"Eek!" Something whizzed past the event manager’s ear, just scraping the skin enough to trickle out some blood. He felt an out-of-body sensation as his hands flew to his face in haste. In the end, he ended up slapping himself on both cheeks, shrieking akin to a scaredy-cat.

In the adjacent event, the archer had shot at the strawberry, but his arrow missed; however, another arrow came out of nowhere, slipped through the gaps between the horns of the deer and pierced through the berry perfectly, and flew out without touching the horns again, then finished things by striking some bystander’s butt who was watching another event.

Everyone was puzzled, including Lirzod. “Where did the arrow go?” It flew so fast that nobody had seen it. Only the experienced event manager’s eyes briefly caught the sight of the arrow, even though he couldn’t stop it from cutting a teeny bit of his ear.

The event manager turned back at once and looked here and there for the arrow, but then the cries of a fat man caught everyone’s attention. He was jumping up and down in pain like a mad hippo. The nearby men realized what had happened and pulled the arrow from his ass, but still, they were left in a shock, for there was a bloodied strawberry at its tip.

“This…” Many heads from afar looked toward the archery section to see where the arrow had come from. Eventually, their eyes stopped on Lirzod.

“It can’t be…”

“Did that fellow strike the strawberry from that angle?”

“Impossible! I mean, the deer’s head is tilted forward a bit so that the horns not only block arrows coming front the front but also from the sides. How did his arrow go through the horns not once but twice? It’s just not possible.”

“Maybe he fixed the strawberry before he shot the arrow?”

“Idiot! Then why’s the strawberry on the deer missing?”

“Y-You are right.”

“Then, it’s really him!”

“Was it skill, or was it plain old luck?”

“M-Maybe, he got cat caressed[1] today.”

Many people began to abandon the archery shops they were at and scuttled their way to the event Lirzod was participating in, so they could get a closer look at the magnificent archery, which also seemed to have shocked the event manager who was looking at Lirzod in disbelief. “How fast was that release! They say the smoother the release, the accurate the shot; the faster the release, the foolish the archer. But this fellow’s release gives him a knight’s position among fools!”

Lirzod, who had been looking for the arrow, now turned his head toward the event manager. “Where did the arrow go?”

“Huh?” all those who were gathering around to see him almost crashed headlong.

“This boy… he must be joking, right?”

“Maybe he doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, afraid of losing concentration or something.”

“Whatever dude... I only hope I’m not wasting a few minutes of my life watching a fool’s bravery[2].”

Lirzod was still standing at the mark, waiting for the event manager to reply.

“The arrow didn’t hit the target,” the event manager said, trying his best to appear calm and professional. Though he was angry at Lirzod for almost putting a hole in his ear, he was also feeling happy that the crowd around his event had tripled in the past minute or so. “You have two more chances, but do you want to continue?”

“Of course, I want to continue,” Lirzod tossed another copper coin and then picked up another arrow. “I sneezed last time, but it was still valid, huh,” Lirzod felt a bit disappointed. He shoved the failure away and tried to focus, but the commotion in the background disturbed him more than it looked. Lirzod sighed and took a breath. Don’t panic. Let them scream. I have to take my time.

Still, it wasn’t easy to concentrate while the crowd chatted about matching the cackling of hyenas.

“It’s getting hard to aim,” Lirzod muttered under his breath. As he was searching for aim and struggling, Sinario’s words suddenly rang in his mind, “Only those who are able to aim can shoot as they like!” And his posture suddenly changed a bit. His muscles loosened, and his hands somewhat moved down so that the arrow anchored at the tip of his nose. His body automatically moved and took a position. Something about that stance felt right, and he didn’t want to let the string go. He wanted to feel it more, even if it was just another second, so much that he didn’t even know that he was holding his breath, but his eyes were focused on not the first ring but the bullseye on the cardboard behind the golden ring. Throughout the next second or two, he kept watching the target, and then the arrow was fired off so smoothly that he didn’t even know when he started loosening his grip on the fletching.

The event manager was smiling as the arrow rushed through the air, but his smile fell flat, and his eyes sprang out of the sockets when the arrow snaked through the white ring and the black ring, and it didn’t look like it was going off track. Third ring; conquered. Fourth ring; conquered. In that split second, everyone’s jaw almost hit the floor, including Lirzod, as the arrow hummed its way through the fifth and sixth rings, and though the arrow’s path curved down, it still went through the seventh ring. However, it then dipped and failed to go through the eighth ring and eventually pierced the sandy soil.

For a moment, there was silence in the vicinity as a wave of wonderment washed over the onlookers' faces.

“Whoa! Did you see that?”

“Yeah! That was sick!”

“How long has it been since someone managed to clear the blue ring?”

“Probably weeks.”

“Two rings, even three rings can be a fluke, but seven rings isn’t!”

“This dude’s skill is genuine!”

Most of the crowd was in a state of awe.

“Wait...” dubiety and disbelief fought for places on the event manager’s face. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Lirzod, in the meantime, stood frozen like a frog that just got out of a well for the first time in its life. What was that? I’m sure I heard Uncle Stiff’s voice, and then something happened. I must try it again right away to get familiar with that feeling. He hurriedly picked up another arrow and took aim. Seeing that, everyone in the crowd went silent once more. This time, unlike in the past, nobody wanted to disturb him.

Thanks to the silence in his locality, he could concentrate a bit better. I’m sure I lowered the level of the arrow up to the nose. Now then… He paused for a moment, but then everything else seemed blank to him. What else did I do? C’mon Lirzod! Uncle Stiff must be laughing right now. Think of that board as him! You must not miss the target no matter what!

As every audience watched with utmost attention, Lirzod released the arrow in the twinkling of an eye.

The arrow zizzed through the air, and though Lirzod had felt that the aim was off, the arrow still managed to go through the first ring, but that was all it did before piercing the sand.

“Oooh,” the crowd seemed to be a bit disappointed.

“Oof,” the event manager leaked out a breath and rubbed the sweat off his jaw. That’s right. This guy’s just a noob. I don’t know how he managed to release that breathtaking shot, but I know that look on his face. He’s searching for that stance he made that time. A corner of his lips curled up a little. Hehe, this is the kind of customer that can make me rich. He brought his expression back to normal and then cleared his throat before clapping. “Not bad, sir.”

Lirzod, though, was initially disappointed, then ended up smiling. The event manager’s words gave him that little boost of confidence he needed at that moment. He picked up another arrow and shot again. This time he even missed the first ring. The shoulders of those in the crowd slowly but surely started to slump. He tried one more time and missed the target over again.

Since he failed two times consecutively, if he failed again, then he’d have to go and stand back in the line. So he took his time and shot the arrow. This time, it went through the first but then hit the second ring and flew backward and fell nearby.

For some reason, the blood in his veins burned, and it didn’t help when the sound of dissatisfaction birthing in the crowd reached his ears. He hastily picked up an arrow and didn’t even properly position the bow before pulling the string for a sharp shot. The arrow didn’t even travel till the first ring, and its shaft chaffed the sandy floor and lifted some sand particles before eventually stopping.

“Haha, what’s he doing?”

“Did he lose his mind or what?”

“I think he’s getting a bit desperate to prove himself.”

“But that’s not the right way. He’s just grasping for straws.”

Though the chatter of the crowd wasn’t pleasant anymore, Lirzod’s focus was no longer on them. What made the arrow go through the seven rings successfully? He only wanted to find that aim again. It happened once, so it could happen again. All he wanted was to experience that feeling once more, but his body wasn’t just taking him there. Every time he shot, he either missed or managed to get through the first or the second ring. This continued, and the crowd that had gathered to see a good show didn’t get what they had expected, so they began to leave one by one after flouting at Lirzod and giving him an earful of mockery.

As time passed, Lirzod didn’t even realize that he was wasting more money, especially given that he wasn’t winning as frequently as he needed. As time passed, the other contestants waiting in the line got frustrated because he kept taking one coin after another out of his pocket. It made many wonder as to how many copper coins the young fellow brought. However, the only person who didn’t worry about that was the event manager, who had predicted all this, but he didn’t show any of it on his face. Even though the crowd that had come to watch Lirzod had vacated in groups, he didn’t care. After all, what he could earn from a customer like Lirzod would be multiple times more than what he could have made from most other customers who only knew how to run their mouths from the sidelines.

About twenty-five minutes later, Lirzod was still standing at the mark, pulling the string for the hundredth time, and he missed the first ring by a few centimeters. He just gave another coin and continued. This went on for some more time. At some point, when he missed even the first ring twice in a row, the boos from the crowd not only reached but echoed in his ears.

“How much longer is he going to show off?”

“Go train for another year and then come back, kid!”

“We already get that you’re a one-time wonder, so please give others a chance, too.”

“Give up already, and save your face, sir.”

“Stop wasting our time, dude. You think we don’t have anything to do other than watch you?”

“Just stop already, or do you want to make enemies out of us?”

Though their voices bit his ears, he did his best to not care about them, but when put his hand in his pocket, he suddenly felt as if night covered his sight, for there were only two more coins left in his pocket. He stood frozen for a few seconds until the event manager’s indifferent voice brought him back to his senses. “Yes, I want to continue,” Lirzod replied and handed the event manager another copper coin.

“This is the last…” Lirzod told himself as he picked up the arrow. His fingers had long turned red and started to hurt. The image of Beren came to his mind. “I tried my best. Whether I win or not in this round, I’ll stop.”

He nocked the arrow, slowly raised the bow, and smoothly pulled the string as his eyes squinted toward the target. He sucked in a slow and deep breath that helped him control his heartbeat. Though there was a lot of noise all around him, he told himself just one thing: Think of nothing else but the target. Focus.

“I’m here because I need to be. There is no such thing as a coincidence…” As he held his breath and steadied his aim, nothing reached his ears. Everything went silent, or so he felt. Then came the faint voice of the wind that stroked past his ears as if trying to tell him something by gently kissing him. It was at that moment, his eyes were no longer fully focused on the bullseye, but he still knew very well where it was.

And as this strange sense of confidence filled his heart, mind, and soul, he just let go of the string ever so smoothly.

Zup~~!!

Just the sound alone startled the event manager and woke all those nearby people who knew something worthy about archery.

Like a dragon snake shooting through the skies, the arrow whispered through the wind and murmured its way through the first five rings with ease, getting the attention of many eyes. Though it seemed to be deviating a bit, the sixth, seventh, and eighth rings were left behind. Just when it looked like it might hit the ninth ring, the arrowhead and the shaft seemed to have scraped past the inside of the ring and recoiled back to the course and speared through the bullseye.

All mouths in the vicinity went voiceless; a tingle of wonder snaked up their spines and escaped through their eyes as astonishment. The event manager was no exception. Lirzod, however, kept his calm expression going.

Before any mouth uttered a word, Lirzod put the bow on the stool and approached the event manager whose face was furnished with incredulity.

“The money,” said Lirzod, bringing the event manager back to this world.

“U-Uh, yes,” he quickly took out ten copper coins and gave them to Lirzod and just watched him leave while licking his swollen fingers.

Only after Lirzod walked enough distance, the murmurs sprang to life in the crowd and among the ones waiting in the line.

“H-How lucky he is!”

“Yeah, the arrow was going away, but fortunately, it struck the ring and ended up hitting the bullseye.”

“Still, it’s not an easy thing to do.”

“C’mon, we’ve seen him fail miserably for so many times. If we try as many times as he did, we will also strike the target.”

“I think you are right.”

As the crowd was immersed in a prolonged chatter, the event manager walked over to the bullseye, also thinking to himself that it must be a fluke; however, when he tried to pull the arrow, it didn’t come out. “Mm?” he put some strength, but the result didn’t change. “This…” he was startled a little. He used both hands and tried to pull out the arrow, but the arrowhead was stuck inside the wood almost completely, so it didn't come out. Then he resorted to using technique instead of brute force. He shook it to different sides and loosened the hole before pulling the arrow out with relative ease. Afterward, he realized he was a bit out of breath. “That wasn’t luck,” he thought to himself as he walked back to his regular spot, one where he got to stand beside the archer.

Meanwhile, Lirzod was already looking for the next game he should play. “I came here with fifty copper coins, but now I only have eleven copper.” His shoulders shrank significantly. “At this rate, I will never convert this into eleven silver coins. I must choose the next event wisely.” He looked a bit dull as he walked, “Earning money hotfoot isn’t easy.”

After walking past many shops, shaking his head every time, he eventually stopped at a shop he had been to before. A face that he had seen in the past was now looking right at him.

“Welcome to the Watermelon Chopping Contest, sir,” the owner of the watermelon shop excitedly said, for there was no other customer around other than Lirzod himself. “Do you want to give it a try? For one copper, you’ll get five copper pieces if you break it with your bare hands. If you use our sword instead, you’ll only get two copper pieces. In any round, you can’t bet more than ten copper pieces.”

“Mm…” after pondering for a moment, Lirzod asked, “Do I have it split it into two perfect halves?”

“If you are using a sword, yes, but if you’re using your bare hand, then as long as your hand goes at least fifty percent into the fruit, then it’s considered a win.”

“Oh, that sounds tempting,” a surge of hope tingled through Lirzod’s chest.

“Haha,” the owner confidently smiled. “If you win, you get to eat these watermelons or do whatever you want with them. What do you say, sir? Do you want to participate?”

“Yes…” Lirzod took out ten copper coins, and the shop owner’s eyes lit up. He said thank you as he received the coins into his hands. From his actions alone, it was clear that Lirzod was his precious customer, but Lirzod wasn’t really observing the owner. He was trying to calm himself.

The owner wasted no time and picked up a relatively large watermelon and placed it on the fixed wooden desk between them. The moment the owner stepped back and gestured, Lirzod slightly shifted his body to the side as he lifted his right hand and chopped it like a butcher, making a sound not with his mouth but only through his hand.

The owner, who was all smiles, suddenly lost the color when Lirzod’s hand axed through the watermelon and sent pieces flying away to the sides.

“Eh?” a shade of gray cast over the owner’s face as he looked at the broken pieces of melon in stupefaction.

Lirzod pursed his lips a bit and seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied because the watermelon wasn’t perfectly split into two halves, and the left part was destroyed more while the right part was left intact. Not impressive. I hate to admit, but Brainass would’ve done a much better job. However, he’s not here. Even if he was here, I’d have probably avoided asking for his help. His cocky smile is just too much to take. Anyway, though I can't feel at home like Brainass, this event is still much more my type than the bow-and-arrow one.

“S-Sir, you’ve won,” the owner’s voice contained perceptible shock and disappointment.

“I can chop more watermelons,” said Lirzod with a bright expression.

“You want to move to the next round?” the owner hesitantly asked, and he got a nod as a reply. “Fine. But know this, sir. In the second round, you have to break two watermelons consecutively without taking a break of more than three seconds in between. If you fail, you won’t get anything. If you succeed, you’ll get ten times the money you’ve put.”

“Oh…” Lirzod had picked up one of the broken pieces of watermelon and began to eat without spitting the seeds. “Okay.”

“Alright…” the owner quickly finger-tapped through the watermelons and chose the medium-sized ones but those with tough shells. He placed them on the desk next to one another.

The moment the watermelons stopped moving, the owner gestured, and Lirzod acted.

...............

[1] Cat Caress: A massage done to humans by cats through rolling, kneading, and mild scratching over a towel or some thick cloth to avoid injuries. The twelfth deck attracted many tourists who visited just for this service alone.

[2] Fool’s bravery: Nobody knows who first said this phrase, except that it originated in the field of archery itself, and it usually described those who fake their archery skills to scare off the enemies or to impress allies. Still, there were many stories told in the world that this phrase came about because of a so and so, but the most famous story of all was that this phrase came into existence after a human successfully saved his family from a group of elf archers, who had surrounded him in the woods, by boasting about his skills so much that those elves eventually retreated.