Although Joli was an elf with keen hearing and vision, unfortunately, he had no talent for archery. His aim when shooting arrows was incredibly poor.
The first arrow he shot after getting the bow didn't hit the target but instead stuck into his companion's buttocks.
His parents were very disappointed in him, and the other elves of his generation also didn't want to associate with him because of that incident. They thought he was a disgrace to the elf clan.
Joli had an unhappy childhood.
After reaching adulthood, Joli voluntarily left the Elf Forest and came to the human territory, the Kingdom of Aran, vowing to make a name for himself.
"Hey? Aren't you an archer?"
"Your skills as a swordsman aren't that great either, elf lad..."
"With your level, you'd better practice more. No team will take you."
Unfortunately, Joli's plan to become famous didn't go smoothly either.
So, Joli followed the advice and decided to calm down and train himself seriously.
Joli found this small village where he wouldn't be disturbed by others...
Due to his childhood experiences, Joli was a rather introverted person. The villagers didn't understand swordsmanship either. So here, even if he was seen by others, he wouldn't feel embarrassed. The villagers would smile and greet him when they saw him swinging his sword.
One year, ten years, a hundred years...
Apart from maintaining his daily work and life, the only thing left for Joli to do was to swing his sword.
The original basic swordplay guide he bought from the Adventurer's Association had long been worn out and had disappeared with the wind at some point... And every move had been deeply engraved in his mind.
Sometimes, the children in the village would curiously gather around him and watch him swing his sword.
"Uncle Joli, why do you practice sword - fighting every day?" Kasha was also one of Joli's audiences when she was a child.
"Because I want to become stronger," Joli replied seriously.
"Really? Then Uncle Joli, how strong are you after practicing sword - fighting for so long? Can you beat a wild boar?" Little Kasha asked innocently.
Wild boars sometimes broke into the village's wheat fields. They were very dangerous and it took many adults to drive them away. Sometimes, people would even get injured... Parents always told the children to stay away.
So, wild boars left a deep impression on little Kasha as being powerful and terrifying.
"Um... I'm not sure," Joli scratched his head. "Probably... If I had a sharp long sword."
Although he had been practicing sword - fighting persistently for a long time, he had never sparred with anyone and didn't know what level his current strength was.
But he felt that he should have become stronger and should be able to handle a wild boar... probably.
"Then Uncle Joli, do you plan to become an adventurer in the future?"
"Yes!" Joli clenched his fist. He had been training hard just to get others' recognition.
"When do you plan to go on an adventure?" Little Kasha asked curiously.
"Well... Let me become even stronger first. I'll be more confident then." Joli shrank his head. "Making full preparations is definitely the right thing to do."
Although he didn't know how many generations of villagers he had seen come and go with this excuse.
Anyway, he was an elf and had plenty of time to train.
The people in the village were very friendly, and Joli had long been used to the atmosphere here.
Previously, there was a group of guys in gray and yellow robes who came here to cause trouble, but he drove them all away.
In Joli's eyes, those people were just some mumbling charlatans who had learned some unorthodox tricks from somewhere and couldn't be regarded as targets to test his strength.
Joli still honed his skills day after day.
Occasionally, adventurers would pass by this village. At that time, Joli would hide, embarrassed to let his mediocre skills be seen...
But this time, Joli didn't sense the presence of the two adventurers.
He was accidentally seen practicing sword - fighting, which was a bit embarrassing.
Even though Joli was an elf, he thought those two adventurers were so good - looking that they didn't seem like humans.
Fortunately, that young man seemed very kind - hearted. He didn't criticize Joli's swordplay but instead showed great interest in him.
This made Joli a little happy. It was the first time in so many years of sword - training that he had been recognized by someone.
The other party proposed to have a spar with him.
Without much thought, Joli readily agreed.
It would definitely be a good thing to get guidance from a professional adventurer.
The battle began. Joli hadn't sparred with anyone for a long time, so he was a bit nervous at first and didn't dare to launch an attack rashly... Moreover, the other party seemed to have no flaws.
The other party suddenly seemed to be in a daze for a moment. Joli instinctively launched an attack.
Then, Joli regretted it... It was obviously a fake move to lure him into the trap, and he had fallen for it without even thinking... His evaluation in Mr. Xia Lun's mind must have dropped significantly.
But since it couldn't be undone, he simply went all out and used all his moves at once.
The other side defended them all flawlessly.
Joli was a bit frustrated. After practicing sword - fighting for so long, he was still at such a level... Just an ordinary adventurer from outside could block all his moves.
Soon, Joli was out of breath, and Xia Lun knocked the wooden sword out of his hand.
"I lost," Joli raised his hand. The high - intensity confrontation made his wrist go numb... But the other side seemed fine, not even breathing heavily.
This was a truly powerful adventurer... He was still far behind.
"You're really strong, Mr. Joli. I haven't had such a thrilling battle for a long time," Xia Lun sighed to Joli.
Well... Mr. Xia Lun was really a gentle person and would say such things to comfort him.
However, his years of training were not in vain. He had even gained the recognition of an adventurer as powerful as Mr. Xia Lun.
He still had to train harder.
"Where, where... You're the really amazing one, Mr. Xia Lun," Joli said shyly, sincerely.
There was a rustling sound behind him, and Joli immediately became alert.
"Ah, Xia Lun, so you're here! I've bought the milk, and they even gave me a lot of cheese!" Liyana's carefree voice came from not far away.
Then, Liyana's figure emerged from the bushes.
"Ah! Joli! So you're here!" Liyana pointed at Joli and let out an exclamation.
Joli immediately shrank his head. "Li... Aunt Liyana..."
Xia Lun and Aina exchanged a look.
Aunt Liyana?
Unexpectedly, this guy was really related to Liyana.