The Archer's Paradox

"Is this really your first time learning archery?" Zhang Ning circled Chen Jue in surprise, scrutinizing him from all angles.

From her perspective as a professional athlete, she couldn't find even the slightest hint of proper form in Chen Jue's posture. Yet, with this unreliable stance, he had managed to hit a score of nine on his first shot. No matter how she thought about it, something felt off!

"Probably just beginner's luck, like a rookie walking into a casino—their luck always seems good at first," Chen Jue shrugged and shot again at the target seventy meters away.

With a thud, the black training arrow struck the eighth ring.

“…”

Now Zhang Ning was utterly speechless, and even Chen Jue looked surprised.

"I didn't expect the feel and accuracy from my perfected skill in throwing hidden weapons would be useful for archery as well!"

"The grip and the aim really do seem to crossover," Chen Jue mused inwardly as he tried a few more shots.

Thud, thud, thud—on the target, he hit the fifth or seventh ring, but not a single arrow missed!

Meanwhile, the proficiency bar for "Archery" on his panel was rapidly climbing—+4, +5—soon, a new prompt appeared:

——————

【Ding~】

【Proficiency has reached 100%, skill level increases.】

【Archery Lv0 → Lv1】

【Your understanding of archery deepens; your movements now align more naturally with the body's force, and your aiming and accuracy improve slightly.】

——————

"Leveled up!"

"This really is a survival and hunting skill that's easy to pick up," Chen Jue thought.

Taking advantage of the newly upgraded skill, he nocked another arrow and drew the bow to its full length.

With a sharp twang, the arrow shot out; and, as if his hands had become accustomed after several shots, it flew seventy meters and embedded itself precisely in the center of the target!

"Ten rings?!"

Zhang Ning was so astonished her mind barely kept up. She picked up her own recurve bow and took a shot, only to hit the eighth ring—still a whole circle away from Chen Jue's perfect ten.

Her cheeks flushed as she watched the scene, starting to doubt who was actually the coach here.

How could a beginner have such an uncanny feel for the bow? It was absurdly strong!

Testing on a seventy-meter competition target, not only did he never miss, but every shot scored high.

Based on Chen Jue's performance, he was good enough to try out for the provincial team.

Chen Jue, however, remained calm about hitting the ten rings. With his mastery in hidden weapon techniques and his transformed eyesight, aiming at a distant target was hardly a challenge.

Yet, after shooting dozens of arrows with a fifty-five-pound recurve bow, he felt a mild soreness in his arms—a clear sign that continuous exertion was stimulating his upper body muscles.

As the one-hour trial lesson neared its end, Chen Jue set down the bow, removed his arm and finger guards, and asked Zhang Ning, "Coach Zhang, I noticed the arrows wiggle in the air like fish after being shot. What's the principle behind that? Is it because the arrows aren't stiff enough?"

Zhang Ning first breathed a sigh of relief. The rookie beside her, who’d been performing so outrageously, finally had something he didn’t understand and was asking her about it.

At last, she could reclaim a bit of her coach’s dignity.

Still, the fact that Chen Jue had noticed such a subtle phenomenon on his first try made her feel a little moved. "I didn't expect your eyesight to be so good—you can even spot such minute details! No wonder you can hit a seventy-meter competition target right away!"

Then, Zhang Ning explained the fascinating Archer's Paradox in archery.

The Archer's Paradox refers to the fact that if you aim the arrowhead directly at the target while shooting, it often won't hit. Only by aiming slightly to the side—though it looks like you'll miss—will the arrow actually follow the path of the bow and hit the target.

Simply put, aiming straight doesn't work; you have to aim slightly off to hit the mark—that's the paradox.

This strange phenomenon was only unraveled in 1938, when Clarence Hickman, known as the father of scientific archery, used a 4000 FPS camera to film arrows in slow motion during flight, revealing the serpentine path.

It turns out that after release, the arrow is affected by finger friction and string vibration, causing it to oscillate left and right, progressing in a wave-like motion that avoids contact with the bow.

As the arrow flies, it follows two stationary nodes, eventually returning to the correct trajectory and hitting the target.

With this paradox understood, modern recurve and compound bows began to be fitted with special sights for quick or fine adjustments, improving accuracy.

"So that's why the arrow seems to snake through the air as if it has eyes, weaving around the bow as it flies! Fascinating," Chen Jue said, marveling at the explanation.

Such delicate phenomena are hard to catch with the naked eye.

Had it not been for Chen Jue's eyesight, transformed by intensive red-light therapy and eye exercises, he wouldn't have detected such an intriguing motion on his first try.

...

After spending eighty-eight yuan to unlock a new skill and receiving a thorough lesson from Coach Zhang Ning, Chen Jue felt his trip outside the campus had been immensely rewarding.

Most importantly, his theory about how skills were formed on his panel was preliminarily verified: any skill related to human survival or environmental adaptation had a high probability of being recorded as a skill block.

"This is just the first skill tied to hunting and warfare—'Archery.'"

"I need to keep experimenting."

Satisfied, Chen Jue left Kaiyu Archery Hall. Before he went, Coach Zhang Ning specifically asked for his contact information.

She said his archery talent was remarkable and encouraged him to come practice more often, lest his gifts go to waste.

But Chen Jue knew himself best; originally just an ordinary office worker, he hardly had any athletic talent, let alone natural skill with a bow.

It was all thanks to the panel's steady enhancements.

With his physical attributes improved, eyesight transformed, and the perfected touch and accuracy from throwing hidden weapons, he managed those impressive shots.

"An hour of archery really is efficient exercise."

"The only drawback is the cost—eighty-eight per hour. It’d be cheaper to buy a bow online and practice myself," Chen Jue thought.

Archery was indeed fun and rewarding; the thrill of hitting the bullseye rivaled dart games or skipping stones, and attribute enhancement was quick.

But for someone living frugally and unemployed, this sports park—designed for Hangzhou’s middle class and wealthy—had just one flaw: it was too expensive. Frequent visits would ruin his wallet!

Second update~

I meant to write more, but it's too late, and staying up won't help my cough. My wife’s urging me to sleep, so I’m posting a short chapter.

There’ll be a bonus later—so you can see what a serpentine arrow flight really looks like (humorous).

(End of chapter)