A massive increase in experience points when training with a bow or hunting monsters with arrows.
The period was three days.
Surprisingly, the multiplier was fortyfold.
Considering that the Blacksmithing Experience Event had lasted only a few hours and had been thirtyfold, the event’s grade had risen all at once.
Events were occurring more often than I had expected.
Was it originally designed to occur frequently?
Perhaps, whenever I sincerely wanted to experience something, an event occurred in response to my sincerity.
If I set my mind to it, could I actively trigger other events too?
Ah, now that I thought about it, sincerely thinking that I wanted to experience something was itself no different from a stray thought, so maybe that would be impossible.
Even when sleeping, once you became conscious of needing to sleep, it only became harder to fall asleep.
Let’s not cling too much to events.
I had not even experienced the event that had occurred yet, so it would not do to get greedy over other events.
I took a deep breath and sank the habit of a working adult who treated everything like a task down beneath my conscious mind.
“Mr. Nadan, we’re still only at the forest entrance, but a monster has already appeared.”
Nadan set down his large backpack and took two folding shovels out of it.
Then he handed one of the two shovels to me and opened his mouth.
“They normally stay deep inside, but sometimes the small fry come all the way near the entrance.”
I unfolded the shovel folded in half, skillfully assembled the hinge lock attached to the joint of the folding shovel, and turned it into a proper shovel.
“How deep should we dig the pit?”
“Oh, you catch on fast. Have people elsewhere often told you that you’re quick on the uptake?”
“Haha, now and then.”
“About thirty centimeters should do. We need to bury it deep so wild animals cannot tear into it and eat it.”
As if designating the spot to dig, Nadan placed his shovel against the ground one step ahead.
I dug diagonally about ten centimeters away from the spot where Nadan’s shovel touched.
Nadan’s shovel scooped out soil, and then, on the offbeat, my shovel scooped out soil... As we dug rhythmically, matching each other’s pace, inertia took hold at some point, and my body began moving on its own.
Simple repetitive work was usually accompanied by conversation.
I asked why we were burying the monster.
“Do you not gather materials from this monster?”
“At most, it is a level 5 Long Nose. It is a thing with a filthy temper, yet not a single part of value.”
“When you hunt a monster, do you always need to bury it immediately like this?”
“You must always bury it. If something eats monster meat, it undergoes monsterization. If you leave it alone, wild animals will eat the monster meat and transform into monsters.”
He said that the monsters of this Ravos Continent were creatures that originally had not existed on the Ravos Continent.
In the countless wars against demons that had occurred until now, whenever demons crossed over to the Ravos Continent, they brought monster legions with them.
And whenever they lost, in order to buy time for themselves to flee, they released all the monsters they had brought across the entire continent.
Nadan worked together with me to place the Long Nose in the pit, then spoke while filling it back in with the soil we had dug out.
“The problem is that they are born with an instinct to harm humans, so the moment they see humans, they rush in ready to kill or be killed. So if you run into one, attack it without sparing it. Otherwise, you die.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Well, I deliberately made it sound scary, but you don’t have to be afraid while you’re with me. I’ll protect you.”
“Oh dear, keep that up and I might fall for you.”
“Hahaha, men my age are creatures desperate to look cool.”
The monsters in Cat Forest ranged from a minimum level of 3 to a maximum level of 50.
Even the strongest monster here was below Nadan if one looked only at level.
As we resumed moving, Nadan told me one by one about the monsters that inhabited Cat Forest.
“The most numerous creature in this forest is something called a Three Tail. Its level is 10, and its body is about the size of a calf. It is fat and slow, but it attacks using three tails that can stretch freely, so you cannot simply let your guard down against it.”
As I listened to him talk about various monsters such as Long Nose, Three Tail, Kitty Thunder, and so on, I was reminded of the first time I encountered an illustrated creature encyclopedia with an audio tape when I was young, and my heart grew warm.
When I was young, even if they were all the same frogs, I had memorized them by species, and whenever I saw ducks in a stream, I would show off my knowledge to my parents, saying whether they were mallards or spot-billed ducks.
When did I stop being interested in identifying various species?
Probably from the time I began assigning higher value to inanimate objects than to living things.
Money, business cards, cars, houses, and the like.
Because I listened with enjoyment, Nadan, who was explaining, grew more excited and explained even more diligently.
Around the time his talk, which included monster information, strategies, and the occasional story, was coming to an end.
Nadan’s expression suddenly changed, and he spoke.
“If you happen to encounter a woman with black hair and golden eyes, run without looking back. That one is on a different level.”
It was not the high and frivolous tone he had been using so far.
It was a serious voice in the lower register.
Because he had called her a “woman,” it was ambiguous whether he was talking about a monster or a human.
I carved it into my mind, but I could not hide my question.
“We’re talking about monsters right now, correct?”
“We are talking about a monster. Even if she looks like a woman on the outside, what is inside is undeniably a monster. I cannot tell what level she is, either.”
“Is she strong enough that even you cannot handle her, Mr. Nadan?”
“Five times.”
“Five?”
“That is the number of times I have clashed with her over the past year. All five were battles where it would not have been strange if either side had died. Since we are evenly matched, it would be hard to fight while protecting you.”
Nadan added that leaving the place immediately would be helping him.
Throughout the entire time he mentioned the monster he called “that one,” Nadan deliberately quickened his pace and kept showing me only his back.
As if he did not want to show me his current expression.
The serious atmosphere did not last long.
Nadan stopped advancing, lowered his posture, and gestured for me to come quickly.
“Lower yourself and come here. We are lucky today. I heard there is a common saying that dimension travelers have good luck, and it seems that was true.”
Using the grass that had grown up to our waists as cover, we hid ourselves, then parted the center of the grass slightly with both hands and looked beyond it.
About fifteen meters ahead beyond the grass.
Five deer were drinking water from a valley stream.
In a subdued voice, I gave my impression of seeing deer.
“Animals are no different from our world.”
“Hm? Are you disappointed?”
“The moment you hunted that monster earlier was so intense, Mr. Nadan.”
“I am honored that you thought it was cool. But the more hastily you eat a meal, the easier it is to get indigestion. Be satisfied with a deer for your first kill. To begin with, drawing your first bowstring on a deer is already skipping a grade.”
I was aware myself that I was saying something spoiled.
Usually, starting against a target was the standard.
Aiming straight at prey could safely be called skipping several steps.
Since this was a rare opportunity, I would focus and enjoy it.
Nadan slowly raised himself so his upper body appeared above the grass, then took his bow in both hands and drew the empty string.
“The deer have not noticed us yet. Stand up calmly and take the same posture as me.”
I gripped the metal bow in both hands and slowly stood up.
Then I glanced sideways at Nadan and took the same posture.
The distance between my feet was shoulder-width.
My gaze was toward the target.
With the feeling of fitting the groove carved into the end of the arrow shaft onto the string, I nocked the arrow, raised the bow, and drew the string.
Whenever there was an awkward part along the way, Nadan personally held my body and turned it this way and that to correct me.
“The shape is fairly convincing, is it not? Even though this is your first time, there is almost nothing to point out.”
“I only copied the posture you took just now, Mr. Nadan.”
Nadan looked surprised.
“You absorbed it exactly after seeing it only once?”
“Imitation is only imitation, after all. So please give me plenty of guidance and instruction so I can shoot properly.”
“Huh~ I have heard until my ears hurt that dimension travelers are different from the sprout, but I did not know it would be to this extent.”
“If you think about it the other way, that sounds like you are indirectly boasting that your form is perfect, Mr. Nadan.”
At my glibness, Nadan burst into laughter without meaning to, and because of the sound, the deer almost fled.
When we saw the deer stop drinking and raise their heads, we hurriedly shut our mouths and put an end to the joke by exchanging playful smiles.
Now it was time to hunt seriously.
Nadan looked back and forth between the deer and my bow, delicately adjusting the angle of the metal bow for me.
“Since it is your first time, I will set the aiming angle for you. Feel with your own body how it flies when you shoot with a certain feeling.”
“When should I release?”
“Release when I count three. Three, two, one, now.”
TWANG—!
When I released the bowstring, the arrow flew in a trajectory almost perfectly straight.
Even I was surprised by how straight the trajectory was compared to what I had expected.
Even though I had not used much strength, the arrow stretched out smoothly on its own.
My admiration for the string’s elasticity lasted only a moment, because something even more admirable soon happened.
The arrow flew quickly and lodged itself in the stag’s rump.
THWACK—!
The moment the arrowhead embedded itself, the herd of deer started in fright, leaped in place, and scattered in every direction.
Among them was the stag with the arrow stuck in its rump.
Since it was not a fatal area, it should have fled like that.
But.......
THUD.
The stag trembled before it had gone even a few steps, then collapsed sideways.
At the same time, a message flew in.
[Level increased. Level has risen from 4 to 5.]
-Current remaining skill points: 4
Nadan patted my shoulder and did not hold back his praise.
“Considering it was your first shot, that was 120 out of 100. Excellent. You have a surprisingly good knack for it.”
When I realized that I had succeeded in hunting for the first time, my hands began trembling belatedly.
A shiver ran through me.
This sensation, as if the instincts embedded within me as a living creature were writhing.
I realized all over again that I, too, was part of the food chain.
Along with my heart, the life force I had not been aware of was pulsing.
I was happy, and yet a slight unpleasantness remained.
Though I called it unpleasantness, it was only about the same level as the unpleasantness one felt when normally unaware of breathing, only to consciously focus on breathing on purpose.
I steadied my breathing and shoved my body into the waist-high grass, pushing through it boldly.
“Why did it collapse even though it was not a fatal wound?”
“What, did you not hear from Layton? That is the Deros Bow’s ability.”
“I heard the history of the bow, but not its basic specifications.”
“Tch, that stubborn old man. He shoved all the troublesome parts off onto me. It is nothing too complicated. That bow contains the ability of Deros.”
He said that the monster called Deros possessed a powerful skill called Paralyze Enchant.
When Paralyze Enchant was cast, it could grant a paralysis poison effect to a desired object. And if an attack hit with the object that had been given the skill, it could paralyze the opponent.
It was also Deros’s exclusive skill, and it was so powerful that once a monster below level 50 was poisoned by the paralysis poison, it could not move for a full hour.
Even a high-level monster, if struck once, would have its actions restricted for a short time.
“That bow was made by refining part of Deros’s paralysis gland. Paralyze Enchant is always applied to attacks made with the bow. It is an item Layton specially crafted using blacksmith skills.”
I had guessed that it was no ordinary item, but after hearing the specifications it contained, the way I looked at the bow changed.
It was an item made by a master fully utilizing blacksmith skills and burning his soul as an artisan.
So I really had received precious equipment.
As I admired the performance of the Deros Bow and approached the stag, which could not move because of the paralysis.
A creature suddenly sprang out in an ambush from behind a giant tree positioned diagonally away from us.
“YEOOOWL!”
A cat with green fur and a long snout like a crocodile’s.
It was a Long Nose.
Just like us, it had been targeting the herd of deer, and when we succeeded in hunting one step ahead of it, it had held its breath and watched before launching a surprise attack.
Nadan hurriedly drew his dagger and tried to protect me.
“Damn! While I was explaining, I let my guard down without realizing it.......”
The Long Nose’s target was me.
Because of that, Nadan reached out, trying to shove me aside and take the attack in my place.
What a fuss.
It was not as if I were some sacred vessel that would shatter if touched.
I was not so tactless that I did not know a surprise attack should be answered with a counterattack.
With hormones pouring out after my first successful hunt and my concentration sharpened, my body responded to the Long Nose’s ambush before my head could think.
I gripped the metal bow with both hands and swung it full-force like a bat.
CRUNCH—!
“YELP!”
The heavy metal bow struck the Long Nose’s jaw precisely, and with the sound of its jawbone breaking, the Long Nose lay on the ground with its belly exposed.
The Long Nose trembled and could barely move.
It looked similar to the stag that had been paralyzed after being struck by an arrow.
I admired the sturdiness of the metal bow and told Nadan the pure impression I felt.
“It really is true. I hit the monster with the bow, and it was paralyzed.”
With a dumbfounded expression, Nadan let out an incredulous laugh and quietly retorted.
“My friend, if you hit it like that, it’ll be paralyzed even without the skill.”