Chapter 28 : 10th position
The competition had begun, and the charioteers of all the princes and princesses started taking hold of their horses' reins.
This was my first experience as a charioteer, and I had absolutely no idea how to drive a chariot.
However, in my previous life I had seen chariots being driven many times on television, so I tried to imitate what I had seen.
I picked up the whip-like reins attached to the four horses and held two reins in each hand.
Then I moved them up and down, striking the horses, which made all four of them lift their front legs and neigh loudly.
"Hi hi hi!"
After that, all four horses started running forward, and the chariot began to move ahead as well.
I began to feel the soothing breeze, and an unusual sense of peace washed over me.
I noticed that six or seven chariots couldn't move from their positions at all. No matter how hard their charioteers tried, the horses simply wouldn't obey them.
The princes and princesses seated on those chariots were extremely angry because of this and were forcing the charioteers they had chosen to make the chariots move as quickly as possible.
Some of those princes were even beating their own charioteers with whips. The charioteers endured it silently; for them, this was nothing unusual.
They knew that if they resisted, they would be beaten even more. Even before coming here for the reward, they were aware that if they failed to drive the chariot properly, they might have to suffer beatings from cruel princes.
Only the winners would usually receive rewards, so such people normally wouldn't come here, but the conditions here were different. Even after losing, a generous reward would be given.
That was why they endured everything silently. Getting beaten for the sake of a reward was more beneficial for them.
The pain from a beating would last only for a few days and would slowly heal, but hunger never truly goes away. It reminds you every single day that you need food.
That was why being beaten didn't matter much to them. With the reward, their hunger could be eased for many years.
I didn't look at them and turned my gaze back to the front.
More than thirty chariots were racing ahead of me, all of whom I had to overtake, but I had no desire to win at all.
Even if I wanted to, how could a complete novice like me defeat such experienced charioteers? It would be a different matter only if I used my physic power.
Just then, Princess Urvi asked me, "Karna, how are you driving the chariot so well? Do you belong to a charioteer family?"
I felt a surge of anger, because once again someone had questioned me about my caste.
"Princess Urvi, I respect you because you are a princess, but please do not associate me with so-called lower castes in this way."
It was the first time anyone had spoken to her like that. Everyone always respected her as a princess and spoke to her with humility, but today she had met someone who spoke differently from others.
However, she felt my reply was wrong, so she said, "Karna, you are mistaken. There is no such thing as a lower caste. Everyone deserves respect."
"Oh, so you do not believe in caste discrimination, but see everyone as equal. People like you are very rare," I said, moving the whip up and down as I spoke.
"Very few everyone is not like me, who respects every caste," Princess Urvi said firmly.
Looking at her, I finally understood why Princess Urvi respected all castes.
She did not yet know what the world and society were truly like; she was seeing society through her own perspective.
"Princess Urvi, perhaps you are a little too innocent, or perhaps no one has let you understand how cruel society can be," I said with a smile.
"Hm, how dare you call me innocent? I am far more intelligent. Tell me, what is it that I still do not know?"
Princess Urvi said with slight annoyance. There was no threat in her voice, only the curiosity of a child.
"Forgive me, but I cannot tell you about this," I refused plainly.
"Why can't you tell me? As a princess, I order you to speak," Princess Urvi said, trying to use her authority.
But I was not afraid at all and replied, "Do whatever you wish. Until I am in the mood, I will not tell you. You may ask someone else."
Seeing my carefree attitude, Princess Urvi could not say anything more.
In anger, she turned away, yet her curiosity about me only grew stronger because I had dared to speak to a princess in such a manner.
"What is it that gives him such confidence?"
she wondered,
"Hmm… I will uncover your secret" Princess Urvi resolved.
Princess Poonruivi, who had not spoken until now, was staring at me intently, as she too was surprised by my attitude.
If it had been a prince, a Brahmin, or a sage, no one would have doubted such behavior. But in her eyes, I was a ordinary person, and such conduct did not seem fitting for me.
So she broke her silence and asked for the first time, "Karn, what is your caste?"
"Princess Poonruivi, you have spoken for the first time after so long, and that too to ask such a question. My answer is that I have no caste. I am an orphan, someone with no family," I replied.
I spoke with a mix of truth and lies. Getting angry over such questions did not suit me,
and I knew that in the future many more people would ask me the same thing.
I could not get angry at everyone, so this time I chose not to show any anger.
"Please forgive me for asking you that."
For the first time, Princess Poonruivi set aside her proud expression and apologized to someone. She herself knew that what she had asked was wrong.
"It's alright, I didn't feel bad at all. And the fact that a proud princess like you can apologize to someone is what truly surprises me," I said.
Hearing my blunt remark about her, she was left stunned.
"Karn, can't you show me even a little respect? I am a princess," she said, showing a hint of anger.
"Hahaha! So finally someone else has to endure feelings like mine. When I was the only one, it felt painful, but now that you're experiencing it too, I actually feel better," Princess Urvi laughed as she teased Princess Poonruivi.
"You!" Princess Poonruivi glared angrily at Urvi.
"Both of you, please stop arguing. If you want to win this competition, I have an idea," I said to them.
"What is it?"
Both of them became curious at my words and started showing interest in my idea.
"There must be some weapons in the chariot. Find them. Do this first—after that, I'll explain the next part," I said.
Hearing this, both of them quickly searched every corner of the chariot.
After opening things for a while, they found a drawer. Inside it were many kinds of weapons spears, shields, maces, axes, arrows, and several other weapons.
"We've found them. What do we do next?" both of them asked.
"Now, one of you pick up a bow and shoot an arrow at the wheels of the other chariots," I replied.
"What kind of idea is this? Don't you know our age? We haven't even gone to a gurukul yet, where such things are taught,"
Poonruivi and Urvi said together, looking at me with suspicious eyes.
"So what if you haven't gone to a gurukul? Can't you even use a weapon normally? Pick up the bow, draw the arrow, and shoot it toward the enemy. See how easy it is to use a bow."
I shrugged my shoulders. Seeing me talk about it so casually, Princess Poonruivi said,
"Saying it is easy is one thing, but doing it is difficult. It requires accurate aim, sharp eyes, precise focus on the target, and many other skills like that."
"Don't worry, one of you just fire the shot, it will definitely hit the target. I give you a 100 percent guarantee. If it doesn't, you can even change my name," I said confidently.
"Alright, I trust you. Though I don't know what makes you speak with such confidence, I'm ready to give it a try," Princess Urvi said.
She picked up the bow and slung the quiver of arrows across her back.
She drew an arrow, nocked it onto the bow, and released it toward another chariot.
Hiss!
The arrow sliced through the air and sped toward the other chariot.
The prince sitting in that chariot panicked when he saw an arrow coming toward him and ordered his charioteer to move forward quickly.
But when he realized that although the arrow was coming in his direction, it would strike a place that wouldn't cause him any harm, he told his charioteer to return to normal speed.
"You were going to do something, right, Karn? Do something. If you can't do anything, then we'll believe that you were just bragging."
Princess Urvi looked at me. I didn't answer her question; instead, I smiled.
I blinked, and my eyes changed from black to blue. Princess Urvi and Princess Poonruivi stared at me in shock at this sudden change.
"What? Your eyes turned blue?"
They couldn't believe what they were seeing with their own eyes.
They had never met anyone whose eyes could be blue, which is why they were so astonished.
[Telekinesis]
I activated my skill and took control of the arrow flying through the air, making it move wherever I wished.
The arrow that was in flight suddenly stopped midair. It changed its direction and shot straight toward that prince's chariot wheel at twice its original speed.
The prince, who was completely carefree, had no idea that his bad luck was rushing toward him.
Suddenly, the arrow struck, hit the chariot's wheel, and pierced deep into the ground.
"How is this possible? This must be a dream."
The prince was in disbelief; he was not ready to accept this as reality.
Because of the arrow's impact, the chariot suddenly came to a halt and began to overturn.
The prince, his charioteer, and the horses were all thrown down together as the chariot crashed onto the ground.
Seeing this, both of them were once again left astonished. A single question echoed in their minds, "how did Karn do this?"
"Karn, how did you do that? How did you change the direction of an arrow?"
Princess Poonruivi asked. Princess Urvi also wanted to ask the same question and looked at me, demanding an answer.
"This is my secret. I am not going to tell you," I refused.
"Don't be so arrogant, Karn. We asked you answering our question should be a matter of pride for you," Princess Urvi said.
But she already knew that I was not going to give any answer. In fact, she had just found her first goal in life to uncover all of my secrets.
As time passed like this, with my help Princess Urvi brought down nine more chariots, and together we had defeated a total of ten chariots.
We were now in the 10th position, and only thirty chariots remained in the arena. Nakul and Arjun's chariot was in the 5th position, while Duryodhana's chariot was in the 7th position.
To be continued...