Data.90 – Old Bowman, Leo Trial

“Now, to the next trial…”

I thought, but then realized that it was already evening.
And so I decided to just find out what this ‘Monster Crab Shell’ was, and learn about Star Area Range’s ‘Control’ and then log out for the day.

First was Monster Crab Shell.
This…appeared to be an item that Garbow could ‘Use.’
And so I tried it out.

—Beep! Unison Garbow has acquired the new skill, ‘Energy Scissors.’

[Energy Scissors]
Cut through enemies with a mass of energy that is shaped like scissors.

As it was related to a crab, I understood why they would be shaped like that, but Garbow didn’t have any arms.
So, how was he going to use it…?

“Garbow! Energy Scissors!”

Two scissors that glowed red appeared around Garbow.

“Gar! Gar!”

With this cry, Garbow shook his body around, and the two scissors sliced through the air in front of him.
I see. So these scissors that were made of a mysterious energy could be controlled with the mind.
We didn’t have many cutting attack type skills, so it should be useful.

Next was this ‘Control’ that was written in the Star Area Range description.
Surely it wasn’t some kind of adjustment that would improve my accuracy…?
To test it out, I unleashed an arrow at a nearby boulder.

Kiririri… Shu! Zhunk!

It hit just fine.
So I guess Sagittarius arrows could pierce through rock…
This time, I tried shooting without aiming carefully.

Kiririri… Shu! Zhunk!

As I wasn’t really aiming carefully, it ended up hitting a different boulder.
Apparently, this ‘Control’ had nothing to do with your accuracy.
So, what was it then?
I doubted there was any information online yet, so I would have to figure it out.

In the first place, where is the word ‘Control’ commonly used?
I hear it a lot in…baseball.
Like straight control in targeting the four corner strike zones or controlling a curve ball to get a strike…
In other words, controlling the trajectory of the ball.

So with arrows…would that mean controlling the trajectory of the arrow?
Could I control the arrow with my will after unleashing it?
Surely not…

Kiririri… Shu! Zhunk!

It curved…!
It wasn’t a sharp curve, but it was still a curve…!
So ‘Control’ really was the ability to control the trajectory of an unleashed arrow!

However, when would I use this?
If I’m going to curve an arrow to hit an enemy, wouldn’t it be better to just aim at the spot where they would move into instead?
As for targeting blindspots, it did not curve sharply enough, so it would be better to just use Bound Arrow.

Attacks that can only be done through curving…would be attacks that made use of range.
If I was shooting something that was close, then there was little time for controlling and so it would barely curve.
However, if I was targeting an enemy that was far away, the arrow would stay in the air longer and be able to curve more.
From the enemy’s point of view, it would be more difficult to know who had unleashed an arrow that was curving.
If I unleashed a straight arrow, my position would be exposed.

There were likely other uses, but that was all that I could think of for now.
A special 3rd job really was impressive. So many things have changed…!
New powers and old powers I had experience with. I would have to be able to use them both or I would not be able to compete with the ‘strong players’ that Buckler was talking about.

In any case, I would log out for the day.
Tomorrow, I will take on one of the last two remaining trials, the Leo labyrinth!

◆　◆　◆

The next morning, I woke up more refreshed than usual.
I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
But there were still trials left, and the final battle against Charin, so I couldn’t let my guard down.

Pro gamers for shooters and fighting games would often say that it took awhile to get back into a game if they haven’t played it for a few days.
And so it was best to continue to play a little every day.
And that’s what I did with NSO.
No, I was actually just playing it a lot…

Today’s trial was the Leo labyrinth.
The name was easier to remember compared to the other labyrinths, which was nice.

‘Hey-hey-hey! The Leo trial is right over here-nyon!’

Here, Charin was dressed…similar to a certain well-known musical about lions.
She wore a headpiece that had a lion’s mane, and there was a tree branch in her hand and her clothes was just a cloth wrapped around her.
Well, at least it covered everything that needed to be covered.

‘This trial is very traditional! You will hold a torch in one hand and explore a cavernous dungeon-nyon!’

According to the myth, lions lived in caves.
If we had to use a torch, that would suggest we would have to fight in dark and narrow areas.

‘The requirement for the medal is also very traditional! You just have to defeat the boss that lives at the end of the dungeon! But people who want the special reward will have to defeat the secret boss-nyon! The secret boss is in a different place and can only be accessed with a key-nyon! And that key will be hidden somewhere in the dungeon-nyon!’

In any case, we would have to walk around and explore.
You’d only get the medal if you defeat the normal boss, but you will get both the medal and the special reward if you kill the secret boss. That meant I only had to find and defeat the secret boss.

‘The torch is already in your item box-nyon! It won’t burn out or break, but it is not actually hot and cannot be used as a weapon-nyon! Now, let the cave exploration traditional adventure begin!’

I took out the torch from the item box and then entered the cave with Gorbow.
It was so dark that you wouldn’t be able to see anything without a light…
And it was quite narrow. While my head wasn’t in danger of hitting the ceiling, if I was attacked by enemies on both sides, it would be difficult to run past them.
So I would be forced to fight and cut open a path.

After all, I couldn’t use my bow, since I was holding the torch.
It wasn’t like the glass cup in the Aquarius trial, where it stuck to your body.
But since it wasn’t hot, maybe I could hold it in my mouth?

“Ah, Garbow can hold it.”

It should be possible if Garbow could understand my command.

“Garbow, can you hold this with your mouth?”

I held the torch sideways and held it close to Garbow’s mouth.
Garbow bit it and held it firmly.
I had been scared that it would break at first, when I saw the flash of sharp teeth, but this torch could not be destroyed.

“Good Garbow! Now, let’s go!”

I had Garbow take the lead and watch for enemies. I would watch our backs.
There were a lot of split paths in this cave. There was one right now, and so I went to the left.
If there was a monster in the right path, then it might come chasing after us.
I did not want to be attacked from behind in a dark cave.

And so I illuminated the cave every few seconds by unleashing an arrow.
Yes, thanks to Star Area Range, the arrows had a glowing aura around them.
It was only for a second, as the arrows flew off, but it was enough to determine if there was an enemy in that direction.
On the other hand, it also meant that I would be showing my position every time that I fought with an enemy.

Click-click-click…

Footsteps echoed in the cave.
They weren’t mine. Tabi shoes did not click like that.
Something was walking around inside of the cave.
And it didn’t seem to be an animal. The rhythm was not that of something that walked on four legs.
It was bipedal. And the legs seemed to be short.
It was coming closer…

“Goo! Goo!”

Garbow cried.
It was muffled because of the torch in his mouth, but this was the sound he made when acting hostile.

“Garbow! Attack!”

I would leave the front to him.
As the sounds had been bouncing off the walls, I hadn’t noticed it at first. But they were coming from behind as well!

Kiririri… Shu!

As the arrow flew, the light shone on the enemy.
They were small, ugly creatures with green skin. And there were so many!
Classical monsters in fantasy…!

“Goblins…!”

We were surrounded by numerous goblins!
However, these enemies should not be a threat to us now.
I was only scared because it was so dark.
Right now, all I had to do was shoot them down with arrows of light…!

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