Alice wanted to stick to her plan, act useless, and participate as little as she could in the sports event.

But she miscalculated. She thought that she would go scot-free if she annoyed Philip with her awful use of weapons, and she would be allowed to sit back in the benches, but it was the opposite.

Because Philip already knew that she was a girl capable of many ’things’ he felt it was an insult that she was putting up such a crappy show to try and sit back.

And if that was what she wanted, he would not give her what she wanted.

Even Clarissa felt insulted by her actions. She felt she was looking down on her and acting weak just to give her leverage but someone as prideful as Clarissa would not sit back for that.

She was determined to defeat Alice in a fair fight and not through flimsy tricks. After all, she was that confident in her bow and arrow skills.

So, instead of being let go, Alice was challenged to put in effort, which she hated to the bones.

Alice picked up a bow and an arrow, a weapon she had never used before, and was determined to make a mess of her performance.

Since the field had been modified by the agency, it was far more spacious than it used to be and each range was two times longer than what the average student was used to.

Typical archers shoot from 70 meters at a target face measuring 122 centimeters in diameter when using a recurve bow, which most of them were using since that had to be the best bow for combat.

So, for Awakeneds, the meters were over 200, so they needed to harness their strength and reach the target.

If they could not even reach a target 200 meters away, how were they going to fight monsters in the future?

The target was also fortified with mana, so it would not get damaged no matter the force of the arrow.

"Ugh, it’s so heavy," Alice mumbled and spied the two behind her. Why were they keeping such keen and demeaning eyes on her?

Didn’t they have anything better to do?

"Alright, this is my first time picking up a bow, so I’ll do my best."

"Your first time?" Clarissa asked. "Are you going to use that as an excuse for your lacking skills? If so, then pick up a sword. After all, you’re a warrior who uses a sword, right?"

"Tch, I don’t even know how to use a sword either." Alice mumbled to no one’s hearing. ’I just brought it out for show. I couldn’t possibly show you my hammer. Even if the media didn’t capture my hammer on camera, I’ll still end up using it in the future, and then it will get captured. What will I do then?’

Alice picked up the leather finger tabs and wore them on her fingers to protect her from the bow strings. It wasn’t necessary but she wanted to look professional and put on a good show, right? So, she had to do that much.

"Okay, here I go." She said and positioned her hand. Clarissa could tell right away that this was her first time picking up a bow and arrow thanks to her poor disposition but then... What was this sharp stance she took?

Alice placed the arrow in the bow and then raised it, drawing the bow with all her might.

Everyone could feel the air of confidence around her and they waited to see just how well she would do. Maybe she would even hit the bullseye.

But what they did not know was that the confidence that crowned Alice was not because she knew she could hit the target, it was because she had the motivation to screw it up.

"Here I go." She said and released the arrow. Everyone looked towards the target but there was nothing.

"Wait, where did the arrow go?" Someone asked and then looked back at Alice.

Clarissa was practically fuming behind her, her body trembling and her eyes blazing red.

"You’ve got to be kidding me." She exclaimed, and Alice bent down to pick up the arrow that had fallen off the bow once she released it.

"Well, you see," she smiled. "I suck at this. I guess I’ll just sit this out then, haha." She turned, heading towards the bench but Philip caught her by the collar. "Hey, you saw what I did, right? I can’t even release the arrow properly. I’m a lost cause so let me sit this one out."

Philip glanced at her and said,

"Again."

"What?"

"You’ll try it again. And you won’t stop until you get it." He let go of her collar and she frowned.

"What do you mean I won’t stop until I get it? You saw it, didn’t you? I can’t pull the strings." She defended but he shook his head.

"I don’t care." He said. "My job is to make sure you lots do it and do it right. So, who cares if you can’t do it?" He squinted his eyes. "You’ll just have to keep going until you get it right. That’s the whole point of hiring us as trainers. No one is sitting it out."

Alice frowned, a sweat dripping from the corner of her face. Ah, she did not expect this.

No one was sitting it out? Then, didn’t that mean that she would have to participate no matter which weapon she picked? And then if she went to another group, all eyes would be on the trainer to see if he would make preferential treatment.

Everyone had to participate, which meant... She ruffled her hair, feeling messed up, and sighed... She had no choice but to work.

"Ugh, give me that," she snatched the bow from the student who had picked it up. "Then, can I go sit down if I hit the target quickly?"

Philip folded her arms.

"Why don’t we find out if you can really hit the target?" He asked and she sneered.

Was he looking down on her?

Then, she would have to show him that she was a fast learner.

Her gaze traveled to Clarissa who looked ever so displeased.

"Um, Clarissa," she called, despite knowing she might get rejected, "... Could you please give me a demonstration?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com