Now though, Sui was presented with an interesting problem. Each of the pathways had released a target for her and her previous ‘follow the target’ strategy had kind of fallen through. Of course, Sui being Sui, she spent about two seconds thinking about it before simply continuing on straight ahead, having decided that wasting any more time on it would be detrimental.

The path this time, she noticed shortly after passing the pillars, was actually lined by pillars that were around elbow height instead of a full head and a half above her, they’d grown to sit more naturally.

Sui saw a flash of colour from her right eye and turned, fired and… hit a purple target instead. When the paintball hit, Sui quickly checked the score and cursed herself, seeing as she’d actually lost a point instead of gaining one.

Dammit. Looks like targets don’t come in all colours. I wonder if that’s why when I splashed the target a way’s back with a shot on the corner, I didn’t gain any points? I did but I also lost points for hitting the wall? Maybe? I’d really rather not lose an-

Sui’s thoughts cut off as she saw another flash of colour, it was certainly redder, but she’d paused just before firing and saw this one was actually a bright orange instead. Sui stared at it menacingly for a few seconds, as if her glare would allow her to convey the message ‘I’m not falling for it’ to the target.

Strangely enough, this strategy actually worked, as the target flickered for a second and changed to red. Sui shot it and gained a point for her efforts. Ok… so they can change colour. I really hope they can’t change colours fast enough for me to fire, and have it change in transition. The paintballs aren’t THAT fast really. Then again… that flickering lasted a good five seconds so maybe not.

Sui continued walking down the pathway and managed to spot two more fakes, and a final target that was actually red the instant it popped up, netting her a nice even forty points. Aife of course, was sixty, or rather sixty-one actually, and Sui was honestly surprised.

Hmm, wonder if she got two in one shot or something. I doubt she wants anymore though. If she gets to sixty-five, I’ll… nah best not wish a curse upon me for second guessing Aife. If they keep firing them directly at her, her reflexes will likely be too good, forcing her to hit them before she really thinks about it.

Sui thought the colour changing was a nice touch, but it was easy to adapt to, then again… Trina’s score didn’t seem to reflect that. Of course, Sui had no idea, that her assumption Trina was experiencing a similar challenge, was correct at this time, but it made sense to her. Still the three of them were pulling father apart in points. Sui was up to forty-five, with Aife still at sixty-one, Trina had only managed to get to thirty-seven.

Hmm, do I want to try and wait for her? No… I think it’s best I just try and catch-up with Aife. She clearly doesn’t want to go any higher than sixty-one so I should catch up to her if I can, and then wait as well. That way I’m passing or failing with her at least, and perhaps it will encourage Trina to do better.

What Sui didn’t realise, is that all her time surrounded by various shades of thread had trained her eyes to a ridiculous degree to recognise colours. This combined with her high wisdom allowed her to easily spot which target was which. As she continued down the corridor, the targets got trickier.

The next one was a brown target with a red ring around the outside, Sui glared at it fiercely before shooting it. It was then followed by a target that was half red and half blue. Hmm, do I just try and hit the right side where it’s all red or do I wait? Sui didn’t want to risk it, and did in fact, give it ten seconds before seeing the target remain unchanged. Sighing, Sui simply ignored it and moved on not willing to risk the point loss.

The next set of targets was a pair of two. It was a blue target, that was clearly incorrect… hiding a red target mostly behind itself. The red target was larger and could be seen all around the blue. Sui only just barely noticed they were in fact, not the same target, because she’d already so closely examined the previous red and blue target and saw this pair to be the same target.

Sui took aim very carefully, even using thread wrapped around the muzzle to try and steady it further. Shooting the paintball out, Sui couldn’t help but hold her breath, as she watched it fly through the air. She knew it would not change the outcome, and normally she’d already be moving again, but she couldn’t help it, she needed to know.

Her skill payed off, and the paintball just barely nicked the edge of the target, making it disappear and granting her another point for her scoreboard. Sui cheered, internally of course. Ito also cheered, though she was much more expressive about her joy and even popped out off Sui’s shoulder for a second to celebrate before ducking back in. Sui may or may not have stopped moving long enough for Ito to complete her dance. Who is to say?

Sui started moving, a few seconds later, and glared at the spots on either side of her where another target was likely to appear, but it seemed none were going to be forthcoming. The next intersection was still some way’s away, and she was starting to think this corridor held no more challenge for her.

Still, that was no excuse to relax. She kept her threads searching for a target however nothing was appearing there either. The corridor was calm, and lacking in targets, until she felt her threads shift near the right edge of her circular web. Glancing down, Sui saw a blue target rolling past as if it was aiming to trip her.

Sui waited for it to get in front of her left foot and kicked at it for good measure. The target made a sound like a bell being struck and proceeded to ring for a few seconds. Sui watched it, waiting for the colour to change. While it was ringing though, it didn’t seem to move, so she was patient.

When the ringing was about to stop, and the colour had remained blue Sui kicked it again and stepped over it, while keeping an eye on it. She was glad she did, as she found a smaller red target hidden behind it. Shooting the offending circle, Sui happily changed her attention back to the path ahead. She still needed to get to fifty at least.