"It is a good spell, Teddy, and you cast it perfectly," Mae said failing to lift my spirits, "Eventually you'll be able to duel cast spells and even mix two on the same arrow. It may seem lame now, but imagine if it was mixed with a lightning spell."

"I guess I'll just have to get creative," I said still feeling like I went to open my last present on Christmas and it was a sweater instead of a video game, "I'll try it on an arrow, I guess."

At a thought, a bow appeared in my hands, followed by an arrow. I pulled back the bowstring and thought about the waterball spell again, but focused it into the arrow. It was much more intuitive than I had expected and after a couple of seconds, I released the arrow. It flew straight at the dummy's shield. The arrowhead just barely penetrated the shield, but the waterball popped on the outside of the shield.

"The spell will trigger as soon as the arrowhead makes contact. You should be able to delay it a bit, with a thought, during casting. Try to think of different ways to use this to your advantage. Even the waterball forms powerfully at first," Mae said as she sat on a fencepost beside me.

I thought for a moment and had an idea. Once again I pulled back an arrow. This time I held it for quite a few seconds longer than I had previously. Before I released the arrow I thought about the time delay option and I let loose.

The arrow flew straight into the dummy's shield barely penetrating just as before. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, then a waterball the size of a beachball formed all at once just inside the shield. The force from the sudden coalescence of three or four gallons of water in the small space between the shield and the dummy's chest sent the shield flying away taking the dummy's arm with it.

"That's more like it," I said still a little shocked that it worked better than expected, "I can definitely see how this could have some utility. I'm pretty excited to get some new spells now though."

"That was great, Teddy," Mae said smiling.

I practiced shooting regular arrows at the target for about another fifteen minutes when I received a notification.

Archery: Level 2 (3/100)

"My archery skill leveled up what does that translate to exactly?" I asked Mae.

"You'll find it really is just a representation of your hard work. As you become more skilled you'll find it easier to quickly and effectively use a bow and arrow. If you're asking if it will make your shots more powerful, the answer is no. Damage comes from the quality of the bow, the quality of the arrow, and shot placement," Mae explained plainly, "Shooting a poorly made arrow through a poorly made bow will not do much to a well-armored opponent. Use your brain, get creative, and shoot for weak spots."

"The information all makes sense, but why have the skills at all then? Why have an arbitrary number attached when the increase in skill is noticeable?" I asked Mae a little confused at a seemingly unnecessary skill tracking system.

"Nothing is arbitrary here, Teddy!" she responded a little too worked up, "Everything here has been put in place to gently lead you to the end of your adventure!"

"Okay, sorry, geez," I said as a defensive measure, then I shouldn't have added, "Don't get your pixie panties in a twist."

"For your information, every 5 skill levels will give you a special ability corresponding to that skill!" she said and then took a second to calm herself, "I wanted that part to be a surprise. Also, I'm not a pixie."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it was arbitrary just because I didn't understand it," I said looking at Mae with a little sadness for upsetting her.

"I'm sorry too, Teddy. I shouldn't have gotten excited. I just care about you and want you to get the most out of this experience," she said flying over and giving my arm and weird fairy hug.

I probably looked a little confused. What do you do when a fairy is hugging you, but still flapping its wings? You can't really hug back. It was a warm hug though and I got the feeling that she really did care for me and she was obviously invested in my adventure.

"Let's get on with it then. Now I really want to level up some skills," I said to break the tension as she flew back to her post.

Just then Nina came around the back of the house, "Shamus is looking for you, he could use some help."

I followed her back to the center of town where Shamus was expertly guiding workers and resources. He was a good leader and everyone trusted him completely.

"What's up, Shamus? How can I help next?" I asked walking over to him.

"Now that I have everyone set on their tasks to repair the town, we need to find out what we can about the attacker and the reason they attacked. Until we understand this attack we will be living in fear of another. Would you come with me to find the attacker and make the town safe again?" Shamus asked with steely resolve.

New Quest!

Help Shamus find the attacker.

Reward: 2,500XP

"Absolutely," I said after seeing the reward XP and knowing I needed to get stronger. Plus, it would help the town. My affirmative answer was a no-brainer.

Shamus had a huge smile on his face as he handed me a nice-looking bow and a stack of equally well-made arrows. "This is one of my handmade bows. May it serve you well," he said with a grateful smile on his face.

"Thank you so much," I said taking the bow and arrows, "When do we leave?"

"Right now," He answered.

I examined the equipment he had just given me and my jaw dropped.

Shamus' Family Bow

Rare Quality

This bow is the work of a master craftsman. Its design has been passed down and improved on for generations. Its recurve design helps maximize the speed and accuracy of any arrow it fires.

Arrow damage x 4

Well-made Arrow x40

Uncommon Quality

This arrow is the work of a master craftsman.

Damage 9-16

It was my first time seeing a rare quality item in my inventory. The amazing recurve bow over the blue background almost brought a tear to my eye. It also made me really excited to start finding better loot. Mae said as I fought stronger monsters I would get better loot, but I can't loot them if I can't beat them. I was pretty comfortable with the idea of this being like a game at this point and it was really pushing me to become more powerful.

"This is too much Shamus. I can't take your bow," I said reluctantly not actually wanting to give up this beauty, but it was an incredible gift.

Shamus smiled as he pulled out his bow. It matched the one he gave me exactly, except his looked a little more polished. "No worries, Theodore, that's my old bow," he said obviously proud of his new bow. "It still has a lot of life in it though and will serve you well."

He had already spoken to the eyewitnesses of the attack and they had told him that they saw the dragon head North out of town and then towards the East side of the mountain. It happened to be the same mountain I had descended so I pulled up my map.

Everything was still hidden on that side of the mountain so I popped out of menu mode and we headed out with the goal of finding our answer on the side of the mountain. Nina had given me a sleeping mat and blanket for the journey and asked me to bring Shamus back to her safe and sound. Shamus seemed fairly confident so I agreed with her request.

We headed out into the forest towards the mountain.

"How many dragons have you fought?" I asked trying to gauge his confidence a little better.

"Including this one?" He asked with a smile.

"Yeah," I said trying to match his confidence.

"One."