The Over-Break System

“TIME, BOTH COMBATANTS REPORT TO THE BATTLEFIELD CENTER FOR INSTRUCTIONS.” Instructor Garrison dropped his arm when the timer hit zero and ordered Gabby and Alistar to meet up.

Slightly panicked, Gabby extended her hand and scooped up two full quivers of bolts before placing them on her belt and running towards Garrison with her training crossbow in hand.

Taking a deep breath, Gabby stepped up and bowed at both Alister and Garrison before putting on her game face and waiting for her introduction.

“IN THE RED CORNER, WE HAVE COMBATANT FELIX ALISTAR USING THE COMPOUND BOW!”

“Ah shit, that is ironic,” Hearing what weapon Instructor Alistar was using, Cynrik sighed and shook his head at Gabby.

“This will still be a good learning experience for her, Big Brother, don’t mind it too much.” Brance crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

“IN THE BLUE CORNER IS COMBATANT GABRIELLA SANFORD, USING THE REPEATER CROSSBOW!”

Smiling brightly, Gabby waved at her cheering classmates in the bleachers, making them roar even louder.

“Tsk, that’s pretty bias.” So complaining, Cynrik looked over his shoulder with a frown only to see all the boys on their feet whooping and hollering, between the mixed chants and cheers; he could even hear people saying how cute Gabby was.

“My Gabby is quite adorable indeed,” Brance said proudly, without a hint of jealousy in his voice.

“I have to side with Big bro on this one; the applause we all got doesn’t even compare to my sisters; it is indeed quite biased.” Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, Benny smiled helplessly. Sure, the applause he had received was technically more considerable than the brothers, but that was because he won against an Instructor.

“GABBY, KEEP ON YOUR TOES; THIS IS THE FIRST ARCHER BATLLE YOU’VE HAD!” Cupping his hands to his mouth, Brance ignored the gripes of Cynrik and Benny by shouting out some coaching words.

“KICK HIS ASS, GABBBBYYY!!! DO THE THING, SHOW THESE BOYS US GIRLS CAN PUT ON A GOOD SHOW TOO!” Jumping up and down beside Cynrik, rocking him back and forth, Selene screamed like a wild fangirl for Gabby, who blushed brightly upon hearing her encouraging words.

Standing a few meters away from MyrkLys, Professor Dennis and Headmaster Rivia shook their heads.

“The mouth on that girl,” Professor Dennis mumbled, only to be met by the strange gaze of Headmaster Rivia.

“Chalk it up to growing up in a not so mentally healthy environment.” He said while patting the Professor on his shoulder.

“Alright, you two, I want a clean battle; listen to my orders and protect yourself at all times. We will be using a modified rule set for this battle. The battle will cease if you are rendered unconscious, unable to continue, or I step in. Since this is an archer’s battle and you are using non-lethal arrows or bolts, a special rule is being instituted. In the tips of your ammunition is a small dye pill. This pill will burst upon contact with the body, leaving a mark. If you receive three hits to the same point on your body, the marks will light up and administer a numbing agent to that body part, rendering you unable to use it any longer. The only exception is if you are marked on your Heart or in the head, those will be considered instant kill shot, and the battle will conclude.” Instructor Garrison stood between Gabby and Instructor Alistar, listing the rules and explaining the new ones specifically for Archer’s battles.

“If you have any questions, please state them now; if not, confirm you’re ready with a gesture or verbal acknowledgment.” Garrison first turned to Alistar, who removed his bow from his back and adjusted his two quivers before giving a thumbs up.

When he looked over at Gabby, she was nervously loading the small ammo box attached to the bottom of her forearm-sized Repeater Crossbow, so Instructor Garrison allowed her to finish before holding his left hand out between them and parallel to the ground.

“Ready Instructor.” After doing a final check to ensure her weapon was in order, Gabby said while wearing a focused expression.

“ON MY MARK!”

The audience of students quieted down, and the silence was so deafening that everyone could swear they could hear each other’s hearts beating. This was going to be a different battle than the previous two. Unlike the melee fighters, Archer battles had a tendency to be extremely fast-paced, and the combatants would constantly be flitting around the field. As a result, if one were to blink, it wouldn’t be surprising if they missed the entire fight.

“FIGHT!” Raising his hand and commencing the fight, Garrison jumped backward as a volley of arrows whizzed by, aimed at Gabby’s arms and legs. Instructor Alistar had dashed back and rapidly fired four arrows in one movement.

He was surprised to find that Gabby did not run away from them but stood her ground with her eyes closed instead. The audience watched with anticipation as the blunt arrows cut the air and approached the quietly standing girl.

However, just when they were about to connect, Gabby’s eyes snapped open and glowed with Amethyst-colored light (Color Code,