~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
〘 Mistwood Village 〙
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
When the world materialized around him, Manco was lying on the bed in his room on the tavern's second floor. Yesterday he had paid for the room for a whole week and it was set as his spawn point. Briefly checking his equipment, he found that each piece had their durability reduced by 2 or 3 points, nothing serious. Springing out of the bed, he left his room and rushed downstairs.

Stopping by the general store, Manco sold Araun most of the bolt he looted from Rust's bolt shooter, keeping only 100 of each type of special bolts. Nearly seven thousand bolts net him a tidy 25 ducats.

Browsing through the weapons, he asked: "You got any shield that doesn't interfere with using a crossbow?"

Looking at him incredulously, the shop master replied: "Never heard of one. The only type of crossbowmen that uses a shield is the type fighting on a battlefield. And they use a big shield to take cover while reloading."

"Hmm," Manco grunted. He wanted something to hold a creature at bay when it got in melee range. In wide open areas he could easily dodge; after all, he had the alertness and reflexes honed by a decade playing an assassin character. However, in the forest, dodging would be more difficult, especially when he headed deeper where the trees were denser.

"How about an armguard?" Araun asked, "If you're fighting animals, it's not much worse than a shield."

The shop master pointed at an armguard made of leather and metal. It would completely cover his forearm and most of his upper arm.

〘 Full armguard 〙(Common) ☆☆
Type: Armor - Slot: Hands, Forearm - Material: Leather, Steel
Armor: Left Arm (6) or Right Arm (6)
Resistances: Stabbing (15%) Slashing (15%) Crushing (7%)
Description: Made of leather reinforced with steel, the arm guard provides decent protection against stabbing and slashing attacks, but limits mobility somewhat. Can be worn on either arm.
Weight: 1.0 kg
Durability: 40/40
—o—

"Looks good!" Manco nodded. He bought one and wore it on his left arm. He tried moving around and found his movements relatively unimpeded.

Next, he selected a dagger whose weight he was comfortable with. Taking out a vial of [Mild Poison] and one of [Mild Paralyzing Potion] he applied them both onto the blade. This would further improve his odds during close combat fights. After he was done, he inspected the dagger again.

〘 Belzhorian Heavy Dagger 〙(Common) ☆★
> Type: Dagger (One-handed)
> Requirement: STR 4
> Damage: 10-12
> Effects:
- Chance to poison target (Duration: 25 strikes)
- Chance to cause paralysis on target (Duration: 25 strikes)
> Description: A popular weapon among dubious characters. It has been coated with several a mild poison and a mild paralyzing agent, making the user seem even more dubious.
> Weight: 0.95 kg
> Durability: 37/40
—o—

Nodding, Manco put it in a leather sheath and strapped it to his back, just above the belt.

"You have any holy water around here?" He asked Araun "Or is there a priest in this village?"

"None that I know of," the shop owner replied "Wait! You're thinking of heading further west, into the decayed part?"

Off his nod, Araun sighed: "It's ya business, but that's suicidal! Even master Gwyndham didn't come back in one piece. I'd advise ya to stay away from there, lad."

Nodding his thanks, Manco left the general store and visited Gwyndham. The master archer was not at home. Instead, he was standing on one of the watchtowers overlooking the south gate. Climbing up the watchtower, Manco saw that he was staring unblinkingly at the direction of the Misty Woods.

"Good morning, Master Gwyndham," Manco said, "I'd like to train more crossbow techniques."

"Fine," said the master, "What do you want to learn?"

At level 20, two Crossbow techniques are unlocked: 『Crippling Shot』 and 『Power Shot』.

Power Shot simply knocked down the target if they failed a combined Strength and Constitution check.

Crippling Shot caused a status effect depending on the body part that was hit. For example, hitting the arm would cause the target to be inflicted with one of the statuses like "Numb arm", "Dislocated arm" or even "Broken arm" if they fail a Constitution check. The status effect would disappear after a short time, but it would still provide a great opening for him to either attack or flee.

Both were crowd-control techniques. For Manco, Crippling Shot was definitely more versatile and useful. He paid 5 ducats for the training.
Wordlessly taking the money, Gwyndham waved him away and turned back toward the woods.

'Maybe the rumor is true that he's waiting for someone?' Manco wondered.

"Are you, perchance, waiting for anyone?" he asked expectantly. It would be nice if there was another quest in line.

"None of your business!" The master said curtly and waved his hand to dismiss him. It looks like he would have to change his approach.

"Uh… I'm heading deeper into the west. There's this Corrupter I'm planning to deal with. Do you know anyone around here with Holy water?"

That got Gwyndham's attention.

"I'd persuade you to leave it be. But I know you won't listen. So take this." The old man said with a sigh.

He reached into his satchel and took out a small vial which he handed it to Manco.

〘 Gwyndham's vial of water 〙(Unique)
> Type: Consumable
> Effects:
- Cause damage against creatures tainted by Corruption.
> Description: Blessed water owned by Gwyndham the master archer. It can be applied to weapons or sprinkled onto Corrupted creatures.
> Weight: 0.15 kg
—o—

Manco thanked Gwyndham and left the village.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
〘 Misty Woods 〙
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Manco activated Arcane Surge and checked his character sheet.

〕 ===〘 Character Info 〙=== 〔
〕 ===〘 General 〙
> Name: Manco the Face Wrecker
> Class: Crimson Mage
> Level: 10 (0.05%)
〕 ===〘 Pri. attributes 〙
>>> Free attribute points: 17
> Strength: 8
> Awareness: 15
> Coordination: 12
> Intelligence: 40
> Willpower: 23
> Constitution: 8
> Charisma: 11
〕 ===〘 Sec. attributes 〙
> HP: 120/120
>> HP regen: + 0.9/s (0.6/s + 50% Well-fed)
> SP: 89/140
>> SP regen: + 1.05/s (0.7/s + 50% Well-fed)
> MP: 315/315 (-200 reserved for Arcane Surge)
>> MP regen: + 7.725/s (5.15/s + 50% Well-rested)
〕 ===〘 Traits 〙
> Animal Whisperer
> In tune with Nature
…

Manco was happy that the two traits "Animal Whisperer" and "In tune with Nature" were already paying dividends. He was not entirely sure which of them had caused the kodama to approach him (might even be the "Raised in a Circus" background, who knew), but he was absolutely certain that it was not just dumb luck. He was at the right place at the right time, yes, but he also fulfilled some hidden conditions to trigger the encounter and by extension, the quest.

Wiping the grin off his face, he focused on his new leveling target: the Mana Bolt spell.
『 Mana Bolt (lv8) 』
- Type: Active. Damage. Cast time: Instant
- Mana cost: 15 (10 + 50% Arcane Surge)
- Element: Neutral
- Damage: 8.5 (7 + 20% Arcane Surge)
- Cooldown: 0.45s

With Arcane Surge active, he had 315 MP to fight with. Divided by the cost of 15 MP made 21 bolts. Taking MP regen into consideration (while he fired the first 21 bolts, his mana would still regenerate) he could fire about 26 bolts before running empty. After that, he would have to wait for about 2 seconds to fire one bolt, or rest for about 40 seconds to fully regenerate 315 MP.

"Shooting for 10 seconds, then rest for 40 seconds. That's too inefficient!" He lamented. The cooldown for Mana Bolt is 0.45 seconds. If he fired it off at the maximum rate of fire, it would take about 10 seconds to fire off 21 bolts.

"Wait! Dammit! What was I thinking?" He chided himself.

It was not like the creatures would just line up obediently to be killed! After each kill, he would have to look for new targets. If he fought a predator, he might only be able to get off a few shots before it closed in anyway. It was unlikely that he would use Mana Bolt often enough to run out of mana. Even if he did, he already had a few potions on him.

His mind made up, Manco stopped bothering with the numbers and headed deeper into the woods.

Perhaps thanks to the Sacred Deer's Blessing, the forest around him was much more alive. The ground, which was previously covered with dead leaves and moss, was now dotted with small sprouts. The trees seemed greener, and the animals were more active. All the while he heard the chirping of birds and knocking of woodpeckers.

Manco continued hunting the small animals: Rabbits, Squirrels. Occasionally he would find snakes or lizards. The Arcane-Surged Mana Bolt worked well, he was not in any danger, and he never did run out of mana because of ample time between fights.

Half an hour later, Manco reached the spot where he met the Sacred Dear. The bolt launcher had de-spawned, and all traces of the encounter with Rust had vanished. Various woodland creatures like deer, chipmunks, and birds were gathering around the stone-shaped bowl, scrambling to drink the water that had been blessed by the Sacred Deer earlier. To be respectful to the Deer, he decided against harming those creatures.

Wait a minute!

Blessed?

"Shit!" Manco shouted. How did he not think of this?

He rushed toward the stone, kicking and elbowing the creatures out of the way. They screeched in protest, clearly offended by the stranger who was cutting in the queue. Ignoring the bites, scratches and pecks, he climbed up the steps and peered into the stone-shaped bowl. Only a tiny puddle of water was left, and it was being rapidly consumed by a flock of birds.

"Piss off!" Manco waved the birds away.

He collected the remaining bit of water, which was only enough to fill two small vials.
〘 Vial of Blessed morning dew 〙
> Type: Consumable
> Effects:
- Cause damage against creatures tainted by Corruption.
- Cure mild curses and diseases.
> Description: Morning dew blessed by Misty Woods' Sacred Deer. It can be consumed, applied onto weapons or sprinkled onto corrupted creatures.
> Weight: 0.15 kg
—o—

"Dammit! I knew I was forgetting something!"

Shaking his head in regret, Manco jumped down from the stone and continued west, ignoring the scorned woodland animals staring daggers at him.