Chapter 81
We followed Ruby and Shio's directions to the bow craftsman's shop. Although most of us couldn't fly, there was a reason I could say we simply went there: Birdy Perch surprisingly had stairs and ladders installed here and there.
Thinking about it, that was only natural. If there were no stairs or ladders, the Birdian Chicks who couldn't fly would have trouble living here. Besides, a nearby Birdian told us that some Birdians were poor at flying, too, making some means of going up and down essential.
In fact, the flamboyantly colored elder who had a similar air to Jigoro apparently didn't even possess the 【Flight】 Skill. Instead, the elder had 【Skywalk】, apparently making them a foremost expert in aerial combat.
"This should be the place."
"...Are you sure?"
The building Shio pointed to was a detached house in a residential district away from the shopping district. There wasn't even a sign, so it looked like nothing more than a house to me. Had we taken a wrong turn?
"I only came here by the map, so I can't really say."
"Could it be a shop known only to those in the know?"
Even Shio, who was supposed to have guided us here, seemed rather confused. I hoped Iris's prediction was correct...
"Excuse me!"
"Kyu!"
Ah! Ruby had opened the door without the slightest hesitation!? Well, there was nothing for us to do now but follow! I steeled myself and stepped inside the shop—or whatever it was.
Beyond the door was not the entrance to a private home, but unmistakably a shop. Perhaps it specialized in bows and arrows, because bows of all shapes and sizes, along with various kinds of arrows, were packed into every available space. We hadn't taken a wrong turn after all, and Iris's prediction had been correct.
"...Welcome. I've heard about you."
The shopkeeper who emerged from the back of the shop was a very small Birdian. The shopkeeper only came up to my chest and was about the same height as Shio.
However, that unfriendly attitude and sharp gaze gave the shopkeeper an unapproachable air. How should I put it? The shopkeeper fit the image of a 'stubborn craftsman.'
"...Bring out the materials."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
At the shopkeeper's command, Shio hurriedly began taking items out of her inventory. Big Poison Spider warp thread, Feather Deer hide and antlers... Hey, wait! We didn't need the acorns, Evil Tree log, or Big Poison Spider weft thread! Just how flustered was she!?
"...Good. That will do. You're letting me use all of this, correct?"
"Yes! Please use it all!"
Huh? Instead of being scolded, the shopkeeper even looked somewhat satisfied. Could it be that the items we had decided weren't necessary were actually needed?
"...Then I'll begin working. It will be finished tomorrow, so go home already."
Of course it wouldn't be finished immediately, and I had no problem waiting. I didn't, but telling a customer to 'go home already'... This shopkeeper wasn't merely unfriendly. The shopkeeper was on another level.
"Wait!"
"...What?"
"Would you please let me watch you make the bow?"
S-She was actually saying that to someone who radiated such an unapproachable atmosphere!? Iris was surprisingly bold...
"...What will you do by watching?"
"For now, I want to learn how to maintain and repair Shio's bow. Eventually, I want to be able to make one myself from scratch. That's why I'm asking you!"
Iris spoke with such determination that she lowered all her tentacles to the floor as though they were her head. Now, would that be enough to earn permission?
".........Follow me."
"Yes! Thank you!"
Perhaps Iris's enthusiasm had gotten through to the shopkeeper, because the shopkeeper took her into the workshop. That left the rest of us behind, though...
"Th-Then I suppose we'll disband here. I think I'll return home, log out, and take a break. What will you two do?"
"What do you want to do, Shii-chan?"
"Let's see... Then I want to level up a little more!"
"I see. In that case, I'll imbue the arrows you have left with attributes. Make good use of them."
"Oh! Thanks!"
I used 【Imbuement】 to apply attributes to Shio's arrows. There were only about twenty left, but I decided to imbue them all for now. Once I finished, I logged out to take a break.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
It was Sunday night. A long holiday awaited me once tomorrow and the day after tomorrow were over. The so-called Golden Week! And with the following weekend added on, it would be a five-day holiday!
...Which meant overtime was guaranteed tomorrow and the day after. I probably wouldn't even be able to log in. Ugh, I don't want to go to work.
"Kyu... Kyu..."
Heheh, Cal was sleeping soundly. He was still making adorable little sleeping noises. Apparently, while I was logged out, he refused to leave my side. What was this adorable creature?
"Oh, you're back, Izam!"
"We have been waiting for you."
In any case, Jigoro and Genjuro were there to greet me when I came out into the living room of my house. I could think of only one reason these two would wait for me.
"You ran out of talismans, didn't you?"
"How did you know!?"
Hahaha. What other reason could you two have for taking the passive step of waiting around for me? I knew it!
"Then wait a little. I'll write them now."
"All right. Then let's have a mock battle to kill time, old man."
"Very well. Shall I give you a proper workout?"
Their way of killing time was a mock battle...? These two were always fighting. Their combat strength helped me out every time, though.
"Aw, man. If there were another Izam, I'd invite him to a mock battle, too."
"I must respectfully decline with all my might!"
Stop inviting me to mock battles whenever there's an opportunity. Forget winning or losing—I would die! Both physically and mentally!
"...So, how many sheets does each of you need?"
"Hmm... I guess a hundred each should do for now."
"I see. Then wait just a little longer."
I returned to my room and sat down at my desk. First, I took out two sheets of paper and made talismans for Fire Lance and Water Lance. The important point was not to adjust the spells.
My 【Talisman Arts】 had been improving, and I was beginning to get used to making talismans, so I finished this much in about a minute. I was starting to feel like a real talismanist.
"Next... this."
Next, I took out the two hundred sheets of paper the two of them had requested. If you asked how I intended to use them, the answer was simple!
"Replication!"
Ugh...! It drained a considerable amount of magic power, but it worked.
I used 【Alchemy】's Replication. For mass production, it was the easiest and quickest method. Replication lowered the quality, but that was actually perfect for overcoming Frailty. The power would decrease on its own, after all.
Replicating so many at once consumed a great deal of magic power, but I was still able to secure enough talismans in a short time. I would let them train—or play—with these for a while.
"Hey, it's done... What's this? Did they already go outside? What a pair of hopeless guys..."
Only about three minutes had passed since I entered my room. ...No, perhaps I was simply too fast. Since they didn't know this method, they might have assumed I was writing all two hundred talismans by hand, one at a time.
"...Kyu? Kyu!"
"Hm, did I wake you?"
It seemed the noise I made had woken Cal. When he confirmed that it was me, he flew into my chest. There, there. Good boy. Ah, this was soothing!
"Now then, let's try something new. Do you think it will work?"
"Kyu!"
Cal answered energetically, as if to say, 'Of course!' That might sound bad, but I was pretty sure Cal didn't really understand what I was saying. He was merely agreeing with me. So why did it somehow fill me with motivation? Had I finally lost it?
"First, I'll make and replicate the talisman."
I took out a new sheet of paper and drew letters and geometric patterns on it. The talisman I made this way did not have the direct-attack effect of the previous ones.
"Good, the fire-attribute imbuement talisman is complete. Now to replicate it..."
I created four fire-attribute imbuement talismans through Replication. Since they had been replicated, their quality had fallen to the lowest level and become 'Junk.' It couldn't be helped, since that was how the process worked. Besides, this was only the first step of the preparation.
Next, I brought out four kinds of items: fletching, an arrow shaft, an arrowhead, and a single arrow assembled from all three. They were all made from items obtainable even in Fars, but since they had been made by Iris, their quality was 'Excellent.' As expected of her.
"If I fuse them with the talismans using 【Alchemy】... There. Now, what do we get?"
The 【Appraisal】 results for each of the four items fused with a talisman are as follows.
――――――――――
Fire-Attribute Fletching Quality: Acceptable Rarity: C (Common)
Fletching imbued with the fire attribute. It catches fire upon contact.
Fire-Attribute Shaft Quality: Acceptable Rarity: C (Common)
A shaft imbued with the fire attribute. It catches fire upon contact.
Fire-Attribute Arrowhead Quality: Acceptable Rarity: C (Common)
An arrowhead containing fire-attribute imbuement. It imbues whatever it hits with the fire attribute.
Fire Arrow Quality: Acceptable Rarity: C (Common)
An arrow imbued with the fire attribute. It deals physical and fire-attribute damage to whatever it hits at the same time.
――――――――――
Oh? This produced another interesting experimental result. First, the quality was 'Acceptable,' halfway between 'Excellent' and 'Junk.' More testing was necessary, but this probably wasn't a coincidence. If you wanted to make something good through fusion, it only made sense that you had to use good materials.
As for the fusion results, it was obvious that it was better to complete the arrow before fusing it, rather than fusing the disassembled parts. Fletching and shafts were out of the question. They couldn't be processed, and even if they could, all that would happen was that the wielder would burn themselves.
The arrowhead, on the other hand, was intriguing. It said, 'Imbues whatever it hits with the fire attribute.' In other words, it might mean that it gave the target it struck the effect of the talisman it had been fused with. I had to test whether that was really the case.
I took out one Fire Lance talisman and one Water Lance talisman that I had made for Jigoro and Genjuro, then tried fusing each with an arrowhead. Now, would it work?
――――――――――
Fire Lance Arrowhead Quality: Acceptable Rarity: C (Common)
An arrowhead containing Fire Lance. It activates Fire Lance when it hits.
The arrowhead disappears after activation.
Water Lance Arrowhead Quality: Acceptable Rarity: C (Common)
An arrowhead containing Water Lance. It activates Water Lance when it hits.
The arrowhead disappears after activation.
――――――――――
Bingo! This had far more potential for practical applications. If I fused an arrowhead with a talisman for one of the instant-death spells from 【Malefic Arts】, I could make an arrow with an instant-death effect, albeit with an extremely low chance of activating!
The drawback was that the arrows became completely disposable. Ordinary arrows could be recovered as long as they remained as objects, but at the very least, the arrowheads would break, so even if they were recovered, they could no longer be used as arrows. Perhaps I should carry a large number of them, but they would probably be best used as trump cards.
There was also the matter of Shio's preferences as the user. Would she prefer arrows with simple elemental attributes, or arrows that contained spells but were disposable? Or would she want to switch between ordinary arrows and both of those types? I would mass-produce them after asking her.
That said, my 【Talisman Arts】 level was still low. I had to raise it as fast as possible!
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Just as I finished organizing my thoughts, someone knocked on the door. However, that was far too loud for a knock! Whoever it was had used way too much force!
"Don't knock so hard... Come in."
"Sorry to intrude."
As expected, it was Jigoro who had come to visit. As for his business... There could only be one reason.
"Here are a hundred of each... Ah. You used one of each, didn't you? Wait a moment. I'll write new ones..."
"No, this isn't about training to overcome Frailty."
Oh? I thought the two of them had been quite enthusiastic about that.
"Repeating the same thing over and over is getting rough... I want to fight someone strong to change things up."
"Change things up..."
I see. To you two, fighting was a soothing way to relax and change your mood.
"So, how about we go defeat the boss south of that 'Ancient Spring' the Human—Margaret, was it?—mentioned? Just the men."
"Hmm..."
Jigoro's proposal wasn't bad. It might be nice to play around with only the men for once, without the women.
"Very well. Let's go."
"That's my brother! The old man is waiting downstairs, so let's hurry!"
"Kyu!"
And so, I, Jigoro, Genjuro, and Cal—a party consisting entirely of men—set off south.