Right after the archer Maeyurai spoke, the sea started to converge. The center point was the archer that just spoke.
The dreaming Maeyurai looked around; everything was shaking violently. As if there was a 10-magnitude earthquake. He lost his balance and stumbled to the somehow solid water, while the archer stood still with an indifferent look on his face, all while looking over his shoulder.
Rumble...
"Wait!" Maeyurai yelled out to his counterpart. "What do you mean not—"
Before he could finish, he was sucked into the water, an unknown force pulling him down.
Sinking continuously, going as deep as 100 meters within two seconds, he felt that he was going to drown. But he wasn't. No oxygen came out of his mouth when he exhaled, and no oxygen came in when he inhaled. He tried to fight the force, flopping about with no result.
When Maeyurai's vision started to tunnel, he gave up and stopped moving.
*
Upon opening his eyes, Maeyurai felt the soft cushion of the bed underneath him. His body covered in sweat. From the surprise of waking up so suddenly, he sat up with wide eyes, breathing heavily.
"What... What was that...?" He spoke between each breath.
He looked at his feet.
Wait, I feel something...
His mind clouded with thoughts, he pressed his right hand against his right eye gently while also closing his left eye.
After rubbing his right eye, he pulled his hand back. His left eye was still closed.
Looking straight ahead, the first thing he looked at was his feet once more.
My right eye can see as well! What is this?!
Abruptly attempting to leave his bed, he falls face-first on the ground.
Thump!
"Ouch..."
Maeyurai steadily stood up, rubbing his forehead. He walked out of the room hurriedly with a sigh, heading towards the bathroom once more.
In front of the mirror, he looked at himself. Closing his left eye, while his right eye gazed at his own reflection.
It's not complete... But I can see in my right eye. He thought. He could see the edges and shapes properly in his right eye, but they were incredibly blurry.
Testing out something, Maeyurai leans into the mirror. And what he assumed was right.
My right eye is nearsighted. At least it improved.
Seeing faint details of his face up close, but not when he would be far. His right eye was indeed nearsighted, while his left eye had fully recovered.
Strange. My left eye was replaced; that's why its vision was restored. But my right eye wasn't... So what caused this to happen?
Resting his elbow on the sink, he looks at himself. Earlier, he sweated profusely during his sleep, so he currently looks completely wet.
Right, what was that dream all about? It's like I saw the future version of myself. Maeyurai thought. It couldn't have been a coincidence that he saw a dream of himself, possibly from the future, just because he regained his sight.
He chuckled.
"Probably nothing," Maeyurai said to himself before pulling his arms back and stepping out of the bathroom. Turning right, he walked downstairs to the living room.
Looking to his right, the place was empty.
Shikkan is probably in the front, serving some customers. He thought to himself while carefully observing the surroundings.
Walking through the living room, he passed by the doorframe and looked to his right. And there he saw Shikkan, sitting on a chair with a book in hand.
Feeling the presence of another person, Shikkan raised his head, his attention going from the pages of his book towards his left, on Maeyurai's face.
"Maeyurai?" he said. "You're finally awake. You've been asleep for the whole day. Did you rest well?"
Hearing the news, Maeyurai recoiled back in surprise. He thought that he had only been sleeping for a few hours. But he looked outside the window and could see that it was almost nighttime.
"Oh yeah—I fell asleep earlier. My head hurt again, so I merely dozed off. I didn't think I would sleep through the day though."
"Is that so? Well, you must've had a good rest then." Shikkan chuckled after he spoke. Smiling, he stood up. "I handled things quite easily even without you, though it felt quite lonely."
Maeyurai rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry... I really didn't expect to wake up so late. Are we closing already?"
"It's already 5:50 PM; we're closing in ten minutes. So, yeah, we are."
"Ah... I see."
"Don't worry about it!" Shikkan would say, waving his hand towards Maeyurai to reassure him it was fine. "If an employee can't work, then don't force them. It's only normal for a boss to be responsible, isn't it?"
Hearing Shikkan's reassurance, Maeyurai's eyes light up. "That's right." He smiles.
I was lucky that Shikkan chose me 14 years ago. How different would my life be if Shikkan had never chosen to raise me?
Such thoughts frequently lingered within Maeyurai's mind, though often ephemeral.
"Shikkan," Maeyurai called out the name. "Do you think I could ever become an archer?" He asked out of curiosity.
Shikkan raised his eyebrow.
"Archer? Why the sudden idea?" he said. "Well, if I had to say... sure, I guess. I'll support you."
"Is that so? I heard the other day that the army was training archers. I could sign up and try to join."
"Go ahead! You can try doing what you wish; I won't stop—"
Shikkan's sentence was cut off by the voice of a customer.
"Yo, Shikkan! Get me three milk cream breads!" The customer yelled out by the service window. It was Merico.
Both Shikkan's and Maeyurai's attention was pulled in by Merico's loud voice.
"Ah, Merico. I've been expecting you. You always buy the exact same thing with the same amount at this exact time. I'll get it for you," said Shikkan, wearing his gloves while getting the three milk cream breads for Merico.
While Shikkan would grab what Merico had ordered, Maeyurai's eyes lingered on Merico's face. He would silently study Merico's face, taking in a few details.
He looks... average, at best. I thought he'd look worse. I'm disappointed.
Standing at a height of 5'9, Merico had a slim figure. Short, dark-brown hair, and his face always has that rough expression on it, as if trying to act tough.
Merico would notice Maeyurai watching as he stood there. It creeped him out. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, his eyes squinting at Maeyurai—he glared, not knowing Maeyurai could see it.
This guy doesn't know I can see now. Heh. Maeyurai smirked, turning back to go out the main door while Shikkan tended to Merico's order, taking the payment of 18 copper coins.
Seeing the transaction that just happened, Maeyurai remembered something that Shikkan taught him. It was that 100 copper coins would be equivalent to a silver coin, while 100 silver coins are equivalent to a single gold coin. The same could be applied for a gold coin to a platinum coin.
So going by this logic, 1,000,000 copper coins should be equal to a single platinum coin.
Rotating the knob of the main door, Maeyurai steps out of the bakery. He turned to his right and saw Merico placing the three loaves of milk cream bread that he just bought into a small basket before walking away with it.
After Merico was gone, Maeyurai decided to go in the other direction, which was to the left of the bakery.
Leaning over the service window, Shikkan called out to Maeyurai.
"Maeyurai! Where are you going?"
Maeyurai turned around; there was a surprised expression on his face.
"Huh?" he said. "Oh, I was just going for a walk."
Well, Maeyurai's walk was disturbed earlier in the morning. Now, he's just trying to make up for it by walking when it's almost night.
"It's going to be late," Shikkan warned. "Go home early, okay?
"I will, don't worry," Maeyurai replied with a wave of his hand before turning around to continue walking.
Shikkan merely waved back and went back to where he was seated earlier.
In Maeyurai's mind, he was thinking about the dream that he had just seen. It was quite strange, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. Well, not that he tried to.
I can't get it out of my mind; was that really a version of me from the future? He thought while he took wide strides, his gaze on the floor. If I'm seeing a vision of the future, right after my sight was healed... It can't be a coincidence, can it? I mean, it is possible.
He sighed.
Another weird thing is that my right eye is also slowly being healed. This is all so overwhelming.
On his right, he saw a bench that he could sit on. And upon a short contemplation, he decided to collect his thoughts while sitting.
"I wonder... how can I become an archer?" he mumbled under his breath. "I don't know anything about this world. I don't even know what's happening outside of Gangumen."
"You want to become an archer, you say?" a rough voice said, right behind Maeyurai.
Maeyurai jumped in surprise; he did not expect that someone had snuck behind him. "You scared me!"
The middle-aged man would laugh.
"You're quite naive, aren't you?" he said after laughing. "Such a flimsy body, yet you wish to become an archer?"
"...So what?"
"Don't misunderstand," the middle-aged man replies. He brought one finger up and pointed at Maeyurai. "I'm not belittling you. In fact, I can see your potential."
Maeyurai tilted his head, skeptical of what the man in front of him just said. "You see my potential? How exactly? It's not like I showed you anything out of the ordinary."
The middle-aged man waved his hand, dismissing Maeyurai's statement. "I can tell. You have visibly strong legs. If you want, I can train you and recommend you to the army."
What is this guy talking about? He doesn't even see my legs; how can he say that they're 'visibly' strong?
"Okay, I'm interested," Maeyurai said, his voice firm. "Show me how to become an archer."
"Clever decision; come follow me." The middle-aged man spoke with a smirk before walking away, gesturing for Maeyurai to follow.
Once I see that this guy is up to no good, I'll run immediately. Maeyurai thought to himself. Then, he took a step forward and walked behind the man.
"By the way," he said. "What's your name? I don't recall you ever introducing yourself."
"My name?" the man asked as he continued walking. "You don't know me? Koja Huizen? I'm the captain of the archers in the army!" He stopped walking, turned around, and looked at Maeyurai.
Taken aback, Maeyurai's mouth would form an 'O' shape. He didn't think that he would be talking to the captain of the archers. He'd been skeptical for no reason. And now, he feels embarrassed. "Oh... I didn't know; sorry!"
Huizen merely chuckled, "No wonder why you had that doubtful look on your face when I proposed to recommend you in the army. You didn't even know me! Haha!"
Scratching his head, Maeyurai let out a sheepish laugh.
How unexpected! This is good for me; I can take advantage of this and become an archer.
"Well, now you know," Huizen said. "Let's keep going; I'll test you out first to see if you have what it takes."
Maeyurai nodded. "Got it."
After a few minutes of walking, they reach Huizen's house. Looking at it, the land was incredibly spacious. The main building was at least three stories high, the house was made of stone with a mix of wood. An open balcony on the third floor, while the interior was visibly grand, if you looked closely from the window. There was even an archery range on his lawn.
This is... Wow! This place is impressive!
"First, I'll ask you a few questions before I lend you a bow," Huizen said, bringing Maeyurai to the archery range.
Huizen turned around and faced Maeyurai. He then immediately asked his first question.
"Why do you want to be an archer?"
Maeyurai paused.
Why do I want to be an archer...? Thinking about it, I don't even know. I can't just tell him that it's because I saw a dream. He will definitely call me stupid.
After a moment of contemplation and searching for words, he finally decided on an answer.