Archer & Disciple: by Nick Venom (short books to read .txt) 📕

Episode One "The Master Archer"

“See you next week!” An older woman shouted from the doorstep of her house.

“See you, Ms. Hankins. Your back pain should be fixed by then.” He remarked, waving goodbye to the woman.

She nodded, thanking him again before he continued going down the long paved concrete road to his home at the edge of the village. However, he was stopped several hundred feet down the road. 

“Hey, Avin! Off to train?” A man shouted. Avin turned his head to face the man, finding a pale skin frail man staring at him. 

“Morning, Mr. Pollard!” Avin said. “I need to keep myself in check.”

“With a body like that? There shouldn’t be anything you would need to do.” Mr. Pollard remarked, glancing at Avin’s skinny but muscular body. Avin’s hair was lime green and extended to his waist. His hair was straight and well-maintained. Avin’s eyes were deep blue, a darker shade of the color than anyone had ever seen. It was memorizing and enchanting. It matched well with his tanned skin that was more on the whiter side than the darker one.

He wore a mostly white, with a few splashes of red, robe that felt loose on his body, ending at his ankles; not covering his shoes. His robe had splashes of red on his sleeves, creating long streaks and flowers, which were sporadically placed around.

On his back was his longbow and his quiver filled with a large handful of arrows. The quiver was made of Darkwood, a mixture of mana and normal wood that was better suited for long-time use thanks to Darkwood’s increased strength and duration.

“It appears so, but I need every day to keep it,” Avin responded.

“Come on, at this point you’re making every guy in the village insensitive about their bodies.” He joked, pointing at his own body. He was lean thanks to the back-breaking hours in the fields. “And you’re luring away all the girls in the village. Soon the men will hate you all.” Mr. Pollard said before chuckling softly.

“I’ve said it before,” Avin said with a smile. “I’m not interested in any women.”

“Except ours.” Mr. Pollard’s wife chimed in. She stepped onto the front porch alongside her husband, a frail woman a few inches shorter than Mr. Pollard. She stood straight, her back not being destroyed like most of the people her age. 

“Elizabeth is still waiting for you.” She said.

“I’m afraid Ms. Pollard, but she’ll have to wait an eternity,” Avin told her. He noticed two emerald eyes peering out of an open window. The eyes disappeared inside the house before reappearing by Ms. Pollard’s side. 

“Don’t say that!” Elizabeth, the Pollard’s child, exclaimed. She stood in front of her mother and covered her mouth with her hand. “Don’t say anything more.”

Ms. Pollard tried to say something, but it came out muffled. She tried again, but Elizabeth pressed down her hand against her mother’s mouth. 

“Awww, our daughter seems to be embarrassed.” Mr. Pollard remarked, flustering Elizabeth.

The pale-skinned girl shook her head. Unlike her parents, she had emerald eyes where her parents had brown and brown hair where they had black. There were some doubts of Elizabeth’s true parents, but those doubts were often silenced.

“Don’t tease her too much, Mr. Pollard,” Avin said, glancing behind him. “I’m afraid, I have to go.” 

Ms. Pollard took her daughters’ hand off her mouth, turning towards Avin. “Don’t worry, Elizabeth will wait two eternities for you.” She said with a smile.

“Mom!” Elizabeth shrieked. “Don’t say that!” Both of her parents and Avin erupted in laughter as Elizabeth looked down, doing her best to hide her blushed cheeks. 

Avin waved goodbye, heading further down the road to reach his home. He had finished his business with Ms. Hankins and now it was time to rest and regained his lost six hours of preparing. However, other business prevented him from doing so. 

“Leave me alone!” A female’s voice shouted. It came from an alleyway not far from Avin’s house. 

“You’ll sell for a pretty good amount in Asher.” An older man declared, his voice being kept close to a whisper.

Avin peered down the alleyway, seeing a man grabbing a girl and slamming her into a wall. Disgusting slavers again, Avin thought. He drew his longbow, pointing an arrow down the alleyway. 

“You wouldn’t want to do that here.” His voice boomed. The slaver heard Avin, frightened instantly. “I am Avin, the protector of this village of Paradise. Any action to hurt those under my protection is a threat to me. I eradicate threats.”

The slaver looked behind him, noticing stares from passersby. They were all directed at him. Knowing that he was trapped on both sides, he threw the girl before brandishing a knife. He sprinted away from Avin, hoping to capture a hostage and get out that way. However, he misjudged Avin’s strength, not feeling the arrow piercing his leg until his head hit the ground.

Avin had fired off an arrow that went through the slaver’s leg, tripping him. He crashed to the ground, looking up at the passersby in front of him. Two people, dressed in iron armor, grabbed him and dragged him away. They were part of the security in Paradise.

Avin rushed to the girl’s side, asking if she was alright. She nodded, bruised but not beaten. She stared at Avin, her large hazel eyes on full display. “You are Avin?” She questioned.

Avin nodded. “Yes, I am.”

“Then-” She kneeled in front of him, looking at the ground. “I am Jaylee and I’ve been looking for you.”

“Me?” Avin questioned. “Why?”

Jayle looked up at him. “My family told me to come here. They want you to take me in.”

“Who is your family?” 

“My father is Griv and my mother is Itayda.” She told him.

Avin sighed, taking a step back. “Of course, those two are your parents.”

“You do know my parents?” Jaylee tilted her head. 

“They were my ex-party members. How are they?” Avin asked.

“They’re okay. They retired in a village known as Warlock.” Jaylee said. She glanced at the crowd that had formed on each side of the alleyway. 

Avin didn’t notice the crowd. “How is your brother, Blaze? Has he been adventuring?” 

Jaylee nodded. “Blaze is a rank D adventurer now.”

“Rank D!” Avin exclaimed. “Wow, time has definitely moved. It felt like yesterday that Blaze was a small boy who looked up to me and wanted to be an adventurer like me. Those were the days… Okay, going back to the topic, they want you to serve as my disciple?”

Jaylee nodded. “They said I had potential with bows, so they sent me off to find you,” Jaylee told him. She showed off her bow, a makeshift bow that was on its final legs. 

Avin turned around, noticing the crowd. He waved them off, leading Jaylee out of the alleyway and towards his house. “If you want to become my disciple, you’ll have to prove your worth. I don’t take anybody, even if they’re prodigies, if they have no ambitions and can’t put an ounce of dedication into training.”

“Do you have any other disciples?” Jaylee asked him, glancing behind her. A shy Elizabeth followed after them, holding a bowl of vegetables. 

Avin glanced over his shoulder at Elizabeth, stopping. He turned around and pointed at her. “She’s my first and only disciple. She wasn’t a prodigy, but her dedication to her training has far surpassed them.”

Jaylee turned around to face Elizabeth, who muttered a weak “hi” to her. 

“Okay,” Avin cleared his throat before continuing. “I’ll have you take care of a small den of goblins not far from here. If you can do it without Elizabeth or I’s help, then I’ll accept you. If you rely on us, then you’ll have to return to Griv and Itayda.” He told her.

Jaylee nodded. “I’ll do it.”

“Perfect.” He grabbed fruit from the vegetable bowl, thanking Elizabeth. “Let’s go right now. Elizabeth, ask your parents and then meet with us at the main gate. We’ll be heading out to see whether or not I have a new disciple.”

***

“What do you mean you’re leaving me?” A younger Avin asked a woman. The woman, a blonde dark-skinned girl wielding a longbow, turned around to face him. She had a long face that made her look older than she was with charcoal-black eyes.

“I’ve done what I wanted. You’re now the youngest Master Archer and part of the Legends of Historia list. I’ve done the best I can. It’s time you spread your wings and return to your parents’ hometown while I search for a way to replicate your achievements.”

“But my achievements are yours,” Avin whined.

The woman shook her head, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I might’ve taught you how to walk, but you’re the one who started running.” 

 

TBC…

Episode Two "All I Need Is Time"

Avin led Elizabeth and Jaylee to the goblin den, stopping a hundred feet from the main entrance. He turned to face the girls, who both were in their late teens while he was nearly a decade older. “I’ll lure them out, Jaylee, focus on killing them. Elizabeth, stay back and help her only if she’s on the verge of death.” He ordered. Both girls nodded their heads, turning towards the goblin den. 

Avin dashed forward, drawing his bow. He enchanted the arrow with his skill of Light Arrows, using another skill named ‘Enchanting’ - a rather straightforward name.

He released the string, throwing the Light Arrow down the cave that housed the goblins. It was joined by a Wind Arrow, made to spin at fast speeds and pierce any goblin it made contact with. Both arrows were enough to provoke the goblins hiding inside, throwing them out.

A small handful of goblins expelled themselves from the cave, searching around for the culprit of the arrows. They were a disgusting mixture of dark green and brown; small beings wielding a variety of weapons stolen from adventurers or unfortunate passersby.

With the goblins lured out, Jaylee pushed forward. She drew her makeshift bow, putting an arrow on the bow. She released it, hitting one of the goblins in the shoulder. It didn’t kill him, only throwing him to the ground.

Jaylee drew another arrow, releasing it and dinging a goblin in the head. It flopped backward, crashing on the ground. This irritated the other goblins more. They darted towards her, hoping to attack her before she drew another arrow. However, their short legs weren’t quick enough to deal with her.

She drew her third arrow, piercing the head of another goblin. She then sprinted around them, gaining distance. She stopped and drew an arrow, killing another goblin. She continued this tactic, playing an intense game of cat and mouse, moving around before plucking off a goblin or two then moving away. Using this tactic, she took care of the small number of goblins that came out from the cave. With them dead, she could finally crumble to her knees, her mana and energy drained.

Elizabeth rushed to her side with a towel. She wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Are you okay?”

Jaylee nodded. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth said with a smile.

Avin walked up to Jaylee. “You’ve done good, but I wouldn’t call you a prodigy.”

Elizabeth’s head