The Ranch

Carnival (3)

The heavy arrow cuts through the air as the area looks in silent anticipation. The target and arrow seem to meet at designated place. The crowd prepares to cheer as the arrow touches the edge of the target, but instead of landing the arrow keeps flying in full force, breaking off a chuck of wood with it.

The arrow flies out of sight and the crowd turn to the worker in astonishment, waiting for a verdict.

The worker is also surprised but quickly reins in his expression. "As the arrow did not stay on its mark and landed somewhere that wasn't on the target, it does not count."

The onlookers can't help but look at this thick-skinned worker.

"As expected of Instructor Maddox's employees."

"Professional as always."

"But still, how thick is your face?"

Along with his strictness, Maddox is also well-known for, and prides himself on his leader skill and business management. If not, he would never have gotten a silver-star in business.

The onlookers would argue for Kane, but causing a ruckus on Maddox's turf is always a bad idea. They quickly pitied him before dispersing.

Kane himself doesn't seem bothered. He's not the time to get stuck on the small details. He gives Tih a slightly embarrassed smile," Looks like strength wasn't the way to go." He gives Tih a pat on the shoulder before leaving.

Tih glances at the broken target thats over twenty meters away. It's currently being fixed by some workers. Tih look at the part that was broken off and notices a shiny glint covering the inside of the wood.

Tih doesn't think much about it before leaving as well. He walks around, sometimes stopping to observe, and never playing anything himself.

A much larger game with a much louder audience catches Tih's attention. He walks over to the oval track the size of half a football field.

"Place you bets! Quickly place your bets!"

"Fifteen on five!"

"Five on number one!"

"Twenty on number five!"

"Ten on five!"

"Ten on number three!"

Horse-racing. Definitely not an innovative way of gambling, but it's definitely a popular one. This game kills two birds with one stone.

Soldiers can pay to be a rider and earn money depending on how they place, while other soldier can bet on who they think will win.

An endless stream of participants with unknown skill levels should balance out the bets, but as Tih listens to the shouts, the person bet on most is number five.

Unbeknownst to Tih who only just arrived, those that have been here for a while have watched a soldier single-handedly win eight times in a row.

This man is not an instructor, nor are his combat skills any good. Number five is in fact one of the farmers on the island. More specifically, he tends to the farm animals. The reason he's so good is because of all the time he spends with the island's horses. The horses are familiar with him and trust him.

There aren't a lot of horse on the island, so not many people are familiar with riding a horse, giving Five an advantage. The other racers that have been trying to overthrow his crown have been relying on brute force to control and steer the horses. They aren't familiar with saddles and have been squeezing the sides of the horses to stay on, making the animals uncomfortable. On the other hand, as a farmer, Five has had many chances to ride a horse.

Farmers are considered a low occupation. Many soldier are unwilling to take on the job even though its one of the most important jobs on the island. They supply all of the ingredients used by the cafeteria and vendors.

They make a decent amount of money due to how necessary an occupation it is, but combat instructors make more. They earn a lot of money from the classes they teach, their classes being very popular and all. Farmers have always resented the combat soldiers that looked down on such a job. Over the years, number Five has also developed animosity towards combat instructors.

Currently, he's using his advantage to outperform the combat soldier that so heavily look down on him. He uses their pride against them, mocking them, and creating an endless flow of new participants. For the past eight runs, number Five has been milking them dry and doesn't plan to stop anytime soon.