Basic Training (Training)

[Deleted]

Improved Point Blank Shot
Rank: "B"
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: With this technique the user learns to take advantage of the closeness of their ranged precision attacks.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: When the user attacks an opponent with their weapon that the user is adjacent to, the user is able to hit much harder used to combat against Defenses, increasing any attack with their weapon by 50 Armour Points. For every 2 meters away from the target, the Armour Points is reduced by 10. So at 2 meters away the user hits with 40 extra Armour Points, 4 meters away the user hits with 30 Armour Points, etc until the user is 10 meters away with no additional power committed within the attack.
Limit: Must be a Marksman. Must know Point Blank Shot



Titania was still a beginner, a low level grunt in spite of her successes in the Academy. That was normal, but she needed to raise her status as soon as possible. To that end she spent most of her free time either studying, performing maintenance on her weapon, or doing training drills. Currently it was the latter, though she wasn't alone. A number of fellow genin armed with ranged weapons, as well as herself, stood arrayed in a line, with a Jonin Commander striding along behind them, offering advice and critiquing their form.

Being the smallest one present by far, Titania's rifle was nearly as large as herself, and it was near impossible to handle correctly. She had to maintain a constant flow of magical enhancements in order to even lift and aim correctly. Naturally she was targeted as the underperformer of the group because well...she was. Nothing that could be done about it though. On orders, everyone readied their weapons - bows and crossbows of all types. None were loaded for the purposes of the exercise, but that didn't matter.

Everyone in unison lunged forward one long step - which in Titania's case wasn't very long comparatively - angled their weapons up slightly, and fired. The sound of bowstrings twanging and crossbow triggers clacking filled the air, but there was no darkening of the sky with wood and feathers. The technique they were practicing wasn't about shooting upward, but rather shooting up close against a hypothetical opponent. By transferring more of the initial force propelling the arrow or bolt to the target, it would have more stopping power against enemies attempting to close in to melee attack range, a standard tactic against ranged attackers.

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As ordered, everyone remained locked in this posture, though it was terribly uncomfortable, especially for Titania. The Commander moved in front of the group, and strode the line examining for errors. If not for her magically enhanced strength, Titania probably would have fallen over already just from how unbalanced she was. As it stood, even with the boost it took all of her strength and concentration to hold it.

Blessedly, she was passed over for criticism this round, as the muzzle of her rifle was pointed directly at the Commander's heart when he stood before her. Instead, a conscript received the brunt of his ire for aiming too high. Seeing as conscripts were taken and forced to train and fight against their will, it was only natural that they wouldn't learn as eagerly as volunteers like herself, but the stammered apology sounded heartfelt. It was still met with only the sickening thud of flesh against flesh from a punch to the cheek. As a conscript, you were the lowest of the low, and to say you would be treated poorly would be an understatement.

But Titania didn't care about that. Serving in a Hidden Village was the epitome of a meritocracy. Whether a conscript or a volunteer didn't matter. The excellent would advance, and those without value would be discarded. A new order rang out, and the group withdrew back to their line, for which Titania was grateful. Her arms hurt already, not that she would admit it, so getting back into position was a relief. The sound of weapons lowering to a passive position was deafening.

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Once again the order to take aim rang out, and the sound of everyone's weapons moving into position filled the air. Titania struggled with her own oversized weapon with a scowl of concentration, but managed to bring it to bear. That such a simple drill could be so demanding was insanity, but it was mostly her own body's limitations working against her. The older trainees weren't experiencing nearly as much physical difficulty in the exercise.

That was no excuse for failure though, as she had been repeatedly reminded. By the time they were finished, every one of them, even Titania, would be expected to be able to perform on reflex and muscle memory alone. Titania's magic energy was starting to run low with how much she was putting into her physical enhancements though. She hoped they would be able to take a break soon so that she could scarf down a quick protein bar and take a short rest to replenish.

Step! As one they all lunged forward, thrusting their weapons into the torso of imagined foes. The muffled sound of dozens of boots stomping in the sand thumped out. Fire! Metallic clicking and twanging strings sang a song of warfare. Back! They returned to the resting stance. Aim! Weapons up. Step! Stomping lunges. Fire! The sound of unloaded weapons "firing". Back! Neutral position. Aim! Step! Fire! Back! The pace was increasing. The time between phases was decreasing, as was the time between repetitions. Titania's muscles screamed for rest, and her vision blurred as her chakra ran closer to total depletion.

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At ease! Titania sighed in relief, tempted to offer a silent prayer to the devil that brought her to this place for the reprieve. She let her muscles relax, using her rifle as a sort of crutch while trying to look like she wasn't. She needed to be better than the others if she was going to justify her presence in light of her limitations, and part of that included making it look like she was handling the strain better than she actually was.

It felt like the tension in her rifle was being transferred more back into herself than outward where it could have greater stopping power against an opponent at close range. Maybe it was just her weak arms not being able to handle the vibrations without being properly braced for an aimed shot, but she really felt like they had started going numb. There was just a hollow ache in them now where she normally felt whole.

Breathing steadily, she focused her mind into a near meditative state and let the tension flow out of her body. She only had a couple of minutes so she had to clear as much of her fatigue as possible and prepare for the next round of drills. She scarfed down a ration bar and drank some water, wiping away sweat borne more of struggle than the desert heat on her fair skin. The call to order was raised, and once more the group was arranged into a line. Time to get back to work.

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This time things were different. The Commander, being a skilled practitioner of Sand magic - an asset in a desert country like this one, but somewhat more limited elsewhere Titania noted - created numerous "clones" out of sand. They were shoddy work really, but given the sheer number it was likely that he was holding back on the fine details in order to conserve energy. Still, they approximated a humanoid shape of around six feet tall and three feet wide. The dimensions of the average grave, she mused grimly.

As each one slid forward into position in front of one of the trainees, not really moving their legs but rather gliding across the sand, they were given a new order - load. Thankfully they didn't need to use their personal ammunition for this, but could take from a communal depot just behind. Titania took ten rounds for her rifle for now, sliding one into place and pocketing the rest. She could go back for more if they were needed. Crossbow users were forbidden from using repeater clips for the current exercise, naturally, since it was about singular, powerful shots.

Aim! Everyone took a ready stance. The sand clones sat motionless, apparently just makeshift training dummies. A few people smirked confindently now that the fear of retaliation was gone. Titania however was frowning, unconvinced. There had to be some kind of catch. Step! They all lunged forward jamming their weapons in the torso of the sand clones at various points. Fire! The various triggering mechanisms were all released, and while numerous bolts, including Titania's, shot cleanly through the constructions, most of the arrows did not. Wrong! All of you!

Wait, what?

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Wrong? How was it wrong? Not that she didn't expect such an outcome on the first attempt, but she had no idea what exactly it could have been that was wrong, or what the desired outcome even was. The clones still hadn't moved, and when the order to withdraw was given, everyone did so with a look of puzzlement on their faces. Titania watched the construct closely, looking for some clue as to what it was they were intended to do here, but nothing in particular stood out to her. There must be some trick with them. Were they supposed to be aiming for some more vulnerable point that she just couldn't detect?

Reload! Titania struggled for a bit with the chambering mechanisms of her rifle trying to load up a new round and pull back the slide, but even that was difficult with her short arms. She eventually managed, just in time for the command to take aim. When the group lunged on the step command, she remembered how the Commander had passed her by when she was aiming at his heart. Might that be the weak point of these clones? She jammed the barrel up under where its ribs would be to aim for the heart. Fire! She pulled the trigger.

The results were the same as before however, and the Commander chastised the lot of them for their repeated failures. Titania's ears burned with embarrassment. This was ridiculous. At least say what it is you want us to do you bastard! Without specific instruction, how is anyone supposed to improve? The idea of training by intuition was ludicrous, and was guaranteed to instill bad habits, which was the whole point of having an instructor in the first place!

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Back! Reload! Titania growled internally as she struggled with her weapon. Why did they assign her something so damned big anyway? Did they think it was funny? Probably, actually, since the biggest person in the group had a tiny pistol crossbow that looked like it would fit her hands nicely. The brass had a sense of irony. Joy. It would probably get some people killed though. Titania just had to make sure she wasn't one of them. She had a second chance in this life. There were no guarantees of a third.

Aim! Step! What couldn't she see? What could none of them see? Fire! Wrong! Damn it all why was this not working? There were no weak points to aim at on these sand clones, they were just sand! Unless maybe that was the point? It wasn't a precision technique after all. It could be that she was overcomplicating matters in her own mind. It was a bad habit common among snipers after all. Thinking about it, maybe she was trying too hard to analyze the situation instead of acting with decisive force.

Back! Reload! She wasn't as strong or as fast as her contemporaries, but Titania's aptitude for magic allowed her to make up the difference by maintaining a constant flow of energy through her body, though it wore her out faster. By that reasoning, she should be perfectly capable of anything the others could do. Aim! Instead of compensating for her deficiencies with precision, she could just ignore them. Step! She moved forward, but kept her rifle back a bit instead of lodging it in the sand dummy. Fire! She pushed hard while simultaneously pulling the trigger, throwing her whole body into the movement. A disproportionately large hole was blasted in the middle of the clone.

Still wrong! But, better! Titania was heartened by the confirmation of progress, and by being the first to accomplish any. Now she would serve as the model to copy and attempt to improve upon for the drill. Not that she intended to let any of them surpass her without a fight.

[Shallistera]

+80, not bad but for next time you should state how much this technique costs TP like in this case it is 0/80 to completion, also mark the post numbers after each one