Chapter 13
Good Friends
17 min read
…Liam stared at the Integrated Panel Monolith in utter disbelief.
For the first time since arriving at the Apex Range...
His composure cracked.
Trepidation flashed across his face before he immediately buried it beneath an expressionless mask.
His heartbeat quickened.
Fear coiled tightly within his chest.
Not fear for himself...
Fear of watching Freya lose.
Yet no matter how violently that fear clawed at him, he refused to let it show.
Only his widening eyes betrayed him.
"What the bloody fuck..."
The words exploded through his mind.
"That arrow completely stopped..."
"How the FUCK did it rebound to twenty-five thousand meters per second?!"
The thought echoed again...
And again...
Growing louder with every passing second.
...
"YEAH, BABY!!"
Rhys' voice thundered throughout the viewing chamber.
His excitement exploded out of him.
He threw both fists into the air.
A grin stretched from ear to ear.
His laughter rang through the range.
...
"She did it!"
Elisa squealed.
Unable to contain herself, she threw both clasped hands high above her head and leaped excitedly into the air.
The sudden movement caused her body to follow naturally with her excitement before she landed lightly once more.
Her radiant smile brightened the chamber.
Her eyes sparkled with hope.
...
Chris slowly clenched his left hand into a fist.
A confident smile quietly spread across his face.
His gaze never drifted from the monolith.
"I knew you could do it..."
"Now..."
"Finish it."
His confidence never wavered.
Not even for a moment.
...
Every member of Liam's clique unconsciously bit the inside of their mouths.
Disgust.
Anxiety.
Frustration.
All three emotions blended together across their expressions.
Their earlier confidence slowly began eroding.
...
Inside the gallery...
The glacier-blue arrow continued surging forward.
Its Aura eruption was nowhere near its limit.
The numbers climbed once again.
25,500 m/s...
26,000 m/s...
28,000 m/s...
30,000 m/s...
The arrow carved through every loop with astonishing elegance.
Its glacier-blue Aura spiraled around it like a living cyclone.
The ocular nodes continuously recalibrated to maintain visual lock.
The gallery itself seemed incapable of keeping pace.
Twenty-one kilometers...
Vanished.
Twenty-two...
Disappeared.
Twenty-three...
Passed in a brilliant streak of frozen light.
...
Liam's clique watched the monoliths in growing horror.
No one spoke.
Meanwhile...
Chris...
Rhys...
And Elisa...
Could not stop smiling.
Their faith in Cia remained absolute.
...
The telemetry continued updating.
30,500 m/s...
32,873 m/s...
Then...
Without warning...
The values began collapsing.
31,000 m/s...
28,000 m/s...
20,000 m/s...
The arrow entered the final looping section.
Its rotation destabilized.
Its Aura fluctuated violently.
Its axis began wavering.
The once flawless projectile suddenly looked...
Fragile.
...
Liam's eyes lit up.
Hope flooded back into his expression.
His lips slowly twisted into a smug grin.
"Well..."
"I'll be."
"So all that performance..."
He chuckled.
"...was just one bloody fucking fluke."
His voice dripped with contempt.
...
Inside the ranging alcove...
Cia's pupils trembled.
Her breathing hitched.
Her eyes widened.
"What...?"
"No..."
"No..."
"No..."
Her heartbeat became audible inside her ears.
"This isn't supposed to happen."
"I aligned the trajectory perfectly."
"No..."
"That isn't possible..."
"It... it can't..."
Her breathing grew increasingly uneven.
Panic slowly invaded her thoughts.
For the first time...
The Frost Progeny...
The girl whose composure rarely faltered...
Began to shake.
Her confidence splintered.
Her thoughts crashed into one another.
Nothing made sense anymore.
...
The monolith continued displaying the decreasing speed.
15,000 m/s...
14,973 m/s...
9,000 m/s...
7,000 m/s...
The glacier-blue arrow steadily lost its thrust.
Its once overwhelming momentum slowly bled away.
Its Aura flickered.
Like a candle nearing extinction.
...
"Well..."
"It looks like Chris' precious first contestant has shown everyone exactly what kind of fucking BITCH she is."
Ivy casually brushed her hair backward.
Her smile overflowed with arrogance.
"Hmph."
She turned her head away with complete disdain.
...
Rhys' smile disappeared.
Instantly.
His expression froze.
Then...
Pure fury consumed him.
His eyes darkened.
His jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles around his neck visibly tightened.
Without another word...
He strode toward Ivy.
Each step carried more anger than the last.
His fist tightened until his knuckles turned white.
"You fucking retard!"
"What gives you the bloody damn right..."
"...to call Cia a BITCH?!"
His voice exploded across the chamber.
Not ordinary anger.
Not simple frustration.
Scorching...
Unrestrained...
Explosive rage.
...
He continued marching toward her.
His fist slowly rose.
Ready to strike.
Before another step could be taken...
Chris moved.
He calmly stepped between Rhys and Ivy.
Blocking the path.
Without once looking away from Ivy.
"Hey..."
He placed a reassuring hand over Rhys' clenched fist.
"Don't waste yourself on this entity."
His voice remained calm.
But beneath that calm...
Lay unmistakable irritation.
He slowly turned his head.
His eyes met Ivy's.
Cold.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
...
"Aww..."
"Is the squad really that heartbroken because their precious Frost Progeny is about to lose?"
Liam mocked with an infuriating simper.
Chris never even acknowledged him.
It was as though Liam had ceased to exist.
Still keeping his hand over Rhys' fist...
Chris gently patted it.
"Calm down, buddy."
"There is no need for violence..."
He paused.
Then deliberately looked straight at Ivy.
"...even though the stupid cunt deserves it."
Every single word was pronounced slowly.
Clearly.
Intentionally.
There wasn't the slightest doubt whom those words were meant for.
...
Every grin.
Every scoff.
Every mocking smile...
Felt like needles pressing against Chris' skin.
His irritation continued building.
Quietly.
Relentlessly.
...
Inside the ranging alcove...
Cia still hadn't recovered.
Her heartbeat pounded violently against her ribs.
She clutched the center of her chest.
Each breath became shorter than the last.
Her fingers trembled uncontrollably.
She glanced sideways.
Freya stared back.
A cold...
Condescending glare.
It pierced straight through her.
Cia's body stiffened.
"Why...?"
"Why...?"
"Why...?"
"Why is something as simple as an archery contest making me lose all of my composure?"
"Why does it hurt so much watching my arrow slow down?"
"Why...?"
The questions echoed endlessly inside her mind.
Then...
One answer surfaced.
"Is it..."
"My pride?"
She asked herself.
Immediately...
She shook her head.
"No."
She gripped her chest even tighter.
Her posture bent slightly beneath the overwhelming pressure building inside her.
"No..."
"That's not it."
Her breathing trembled.
"Dad..."
"What should I do?"
"I don't want to let them down."
"That's why..."
"That's why this hurts so much."
Unable to bear the thought of disappointing them...
She stole a quick glance toward Chris...
Toward Rhys...
Toward Elisa...
Only for an instant.
Afraid...
Terrified...
Of seeing disappointment reflected within their eyes.
Instead...
Their anxious expressions reached her.
And with that single glance...
A memory she had desperately tried to bury...
Rose from the depths of her heart.
…Spite.
Disgust.
Anger.
Every cutting insult...
Every venomous word...
Every sentence crafted for the sole purpose of crushing another person's spirit...
Flooded back into Cia's mind.
The memory replayed relentlessly.
Again...
And again...
And again.
It refused to let her escape.
...
She was only six years old.
So small...
So fragile.
A miniature version of herself stood at the center of a large circle of children.
They surrounded her from every direction.
Not one smiled.
Not one pitied her.
Their eyes held only revulsion.
They stared at her as though she were some grotesque creature unworthy of standing among them.
Little Cia slowly lifted her trembling head.
"I'm..."
"I'm sorry..."
"P-please..."
She apologized over and over.
Begged over and over.
Her tiny hands shook as they clasped together.
She desperately searched every face...
Hoping...
Just hoping...
One person would look upon her with kindness.
...
No one did.
Instead...
One of them stepped forward.
Ptuh.
Warm saliva struck her face.
She froze.
Then came the words.
Cold.
Merciless.
Words that carved themselves permanently into her heart.
"You are a disappointment."
...
Little Cia collapsed beneath their gazes.
Not physically...
Emotionally.
Every child continued looking down on her.
Not a single face softened.
Not a single voice defended her.
Only disgust.
Only disappointment.
Only rejection.
...
The memory refused to disappear.
It played endlessly.
Like an unbreakable loop.
The more Cia struggled to suppress it...
The louder it became.
A terrifying thought slowly consumed her.
"What if..."
"Chris..."
"Rhys..."
"Elisa..."
"They begin looking at me the same way?"
Her breathing hitched.
Her chest tightened.
Her heartbeat pounded violently against her ribs.
Every breath became shorter than the last.
She felt as though the air itself refused to enter her lungs.
Her vision blurred.
Panic.
Pure panic.
...
"Tch..."
"Tch..."
"Tch..."
Liam slowly clicked his tongue.
His eyes remained fixed upon Cia.
Every click echoed throughout the chamber.
Mock sympathy.
Disgustingly insincere.
Every sound scraped against Chris' patience.
...
"She can barely stand."
Ivy's shrill voice sliced through the silence.
A loud laugh immediately followed.
Liam joined in.
The two of them laughed together without the slightest hint of remorse.
...
Chris slowly turned toward the ranging alcove.
His heart clenched.
Cia's right hand pressed weakly against the transparent glass.
Her left hand gripped the center of her chest.
Even though he couldn't hear her...
He could see everything.
Her uneven breathing.
The trembling in her shoulders.
The fear written across her face.
Every second...
She looked more broken.
Chris' chest ached.
"No..."
"Not Cia."
"Not like this."
...
An idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
Without wasting another second...
He leaned toward Rhys.
Quickly whispering his plan.
Rhys immediately understood.
Chris then leaned toward Elisa.
She listened...
Looked toward Cia...
And softly nodded.
...
Bzzz...
Bzzz...
The Acoustic Transducers beside Cia's ears gently vibrated.
The soft tone interrupted the chaos consuming her thoughts.
Moments later...
The Neural Band Biosensor unfolded a holographic interface before her.
Three incoming transmissions appeared.
Chris Moonstraught
Elisa Curvature
Rhys Drack
...
Cia stared silently.
Her fingers refused to move.
Fear chained her hand in place.
"What if..."
"They hate me now?"
The transmission continued ringing.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The gentle buzzing became impossible to ignore.
With trembling fingers...
She finally accepted the call.
...
"H-Hey..."
"U-Um..."
"G-Guys..."
"I'm..."
"I'm sorry..."
She coughed softly.
Her words stumbled over one another.
Her throat tightened.
Fear wrapped around it like chains.
Every syllable trembled.
"I..."
"I..."
...
"Cia."
Chris' voice interrupted her.
Gentle.
Warm.
Filled with genuine concern.
"What's going on?"
...
Her heart jolted violently.
The fear consuming her twisted reality itself.
To her frightened mind...
His calm voice transformed into something else.
A scolding.
An accusation.
A rejection.
...
"I-I'm very sorry!"
"Please..."
"Don't hate me!"
"Don't throw me away!"
"Don't discard me!"
"I beg you..."
Tears welled within her eyes.
She clutched her aching chest even tighter.
Her entire body trembled.
...
"HEY!"
Chris' voice rang sharply through the Nano-ring.
Not with anger.
With urgency.
Determination.
Conviction.
"Do not..."
He paused.
Then spoke each word with unwavering sincerity.
"...ever say something like that again."
His voice softened.
"Discard you?"
A faint smile appeared.
One filled with nothing but honesty.
"I would rather burn..."
"...and scream in agony..."
"...than ever do something that would make you feel like you're worth less than anyone else."
Every word struck directly against the walls Cia had spent years building around herself.
...
"Yeah, Cia."
Elisa smiled warmly.
"I love you far more than you realize."
"So please..."
"Don't ever think you're worthless."
"You are my best friend."
"And you always will be."
Concern overflowed from every word she spoke.
...
"My chilly beauty..."
Rhys scratched the back of his head before smiling.
"You really don't need to put yourself down over something like this."
"I honestly don't see the point."
His smile widened.
"The composed smile you always wear..."
"The one that makes your beauty stand taller than everyone else's..."
"I want to see that smile again."
He looked upward slightly.
Then quietly pleaded.
"Please."
...
Cia's heart trembled.
Once.
Twice.
Then...
The frantic rhythm slowly began calming.
The suffocating pressure inside her chest gradually loosened.
Warmth spread through her body.
A warmth she had almost forgotten existed.
"Friends..."
"Real friends..."
"People..."
"Who actually care about me..."
...
"Whatever you're saying..."
"It isn't going to work."
Liam folded his arms.
A sardonic smile twisted across his face.
No one responded.
Not Chris.
Not Elisa.
Not Rhys.
To them...
Liam no longer existed.
Their entire world revolved around one person.
Cia.
...
Chris smiled.
He spoke softly.
Yet every word carried unwavering faith.
"Lift your head high, Cia."
"We're already proud of what you've done."
His voice carried absolute certainty.
Not a trace of disappointment.
...
"Seriously."
Rhys laughed lightly.
"Who honestly cares about some stupid archery contest?"
"I like you exactly the way you are."
His grin brightened.
"No score is ever going to change that."
...
Elisa nodded.
"And Cia..."
She giggled softly.
"Never forget..."
"I'll always love you."
She placed a hand over her heart.
"And no matter what happens..."
"I'll always have your back."
...
Silence followed.
Not an uncomfortable silence.
A comforting one.
...
A single tear escaped Cia's eye.
She smiled.
Not because she was pretending.
Because...
For the first time in years...
She genuinely felt safe.
Using her left elbow...
She gently wiped away the forming tears.
She slowly straightened her back.
Her breathing steadied.
Her heartbeat returned to normal.
Every fragment of panic disappeared.
The composed Frost Progeny quietly returned.
She repositioned her feet.
Raised the Compound Bow once more.
Her stance became flawless.
Elegant.
Steady.
Beautiful.
The confidence within her eyes returned.
Brighter than before.
"Thank you..."
She smiled.
"...all of you."
Without waiting for a reply...
She gently ended the transmission.
...
A determined smile slowly appeared across her face.
"I'm going to win this."
"For myself..."
"For every one of us."
She closed her eyes briefly.
A familiar figure appeared within her heart.
Her father.
She smiled even wider.
"Dad..."
"I was right."
"I found them."
"The greatest friends in the entire world."
When she opened her eyes again...
There wasn't the slightest trace of fear remaining.
Only resolve.
Only confidence.
Only the unwavering determination to finish what she had started.
…She slowly turned her head toward her left.
Freya was still staring at her.
Still looking down on her.
Still wearing that spiteful expression.
...
Cia slowly raised her head.
The fear...
The hesitation...
The uncertainty...
Vanished.
Her domineering stare returned.
Sharper than before.
Colder than before.
Freya instinctively stumbled backward.
Her pupils shrank.
For the briefest instant...
She could no longer maintain eye contact.
The sheer intimidation pouring from Cia's glacier-blue eyes forced her gaze away.
A cold shiver crawled down Freya's spine.
...
Cia calmly raised the Compound Bow.
Her breathing became slow.
Measured.
Perfectly controlled.
She looked through the cylindrical sight.
Her retinal projector aligned seamlessly with the ocular cam embedded within the Compound Bow.
The three layers of the retinal projector rotated independently, overlapping one another as countless calculations flashed across the biosensors.
Her eyes never left the arrow.
It continued losing speed.
6500m/s
5000m/s
4900m/s
4873m/s
She followed its every movement.
Every fluctuation.
Every vibration.
Every shift in Aura.
The arrow crossed yet another loop.
Its momentum continued dying.
4000m/s
3000m/s
2000m/s
...
Liam suddenly burst into laughter.
Loud.
Mocking.
Arrogant.
He pointed toward Cia without the slightest attempt to hide his ridicule.
"So that's it?"
"You've finally run out of tricks."
He laughed even harder.
Ivy immediately joined him.
Both of them mocked Cia relentlessly.
Only Braylen remained silent.
He knew.
Far better than anyone present...
Exactly what Cia Frost was capable of.
"That isn't a girl..."
"That's a beast wearing a woman's body."
Without realizing it...
He quietly took another step backward.
...
As Cia continued tracking the slowing arrow...
A familiar voice gently echoed within her heart.
Soft.
Warm.
Comforting.
"Hey, my Bean Shake..."
"Remember..."
"If you can't reach the target..."
"Then just have fun..."
"And let your Aura..."
"RIP!"
A faint image of her father smiled at her.
Then...
Like snow melting beneath the morning sun...
The image slowly faded away.
...
A small smile appeared on Cia's face.
"Yes, Dad..."
"I will."
She tightened her grip around the Compound Bow.
"I'll show everyone..."
"...everyone who ever called me a disappointment..."
"...that I truly am..."
"...a prodigy."
...
WHOOOOOOM!!!
An overwhelming explosion of Glacier Aura erupted from Cia's body.
The entire ranging alcove trembled violently.
Compressed wind exploded in every direction.
The surrounding Nanobots instantly surged toward the overflowing Aura, absorbing every shimmering stream before transmitting the energy directly into the Haptic Wristlet.
The Neural Band Biosensor illuminated brilliantly.
Every biosensor reached maximum synchronization.
...
Cia drew another projectile.
Smaller than the previous one.
Sharper.
Denser.
Far more terrifying.
It wasn't an arrow.
It resembled an enormous shard of glacial ice.
An iceberg compressed into a single projectile.
No shaft.
No fletching.
No defined structure.
Only raw Aura...
Condensed into a devastating mass.
It was completely shapeless.
Born solely from Cia's overwhelming will.
...
Her glacier-blue hair shot upward.
Violent wind pressure filled the entire alcove.
The air screamed around her.
BOOOOM!!
A circular shockwave burst outward from beneath her feet.
The atmosphere rippled like disturbed water.
Cia stomped her right foot forward.
Her left foot anchored itself firmly against the platform.
Perfectly rooted.
Unshakable.
She drew the bowstring farther than ever before.
Until it aligned with her shoulder.
Every muscle in her back contracted.
Every tendon stretched.
Every ounce of force gathered into a single point.
She suddenly raised her head.
Her retinal projector instantly generated an entirely new pathway.
The three lenses overlapped.
Locked.
Calculated.
Confirmed.
Target acquired.
She released.
VOOOOOOOM!!
The iceberg erupted through the flagpole embrasure.
Unlike a normal arrow...
No electromagnetic strands formed around it.
Because...
It wasn't an arrow.
It was nothing more...
And nothing less...
Than Cia Frost's Aura given physical form.
It accelerated so violently that no naked eye could follow it.
Even the Ocular Nodes did not.
No readings.
No tracking.
No trajectory.
Only an empty blur remained.
The iceberg tore across all twenty kilometers in less than a minute.
...
"WHAAAT?!"
Ivy screamed.
"What the FUCK is that?!"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Her voice cracked.
She pointed frantically toward the IPMs.
...
"Don't worry, Ivy."
Liam forced out a laugh.
"That's only a condensed iceberg. It doesn't even have an ar..."
BEEEEEEEEEP!!
A deafening alert echoed throughout the range.
Liam stopped speaking.
His words died inside his throat.
His smile disappeared.
His pupils contracted.
...
Displayed across the Integrated Panel Monolith...
Was something that shattered his arrogance into countless pieces.
...
The iceberg slammed directly into Cia's slowing arrow.
At that very instant...
The arrow had already fallen to barely 190m/s.
The moment both projectiles collided...
The iceberg didn't destroy it.
It fused with it.
Glacier-blue Aura swallowed the arrow whole.
The Aura wrapped around it like a raging frozen flame.
The arrow remained suspended at its center.
Then...
It began spinning.
Faster.
Faster.
Even faster.
Until it resembled the eye of a colossal frozen cyclone.
The surrounding Aura rotated in a perfect cylindrical vortex.
A magnificent spiral.
It looked as though the arrow itself had opened into a glacier-blue vacuum...
With Cia's arrow resting calmly at its heart.
Then...
Everything exploded forward.
The acceleration defied logic.
It surpassed everything Liam believed possible.
170m/s
10,000m/s
15,000m/s
...
"NO!!"
"FUCKING WAY!!"
Ivy shrieked.
She grabbed fistfuls of her own hair.
Her foot repeatedly slammed against the floor in frustration.
"Liam!"
"Did you see that?!"
She violently tugged his sleeve.
"Liam!!"
...
Liam didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His horrified eyes remained locked between the arrow...
And the IPMs.
"What..."
"What the hell just happened?"
"How..."
"How did that arrow spiral from 170m/s..."
"To over 10,000m/s?"
The question echoed endlessly inside his mind.
For the first time...
Doubt entered his heart.
...
"I knew it..."
Braylen whispered.
"That crazy bitch..."
"...is a monster."
Without realizing it...
He quietly retreated another few steps.
...
Rhys let out a long whistle.
The sharp sound echoed proudly throughout the chamber.
"WELL I'LL BE!!"
His face lit up with excitement.
Every word he shouted carried undisguised triumph toward Liam, Ivy and the rest of the Vile Clan.
...
"Hooray!"
"She's awesome!"
"She's doing it!"
Elisa giggled happily.
The fist she had unconsciously clenched finally relaxed.
Every ounce of fear she'd been carrying melted away.
Pride replaced it.
...
Chris simply smiled.
A quiet smile.
One filled with absolute confidence.
Not surprise.
Not relief.
Just certainty.
"I knew she could do it."
…Cia giggled softly as she gently clapped her hands together.
Whuuum...
The Aura engulfing the arrow surged exponentially. The glacier-blue vacuum surrounding it became even denser, its pressure growing so immense that it formed the mirage of a sharper, more refined iceberg rotating within the vacuum.
Then...
WHAAAAM!!!
The Aura erupted.
The blazing projectile streaked through the gallery, tearing across the air with vacuum-level velocity, leaving behind a thunderous sonic boom that echoed throughout the entire range.
29,000m/s
30,000m/s
35,000m/s
…
Liam stared at the IPMs in complete disbelief.
His right palm slowly rose to his forehead as he pushed his hair backward, frustration rapidly clouding his expression.
"It can't be..."
The words screamed through his mind.
"No... impossible. She shouldn't be able to make a comeback."
Now using both hands, he dragged his fingers through his hair in growing frustration.
"She can't win this... right? She fucking can't."
Unable to stop himself, Liam stole another glance toward Cia.
Cia slowly turned to meet his gaze.
A sardonic smirk curled across her lips.
Then...
She snapped her fingers one final time.
38,000m/s
39,000m/s
50,000m/s
Twenty-seven kilometers...
Twenty-eight kilometers...
Then, with one final drifting blitz...
60,000m/s
The arrow tore through the Thirty Kilometer mark.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The IPMs chimed loudly throughout the range.
Glacier-blue Aura illuminated every monolith as brilliant lettering appeared across their screens.
RIGHT RANGING ALCOVE
TOP SPEED: 60,000m/s
…
The third monolith gracefully updated the scoreboard.
Left Alcove Chamber: 40,000m/s
Right Alcove Chamber: 60,000m/s
"What the god-bloody FUUUCK!"
Ivy screeched like a bird fighting for its last breath, anger exploding through every word.
"Oh my God... she actually did it."
Braylen finally spoke.
His hand rested beneath his lower lip as he continuously stroked his chin, trying to understand how Cia had managed such an unbelievable stunt.
"Shit... that bitch really did it."
Liam bit down hard on his lower lip, barely containing his anger.
"Hey, Liam..."
Braylen spoke with a sadistic smile.
"I'd advise you not to say bitch again."
"And why the fuck would I..."
Liam's voice trailed off as his eyes shifted toward Chris, Rhys, and Elisa.
Chris was glaring at him, fury burning behind his eyes.
Rhys was barely restraining himself.
Elisa silently stared at him, her expression cold and unwavering.
"HEY, FUCKTARD!"
Rhys's voice exploded across the range.
Liam slowly turned toward him.
He already knew he was about to be humiliated.
"What the bloody hell do you want?"
Liam muttered, deliberately avoiding Rhys's eyes.
Hahahaha!
Rhys's laughter boomed throughout the range.
It was mocking.
Belittling.
Merciless.
"You fucking stupid or what?"
Rhys asked, barely containing the anger in his voice.
"You seriously asking me what the bloody hell I want?"
"Hey, Liam."
Chris called out calmly.
Liam reluctantly lifted his head.
Their eyes met.
Chris silently pointed toward the tenth monolith behind Liam.
The monolith had already finished calculating the results.
With flawless precision, it displayed the final score for everyone present to witness.
Cia had completely dominated Freya.
Across the impeccably crafted obsidian screen, elegant lettering appeared.
Ranging Alcove Score Allocation
Left Ranging Alcove: 0 Points
Right Ranging Alcove: 2 Points
"So, Liam..."
Chris said quietly, his eyes locked onto Liam's.
"Educate me, please."
"How does it feel to be bested by somebody you considered beneath you?"
Liam slowly averted his gaze.
Pure annoyance settled across his face.
He said nothing.
He simply lowered his head...
And silently endured the humiliation.