Inside the infirmary, Maeyurai is sitting down on the small bed. Wuyo was tending to his eyes, pressing a warm cloth gently on his eyelids.
"Keep them closed," said Wuyo. "Don't rub them either; that will increase the swelling."
"Alright," Maeyurai replied, keeping the cloth pressed against his eyes.
Feeling that the straining was slowly subsiding, Maeyurai kept seated on the bed. He wanted to continue the next assessment, but he also wanted to be in great condition.
And so he decided to be patient and wait for a while, until his eyes were prepared to go.
"I'll be going back to the field; you can handle yourself, right?" asked Wuyo, taking a few steps back from the bed.
Opening his eyes a little to look at his surroundings, Maeyurai would reply, "I can."
Wuyo nodded and headed out with a wave of his hand.
For a while, Maeyurai stayed in the infirmary to rest.
The next assessment should be the hand-to-hand combat, right? He thought.
In that case, I'll stay here for at least 15 minutes. That should be enough.
Looking around the infirmary, there were different drawers around the place, possibly containing first-aid equipment. The room had nine beds in total, which was enough for treating incapacitated members.
Maeyurai sat in silence for 17 minutes straight and never once opened his eyes. After opening his eyes, he looked at the surroundings.
"I should be fine now," he muttered under his breath as he hopped off the bed.
He approached the mirror on the wall and examined himself. His eyes were no longer red, and he didn't feel the same burning pain as he did earlier.
Concluding that he would be fine to go, he walked out of the infirmary and headed to the field.
As he was walking through the path, he looked to his left and saw a massive circle made by the other archers. Near the archers were the log sections that he and Naguta chopped off.
One of them looked back and saw Maeyurai approaching.
"Oh, he's back!" he announced to the others.
Everyone looked in Maeyurai's direction. Those who were standing in his way moved back, creating a path for him to enter the giant circle that they formed.
"What's the formation for?" asked Maeyurai. Though he had an idea of what it was for, he still asked for confirmation.
Walking inside the circle, he saw Naguta standing on the other side.
"It's a 1v1 hand-to-hand combat, Maeyurai. This is how we do the 4th assessment," said Naguta, walking forward to go near the center of the circle.
"I see," Maeyurai uttered. "Let's get started then."
Seeing that Maeyurai was eager to start already, Naguta tilted his head to the side and said, "Quite excited, aren't you?"
"Just so you know, I have the best hands around here," he added. "Better keep your guard up."
"I'll keep that in mind."
A staredown occurred.
The area was silent until Wuyo spoke out loud from the side.
"We only have two rules! The first rule is strictly no killing or going too far! The second rule is that once you're down, you lose."
A pause, and then he continued.
"Assume your form... Go!"
Maeyurai and Naguta brought their guard up.
So we fight barehanded and without a guard, eh?
I'll have to be careful about my face here.
Naguta slowly walked forward, and so did Maeyurai.
Everyone was on the side as the two approached one another.
"Maeyurai's guard is full of openings," one of them said.
"Right? He doesn't stand a chance against Naguta," another one replied.
Maeyurai threw a right hook, heading for Naguta's jaw. But Naguta responded in time and ducked his head, countering with a body blow.
The vulnerable Maeyurai took the blow head-on and staggered. For Naguta's size, he could hit incredibly hard. Well, they only had a one-inch height difference; it didn't make much difference.
Immediately recovering and standing his ground, Maeyurai would bring his guard up.
Naguta saw an opportunity and threw an uppercut.
Reacting, Maeyurai moved back while lowering his guard to block the uppercut in case it landed.
But it was a feint.
Wham!
Naguta pulled his hand back and followed up quickly, landing a powerful right cross that made Maeyurai recoil back from the impact.
"Uck—" Maeyurai groaned, using his rear foot to not lose balance. After he recovered, he immediately attempted to land a cross on Naguta's face.
He swung his arm, but Naguta merely dodged it, countering with a spinning left backfist that shook his neck.
Maeyurai groaned, "Rrgh." Afterwards, he took a step back to dodge the next attack.
"You're full of openings," said Naguta, standing upright. "Come on, you haven't even landed a single punch on me yet."
"Shut your mouth," Maeyurai hissed. "I'm just getting started; I'm still learning."
"You say that, but you're not even doing anything—"
Maeyurai suddenly rushed forward and swung his arm wildly.
The unexpected action caught Naguta off guard, but he wasn't hit. Due to the wide swing, Maeyurai's punch was slow and was easily dodged by Naguta.
To counter, Naguta pushed his body forward and turned his hips, landing a devastating body blow aimed directly at Maeyurai's solar plexus.
"Hogh—!"
Maeyurai stumbled back, breathless. The blow kicked away the air inside his lungs, and he was left gasping for air.
Naguta was ruthless, already about to follow up his previous attack.
He rushed forward and hit Maeyurai's chin with his elbow and followed up with a tackle that threw Maeyurai to the ground.
Tham!
Maeyurai fell to his right hip, coughing brutally.
"Ogh, Hagh," he coughed out, trying to breathe in. After a while, his wind passage finally opened.
Everyone was silent. It was like a finisher orchestrated by Naguta.
A silent funeral shrouded in humiliation.
For Maeyurai, it was better than having the others cheer on Naguta loudly like fans.
"Fourth assessment winner, Tarako Naguta!" Wuyo shouted out.
...
Dammit. This is humiliating.
I didn't even manage to land a single punch. Is that how much of a difference there is with our skills?
Ugh.
Right, I never even learned how to punch.
Maeyurai stood on his feet slowly, his face stoic as if nothing had happened. He didn't want to show that he was irrational and decided to just accept defeat.
He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the announcer, Wuyo.
"The fifth and last assessment is starting in five minutes! Fighters, please prepare in the meantime and head to the edge of the circle."
Hearing the announcement, Maeyurai snapped his tongue, clearly annoyed.
"Tch."
Naguta merely looked at Maeyurai's face with a blank expression.
Then, Maeyurai headed to the edge of the circle and sat on a log segment.
As he took a seat, Naguta walked in the very opposite direction, sitting parallel to him.
Everyone else stayed on Naguta's side, talking to him or talking with their own circle.
Maeyurai was silent, taking a breather.
"Hey," a guy with red hair approached. "That was a good attempt."
The sudden praise took Maeyurai by surprise. He didn't expect that anyone would dare talk to him after what just happened.
He turned his head towards the red-haired guy and said, "Huh? Thanks, I guess."
The red-haired guy sat on the log next to Maeyurai's.
"The name's Luniho Dokgak," he introduced himself. "I just wanted to give you some advice."
After speaking, Dokgak leaned in closer to Maeyurai, as if trying to be sneaky from everyone.
"What advice?" asked Maeyurai.
"Something you should do in the next assessment. Captain Wuyo's already informed you about the fifth assessment, right?" Dokgak said.
"Yeah, he did."
"Basically, I'm going to tell you about Naguta's ability, his Mana Affinity and Attributes to be specific."
"Is that fair?" Maeyurai asked skeptically, unsure if he should take a listen.
"Absolutely, I bet no one would complain. I mean... you just got drowned in shame earlier by Naguta, right? This should be fine."
Before letting Maeyurai reply, Dokgak immediately continued. "Naguta has three Attributes, and one rare Affinity."
The information left Maeyurai speechless. He looked forward, across the circle, and stared at Naguta.
Three attributes...?
That's a lot!
Wait... If that's the case, then what is Naguta's rank? He can't be weaker than General rank.
Maeyurai brought his gaze back to Dokgak.
"What are they?" Maeyurai asked.
Dokgak smirked as he shifted his gaze towards Naguta. "His Attributes are Conjuration, Emanation, and Fortification. His Affinity is Water."
"Three Attributes and a 1/48 Affinity... That's a lot to take in," replied Maeyurai, turning his eyes back towards Naguta.
"What's his rank?" Maeyurai asked.
"General."
Maeyurai fell silent. What he assumed was right.
If Naguta's General-Level, while Huizen's only Elite...
Why isn't Naguta the captain then?
Or do they base it off of experience and not power? Well, if that's the case, then that makes sense.
"Thanks for informing me about that. No need to say more; that's enough for me," said Maeyurai as he stood up from the log, walking to the center of the circle as the five minutes were almost up.
"Alright, no problem!" Dokgak replied gleefully.
Maeyurai stood in the center of the circle, waiting for Naguta and the fifth assessment to start.
When Maeyurai stood in the center, Naguta raised his hand against the other archers talking to him, as if silencing them. And then, he stood up and walked over to Maeyurai.
"You're really excited, huh?" said Naguta. "I also won't go easy on you in this one."
"Fine by me," Maeyurai replied, his voice implying that he didn't care. "It's better that you don't belittle me by going easy."
Naguta smirked.
"I like how you think, but you have to learn when to sit down and stop being so stubborn."
Naguta's expression darkened, and he continued, "Because you won't know what's coming your way."
The assessment hasn't even started yet, but the two of them have already fueled the fire and started the battle.
Maeyurai immediately infused his whole body with his Fire Mana as a gamble and landed a punch on Naguta's face.
In response, Naguta exchanged a blow.
The two brown-haired guys stumbled back, with Naguta holding his cheek in pain.
Everyone gasped in surprise before cheering out loudly.
"Damn, that burns... You just infused your whole body with fire, huh? Is that how it is? You can't possibly be thinking of ending this within a few minutes," he said as he flicked his saliva on the floor.
"I'm pretty confident in my own abilities," Maeyurai replied, shaking his hand.
"That's called being overconfident. You're too prideful," Naguta bit back, standing upright.
Maeyurai ignored his remark and rushed forward to attack.
In response, Naguta brought his hands forward and fortified a wall made of water and blocked Maeyurai's path.
After slamming on the wet, solid wall, Maeyurai changed his route and stepped to the side before dashing forward.
However, Naguta merely created more walls, blocking Maeyurai completely.
"Coward," Maeyurai muttered under his breath, focusing his Fire Mana into his fist, creating an even hotter infusion. Afterwards, he swung his fist and created a hole in the wall, and immediately entered inside.
Fwap!
To Maeyurai's surprise, Naguta conjured a longbow made of water and shot a water arrow in his direction, hitting his right shoulder.
The arrow was purposely made dull in order to not hurt Maeyurai. But the force it contained was enough to send Maeyurai hurling a few meters back.
"Agh!" he groaned, anchoring his pivot foot and placing all his weight on his rear foot to stay standing.
His shoulder immediately ached in pain; it was throbbing like hell. If it weren't for his fire-infused body melting the water as it touched him, he would've been tumbling all over the ground.
"Come on, Maeyurai! I don't even have to move in order to beat you!" Naguta yelled out, trying to spark up a more heated battle.
"This guy's getting on my nerves," Maeyurai muttered under his breath, looking at the new water wall that Naguta fortified.
He couldn't get in due to how fast Naguta was forming a wall.
Slowly, Naguta was forming a dome. He was stalling for when Maeyurai's infusion ran out.
Inside the dome, Naguta was walking around, touching the ground at several areas.
"What is he doing...?" asked Maeyurai, his eyebrows tightened up.
Maeyurai wasn't aware, but Naguta was emanating a trap.
The condition was:
[Upon contact with a moving object, blast a powerful wave of water.]
There were three lines of defense within the dome. First, the water walls merged together, creating a dome. Second was the emanated water traps that Naguta secretly placed, and the third was the conjured bow that he used against Maeyurai earlier.
Inside the dome, it was cool.
"It's kind of refreshing here," Naguta said inaudibly.
He went silent for a moment.
"Why isn't Maeyurai rushing in?" he asked himself.
Getting impatient, he took aim and shot a water arrow through the water dome, trying to hit Maeyurai.
Outside, Maeyurai almost got hit directly on the head, barely dodging Naguta's shot.
The water arrows continued being released outside the dome. Naguta was releasing relentlessly. Maeyurai realized that Naguta could keep up for quite a while, since the amount of mana that Naguta had was incredibly dense.
"How persistent... He's trying to hit me with all he's got," Maeyurai said timidly, thinking of ways he could attack.
"Hard Rain."
Naguta's voice could be heard from inside the dome. And right after, a thick water arrow flew directly above before stopping at a certain point.
"Huh? What the hell did that—"
Several water arrows came crashing down on the ground, their trajectory aimed blindly all over the place by Naguta.
"Crap!" Maeyurai exclaimed, running away from the arrows that almost hit him, all while trying not to step out of the circle.
Hard Rain was a technique that Naguta created. Requiring vertical aiming, the user can aim where the projectiles go, raining arrows in wherever he wishes.
Nearing the dome, Maeyurai decided to take a risk.
"Hah!" he huffed as he jumped, climbing up the water dome, his physical capabilities boosted by the fire infusion.
Inside the dome, Naguta could see Maeyurai running above him. "Huh? What is that brat doing?"
Then, he aimed at Maeyurai's legs and shot several water arrows.
Seeing as Naguta was doing something, Maeyurai started to run in different directions, dodging every arrow.
He jumped forward and was grazed by an arrow on his cheek.
Then, he hopped to the side and focused most of his Fire Mana into his fist and punched the very top of the dome.
The dome broke apart immediately, shattered into pieces. And then, Maeyurai landed on top of Naguta, tackling him to the floor.
Maeyurai was about to swing his arm, but Naguta responded quickly and pushed him away.
While rolling across the ground, Maeyurai tried to stand up, trying to take the opportunity while Naguta was nearby.
He finally managed to hit Naguta with a punch to his face.
However, Naguta managed to act first, having fortified a water barrier on himself. The impact was reduced drastically, and the fight was almost over.
Oh, wow.
It seems I never really stood a chance to begin with.
Maeyurai froze in his tracks, his fist staying on Naguta's cheek.
The disappointed Naguta raised his hand and pulled away Maeyurai's fist.
"It should be time for you now," he said coldly.
Maeyurai's eyes averted Naguta as it shifted to the ground. He gritted his teeth silently and replied.
"No, it's not."
"Huh?" Naguta uttered, confused.
Bringing his other hand forward, he opened both of his hands and touched Naguta's water barrier.
"Go to sleep, Naguta," he said firmly.
Maeyurai infused his whole body with lightning while conjuring lightning on his hands, electrocuting Naguta. The electrification's power was increased by the water that enveloped Naguta.
"Damn you, Maeyurai!" said Naguta as he was electrocuted, trying to pull back from Maeyurai. However, his movements were restricted due to the lightning, and in the end, he lost consciousness.
Naguta fell to the ground, unconscious.
Seeing as Naguta finally fell, Maeyurai raised his head and looked at the sky with a soft smile.
"My... win," he muttered under his breath.
The others who watched at the side were baffled by Maeyurai's performance; it left them frozen, awe-struck by Maeyurai's display of creativity.
They all yelled out and ran towards Maeyurai, showering him with praises.
"Holy crap, Maeyurai, that was amazing!"
"The Final Survivor indeed!"
Soon, Maeyurai fell unconscious due to exhaustion. It was only natural, as he infused his body with two Affinities at once. He still couldn't handle it.
***
Maeyurai was asleep for the next two days. Soon, he finally woke up in an unfamiliar bed.
He sat up and saw Naguta sitting on the edge of a bed on the other side of the room.
"Naguta?" he asked.
Upon hearing Maeyurai's voice, Naguta turned his head from the window to in front of him.
"Oh," he said. "You're finally awake? Took you long enough. That was a crazy move you did on me on the fifth assessment. As much as I'd hate to admit it, that was impressive.
Maeyurai nodded his head and asked, "By the way, where are we?"
"This is our dorm," Naguta replied briefly.
Maeyurai's eyes widened in surprise. "We're sharing a dorm?"
"We are," Naguta answered with a flat tone.
"Damn."
It went silent for a few seconds. Until Maeyurai broke it.
"What now?" he asked, unsure of what to do now that he's awake after two days.
"Right, take this," said Naguta as he took an object from the desk near his bed, throwing it over to Maeyurai.
The object flew right into Maeyurai's lap, and he caught it.
"What's this?" Maeyurai questioned, curious about what the object was.
"It's your Archer Identification. It shows that you are an archer in Gangumen."
"This is important then."
"It is important. Don't lose it."
Maeyurai nodded his head and stood up from the bed.
"I'm going to talk to everyone," he said before going out of the room.
For the whole day, Maeyurai talked to all 34 archers in the barracks, including Wuyo, making it 35.
He found out that Dokgak, Maru, and Naguta were the best archers in the army, alongside the strongest one named Yuyuha Kudos, who went missing a few months ago.
Another piece of information that he found out was that both Naguta and Wuyo were Huizen's personal students, and the two of them managed to reach what Huizen couldn't, which was the General rank.
Soon, the sky darkened.