Abandoned Island off the Serian South Coast.

9:20 am. 25th Banem 1092.

29 Days to World's End.

Whooo...

Kashi let out a slow breath. A gentle breeze brushed by the shores as the sounds of lapping waves and chirping birds slowly disappeared. The daeben's eyes narrowed as he nocked an arrow, eyes peeled on the midi standing a few meters away. Fang Ling's nonchalant gaze had Kashi on high alert. Somehow, he could tell.

Fang Ling was strong!

Fang Ling smiled. Ksh, ksh. He tapped each foot on the sandy shore, then fixed Kashi with a challenging glare. "I'm coming, kid!" Vwoom! Sand and stone scattered as the midi disappeared from view.

'Where!?' Kashi quickly checked his surroundings but failed to find Fang Ling. 'Above!' Kashi jumped back, and jerked his head to the sky. Indeed, he spotted the grinning Fang Ling hurtling down with a harsh kick.

"Got You!" Kashi trained his bow at the midi. Ffft! A host of arrows zipped toward the airborne midi.

Fang Ling grinned. "Good eyes kid!" The midi's expression remained even despite being faced with an unforgiving onslaught. His eyes shone as he kicked the air. Dun! Dun! Dun! Kashi's eyes widened in disbelief. Fang Ling, without breaking pace, shifted mid-air at breakneck speed, dodging, and weaving through the arrows with unprecedented ease. Once he broke through the final layer, VWOOM!

Fang Ling shot off like a rocket. Bwoom! He appeared before Kashi in the blink of an eye, and promptly swung his left foot at the daeben's head. Kashi swiftly raised his right hand to block the strike.

Dun! To Kashi's shock, Fang Ling kicked the air just before his foot hit the daeben's hand. The recoil sent his body spinning in the opposite direction. Bang! Fang Ling's heel crashed into the back of daeben's head.

"Ugh." Kashi tumbled forward, and then rolled along the ground to absorb the impact. He came to a hard stop, and then looked over his shoulder.

Vwoom! Fang Ling appeared inches away, left leg cutting a harsh scythe towards Kashi's neck. The midi's eyes sparked. "Look alive, kid."

Kashi winced and swiftly raised his arms. BANG! The ground cracked as Kashi suffered the midi's full force. He was sent sliding back across the sand. He groaned as his arms throbbed in pain.

Kashi frowned as he looked at Fang Ling who dropped to the ground with a thin smile. The midi was strong without a doubt. But, after recieving his kick, Kashi could tell. Fang Ling was not as strong as him. In fact, the midi was weaker, both in terms of speed, and strength.

But, then why?

Fang Ling grinned as he eyed the youth. "Ready, kid?"

Kashi's eyes turned grim as he charged a set of ki-arrows. Dun! Fft! Fang Ling kicked off just as Kashi's arrows flew. This time, Kashi learned his lesson, and staggered his shots, hoping to forced Fang Ling into a corner.

Fang Ling, in turn, danced around the arrows, twisting and turning at impossible angles. Kashi's eyes widened as he studied the midi. Fang Ling was not faster than him. Why then, could his arrows not hit? It was simple.

Fang Ling had pushed the concept of 'Air Step' to its extreme limits. Kashi, like many Summoned knew how to use this move, but he had not seen anyone use it the way Fang Ling did. Rather than a simple, evasive manoeuvre, Fang Ling turned 'Air Step' into a three-dimensional flash-movement technique.

It didn't matter where the attack came from. Fang Ling only had to kick the air to change his body's trajectory to completely bypass it. Even more astonishing, the midi's ki-control was exquisite. He always chose the minimum amount of ki required to push cross a precise distance, rarely ever over or undershooting his target.

Fang Ling's mobility allowed him to dance circles around Kashi without ever getting hit. Eventually, though, he began pushing in, closing the gap between himself and the daeben.

Kashi took a step back to increase the distance. At that moment, an image of Razznik flashed through his mind. 'Is that your way? Will you retreat!?' "Fuck off!" Kashi's eyes burned. Strangely, despite his words, he no longer took that step back. Instead, he stomped on the sandy ground.

"Shit!" Fang Ling cursed just as he broke the one-meter boundary. Boom! Dun! He kicked backward, barely dodging a geyser of sand that shot up in front of the daeben. He barely had time to regain his balance before a host of ki-arrows shot out from within the sand curtain.

The sand curtain robbed Fang Ling's line of sight to Kashi. This, in turn, robbed him of the opportunity to read Kashi's attack from the bow. As a result, he was unprepared for the storm of arrows fired from beyond the sand.

Fang Ling's eyes narrowed. He was forced to rely on acute vision and superior instincts to barely dodge the never ending arrows. Tfft! Blood poured. The midi looked at the injury on his right arm with a smile. "Good job, kid. Seems I can take this a little seriously, after all."

Before Kashi could question what Fang Ling meant, the midi's ki suddenly exploded outward, scattering the incoming arrows but then condensed a second later. Fang Ling's lips curled up as he bounced in the air. "Now, let's try this again." Dun!

Kashi, who had been keeping an eye on Fang Ling with [Mind's Eye] grimaced as Fang Ling's speed doubled. The midi zig-zagged through the arrows to appear before the sand wall. Upon reaching the wall, Fang Ling's eyes shone as he kicked out twice in short succession. Balls of ki shot out from his legs and slammed into the wall.

Boom!

The balls exploded as they hit the sand wall, tearing open a small hole. Dun! With a firm kick, Fang Ling zipped through, thus appearing before Kashi with ferocious momentum.

Fortunately, Kashi was ready. The daeben met Fang Ling's kick with his fist. Boom! Sand and dust scattered for several meters as the two colossal forces clashed. Kashi's superior strength sent Fang Ling flying back.

But.

Dun! With his first kick, Fang Ling stopped his backward flight. Dun! With his second, he flew above Kashi, DUN! His last kick sent his heel crashing down toward Kashi's head. The entire sequence took less than second. In the eyes of others, Kashi had just punched Fang Ling away, but then the midi appeared above the daeben,

BAM!

Kashi's left arm snaked upward and caught Fang Ling's heel. He made to pull the midi, but Fang Ling spun in place, sending his left heel crashing toward Kashi's neck. Recognizing the danger, Kashi released Fang Ling's heel, and then bent backward so the midi's foot sailed harmlessly past.

Kashi was not one to only be on the recieving end of punishment. He gritted his teeth and dropped his hand to the ground. Once his fingers touched the sand, he flung his arms upward, and then crossed them.

Whoosh!

Sand erupted at either side of Kashi in the shape of scythes and then cut toward the midi above.

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Fang Ling rapidly ascended, barely dodging the crash as both sand scythes smashed into each other. Grrr... Fang Ling's eyes narrowed as a strange sound issued from the sand. Boom! The sand exploded like a geyser and then shot upward with the force of a rocket.

Dun! Fang Ling kicked to the side, dodging the sand column. Dun! He then shot to the ground like a missile. As he sped down, the sand split, forming five veins that crashed towards him.

Fang Ling's eyes shone with a warrior's joy as he bounced his way through the sand. Pufft! Eventually, Fang ling broke through the last layer of sand to see a frowning Kashi with his arm extended outward.

Kashi bled from his nose as he forced himself to control the sand better than his skill level allowed. Unfortunately, as a result, he could not transition smoothly to defense. This allowed Fang Ling to close the gap in one swift motion and place his large, rabbit feet against Kashi's head.

Whoooo!

Heavy winds burst out from Fang Ling's foot, scattering the sand and dust gathered around them. The midi grinned as he bounced away from the daeben and then landed on the ground. He regarded Kashi with a thin smile. "Not bad, kid. You're pretty strong."

"No." Kashi frowned as he rubbed blood off his cheek. "I'm weak." He clenched his fist, angered by his failure. "I should have won that fight."

"True." Surprisingly, Fang Ling agreed. He felt it while fighting Kashi. The daeben was faster and stronger. But he was unrefined, like a chipped gemstone. Something was missing to make him whole. Fang Ling looked into Kashi's eyes. He'd taken a liking to the daeben's rage-filled gaze. "Kid. Yer an archer right? Why didn't ya back off? Yer aim's as good as it gets. No way, I'd have caught ya if you kept yer distance."

"I do not know." Kashi frowned as he recalled Razznik's scathing glare. "Somehow, it just does not feel right to back off."

"Yeah? But you didn't charge either, did ya?"

"Charge?" Kashi's eyes widened. "I did not charge? Me?"

"Where's ya mind at, kid?" Fang Ling pointed at Kashi's feet. "Ya ain't moved a single step on yer own."

Kashi's heart trembled as he looked at his feet. Indeed, just as Fang Ling said, he did not move doing that battle. His feet were buried deep in the sand as if anchored by his insecurity.

Fang Ling smiled observed the daeben's lost expression. "I see what's going on." He had seen those eyes before. "Yer lost. Yer don't know which way to go, do ya? Advance, retreat, stand still. Yer don't know which to pick, and so yer stuck." The midi chuckled as Kashi looked at him in shock.

"Don't be so surprised kid. Yer ain't the first to hit a bottleneck." Fang Ling said as he drew a circle with his right leg. "Every warrior has a moment when they have to choose their path. Some find that path, others forever languish in mediocrity." Fang Ling raised his leg and pointed his foot at Kashi. "Yer different, kid. You're strong. And I'm pretty sure you already know your path. You just have to remind yourself. But, if you would allow me to give you one advice..."

Kashi swallowed hard. Fang Ling's grave expression suggested the midi considered this advice very important. "Please, do so."

"You," started Fang Ling as his gaze traveled to the bow in Kashi's left hand. "Give up your bow."

"...What?"

Fang Ling pressed on, disregarding Kashi's stunned gaze. "Give up that bow. I don't know what kind of fighter yer are. But I know ye ain't no archer. Ye ain't got the mentality. Yer blood's too hot." Fang Ling pointed at Kashi. "To begin with, have ya ever heard of a close-range archer? That's bullshit. The bow's too limiting. Ye can't block with it or it might break. No one's gonna give ya time to draw in a close fight. Of course, ya can withdraw to create space, but, like ya said, that ain't yer style, is it?" Fang Ling glanced at the bow, and then looked at Kashi. "Why'd you pick the bow anyway?"

"Why?" Kashi's fingers trembled as they gripped the bow shaft. 'Something different.' No. Back then, any weapon that was not the sword would have sufficed. The bow just happened to be the first one he laid eyes on. Kashi never actually chose a weapon. He just continued using the bow because it was the weapon on hand. Eventually, he came across the Realm-Piercing Bow Techniques. That only solidified his 'choice'.

But now that Kashi thought about it, he rarely used the bow as an archer should. Instead, he invented his bow-less, hand throwing style. He often resorted to either this style, or his fists when battling extremely tough bosses. What did that mean? It meant that on a fundamental level, Kashi rejected the bow. He had just never actively considered it.

Kashi lifted [Ferulic's Practice Bow]. Could he let go of this bow? Most of his key abilities were tied to the bow. Giving up the bow would mean cutting off a significant portion of his strength.

'Is that your way? Will you retreat!?

Kashi frowned. Grip! The daeben tightened his grip around the bow, but then, with a sigh, he sent the bow to Orez. Kashi stared at his empty hand for a while and then looked at Fang Ling.

"Sure about that, kid?" Fang Ling cautioned when he saw the resolve in the daeben's eyes. "It's a big decision."

"Don't worry Ling-san." Kashi clenched his fists, a determined expression displayed on his face. "I'm not letting go. Not yet. I just want to see it. What I would be like without the bow. Maybe, the answer I seek lies there."

Fang Ling grinned. "I like the look in yer eye, kid. How about it? Wanna go another round?"

Kashi grinned as he clenched his fists. "It would be my honor."

A/N: Happy New Year, you beautiful  Hopeful Maggots! Hope you all got your New Year Resolutions on lock! I know I'm on my way to failing a few of those! Hope y'all are having a great week, and can't wait to finish this volume soon. See you in the next chapter!