After much deliberation, Nava finally decided on a bow as his quest reward. He chose this weapon over melee combat because he felt his base physical stats were too low; even a weapon wouldn't be of much help.
Although Nava's current power level allowed him to attack enemies over 50 meters away, it was still too slow compared to the monsters in The Oneness. A missed attack or being surrounded by multiple enemies would greatly increase the chance of being attacked immediately.
For these reasons, Nawa chose a bow. Its effective range of over 150 meters reduced the risk of being attacked at close range and offered versatility, whether for surprise attacks or weakening enemies before they entered the range of magic skills.
Importantly, bows don't rely as much on combat skill as swords or spears, which would be significantly less effective without it. Based on all these reasons, Nava was confident he had made the right choice.
The remaining problem was which bow to choose from the dozens lined up in the shop. Although they all seemed quite similar, the dilemma remained. But Nawa wanted the best bow possible.
Actually, using the item inspection function in the player's equipment would solve this problem. However, inspecting every bow in the shop would cost more than the bow itself, which wouldn't be worth it at all.
While pondering, Nawa's eyes stopped at a wooden bow. It was over 5 feet long, and while its overall design was rather plain, it looked quite powerful.
Nawa wasn't interested in this bow because of its appearance, but because the system in the player's equipment charged a high inspection fee of 25 copper coins, while the others only cost 1-3 copper coins.
Nawa used the simple logic that the better the item, the more expensive the inspection should be. Without hesitation, he paid the 25 copper coins to the system and excitedly waited for the bow's information to appear.
"Ding!"A sound rang in his head, and a message window appeared almost immediately.
(High-Quality Longbow: Made from ash wood and long-horned ox tendon, meticulously crafted by a dwarf craftsman.) (In the village of Mattehons)
(Attack Power 12-15, Effective Range 250 meters, Suitable for All Classes)
(Durability 30/30)
(Price: 7 Silver Coins)
Just as Nawa had predicted, this bow was not only better than the others, but a top-tier artifact with an effective range of 250 meters.
Nawa never expected such luck. Just 50 slime cores had given him such a high-quality weapon, plus 2 reputation points from the system. It was an incredibly profitable deal.
The blacksmith shop owner frowned, his face clearly showing distress. Since offering the quest to Nawa, he had already stored most of his good weapons away. What was on display were just ordinary items. Compared to 50 slime cores, it was a profitable business.
But this bow was his own, the one he used for hunting, so he had made it with high-quality materials. Its quality was far superior to the ordinary bows currently on display.
"You're really lucky, young man. This bow isn't actually for sale, but never mind, since we've agreed, I won't break my word. This bow is yours now," the shop owner said reluctantly.
"Thank you very much," Nawa said, bowing respectfully, his face beaming with joy.
Although the bow was free for Nava as it was a quest reward, the shop owner wouldn't give him the arrows for free. Nava had to pay for them. The shop sold various types of arrows, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
For example, arrows made from animal horns have high firing speed but low penetration power, suitable for hunting small monsters with low defense.
Metal arrows, on the other hand, don't have a very high firing speed but have higher penetration power, suitable for large monsters with high defense.
Nawa decided to buy 100 arrows made from animal horns for 75 copper coins and 30 metal arrows for 25 copper coins.
Besides these, the shop also had many types of alloy arrows. The arrows were made of silver, a metal with light element properties, suitable for dealing with dark-type monsters, especially the undead.
But what Nawa was particularly interested in were the arrows made of magic crystal alloy.
With these magic crystal alloy arrows, Nawa could use his skills alongside archery. Not only would his destructive power be increased, but his attack range would also be many times longer.
Unfortunately, they were very expensive. A single arrow cost more than all the arrows Nawa had bought so far.
"Sigh… If this iron gauntlet hadn't broken, I could have saved a lot of money on these weapons."
Nawa sighed deeply as he looked at the iron gauntlet. Once, this gauntlet was an incredibly powerful weapon. Sadly, since returning to the world, it had lost its power, becoming just an ordinary, incredibly durable gauntlet.
"That's right, if I use the system to inspect it, maybe I can find a way to restore this gauntlet to its original state."
After saying that, Nawa immediately activated the system's inspection function on the iron gauntlet. But when the system window displayed the inspection fee… Nawa's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No way! What are these numbers?"
What Nawa saw was that the inspection fee for the Iron Gauntlet was a staggering 90 silver coins. That price was enough to buy a premium weapon. As far as Nawa knew, even rare weapons highly sought after by high-ranked players didn't have such high inspection fees.
Nawa thought to himself, perhaps the Iron Gauntlet that Wizard Alfor gave him was a rare weapon, or even higher. Thinking this, Nawa felt quite pleased. He resolved to find a way to repair it, no matter what. But not now.
His urgent matter was finding a way to pay off the loan he borrowed from PlayforClash Company. The longer he delayed, the more interest would accumulate.
After finishing his business at the weapon shop, Nawa went to the tailor shop in Mattehorn to deliver another task. As soon as the tailor shop owner saw the large pile of sheepskin Nawa brought out, his face soured.
Nawa's sheepskin shearing skills were terrible, but the owner still accepted the hides.
Nawa received a set of linen clothing as a reward for completing a promised mission. It consisted of a long-sleeved shirt, pants, shoes, and gloves—one pair of each.
Although they appeared to be of common, even low-grade, quality, it was still better than his current free outfit from the guild.
Nawa paid 5 copper coins for an inspection, revealing that each piece had a defense rating of 5-7, quite high for common-grade items. Furthermore, wearing the complete set increased overall defense by 5%.
Nawa's face lit up with joy. His Dragon Scale Armor was severely damaged and almost unusable. This linen set significantly improved his defense.
Nawa quickly changed into the clothes before glancing at himself in the mirror. He resembled a hunter in a dark brown outfit. Nawa smiled with satisfaction, not only because the outfit looked good, but also because it felt like he was playing a game and his character had evolved.
By the time he left the tailor shop, it was getting dark. Nawa headed to the hotel located east of the city. Not far from the city square, Nawa needed to rent a room to use as a base for logging out back to the world.
Nawa knew firsthand how uncertain things were outside the city walls. Danger could strike at any moment; logging out while outside the walls wasn't wise. Even if he succeeded in logging out, there was no guarantee of what he would face upon returning.
Logging out from within his hotel room, inside the city walls, was therefore absolutely necessary. Besides, Nava also needed to gather information about the Rank A killer at the hotel bar.