After Hayato successfully passed the trial, a door appeared in front of him. He passed through that door and fell into a bottomless abyss. In a couple of what felt like hours, he reached his next destination. This time he woke up in his bed at The Capital. People were talking outside, Hayato got out of bed and rushed outside.
(Hayato) - What happened?
(Guard) - A creature flew above the castle.
(Hayato) - And the archers did not bring it down?
(Guard) - Archers? What is an archer?
(Hayato) - Are you messing with me?
*Staring*
(Guard) - No.
Hayato went inside and searched for his bow, but it was nowhere to be found.
*Yells*
(Hayato) - Has anyone seen my bow?
(Guard) - What are you talking about? What are these words? Have you gone mad?
*Thinking*
(Hayato) - These trials surely are weird. I am supposed to pass them without a bow? But then again I am doing this because of a bow. This doesn't make any sense.
*Step*
*Step*
(Guard) - My lord.
(King) - What is the matter here? Hurry up and kill that beast.
(Hayato) - Can I join the hunt?
(King) - I need you by my side, along with the others.
(Hayato) - But I need to kill that beast.
(King) - I know we need to kill it, but I also need protection.
(Hayato) - I can't stay by your side this time.
(King) - How could you?
*Angry*
(King) - After everything I did for you.
(Hayato) - Please forgive me.
Hayato started running towards the forest.
(Guard) - Should we chase him?
(King) - No, leave him be. Focus on the beast.
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Hayato kept thinking what to do, he couldn't fight a beast that was flying with a sword and he did not have his bow.
(Voice) - Do you need help?
(Hayato) - You, again?
*Silence*
(Hayato) - I need to make a bow, but I don't know how. Nor do I have the materials for it.
(Voice) - Follow this path.
After a couple of days of following the path, Hayato reached a house in the forest. It was an abandoned house, but there was something that Hayato needed. A book. This book was written by the first man on Earth that used a bow. It had all the key details of making a bow and forging arrows.
(Hayato) - Great, now I know how to make a bow, but I am still missing the materials.
(Voice) - Look around.
Hayato spotted a cracked piece of wood on the floor.
He pulled the plank and underneath the plank it was a rusty old wooden chest. He opened it and a lot of dust came out. After the dust cleared Hayato saw everything he read in the book.
He sorted all the pieces on the floor and started building the bow. After he was finished he went back to The Capital. When he arrived The Capital was destroyed, everything was burning. Hayato rushed to the castle. He saw the king's crown but nothing else.
There were no people around. The beast started flapping its wings creating a powerful gust of wind that put out some of the fires. Hayato saw the beast and stared it in its eyes. It was a dragon. Hayato pulled out his bow and aimed. Just before the dragon took off Hayatp managed to release an arrow that went straight into one of the dragon's eyes.
The dragon roared in pain and started spitting fire towards Hayato. He hid himself between the rubbles and escaped the fires. Hayato took aim once again but this time the dragon flapped his wings and deflected the arrow.
*Tsk*
(Hayato) - How should I hit him now?
After a couple more shots Hayato was left with only one arrow. The dragon got pierced a few times in his left wing making it harder for him to fly.
Hayato's last arrow hit the dragon in his throat. Making the dragon bleed.
The dragon ran away leaving Hayato far behind. But behind the dragon, there was a trail of blood. Hayato followed the trail and led him to a cave. The dragon roars were resounding in the cave. There was no light in the cave and Hayato was out of arrows. He grabbed a piece of wood and lit it up as a torch. He put his bow on his back and went inside the cave with the torch in his left hand and a sword in his right hand.
(Hayato) - Where are you?
*Roar*
Flames started bursting out of the dragon's injured throat lighting up the cave. Hayato tried to sneak up to the dragon and hit it with his sword, but the dragon's scales were as hard as steel and the sword bounced giving away his position. The dragon waved his tail pushing Hayato into a wall.
Hayato started spilling blood. His back was also injured.
*Tsk*
*Groan*
(Hayato) - This is bad.
The person behind the voice was observing Hayato's movements. After a couple of seconds, Hayato thought about something. The weak spot of the dragon was his throat since the arrow pierced it quickly. He pulled out his bow put the torch in it and took aim for the dragon's throat. The torch lights up the arrow making it painful for the dragon.
The dragon started to flap his wings and waved his tail in rage. Before the dragon started to spit fire again Hayato hid after a rock and put his sword in the bow ready to aim at the dragon. After the dragon finished spitting fire Hayato jumped from behind the rock and released his bow armed with the sword to the dragon. The sword pierced its neck and the dragon fell to the ground. Hayato rushed, grabbed the sword stuck in the dragon's, and sliced open his throat killing the dragon.
(Voice) - Congratulations.
The dragon disappeared, the cave started crumbling and the area turned into plains. As before a ghostly appearance came before Hayato.
(Voice) - You pass this trial.
*Sigh*
(Hayato) - What was this trial about, if I may ask?
(Voice) - This was the Trial of Courage.
(Hayato) - Courage?
(Voice) - Yes. You were presented with a situation where no one knew about archers yet you still dared to defy the king's orders and went after the beast. After you got your bow back you went straight for the beast with no second thoughts.
(Voice) - And when you were in the cave earlier you had no arrows and improvised using the torch and the sword. Thinking straight and improvising in moments when you are at a disadvantage shows me that you have courage.