@122 Generation The crowd cheered as the trumpet sounded the victory call to announce that Maria had won the match and advanced to the second round. But Brock was the happiest for Maria, as he whistled in approval of her deciding win. It would be wonderful if she won the whole event! But there's still some tough opponents in the next rounds, so only time will tell.
"Alright!" Maria cheered, as she raised up a triumphant fist and sheathed her sword. "Now, what to do next..."
@122 Generation The sparring contest was over, so the arena was cleared and targets were moved in for the archery contest. Serena joined Brock and Seline in the stands some moments later. "I made it to the second round of the minstrel's competition...how did Maria do?" "She won her match in a commanding fashion." Brock replied as the competing archers filed into the arena...
Kirito saw maria walking . He decided to walk towards her and it still took sometime till he couls go. "Good job." He smirked. "For someone like you"
"Thank you, Kirito!" Maria said. "That was really really really fun! You should play around too!" She watched the archers fill the arena so she had to step aside. As she did, she saw her Kirlia a short distance away. "Evergreen! Did you see that? That was fun, right?" And dangerous... the Kirlia replied from behind Kirito. It's a good thing you went through that training, eh? "Yup, and I'll probably have some candy..." Maria replied. She peeked into her satchel to take out a handful of gummies for Evergreen, a peppermint for herself, and finally a lollipop. "Here you go, Kirito. Would you like a lollipop?" In spite of Evergreen following Kirito everywhere, she took the gummies gratefully and started munching on one.
Kirito looked at the pop. In fact he used to like them a lot as a small child. "No thank you" lookig a little to the archery. "I am in. In the mage competition." Lookig down at her. "You know..you could have beaten that guy in 1 slash instead of dodginh and defending everytime. "
@Shady Pirate @122 Generation @Shadria The rules for the archery contest were easy--each competitor would get three shots, and the highest combined scores would go on to the next round. Ash seemed unusually calm as he made his way out into the arena, to the roar of the crowd. Wow...this place is a lot bigger than I thought... The competitors' shooting order had been randomized beforehand, and he was the fifth one to shoot.
Maria grinned as she put the lollipop back in her satchel. "Okay, but beating him wasn't the point. It's not so fun." Within the next minute, Maria joined Seline to line up for the archery competition. Evergreen chose to stick around where Sir Brock was sitting, so she kindly asked for a seat too.
@Shady Pirate @122 Generation @Shadria Before long, it was Ash's turn to approach the line and make his shots. The crowd fell silent as the trumpet played the attention signal that meant a new archer was taking their place at the line. Once all was quiet, the whistle of an arrow filled the air, and the herald announced Ash's first score. "Nine points!"
Hmm... Okay, so what's the maximum score you can get? Evergreen asked Sir Brock. Meanwhile, Maria was glad she had a bag of candy to munch on while the competition unfolded.
@122 Generation "The absolute maximum is thirty points--three bullseyes." Brock replied as Ash made his second shot. "Eight points!" the herald announced, to some light applause.
Thirty points?! Evergreen exclaimed. But Ash has already got seventeen points! Even Maria, who was standing on the arena grounds below, looked impressed.
@122 Generation The crowd held their breath as Ash made his final shot. "Bullseye! Ten points!" the herald announced. The scorekeeper made a note that Ash was in a solid second place....
Watching Ash making his final shot impressed Maria, as it certainly reminded her of someone special. Who was that? None other than her cousin Leon Pinetree. She remembered back at Lalusi how often he practiced shooting with the bow, and he always made the best shots. All of a sudden, Maria felt homesick, and wished she could see Leon again.
@~Seeker of Shadows~ @122 Generation @Shadria The targets were cleared out and magical shields were put up around the stands--it was time for the magical duels.