The Children Of Thalia

Draw up a Plan

The third roar sounded louder and echoed, but the reactions of the animals were calmer as if they had run out of sound. It might be a roar of victory, or pain. I don't know.

I ran quickly following Will in front. He knew where the roar came from. The run is fast, very fast. Even I was the fastest in class out of breath while trying to catch up to him. What is the difference between a trained athlete and a regular student?

The trees, the grass, the loose and damp ground, we passed by without a single glance. The animals were running around, terrified of what was behind them. Almost all of them are robots, but their behavior really resembles that of a real animal. Avid followed behind. Thanks to the wet ground, Avid's steps were not heard even though she ran.

We ran, quietly treading on the wet ground which made our shoes a little heavy. Quickly through the thick forest. Breathing began to be severed, but my legs did not slow things down just for a moment. My chest hesitated, unsure if I could just stick my palm at the creature waiting for us in front, but I struck my chest hard, trying to shake off the doubt. After passing through a large tree that crossed the road, the ground began to decline. Will jumped up, slid straight down, ignoring the leaves and twigs that clearly pricked his hands a little. I guess I should do the same. I jumped, skated fast though not as smooth as Will. After running again for a while, Will suddenly stopped and looked down behind a tree.

"Stop, quiet!!" will whispered as he spread his hand, against me who was about to walk further. Sticking his back to the rough bark of the dark brown tree, which I followed as well. Slowly we turned our heads, glancing at what was behind the tree we were hiding in.

"So that's him."

The monster looked even more terrifying than his photo in the guidebook. The Eastern Bear, one of the monsters that became the opponent of the examinees heavily. The shape is the same as described, has a height of about four meters when standing, stocky, long-clawed sharp, long muzzle, chest and stomach covered with thick metal, while the rest of his body has dark red hair. The chain tied all four legs, creating a metallic clattering sound that made a shudder. I had indeed imagined the form of the monster as a bloodthirsty giant that made my feathers stand up, but seeing it directly turned out to be far beyond expectations.

Now, let's revise a little bit about what I'm saying. It's not one to eight hundred. I, Will too, am lucky if we even come close to a chance of winning 1:2000.

"I attack, you're a supporter." Obviously Will. His hand posed like an archer when he started walking forward, but I immediately grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Wait, it's not an animal, it's a machine. Your wind arrows can indeed pierce through metal?"

"What style do you propose?"

Great question. Not one thought.

Silently, it was hard for me to answer. Will glared impatiently, while I threw a glance. A little bit I lyric again the bear. He looks confused. His head was swung many times like trying to take something off, but I didn't see anything churning in his head. He also walked agitatedly, circling around, roaring incoherently. Shortly afterwards he stood on two legs, rubbed his face, banged his head, then returned four feet to the ground.

"A strange behavior.." I murmured slowly. I lifted my neck slightly, rolled my eyes looking for a single existence. Something's missing, I'm sure something's left. There is a strange feeling. My eyes rolled, narrowed, focused on seeing what was hiding behind the bushes across. It was a human, raising his two fingers like a gun towards the bear, slowly retreating with a body covered in blood.

Oh, so it is. I-i understand. Now everything is clearly described. The reason why a monster of this size lost against a prairie elf.

"Hey, Will," I exclaimed in a whisper, "how accurate is your arrow?"

Will frowned, feeling humbled. "You seriously ask that?"

"Jawab only!"

He still doesn't understand. Sorry, but there is no time to explain. Eventually Will sighed even though he still did not accept it. "Perfect points in provincial tournaments."

Oh, wow. I wasn't expecting it, but it was good. It was so good that I couldn't resist the urge to grin widely.

"Perfect!"

Will who still did not understand began to be annoyed. "Say, you have a plan?"

Explaining my plan to him took five minutes, but he was easier to understand than I expected. He was silent throughout as I explained, nodding, ascertaining if his role was indeed appropriate. He also asked a little when confused, until I explained it by drawing on the ground, then he nodded in understanding. After I finished explaining, her comment first made me grin with satisfaction.

"it's crazy!"

"I know, that's why it's gonna work."

Will scratched his cheek, puzzled. "Alright, assume all your assumptions are correct. Does this plan have a high success rate? I mean, it's endangering your own life."

"Eastern Bear lost to the prairie fairies. That explains everything."

Will stared again at the scheme of plans I drew on the ground. Thinking, turning his fingers, tilting his head, then sighing after understanding what I meant.

"All right, we'll do as planned. My role is simple, I can't improvise, but what about you?"

Oh, he's worried about me. I'm touched.

"I can also improvise. Don't worry, I don't intend to be eliminated this fast."

"I hold your word." Will brushed his long hair back, making his eyes and forehead appear free. "Let's do it."

He stretched out his left hand, straight, high into the sky, while his right hand was pulled firmly until it touched his chest. The wind whirled, gathered and condensed, forming a vortex in the form of a long arrow. Even his bow was made from strong wind. My hair, the surrounding leaves, the branches of the trees, all of them were blown away by that whirlpool of air. My eyes could not be separated from the bear in front, and I could find that the bear was beginning to fidget.

Will sharply looked at his target, not in the slightest as if it had been locked. The wind whirled the louder, the denser the arrow in Will's hand was formed. When the necessary force was enough, he removed his fingers from the arrow, making it dart high with a green light that followed as the trajectory appeared. The air-breakers whistled loudly like fireworks gliding towards the sky, making the birds fly away, making the monsters in front roar in panic. A few seconds later was the moment I acted.

The arrow hit the branches and branches on the tree, piercing the thick leaves and continuing towards the open sky. It wasn't the direct attack I wanted. After a few seconds, the leaves began to fall like rain. The green leaves were stubborn, it was a pity to see them fall, but this was for our victory. The bear was getting into a frenzy trying to figure out what was happening, but he did not move in the slightest from his territory. That smoothed the plan, to be honest.

"Will!"

"I know!"

The arrow is pulled again. I know for a wind arrow class, cutting a branch as thick and hard as it must be difficult. It takes two or three shots, and I'm ready for that. Just waiting, waiting for Will to do what he has to do.

The arrow was slashed, again bringing a loud whistle of fireworks and a green glow of visible trajectory. Same direction, different target. After the arrow shot far into the free sky, the sound of the crackling of wood was instantly heard, along with the lush sound of leaves that began to fall to the ground. I sighed, preparing with a sprinter-like pose. Good job, Will. Now is my part.

Three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds, and a loud bang we felt along with a powerful sound from a tree branch as thick as an arm fell to the ground. The bear was surprised. Reflexes he turned towards the fallen branch, then immediately roared and ambushed it.

Now!!!

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