Chapter 8

After several minutes, we arrived at our room. Sandra opened the door for us while I was standing behind her. The room looks transparent as well as way bigger than I thought. It has a mini round shaped arena at the center. On the right side it has different kinds of weapons, either short range or long range. On the left side it has a shooting range, which I think for guns and archery.

As we stepped towards them, all their attention went to us. I looked at the person in the middle. He looked old with his white hair.

"Why are you late?" He asked seriously.

I looked at Sandra as if she was having diarrhea. She was about to talk when I interrupted. "I'm sorry, it's my fault." I said while bowing.

"And who are you?" He suspiciously asked.

"She's the new member." Vandel interrupted us.

He's quite shocked. " Interesting. So you're an excellent student from the higher class. Please to meet you. I am Mr. Wolkin. " He introduced himself.

I smiled. "I am Meliora."

I thought he would scold us, for the way he looked at people seemed to indicate he didn't care about his surroundings, he doesn't smile, and he has a serious face.

Sandra and I instantly sat down. I glanced at them one by one. Relm waved at me when I looked at him. Elara, who was his seatmate, did not bother to look at me. When Copelan saw us, he formed a small smile on his lips when he saw me looking at him. Vandel stared at me and the Princess stared at him.

Mr. Wolkin cleared his throat to attract our attention. "Everyone, this will be our activity for today. We will practice long range first, which is archery. All of you must do it one by one. " Mr. Wolkin said, while walking towards the shooting area.

He pointed to the dummies that were on display inside.

"Your objectives are to shoot the dummies in 10m, 20m, 30m, 50m, 75m, 100m, 150m, 175m, 200m, 300m, 400m, and lastly, 500m. The more dummies you get to shoot, the higher your points are, "he continued.

He took a bow and arrow from the table and settled on one of the dummies and bullseyes. It was a 100-meter dummy. He's great at this.

"That's how you do it." Wolkin stated.

The princess raised her hand, so all of our eyes were looking at her. "What will be the punishment if you get the lowest points?" she asked while looking at me.

I scoffed. The way she looked at me while asking that question means that she thought I would be the one who would get the lowest points! I mentally smirked. Let's see...

I just stare at her in return, with boredom written on my face.

Mr. Wolkin continuously nods while holding his chin.

"Hmm.. she or he will run 5 laps in this room. Is that enough?" he answered.

Okay, not bad. The Princess just nods at him in return.

"Alright Relm, you go first." Mr. Wolkin called Relm.

Relm stood up while smiling. He slowly walked closer to Mr. Wolkin and took the bow and arrow he had been holding. I stare at him, and I must say he's good at this. His posture, the way he holds the bow and the way he releases the arrow were impressive. No wonder he's one of the elite. Despite his bright attitude, he's one of the greats. He continuously shoots until he never gets the bull's-eye in 175m. His score was still 150. Not bad. He returned the bow to Mr. Wolkin.

Everyone clapped their hands, including me. That was far.

"Sandra?" I called Sandra.

She looked at me. "Why Meli?"

"Why is Relm good at this?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Relm is an Earth Mage and also a hunter. His family taught them archery, which was their basic skill for hunting animals. For instance, pigs, deer, or anything that can be eaten. "

I nod in return. Now I know. When everyone recovers from his performance, we're all waiting to see who will be next.

"Elara, you're next." Mr. Wolkin stated.

She stood up while shaking her slightly dirty skirt.

"Go Elara, you can do it!" The Princess cheered for her. Elara smiled and mouthed something.

"Fighting Elara!" Sandra shouted. She just smiled at her.

She walked gracefully towards Mr. Wolkin. Like what Relm did, she instantly got the bow and arrow and went to the shooting area. She positioned herself in an instant. Her back posture was quite wrong. The way she held the bow was good but not that great. She needs extra training. She released the arrow for the first dummy, bullseye , and shot the other--her score was 75m. She really needs extra training.

Everyone clapped their hands. She smiled brightly. It looked like she was impressed by her performance.

"Next, Sandra." Mr. Wolkin stated.

"Go Sandra, eat those dummies!" I cheered for her. She just laughed and said, "Thank you!"

She stood up and took the bow and arrow from Mr. Wolkin. Sandra seems confident about this. I can't see nor feel the nervousness and fear in her. She even seems to be enjoying herself while holding the bow and arrow. She positioned herself, she straightened her back, chest out and shot-- bullseye. She's great. She got bulleyes one after another. She got 175 m points higher than Relm. I smiled. She's great.

I clapped my hands, and they followed. She happily returned the bow and arrow to Mr. Wolkin. She almost threw out her teeth with a smile as she walked back to her seat.

"Congratulations, Sandra!" I congratulate her when she sits down.

"Thank you, Meliora." she responded.

"You're great!" I complemented. It's true, out of the three she has the most points even though Relm is a hunter.

"This is just me, Meliora!" she confidently responded. "I really enjoy archery and even taught myself how to do it," she explained.

Mr. Wolkin suddenly spoke. "Copelan, you're next."

He also stood up and just took the bow and arrow from Mr. Wolkin. He casually walked towards the shooting area without glancing at us. He shoots the dummies with a bored face. Although he seems bored, he's great. He keeps shooting and shooting. His score was the same as Sandra's; they got 175m.

They are great!

As usual, everyone clapped their hands. I glanced at Vandel and Princess Kara. The Princess keeps talking to Vandel while Vandel doesn't give her a look of interest. He just stared in front of us as if he was not listening or speaking. I silently laughed.

"You look like a fool giggling there, Meliora!" Sandra shouted, which turned everyone to stare at us.

I burst out laughing. "I just remembered something," I said.

Mr. Wolkin interrupted us. "Vandel, you're next." Vandel immediately stood up without even listening to what the princess was saying. I laughed in my mind. Now, I'll give it a try!

"Vandel, good luck!" I shouted. He looked at me and smiled. I glanced at the Princess. I could clearly see how she gritted her teeth.

I need to stop now.

Vandel, on the other hand, didn't mind other people's reactions. He just took the bow and arrow and positioned himself. His posture was great, the way he handled the bow was great, he was excellent to be exact. He keeps shooting and shooting---until he gets 200 m points higher than everyone who performs. I smiled.

Everyone applauded, especially the princess, who was still standing and kept saying "Congratulations, Van!" but Vandel just nodded and sat down. I looked at them. They were done, and the only people left were me and the princess. What is this? The Princess and the Newbie?

"Princess Eliora, you're next." Mr. Wolkin called her. He walked towards Mr. Wolkin with a constant smile. She carefully held the bow and arrow. She positioned herself immediately. She shoots the first dummy, bullseye, until it settles down. She's scored 100 points. When she saw her score, she was like a child jumping for joy. While returning to her seat, she even looked at me firmly. I raised my eyebrows.

"Last but not the least, Meliora, you're next." Wolkin stated.