BXBX NOVEL Chapter 57: Connections (1)
[Ax Ice: I\'ll be in the sanctuary in 5 minutes.]
[Archer: kk.]
The new nickname on Jake\'s friend list was his archery master, Ingrid.
His sudden phone call had surprised Ingrid because Jake never missed any of their lessons and was one of those perfect students—he believed in her skills and experience.
Besides attentively listening to her advice, Jake didn\'t hide the archery forms he had developed in the game world and his thoughts about them.
He included Ingrid\'s image and experience in his forms, mainly Master Form, fixing them and becoming an acceptable archer in the game.
As for real-life archery, Jake didn\'t let the fantasy take over him and only asked questions whenever he needed confirmation. It was too early for him to start any real-life competition, so he focused on building his real-life muscles and adapting his archery to his real-body strength.
Of course, he often asked about modern and compound bows and the differences between older bows to enhance his gaming experience.
His view of being the best archer included crafting his own bows and arrows, after all.
Ingrid told him she\'d meet him in the Legend Enigma Online with her second character.
She\'d sometimes play with her friends or meet her students on it.
The former had less time than her to play the game because of real-life responsibilities. The latter were so absorbed in the game world that they would rather practice in the game than in real life.
Because of this, Jake didn\'t really meet any other students during his nearly six months of real-world archery training.
After five minutes, Ingrid left the sanctuary that Jake had arrived in just yesterday.
This place was also used as a respawn and teleportation point, which explained to Jake why he had seen so many different players upon leaving it for the first time.
Ingrid\'s equipment, made of leather, was classified as light armor. Her black over-knee heels covered half her legs, and her black pants sheathed the remaining gap. Her white shirt, fastened by the black vest, was drawn taut by her prominent chest.
The only difference from her real-life self was the hair—a frisky black ponytail bobbed behind her head. Her eyes remained vibrant blue, and her skin was as pale as it was back on Earth.
Jake smiled, "Nice to see you in the game world, Master! You look good in black. Makes you feel more serious… and colder, I guess?"
"I went through high school and college in black because of it," Ingrid cast a rare smile at him.
Jake didn\'t shy away from it, "Sounds exactly what someone famous would say."
"Girls and boys, all alike, would swarm me for no apparent reason," Ingrid nodded. "The black hair killed the mood just like I wanted."
"I see," Jake nodded.
Because he had spent more than a half year regularly training in archery with Ingrid, Jake became close friends with her. He could comfortably talk with her about casual stuff like high school and more.
The archery bonded them closer, and Jake already proved to be serious about it.
Which meant that Ingrid was also intent on helping him reach his dreams.
Nonetheless, the age gap between them was clear to the eye.
A few stares, smirking or disgusted, had gone past them, but Jake and Ingrid were already engaged in a conversation about Jake\'s gaming archery and problems.
"When you called me, I first thought you wanted to postpone the training… you spent so much time on the tutorial island that it didn\'t even cross my mind that you could be on the mainland by now," Ingrid said before walking away from the sanctuary as though she had noticed the gazes in question.
Jake followed her, standing abreast. "I lost my bow in quite an awkward way. It shattered into pieces because of my high stats."
"Stats?" Ingrid asked. Her eyes widened for a second when Jake showed her his stats and level. It was an expression that spelled more than any verbal praise, making Jake smile.
It was nice to impress his master, who taught him a lot.
Jake also felt like his choice was good because of it.
Ingrid said, "Impressive. Since I\'ve seen a little of your stubbornness, I take you haven\'t tried any other weapon than a long bow yet. Is that why you need my help?"
"Yes… I was thinking of crafting a recurve bow—" Jake said, and before he could finish his sentence, Ingrid held a recurve wooden bow in her hand.
She said, "I have a few. Though no one is like you who wants to practice archery in real life, a few want to learn this profession in the game seriously. I needed to get my hands on a few types of bows available here."
"Thank you, Master!" Jake grinned, "I\'m intruding on your free time, I think, so how much for this bow?"
Jake learned in college that time was money and that proper adults distributed it seriously. He understood that Ingrid could ask him to pay for the lesson he was about to receive from her.
Ingrid, however, shook her head, "I\'ve come here of my own volition. In all honesty, I prefer teaching others back in my club without any fantasy aspect. The whistle of a raw arrow hitting a plain target and its echo gratify me the most. I\'ve been indulging a lot in it because of you, so take it as my thanks for being my pupil."
She had spent years saving up money to make her archery club and that closed room in which whistles and echoes of arrows glanced off the four walls.
It was her pride, which was lonely until Jake came in.
Jake developed his passion so well throughout those past six months that his archery sounded different each month.
For Ingrid, it was a priceless joy.
Jake took the bow and thanked her from the bottom of his heart, "Thank you! I just paid twenty percent sales tax, you know…"
Ingrid\'s face twisted…
Damn taxes.