Chương 35: Full draw

The surge of experience orbs made Kayle level up. When the cultist absorbed the rewards, she ignited and levitated in the air for a while. Her eyes changed for a moment from bright green to blood red. After the completion, Kayle stood still, as if checking something on her own stats screen.

"Alternate skill paths? That's something new," she said. Well… looks like she was close to leveling up, so my small gift there proved worthwhile. Alternate skill paths are something I should look forward to. Got it. Sensing another notification, Eric opened his own panels, eager to learn what awaited him. /————————————\ Guardian of Time status: In danger. Warning: Being in danger as the Guardian means Time is actively hunted. You will receive a buff in the next encounter with Time. \———————————/ Oh, come on!

Everyone around me is always getting the cool stats, skills, and items. I'm sitting here in spiritual debt to three different families, not counting Grim yet, and the only stuff I receive is death threats for my life and debuffs. Could've been dead right from the beginning. After a quick switch back to reality, Eric was ready to tackle his next objective. Ash hopped onto his shoulder; he checked his items, summoned his blade, and was on his way. Just before teleporting, Kayle stopped him.

"You find the bow. I'll join you, but before that, I have some pressing matters to attend to." She opened a portal and vanished without a trace. In the air where she was, small blue threads swirled and moved until disappearing after a few seconds. Threads? Where she was? So we are tied together… Eric didn't notice these threads around Grim, but he didn't quite have the chance to observe closely in their last meeting. His anxiety was through the roof then, but now he was calm.

The library was dead quiet, and the only sounds were from the books reordering themselves and flying around the shelves. They always evaded Eric and even stopped right before hitting him to either wait for him to move or take a detour to their destination. It was fascinating how this small ecosystem was repairing itself from the damage.

"Ash!"

"Alright, alright! Sometimes I need a minute, you know? Don't you want some peace and quiet too?" Staring down the raven didn't give an answer, so Eric thought it agreed. He would be happy if it did.

Moving through the library was a pleasant experience. The previous situations were always on the verge of being deadly, but now the reaper disciple and his winged companion traveled in peace. Eric didn't feel the impending dread any more of the demon, and he preferred to walk instead of teleporting. The library came alive right before his eyes. All the shelves were repairing themselves, fixing the broken parts, cleaning the burned stains, and slowly moving the books back to where they originally belonged. Wait…

are the shelves letting me pass through? Eric stood still and watched as the shelves parted away, forming a clear path forward. Another book came flying towards him, but it dropped down and its pages opened. STRAIGHT AHEAD! Who needs a map when you have this? Eric glanced at his raven.

"Let's go!" The duo walked around the library at a steady pace. Ash, being its usual self, preferred to travel by air or comfortably sit on Eric's shoulders. He didn't mind, but sometimes he would urge the raven to fly if they needed to go faster. Guided by an open path forward, Eric saw a giant ray of blue energy shoot into the sky. It ascended in a circular pattern until another ray emerged and pierced the spiral. Looks like we're on the right track.

It's so weird to have some semblance of reassurance and normality in this place. I wouldn't be surprised if everything gets blown up every moment… A giant blue box encased the bow they were searching for. Its string was missing, but the other parts were pristine. The grip had a special edge that Eric assumed was for close combat. The bow resembled a pair of frozen waves meeting at the grip. Water flowed continuously from one end to the other, as if the weapon contained a living current.

Another interesting part was that the grip also had two rings sticking out.

"Ash!"

"That's right. We're here," Eric said. Actually… I hope that's what you meant. I still have no idea what you're talking about, but it's fun to mess around. That blue tint on the box better be some kind of riddle we can solve fast. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The reaper disciple moved closer to the blue cube and interacted with it. /———————————\ Free the keeper of knowledge to destroy the seal.

\———————————/ Eric pulled his hand away from the box with a hint of frustration.

"Free him? We already did that." A series of caws and a peck from Ash caught his attention. The raven seized his arm in its beak and dragged it onto the box again. The seal burst into countless shards of glass that drifted upward before dissolving into the air.

"Um, thanks. I'd be doomed without you." The raven chirped once and bobbed its head.

"Don't get too cocky!" Eric exclaimed with a smile. He stepped towards the bow and took it from its stand. The string was still missing, but he transferred the weapon into his inventory. He had a feeling the description wasn't going to be short. /———————————————\ New item discovered! Librarian's Bow Description: Guarding all records and knowledge about souls since the dawn of creation, this bow has been used in countless wars and battles. Great enemies fell to the lightning speed and deadly accuracy.

This item once belonged to the Librarian that guards the Archives in Purgatory. Uses ammunition and cannot be recharged by conventional means. Arrows made from solid material may have unexpected consequences when fired. Accepts essence-based ammunition. Infuse with power to give an Alignment based on your class and stats. Firing works with concentration casting. Ranged Alignment: None. Close Combat Alignment: None. Ammo: None. Warning: Aiming while moving decreases accuracy.

Shots can curve under certain conditions, depending on the type of ammunition used. \————————————/ You're telling me I don't have arrows for this? I have to summon my drawstring and on top of that, I can't use normal arrows? Why do these things have to come with an instruction manual? Eric was surprised by the weight of the bow when he summoned it. It was lighter than he had expected, and the water flowing through shifted with every movement he made.

In contrast to the bow, the description of the quiver was rather simple, but still effective. /——————————————\ New item discovered! Quiver of Knowledge Description: Holds arrows for the Librarian's Bow. Instantly reveals the attributes of the arrows at it. This item can hold other types of ammunition. Displays the current type of ammunition. Essence-based arrows are not shown in the quiver. Works with other types of ranged weapons.

Ammo Type: Unique x 1 \—————————————/ I don't know where to find more arrows, but it's nice that I have a place to keep them. Looks like ammunition comes in different types. I wonder if Grim can give some cool ones… wait, what's this window? Another window popped up with a pleasant surprise that made Eric smile. /—————————————————\ Achievement Unlocked! Decked Out You have completed your first Item Set! Reward: Mystery Chest x 1 \———————————————/ That's… unexpected.

Honestly, for a moment I thought it could be some kind of cosmetic reward or, God forbid, a currency for microtransactions. To Eric's surprise, the mystery chest wasn't present in his inventory, but he could summon it at will. He summoned his entire inventory and flicked through each item individually. The only thing he could find was a new panel named "Treasures". Tapping it changed his inventory's color and displayed only the mystery chest he was looking for. Neat!

A river of fire rolled through the library before breaking apart into a pile of ashes. By the time the embers had faded, Kayle landed right beside Eric.

"You seem to do fine without me," she said.

"It's smooth sailing for now. Which usually means trouble's about to find us," Eric chuckled. He was glad to see Kayle was alright. She glanced at the empty weapon holder nearby.

"What happened with the bow? Did you try it out?"

"Not yet. I'm still figuring it out. Here, look." The reaper disciple handed over the weapon. Kayle took it and began inspecting from all angles. She heated the water inside, but the weapon vibrated, as if gently asking her to stop. Trying it out, she also noticed it doesn't have a string attached, which confused her even more.

"It has a will of its own. Fire makes it angry, that's what I say." She returned the weapon. Kayle handed the bow back without taking another glance. Her 3curiosity vanished the moment she realized the weapon wasn't hers to master.

"Wait a second. Do you know anything about set items? I think the bow and quiver work when both are equipped." The eyebrows of the cultist moved as she was confused.

"That's how a bow works, right?" Do I really sound like an idiot? How can I know what to use and how to combine? Yeah, they work together, but all that essence stuff earlier kind of hijacked my thought process in another direction. Cut me some slack… Summoning both the bow and quiver gave them a silver sheen. The items glowed brightly in Eric's hands and had an unusual gleam that reflected light. After several seconds, everything returned to normal, but the arrow in the quiver remained with a silver tint.

Pulling it out, it moved almost by itself to the bow, as if pulled by a magnet. There has to be a way for the string to work. Eric closed his eyes and poured essence into the arched weapon. Slowly, a bright green string materialized from both ends and connected in the middle where he would nock the arrow. He held the flow of essence steady, afraid that even the slightest movement would break the spell. The moment the essence transfer ended was when the string became wobbly. Pulling only made it evaporate.

What's wrong? I'm not strong enough? Stats or my level is not high?

"Ash!" the raven exclaimed. It walked over to Kayle and pulled her robe.

"Maybe I can help. Stay still." She made a sign with her hands and slammed the ground. A rotating circle emerged with sigils and flaming letters. Stepping inside, she floated for a second and moved her hands, just like making a clay figurine. The ritual completed with her descending with a fire pyramid in her hands. She released it and it flew over to Eric, slowly merging with his body.

"That's a temporary buff. Try channeling again," she said. Without hesitation, Eric gripped the bow and imagined moving his strength and power into it. This time, a thin red string stretched from both ends. Strands of green swirling essence wrapped around it and waved the finished bowstring into place. Pulling felt normal, even a little too tight. Reaching full draw required a lot of physical effort. After a few tries, Eric looked at Kayle and smiled.

"I don't know what you gave me, but it worked. Now we're getting somewhere!"