"I’m scared..." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"It’s farther than I expected,"

"My hands are shaking..."

While the archery started, a few people voiced out their worries. It was only Lionel who calmly stood in line while quietly holding the bow in his hand. His expression remained composed compared to the others around him.

He knew that archery wasn’t his best skill. Compared to his swordsmanship, his skill with the bow was only average at best. That’s why he had a low grade on it with his system.

However, thanks to Sir Reinhardt’s training these past few days, he at least understood the proper basics already. Lionel slowly exhaled while looking toward the target ahead.

"Ready yourselves!" the commander’s loud voice echoed throughout the field.

The trainees immediately straightened their postures afterward.

"Begin!"

"First Arrow!"

The sound of bowstrings snapping instantly echoed around the field.

Twng!

Several arrows flew forward immediately. Some hit the outer rings of the target, while others completely missed and landed on the dirt instead.

"Tch..." One trainee clicked his tongue in frustration after his arrow missed badly.

Meanwhile, Lionel calmly placed his first arrow against the bowstring before slowly pulling it back.

Twng!

The arrow flew forward cleanly before landing near the middle rings of the target. It was not perfect, but decent at least.

The commander quietly observed from the side without saying anything.

"Second Arrow!

Lionel immediately prepared his second arrow afterward. Compared to the nervous trainees around him, he was much calmer. It ws probably an advantage for someone like him who grew up surrounded by training like this.

Twng!

The second arrow landed even closer toward the center.

"Hm." The commander narrowed his eyes faintly after seeing that.

Soon, the field became continuously filled with the sounds of arrows being fired one after another. Some trainees gradually improved after calming down, while others became even more nervous the more they missed.

Meanwhile, Lionel was consistent in firing his arrows one by one. Even if none of his arrows perfectly hit the center, most of his shots consistently landed around the middle circles of the target.

And inside the Imperial Army, especially for newcomers like them, consistency was sometimes more important than flashy talent alone.

"Last arrow!"

Twng!

The final arrows flew across the field one after another before embedding themselves in the wooden targets ahead. After that, silence briefly ensued over the area.

The trainees slowly lowered their bows while catching their breath. Some immediately looked toward their targets nervously, while others already looked disappointed before the results were even announced.

"Everyone, stay where you are," the commander ordered firmly.

Several imperial soldiers soon walked toward the targets to inspect the results carefully. They began checking each arrow placement while writing numbers down on wooden boards.

Meanwhile, Lionel quietly loosened his shoulders while waiting calmly. His arms felt slightly sore from repeatedly pulling the bowstring, but thankfully, he did not embarrass himself too much.

At least none of my arrows completely missed. Lionel thought quietly to himself.

Not long after, one of the soldiers returned toward the commander and handed him the recorded scores. The commander briefly glanced over the papers before speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Overall results are acceptable."

The trainees immediately fell silent after hearing those words.

"Now then," the commander closed the score sheet afterward. "We’ll proceed to the next evaluation."

Some trainees instantly looked exhausted already just from hearing that. However, nobody dared complain openly. The trainees immediately straightened up again after hearing his tone.

"Now then," the commander closed the score sheet afterward. "We’ll proceed to the next evaluation."

"Move to the riding grounds."

"Yes, Commander!"

Soon enough, everyone began following behind him once more. Compared to before, the group was more silent now. The earlier evaluations already exhausted many of them mentally and physically.

As they walked farther into the training grounds, Lionel soon noticed a massive open field ahead. Rows of horses were lined up near the side while imperial cavalry soldiers stood nearby holding the reins of the horses calmly.

The moment a few trainees saw the horses, their expressions immediately changed.

"Horses too?"

"I thought this would only be swordsmanship..."

The trainees knew they were doomed. Meanwhile, Lionel quietly observed the field ahead. Compared to archery, this evaluation would probably exhaust even more people.

After all, horseback riding was expensive to learn properly. Only nobles, wealthy merchants, or military families usually had regular access to horses. Commoners rarely had opportunities to ride one unless they specifically trained for cavalry positions.

"This evaluation will test your balance and familiarity with mounted movement," the commander explained while stopping in front of the field.

"You don’t need to perform advanced techniques. We only want to see whether you can ride a horse or not."

A few trainees relaxed after hearing that. At least they could do that right?

Soon, imperial soldiers started leading horses toward them one by one.

Some horses looked calm and disciplined, while others stomped their hooves impatiently against the dirt. The trainees immediately became even more nervous after seeing the size of the animals up close.

They thought this would be easy since they would only need to ride it, but now that they’re seeing it up close, they realized that this might actually be hard.

Meanwhile, Lionel calmly accepted the reins handed toward him. The dark brown horse in front of him snorted lightly while shaking its head once. Lionel looked at it for a moment before gently patting its neck.

Thankfully, horseback riding was one of the things expected from noble children.

"Mount your horses!" the commander ordered loudly.

The trainees immediately began climbing onto their horses awkwardly.

Some struggled immediately, and one trainee even almost slipped while trying to climb up, causing nearby soldiers to become more nervous.

It was only Lionel who managed to place one foot against the stirrup before smoothly pulling himself onto the horse. His movements looked more natural compared to some of the others around him.

Soon enough, everyone finally lined up properly across the field.

"You will ride around the course once," the commander explained while pointing ahead.

Several wooden obstacles, turning markers, and narrow paths could be seen around the riding grounds. It was just an easy obstacle.

"You just need to maintain control of your horse properly."

"..."

"..."

The other newcomers immediately fell silent at that.