taragon.
“That’s why running is necessary for members of the Sefira family, because it allows you to improve your stamina while also training your lower body. Of course, you’re probably doing it now, but it’s just for warming up. Building the strength to run all day is the priority, then we can move on to shooting while moving.”
If given the choice between training and actual combat, Keter would choose combat. However, only one in a hundred survived and became stronger through real battles. The likelihood that Taragon would be that one person was very low. Of course, the odds would increase significantly if Keter watched over him, but Keter didn’t care for Taragon that much.
“Do you need more reasons about why you need to run?” Keter asked.
“No, I understand. I’ll run from sunrise to sunset, and after building up my stamina, I’ll learn how to shoot while moving,” Taragon replied.
“There should be manuals on shooting while moving, so don’t come to me. And don’t skip running even for a day. No matter what happens, make sure you run—even if it rains, even if you catch a cold, even if you’re mentally out of it.”
“Huh? That’s a little...”
“You can do it. You won’t die. I know because I’ve done it.”