20 Jake's First Bow (1)

Chapter 20: Jake's First Bow (1)

Crafting a wooden bow is quite difficult on the tutorial island because the tutorial forest is known for its toughness.

It's the only source of wood here, so it takes more than a skill to make anything out of it.

Richard stressed that point a few times while shaping the bow's riser.

Jake held the wooden piece in his hands, mimicking the newbie helper. 

He was no longer working with the sharp stone but with the steel ax by holding it close to the steel and sharpest part of it, trying to use it like a knife as much as possible. 

It worked well, and Jake often voiced how different it was from the arduous and primitive style he'd worked with before.

When the initial work was done, Richard came forth with his strength as it was time to make the riser flexible and bend its ends quite a lot. He grasped the riser's ends with his rough hands like a wrestler and pushed all his strength to curve it. 

Perhaps he may have lowered his stats to show how tough the wood was, but Jake didn't need this much presentation as he soon felt it in his bones.

"It's… difficult," Jake spoke through clenched teeth as he added his back to bend his riser. He grew all red, and his cheeks puffed as he couldn't breathe.

Trembling, Jake curved his riser only so little before giving up. He dropped the riser before himself, then looked at his crimson palms shivering from too much exertion. 

He heaved his chest up and down while inhaling, quite an unusual sight for Jake, who knew how to breathe well during physical activities.

Richard laughed, "It's gonna be hard for the current you. But if you go this way, you'll build up more strength and dexterity stats, so I think it's a win-win, isn't it?"

"It is," Jake replied, unknowingly lifting some of his friend's burden.

Richard then passed him his rinser to give him an example of the finished product. Jake took it and studied it with his keen eye, recalling what he'd learned back home. Before making anything, he'd research it online and take important notes to the game world.

Of course, those notes were nothing but Jake drilling the important stuff into his brain.

"It'll take some time for me to make a riser. I've already thought of using the wolf boss' sinews for the bowstring, which should be as durable as the wood. I'll deal with the vibrations later. Now that I think of it, I can use this moment of respite to prepare the bowstring. Could you help me and overlook the process?"

Richard nodded with the pleasure.

Both men headed to the wooden cabin. In its storage, Jake had prepared tanned wolf hide and fur, teeth, flesh, bones, and even blood of the wolf bosses he had hunted ever since his first victory against him.

"How is your training against the wolf boss going?" Richard asked while cutting down the flesh.

Jake chuckled, "I've been fighting him with everything I have except Odin."

"You don't want to become reliant on your summon?" Richard asked.

"Yeah," Jake nodded, "I have yet to secure the perfect victory with my own style. I'm getting a hang of his only skill and should be able to dodge it soon. When I achieve that, I'll add Odin to my style and have him pick up the precious experience of fighting someone much bigger than him. For now, we're building our teamwork on the ordinary wolves. Oh, right! I also thought of fighting the boss with just one form at a time. Like, I think I will start with only the joker form after achieving the perfect victory. I'll try to defeat the boss in three or four different styles."

If the wolf boss had one consciousness, he would have wantonly cursed Jake.

Even Richard felt that it was no longer just a matter of diligence and stubbornness, but Jake was simply a crazy player who wouldn't give up on his enemies until he developed himself to the core on them.

He could only pity enemies that would bar Jake's way in the future.

"What do you think about it?" Jake asked as Richard fell into an unnatural silence.

The newbie helper coughed and forced a smile, "Unless you find a way to go through the boss' hide and immobilize him, it will be difficult, right? As of now, I only see the joker style successfully winning against the boss."

"Yeah, I thought about it," Jake nodded, "I'll see how it goes. It's not like I have no time to practice."

Which wasn't that true since Jake's vacation was about to be over.