Chapter 36: 37-New Main Weapons

Now that Rowan had figured out how to train his mana to a certain extent, the next thing to figure out would be how to train his body.

Knights were known for their mastery of weapons. Swords, spears, lances, shields, etc. 

Unfortunately none of those weapons could be found in the forest.  Metal was scarce and there was no one here who could forge and fix weapons. Rowan had been training with swords for a long time, but with his arms in their current state, he would need to retrain everything again.  

It would be the perfect time to learn how to use a new weapon. One that was more befitting in a forest. It also helped that the material used for the weapon can be easily replaced or fixed by the plants and animals found in the Forest of Death.

Thoughts of gratitude to Almar once again pass through Rowan’s head. The elf had done his best to prepare the boy before his passing. Rowan had not fully picked up the skills, but he did remember everything Almar had told him so far. He could only build up upon them on his own.

It also helped that Almar had left the weapons Rowan needed behind. The dead did not need weapons and as much as Rowan would have loved to bury it with Almar, the boy would not be able to survive in the Forest of Death without any means to protect himself.

There had been another weapon that Almar had left behind, but it was more of a tool than anything else. The hunting knife. It was good for carving wood and skinning animals, but not much else. Of course, if need be, it could serve as an emergency weapon. However if it broke, then there was no way to fix it. Rowan would much rather it never reach that point. Of course repeated use would wear the knife down, but it could not be helped. Fortunately, it seemed that there was currently no need for the knife, so Rowan kept it in its scabbard and stored it away. He would need it eventually when he set out into the forest in the future.

For now, it would be best to focus on his new main weapons. Rowan walked over and picked them up.

The bow and arrow.

Or rather, Rowan picked up the bow and let the arrows remain in the quiver. The boy studied the material of the bow. Afterall, he was going to be using  it for a long time.

Bow and arrows were rarely a knight’s main weapons as their strengths were not suitable for protecting. Any other weapon could help block a blow and then be used to deal a devastating stroke in return. The bow and arrow were more fragile in that regard and more suitable to just attacking. There were mainly the weapons of hunters. However Rowan wasn’t in the position to be picky.

The bow was tough, sturdy, and quite long in length. He had similar thoughts when he first held it, but they were only reaffirmed when he studied the bow in depth. What kind of wood was the bow made of? Almar had not passed down the knowledge of this particular bow in his hands. Rowan had only briefly glanced at the weapon when Almar taught him how to use it, but nothing more. The elf had a way of rushing things with his teachings while skipping out irrelevant details.

Now Rowan knew the reason why.

If the bow was in an adult human hands, it would be considered quite heavy. Rowan's new hands carried a newfound strength that surprised him at times. Now the question was if he kept using the bow, would his new arms register the strain? Stamina was always one of the most important parts of a fight and Rowan did not know how much energy this new weapon would need. Will his arms drop once they feel tired? Would he be able to register the tired feelings or will his arms simply drop without warning?

Questions passed through Rowan's mind that could only be answered through test and trials. No doubt more questions will pop up as he becomes more familiar with his new weapon, but he would worry about these questions later.

When learning a new weapon or skill, it is for the best when there is a teacher or someone to offer tips and advice.

Rowan no longer had that luxury.

However there was something that Rowan could work on even if he didn’t have someone to help him.

HIs accuracy.

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Training his accuracy with the bow and arrow could only largely be done with practice.  It would also serve as the perfect exercise to get used to his new arms and train his hand eye coordination. For the most part, his body was completely healed. Now it is just a matter of getting used to his body again.

The next important question: Where to shoot?

Rowan and Almar had been using the skull of a deer that was left on top of a branch that was stabbing into the earth as target practice. As one could have guessed, Rowan missed most of his shots as the skull wasn’t the largest target to began with.

Now that Almar was gone, there was no one to head into the forest to help gather new materials to make arrows. The head of the arrows would no doubt get worn out the more Rowan practiced. Skulls were exactly soft targets either. They would only wear the arrow head down even faster. 

That left the barrier, but Rowan did not want to shoot there for obvious reasons. If he damaged it somehow, there would be nothing left to protect from the monsters outside. Not to mention, if the arrow somehow flew through an opening, how would he retrieve that arrow? HIs supply of arrows were already limited. It would not do for him to shorten his limited supply in a hasty manner.

That left Rowan a dilemma. What could he use as target practice? He crossed his arms and mulled it over. He pointed his head upwards as if hoping the gods might give him an idea.

Nope, they did not.

Rowan looked around, hoping maybe something would give an inspiration. That was when his eyes stopped on Almar’s resting spot and eye brightened.

Was it possible?... maybe, but it would take time and energy to construct. 

However those were things that Rowan had plenty of now. Even if he failed, he would consider it as exercise for him to get use to his hands.

***

It had taken a while, but Rowan had succeeded. As he recently discovered, his new hands were really handy as a replacement shovel.

Using his own hands, he dug up soil and used it to create a small hill that matched his height. 

This would be his new target practice.

The boy could draw a circle on the dirt hill as a target. The soil was soft enough for the arrows to stick in, but not hard enough that it would damage the arrow too much.

Rowan would have liked it if the target mound was ….skinnier, but it couldn’t be helped as this was his first time after all. It turned out pretty well, if he said so himself. There will be more in the future that he can make and test out.

Rowan turned his head upwards to look at the sky. The sun had reached its peak, and he still wasn’t hungry. While he should wait for a whole day to pass, his thoughts about life mana seem to be true. His stomach did not growl nor did his body feel overly tired. He would need to wait for the full day before he can truly say life mana staves off hunger, but everything seems to be working out so far.

WIth his plans for the future somewhat set, he began to aim for the newly made target with a bow that was now officially his.

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