Volume 1 Chapter 14 (1/2)

[By the way, how good are you with a bow?] (Youya)

I was so engrossed in the fact that our new member was a spirit archer that I forgot the most important thing, whether Til was capable of using a bow. In reality, a bow is a difficult weapon to use and master. It usually requires several years of training before a person can accurately hit a target from a distance. However for people who are unable to master a bow, they end up using a crossbow stead. As compared to bows, crossbows sacrifice range and power for higher accuracy and ease of usage. Majority of rangers and other bow users in this world end up using a crossbow.

[Fufufu.. Don’t be foolish. To an elf like me, a bow is merely a toy. I could hit a bullseye from 200 metres away. In the archery tournament back in my village, I won first place easily.] (Til)

[That’s amazing.] (Youya)

The original range of Fire Storm was 20 metres. Her range was ten times of that. It is impossible for spells to hit a target over 50 metres away unless the spell was altered by Magic Customization. The effectiveness of an attack is directly proportional to the attack’s distance. Having the ability to attack a target from a distance was a huge advantage.

I seem to recall Phil mentioning that elves had the ability to read the flow of the wind, allowing elves to perform precise long distance shots that is impossible for humans who are unable to accurately detect changes in the atmosphere. Back in the days, Phil’s precision in her shots has helped us on many occasions.

[So where is the bow that you are boasting about?] (Youya)

[Of course it’s in my house. Where else could it be. Eh?] (Til)

Til’s face turned pale.

I thought so. Yesterday, Til mentioned that she had came to this town by stowing away on Phil’s chariot that left the village. That meant that she didn’t have the space to carry along her bow, possibly exposing her.

[Before we head to the dungeon, we have to equip ourselves with proper equipment. Let’s head towards an arms shop for now. We can’t enter a dungeon with an archer without a bow can we? I was thinking that it’ll be good for Luna to get a spare dagger as well.] (Youya)

[Luna doesn’t need it. Because Luna has this.] (Luna)

Luna rubbed her cheeks against Bazerato. She has always been taking good care of that child, treating it like a treasure and properly maintaining it everyday.

[It is important to carry a spare weapon. Weapons will inevitable be destroyed in the future. Whether that happens during a battle, is a matter of life or death if you do not have another weapon. No matter how much you maintain your weapon, it will still break eventually.] (Youya)

[I understand. I’ll carry a spare dagger from now on.] (Luna)

Luna reluctantly agreed.

Bazerato is a tough dagger, however it’s durability will inevitably drop over time. It’s an adventurer’s drop to prepare for the unexpected. If even the slightest possibilities are neglected, it could lead to our death.

[Youya, I’ll pay for my younger sister’s equipment. It’s doesn’t feel right to have you pay for her equipment.] (Phil)

[No can do. She is already part of my party. When I said that I’ll get a bow for her, I meant what I said. For the money, I will subtract it from her portion of the rewards in the future. Furthermore, it isn’t good for her to rely on her elder sister all the time.] (Youya)

[Youya hasn’t changed at all. This is definitely something you would do. I understand.] (Phil)

Phil laughed as she talked about the past. Looking at her laugh reminded me of our past together, and I decided to ask her what I was thinking about yesterday.

[Hey Phil. Do you enjoy being a receptionist?] (Youya)

I had a motive to asking her this question. If she didn’t enjoy working as a receptionist, or felt that she didn’t belong here, I would invite her to my party on the spot. She would be a valuable asset to the party if she joined. Besides, I wanted to travel with her once again.

[Yes I do. Very much.] (Phil)

Phil let out a smile from the bottom of her heart.

I guess that Phil has finally found where she belonged. It isn’t up to me force her out of something she enjoys. At the very least, I won’t be inviting her to the party for now. If in the future, she ever thought otherwise, I would invite her to my party once more.

[Why are you asking that out of the blue?] (Phil)

[It’s nothing. I just wanted to hear you say it.] (Youya)

The conversation ended there. After completing various procedures, the three of us headed towards the downtown area. This is the city of beginnings. There should be plenty of stores that are selling equipments for adventurers.

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In the downtown area, there was a group of adventurers who were catching a lot of attention. The group consisted of two beautiful girls, one beastman and an Elf, and an old man.

When choosing a weapon, it is important not to waste time entering each store and looking through each of them to see their goods. Instead, you should start by choosing a shop that looks decent.I can mostly tell if the shop is good depending on how the store looks like from the street. As Rumberg is a town that is extremely popular, there are many people who come to the town.

In this world, if you can raise your level, you will become stronger and you will become much safer, making it advantageous to raise your level. Many nobles and rich aristocrats often send their children to the starting towns to get a class and raise their levels. In order to secure their children’s safety, they often buy the most expensive equipment if it meant that it would protect their children even more. As such, many stores often aim to deceive these people and squeeze out as much money as possible. After being an adventurer for so long, I’m able to distinguish the decent stores from the scam stores.

[That store looks good.] (Youya)

The entrance of the store is clean and the air inside smells of anti corrosion oil as well as moisture removal solution. Unlike the other stores which doesn’t have the same smell.

[Let’s go. Not only are we looking for weapons for you two, I too look forward to searching for any decent equipment.] (Youya)

[Have to choose the best equipment.] (Luna)

[fufufu. I can hear my future bow calling out to me] (Til)

Feeling motivated, the three of us entered the store.

There was an old man sitting at the counter performing maintenance on a sword, appearing to be the owner of the store. As he noticed us entering the store, he sloppily gave us a glance before focusing on his work.

[This isn’t a store for sightseeing. So hurry up and leave.] (Storekeeper)

Although his voice was soft, his words carried a lot of weight.