Let's Gather Materials for a Bow (2)

"Then, let's get going!"

"Yeah!"

"Kyu!"

It was good to see the three people and one beast in high spirits. There was a reason Iris had decided to join Shio and Ruby besides the fact that they had invited her.

Let's go back a little. While I was busily writing talismans, Ruby and Shio went to explain the situation to Iris, just as I had instructed them. At first, Iris apparently thought no more of it than, 'A quest like that has been triggered?' But after hearing about the craftsman who made bows, she apparently resolved to come along.

According to Iris, a bow could be made with the 【Woodworking】 and 【Crafting】 Skills, but even players with high levels in both had been unable to make high-quality works.

She wanted to speak directly with the craftsman and learn his tricks. Many players had thought the same thing, but the bow craftsman at the weapon shop in the town players had discovered so far was apparently extremely stubborn and refused to take on any apprentices.

They probably needed to trigger some sort of quest, but since no one had discovered it, player-made bows were useless for the time being. This was apparently one reason some production-class players were praying for a new town to be discovered as soon as possible.

So, if she could get in on that opportunity, she wanted to take advantage of it—that was why she had decided to participate. She sure was opportunistic, when all was said and done.

"Then, shall we go? The destination was the forest north of here, right?"

"That's right! The adult Birdian called it the 'Oak Forest.'"

"Orc?"

Iris and Ruby both gave off an atmosphere of mild displeasure upon hearing that. Even I, who knew little about games and the like, had heard of orcs, so I knew what they were imagining. Well, they certainly had a strong image as ugly monsters and women's natural enemies.

"If we find one, we'll take it down right away!"

"Of course!"

"Naturally!"

"Kyu?"

Cal raised a bewildered cry at the sight of the three beginning to burn with hostility toward orcs. Looking at the tentacle-covered rock Iris, the nearly transparent slime Ruby, and the bipedal chick Shio, I somehow managed to swallow the unnecessary remark that orcs probably wouldn't view them as that kind of target. Then I silently pulled Cal close and stroked its head.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

Sure enough, the place we arrived at was the 'Oak Forest.' Its name was even listed on the map.

"It certainly seems to be the Oak Forest."

Yes. To reiterate, this forest was definitely the 'Oak Forest.' It was just that the name came not from the monsters, but from a tree—in other words, the tree called nara in Japanese, or oak in English.

"What a confusing name...!"

"But it is kind of a relief, isn't it?"

"Orcs on a floating continent just wouldn't fit, you know..."

The women seemed relieved, while also feeling let down that it was not what they had expected. Well, given the lack of an age restriction, they shouldn't have had to worry about that sort of thing anyway.

"Still, oak, huh? It was easy to process, wasn't it?"

"Ah, yes. It's used as building material for houses and the like, and also for whiskey and wine barrels."

Wow, Iris is quite knowledgeable. I certainly had heard of things like whiskey aged in oak barrels. I wonder if it has the same properties in the game?

"Putting the tree talk aside, now we don't know what kind of monsters are here."

"Yeah. We were convinced there'd be orcs all over the place."

Exactly. Shio and Ruby had assumed that the monsters here were orcs, so they hadn't asked the Birdian what kind of monsters would appear. Consequently, we had absolutely no idea what would show up.

"Since we're sending a Birdian Chick like Shio, I doubt we'll encounter monsters at terribly high levels... but don't let your guard down. Ruby, keep watch."

"Leave it to me!"

"Your first real battle is exciting in any game, isn't it?"

"It is, Shio-chan!"

While exchanging such carefree small talk, we stepped into the Oak Forest.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Izam! Get back!"

"Whoa! That was close!"

Less than a minute after entering the forest, Ruby warned me. I reflexively followed her order and jumped backward. Then, something came flying at high speed from the side, straight into the spot where I had just been!

"You saved me!"

"Thank me later! Use 【Appraisal】!"

"Yeah, leave it to me!"

I looked in the direction the attack had come from. There stood a single tree whose branches and leaves were swaying despite the absence of wind. So it was a plant monster! Whatever the case, 【Appraisal】!

――――――――――

Race: Evil Tree (Oak) Lv8

Job: None

Skill: 【Launch】

【Defense Enhancement】

【Arboreal Magic】

【Surprise Attack】

【Fire Weakness】

――――――――――

Ah, yeah. It's weak. That's to be expected of a beginner field. It's been a while since I've seen something with so few Skills or an enemy with a single-digit level. Even the area around Birdie Perch had enemies above level 10.

Still, Evil Tree (Oak), huh? The name reminded me of the Evil Fish I fought right after coming to this continent. If I searched, I could probably find other kinds of Evil Tree besides Oak. I don't know whether there are any in this forest, though.

"Another one's coming!"

I had been thinking about something unrelated, but Ruby's voice made me focus on the enemy before me. Just as it shook its body, it sent something flying at me. It was probably the same thing it had shot at me earlier.

"Kyu-aaah!"

"I won't let it!"

Cal spread its wings wide to catch the small object flying toward us at bullet-like speed. Iris also sprang forward with her tentacles and began blocking the enemy's attacks.

I panicked for a moment, but apparently those attacks lacked the power to shatter Cal's scales and wing membranes or Iris's cell walls. All they did was make a pleasant little patter, like raindrops falling on a sheet-metal roof.

"Is this... an acorn?"

I caught the object that had been deflected by Cal's scales and flown toward me, then muttered. I see—launching these acorns with 【Launch】 was its main method of attack.

However, I'm more than happy to have a shootout. Our main objective today is gathering materials, but we're also here to strengthen a newcomer capable of doing so!

"Now's our chance, Shio!"

"Got it!"

The arrow Shio fired struck the Evil Tree. However, it had not dealt much damage. The enemy's HP had only been reduced by an amount within the margin of error.

"Ugh, no good. My weapon doesn't have enough firepower..."

Shio said that and slumped her shoulders. It was probably difficult to deal with a higher-level enemy possessing 【Defense Enhancement】 using only her starter bow and arrows.

"Fire Enchant. Shio, how about this?"

In that case, all I had to do was strengthen her. I cast Fire Enchant on Shio's bow. This should at least give her enough firepower, shouldn't it?

"Thanks! Take this!"

The next arrow Shio fired flew away trailing a red tail before burying itself in the Evil Tree. Well, how about that?

"Giiiiii!"

Oh, this time I can clearly tell it did significant damage! Did it take off ten percent? As I thought, imbuing a bow with an element apparently imbues the arrows fired from it as well. That's an interesting discovery. Though I imagine it's already been posted on the forums.

"Oh! It's working!"

"Yeah. Finish it off like this and earn as much experience as you can."

"Got it!"

In FSW, it's often impossible to know the exact numbers, and experience is no exception. However, there had already been a certain amount of testing on experience distribution when fighting in a party, including the ratios involved. Broadly speaking, it seemed to be determined by the amount of damage dealt to the enemy, the number of times you hit the enemy, the number of times you were hit by the enemy, and whether or not you landed the finishing blow.

More precisely, my use of 【Imbuement】 and Ruby's discovery of the enemy also seemed to affect the ratio, but apparently the four points above had the greatest impact. Therefore, for Shio to earn experience efficiently, it would be best to have her defeat enemies by herself whenever possible.

"This finishes it!"

"Giiiiii..."

The Evil Tree (Oak), now covered in arrows like a porcupine thanks to Shio's shots, stopped moving as if its frantic branch movements had all been a lie.

"All right, we got it."

"Oh! I leveled up!"

"Which means you're level 5 now! 'Overcome the Strong' is useful, so let's get it early."

"...But you aren't supposed to be able to defeat enemies more than five levels above you that easily, are you?"

Apparently Iris's mild objection did not reach the other two. Well then, I suppose I'll be the one to loot it this time. I wonder what will drop?

――――――――――

Evil Tree Fruit Quality: Acceptable Rarity: C (Common)

The fruit produced by an Evil Tree.

The skin is hard, but the inside is edible. It can also be used as an ingredient in medicine.

――――――――――

Ten Evil Tree fruits—in other words, acorns—dropped. Does that mean ten are treated as one set? Or does the quantity vary? A mystery. To investigate, we'd need to defeat another Evil Tree (Oak).

Besides, I don't think this is all that can drop. I feel like the tree itself might drop too. We're going to be here for a while longer, so I might as well look into it.

"Ah, Izam-san. I want to ask you something."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"About that battle just now—you cast Fire Enchant on my bow, right? Do you think you could do that to arrows, too?"

Hmm? Imbue the arrows instead of the bow?

"I think you know I'm from VRS, but we've got quite a few things like that. Elemental bullets, you could call them."

Elemental bullets, huh? I see. If I can imbue arrows with an element and maintain it, then Shio could fight while targeting an enemy's weakness as the situation demanded, even in my absence. That would broaden the range of our tactics as well.

"I see. Then let's try it right away. Hand me an arrow."

"Yes."

"Fire Enchant."

I used 【Imbuement】 on the arrow she held out. The arrow did indeed seem to take on the fire element.

"Oh!"

"It worked."

Ruby and Iris, who had been watching it with interest, exclaimed happily. However, it was still too soon to relax.

"No, we need to test its power in an actual battle. Besides, 【Imbuement】 has a time limit..."

There was no way to maintain this state forever. So even if I mass-produced a large number of elemental arrows now, they would revert to ordinary arrows after a while. That would rather defeat the purpose.

However, if the power was greater than when the bow itself was imbued, that changed things. We would also have to consider finding a way to maintain the imbued state.

"Got it! Ruby-chan, are there any enemies nearby?"

"Wait a moment... There is one. Ahead at two o'clock, same as before!"

Let's see... Oh, there really is one. Its unnaturally swaying branches make it obvious. Does it really think it's hiding?

"Then I'll try this arrow right away!"

Saying that, Shio fired the arrow imbued with the fire element. It flew away glowing far more brightly than when the bow had been imbued.

"Giiiii!?"

Whoa!? The Evil Tree (Oak)'s HP dropped by seventy percent!? Shio apparently has 【Surprise Attack】, but even taking that into account, this is clearly more powerful.

"Gishii!"

"Kyu-kyu!"

"I won't let you!"

The Evil Tree (Oak) fired a barrage of acorns, just like the one we had defeated earlier. While Cal and Iris blocked them, Shio fired her arrows—of course, the ones I had imbued.

"Giiii...!"

Hmm. With an imbued arrow, she can defeat it with one use of 【Surprise Attack】 and two more shots. Its power is dramatically greater than when I imbued the bow.

"We really need to work out how to use this properly..."

I understood that imbuing the arrows was more effective than imbuing the bow. However, even if some arrows could be recovered, they were ultimately consumables. Moreover, under the current circumstances, I had to use 【Imbuement】 each time, and if that was the case, simply casting magic would deal more damage.

Perhaps Shio should learn 【Imbuement】, but training both her bow and magic would take a considerable amount of time. I had to admit that doing both was difficult.

Now, how should I solve this problem...?