Chapter 32: The Dart

Beyond self-defense and physical training, Joann had an even more important reason for practicing with throwing darts: to further develop the practical applications of the “Mage Hand Supreme.” Discussing such matters was tedious, and since he disliked lengthy explanations, when Conti questioned him, he simply replied with a cool, “That’s none of your business.”

“Hmph, I knew you’d say that!” Conti huffed, snatching a dart from his hand, examining it, then tossing it onto the table in disdain. “I don’t much care for this style of dart. The hunters of our Algonquin tribe also use throwing darts for hunting, but they’re completely different from yours—much larger and heavier, looking like oversized bananas, usually crafted from hardwood or ox horn, hollowed at both ends and filled with molten lead to add weight.” Animatedly, Conti drew a rough sketch of an Asa tribe dart in the dirt with a stick as she explained to Joann. “Throwing these darts requires special skill. In the hands of a master hunter, the dart not only strikes the prey with precision but can even return to the thrower.”

“I’ve read about that kind of throwing weapon in books. If I’m not mistaken, it’s called a ‘boomerang’?” Joann asked.

“That’s right, a boomerang! Too bad I don’t know how to make one; otherwise, you could use a boomerang instead. It’s much better than these little darts.” Conti sighed regretfully.

Joann made no reply. He didn’t believe the boomerang suited his current needs better than the dart. Granted, the Asa boomerang was more powerful and had a longer range, but its technique seemed quite complex, and he’d have to invest a great deal of effort to wield it skillfully. Moreover, a boomerang is a ranged bludgeoning weapon, lacking an edge and thus unable to be coated with poison—rendering his expertise in toxins useless.

Knowing Joann preferred solitude, Conti chatted a bit more before heading off with Jamie to patrol the woods behind the hill.

After Conti left, Joann resumed his dart-throwing practice. Having recovered considerably, he could now consistently hit the target, though striking vital spots was still a matter of luck—not something he expected to achieve in the short term.

Once his accuracy had reached a certain level, Joann shifted his focus. Instead of continuing with regular throwing, he began using the “Mage Hand Supreme,” remotely controlling this invisible force to hurl the darts—this was the real highlight of his training.

The “Mage Hand Supreme” matched his own hands in both strength and dexterity, but it offered two key advantages: first, an extended reach of up to 110 feet; second, its invisibility, making it ideal for launching surprise attacks.

Thanks to his recent days of practice, Joann could already control the “Mage Hand Supreme” to wield a dagger for thrusts and parries, and by attempting to throw darts with it, he was further exploring the spell’s potential.

Joann was quite pleased with his initial results. All five darts thrown by the “Mage Hand Supreme” struck the target, and the sensation differed little from throwing them himself.

To fully exploit the hand’s extended reach, Joann practiced by hovering the magical hand above the boundary line while he himself retreated farther and farther, stopping only when he reached the opposite wall. At this point, the “Mage Hand Supreme” remained about twenty feet from the target, but Joann himself was sixty feet away. He had to control the hand from forty feet out, making sure to aim as well.

Managing both tasks simultaneously was no easy feat. Joann spent the entire morning practicing before he could just barely meet the standard, with most of his darts hitting the target.

After lunch, he returned to the courtyard and continued his rigorous training, using “Mage Hand Supreme” to throw darts.

The space within the courtyard soon proved insufficient, so he moved the target outside, propping it against a large tree. He drew a boundary line twenty feet in front of the target to keep the “Mage Hand Supreme” hovering about five feet above it, and then kept retreating until he was 140 feet away. At that range, he felt the magical link between himself and the hand stretched to its utmost; any further and it would snap, dissolving the spell.

So Joann stopped at this extreme distance, remotely guiding the “Mage Hand Supreme” to aim and throw darts at the target from over a hundred feet away. At such a distance, “aiming” was more or less a figure of speech—the organs and blood vessels marked on the target blurred together into a jumble of red and blue lines. He could hardly distinguish vital points, and even hitting the target at all became exceedingly difficult. After three rounds—fifteen darts—only four struck home, and Joann wasn’t sure whether this reflected his real skill or just luck.

In the next round, a change in wind direction caused all five darts to miss entirely. This made Joann realize that, just as Conti had said, darts had significant drawbacks as throwing weapons, especially in windy conditions, where accuracy suffered greatly.

Joann used the “Mage Hand Supreme” to retrieve the darts, then repeated the process over and over like a clockwork automaton. The monotonous practice continued all day until the sun set and darkness made it impossible to see the target.

How much had he gained from a day’s hard practice? Joann himself was uncertain, but one thing was clear: he would persevere.

After dinner, Joann took the key given to him by Dr. Calandil and went to the laboratory. There, he extracted and refined the remaining bloodroot and snake venom into a paralyzing toxin, which he carefully applied to the diamond-shaped edges on either side of the dart tips.

Under the moonlight, the poisoned darts shimmered with a faint blue glow. Unable to find a suitable living subject on which to test the toxin, Joann stored the darts away in his pouch to prevent the paralyzing poison from breaking down in strong light.

By the time all this was done, it was already ten o’clock at night. Joann tidied the lab bench, washed up, and crawled into his sleeping bag, lying down fully clothed.

At dawn, Joann awoke on the floor of Calandil’s alchemy lab. After washing and spending an hour preparing his spells, he ate a little dry food, slung his pack over his shoulder, and hurried out. With his supply of bloodroot and snake venom exhausted, he intended to go back to the swamp and gather more.

He left the town’s gate and headed south along the river valley path. The vegetation grew denser, and the road beneath his feet became increasingly muddy. By the time the sun had fully risen over the horizon, Joann reached the edge of the swamp and, as expected, saw the gray pouch beast perched on the slope, dozing against a tree stump.