Supreme Archer: Taking The Game's Weakest Class To The Top

Chapter 152: Turtle Forest (5)

"You have to defeat the soldiers," Minerva said after a short pause, during which she recalled her younger times. "Those soldiers can not be defeated by normal means. They're heartless and soulless, meaning any destroyed part of their form will promptly regrow."

"How we defeat them?" Elizabeth asked. She could use her little hand to punch the soldier's head and turn it into splinters, but that clearly wouldn't be enough. Her wilderness and unique class allowed her to be as wild as she wanted, but that no longer applied to the turtle forest.

Jake wondered about it, too.

The first idea that popped into his mind was to utterly destroy the soldiers. He'd need Odin's Arrow for that.

Minerva smiled at them.

She said, "It's a part of your magic lesson, Elizabeth. Idiosyncratically, the heartless and soulless existences have mana sources that act like a heart and soul. The tree soldiers beneath us aren't the exception to this rule. That said, the mana sources are much easier to hide than a real heart. I've hidden their sources in various magic inscriptions."

"Eh," Elizabeth parted her lips in displeasure. Why did Grandma have to make things so much harder for them?

Minerva chuckled at her youngest descendant, "You can understand any language and naturally speak with others. As it has been proved by various scholars, magic is also a language on its own. You must learn how to read it. The potential of your innate skill is limitless, Elizabeth."

"I don't want to learn!" Elizabeth caught her head with her little hands and shook it. "I'm talented, so I don't need to study! My magic and talent are enough! I'm wild! I learn as I experience things!"

Alice lovingly smiled at the little girl upon hearing those thoughts. She meaningfully peeked at her best friend.

Minerva sighed.

As she wanted to approach the case differently, Elizabeth turned around and jumped into the hole.

With the harness still tied to her waist, Elizabeth grabbed the other end of her rope and flung it at the branch! The rope and its sharpened stone circled around the branch before tightly tying herself to it.

Swinging like on a swing, Elizabeth played around while looking around for a way to get down to the clearing.

"Archer… I apologize," Minerva said.

"There's no need, Mrs. Minerva. I have also found out that I might have a weak spot against her. It's also a part of our agreement that I help you deal with her naughtiness. I'll see what I can do," Jake replied with a smile.

Minerva couldn't have been more glad to have this kind of a player here.

She smiled and said, "While Elizabeth has her part in defeating the soldiers, yours is to enable her to see inside the soldiers and read the magic inscriptions. I haven't forgotten about your goal to become inspired by my magic. You'll see the potential and might of nature's magic in those soldiers.

The ability that has impressed you the most—the growing part—is the main source of the soldier's strength."

"Thank you, Mrs. Minerva," Jake slightly bowed before The Imperial Mage.

Minerva curtly nodded. "Take care of Elizabeth."

She passed him a book with essential knowledge to read through the magic inscriptions etched in the soldiers' frames.

Jake smiled, "I will."

-

Jake used his harness to safely land on the thick branch.

It was so easy because the green clouds of the trees teemed close to the ceiling in abundance. It was like an intricate web, allowing anyone to move around easily.

Jake didn't need to hook his harness to be safe.

Looking around, he found Elizabeth clinging to the thick tree's bark like a koala. This stance was similar to that of a bear, but Jake saw more of a koala in her than a bear.

He smiled and walked toward her.

"Were you waiting for me?" Jake asked.

Elizabeth nodded, "Yes! I need your help to defeat them!"

"Does it mean you want to find their mana sources?" Jake asked.

Elizabeth fervently shook her head, "We will overpower them! Defeat them in our combination of attacks!"

'Ah, what do I do now… this is surely possible because she's a natural talent, and I have strong arrows up my sleeve. But that would go against Mrs. Minerva's wish,' Jake thought.

Jake bought time for himself by asking Elizabeth about her skills.

Elizabeth proudly declared, "I have a strong bear punch!" She clenched her little hand. "I have a roar of the queen!" She parted her lips wide and made a menacing expression that only looked adorable. "I have a magic parrot gust!" She waved her little hand, conjuring a small breeze that raked Jake's hair.

Those were amazing skills related to her companions.

Jake didn't hide his amazement.

He nodded. "It's possible to defeat those soldiers."

That was when a new idea popped into Jake's mind.

Elizabeth didn't want to learn in Mrs. Minerva's way but still wanted to impress her Grandma and prove her way of the wilderness. While the latter was difficult to achieve, Jake got an idea that could make Elizabeth engaged in her studies.

He brought himself closer to her and whispered, "Want to go against Mrs. Minerva's plan?"

Elizabeth's eyes sparkled.

She asked, "What is your plan?"

"Instead of defeating those soldiers by finding their mana sources, how about we thoroughly read them and defeat them in ways that Mrs. Minerva doesn't expect us to?" Jake said. "From what I've understood, the magic inscriptions are letters written in a unique alphabet. Mrs.

Minerva said that the mana source is a sequence of letters hidden amidst other sentences, but what if those other sentences are responsible for other factors? Such as… a movement?"

"Oh…" Elizabeth exclaimed. It took her some time to understand that, but she could see where Jake was coming from.

Jake smiled, "Those sentences must be like snakes circling around the soldiers' forms like mana within our bodies. If we are about to destroy the soldier's arm, the sentence will run away to another part and wait for the arm to be regrown. Right?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes. I think so, too!"

"So we must catch the snakes and understand them to defeat the soldiers in different ways!" Jake exclaimed. He wanted to sound cool so as to Elizabeth would catch the bait.

He noticed that the little girl struggled as it still meant she'd need to read and learn from books.

Jake used his last card.

He took out Medusa from his pocket and showed her to Elizabeth.

He said, "There are so many species of snakes that you will never be able to learn about them all in person. But books have the power to take us to different worlds and experience parts of the worlds we have never been to before. You can learn about various species and their characteristics from books! Visit so many new lands, too!

Books about beasts from old times are also written in the old language—the mana language! You must learn that to read about them!"

Jake didn't know whether he was capping here, but it made sense for old books to use a different kind of language.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth decided.

"We will defeat them in other ways!" she declared. It seemed her heart must have been sparked by Jake's words. "We'll catch all the snakes!"

Jake took out the book Minerva had handed him and passed it to Elizabeth.

"It seems like we're safe up here, but we should get a camp on the ground," Jake said. It was because he was sure Elizabeth wouldn't be able to see through the soldiers' inscriptions from this altitude. He also could see her wanting to participate in the impending battles, so it'd better secure a spot on the forest's floor already.

Elizabeth nodded. "Sio, Puga! We're going down!"

Jake chuckled, "I'll go down in Wukong's style."

Once the duo reached the ground, they hid themselves in the bushes. The forest was dense, and it'd be difficult for any soldier to fight outside the clearing.

Jake's angles were also limited, but he was the hunter in this case. His targets were waiting for anyone in the clearing.

Jake also didn't forget about his beast-tamer quest.

He got onto his four, causing Odin to look at him with narrowed eyes.

Jake stared at the puppy, "What? I'm also a wolf now."

Odin tilted his head.

Elizabeth grinned, "That's it! I learned the roar of the queen by walking on four, too! I walked like Lew and even yawned and slept like him! It was so fun!"

Jake chuckled, "You heard her."

Odin sat down and gazed at Jake with mixed emotions.

It was weird.

Jake, however, didn't find it that weird.

He smiled and explained, "I want my heart to howl along with you as we release your arrow. I want to tame your feral side and further strengthen our bond and skills. Humans were wild too before getting their knowledge."

That said, he was glad no one could see him this way.

It'd take him some time to get adjusted to it.

-

"Haha! I can't wait to see what will come out of it!" Alice said as she stared at Jake walking on his four. It was so amusing that she rested her little head on her palm and stared at him from the mansion.

Inside that little house was a special mirror that monitored Jake and Elizabeth. For that reason, Alice could see the duo's adventure in the turtle forest.

On the other hand, Minerva stood petrified.

That Elizabeth opened the book on her own and began reading it!

"I can't believe it…" she said.

Alice grinned, "It's because you're too practical."

"Am I?" Minerva asked.

"You are," Alice smiled. "Sit down and enjoy the royal tea. Have a deeper look at the player that moved the hearts of Viktor and Aaron."

Minerva sat down at the table and raised a cup of tea.

What would Jake learn from Elizabeth and how he'd adapt her skills to his archery?

She couldn't see what could come out of it, and her interest grew in him.