The young man with the limp promised to let him rest for an extra hour later, and the short-haired youth came running over eagerly.
"Hello, Brother Fan."
His face was full of smiles, nodding and bowing, looking very obsequious.
Chen Fan felt a bit embarrassed by his enthusiasm since they were about the same age. He quickly waved his hand and said, "No need to be so polite, just call me Chen Fan. By the way, what's your name?"
"Wang Ping, Wang as in the king, Ping as in the plain."
Wang Ping chuckled.
"Stop giggling, let's get started."
The man with the limp said impatiently next to them, "You saw what I did just now, just follow along."
"Yes, yes, Uncle Zhang, don't worry, I'll handle everything."
"Thank you."
Chen Fan expressed his gratitude, after all, he was taking up someone else's time and energy.
But if he didn't do this, his Basic Archery skill level would improve much slower. In these crucial times, every minute and second was incredibly precious.
"I can only repay him once I master Basic Archery, go out hunting, and catch some game."
He silently said to himself.
"It's no big deal."
Wang Ping chuckled and said, "Brother Fan, you're Uncle Guodong's son. If it wasn't for Uncle Guodong taking us in back then, we would have been killed by the Fierce Beasts outside long ago. How could we possibly have survived until now? This small favor is nothing, ahem..."
Realizing he had been rambling, he quickly stopped talking, picked up the target, and stood where the man with the limp had been, "Brother Fan, I'm ready to start."
Chen Fan took a deep breath, nodded, and got into position.
At first, they were a bit uncoordinated, but they got much better as they went along. The Skill Level of Basic Archery steadily increased.
After about an hour.
"Wang Ping, thank you for your hard work."
Chen Fan watched as Wang Ping threw the target with much difficulty and finally lowered the bow slowly, expressing his gratitude.
"Brother Fan, I'm really sorry."
Wang Ping forced a bitter smile; he really couldn't go on. His arms felt as heavy as lead.
The man with the limp, seeing this, also prepared to take over. Although his arms had recovered somewhat, it was hard to say whether he could last another hour.
"I'll do it."
At this moment, a tall young man, who had been sitting and resting, stood up. He was at least 1.8 meters tall but very skinny, like skin and bones.
Everyone was startled.
The man with the limp looked at the tall young man and said, "Zhao Feng, your Spear Technique is the most standard among us. With limited time and energy, you should continue practicing your Spear Technique."
Wang Ping was almost in tears. So, was he called over because his Spear Technique was just average?
"Uncle Zhang, it's okay. I'll just take it as a rest."
Zhao Feng flashed a smile and then looked at Chen Fan, "Wang Ping is right. It's because of Uncle Guodong that my mother and I can live here."
The man with the limp, hearing this, didn't stop him and nodded lightly.
So, another two or three hours passed.
During this time, besides the man with the limp, Wang Ping, and Zhao Feng, another one or two young men also came over to help.
One reason was to repay Chen Guodong for taking care of them for so long. Another reason was that they could see that Chen Fan really had a talent for archery.
The departure of the Wei Brothers had greatly weakened the village's strength, so they needed to quickly train someone who could shoot. At least they weren't short on people who could use a spear.
During this period, Chen Fan also figured out some patterns.
When aiming at a moving target, the faster the target moved, the more skill level he gained when he hit it, up to 3%. Of course, if it was too fast, he couldn't hit it at all.
Similarly, if it moved too slowly, it was almost like a stationary target, and the skill level gain was minimal.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow cut through the air and hit the target once again.
Instantly, Chen Fan felt a warm current rise and spread throughout his body, and much of his previous fatigue disappeared.
"Did Basic Archery just level up?"
He was ecstatic, and at the same time, a strange feeling surged in his heart.
"Here it comes!"
The man with the limp shouted, throwing the target once more.
Chen Fan squinted his eyes. This time, the target moving in a parabolic motion seemed to be in slow motion, like in the movies, moving several times slower.
"What's going on?"
He was puzzled, but his hands moved quickly out of muscle memory. He drew the bowstring fully and released the arrow.
"Thud!"
With a light sound, the arrow hit the bullseye dead center.
"Nice shot!"
Even the man with the limp couldn't help but cheer for such a clean and accurate shot.
Then he seemed to realize it, withdrew his smile, and snorted, "This time, it might just be beginner's luck."
Chen Fan chuckled.
At this moment, he noticed that Basic Archery had indeed leveled up and had also unlocked a fourth trait.
Level: 3 (0/4)
Constitution: 12.78
Power: 11.57
Basic Archery: Level 3 (1%), Traits: Strengthening the Body Level 3, Superhuman Arm Strength Level 3, Slow Fire Level 3, Mounted Archery Level 1
Mounted Archery: For each level up, the hit rate increases by 30% when aiming at moving targets.
"No wonder."
He suddenly understood why he felt the target was moving so slowly before. It was thanks to the Mounted Archery trait!
Not just that, as he expected, the first three traits also reached Level 3, especially the Slow Fire trait, which gave him a 90% hit rate for stationary targets, nearly 100%.
"With this level of skill, I should be able to go out hunting, right?"
He thought to himself. Of course, if he could upgrade Basic Archery to Level 5, the Mounted Archery trait would reach Level 3, giving him a 90% hit rate. That would certainly be more reassuring.
But he also noticed that even though he hit the bullseye, it only increased his skill level by 1%. He would need to hit moving targets a hundred times to reach Level 4. The difficulty from Level 4 to Level 5 would be even greater, taking at least two more days.
There wasn't enough time!
He couldn't forget the scene of three people dying in the village the day after he transmigrated. Delaying another day might mean another death in the Hunting Team. Who knew if it could be his father?
Besides, he also needed enough Fierce Beast Meat to convert to Potential Points and enhance his body.
Although it was risky, to survive, there was no way to avoid taking risks. Just like the adult men in the village, their physical fitness wasn't much better than his, yet they still went out hunting every day.
Of course, if he could upgrade Basic Archery from Level 3 to Level 4 in the time left in the afternoon and evening, his safety and chances of catching prey would greatly improve.
"What are you thinking about?"
At this moment, the man with the limp's irritated voice rang out, "How can you be daydreaming at a time like this?"
"Uncle Zhang, I was thinking, should I switch to a stronger bow?"
Chen Fan grinned.