Stelios grunted but activated the runes for the sunbow on his body.
Some of the tattoos on Staniel's body lit up and flashed at different frequencies. Then they rose from his yellow skin and came together to form the image of a three-dimensional holographic bow. Divine power from within the tattoos began to manifest. It solidified the hologram until a real bow is created in Staniel's hand.
Helios needs a bow for the bet and he doesn't have a rune yet, so Staniel must lend Helios his own sunbow. It is more powerful and will be difficult to control for the young demigod but it is all good as it will hinder Helios which will hopefully teach him a lesson about the importance of getting his own runes.
He handed the exquisite bow to Helios. Helios moved his hand about to feel the bow. It felt so real in his hands. It had texture, weight, a center of gravity, and elasticity like a real bow except it is an energy construct. The bow is a manifestation of runes that giants tattoo on their bodies. The runes mimic the Creation ability of world gods.
He wielded the bow and pulled its string back. An arrow formed within it as mana was drawn from his body. Since the mana in his body is mainly elements of fire and light, the arrow that is formed is reddish Orange.
Staniel clicked his tongue in reproach. "Is that the best you can do? Your mana conductivity is poor."
Helios ignored him. He didn't bother to put a lot of mana into the bow because it is a test. He can create an arrow that is pure white majorly composed of light elements, but why bother?
He released the first arrow and it hit the target. The small metal placed 200m away from him got knocked over when the arrow hit it.
"Very good, divine son Helios" Cardinal Hak complimented.
Staniel rebuked, "Don't encourage him."
While Helios complained, "Just call me Helios."
He hit the second one at 400m and the third at 600m.
Staniel nodded, "This isn't so bad. You're not as bad as I thought. But this isn't genius."
He decided to downplay Helios' performance. The fact that Helios could pull the bow is already impressive but he isn't going to praise the rebellious demigod.
Helios hit the fourth at 800m and the fifth at 1000m.
Staniel's tune changed, "Wow, maybe you're a genius. This ought to wow them at the exhibition."
Then helios hit the sixth at 1200m and the seventh at 1400m. He stopped shooting here.
He returned the bow to Staniel who was scowling. "Pay up you owe me 28 divine crystals," Helios said to him.
Staniel isn't happy with the way things had turned out. He doesn't care about the divine crystals but the loss of his opportunity to make Helios get a Rune. He doesn't consider Helios a genius. To him, Helios is just lucky to have a strong body, but the performance will reinforce Helios's false evaluation of his talent.
He tried tempting Helios. "Why don't you try the 8th one? I'll give you 10 divine crystals if you succeed."
Helios pretended to consider it. "No, I think I'm done for now."
He didn't give up. "I'll give you 20 divine crystals."
Cardinal Hak tried to dissuade Helios, "I don't think that is a good idea."
Helios hesitated before saying, "Give me 30 and I'll do it."
Stelios hurriedly stuffed the bow into Helios's hand, "Deal. You can't take it back now."
He figured that Helios had reached his limit. One small push is all he needs to make Helios fall from the pedestal that he has placed himself on. Helios is a child, how good could he be at Archery?
Helios strung the bow again and shot at the 8th target 1,600 meters away. His arrow hit true and the target fell.
"Now you owe me 58 divine crystals." He said calmly.
That smug smile on his face makes Stelios almost want to flare up again and maybe blow up his surroundings with a solar flare. But he kept his cool.
"Do the 9th one and I'll give you 50 divine crystals."
He is willing to give up now. He believes all Helios needs is a push in the right direction. Some failure to sober him up.
Helios answered, "I'm done."
Staniel taunted him, "You are not a genius. You're scared of failing."
Helios shook his head and said, "I am more than a genius. It takes a genius to be excellent but it takes wisdom to know the limits to that excellence. I am a genius and I am wise, that's why I am stopping while I am ahead."
Staniel gave up reluctantly. Another set of runes lit up and rose to form a small portal. He put his hands into it and brought out a pouch which he dropped onto Helios' waiting hands. The runes forming the portal dimmed and disappeared. Then they reappeared on his skin.
"That's 100 divine crystals. I must admit, you're not bad. You may be talented, but talent needs hard work if you want to be great."
"Thanks for the advice and the extra."
Helios agrees wholeheartedly that hard work is needed to be great but that's for others. He doesn't need hard work to be great because someone else has done it for him. Now, he just needs to achieve greatness.
The little he just showed is nowhere close to his real capabilities. Something like this doesn't interest him. If not for the divine crystals and his need for them, he wouldn't have bothered.
He has his eyes on greater things. The two most important ones right now are breaking more laws of the universe and terrorizing dragons. That's what he needs training for, not for some stupid exhibition competition because of some archaic rules from a backward race. Too bad that there's no manual on how to break the laws of the universe or he would spend his days reading that.
He started returning to his place. Hak followed behind obediently after bowing to Staniel. Staniel stayed behind and sighed as he watched Helios go. His bow deconstructed and disintegrated into energy streams that flowed onto his body to form the tattoo that made the bow.
A figure of light appeared beside Staniel. The figure chuckled and said, "Maybe he is a genius after all."
Staniel wasn't surprised by the appearance of the figure.
He said to the figure, "He might not be easily riled up like most of us, but he still has pride deep within his bones. I think he will do well during the exhibition competition, father."
Staniel knew that their father was lurking around. This is because the two of them were talking before Helios arrived. The sun god then hid himself from others. Staniel isn't the only that knows that. Helios could sense the sun god as soon as he came here. The only person that was clueless about the presence of the sun god is Cardinal Hak.
Stelios asked, "Will he do well enough for you to bet on him?"
"I'm not sure. It depends on the contest. If it is a contest of strength then I have no doubt he will win. His body is very strong. Too strong for his age. His Archery isn't so bad."
The archery skills that Helios exhibited are evaluated as not bad. Hitting a stationary object is considered "not bad." It is the basics of any weapon training. It doesn't matter the distance, as long as the target isn't moving, then it is "not bad."
Simple eye-to-hand coordination and targeting skills are enough to hit stationary objects. This level of skill is more than enough for a child of the giants of order.
Hitting moving objects is the real deal. It requires techniques and skills beyond the ordinary. To be impressive in archery, you have to be able to hit something moving past the speed of sound and beyond.
By Staniel's estimation, Helios has at least a thousand years to go before he can be impressive and that's if he practices constantly. He doesn't think Helios will get anywhere by sitting around and reading books, wasting his time thinking he can become a runemaster.
Stelios smiled in appreciation, "That's good enough."
"Pardon my curiosity, father. Why are you so concerned about the exhibition competition?"
Stelios answered solemnly, "Two demigods are coming to the event. They will certainly challenge him. I want him to be prepared."
Meanwhile, Helios returned to his room.
He was muttering to himself, "The art of Rune making. The act of making runes. The process of manifesting intent through the law of order."
Rune-making is a very important aspect of the life of giants of order. The history of Rune-making dates back to ancient times when heroic spirits began to exist. It was a time before transcendents. Notable and respected giants of Order were worshipped after their deaths. They might have been family ancestors or excellent generals. These heroic spirits were enshrined for one reason or the other. It was that simple practice that went on to lead to the creation of runes.
