Chapter 333: Hyori's rapid fire

Soccer stadium, University of Wular;

As the announcement has been public, one by one, the locals started to arrive at the university to watch the competition.

Several media channels are already up there and started to record.

Scouts from several Archery Teams also made their way to the soccer stadium where the goalposts were removed and filled with target boards. Robots were safely placed inside and being guarded by tight security as they are the highlight of this tournament.

One more specialty of this competition is that the format and rules aren't set until the last moment. The distance of the target can vary from 40-60 meters. The diameter of the target also can vary.

They can be divided into groups or they can be battled one on one. There can be knockouts with a second chance or there might be given two to three chances.

Arrows can be anywhere between 50 and 100 per game.

With so many variables, obviously, most of the competitors are nervous, especially, the first-timers.

In reality, the organizers usually prepare 2-3 different formats and then, let the sports minister pick one of them randomly.

Universities like Ares that have connections will already get the information of those formats even before the competition. So, they will have an edge over others, especially for the second round.

In the waiting room, Hyori was sitting in the corner while closing her eyes. Some people who spotted her thought she was taking a nap while others thought she was probably meditating as they saw her 90-degree posture.

As for some hot-blooded boys, they were just having thoughts like she was pretty, cute, etc…

If it was a day before, most of the girls would have probably ignored her. However, her feat of rapid firing was seen by a couple of girls who then spread it to others.

In no time, more than half of the people knew about it but only a part of them believed it was the truth. The rest didn't.

After all, they weren't on the scene and their statement is too exaggerated to believe and thought these competitors probably wanted to pressure them mentally. 

Meanwhile, Sakura seemed like she was high on clouds. Naturally, she was there when Hyori practiced her skills.

Even though she didn't see her shoot, Sakura still saw the arrows on the target which are placed in a uniform manner with no arrows on the ground.

If it was just one target, none of them would have taken her seriously. But, five targets appeared the same. And all of it just happened in mere 8 minutes.

She was excited to find Hyori's skills improved vastly compared to the last year.

After a while, staff members brought a couple of boards into the room and placed them in middle. They informed everyone that the tournament format has been decided.

The people instantly swarmed around the board, girls on the right and boys on the left.

Sakura immediately disturbed Hyori's meditation and informed her about it. As a roommate and a rival, she felt that she can at least do that much.

Thanking her, Hyori went to the notice board and read the format.

The competition is divided into three rounds. The first round is a general shooting where the target is placed 46 meters away.

They will be given 60 arrows. All they just have to shoot the target. The sixty scores will be added in the end.

With 8 members per group, only the top 2 from each group will go to the next round. The rest will be eliminated.

These 64 contestants will play the second round, which is shooting oscillating targets. The targets will be placed at the same distance as before. However, they oscillate like a pendulum.

Of the sixty-four, only the top 8 will proceed to the next round.

The third round is a well-known one. It's the randomly moving fast-paced Robots. 

This is where they will be divided into two groups. The winner of each group will challenge each other in the finals.

Then, the finalists will participate in all three of them, once again. The one to win at least 2 of them will be the final winner.

Now, with the format and rules being set, everyone mentally prepared themselves for the first round.

Meanwhile, on the outside, the large screens displayed the first round of participants and the groups they are divided into.

Hyori was in Group 1 while Sakura ended up in Group 5. 

Gripping the bow in her hand, Hyori walked out of the door amid the good luck wishes from a few people. Sakura was one of them.

As she was walking towards the exit, seven more from other waiting rooms joined her. Together, they entered the field where they saw the Archery targets were set up one by one.

Everyone stood at the positions, waiting for the signal.

The Technical Official reminded them that they will be given only two minutes to shoot ten arrows.

And for every ten arrows, while the staff will remove them, the contestants will get a 30-second break.

So, they will have 12 seconds to shoot each arrow.

As he blew the whistle, the countdown started on the screen.

Everyone drew their bows and shot at the target within just the first ten seconds except for one person, Hyori.

She drew the bow but didn't release the arrow while everyone else is continuously shooting.

The audience wondered whether something wrong with the girl. Even the official wondered whether the girl is experiencing some issues with the bow.

One minute is over and yet, Hyori stayed still. Four of them already shot the ten arrows and their scores were displayed on the screen. The highest is 81.

Another twenty seconds passed, and now, except for Hyori and another boy, everyone else is done. The highest is now 86.

As another ten seconds passed, Hyori smiled as she mumbled, "the wind is calm. Now, it's a perfect time."

With thirty seconds to go, she started to shoot the arrows at a rapid pace for 2-3 seconds. Each one is hitting the ten-pointer ring.

At first, everyone was just amazed at her skill. However, soon, every one of their eyes widened in shock after nine arrows formed a circle just a bit away from the border and the last shot pierced the dead center, forming an art.

"Wow, it's a 100. A perfect score, ladies and gentleman." The commentator was in high spirits. "Lee Hyori from the Maple University is indeed a once in a decade genius. Look at that accuracy. Starting from the first arrow to the last, she only took nearly 25 seconds and still hit the mark with perfect accuracy. She was leading the group by 14 points."

A fellow commentator joined him while the staff members are removing the arrows, "I know this girl. She's the runner-up of the 2018 and 2019 Championships in the high school division. Interestingly, the final winner is also the same. Fujimori Sakura, the granddaughter of Fujimori Hitoshi, the strongest living Archer. We have to see how these rivals' next match will turn out if they meet again."

"I'm also excited about it. But first, let's watch how well the second set will turn out. Will Miss Lee will show another spectacular performance?"