‘The wrong path?’
I’ve read the suddenly-appeared quest a couple of times after a long wait.
Whenever a quest pops up, the reward is always the first thing that catches the eye.
That’s because main quests always seemed to reward with titles, new classes, or skills.
Even side quests have this unwritten rule that they’ll always reward with stat points.
So obviously, the first thing I checked was: how many stats points are we talking about here?
But this time, the reward wasn’t the first thing that stood out.
‘Cynthia… is on the wrong path?’
This left me pretty baffled. Even during the Elaine kidnapping incident at the opening ceremony, I wasn’t this confused.
“Ryu?”
“Uh… yeah.”
Only after Professor Amillion called out my name again did I manage to close the quest window.
The professor looked at me perplexed, while Cynthia just looked apologetic. Both of them were staring at me like I was some alien.
“Ah, sorry. I was just spacing out.”
“…Well, that’s it for today. Let’s all head back. It’s getting late.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“…Yes.”
Professor Amillion helped ease the awkwardness in the air, and the three of us exited the forest together.
As we left the forest…
‘Man, I probably need to talk to her.’
“Cynthia, can we talk for a moment?”
“I’m gonna go ahead!”
“Wha–”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Cynthia cut me off with a quick bow. “Sorry. Let’s talk tomorrow. See you!”
Both Professor Amillion and I could only watch silently as Cynthia’s back disappeared into the distance.
Looks like I’m not the only one who noticed something was off with her attitude just now.
“I’ll be going ahead too, then.”
“Alright.”
I need to investigate Cynthia further…
Lately, this has been the trend.
‘Ugh, I didn’t mean to say that much.’
Cynthia trudged aimlessly towards the academy’s premises, regretting her earlier outburst.
She reacted entirely too strongly to Ryu’s words.
“Man, why am I like this?”
It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Lately, Cynthia was feeling unusually sensitive, even snapping at friends over harmless day-to-day chats.
Why was she so mad about something so minor that should’ve passed without a hitch?
She could suppress her emotions when surrounded by others, but this time, she snapped. She wasn’t the kind of person to get angry so easily.
“Tch…”
When one thing starts going well, another starts piling the stress on.
Cynthia took a deep breath to calm herself as she turned to head home. But she knew deep down going home wouldn’t help. She’d only stew more in her own frustration.
Time to blow off some steam.
She absentmindedly checked her bow tied to her back, and her hand also reached into her front pocket, feeling the candy resting inside. Both were right where they should be.
Shuffle. Shuffle.
A moment ago, her steps were sluggish. Now, her confident strides echoed on the forest path. With every step, the stress seemed to fade.
Ever since her recent progress with the bow, she found joy and satisfaction in every training session. Those days of struggling with targets or losing control over her mana arrows were long gone.
Gulp.
As soon as she entered the training ground, she instinctively pulled out a glowing-blue candy, placing it in her mouth.
The moment it touched her tongue, the candy dissolved, turning into a magical liquid that quickly boosted her confidence. She confidently grabbed the bow.
A familiar sight opened in front of her. The target 200 meters away felt like it was right in front of her. Even the tiny bugs flying nearby were crystal clear.
‘Today, I’ll sh**t three at once.’
Creak.
Without even needing arrows, Cynthia pulled back the bowstring. A blue aura started emanating from her hand, shaping itself into arrow forms.
Three mana arrows, glowing bright blue, took shape effortlessly.
This was an ability Cynthia had recently mastered. Now it was time to hit the mark.
Creak.
She pulled back the bowstring as far as it would go, closing one eye for better aim.
One arrow for the center of the target, another for the flying bug, and the final one for a falling leaf.
The moment she released the bowstring…
Whish–whoosh!
One hit the target dead center.
CRACK!
Another shattered the falling leaf into nothingness.
Woom–
“Ugh!”
Unfortunately, the arrow aimed at the bug went wide. It continued cutting through the air, missing its mark.
It was still hard to hit moving targets.
‘Maybe just a little more practice…’
Though she regretfully clenched her fists over missing the bug, she wasn’t disheartened. Creating three mana arrows at once and successfully hitting two targets was still satisfying.
Creak.
Without resting, Cynthia immediately prepared her bow again. Her focus was razor-sharp as she stared at the target.
‘Cynthia is this… different?’
After splitting ways with Professor Amillion, I followed Cynthia on gut instinct alone.
I just felt I had to.
She didn’t head home as expected but instead redirected her steps to the training ground.
TWANG.
CRACK.
“Yes!”
Cynthia repeatedly shot arrows at the target. Though she had been trying to hit three targets simultaneously for a while now, only one arrow consistently hit the mark. Still, her accuracy had visibly improved.
‘Definitely suspicious.’
It wasn’t her behavior or the way she practiced that seemed off.
As soon as she entered the training ground, I secretly followed. I clearly saw Cynthia quickly popping something into her mouth.
Though her hand covered it completely, I could guess what it was—a candy.
It reminded me of something I’d briefly forgotten due to Cain’s incident—an event where Cynthia received a candy from someone at night.
The moment that memory resurfaced, I was certain of what she’d eaten—a candy.
Ever since eating the candy, she’d immediately picked up her bow and continued shooting arrows non-stop.
I knew from past conversations with Cynthia that creating mana arrows was a painstakingly difficult process, requiring immense focus.
She once scoffed when someone suggested there was no need to carry real arrows since you could create mana ones. She had retorted that creating even one mana arrow required tremendous effort and took time.
But now? Cynthia wasn’t just creating three mana arrows at once with ease—she was firing them repeatedly, seemingly without effort.
‘The power and speed are no joke either.’
The arrows Cynthia was firing weren’t mere novelties. The speed at which they zipped through the air was too fast for me to track with my eyes.
Frankly speaking, based solely on the skill she was showcasing now, even Elaine’s battle against her might not have a guaranteed winner.
Of course, since it’s a fight between a knight and an archer, Elaine would have an advantage if she could close the distance.
‘…This is ridiculous.’
Ironically, even having these thoughts about Cynthia being a powerhouse just weeks after seeing her shaky performance during a competition against ghouls and d*ath knights was baffling.
I could clearly remember how scared she’d been, barely able to hold her bow steady.
“Phew.”
As I stood there in a daze watching this new version of Cynthia, she finally lowered her bow.
Though no physical arrows pierced the target, the center was visibly dented from the mana attacks.
Creak.
After letting out a small sigh, she repositioned the bow.
‘Not done yet?’
“Ah.”
I thought she would continue, but she didn’t.
While aiming the bow, she seemed to notice something odd and quickly lowered it.
“Guess thirty minutes is my limit.”
Cynthia whispered to herself.
‘Thirty minutes…?’
Even from far away, I could clearly hear her muttering to herself. Thirty minutes was her limit.
Creak.
She pulled back another arrow toward thin air. However, instead of forming a mana arrow, it just fizzled out with a small crackling sound.
The contrast between this and her earlier performance, effortlessly creating three arrows, was glaringly obvious.
With that, she efficiently packed up the bow and strapped it back on.
‘Wait…’
Cynthia moved quickly, as if eager to leave the training ground. Watching her back as she departed reminded me of someone.
Cain Hover, lying unconscious in the infirmary after drinking a potion that allowed him to conjure nine phoenixes.
Cynthia eating candy, firing mana arrows, and suddenly growing stronger. The wrong path. The pieces were beginning to connect.
“Could it be?”
The scattered words started to piece together into a coherent idea in my head, and what started as a hunch quickly turned into a certainty.
Just like the kidnapping of Elaine, Cynthia too seemed to be in a dangerous situation.
Perhaps slightly different in nature, but dangerous all the same…
