[09:32]
Looking at the timer, I couldn’t believe this had all happened in just 30 seconds.
From the start, you needed to get all three arrows in to pass, but were there even any passers…?
Countless arrows were scattered on the floor.
It seemed like the game was planning to weed out all the participants.
[Number 001 passes, Number 009 passes, Number 022 passes…]
But listening to the broadcast, more people were passing than I thought.
Is my skill level quite low?
More than that, Number 1… that guy’s got fast reflexes.
With the announcement of passers and the continued sound of arrows flying, only useless thoughts kept flowing through my head.
Was it because I was sensitive to sound and too anxious?
But even as I was thinking, the arrows kept flying, and the baskets were getting further away.
…I had to be faster, and concentrate as much as possible.
I took a moment to catch my breath while looking at the second arrow, then got into position.
Even now, the clothes kept tickling my body.
I had played a little Pitch-Pot back in my school days.
I remember the distance being a little closer back then.
The area of the baskets is bigger and there are more of them than back then, so the difficulty should be similar to then.
But it was hard to get the angle right because the baskets kept moving.
Then…
[Thump!]
For a moment, the whole building was filled with noise and vibration like thunder had struck, and the arrow I was holding fell.
Panicked, I turned my gaze to the baskets, and all the moving baskets had stopped at the same distance.
[The distance of the baskets has reached its maximum]
With the broadcast, it didn’t seem like they were trying to weed out the participants.
But… even in this state, it was quite a distance.
Even if you laid three adult men down, it would still be much shorter than the distance to the basket.
Are they expecting a human to do this…?
But since the baskets had stopped, I had secured quite a bit of time.
[08:57]
Looking at the timer for a moment, I couldn’t see it properly, but I felt relieved at the blurry number ‘8’ and slumped down.
Even though I hadn’t passed yet…
[Number 099 passes… Number 107 passes…]
Huh…? Number 107 passed?
I turned my head to the side for a moment, but Seongho wasn’t there.
Had he already left?
I shouldn’t be, but I felt a little disappointed.
From the start, this game wasn’t a team battle, but an individual one…
“Can I help you a little?”
Surprised by the voice from behind, I turned around and saw Seongho holding an arrow.
I was taken aback, but I felt a sense of relief at Sungho’s usual appearance.
I looked at the arrow basket for a moment and realized that the arrow Sungho was holding was mine.
Just as I was about to reach out my hand for some help… I remembered the man who had been sitting down during the shuttlecock kicking game.
“Still, I think it’s better if I do it…”
“Ah… even so, I thought it would be better to help you adjust your posture.”
“I did play a little Pitch-Pot back in my school days. Haha…”
Seongho still seemed intent on helping.
I was a little prideful and worried, but… at least I didn’t want to be modified.
“Then, well…”
“Oh…! Senior! Then please teach me too!”
Turning around, there was Yujin with an arrow.
Considering the difficult situation… she seemed quite energetic.
If she failed here, she would be modified, so it was almost amazing.
“Still, you have to keep the order…”
“Sungho Oppa…! Please, I’m begging you…”
Yujin went to Seongho with tears in her eyes, and he seemed quite embarrassed.
But after looking at the timer for a moment, he seemed to agree.
“Then… I’ll teach both of you, so just follow me well.”
“Seongho Oppa is the best! Hehe.”
[Poke-]
“W-wait a minute…!”
Yujin clung to Seongho, and he seemed so flustered that he stuttered.
The sight was quite comical.
If there were no modifications in the game, the atmosphere would be like this all the time…
[Beep-]
Then suddenly, an unpleasant sound that seemed to burst my eardrums rang out from the speaker, and I snapped back to my senses.
What on earth is going on…?
[Number 394 is disqualified for using fraudulent methods.]
Fraudulent methods…? There was no such rule.
What on earth did Number 394 do?
I felt uneasy for no reason.
After the announcement of the disqualification, silence filled the entire building for a moment, and then Seongho stepped in front of the red line.
“Anyway… there’s no time, so I’ll quickly teach you the Pitch-Pot posture.”
Even though he said he would teach me the posture, the air felt much heavier than before.
Come to think of it, they didn’t even say specifically what kind of fraudulent methods they were talking about.
Maybe this is the fraudulent method the broadcast is talking about…?
“Seongho… wait a minute.”
“I have a feeling that… you shouldn’t teach me.”
From the start, it was possible that it meant other fraudulent methods.
For example, picking up arrows that had fallen on the floor, or accidentally crossing the line.
But since the broadcast didn’t specifically say what the fraudulent method was, the risk of getting caught was too great.
I glanced at Yujin, and she seemed to have noticed as well.
“Seongho… what if this act itself is a fraudulent method…?”
“But even so, I don’t think that’s the case…?”
“Rather, there’s a much higher chance that it’s something else…”
What Seongho said made sense.
But… as someone who had been modified myself, I had to pay attention to even the smallest probabilities.
If Sungho helped, there was a possibility that all three of us would be ruined.
“Seongho… I’m sorry. I’ll try this one on my own.”
Seongho thought for a moment, but then seemed to agree.
“Then… are you really okay with that?”
“Then I’ll leave it to you here…”
Seongho handed me the arrow, and I picked it up immediately.
I decided to think positively for now.
At least I had saved my pride…
I turned my head back to the basket and aimed, but the distance was beyond imagination.
…How on earth am I supposed to do this?
I felt despair again.
[03:36]
Since the timer was attached to the front of the basket, I couldn’t see it properly from earlier because it was too far away.
Is it a 2…? Or a 3…?
At least I was sure that quite a bit of time had passed.
My condition still wasn’t good, and the sound of arrows flying was still annoying, but I had to throw it now.
I decided to pay attention to every single detail of my posture as much as possible and throw it.
“Hoo… let’s go…”
[Whoosh-]
“Ugh…?”
I threw the arrow, but suddenly felt a tingling sensation in my stomach…
It was with all my might, but the arrow flew at a slower speed than I thought.
I thought my body had gotten used to it quite a bit… is the distance of the basket the problem?
[Thud-]
Fortunately, it seemed to have gone into the basket…?
Or maybe not.
It seemed like the arrow was stuck between the entrances of the basket and couldn’t get in.
Come to think of it, there were quite a few arrows that were stuck in the entrance and couldn’t get in.
I never thought I would experience this…
Will this be counted as a pass…?
It didn’t seem like they were planning to disqualify all the participants, so they would probably count this as a pass if possible…
But I felt uneasy for no reason.
Like before, I had to pay attention to even the smallest probabilities in order to avoid being modified.
I carefully picked up the third arrow that had fallen on the floor, and I instinctively knew that this arrow would determine my modification.
How on earth am I supposed to throw this arrow…?
This is the scenario I’m thinking of right now.
Throwing the third arrow to hit the second arrow that’s stuck in the entrance.
But they could both fall to the floor or bounce off each other.
If that happened, there was a high probability of disqualification.
…Maybe it’s better not to touch the second arrow.
I’m not an athlete anyway, and I can’t hit the exact location where the arrow will fall.
First, I should prioritize getting the third arrow into the basket, and it would be good if the second arrow accidentally gets hit and goes in.
First, it’s better to throw it at the basket where the second arrow is stuck.
[01:11]
As I kept thinking, I was sure that the minute hand was pointing to 1.
But I still had enough time to prepare, so I took a deep breath to suppress my tension as much as possible.
“Hoo…”
It felt like I was performing in front of the entire school back in my school days.
My body was shaking that much.
I tried to remember when I played Pitch-Pot as much as possible and got into position.
I didn’t remember exactly how to position myself, but I had roughly outlined the silhouette.
Even in this situation, the clothes were tickling my body, but I had to ignore them.
With all my might…
“One… two… three…!”
[01:03]
[Swish-]
As the arrow flew, it was drawing a similar trajectory to the second arrow.
Is it because my body is weak? It seemed almost impossible to throw it at a high speed.
But at this speed, it could barely get into the basket.
[Thud-]
“Yes…!”
As the second and third arrows collided, they began to move.
It wasn’t intentional, but looking at the direction they were moving, it seemed like they would go into the basket soon.
[01:02]
The two arrows rotated, drawing a trajectory, and began to be sucked into the basket.
If it’s like this… it’s possible!
[01:01]
[Swish-]
[Thud-!]
At that moment, I heard the sound of someone throwing an arrow, and I slumped down on the spot.
[Thud]
The two arrows… had fallen to the floor.
[01:00]