Jack turned to see a teenager he hadn’t seen in over twenty years approaching. The boy wore cheap leather armour and carried a sword at his side.

  “Robert?” Jack recalled the youth’s name as he reached him. He searched his memory for the boy he’d known at school. Hadn’t he wanted to become a knight, but chose warrior?

  Robert grinned. “Who else would I be? What you doing at the Guild? I thought you were going to be a librarian or some book thing?” He gestured to the white oak bow slung across Jack’s shoulder.

  “A scribe. I am a scribe!” Jack replied a little too fast. “Doesn’t mean I can’t take up a hobby. Thought I’d try my hand at archery.”

  Three other teenagers joined them. A young woman wearing better-quality leather armour, with a dagger at her side, spoke first. “Rob, we’ve selected a job. We head out in a few minutes.”

  Robert nodded. “This is Jack. The one I told you about who never had his head out of a book. Really clever.”

  The young woman shrugged, either not remembering or not caring.

  Rob continued, “Never thought I’d see him with a weapon…” He eyed the bow. “And it’s covered in blood. What you been killing, man?”

  Jack felt out of place. Although Robert had been considered a friend at school, their relationship had been built more on proximity than shared interests; they’d sat next to each other for five years. Within months of school ending, the friendship had withered to strained passing greetings. There was nothing left to sustain it. Jack had become a scribe; Rob, an adventurer. The end.

  “The bow came with the bloodstains.” Jack adjusted the bow on his shoulder. “Only bought it a couple of days ago…” He decided to lie. “This’ll be the first time I’ve used it.” He gestured to the display board, showing the training room he was about to pay for.

  “We should go,” the young woman said with impatience. “The others are waiting.” She turned and walked away, the other two teens following.

  Rob sighed. “Great to see you again, Jack.” He glanced at the display board. “If you’re training here, we can share an ale.” He motioned towards the bar before chasing after the others. “See ya around.”

  “Sure.” Jack’s voice lacked conviction as he watched his old school friend leave. Didn’t he die before the fire? He was recalling a vague memory of Robert dying in a dungeon raid.

  He cast [Assassin’s Mark] on Robert. Healthy, agitated, minor armour, no protections. He gripped his dagger and felt ready to pursue. He dismissed the mark.

  Jack turned back to the display board and entered his registration details.

  [Name]. “Jack.”

  [Age]. “Sixteen.”

  [Class]. He paused. Apprentice Scribe, Novice Archer, or Novice Assassin? He made his choice. “Novice Archer.”

  [Level]. “Zero.”

  There was no way he could explain how a sixteen-year-old could be a level 50 Apprentice Scribe, plus he was here to practice his archery skills.

  He placed his hand on a palm-shaped area on the display. The runes below his hand glowed blue, and to the side, there was a message: ‘Registration in process, please insert 50 coppers to proceed’.

  Jack inserted 2 silver coins. The gears within whirred, releasing a small puff of aether-steam, and the display changed to show his Guild details and his balance of 1 silver and 50 coppers.

  He went back to booking Training Room 13. As a Guild member, the price had decreased by 1 copper to 24 coppers. He selected the room, and a rune-inscribed brass token dropped into the tray below. The screen updated with a message:

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  Enjoy your time in training room 13.

  Please collect any valuables before leaving.

  The Adventurers Guild is NOT responsible for any injuries or lost property.

  Have a nice day.

  Jack grabbed the brass token, flicked it once in the air, before heading through the tall, arched doorway leading to the training wing. After a few turns through the corridor, he found himself before the door to Training Room Thirteen.

  He read the brass and glass display board embedded in the door.

  Training room 13.

  Booked until 3:20pm.

  Please collect any valuables before leaving.

  The Adventurers Guild is NOT responsible for any injuries or lost property.

  Please insert token to activate.

  The final line was blinking.

  He inserted the brass token. The lock mechanism whirred, and a small puff of blue aether-steam hissed out as the door unlocked.

  The heavy door opened, revealing a well-lit chamber that smelled of spent aether-steam and a hint of sweat. Training Room 13 was a long and narrow indoor range with layered walls of reinforced wood and riveted metal. At the far end, a row of mechanical targets shaped like humanoid silhouettes stood motionless.

  Jack stepped inside.

  With a soft hiss, the aether-powered system registered his presence. Blue aether-light flickered to life in filigree patterns along the floor, forming lanes that led to the targets.

  A central console set into the right wall clicked as gears engaged. A soft female voice could be heard through brass slats.

  Welcome, adventurer.

  Mechanical targeting range engaged.

  Safety protocols active.

  Please state your class and level.

  Jack smiled. “Novice Archer. Level zero.”

  The soft voice acknowledged his answer.

  Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level zero activated.

  Please prepare your weapon.

  Aether-powered fans blew air through the training area to replicate a small breeze.

  Jack smiled at the realism and looked around. A few dozen practice bows lined the back wall, offering patrons a good range of different sizes and poundages. Over two dozen quivers of standard training arrows sat on benches at the rear, their shafts etched with high-quality durability runes. He picked one up and tested the weight and the fletching.

  “Good weight. Hmm… fletching could be better quality.” The fletching was stiffer than expected, so they’d stand up to the rigours of training.

  He placed his pack out of the way and checked his arm guards that were looted from the rat-faced rogue. After he was sure they were secure, he unslung his white oak bow and nocked the first arrow and drew, the tension settling into his shoulders.

  “Hmm, still sore.” He was still feeling the effects of fighting a goblin and the rat-faced rogue the previous day. Despite the soreness, pulling back the bow felt good.

  His aim steadied. He exhaled… and thwack.

  The arrow slammed into the unmoving target’s centre mass, triggering a small puff of blue steam and a quiet ‘ding’ as the scoring mechanism registered the hit. The target shuddered, then reset with a mechanical clunk.

  Jack blinked. That had been faster and smoother than he expected. And of course, no pain from burn scars.

  He took a few moments to picture what mattered to him. Mom in the kitchen cooking. Dad in his study. Polly annoying him. He couldn’t help but smile at his sister’s antics and that damn smirk when she’d hit the mark on a good insult. And of course, Little Richard.

  “What will my brother become when he’s older?” he asked himself. “Maybe an archer… though not if Mom has anything to say about it.” He chuckled at the thought of what his mother would say to one of her boys becoming an archer.

  Jack’s thoughts went to Zia. A new addition who already felt like part of his family. Another little sister. I’ll protect you, too, Zia. He closed his eyes in prayer. Thank you for this second chance to live life and protect my family. I won’t fail them again.

  He shot again, imagining every target was Baron Greaves’ ugly heart.

  And again. Each time, the bow’s response felt sharper, more intuitive. He adjusted his stance, shifting his left foot back and correcting his draw angle.

  Within minutes, he fell into a rhythm: draw, aim, loose. Thwack. Reset. Draw, aim, loose. Thwack… No class skills, just simple practice, a young man and his bow.

  Spent aether-steam hissed around him in soft, approving clouds as more targets were hit and automatically reset.

  The soft female voice reported after his thirty-sixth volley.

  Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level zero results.

  Arrows released: thirty-six.

  Accuracy: 76%.

  Wind compensation: 0.

  Reaction time: 65th percentile.

  Recommendation: Increase difficulty level to Beginner level one.

  The Guild’s system only compared like-for-like. Therefore, Jack’s results were being compared to all level-zero Novice Archers, who had taken the same training test. He was better than 65% of all level-zero Novice Archers at this test.

  “Wow. That’s much better than I expected.” Jack smiled.