The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Skill Research Arc: Chapter 29 - The Way of the Arrow

27 June 2023

Kesoko, 32nd Floor

"Do you not know the way of the arrow?"

That question had bugged me really hard.

It was at the time when Mikane brought the question up, or rather, when I decided to use my bow to hunt the demons with her in the northern outskirts of Kesoko. The outskirts were all bamboo forest though, but with my map showing my exact location, I couldn't help but wanted to take note of that possibly insignificant detail.

The Dragon Slayer+8, which had an enhancement limit of 10, held well in my left holder arm. My right arm was ready to pull the bowstring anytime, the arrow already materializing itself on my bow at the right place to be pulled. All these really required quite the time to get used to, yet the weapon skills I could use with the bow only numbered one.

Don't get me wrong here. I'd already seen and searched through the Bow & Arrow skill tree in my menu, and knew that there were more than what I could do with my bow, apart from the 1-hit bow skill that I had always been using, Snipe Shot. That bow skill always got jobs done during enemy mob hunts, but it gradually wasn't as reliable as what I thought it used to be.

Mikane brought the topic up the instant my bow appeared.

"That's.....the way of the arrow, isn't it?"

Trying to understand the slang of her speech, I replied while stretching my held bow at arm length.

"Hmm......if that's how you people see it, then yeah, I follow the way of the arrow, as well as the way of the......spear. So you're following the way of the dagger, I assume?"

"I follow the way of the kunai too, you know!"

"Oh, I see.......the way of the kunai, huh......."

I needed to learn how the people here in Kesoko talk. I really should make a mental note about it.

"Anyways, I'm following the way of the arrow today. I hope our usual strategy doesn't change much....."

Mikane maintained her smile as she said, "It doesn't. I think today's strategy might be better!"

We soon spotted a demon with a humanoid build in the distance. Mikane started off with her kunai throw, striking the demon down into slumber. She never needed a second throw to hit the same enemy, which made me feel impressed of her support role as an NPC companion.

My accuracy, however, might fall short of Mikane's. I readied my bow to activate the bow skill, Snipe Shot. The arrow glowed light blue as I released the string. Sure enough, the demon caught the arrow by the head, before bursting into crystals right after. It must have been a critical hit, I thought, before pulling another arrow.

It wasn't that my normal shots were that inaccurate, but I didn't want to waste Mikane's power of immobilizing enemies while going demon hunting. I do still take a considerable amount of time getting a good shot on anything, so I didn't want to take my chances.

Surprisingly, I soon took down the next few demons with single headshots each, with Snipe Shot. Even without critical damage, the skill still could take down the demons in one shot, as long as it struck the head. I really had underestimated the power of the skill, but I couldn't help thinking that another reason might be behind this. I never found out that reason, though.

By the time of evening, the forest had lost a dozen demons, and we took a break under a bamboo tree with an exceptionally thick trunk. I sat leaning against the smooth and hollow pillar, and Mikane did the same beside me. I looked at our HP gauges at the top left side of my vision, and felt satisfied. This was the fifth demon-hunting quest I had taken on in the Kesoko campaign quest, and I had completed it without me or Mikane taking any damage from the demons. I guess my bow really proved useful in these kind of situations.