Time had passed in a blur. Most of it was spent with Leo, which was starting to disturb me.Why was I spending so much time with him? Fortunately, as a responsible kid with an adult’s mind, I was able to make the best of every situation, which is exactly how I ended up in my current predicament."Are you ready, Cid?" Leo asked. He was a ball of restless energy, as usual, stretching his limbs with a wide grin."I’m ready. But just to be sure... if I win, you give me every single penny you have, right?""Yeah, if you win," Leo mocked.That son of a bitch was really enjoying himself. It annoyed me, but I kept my cool. We were standing outside a small animal farm owned by an old man Leo somehow knew.We were supposedly here to pick targets, but really, this was just Leo’s usual training.He had invited me to join, or more likely, he wanted to show off. Either way, the prospect of beating him and taking his money sounded like a win-win. He’d even given me permission to use magic.I stretched my small limbs and moved toward the "competition ground," which was really just a muddy pen filled with goats, cows, sheep, and chickens."So, what’s the contest?" I asked.Instead of answering, Leo marched over to one of the cages and unlatched it. With a series of frantic pak-pak-paks, he lunged inside and hoisted a chicken above his head like a trophy."This," he announced, "is our target."I stared at him, deadpan. "What do you mean, 'this is our target'?""For someone so smart, you’re kind of slow, aren't you, Cid?"I gritted my teeth. This was the hundredth time he’d made fun of my supposedly low EQ.He led me to a more open patch of grass. "It’s simple," Leo said. Then, he tossed the chicken high into the air. "We have to catch it. Whoever catches it fastest wins."I stood there, dumbfounded. I ignored Leo and looked at the chicken. For some reason, the bird was... (...)