Chapter 3: Crossbow

Fiona, true to her word, accepted Logan as her disciple, but she didn’t immediately start training him or take him on adventures.

No matter how much resolve she read in his eyes, the path of an adventurer was still far too long and arduous for a ten-year-old boy.

Even for a Gold-grade adventurer known as ‘Jingeom’ (TL: True/Divine Sword), she couldn’t recklessly lead a ten-year-old child down the dangerous path of adventuring.

Therefore, Logan’s first assigned role was that of a guild errand boy.

Perhaps it was a test.

It might have been Fiona’s way of confirming whether his desperation was a momentary whim or a steadfast will.

Whether Logan vaguely guessed her intentions, or perhaps simply because of his desperate desire to do anything for Irene, he began to perform his duties silently, without a single word of complaint.

The guild’s chores were endless.

Searching the entire village for a resident’s lost pet cat, or wandering the outskirts of the forest to gather designated medicinal herbs, were among the more tolerable tasks.

He carried heavy loads, cleaned the messy guild hall, and even took on the cleaning of the stables and latrines, which smelled so foul he wanted to pinch his nose.

“Oh! Logan, you’re smelling quite strong today, eh? Kuhaha!”

Around afternoon, as Logan returned from cleaning the stables, a bearded adventurer teased him mischievously.

An undeniable stench emanated from his clothes and hair.

“Yes, I’ve been diligently clearing out horse manure again today.”

Logan replied calmly, wiping his sweat.

At his composed reaction, the bearded adventurer, on the contrary, chuckled heartily and offered him a piece of jerky from his pocket.

“Yeah! You worked hard, kid. Here, eat this!”

“Ah, I’m alright…”

“Don’t refuse, just eat it! You’re at a growing age, aren’t you! Ah, of course, wash your hands thoroughly before eating! Wahaha!”

At first, the adventurers had ignored him or found him bothersome, wondering why a little kid was loitering around the guild.

However, seeing Logan diligently perform unpleasant tasks every day, always energetic and sincere in his duties, their perception of him gradually changed.

“Ah, this is a pain to carry around… Here, take it, Logan!”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly giving this to me…”

“Just take it! It’s pocket money, you brat!”

Now, some adventurers would offer words of encouragement, share their snacks, or even press a few copper coins into his hand as pocket money when they saw Logan.

Naturally, Fiona couldn’t help but be impressed by Logan’s demeanor.

Around the time he grew accustomed to guild work, she began to occasionally call him to the open area behind the guild to teach him basic knowledge.

“Monster weaknesses vary by type. Goblins have low intelligence but travel in large numbers, so you must be careful not to get surrounded. Orcs are strong but slow, so attacking their flanks or rear is effective.”

“When you discover a trap, don’t touch it recklessly. First, assess the surrounding terrain and look for traces. If you’re not confident you can disarm it, it’s best to find a way around.”

From survival skills like understanding monster weaknesses and habits, trap setting and disarming techniques, and first aid, to basic dagger stances and footwork.

“You’re still too young to handle weapons properly. Let’s start with this dagger. There’s no need to feel disappointed. There’s no weapon better than this for easily targeting vital spots.”

Full-fledged weapons like swords, spears, or bows were still too cumbersome for Logan’s small frame to handle.

However, even just the dagger techniques and survival knowledge Fiona taught him were like welcome rain in a drought for Logan.

Coming directly from Fiona, a Gold-grade adventurer, not just any ordinary one, the value of her tutelage was immeasurable.

What was astonishing was Logan’s learning speed.

When Fiona demonstrated a technique once and explained the knack, he absorbed it and made it his own in an instant, like a sponge soaking up water.

His stance was still clumsy, but his speed in understanding the core principles of movement and his ability to apply them were unbelievably advanced for a ten-year-old boy.

“Hah… You’re really amazing, Logan. It makes me doubt if you’re really ten years old.”

After a few exchanges of dagger strikes, Fiona praised him, ruffling his hair.

“Th-thank you…”

Logan blushed at the compliment, but inwardly, he felt a slight pang of guilt.

‘It was because the fact that he wasn’t ‘truly ten years old’ weighed on his mind.’

He finally realized it now.

The memories of his past life were not just faint afterimages; the thinking ability and comprehension he possessed as an adult remained intact in this life.

That was the source of his learning ability, incomparable to ordinary children.

‘If only my past self had been smarter, or had some special skills…’

A sense of regret lingered, but he decided to be grateful for even this small advantage.

He also resolved to more actively delve into the memories of his past life, which he had previously tried not to recall.

It was out of hope that he might salvage some fragment of knowledge or skill that could be helpful in his current life.

Then one day, while receiving Fiona’s guidance in the open area behind the guild as usual, Logan’s eyes fell upon a pile of junk in one corner.

It was a heap of discarded weapons that were no longer functional: rusted or chipped swords, bows with broken strings, and spears with shattered hafts.

“What’s that, Fiona?”

“Ah, those? They’re discarded weapons collected from the guild blacksmith to be melted down and reused as scrap metal. Why? See anything useful?”

Fiona asked with a grin.

Logan felt a little disappointed inwardly.

He had briefly thought that if he picked up a few of the ones that looked intact and sold them to a junk dealer, he might earn a few copper coins.

As if reading his mind, Fiona chuckled and added.

“Don’t get your hopes up, kid. Nobody buys stuff like that. They’re just lumps of scrap metal, already broken beyond repair.”

“Is that so… Still… that one looks somewhat intact, though?”

Logan pointed to a particular item in the weapon pile that stood out.

Unlike the other weapons, it wasn’t severely rusted or broken; it was a wooden weapon that had maintained a relatively complete form.

“Hmm? Let me see…”

Fiona approached where Logan pointed and picked up the weapon.

Brushing off the dust, its identity was revealed.

“Ah, it’s a crossbow. Hmm… Come to think of it, this one isn’t in bad shape. It’s a bit of a waste to just throw it away.”

It was a rather serviceable-looking portable crossbow, with a body made of sturdy oak and a steel prod.

“…Why would someone throw away something in such good condition? Is it cursed or something?”

Logan asked, his eyes full of curiosity.

“Hmm… I don’t sense any particularly evil aura from it…”

Fiona tilted her head, examining the crossbow from all angles.

It didn’t seem to be made of particularly expensive materials, nor was it a magical item.

“Probably… they just got tired of using it and threw it away. Crossbows are trickier to handle than you’d think, and not very practical. Perhaps some adventurer used it for a bit out of curiosity and then just tossed it in a corner.”

Unlike bows, crossbows allowed for relatively accurate aiming even without much skill, but their slow loading speed and considerable weight made them unpopular among adventurers who valued agile movements.

“Still, it must have cost a fair bit to make… It’s a waste to just throw it away.”

Logan expressed his regret.

No matter how cheaply it was made, its structure was more complex than a bow, so its manufacturing cost would have been higher.

“You’ve got a point… Hmm…”

Fiona’s eyes suddenly sparkled as she fiddled with the crossbow.

She looked at Logan for a moment as if an idea struck her, then strode into the guild building.

“Wait here a minute!”

“?”

A short while later, Fiona returned with a guild administrative staff member.

The two discussed the crossbow for a moment, and the staff member shrugged and nodded as if it were no big deal.

Once their conversation ended, Fiona approached Logan again and thrust the crossbow she was holding at him.

“Here, take it.”

“Huh? Why are you giving this to me…?”

Logan was bewildered.

Was she trying to sell it to him?

Or telling him to sell it to a junk dealer for pocket money?

Contrary to his expectations, Fiona grinned and said.

“I think you can handle this even with your small frame. A bow is still too much for you, but a crossbow doesn’t require much arm strength.”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, that was true.

Loading it would require some knack and strength, but once loaded, even a child could fire it.

“Maybe it’s fate that you found this. It wouldn’t hurt to try using it. Of course, you’ll have to cover the cost of the bolts…”

Fiona added playfully, then took something out of the small bag slung over her back.

It was a bundle of short, blunt arrows—crossbow bolts.

They were likely from the guild storeroom.

“Here, practice with these for now. I’ve hardly ever used a crossbow myself, so I can’t teach you properly… but well, you just aim and pull the trigger, right? You’ll get the hang of it quickly.”

Fiona placed the crossbow in Logan’s hands and explained the basic operation and safety precautions.

Logan’s heart pounded at the thought of obtaining a new weapon.

The dagger techniques Fiona taught him were excellent, but there was the pressure of having to engage monsters directly.

But with this crossbow, he could potentially engage enemies safely from a distance.

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

Logan replied, full of motivation.

His eyes sparkled with anticipation for new possibilities.

---

Thwack!

With a dull sound, a bolt embedded itself deeply into the center of the wooden target.

“Wow… Logan… you really…”

Fiona couldn’t hide her astonishment as she looked at Logan.

The accuracy was unbelievable for a child who had just picked up a crossbow for the first time.

After just a few test shots, Logan quickly grasped the crossbow’s characteristics and began hitting the target with a stable stance.

“R-really?”

Logan felt a sense of pride, though he appeared sheepish.

“It’s not ‘really?’! You have an incredible talent for shooting!”

Fiona excitedly ruffled Logan’s hair.

His speed in learning dagger techniques was surprising, but his skill with the crossbow was even more so.

Like a marksman trained for a long time, his movements were fluid and without unnecessary actions.

“It seems you’re much better suited to be a scout rather than just a warrior type. If you combine ranged attack capabilities with quick situational judgment and information gathering skills, it would be perfect!”

Fiona said excitedly, envisioning Logan’s future.

For a child like Logan, who learned quickly and showed talent with ranged weapons, becoming a scout was an excellent choice.

“Alright! Let’s have you practice with this crossbow as your main weapon until your body grows enough to handle a proper bow. As for the bolts… yes, I’ll buy them for you from time to time.”

“Ah, thank you so much! But I feel like I’m imposing too much…”

When Logan tried to decline out of guilt, Fiona ruffled his hair again and laughed heartily.

“It’s fine, brat! How much do bolts even cost? A master can’t even do that much for her disciple?”

In truth, Fiona wanted to do much more for Logan.

From his immediate needs like food and shelter to proper equipment and living expenses.

However, she restrained herself.

She judged that providing financial support out of misplaced sympathy might help in the short term, but in the long run, it could rob Logan of his self-reliance and motivation to grow.

In fact, she had a hard time dissuading some adventurers in the guild who tried to give Logan not just a few copper coins, but even silver coins.

‘This kid can grow on his own. My job is to open the way for him and provide the minimum foundation.’

With that thought, Fiona decided to consistently support Logan with bolts so he could focus on his crossbow training.

She had no idea at the time what unforeseen consequences this would bring in the future.

---

‘I have a talent for shooting?’

Filled with elation from Fiona’s praise and encouragement, Logan headed home.

His grip tightened on the crossbow.

Perhaps, he thought, he truly did possess some special talent.

‘Is it because of my past life experiences?’

The thought suddenly crossed his mind.

The detailed memories of how long he had lived or what kind of life he had led in his past life were hazy, but he vaguely recalled serving in the military.

The sensation of handling a firearm, aiming at a target, and pulling the trigger.

That familiarity seemed to apply directly to crossbow shooting.

‘If I keep trying like this… maybe I can become an official adventurer someday.’

Of course, he was only just taking his first steps, and even if he became an official adventurer, he would have to start from the lowest Wood-grade.

But for Logan, that alone was a heart-pounding hope.

The possibility of gaining the strength to protect Irene, the ability to give her a better life.

It was with such a hopeful heart that he arrived home.

“Logan!”

Irene’s voice, greeting him, was unusually excited.

Her face, always clouded with sadness and anxiety, was now full of life, and her cheeks were flushed red.

“Irene? Did something good happen? You look so bright.”

When Logan asked, puzzled, Irene couldn’t hide her excitement and grabbed his hand.

“Ah… well..! Logan, come here!”

Wanting to show him directly rather than explain, Irene led Logan to the small open area behind their house.

Irene took a moment to catch her breath in front of Logan, then carefully extended both hands forward.

Then, as if fervently wishing for something, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

“Now… look at this!”

Whoosh—!

A faint but distinct aura of light bloomed above Irene’s small palms.

It soon shimmered like a heat haze, beginning to take the form of a small flame.

“Th-this is… magic?”

Logan’s eyes widened as he stared at the sight.

Magic, something he had only heard about in stories, was unfolding right before his eyes.

“Right? This is magic, isn’t it, Logan? I did it!”

Irene asked Logan for confirmation, smiling as if she owned the world.

Her dark eyes sparkled like stars with joy and excitement.

Seeing her, a wide smile spread across Logan’s lips as well.

“Amazing! Irene, that’s truly amazing! How did you do it?”

“I don’t really know… I just… kept thinking about it earnestly, and suddenly it happened like this… hehe.”

Irene chuckled shyly, scratching her head.

Logan was genuinely happy.

Happy to see her laugh so purely for the first time in a long while, free from the shadow of her terrible memories.

And above all, he felt a profound, heart-swelling emotion that the girl he cherished most in the world possessed such an astonishing talent.

‘Irene… had such an incredible talent.’

He once again made a firm resolution.

He had to become stronger so that this dazzling talent could fully bloom.

He had to shield her from all dangers and difficulties so that she could devote herself to magic without any worries.

For her sake, he could do anything.

No, he had to.

---

The next day, in the early dawn before the sun had risen.

Logan gazed at Irene’s sleeping face for a moment, then quietly left the house.

In his hand was the old crossbow Fiona had given him, along with a bundle of bolts.

His steps were not directed towards the Adventurer’s Guild, but towards the deep forest on the outskirts of the village.

Into the forest, where darkness had not yet lifted, the small boy’s footsteps advanced towards danger.