We left the elven village before noon, with Eleas joining our party. Eleas was leading the way now, as a guide and to see what he could do, and Tia and I were following him, chatting about nothing important.
This “chatting” was also an excellent training exercise. If I couldn’t be vigilant of my surroundings after devoting so much of my attention to conversation, I wouldn’t be able to live out my days as an adventurer.
“Even a child is fast, as expected from the elves.”
“Thank you, Ed-san. I’ve been hunting in this area with my friends.”
“Oh, you’ve hunted before, …., that’s right. They wouldn’t send a guy out with no combat experience at all.”
“Hahaha, Right…There”
Eleas, prepared to draw his bow even as he spoke, exhaled a short breath and shot an arrow. The arrow pierced the feet of a nearby Gray Wolf, and the three or so Gray Wolves that were there turned and ran away. Tia confirmed this and asked Eleas with a serious face.
“…Didn’t you hit just now? Or did you miss it?”
“I didn’t hit it. It is quite a long way to the town, so I thought it would take less time and be less dangerous to let them escape than to finish them off poorly and get into a fight.”
“Yes, that’s right. If you made the decision after thinking it through and were able to follow through with it, then you passed the test. You were so timid before you left, but look at you now!”
“That was, you see, I was a little nervous…… Give me a break, Tia-san.”
“Fufufu, what should I do?”
Tia smirked happily at Eleas, who pleaded with a troubled look on her face. I had no worries to begin with, but it appeared that the two of them were getting along just fine.
“Tia, don’t tease him too much. By the way, Eleas, from what I’ve seen so far, do you use a bow as your primary weapon?”
“Yes, that’s right. I was thinking of using a bow as my primary weapon with spirit magic to support it. I had heard that elven archers are favored in most parties because they can make simple, disposable arrows with spirit magic from branches around the area.”
“I see, certainly an archer who doesn’t run out of arrows would be strong, … hmmm.”
“Um, what is it?”
“No, it’s nothing. Just stay alert and keep moving forward.”
“? I understand.”
Tilting his head slightly, Eleas continued to advance, and after that, he proceeded to defeat or drive back the demonic beasts without any problems. The overnight encampment went without a hitch, and by just after noon the next day, we had made it to the nearest town.
After registering as adventurers with Eleas, we went to the guild’s recommended armory.
“Um, Ed-san? We have weapons and armor from the village, so we don’t need to buy. ….?”
“Don’t be like that. There are a lot of weapons here that you won’t find in the elven village. You never know what’s right for you until you actually use it, and even if you’re an archer to begin with, you should at least have one melee weapon, right?”
“Huh. Is that how it is?”
“That’s the way it is. So, Old man, can I see some of your weapons?”
“Alright. If you’re a beginner, just get one of those cheap ones on the shelf over there. But not the cheapest one at the far end. They are disposable weapons for those who can use them properly. If a beginner uses them without knowing it, the weapon will break and you will die in no time.”
“Got it! Let’s go. What about you, Tia?”
“Well, I’m going to look at some swords. It’s going to be hard to find a replacement for my beloved sword.”
“Hahaha… I understand that too. I hope there’s something good.”
Tia responded to my words with a quick wink and moved away from us. The beloved sword that Tia had lost was, of course, the Silver Spirit Sword. I had thought that if I did well, it would be registered as her default equipment, but when we returned from that world, the Silver Spirit Sword was not on her waist.
I don’t know if it’s because it was used against the Demon King, or if it was simply too high in rank, but anyway, the sword Tia was using right now was like a backup. If I am able to replenish the materials in this world, I would like to forge that sword again when I return…. I’ll keep it as just a secondary goal for now.
While I was thinking about this, Elease and I arrived at a shelf where many weapons for beginners were on display. There were, of course, the usual long swords, but there were also large swords, daggers, spears, handcuffs, and the odd one such as a sickle, a chained iron ball called a morning star, and a spiked iron rod.
“Uwa, there are so many different types of weapons. Some of them I’ve certainly never seen before.”
“I didn’t expect this, but in a good way. I didn’t expect this much variety. ……”
Although I had my doubts about whether a beginner can use a morning star, the assortment of items on the shelves was truly impressive. While Eleas was browsing through the various items, I found the one I wanted and picked it up from the shelf.
“What’s that, Ed-san?”
“This is a twin sword. It is a perfect melee weapon, but it can also be used as a throwing weapon if you have the muscle power. Once you learn how to use it, you can use both hands for either attack or defense at the moment, so it is a weapon that has both a strong defense and a high offensive capability.”
“Ooo, it looks very powerful!”
“Yes, it’s my recommendation. Do you want to try it?”
“Yes!”
Eleas held the twin swords and started swinging them around. The Old man looked at me from the back of the store with a dumbfounded look on his face, but I paid no heed to that.
Well, I understand what he was trying to say. Apart from the irony that it was on this shelf, the twin sword was not a weapon I would recommend to beginners by any stretch of the imagination. The short blade length meant that you had to get close to the enemy in order to attack, and the lack of centrifugal force made it difficult to generate power.
It was a weapon for experts, requiring not only a high level of physical ability but also quick and sophisticated judgment to master. Of course, I kneww that, but I dared to recommend it to Eleas. Because–
“Wow, this is really easy to use! Look!”
“Yeah, it looks pretty cool.”
“Heh heh, right?”
Eleas’s Swordsmanship wasn’t that of someone who had just picked up a twin-sword for the first time. Yes, from what I saw in my banishment skill [Rainbow Glasses] he had a talent for twin swords at a level that was something to be praised.
Or rather, his talent as an archer was honestly ordinary. The same went for spirit magic; if he took advantage of the fact that he was an elf and trained for a long period of time, he will eventually reach at least the top level, but that was the limit. Even if he was not lacking in the skills needed to be an adventurer, he was not at all skilled enough to be a Hero to fight against the Demon King.
But with the twin swords, it was different. If I could pass on what I know about swordsmanship and trained him in my own unique way, he would be able to overcome his mediocre talents in no time at all.
“I like it! If I could imbue spirit magic on this, it’ll be even better …, but I don’t have enough money to buy a weapon made of mithril.”
“Hahaha, Work hard to make money from now on. So, What do you want to do? Want that one?”
“Yeah! Mister, I’ll have the twin swords!”
“R-Right…… Hey Nii-chan , is this guy really a newbie? No, he’s an elf, so he’s probably not as old as he looks.”
“He’s definitely a newbie. We just registered as an adventurer today, you know?. It’s amazing how talented these young guys are.”
“You are young enough too…. Hmm, Certainly. Come here, I’ll find you a sheath that fits it.”
“Okay! Ed-san, I’ll be right back”
“Yeah, I’ll wait here and make sure you get it right.”
“Yes!”
The discouraged Old man with a resentful look on his face and the dancing feet of Eleas disappeared into the back of the store. Fufufu, the future hero enhancement plan, is off to a perfect start.