The next day.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and morning mist still clung to the trees in the forest.
Matthew woke up early. His body had fully adapted to the intensity of the training, unlike in the beginning.
Back then, his body would ache every morning after a night of training.
He took out a few strips of dried meat—about a finger long and two fingers wide—from his cloth bag and chewed them slowly, washing them down with fresh water.
After eating breakfast, he did not delay for a second. Grabbing his one-handed sword, he headed out the door, his steps brisker than usual.
His first stop was still the outer buffer zone of the Shadow Forest.
His sharp gaze swept over several preset trap locations.
Thanks to his 【Vine Trap】 skill having reached the "Practiced" rank, resetting the traps was exceptionally quick.
Most of the traps were perfectly camouflaged and untouched, but one of them had successfully caught a plump wild rabbit.
Matthew felt a surge of joy. With a thought, instead of snapping its neck, he placed it directly into his cloth bag.
As for the trap location where he had found goblin footprints yesterday, he carefully inspected the surroundings but found no new suspicious marks or signs of activity.
“Nothing...” Matthew thought, feeling a slight twinge of disappointment.
Still, the harvest was good enough. Matthew didn't linger and quickly made his way back toward Stone Mill Village.
Once the outline of the village came into view, he didn't return straight to his humble shack. After a brief moment of thought, he headed toward the other side of the village.
Specifically, to Uncle Byrne's house.
One of the goals he had set last night was to learn a new skill, especially a ranged method like archery or throwing.
As a veteran of the village training and the one responsible for teaching the youths how to use slings and shortbows, Byrne was the most suitable candidate.
“If I want to learn from a master, I naturally need a gift,” Matthew thought, weighing the cloth bag in his hand. The plump rabbit inside was still twitching slightly. “A little courtesy goes a long way.”
Although it wouldn't be a huge issue if he went empty-handed, Matthew didn't want anything to go wrong in such an important matter.
Before long, he arrived near Uncle Byrne's house.
Byrne's house was slightly larger than those of the average villagers, built with stone and thick timber, making it look much sturdier.
There was a flat, open space outside the house, clearly used for practicing with slings and shortbows.
It was still early, and the front door was tightly shut, but wisps of smoke were already rising from the chimney.
Matthew walked up and knocked on the heavy wooden door.
“Who is it?” Byrne's muffled, raspy voice called out from inside, sounding like he had just woken up.
“Uncle Byrne, it's Matthew,” Matthew answered, raising his voice.
It was quiet inside for a moment, followed by the sound of footsteps.
With a creak, the wooden door swung open, and Byrne's tall, imposing figure appeared in the doorway.
He looked to be in his forties, with a burly build and a weathered face from years of hard work. His eyes held a hint of confusion.
“Matthew? What brings you here so early?” Byrne's gaze fell on Matthew, then swept down to the slightly bulging, moving cloth bag in his hand.
“Uncle Byrne, sorry to bother you,” Matthew said with a slight bow and a respectful tone. “I was lucky enough to catch a wild rabbit near the forest. Knowing how hard you work teaching everyone, I brought it over for you to enjoy.”
As he spoke, he loosened the opening of the cloth bag, revealing the plump grey rabbit still kicking its legs inside.
When Byrne saw the rabbit, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
“You rascal... you certainly know how to handle things,” Byrne said, his voice still deep, but with less of the morning rasp and a bit more warmth. “You're too polite. Keep it for yourself. Practicing swordsmanship takes a lot of energy.”
“Have you had breakfast? Come in and sit down, don't just stand at the door.”
Matthew smiled with joy and pressed the cloth bag into Uncle Byrne's hands.
Byrne looked at the kicking rabbit in the bag, then at the undeniable sincerity on Matthew's face. After a brief hesitation, he took the bag.
“You rascal...” He shook his head with a helpless smile. “Alright, I'll take it.” He stepped aside to let Matthew in, placing the bag on a low table near the door.
Matthew followed him inside.
The interior was simple but tidy.
The stove was still warm, with a small pot sitting on top, emitting white steam that carried the aroma of food.
Byrne walked over to the stove, lifted the lid, grabbed a coarse clay bowl, and ladled out half a bowl of thick, golden porridge.
“Here, eat it while it's hot.”
Matthew took the warm clay bowl, thanked him, and sat down to eat in small mouthfuls.
After chatting casually for a bit, Matthew got straight to the point. “Uncle Byrne, I want to learn something from you.”
Byrne stopped eating his porridge and looked up at him. “Learn something? Do you want to learn the sling or the shortbow?”
He asked directly, clearly having already guessed the purpose of Matthew's visit.
After all, everyone in the village knew that Matthew was making rapid progress in his swordsmanship under Calm's instruction. Now that he had approached a veteran responsible for teaching ranged combat with a fresh catch, his intentions couldn't be more obvious.
“Yes, Uncle,” Matthew said honestly. “I want to learn archery from you.”
He had chosen the shortbow for two reasons. First, weapons like slings were hard to find, and high-quality ones were likely even scarcer.
Second, a shortbow was a proper ranged weapon with a longer range and greater power.
Byrne finished the last bite of porridge in his bowl and nodded in agreement.
Matthew's willingness to offer a wild rabbit as an apprenticeship gift showed how serious he was. Since Byrne was already the teacher for the shortbow, he had no reason to refuse.
“Alright. Since you've thought it through and are willing to put in the hard work, I'll teach you.”
After saying that, Byrne set down his empty bowl, stood up, and walked over to an inconspicuous wooden chest in the corner of the room.
He opened the chest, pulled out a shortbow and a simple quiver, then walked back to the table and placed them in front of Matthew.
“These are the only shortbows left in the village. They're all old things.”
Byrne patted the dark, worn wooden shortbow, its string visibly loose.
“This one is still usable. The string is made of cured animal sinew, but it's quite old, so its elasticity is nothing like it used to be.”
Hearing this, Matthew looked at the old shortbow. With a mixture of anticipation and nervousness, he reached out and gripped it.
The familiar small text clearly surfaced before his eyes:
【Poor-quality equipment 【Old Wooden Shortbow】 detected. Equip?】
【Yes/No】
Matthew silently thought, “Yes.”
【Equipment: Old Wooden Shortbow (Bound)】
【Quality: White】
【Equipment Requirement: Strength 3.5, Constitution 3.0】
【Description: An old shortbow stored in Stone Mill Village for many years. The body is slightly warped and the string is loose. If repaired, it would make a decent bow.】
【Effect: Slightly increases the training efficiency of Basic Archery.】
【Skills: None】
Rate on N.U.
