As the third morning came, Ryan was already preparing to descend from the ridge. He fixed his rope and hook carefully, making sure his way down would be safe. But before he could begin, a movement in the clearing below caught his eye.
He froze.
He saw a familiar face this was Jai . One of the academy's top shots. He had already missed two targets yesterday as he remembered the event rage flared inside him, without any delay Ryan dropped the rope and picked up his bow . Before Jai could even reach the river's edge, Ryan shot an arrow. It whistled through the air and hit Jai's right thigh from back.
Jai's cry split the morning silence. He staggered, barely managing to stay upright, one hand clutching the shaft of the arrow.
Another arrow flew. It buried itself into Jai's left thigh. His scream echoed louder standing on his toes, his body forming a arch as both hands gripped the arrows, his whole body trembling.
Then, with a deep breath he calmed himself down and with a loud roar, Jai pulled out both the arrows, blood streaming down his legs. But the moment he took out the arrows, Ryan's third arrow found its mark, slamming into his right hip.
Jai not able to bear the pain anymore collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony.
Ryan didn't wait. He slung his bow across his shoulder and descended swiftly, his eyes cold and focused. As he closed the distance, Jai's groans grew louder. As Ryan walked up to him, Jai looked at him and said "who are you? I've never even seen you before."
Ryan smiled casually. "Oh, I'm the local doctor around here."
Jai blinked "What?!"
Ryan leaned in and said with a grin, ""see I cured your constipation? You're welcome". Ryan chuckled as he grabbed Jai from behind and locked his arm around Jai's throat, and squeezed until he fainted.
Ryan without wasting any time searched through Jai's belongings, his fingers finally closing on a pouch. Inside it were six boar tusks. A grin split his face.
"At last… With this I won't be disqualified," he muttered under his breath.
With the tusks secured in his chest pocket, his total shot up to 160 points. He hid the pouch inside his chest and melted into the jungle, leaving Jai behind.
************
Mei had already failed twice, missing Aspen two times. She had enough points to qualify, but "qualify" wasn't what she wanted not when she knew Aspen could surpass her at any moment. If he kills another boar or if he finds a wolf, he'll leave me behind, she thought bitterly, her grip tightening around her dagger.
Determined, she went deeper into the forest, eyes scanning every movement, her ears perked. That's when she heard the clash of steel, she crouched low, moving silently toward the sound.
In a small clearing, two fighters clashed, a boy and a girl, both bloodied, both exhausted. Mei's eyes narrowed as the girl fell, collapsing to the ground. Without hesitation, Mei darted forward to attack the boy.
The boy turned, startled, but her attack was already upon him. Their blades met, sparks flashing. He tried to resist, but his movements were sluggish, worn down from the duel. Mei pressed harder "here catch" she said as she threw the knife slowly towards the boy, as the boy caught the knife mid air, a sharp thrust — her dagger sank into his abdomen. His breath caught in his throat but Mei didn't stopped there, with a spinning tornado kick that sent him sprawling unconscious into the dirt.
Breathing heavily, Mei crouched, checking their bodies. From the boy, she found out a single boar tusks and a goat's horn. From the girl she found another goat horn. Mei's lips curled in disappointment.
Without a backward glance at the two, Mei melted into the forest once more.
*********
The final evening crept over the mountain.
Vayu had already fulfilled his target, so he wandered freely, enjoying the fading sunlight. Aspen too had reached his goal, the leopard's skin hanging around his waist and by some twist of fate Vayu and Aspen crossed paths with barely thirty minutes left before the competition ended.
"Hahahaha!" Aspen's laugh echoed in the clearing. "How lucky am I to find you here, mutt" after slaying that leopard, he had completely forgot about everything.
But Vayu wasn't reckless anymore. His emotions were calm, his breathing steady.
"Let bygones be bygones, Aspen," he said "I don't want to fight you anymore."
Aspen smirked, stepping closer. "What's this? Too scared to face me? Fine I'll be generous Aspen said waving his hand then pointing his finger at Vayu he continued kneel before me and beg for forgiveness maybe then I'll spare you, mutt."
"Not interested" Vayu turned his back and started walking away.
"Not so fast, mutt!" Aspen roared, throwing his axe Vayu side stepped, the weapon slicing past him.
Anger flashed in Aspen's eyes as he charged. Vayu sighed he knew there was no way he could avoid this fight anymore so, he drew his daggers and rushed towards Aspen.
Aspen threw his axe again. Vayu side stepped again, but before he could recover Aspen launched himself into the air and crashed into Vayu with a full-force drop kick, Vayu flew and slammed into a tree trunk. His daggers scattered to the ground.
"Why do I always get slammed into trees?" he thought bitterly as he staggered up.
Aspen was already rushing forward barehanded, his left elbow swinging for Vayu's head. Vayu slipped back, but Aspen followed with the missed strike, twisting his body 180 degrees to drive his right elbow into Vayu's cheek. The world spun for Vayu.
Aspen pressed harder, his fist lashing forward, Vayu ducked and countered with a quick jump, his fist hitting Aspen's chin. Aspen reeled back, as he regained his balance he spat.
"Oh, the mutt can bite," he sneered.
He charged again like a bull. Vayu braced himself and swung his punch as Aspen got closer, but Aspen ducked, seizing Vayu's wrist. Vayu reacted instantly, grabbing Aspen's face and driving his knee into his face. Aspen stumbled again, but fury burned through him. He tackled Vayu again and rammed him once more into the tree trunk.
Air burst from Vayu's lungs as he fell down. Before he could rise, Aspen pinned him, sitting on his chest.
"This," Aspen growled, "is how you punch!"
Bam! His fist cracked against Vayu's face. Aspen raised his other hand but before he could finish the sound of peal came, marking the end of competition.
The Peal came loud and clear, the competition had ended. Aspen froze, his fist a inch away from Vayu's face. His face showed frustration.
"Damn it!" he spat as he slowly got up, then he smirked coldly. "Don't worry mutt, Next time it'll be in front of everyone."
He retrieved his axe and strode down the mountain.
Vayu sat still dazed, he could fight back, his strength was not much lacking from Aspen, But their fighting experiences were way more different .
Today he had no fighting spirit, but in the pain of defeat Vayu understood that controlling emotions and suppressing them were not the same that was his lesson.
With effort, he stood, picked up his daggers, and limped down the mountain.
In the past three days, ninety competitors had entered for the competition. Ten competitors were disqualified on the first day, forty more on the second, and seventeen were disqualified today leaving only twenty-three contenders. With only the top twenty allowed to advance, the three with the lowest points would soon be out.
Seven or eight competitors were already there when Aspen strode in, a leopard skin wrapped proudly around his waist. Gasps rippled through the crowd. Until then, Vijay held the highest score at 110 points. But when Aspen presented a leopard's teeth and a boar's tusks, his total soared to 170.
The Third Elder burst out laughing, loudly boasting about his grandson's greatness. But before the praise could settle, Ryan arrived. Though he had only managed to find one more goat after all his searching, it was enough to match Aspen's tally 170 points. The elders exchanged astonished looks very few expected anyone else to rival Aspen.
Then appeared Mei. Her points were tallied at 220. The Second Elder was soon the one smiling proudly, boasting of her strength, Even Shen was amazed by her achievement.
One by one, the remaining competitors returned until twenty-two had gathered. Only one was missing—Vayu.
"Ten minutes left until submissions close," the collector announced. "Those who fail to return will be disqualified."
"He won't have any points anyway," Aspen scoffed. "He was covered in dirt from head to toe he must been hiding all the time"
Laughter spread among the gathered crowd. Then at the moment, Vayu appeared his clothes were filthy covered in mud as Aspen had described, his face swollen and bruised, as if he had crawled out of the dirt itself. Mockery filled the air until the collector raised his hand for silence as he checked Vayu's pouch.
"Final tally… Vayu: 510 points."
Everyone in the hall froze.
"What?!" Aspen's face drained of color, disbelief twisting his words.
The laughter was gone. In its place was a stunned silence that made Vayu's victory echo louder than any boasting.