We followed Ruby and Shio’s directions to make our way to the renowned bow craftsman’s workshop. Despite the fact that many of us couldn’t fly, it was surprisingly easy to head there. The reason for this was that Birdy Perch had staircases and ladders scattered throughout, which was unexpected.
Thinking about it, it made perfect sense. Without staircases and ladders, young Birdian Chicks who couldn’t fly would struggle to get by. Moreover, I heard from nearby Birdian residents that there were even some of the Birdians who were not great at flying. So, having means of ascent and descent was essential.
In fact, the elderly Birdian with flamboyant colors, who had a striking resemblance to Jigoro in demeanor, didn’t even possess the skill of [Flight]. Instead, he had [Skywalk], making him somewhat of an expert in aerial combat.
“It should be around here~~ssu.”
“…Are you sure?”
Shio pointed to a house located in a residential area away from the shopping district. Since there were no signs or anything, it just looked like an ordinary house to me. Did we perhaps take the wrong path?
“I merely followed the map to this place~~ssu, so I can’t really say for sure~~ssu.”
“Is it a hidden location… perhaps?” Iris said.
Even Shio, who was supposed to be our guide, seemed perplexed. I hoped Iris’s prediction would turn out to be correct…
“Excuse me!”
“Kyu!”
Oh no! Ruby unhesitatingly swung the door open! Well, there was no turning back now. I steeled myself and stepped inside the store (?).
Behind the door was not a residential entrance but undoubtedly the layout of a shop. Moreover, it seemed to specialize in bows and arrows, with various shapes and sizes of bows, along with an assortment of arrows, crowded together. It appeared we hadn’t taken the wrong path, and Iris’s prediction had proven correct.
“…Welcome. I’m listening.”
Emerging from the depths of the shop was a rather small Birdian, standing only up to my chest, not much taller than Shio.
However, his unfriendly demeanor and sharp gaze gave off an air of unapproachability. It was the image of a “stubborn craftsman”, so to speak.
“…Show me your materials.”
“Y-yes~~ssu!”
Upon the shopkeeper’s request, Shio hurriedly started retrieving items from her inventory. Warp threads from the Big Poison Spider, feathers and hides from the Feathered Deer… Wait a minute! She didn’t need to give him acorns from those Evil Trees, or the weft threads from the Big Poison Spiders as well! How flustered can she be?
“…Alright, is it okay if I use all of this?”
“Yes! Please use them~~ssu!”
Hmm? Instead of getting scolded, there seemed to be a hint of satisfaction in his tone. Could it be that the items we considered unnecessary were actually required for making the bow?
“…Then, let’s get to work. The finished product will be ready tomorrow, so go on and leave now.”
There was no way it would be finished immediately, and waiting didn’t bother us at all…. But telling customers to “go on and leave” like that was more than just being unfriendly from this shopkeeper.
“Wait, please!” Iris said.
“…What is it?”
“Could I perhaps observe the bow-making process?”
Oh, was Iris really going to say that to this person who is radiating such an unapproachable aura Surprisingly, she was quite bold…
“…What’s the point of watching?”
“For now, I want to learn how to maintain and repair Shio’s bow. Eventually, I want to be able to craft my own from scratch. Please, help me with that!”
With a determined tone, Iris lowered all her tentacles to the ground as if bowing. Now, would this be enough to get permission?
“…Follow me.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Perhaps Iris’s determination had gotten through, as the shopkeeper led her into the workshop. That left the rest of us behind…
“W-well then, shall we call it a day here? I’m planning to log out and take a break once I’m back home. What about you two?” I asked.
“What do you want to do, Shi-chan?” Ruby asked.
“Well~~ssu… I’d like to level up a bit more~~ssu!”
“I see. In that case, let’s enchant your remaining arrows. Make good use of them.”
“Ooh! Thanks a lot~~ssu!”
I proceeded to imbue Shio’s arrows with attributes using [Enchantment]. There were only about twenty left, but I decided to enchant all of them. After completing that task, I logged out for a break.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
It was Sunday night, and I was looking forward to the long weekend ahead, spanning tomorrow and the day after. It was what they call the “Golden Week”, a week full of holidays. What’s more, adding the following weekend, it would be a five-day break!
…Which meant that working overtime was pretty much confirmed for tomorrow and the day after. I wouldn’t even have time to log in. Ugh, I really don’t want to go to work.
“Kyu… Kyu…”
Fufufu, Karl was fast asleep. Even now, he was making adorable snores. I heard he didn’t like to leave my side while I was logged out. What a cute little creature.
“Oh, Isam, you’re back!” Jigoro said.
“We’ve been waiting for you,” Genjuro added.
Anyway, as I stepped into the living room, I was greeted by Jigoro and Genjuro. There was only one reason these two were waiting for me.
“The talismans ran out, didn’t they?”
“You caught on quickly!”
Hahaha, the only reason you guys would go out of your way to wait for me with such reluctance is that, right? I know it!
“Well, then, wait a bit. I’ll write some right now.”
“Got it. In the meantime, let’s have a mock battle to kill some time, old man.” Jigoro said.
“Sounds good. Let’s have a go at it.”
Is a mock battle their idea of killing time…? These two are always so eager to fight. I must admit their combat skills do come in handy, but still…
“Aaah, Isam, if only we had one more person, we could invite you two to the mock battle,” Jigoro remarked.
“I’d politely decline that offer!” I replied.
They really need to stop inviting me to mock battles every time something like this comes up. I might not make it out alive, both physically and mentally!
“…So, how many do you need each?”
“Hmm, how about a hundred each for now?”
“Sounds good. Then, wait a little while longer.”
I returned to my room and sat at my desk. First, I took out two pieces of paper and created talismans for the Fire Lance and Water Lance spells, one on each paper. It’s essential not to adjust the spells during this process.
My proficiency in [Talismanry] had been growing, and I was getting used to crafting these talismans, so I completed this step in about a minute. I was starting to feel like a full-fledged talismanist.
“Next… is this.”
The next thing I took out was a total of two hundred sheets of paper, exactly the number they had requested. When asked how I would use them, this would be my answer.
“Duplicate!”
Ugh… it took quite a bit of magic power, but it worked in the end.
I used the [Alchemy] duplication spell. If you needed mass production, this was the easiest and quickest way to go about it. Plus, when you duplicate a spell, its quality decreases. However, since we were using it to overcome element weaknesses, that was actually quite convenient. The power automatically decreased, which was exactly what the two of them needed.
The consumption of magic power was intense due to duplicating such a large quantity at once, but I managed to secure a sufficient amount of talismans in a short time. I planned to use these for training as well as enjoyment for a while.
“Hey, I’m done… Wait, have they already gone outside? Those guys are something else…”
It had only been about three minutes since I entered my room. Or maybe I was too fast? They probably thought I was painstakingly handcrafting all two hundred talismans, as they were unaware of my current method.
“…Kyuu? Kyu!”
“Mmm, did I wake you up?”
It seemed the noise I made had stirred Karl from his slumber. As he confirmed my presence, he leaped onto my chest. Oh, there there. Yeah, that’s comforting!
“Now, let’s try something new next. Do you think it’ll go well?”
“Kyuu!”
Karl responded energetically as if to say, “Of course!” But, truth be told, I doubted whether Karl truly grasped the meaning of what I was saying. He was probably just following along, simply complying. Yet, for some reason, I felt a surge of motivation. Could it be that I had gone mad?
“First, let’s start with crafting and duplicating the talismans.”
I took out a fresh piece of paper and began sketching characters and geometric patterns on it. The effect of this talisman would be different from the direct attack spells I had created before.
“Alright, the Fire Element Enchantment talisman is complete. Let’s duplicate this…”
I used duplication to create four Fire Element Enchantment talismans. Due to the duplication process, their quality plummeted to the lowest possible level, which was “scrap”. It was unavoidable, given the nature of the [Talismanry] skill. Besides, this was just the first step in my preparations.
Next, I brought out four different types of items: Feathers, threads, arrowheads, and a single arrow composed of these components. All of them were items readily available in the forest, but they were crafted by Iris herself, so their quality was “excellent”. As expected of Iris.
“Now, when I fuse these with the talismans using [Alchemy]… There we go. Now, let’s see the results.”
The [Appraisal] results for each of the four items fused with the talismans were as follows:
――――――――――
- Fire-Element Feather – Quality: Fair, Rarity: C (Common)
A feather imbued with the fire element. It ignites upon contact.
- Fire-Element Tread – Quality: Fair, Rarity: C (Common)
A thread imbued with the fire element. It ignites upon contact.
- Fire-Element Arrowhead – Quality: Fair, Rarity: C (Common)
An arrowhead imbued with the fire element. It imparts the fire element to whatever it strikes.
- Fire-Element Arrow: Quality – Quality: Fair, Rarity: C (Common)
An arrow imbued with the fire element. It inflicts both physical and fire damage upon impact.
――――――――――
Oh, interesting! Some intriguing experimental results have surfaced. First, let’s talk about the quality; it’s landed right in between ‘excellent’ and ‘scrap’ marked as ‘fair’. While further testing is needed, I doubt this is just a stroke of luck. It makes sense that if you want to create something good through fusion, you’d need to start with good ingredients.
Now, onto the fusion results. It’s clear that it’s better to fuse them after completing them as arrows than in their disassembled state. Feather and thread are out of the question; they can’t be modified, and even if they could, the user would likely end up burning themselves.
However, what piqued my interest was the arrowhead. It was written in the description that “it inflicts both physical and fire damage upon impact”. This also meant it might convey the effect of the fused talisman to the target it hits. Is that really the case? Let’s try it out.
I took out one fire lance and one water lance talisman that I had made for Jigoro and Genjuro each, and then I proceeded to fuse them with two arrowheads. Now, will it work?
――――――――――
- Fire Lance Arrowhead: Quality – Quality: Fair, Rarity: C (Common)
An arrowhead containing the Fire Lance effect. Activates Fire Lance upon impact.
After activation, the arrowhead dissipates.
- Water Lance Arrowhead: Quality – Quality: Fair, Rarity: C (Common)
An arrowhead containing the Water Lance effect. Activates Water Lance upon impact.
After activation, the arrowhead dissipates.
――――――――――
Bingo! This seemed like a promising approach. By fusing the arrowhead with an instant death spell talisman, it might create arrows with a slim chance of instant death but a deadly effect—an instant death arrow.
However, the drawback was that the arrow became completely disposable. While regular arrows could be retrieved as objects if they remained intact, at least the arrowhead would break upon impact, rendering it unusable as an arrow. Perhaps carrying them in large quantities was an option, but it seemed more prudent to treat them as a trump card.
There was also the matter of Shiho’s personal preference as the user. Did she prefer simple arrows with just added attributes, or was she inclined towards disposable arrows infused with spells? Or perhaps she wanted to use both regular and enhanced arrows selectively. The decision to mass-produce them would hinge on her preference.
Nevertheless, my proficiency in [Talismanry] was still quite low. It was high time to ramp it up!
Gongongongongon!
Just as I was gathering my thoughts, there came a knock at the door. But this wasn’t your ordinary knock—it was way too loud as if someone was exerting too much force.
“Don’t knock so hard… Come on in.”
“I’m intruding.”
As expected, it was Jigoro who had come to visit. His purpose… well, I didn’t need to ask.
“Here, a hundred each… Oh, wait, did I use some of them just now? Hold on, I’ll write some new ones…”
“No, this is not about overcoming our weakness.”
Oh? Weren’t the two of them pretty excited about that though?
“Repeating the same thing over and over is tough… I want a change of pace, so I’m looking for a strong opponent.”
“A change of pace…”
I see, for these guys, battling is a refreshing way to unwind.
“So, about that human… Margaret, was it? She mentioned a field boss that was down south from the ‘Ancient Spring’. Shall we go there? Just us guys.”
“Hmm…”
Jigoro’s suggestion wasn’t bad. Every now and then, it’s nice to have some male bonding without the ladies.
“Sounds good. Let’s do it.”
“As expected of you, brother! The old man is waiting down below, so let’s hurry!”
“Kyuu!”
And so, it was decided that Jigoro, Genjuro, and I, along with my familiar Karl, would head south as an all-male party.
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