Januar was currently leaning on a tree and recovering some of his stamina.

Although his resting spot was now almost 40m in the air, he didn't mind it that much anymore.

It was still somewhat unnerving jumping around at this height, especially since the match would probably end right then and there if he fell down. But he had really underestimated the thrill and enjoyment he got from this.

Although he didn't want to think about the reason why he enjoyed it so much.

"You almost sent him in the wrong direction, you can't blame me for trying to correct you."

"You little...!"

Kay and Constantine were bickering with each other once again.

Apparently, Kay had led him around in cycles accidentally which caused Constantine to step in and show them the right way.

Despite their constant fighting, their cooperation went surprisingly smooth.

Judging from Constantine's calculations they had already crossed a distance of 20km and this in roughly an hour or so.

That wasn't too bad, in Januar's opinion at least.

Of course, for all he knew Frederic could have been a lot faster than him and already lie in ambush somewhere, or maybe they passed each other already. Although he didn't feel like that was the case.

Januar rose from his sitting position and stepped towards the two card summons.

"Let's continue?"

"Are you sure?", Kay immediately stopped quarreling and asked.

"You can rest a bit more, 20km/h is fast enough for a distance of 50km and you also still have 2 hours left."

Even Constantine joined in, one of the rare instances that both of them were in agreement.

"No, let's continue, else I'll be accused of wasting time and being scared."

Januar stretched his legs again.

"I just want to end this quickly."

Kay and Constantine glanced at each other, but didn't say anything.

Soon they continued their journey.

But after about a quarter of an hour Cast suddenly appeared next to Kay and Constantine.

"Your opponent is here."

This stunned Januar and the other two for a moment, but they soon scrambled to find a safe landing spot for Januar.

Januar barely made the last jump, because his moment of surprise messed up the force he used. Hugging the tree to regain his balance, Januar looked around for a sign of Frederic.

"He's over there."

Cast stood on the branch below the one Januar was using and pointed at a small black spot moving among the green leaves.

Januar also finally caught sight of the other and felt his pulse speed up slightly.

"What should I do now? Attack him?"

Cast nodded his head.

"You still have the element of surprise."

With Cast's recommendation, Januar slowly slipped down from the branch he was on so he could get a better aim at Frederic.

When he was sure that he was still unnoticed and hidden behind a small veil of leaves, Januar finally pulled the bow from his back.

Taking an arrow from the quiver, Januar started aiming.

After his fight with Sophie and thanks to Cast's boost, Januar's skills had vastly improved.

His fingers were slightly trembling in anticipation while he drew the bowstring.

***

Frederic was still strolling around with Elise, although they had met a mighty mutant-anaconda on their way, they made quick work of it.

Fred had also found some herbs that helped stop bleeding and a few plants with antitoxin properties. He didn't take any of the poisonous ones as he felt like it was overkill and bore too much of a risk in his current position. This terrain simply didn't give him enough maneuverability.

Anyway, he felt like they must have walked quite some time now, around an hour or so, maybe even a bit longer.

So, what would he do after running into Januar?

Januar must be on his way as well, Frederic didn't believe that the other would act as a sitting duck, just awaiting his fate.

If only for the reason that he wanted to end this duel quickly.

Januar had always been that way, in the past, he rarely ever ran away from the bullying of his classmates, mostly just enduring it.

And Frederic guessed that it would be the same this time.

Should he put down some traps or an ambush for Januar? Or maybe he would just face the other head-on.

In any case, Januar had sealed his fate by choosing a bow either wa-

***

Since Januar proved to them that he clearly possessed the physical capabilities to keep up with Frederic. The spectators weren't in any mood to laugh.

Instead, they felt a faint nervousness.

And it got only worse when they realized just how fast Januar closed in on Fred.

When they realized that Januar was less than 6km away from Fred, him talking to himself became more terrifying than anything else.

15 minutes later when Januar and Frederic were about to cross paths, the spectators were about to sigh in relief. They weren't ready yet for a confrontation between the two, barely having digested the shock of Januar's vast improvement.

It seemed like they both didn't notice the other and would bypass each other with neither being the wiser. 

But just then...

Januar stopped in his tracks.

"What should I do now? Attack him?"

The spectators felt their hearts drop.

How did he find Fred so quickly?!

While Januar was slowly taking aim.

The students felt restless and distressed on Frederic's behalf.

Only hoping for him to notice Januar's presence and get away.

But Fred didn't receive their heartfelt warnings. An arrow shot down from above, firmly embedding itself in Frederic's left shoulder.

...And that was after Fred dodged.

They watched with clenched fists as Frederic quickly traced the trajectory of the shot while twisting his face in pain. Soon he found Januar and also the next arrow that was about to be fired.

Fred immediately moved out of the way and hid in the thicket of the forest.

He didn't try to counterattack, putting his all into escaping and hiding somewhere to treat his wound.

Professor Sotra nodded in satisfaction when he saw that.

For a moment he was afraid that Frederic would become hot-headed and try to climb up the tree just to face Januar.

He had to admit Januar was at a huge advantage at the moment. Any plan of retaliation would end in him being able to shoot the other countless before Frederic even reached the halfway point on the tree.

This fact made Professor Sotra appreciate Frederic's retreat to retaliate at a later time even more, for all he knew Januar could have coated his arrows with poison. If left untreated this could mean a sure loss.

But at the same time, Professor Sotra felt that Januar had missed an opportunity by not poisoning his arrows. The needed plants were everywhere, he had even passed some poisonous fruits along the way

His dissatisfaction with Januar only continued to grow.

0km. 2:41:17.

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