The dragon's harem

The first was the accuracy contest. Everyone pulled their bows and crossbows and then got ready. But it didn’t take long for the crowd’s eyes to shift toward Arad and Aella, the two unknown strangers who didn’t use their names, but that wasn’t why they stood out.

Aella held a massive steel bow that looked unwieldy and certainly wasn’t something anyone could ever draw. Surely not a graceful, elvish woman like her.

Arad, on the other hand, looked straight out of place. Standing at least a meter taller than everyone else, people almost mistook him for a giant. What’s more, he didn’t carry any bow, only a stone in his palm.

Whispers quickly spread across the spectators, debating if he should even be allowed to participate like that. How in hell did he think that throwing with his hand could allow him to compete against bows? At least use a sling!

Eventually, they all came to one conclusion. He must be a barbarian with a lot of throwing strength.

The people who were in the arena watching the games didn’t get the chance to hear the news of Arad arriving, so they didn’t know it was him. The only people who knew and were shaking were the maids who were in the VIP room.

Seeing Arad and Aella on the stage, the maids all looked back at Jina with worried faces. “Who will win?”

Since they know who the winner will be, betting would be much safer and easier. The only question now was who would take the first place, Arad or Aella.

Jina shook her head. She knew nothing about them but would probably bet on Arad. She fully understood that what the maids wanted to do was smart. This was their one chance in life to win and make a fortune.

After a short debate, they ended up asking Mira and Tina about it, and the answer they got was just as confusing as not knowing anything.

“Who is the better archer?” Mira lifted an eyebrow, “Aella is the better one, but don’t underestimate Arad. I guess the question would be how determined he is to beat Aella.”

Tina nodded, “Yes, in terms of traditional archery, Aella is unmatched. But Arad can throw stones with his bare hands better than any archer. He even got both range and accuracy dialed in.”

Tina then looked back at the mashed vegetables on Serin’s plate. They still haven’t cooled enough yet. “But what about the game’s rules? Is he allowed to throw with his bare hand?”

Jina nodded, “He should be fine. The tournament is about who is the better archer in a practical sense. No one cares about what you do as long as you can reliably hit targets. And, of course, the method you use should remain the same across the three contests.”

After a while of thinking, the maids decided to split into two teams, betting their life savings. One team would bet on Aella and the other on Arad. Whoever wins splits the earnings with the others. Doing that, they won’t get the stupid fortune they dreamed of, but at least they could walk out with at least double their wealth.

The games were starting, and the archers took their places. There were over a thousand participants in the tournament.

The commentator flew above the arena using fight magic and shouted into a crystal orb. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! The Marksman’s games start now! May all the archers be blessed with luck and a steady hand.”

The first competition was divided into several ranges, with archers who failed to hit the target getting eliminated.

“All archers! To your posts. The first range this year is just ten meters! It is high time we weeded out the incompetence.” The commentator shouted, and the referee pointed at a volley of dirt statues that showed up.

“First round, any hit to the chest count. Got ten seconds to line the shot.”

The archers took their place, and Arad looked at the statue standing just a stone’s throw away from him, literally. This felt like a joke, but there will be people getting eliminated in this round.

As expected, this first round wasn’t anything special to Arad. He threw the stone and ripped a hole into the statue’s chest. Aella also went above and beyond and got a heart shot.

While the majority of archers managed to finish this simple task, 1% of them failed and got eliminated. That showed how many people who never practiced archery before had joined in. Considering that there were over a thousand archers present, that was a bit over ten people.

The second round was much harder. A hundred meters shot, and they were asked to hit the head this time.

Aella looked at Arad, “Left or right eye?”

“Get him in the nose. It’ll be funny and dead center.” He threw the stone and exploded his statue’s head.

With a smile, Aella pulled her bowstring back and released a relaxed shot, getting it right on the nose as Arad asked.

Arad was then shocked to hear that a whopping 23% of the archers got eliminated. Many had missed the head at such a long distance. Arad had to lament that if he were in his full draconic form and asleep on the ground, those twenty-three percent would’ve failed to hit his eyes.

He looked at Aella, “I guess they can survive against normal monsters.”

“A hundred meters is a decent distance for most archers and where they’ll prefer working. In fact, an archer would get as close to the target as he is comfortable lining a deadly shot.

“Now, now! Too many archers had survived this round! But can they survive the next?” The commentator’s voice boomed across the sky.

The next was a three-hundred-meter range, and they were asked to single out one of the eyes.

To achieve this, Arad had to switch to a smaller stone to not blow the head off. He flung his arm and released the stone, getting the right eye of his statue with ease.

Aella did the same, releasing her bow and taking the statue’s right eye. This was still not a challenge to her. She had hit moving targets from further away. If she has one thing that the other archers don’t, it is a deep understanding of the wind and how it’ll affect her shot.

Arad, on the other hand, was a master of gravity magic and could easily account for the shot’s drop.

48% of the archers failed this shot, and that only left 28% of the original mass of archers. Those were the best of the best who could single out an eye from three hundred meters away.

But the next round was far harsher.

A thousand meters, one kilometer away, and they were asked to single out the knee of a running statue. If they manage to hit both knees with one shot, they’ll get bonus points.