A third member has joined our party. She is a spirit archer, the cla.s.s that are only available for elves. Having firsthand knowledge about the strength of that cla.s.s, it was an incredibly unbalanced cla.s.s.

[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 s.p.a.ce 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 job 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 a.s.set 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.

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 n.o.bles and rich aristocrats often send their children to the starting towns to get a cla.s.s 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

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.

[I don’t mean to intrude, but we came here to find weapons that we can entrust our lives to.] (Youya)

I looked at the old man as I tried to convince him of our patronage. Our eyes were in a deadlock before his facial expression became softer.

[Hoh.. I thought that you were mere tourists because you brought two children here, but it seems that you are more interesting than I thought. I would be d.a.m.ned if I let my weapons be ill-treated.] (Storekeeper)

[Have faith in these children. They will take good care of your weapons for sure.] (Youya)

The storekeeper complied with me and returned to his work.

[Luna,Til, look around and choose the weapon you feel is best.] (Youya)
[Okay.] (Luna)

[Well then, time to begin shopping.] (Til)

The two of them went to their respective sections of the store to look for a weapon. Luna went towards a shelf containing a dagger. It seems that she had a target from the start. She immediately took a dagger from the shelf and started to test it’s weight and center of gravity.

She has a good sense when it came to battles and the like. When searching for a spare weapon, the important thing is to have a weapon that is similar to your current weapon rather than it’s performance. If you were to swap between two difference weapons mid fight, you could be thrown off by the difference in your own weapon. This is even more important for Luna as her main mode of attacks were critical hits that required precision.

[Youya, Luna likes this dagger.] (Luna)

[That’s a good choice. The dagger is made of a mithril and mercury alloy, making it light and strong. Furthermore, it has a fine craftsmanship. That’s a keeper.] (Youya)

Although that dagger looks plain, it is surprisingly well made. If it was me, I would have chosen the same dagger.

Looking at Til, she was currently stroking a bow with her hand while her jade eyes were examining the bow carefully. She gave off a serious atmosphere that felt like she was in her own world, making it difficult for me to approach her. Til was the champion of an

of an archery contest back in her village. Being the best archer of the race that specializes in the bow, it seems that all that talk wasn’t just for show.

After examining all the bows present in the store, Til finally selected a bow. It looks like a plain wooden bow but mana could be sensed being emitted from it. It was probably made from a magical tree that could absorb mana. Such bows could serve both as a bow and a wand to amplify the user’s magic power. It was the best weapon possible for a spirit archer that incorporates both archery and spells in their attacks.

[This bow is good. I can feel that this bow is well crafted. It will be a fitting bow for a top tier archer.] (Til)

[I may not be able to determine the quality of the bow, but I do agree that that bow feels excellent.] (Youya)

The truth is that I knew nothing about the quality of a bow. I am capable of determining whether the material used was of high quality, however there are more aspects to a bow than it’s material making it impossible for me to determine the performance of the bow. Unlike me, Til is a master at archery. Even if I couldn’t tell, I am sure she won’t be mistaken in the performance of a bow.

I took the dagger and bow chosen by Luna and placed them on the counter. Their weapons cost quite a hefty sum but I am sure the weapons will last for quite a while. While I was preparing to pay the storekeeper, he started to laugh.

[Hahaha. Although you told me to believe in them, those kids are something else. When I look closely at them, I feel compelled to doubt them, but it seems like they are the real deal. THey have good eyes, they chose the best weapons I have in the store.] (Storekeeper)

The storekeeper took the dagger and the bow and skillfully placed them in their respectively holders before checking the amount of money placed on the counter. After confirming the amount, the storekeeper handed over the weapons to the two girls. When they received the weapons, Luna’s tail started to shake back and forth while Til was rubbing her cheek on the bow.

[If you feel unsatisfied with the weapons, or you want to have them repaired, remember to return here. I’ll see what I can do, and if that isn’t enough, I’ll introduce you to a good blacksmith.] (Storekeeper)

[I’ll be relying on you when the time comes.] (Youya)

It is important to maintain a good relationship with a trustworthy shop like this. The quality of the weapons may be excellent, however the weapon’s maintenance must not be neglected. We are extremely fortunate to meet this man and his shop.

As we were leaving the store, I felt something call out to me. I looked towards the basket in the corner of the store. Within the basket were countless second-hand goods including swords and other arms. So long as you were not strapped on cash, it was not the place where an adventurer would be looking for alooking for a weapon. It was dangerous to choose a low quality weapon to rely on. Well, it’s not like the quality of the weapon matters to me.

Unknowingly, my hands reached out towards the pile of swords. My eyes were fixated on the sword at the back of the pile. It was a sword with an unusual shape and a black sheath. I pulled the blade out of its sheath. It’s blade had a similar shade of black to its sheath and contained a strange sensation similar to mana, however it didn’t feel like mana. It felt a sword designed for hacking and slashing rather than clean slashes that were taught in swordsmanship

It felt like it was meant to be.

[How much is this sword?] (Youya)

[Fuahahahahahaha. I never thought that you would notice that sword. I thought that the children were amazing, but the main course was even more amazing. Don’t worry about the money. Just take it.] (Storekeeper)

[You sure about this?] (Youya)

[Of course I am.That sword was a masterpiece entrusted to me by my father. It goes without saying that I will only allow people who were chosen by the sword to leave with it. It’s been almost fifty years since this sword has last chosen an owner. I never thought that I would get to see it’s new owner in my lifetime.] (Storekeeper)

The storekeeper looked like he just seen something interesting. I said a word of thanks to him and gracefully received the sword. Unlike the dagger and bow, the shopkeeper wasn’t that concerned about the sword. He must have felt like the sword was in capable hands and that there wasn’t a need to be too concerned about it.

It was a nice development. I didn’t expect to come across a hidden gem when purchasing new weapons for Luna and Til. I took the sword and hung it at my waist where my trusted sword would be. Although the sword felt comfortable, I wished it was slightly heavier.

[Thank you, be sure to come again.] (Storekeeper)

[I am looking forward to coming back.] (Youya)

After we finished our business, we left the store. This was a fruitful shopping trip. Looks like it’ll be a good idea to stay in this town a little longer.

[Luna,Til. This was a fruitful shopping trip. However it is getting late, we could postpone entering the dungeon to tomorrow morning instead. What do you two think? ] (Youya)

I asked the girls a question I knew the answer to.

[Of course, we leave right away!] (Luna)

[I can’t wait to show off my skill in the dungeon!] (Til)

[Alright. Let’s go then.] (Youya)

There aren’t any adventurers who don’t look forward to testing out their new equipment.

I took the two motivated girls and returned back to the guild. It’s the first time we are entering a dungeon with three people. Let’s witness how powerful Til’s archery is and her power as a Spirit Archer.

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