Archery Club Practice Range
"Did you invite the boy you like to the Harvest Festival?"
"I don't dare, what if he rejects me? It would be the end of me socially."
"Come on, it'll never happen if you don't try."
"But he has a girlfriend, that blonde wolf girl."
"I'm sure he's only with her out of pity."
Two pretty girls were discussing their love lives among the crowd of students who had decided to attend the selection of the captain of the Archery Club. They wanted to see William Stone and Xavier Thorpe win and celebrate with them, or see them lose and try to console them.
"...I want to go to the festival too."
Eugene, standing in the crowd, heard the girls standing in front of him. He also wanted to go to the night festival, but he didn't dare go alone, and he didn't have many friends to go with.
(I guess I won't be going this year either.) (Eugene)
"Do you want to come with us? Enid and I, maybe Xavier. I'll hire a driver for the whole night so we can come and go as we please. Are you in?" (William)
William's voice surprised Eugene, and even more so his words. There were many students who wanted to attend the festival with William, for example, the girls in front of him.
"...Yes, I'd love to." Eugene smiled and adjusted his thick glasses.
"Okay, I'll call you on the day and arrange where we'll meet before we go." (William)
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a competition." (William)
"Good luck, William." (Eugene)
Still somewhat out of sorts, Eugene managed to wish William good luck before he moved on with the rest of the participants.
"William, I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Get lost..." (William)
The previous girl tried to talk to William when she passed by him, but she received only one word in response.
The training ground had undergone a noticeable change; the archery targets had been placed visibly further away than normal.
Five students, including William and Xavier, were participating. Joshua was the favourite to win the competition, with most bets in his favour.
"Come on, anyone else want to bet? It's 25 to 2 in favour of Joshua." (Student bookmaker)
"I'll bet 50 dollars on Joshua."
"I'll bet 20 dollars on William."
"I'll bet 25 on Xavier, he's quite cute."
The older students bet on Joshua because of his racial advantage as an Argos, and the girls bet on William and Xavier, who were more popular and handsome.
Headmistress Weems pretended to ignore the betting, letting the Trisbie Hall students continue as long as they didn't cause trouble or cheat other students.
Headmistress Weems was there to watch William compete and take some photos for her friend Catherine, William's mother. Several teachers accompanied her. William was quite popular among them, well-behaved, handsome, and quite talented in various fields.
"You're nervous. I would be too." (Enid)
Enid was standing next to William, looking more nervous than he was about the competition.
"This will be easy, don't worry, hold this for me."
William kissed Enid on the lips in front of everyone and handed her his armband. He wanted the competition to be as fair as possible before lining up to start the race.
"Now that everyone is ready, let's begin the elimination round. The first target is 30 feet (10 metres) away."
Josh, the previous team captain, would be in charge of selecting this year's captain. He would be leaving for university the following year.
(I hope Joshua wins. He is the only other Argos besides me at Nevermore, and his passion for archery is even more intense than mine.) (Josh)
"Ready... Fire!"
"Ting" X 5
The five metal-tipped arrows hit the bullseye right in the centre of the target. Josh gave the signal to shoot with a red flag.
"Now at 65 feet (20 metres)."
"Ready... Fire!"
"Ting" X 5
The first participant was eliminated when his arrow hit the edge of the target. He was followed by targets at 100 and 130 feet away. At this point, only William and Joshua remained without missing a shot.
"Now at 200 feet (60 metres) away, the criteria is the same: hit the centre."
"Sigh"
(I didn't want to have to do this) (Joshua)
Joshua sighed and after closing his eyes for a moment, a third and fourth eye emerged from his forehead. It wasn't a pleasant sight.
"Ready... Fire!"
Joshua's hit was perfect, right in the white centre, while William's grazed the edge.
"Did you call me?"
Yoko approached William during the ten-minute break, and William waved her over.
"Do you happen to have an extra pair of glasses you could lend me?"
William said with an adorable expression, or so he thought.
"Don't give me that puppy dog look. I always carry a spare pair in my backpack."
Yoko took an extra pair of sunglasses out of her backpack.
(Damn, he's adorable...tsk) (Yoko)
"Thanks, I'll make it up to you."
William thanked him after putting them on, his ten-minute break was over.
"Normally, the competition ends at 269 feet (80 m) away, but this time we will make an exception and increase the distance to 30 feet (10 m) after each shot until one of you misses."
"269 feet... shoot!"
"Ting" x 2
They continued shooting arrows until they reached 500 feet (150 m) away, which was more than the Olympic compound bow shot. A compound bow required less strength and physical endurance than a normal bow, and at this point, Joshua felt intense fatigue and muscle pain.
There was no more room to place the target further away; the forest prevented it. The competition became a duel of endurance: the first to miss loses.
(I won't give up. He's handsome, rich, and good at his studies, but I only have archery as my talent. If I don't have this, then I have nothing.) (Joshua)
(Just a little more.) (William)
William's arms were also tired after 200 shots without the bonus from his medals, and regeneration would have a limit to its endurance and eventually cause him to miss a shot.
The targets were replaced several times with new ones, as were the arrows.
"Shit!!..."
Joshua's arm was at its limit. His arm shook for a second and his arrow deviated by a millimetre, hitting just outside the centre circle. William's arrow was perfect. His eagle eyes and good physical condition far surpassed Joshua's.
"The winner is William Stone, Captain of Next Year's Archery Team!!!" (Josh)
*Applause!!!*
William took off his glasses and his eyes returned to normal. If Joshua chose to compete without his Argos abilities, William would likewise refrain from using his abilities. Joshua would undoubtedly have won, as he had more experience than William, who had only started practising at the beginning of the year.
There was loud applause from the teacher and students. It was a very exciting match, with William's new dates repeatedly cutting the previous ones in half.
William shook Joshua's hand with a slight tremor in his fingers, tired from pulling the bowstring. A little more and his fingers would have been bleeding, even with the protection of his leather glove.
"Good job, mate." (Xavier)
Xavier gave him a quick hug, as did Ajax, Bianca, Yoko, and Divina, who applauded him along with the crowd. Enid hugged him affectionately from behind. Everyone was happy for their friend. Joshua received support from the rest of the Archery Club members. William was not particularly friendly with them.
Ophelia Hall Enid and Yoko's dormitory.
"I haven't seen this one before. Is it new?" (Enid)
"It's the one I got after fighting the Silver Drake." (William)
William and Enid were sitting on the pink carpet in Enid's room.
"Oh, it's shaped like a silver dragon." (Enid)
"It was impressive and terrifying at the same time, Although without wings." (William)
"I would have liked to see it in person, a dragon like in fairy tales." (Enid)
Enid looked at William'mucho s new ring, a silver dragon embracing William's finger with its head and tail. The sculpture was so detailed that you could count thousands of scales on its body, each with golden edges.
"Only two more fingers to go to cover your right hand." (Enid)
"I hope to complete the collection next year." (William)
Enid continued drying William's hair. He had gone to his room after washing the sweat off his body from the competition.
"Now you can turn into... lizards?" (Enid)
"Reptiles" (William)
William replied distractedly, more focused on Enid's pink lips and the softness of her waist as he held her.
"Have you tried it yet?" (Enid)
"No, I don't see much point in changing into an iguana or a crocodile. There are more convenient forms, and a snake sounds rather tempting." (William)
"Urgh, they're cold and slimy. Don't do it in front of me." (Enid)
Enid grimaced with disgust.
"Understood, no snakes." (William)
"Your hair is a bit long. Will you come with me to get it cut next weekend in Jericho?" (Enid)
"It's not that long." (William)
"I'll see you at the competition this afternoon." (Enid)
"Did you notice?" (William)
"Of course I noticed." (Enid)
"Another thing I wanted to tell you, I invited Eugene to go to the Harvest Festival with us. Does that bother you?"
"The bee guy? That's fine with me. I thought you were going to invite Xavier."
"He's going with Bianca. We have a couple of spots left. Do you want to invite Divina and Yoko?"
"I'll ask them if they want to come."