The Miracle of the Splitting Arrow

Two days ago. Jeong Hayeon's personal training room.

"Split one arrow into multiple arrows?"

"Yeah."

"If I do that, each of the split arrows will have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way too little destructive power."

"That doesn't apply to you, so just try it."

"....Haa, fine."

Jeong Hayeon barely swallowed the retort that had risen to her tongue and drew her bowstring. Twang— The string grew taut in an instant. Whirr— Mana began gathering around the arrow. Whoosh— The arrow flew. In the blink of an eye, it split into several arrows. Thud, thud— But the split arrows failed to even reach the target, falling uselessly to the ground. Their reduced power wasn't enough to pierce the target at all.

"....I did exactly what you said. This is what happened."

"Did you really think it would work on the first try?"

"No. Obviously splitting the mana from one arrow into multiple would weaken the power. That's just common sense."

Her doubt was understandable. If the mana contained in a single arrow was divided among several, its destructive force would naturally diminish. Moreover, the very act of splitting caused mana loss, making the arrows pathetically weak. That was why no archer ever used this method.

But Jeong Hayeon was different. Because of her unique trait, the process of splitting mana didn't cause loss—instead, the mana grew stronger.

"Then let's try it exactly five more times."

Yet again, all five attempts produced split arrows with pitifully weak power. Her expression hardened instantly.

"...Hey."

"What?"

"The match is in two days. Is it really smart to try something new now? Wouldn't it be better to just do our best with what we already have?"

"Then you'll never win."

"So you're telling me to pull off something no one else has ever done—in just two days? That sounds like it'd tank my chances even more."

"....You have the talent to make it possible. You really can do it."

"Forget it. I only went along with this because I felt bad about you betting with Kant over me. I'll handle the rest myself. You should go practice too."

"But if you do that—"

Whirr— At that moment, the door opened and a man walked in. It was Hojin, the one who had confessed to Jeong Hayeon in front of the cherry blossoms not long ago.

"H-Hayeon, hey."

"Oh. Hey. What's up?"

"Ah... I brought this for you to eat while you train."

He held out the chocolate in his hands.

"This... I made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it myself."

His cheeks flushed red as he spoke.

"Oh... Hojin! Thank you so much, but..."

Jeong Hayeon's expression grew stiff.

"If it was just regular chocolate, maybe, but something you made yourself feels a bit much... Sorry."

Even I could tell that was over the line. They weren't even dating.

"Ah! I see. It was too much. I'm the one who's sorry."

Hojin turned away, cheeks still flushed. At that instant, a notification sounded.

What? Suddenly? A chill ran down my spine. The only people in this room were Jeong Hayeon, me, and Hojin. Jeong Hayeon definitely wasn't one... so could it be...?

I activated the skill. Hojin, who had been heading for the door, froze mid-step.

"H-Huh? What's wrong with me?"

Damn it. Why did things have to get so twisted?

*****

Two days later. The opening ceremony finally began.

The host standing at the center of the colosseum spoke.

"Before we start the main event, allow me to present a simple spectacle to whet your appetite."

Kate walked into the arena. He was my next opponent.

"Whoa! Kate!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Show us what you've got!"

"Before the main event, we have a demonstration ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠match between Kate and a second-year student."

The demonstration match was a minor event meant to build excitement before the main event. It wouldn't affect the evaluation.

Kate bowed politely to the audience. Beside him stood another second-year student. They faced each other. The referee glanced between them and spoke.

"Ready... Begin!"

The moment the match started, Kate's opponent conjured a flaming spear. The weapon in his hand looked extremely dangerous. Whoosh— He hurled the flaming spear straight at Kate. But Kate didn't move an inch.

"What? Even Kate can't block that without dodging, right?"

"What's he thinking? Even a shield spell wouldn't stop that."

"Flaming spears have insane destructive power—you can't take them head-on."

Kate extended his hand toward the flaming spear. Whirr— A blue barrier materialized in front of him. The flaming spear struck it and stopped dead. Not even a crack appeared on his shield.

"!!!"

The spectators' eyes widened in shock.

"What? He blocked that like it was nothing?"

"What kind of shield magic is that? Is it different from normal shield spells?"

His talent lay in shield magic. The shields he created far surpassed those of ordinary mages. A fireball formed in Kate's hand. Whoosh— It shot toward his opponent. The opponent hurriedly deployed his own shield spell. A blue barrier appeared before him. But— Crash— Unlike Kate's, his shield shattered instantly. The opponent collapsed to the ground.

After that, the arena fell deathly silent. Even though it was Kate, the overwhelming gap against another second-year was staggering. Everyone stared blankly at the arena.

"The winner is Kate!"

"Whoa, that guy's no joke."

"How about him as a guild candidate?"

In an instant, all eyes turned to Kate.

Haa... I already felt overwhelmed just thinking about how to beat him. But I looked at the elixir in my pocket. With this, winning wasn't entirely impossible.

*****

"Now then, let us begin the main event. Jeong Hayeon and Kant, please enter the arena."

The two stepped into the colosseum.

"Are both of you ready?"

"Just a moment."

Jeong Hayeon spoke. She took a deep breath. She had to win this match no matter what. The colosseum was filled not only with guild representatives but also high-ranking government officials. If she lost to Kant, the Crystal Guild's candidate, it would be tantamount to proving that the Hunter Association had fallen. Conversely, victory would prove that the Association was still standing strong. She absolutely had to win.

"Now! Let the match begin!"

Jeong Hayeon immediately put distance between herself and Kant. Kant held a dagger in his hand. His nickname was Assassin. His style was to close the gap in an instant and slit his opponent's throat.

"Hayeon."

Kant spoke. Jeong Hayeon stared at him in silence.

"I'll spend the next three minutes only dodging without attacking. How about that? That should even the odds, right?"

"...."

Jeong Hayeon bit her lip hard.

"I mean it. Don't believe me? I'll prove it."

Kant casually dropped his dagger to the ground.

"For three minutes, I'll only dodge. Go ahead and attack."

Jeong Hayeon silently drew her bowstring. Twang— She released it, sending the arrow flying toward Kant like a bolt of lightning. Whoosh— Kant smirked as he watched the arrow approach. Just before it reached him, he lightly twisted his body and dodged. Whoosh—

"Hayeon, that was way too slow, you know?"

The audience began murmuring at Kant's display.

"Whoa, what? He dodged that?"

"Doesn't that mean the gap between them is huge?"

"As expected... the Hunter Association is past its prime. Look at the chairman's daughter."

Jeong Hayeon ground her teeth at the mocking comments. Twang— She drew the bowstring again. Whirr— This time, she imbued the arrow with her mana. The arrow's color rapidly shifted to blue. Whoosh— It flew toward Kant at a speed incomparable to before. Kant tilted his head, then reached into his pocket.

"What? He's not dodging?"

"Isn't it too late to dodge now? That arrow's packed with mana—it's way too fast."

Kant smirked and pulled out his dagger. Clang— He deflected the mana-infused arrow. It fell limply to the ground.

"Whoa, he just knocked it away like that. Kant's the Crystal Guild's candidate, right? As expected from the number-one guild's candidate—impressive."

"Exactly. Comparing him to the Hunter Association chairman's daughter is almost embarrassing."

Jeong Hayeon swallowed hard. Was the gap between them really this wide? The first arrow was one thing, but the second had been fired with everything she had, channeling all her mana into it. And yet it had been deflected so easily?

"Hayeon, let's not make this any uglier. Just forfeit now, okay?"

Kant spoke with a smug expression. Jeong Hayeon silently nocked another ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrow and fired. But once again, Kant dodged it effortlessly. He even let out a bored yawn, as if the situation was tedious.

"Hayeon, you know this isn't working, right?"

Despair washed over Jeong Hayeon. All the preparation she'd done for today had been rendered meaningless so easily. Did she really have any talent at all?

At that moment, one person's words came to mind. Nam Doyun had said that even if she split her arrows into multiple, each one's power would actually increase. It was absurd. Normally, splitting an arrow naturally caused mana loss. But he had insisted she possessed the talent to make it work.

"Three minutes are up, Hayeon. Now it's my turn to attack."

Kant leaped toward Jeong Hayeon in an instant. If things continued like this, she would lose anyway. She had no choice but to trust his words.

Twang— Jeong Hayeon closed her eyes and drew her bowstring, aiming at the approaching Kant. Whoosh— The taut string loosened in an instant. A single arrow flew toward Kant. Kant casually drew his dagger, preparing to deflect it. Just before the arrow collided with his dagger, it split apart.

"Hayeon, you won't even scratch me. Not with split arrows."

Kant smirked. He ignored the split arrows entirely and charged straight toward Jeong Hayeon. Then, at some point, Kant's steps halted.

"Huh...?"

Kant stared at the countless arrows embedded in his body. Thud— Thud— What the hell just happened? How could split arrows pierce a body reinforced with mana...?

With that, Kant lost consciousness and collapsed.

"The winner is Jeong Hayeon!"

The referee shouted.

"Congratulations, Miss Jeong Hayeon. May we conduct a winner's interview?"

"....."

Yet Jeong Hayeon remained silent. Her gaze was fixed on one person among the countless spectators—Nam Doyun.