Chapter 33: The Shield, the Bow, and Me
The next day, Jin once again made his way to Gantz’s weapon shop.
"Hello!"
"Oh, you’re here. The repair’s done."
Gantz said, handing over the steel spear Jin had left for maintenance.
Jin immediately disassembled and reassembled it on the spot to check the work. The joints had begun to creak a little after the battle with the mutant, but now it was as good as new.
"Thank you very much. Now it’s back in perfect condition."
"Good. Still, that spear’s really underpowered for you. Even if it’s not your main weapon, don’t you think it’s time you bought a better one?"
Gantz’s concern was only natural. In fact, during the fight against the mutant, it had become clear that the spear couldn’t keep up—Jin had ended up relying on his wooden sword instead.
"Well, I just like that this one can be disassembled. I won’t say I’m not interested in a better spear, but unless it’s much better, I’d still choose this one."
A normal spear would have to be carried in one hand or strapped across the back, either way getting in the way more often than not. The fact that this one could be taken apart and easily carried was what Jin valued. Besides, having the wooden sword as his main weapon gave him confidence.
"…Well, if that’s how you feel, I won’t argue."
If nothing else, Gantz was pleased that Jin appreciated his craftsmanship.
"Anyway, today I’d like to take a look at shields and bows. I want to broaden what I can do."
Answering Jin’s request, Gantz brought out his recommendation: a round shield. Its center bulged outward, while the inside was indented, with a handle fitted into the hollow.
"This is my pick. Round shields are on the lighter side, but the defense is solid. As you can see, you grip the handle here in the middle. You’ll be catching blows with your wrist, but you should be fine."
Gantz then showed him another shield. It was only a little bigger, but its reverse side was different. In addition to the central grip, there was another handle set off to the side, and a strap opposite it for fastening the arm. It was clearly designed to anchor the shield across the entire forearm, from wrist to fist, to absorb impact.
"With this type, you can brace it against your whole arm, so it takes hits better. But since you sometimes fight with both hands on a weapon, I’d say you’re better off with something you can throw away quickly if you need to."
True enough—even the best defense would be a liability if he couldn’t ditch it when the situation called for it. Jin thought for a moment, then made his choice.
"…I’ll take the slightly larger one. That way I can hold it by the center when I want to, and switch between grips."
That was true, but Jin also had another reason: his skills. With Change or Equipment, he could swap weapons on the fly. Change was convenient for switching multiple pieces at once, but for just one item, Equipment, or even calling something directly from his Item Bag was enough.
He had tested it just yesterday—while holding his wooden sword in his right hand, he could swap it with the spear, or simply summon and dismiss the spear into his empty left hand with nothing more than a thought. So when fighting two-handed, he intended to simply stow the shield away.
"Alright, got it. As for the bow, sorry, I don’t keep those in stock. You’ll be stopping by the guild anyway—why not ask Greg where to buy one?"
"Understood, I’ll do that."
And so, Jin purchased the slightly larger round shield. He strapped it to his left arm at once; thanks to his high STR, it hardly weighed anything. With a few experimental swings of his arm, he nodded in satisfaction and grinned.
"Not bad. Looks good on you."
Gantz said, watching him thoughtfully. Then, after a pause, he asked,
"I mentioned it yesterday, but I got some fine-quality Mad Bull leather. I was going to use it for your order. The budget was eight gold, but would you manage ten?"
"The budget’s fine… but why?"
"I had an idea. You do plan on using the shield long-term, right?"
"Yes, I do."
During the fight with the mutant, Jin had even blocked attacks with his sword to keep enemies from slipping past him. While offense was important, Jin had learned that protecting allies was just as crucial. With the future of party battles in mind, a shield was indispensable.
"Then give me a little more time. If the idea doesn’t work out, you’ll only pay the original eight. How about it?"
"Yes. Please, I’d be grateful."
Jin answered without hesitation. He didn’t know what Gantz was planning, but if the man he trusted wanted to go out of his way for him, he was more than happy to accept. He was so excited that he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
"…Heh. Guess I’ll have to work hard to meet your expectations."
Gantz said with a wry grin, but with determination in his eyes.
After chatting for a while longer, Jin left the shop and made his way to the guild.
Even on the way, Jin kept the shield equipped. Normally, he would have stowed it in his Item Bag, but this time he wore it on purpose—to get used to it. Not because he was too happy about his new toy. Or so he told himself.
As he entered the guild and headed toward the training grounds, a woman called out to him. It was Samantha.
Jin had seen her at the reception desk, but this was the first time she had spoken to him directly. Curious, he stopped and asked,
"What is it?"
"Sorry for calling you out of the blue. I’m Samantha. Since you were heading to the training grounds, I thought you might be looking for Instructor Greg. Am I wrong?"
"No, you’re exactly right."
"In that case, I’m sorry—Instructor Greg isn’t at the grounds today."
Jin nodded, understanding. It was kind of her to go out of her way to tell him.
"Thank you for going out of your way to tell me."
Jin said, making sure to show his gratitude. Then he added,
"Is Instructor Melinda around?"
"Eh? Uh, yes—I think Instructor Melinda should be there."
Samantha replied, sounding oddly flustered.
"Great. Then I’ll go ask her. Thank you very much."
Still a little puzzled, Jin bid her farewell and headed for the training grounds.
Samantha, on the other hand, though she didn’t show it, felt disappointed. She had approached Jin with the intention of befriending him for Aria’s sake—and if things went well, she had hoped to invite him for tea and quietly draw out some information. But her scheme fell flat, and as Jin entered the training ground, she muttered under her breath,
"…Slipped away."
Fortunately, no one else was around to hear that slightly dark murmur.
Inside the training ground, Jin searched for Melinda—but before he could find her, she called out first.
"Hey, Jin-kun. What’s up? Greg’s not here today, you know."
"Good afternoon, Instructor Melinda. Actually, I came to consult you about something."
"With me? What is it?"
Jin explained that he was planning to buy a bow, and asked if she knew of any shop she could recommend. After thinking for a moment, Melinda smiled brightly.
"Yes, I do know a good place. But it’s a bit early right now. If you go after lunch, the timing will be just right."
She then gave Jin detailed directions, pressing him to go in the early afternoon. Without thinking too deeply about it, Jin readily promised to visit the shop at that time. Thanking her, he left—never noticing Melinda smirking mischievously behind his back. Apparently, Samantha wasn’t the only one with a slightly dark side.
After leaving the guild, Jin had an early lunch. For him, food had become one of the greatest pleasures in this new world. Thanking his healthy body, he ate heartily—though the memory of yesterday morning made him laugh wryly.
At the post-battle celebration, he had eaten a decent meal, but less than usual. He hadn’t thought much of it then, but the next morning he understood why: he had woken with a crushing hunger. Only then did he realize he had leveled up after defeating the mutant.
He hadn’t told the inn in advance, but thanks to the kindness of the staff, they had managed to prepare him a meal. This time, since his level had only gone up by one, his hunger was satisfied with much less than before—a small relief.
Still, the experience taught Jin a lesson. From now on, he enabled the system notification sounds. Whenever he leveled up or acquired a new skill, the system would chime. If he heard the "ping," he would just check his log or Basic Info and never overlook it again. In fact, during the last training, not only had his level increased—he had also gained a new skill.
After enjoying his meal, Jin relaxed in the plaza with a cup of juice, watching the otherworldly scenery until it was time. Then he set off for the shop Melinda had told him about. Since he was going to buy a bow, he discreetly stored his shield in his Item Bag.
"Hello, excuse me," Jin called as he entered the store.
Inside were two women chatting. One turned around—and it was Erza.
"Jin? What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised.
Naturally so; she had no idea Jin was interested in practicing archery.
"I came to buy a bow. Instructor Melinda recommended this place."
"I see. I was just here to pick up a bow I’d left for adjustment."
As the two exchanged their reasons for being there, a dog-eared woman in her forties, who appeared to be a shop employee, addressed Jin.
"So you’re the one helping out Erza, huh? I’m Shima, I work here—and I’m also her aunt. Nice to meet you."
"The one being helped is me, actually. My name’s Jin. It’s a pleasure to meet you."
Jin replied with a smile.
He explained he wanted to buy a bow, and tried drawing several to test their feel. In the end, he chose a longbow—affordable, and well-suited to his strength. A shortbow was too light, while the composite bow was too expensive to consider.
"Impressive, that you can draw something heavier than Erza’s bow. When your level rises more and you’ve saved up, you should order a custom composite bow from my husband."
Jin had no idea how much a custom composite bow would cost, but someday it might become necessary. For now, he just smiled vaguely.
After also buying fifty arrows, Jin was about to leave when Erza asked,
"So, Jin, do you have any plans for today?"
"Not really. I was just going to gather herbs and maybe test the bow while I was at it."
"Then why don’t you come with me? I’m going hunting for practice. We can sell the meat to the butcher afterward. It’s not far—we’ll be back by evening."
"Oh? In that case, I’d love to."
Actual combat was the fastest way to get accustomed to a new weapon. And if the prey would be put to good use, Jin had no reason to refuse.
The two of them left the shop together and headed toward a nearby forest under Erza’s guidance. As they neared the woods, they moved stealthily, refraining from talking to avoid alerting prey. Jin’s Stealth skill, learned during his beginner’s training, proved useful—it was rare for enemies to notice them before they struck.
When they spotted prey, both would loose arrows at the same target. Even if one missed, the other could still land the kill. At first, Jin’s shots went wide more often than not, but by the midpoint, he had grown used to the bow’s range and hardly missed. It went without saying that his system notification chimed during the hunt.
After taking down a fair number of animals, they decided to head back to the city.
"Jin, you really are amazing."
Erza said as they walked.
"If it’s with a sword, you can even take down a mutant alone. And now with a bow, you’ve gotten good in no time. You’re honestly amazing."
Erza had been honing her archery for weeks, yet it felt like Jin had caught up in a single day. As for mutants, she wasn’t even sure she could beat one. Though her words praised him, her expression looked lonely.
"You’re amazing too, Erza. Your aim was steady, and you didn’t miss. It’s not like I’m some special case."
Jin replied. But Erza’s face remained clouded. Watching her profile, Jin remembered his own past.
There really are people in the world who excel. Back in school, it was his classmates who shone at sports tournaments. After joining the society, it was his colleagues with stellar sales results. Jin had often envied them. By comparing himself to those who could, he had felt the sting of inferiority. Erza’s expression now was the very same as his back then.
But Jin had never chosen to work harder in those fields. He hadn’t trained his body, hadn’t continued devising strategies to improve his sales. He hadn’t made the effort—he had only looked on with envy.
Erza was different. She trained her archery with clear purpose, and that effort was evident in her results. She kept striving for the self she wanted to become. There was nothing shameful in that.
After his illness forced him to reflect, Jin had eventually changed and put in steady effort. But the him of the past and Erza were worlds apart.
Wanting to ease her heart even a little, Jin carefully chose his words.
"Hey, Erza. It’s true, I seem to pick things up a bit faster than most. And honestly, I’ve got secrets I can’t exactly explain."
At the mention of secrets, Erza turned to look at him.
"When you call me amazing, it’s because of those things that have nothing to do with effort. But I don’t think that makes me amazing at all."
Making sure she was listening intently, Jin paused before continuing.
"The truly amazing ones are people like you—those who keep working toward the person they want to become."
He spoke from the heart, recalling his own failings.
"I like to think I’m working hard these days, but in the past, I wasn’t. Even if I had a dream of who I wanted to be, I didn’t put in enough effort. But you, Erza—you’re different. I can see how hard you’re working."
Even if he granted that he was "amazing" in some way, Jin didn’t think it was the true kind of amazing. Relying on given abilities made him feel immature at best.
"There are plenty of amazing people out there, aren't there? Instructor Greg, Instructor Melinda, for example. People like them make you admire them, make you want to be like them. But Erza, do you want to be like me? Weaker than Instructor Greg and Instructor Melinda? Or do you want to be like them?"
He gave her a moment.
"Or… do you want to become stronger than anyone?"
He posed the question—and Erza answered.
"Stronger than anyone. Stronger than Instructor Greg, stronger than Instructor Melinda, stronger than you. Stronger than anyone, someday. Even if I can’t now, I want to. That’s my dream."
She remembered. After giving birth, her mother’s health had declined, leaving her unable to move as freely. But before that, she had been a truly strong woman—or so Erza had always been told. Even now, she was still strong, and Erza often wondered just how much more powerful her mother had once been. She had thought she was the cause of her mother’s frailty, and somewhere along the way, she had decided she would grow stronger, for her mother’s share too, and become the strongest of all.
But adulthood and the life of an adventurer had brought her face-to-face with reality. She had stopped dreaming. Though she trained, she resigned herself to the limits. Then she met Jin, drawn to his talent—while also envying it. That swirl of emotions she’d felt just moments ago—she realized it was all tied to that. Remembering her dream now, Erza felt her heart clear.
"Good. Then don’t waste time comparing yourself to me. Look higher. If you’re going to compare, aim for the very top."
Jin said with a grin, sensing her mood lift.
"Yeah. You’re right. Sorry for getting down over something so silly."
At last, Erza’s smile returned.
"Oh, that reminds me."
Jin added. He had a dream of his own.
"One of my dreams is to gain enough strength to protect the people around me. So if you’re going to become the strongest, then I’ll have to get even stronger just to protect you."
Protection wasn’t limited to physical defense, but Jin chose to put it simply—for the sake of this hardworking, adorable rival of his.
"I don’t aim to be the strongest, but I’m not about to lose to you either. So from here on out, it’s a contest, Erza."
He flashed her a warm smile, challenging her.
"Yeah, I won’t lose either," Erza answered with a grin of her own.
Almost in unison, they reached out and clasped hands firmly. A moment later, both of them burst out laughing. Their laughter carried the same meaning: gratitude for having found such a rare and precious rival.
Their bright laughter rang out, carried far across the wide, open plain by the wind.
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