Barbarik's Arrows

As soon as I exited the Shed, I saw Old Man Sangma pacing around the tent with two silvery red arrows in his hands. He threw an occasional glance at the Shed as if waiting for me to come out. 

"I have already tried to lower their power, but will he be able to handle them?"

The old man mumbled as he traced the runes carved on Arrows in his hands with fondness and longing. Suddenly he paused in his tracks and turned towards the entrance of Shed, as if sensing my presence. 

When he saw the numerous items I had taken from the shed, his lips twitched and he regretted promising me aid. He soon got over it and walked towards me with his hands tied behind his back. 

"You were not at all modest were you? Taking almost half of my accumulation..."

The Old Man berated, hoping I would feel some shame and hand over some White-Fangs in exchange. However, I simply acted oblivious to his intentions. 

I shamelessly grinned and slightly bowed my head to the Bowsmith. 

"Thank You, Master Sangma for your generosity. I will surely use these items well in order to rescue your blood and kin."

I heard the old man let out a sigh and only then I lifted my head. My favorability with the Old Man had not lowered because of my greed. 

I had noticed that NPCs in Dreamverse were incredibly smart, unlike the last VR I played a few years ago. If they received respect, kindness and gratitude from the players, they would reciprocate in kind. Or else they would act aloof and mighty. 

Taking so many items for free would usually have led to a decrease in favorability. I would have to pay if I didn't want that outcome. However, a few well chosen words could also do the trick.

I simply reminded him of why I had taken the items and resolved the unwillingness to part with them in his heart. 

The Old Man Sangma looked at me with hope and shook his head with a melancholic smile. I saw him wipe his eyes discreetly before turning to face me again. 

He extended his hands, giving me a closer look at the two silvery red arrows he was holding. 

"These arrows were crafted by my Teacher during the last war. They played a decisive role in pushing back the Legions of Undead from the Ramparts of Bellor. Although I could not inherit his skills in entirety, I have managed to lower their power so even a budding Hero like you can use them." 

The old man proceeded to place the Arrows in my hands and I could finally see their stats. 

—

Barbarik's Arrow (Weakened)

Grade: Soul-Silver 

Usage Condition: Sacrifice 5% of Archer's Health Permanently.

Attack: ??? 

~ Deals damage equivalent to 5% of maximum health of target. 

~ Deals damage equivalent to 10% of maximum health of the target if the attack is a critical hit. 

—

I gasped with surprise upon seeing the grade of the arrows. 

This was a Soul-Silver grade item! Entire four grades higher than any item found in this village! 

When I saw the options attached to the Arrow, I was even more shocked in my heart. 

5% flat damage! If I managed to get a critical hit, it could even be 10%! 

If any of the players came to know that I had received two of such OP arrows, they would do everything to either befriend me or kill me. 

However, these arrows were no good against ordinary Players whose Health was in the hundreds. Even my ordinary attacks could deal more than 5% damage to the current Players. 

No, these arrows were meant for Bosses. They would show their true worth against bosses who had HP in tens and hundreds of thousands.

In a single shot, these arrows could wipe out 5000 to 10,000 Health of a boss with 100,000 HP. Just imagining that scene made me giddy with joy. Still, it was not all great. 

The price to use these arrows was too heavy. A permanent loss of 5% HP.

Seeing this condition, I became serious. I had 120 HP at the moment. Once I used a single one of these arrows, I would lose 6 HP forever. 

If I used both of the arrows, I would lose 12 points of my health!

Lowering my health by 12 points at such an early stage was not good. Especially, when I needed time to learn how to control my body. 

Each extra point in Health would give me room to correct the mistakes made due to poor control. So, HP was very important to me. 

If possible, I didn't want to lose 1% of it, let alone 5%!

Just when I had made a resolve to never use these arrows, I felt a hand on my shoulders. I looked up and saw it was the Bowsmith and his expression showed he was very serious about what he wanted to say. 

"Although you are a Deathless being, do not make the mistake of underestimating Dorukh, the Slave of Darkness. I know that cunning Gnoll very well. When he feels he is in danger, he will summon his master, a nobility of the Kingdom of the Dead." 

"If he succeeds, this village and all the nearby villages will be wiped out. So, when Dorukh starts his summoning chant, use these arrows to prevent him from succeeding." 

I could feel the heaviness in his voice and understood just how grim the situation was for me. Not only was I guaranteed to die on this quest, I would also lose some health points permanently. 

For a player like me, who did not add any Stat points to Vigor, losing the already meager Health Points was equal to crippling my account. 

I was about to rethink my choices when the Old Bowsmith revealed another reward for completing the quest. 

"Deathless Hero, if you succeed, I will teach you the method of Runic Arrow Forging."

I was not at all moved by the offer. Like most VR games, Arrows were consumable items in Dreamverse. 

Most of the players would learn the Arrow Forging skills to lower the consumption cost. The skill was also easily found either in Occupation Guilds or in the treasure chests in the wild. 

Why would I risk my account and those of Stivi and others just for a measly Runic Arrow Forging skill?

I could get the equipment from elsewhere but losing Stat points would set me up for failure. I had almost made up my mind to give up on the quest when the Old Man revealed another explosive piece of information. 

"Do you think the reward is not worth the risk?"

He asked as if accurately knowing what was going on in my mind. I was shocked but then I realized that any player would react the same way as I had. It would be easy for the AI to read the pattern and formulate an appropriate response. 

So, I nodded in reply. 

The old man smiled helplessly. He turned his back away from me and looked at the distant setting sun. 

"Barbarik's arrows… My Master forged them using the Runic Arrow Forging Technique and killed 14 Undead Nobilities in one attack. Master's Runic Forging Technique is far superior than you can imagine. It is not in vain he was able to craft the Shard of Myth…"

I knew the old man was baiting me but damn I fell for it hook, line and sinker!

I had seen the powerful options attached to the Barbarik's arrows and those were the weakened versions! I could only imagine how powerful the original Barbarik's Arrows were that had killed the Undead nobility in one shot.

The temptation of being able to craft Barbarik's arrows alone was enough to reignite my flames of passion. Then the Old Man even mentioned the Shard of Myth!

The effect was like pouring oil in burning flames. I immediately dismissed any thoughts of giving up the quest. 

Though I would be losing the Health points permanently, it was worth the sacrifice in exchange for the Forging method of the Barbarik's arrows and a genuine clue about a Shard of Myth.

"Master Sangma, I am ashamed. To think I even had a thought of giving up the quest when lives of your loved ones are on the line… Please rest assured that I will do everything in my power to bring them back safe and sound."

I did not dawdle and immediately went to Blacksmith's shop. Since the quest was so difficult, it was only right to equip the party better. 

I purchased the Lv5 Chainmail for BigSoftie. I haggled with the Blacksmith to get the top tier Ash-Gray Dagger in exchange for 1 White Fang. 

When I left the shop, I did not have a single White Fang left on me but I did have 2 new weapons and 1 piece of equipment for the Melee fighters.

Now I just had to meet with the team outside the village.