Hearing the question by Carlos, even Haiser stopped to look, waiting for an answer. Judging by the way the man held himself, Haiser could sense a hint of danger. It was deeply concealed, but it was there, like a hidden blade. He was definitely an expert of some kind.
However, despite his seemingly recluse nature, the people of Forest view settlement seemed to welcome him as one of their own. He was also the resident dead shot. Therefore, Haiser was curious of what he would think.
"One gold," Joel said, smiling defiantly at Carlos.
Not to mention Carlos, even Alma was surprised. They had been in the settlement for a few days now, and she understood the value of 1 gold in planet Tres, after all, it was worth 1,000 silver coins. One silver coin could lavishly feed a family for a week.
"Do you even have that much on you?" Carlos asked, his face grimacing. The fool was boasting of money. With everyone looking at him, Joel pulled out one gold coin from his pocket. Some of the children present had never seen a gold coin before, so they clamored to look at it. There was a lot of oohs and ahs, and several other people burst into conversation.
"Twenty silver."
"Two hundred copper!"
"five hundred copper!"
Like a little rock that starts an avalanche, suddenly, everyone was shouting at the top of their voices. All of a sudden, everyone was offering up their coins.
It wasn't that they trusted Haiser that much, but they trusted Joel more. Seeing him place such a massive bet, there was no way they could miss out. As it stood, if Haiser made the shot, Carlos would undergo a big loss, but if he missed, Carlos would walk away a rich man.
Haiser took in a deep breathe. Looking at the orange, even from so far away, he could see it clearly. He studied the environment. The arrow was long and had feathers, which meant that, unlike a bullet, it could be more easily influenced by the wind.
The distance was long, just long enough for the wind to throw the arrow off course. One also had to consider the weight of the arrow, and the drop rate of the arrow.
Fortunately, Haiser had shot from much longer distances. The bow was just powerful enough to thrust the arrow to more than a hundred meters. What's more, he had already shot a few arrows with the bow, so he had a feel of the weapon.
Considering all this, Haiser smiled as he nocked the arrow. Taking a deep breathe, he gradually exhaled as he released the bowstring.
Twang!
The arrow moved super fast, hurtling towards the arrow. Everyone had their breathe held as they looked on. The closer it got, the higher their nerves were.
Squelch!
The arrow tore through the orange, not even stopping. The momentum caused the arow to carry the orange as it flew. Seeing the shot, Haiser smiled brilliantly. He still got it, even after so long.
Behind him, everyone was in an uproar. While many had bet for it, and others wanted it to happen, seeing the shot so beautifully made was such a delight. Everyone was applauding, all save one.
With a black face, Carlos looked on. He was reeling from this loss. He was also eyeing Tim with a not-so-friendly look, plotting his downfall. He had to cough up four gold to Joel. Even he did not have that much on hand.
"Alright, alright, alright, that was some good shooting, I'll give you that," He said, almost as if comforting himself. "That was some fine-ass shooting!" He shouted, earning a few hoorays.
"Now for the next test, the final, and the bow, plus a hundred arrows, are yours." Everyone could see Carlos was placing his all on the line. That bow was one of his most trusted weapons. He was very proud of it. There was no way he would let it go.
"You, stand over there. I will stand from here, and I will be throwing oranges away from you. You will shoot all of them. If you miss even one, the deal is off, and all bets are cancelled. The odds, this time, are one-to-five."
Turning to look at Joel, he smirked brilliantly. Even he wasn't taking any chances this time, but he still had to provoke the man. "What about now, you still making the same bet?" By now, everyone was completely fixated by the drama unfolding before them. The entire settlement had come out, and those that weren't present were just too far away to get the memo.
By challenging him so boldly, Carlos was putting Joel on the spotlight. Everyone waited to see what Joel would do.
As he usually did, Joel did not rush to make a decision. He turned and looked at Haiser, studying him. He wanted to get a read on the man's features, and specifically, his confidence.
Everyone around him also did the same, looking between the two. Haiser stood tall as ever, confidence oozing off his gait. He also returned Joel's gaze. For a moment, the two locked eyesight, and then they both smiled.
Turning around, Joel faced Carlos and pulled out another gold coin. The glow was almost glaring, but it represented much more. Carlos smiled all the more, looking as though his prey had just taken the bait. He had noticed the bromance between the two, but so what. He was going to make sure the fool bit the dust, even if he had to cheat.
While Carlos was busy plotting, he did not see Haiser looking at him. While he could conceal his emotions, his ulterior motive was as plain as day in Haiser's eyes. He now knew, he was in for a rough ride.