'Holy shit! It is rigged! I wouldn't have known if I didn't have these elven eyes! Dalia's gonna throw a tantrum if she gets scammed like this! But I didn't sense any mana coming from the goat or the ring... What are they using to prevent the ring from landing on the horn?'
"Damn it! I almost had it!" Dalia cursed as she picked up her second ring.
"Oh, that was a close one. Maybe the Goddess blinked before it landed? Hopefully, she will help you with the next go," the vendor said, trying to act as if she were sympathetic.
Dalia let out a fierce growl, her tail lashing angrily as the crowd instinctively took a step back. Rya looked at Dalia, who was laser-focused on the horn, her determination clear as day. She was hell-bent on getting one of those elusive rings on the Hex Horn.
"H-Hey, Dalia?... I think you are getting a little carried away with this. I-It's only a game," Percy tried to calm her down, but it was useless.
"SHHH!" Dalia cut him off and then waved him off, not wanting to be disturbed when she launched the second ring.
Everyone went quiet as the ring left Dalia's fingers, sailing through the air with a precision that could only be described as beautiful.
Rya was sure that it would land, but once again, the ring bounced off the Hex Horn Goat's horn by an invisible force that wasn't noticeable by the naked eye unless it was Rya's eye.
"W-What!?! I swear that one was going to land on the horn! It bounced right off it!" Dalia exclaimed in confusion.
"Oh, dear. You almost had it. If only the Goddess had blessed you a little more. It looks like you will need to work a little harder to achieve your goals," the vendor said.
"I'm going to destroy this damn goat," Dalia growled as she grabbed her third ring, but she was stopped by Rya before she could.
"Dalia?... There's something up with this game... It's not a lack of skill. Something is interfering with your throw. I'm not sure what it is, but they must be playing a trick on us," Rya whispered sternly.
"Pff! No trick can defeat a Wolfkin! This is only a test to show my people's determination!" Dalia whispered back with confidence.
'God, dammit, Dalia! She's too gullible... Hold on... Let's see if we can expose what's going on. I just need to slow Dalia down first.'
Rya looked at the brass ring in Dalia's hand and came up with an idea.
"Hey, Dalia... Can I see those rings first? I wanna see if there's any mana infused in them?" Rya asked, holding out her palm.
"Huh?... Mana infused? But how can it be infused in a piece of brass?... Gah! Fine... But if you can't find anything, then it was my fault for failing to believe in myself!"
"Just give me the ring, and let me check it out, alright?"
Dalia huffed as she handed the ring over to Rya.
Rya examined the ring in her palm. There was no trace of mana or magic, but her eyes noticed something else.
'Huh? It's faint, but something is going on here.'
Rya grabbed a second ring, and when she brought it closer to the other one, she noticed that the fields were pulling each other closer.
'Oh?... What is going on here?'
Rya grabbed a third ring and placed it with the other two, and she could see the brass rings being pulled together slightly.
'Holy crap! Are they magnetized?... Y-Yeah! They are magnetized! So I can see the magnetic fields because I'm a mage?... That's crazy, but it's good to know I can see such things... Hmm? Maybe I can get rid of the fields from them if I channel my mana through them," Rya thought as she manipulated her mana, causing the rings to vibrate a little as she demagnetized them, which caught Dalia's attention.
"What are you doing, Alpha? Are there enchantments on them?" Dalia asked.
"N-Not an enchantment per se, but maybe it was my Imagination," Rya answered with a half-lie while ridding all of the brass rings of their magnetic fields. The vendor gazed at Rya with a mixture of surprise and curiosity evident on her face. Rya responded with a warm smile before returning the rings to Dalia.
"Here, Dalia, give it a try now," Rya said as she placed the four rings back into Dalia's hands.
The Wolfkin gave Rya a bewildered look as if she had lost her mind. There was a point where Dalia worried that her Alpha would toss the ring toward the horn, claiming victory over her, but instead, she just looked at the rings and returned them. Dalia couldn't fathom what her alpha was up to, but she happily accepted the rings back.
"Okay? What happened?" Dalia asked.
"Oh, nothing really. I just wanted to look closer at them before you tossed the next ring." Rya answered with a smile.
"Really? Nothing?... I guess there was nothing wrong with them in the first place," Dalia said, turning back to the goat.
"Yeah, it's nothing... Just a figment of my imagination, Dalia."
"Alright! Time to prove to this stupid goat that a Wolfkin doesn't give up!"
With determination in her eyes, Dalia readied herself for another try. Before she could make her next move, she stole a final glance at the gleaming rings. It was at that moment that Percy decided to speak up.
"Don't worry, Dalia... Just imagine you're throwing the brass ring into the heart of a Dragon's head! I believe you can do it. Just focus on your target, and everything else will fall into place," Percy whispered; he was trying to be as encouraging as possible, but the Dragon analogy didn't sit well with the Dark Elf, mainly because it didn't make any sense.
"Shh! I'm trying to concentrate!" Dalia whispered harshly, her ears flicking in irritation.
Percy's face dropped, and he backed off as he mumbled, "S-Sorry..."
"Hey!... I know it didn't make sense, but don't be mean to him... Or do you want another female marking him for her own?..." Rya whispered, causing Dalia's tail to stop and her to pout.
"F-Fine, Little Wolf. I-I'm Sorry... Just keep quiet until I'm finished, alright?"
"Sure thing! Anything for you, Dalia?" Percy replied with a warm smile, which made Dalia's cheeks heat up as she tried to focus on the task at hand.
'That was so cute... I can't believe I'm saying this, but they are adorable together... GAH! Get it together, Ryan! Stop acting like a girl!' Rya thought.
Dalia stared at the Hex Horn Goat, her eyes narrowed, and her brows furrowed as her tail stiffened, her whole body becoming motionless as she waited for the right time to strike. It was when the goat locked eyes with Dalia and her pupils constricted.
"You're mine," Dalia said, as her ears twitched before throwing the ring.
"HAAAHHH!"
The third brass ring moved through the air with purpose, and when it closed in on the goat, everyone watched with anticipation.
As the ring got closer, the Hex Horn Goat started moving backward as if it had realized the danger of the situation, but it was too late.
*CLINK!*
The ring hit the horn, and a loud sound was heard as the brass ring slid down and wrapped around it, hanging securely.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as Dalia raised her arms and joined the others, while the vendor and the goat were stunned.
"Im-Impossilbe..." The vendor muttered under her breath.
Dalia was stunned that she had actually managed to land the ring. "I did it!?!... Um... I-I mean, obviously, I did it!" she exclaimed, brushing off her stunned expression and triumphantly striking a pose as her tail wagged in wild celebration.
Percy couldn't believe his girlfriend won the contest, and he was just as excited.
"Yes! You did it! Good job, Dalia!"
"Thank you, Little Wolf! But I'm not done yet," Dalia said as she lined up another shot at the Hex Horned Goat.
Quinus moved up closer to Rya's ear and whispered, "What did you do to the rings?"
"Well, I'm not sure you would know this, but I believe the rings are being magnetically manipulated. It's hard to see from here, but all the horns have something metal inside them, and that's how they manipulate the rings. They probably use a type of enchantment, but I don't know for sure," Rya explained in a hushed tone.
"Magnets, huh... That's sneaky of them. Nice catch, Rya," Quin said with a slight chuckle.
'Quin knows about magnets? I thought there was a lack of scientific knowledge on Tertius. Or is he just making a joke?' Rya pondered with a perplexed expression while gazing at Quinus.