Shatei Kyokufuri Yumi-Ojisan

Data.71 – Old Bowman, The Craftsman in the Sky

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“Gahaha! So you came all the way out here to this isolated workshop!”

It did not take long to find Yu Shanyu, the brilliant craftsman who was said to live in Phantom Fog Peak.
While the rest of the town was filled with dazzling lights, there was one building that looked plain and substantial.
And when I entered it, an old man with a white beard appeared.
The long, flowing beard was that of a typical sage.
And when I talked to him, I understood who he was immediately.

The workshop was filled with tools related to smithing, as well as sewing.
In fact, it was overflowing with things, as if to say that he was capable of handling anything.
Aside from Mister Yu, there were also several women working there, who were all beautiful.
And since they were all wearing robes like heavenly maidens, it made me think that this place really was some kind of paradise.

“Ah, so you’ve noticed? Yes, they are heavenly maidens! Troublesome thieves who have come down from the heavens in order to steal my work!”

“Oh, you! You’re the one that asked us to become your apprentices! And you’ve made us work so much…”

While they seemed to have some complaints, it sounded like they really were heavenly maidens.
There was a world above the clouds in Nextaris, and some kind of race lived up there.
And since they descended quite often, Phantom Fog Peak became a sort of checkpoint, since it was right between the sky and the surface.
That was why the place had developed so much.

Mister Yu had helped them create the buildings, and been rewarded.
After that, he settled down here, and those who were outcasts in heaven began to live here as if hiding.
And like that, Phantom Fog Peak eventually grew into a town.

“We are children who were born between the heavenly races and humans.
But both worlds were not comfortable to live in… So we are grateful to our master, who looks after us.
However, there is so much work…”

I understood the desire to complain about work, but it also made me feel awkward.
After all, I had come to bring them more work.
Still, were they really so busy when the workshop was so isolated?
Satomi seemed to be wondering about this as well, and so he asked Mister Yu the question.

“We came because we wanted you to repair our equipment.
Are you too busy? Also, where are these other requests coming from?”

“From heaven, of course! While it’s difficult for the surface people to come up here, it’s only a drop from above!”

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“I see.
So it was merely our ignorant assumption that you wouldn’t get much work.
But you actually have a shop right near your regular customers.”

“Exactly!”

And he was probably getting paid well from the people above.
It was no wonder that he wouldn’t bother to come down very often.
Besides, his apprentices were pretty, and seemed to be attached to him.

“That being said, I won’t drive away customers who came all of this way to see me! I will fix all of your damaged equipment! Besides, I’ve been quite bored lately!”

“Hmph! Master Yu! You should help us if you’re bored!”

“But all of that work is something any average craftsman can do! But this here, only I can do it! Finally, a challenge!”

I was glad to see that Mister Yu was enthusiastic about it.
I thought he was going to refuse us at first, and had been very worried.

“I’ll start with Warashi’s equipment.”

“It’s Satomi, not Warashi.”

Mister Yu looked at Satomi’s equipment carefully.

“Ohh… This is a strange kind of clerical robe… It’s protected with holy power and seems like it is stronger than it appears.
Yes, I understand why the surface craftsmen would have trouble with it.”

“Can you repair it?”

“Of course, I can! This is a workshop with heavenly maidens! We have all the holy materials you could hope for! Though, it will cost you a lot.”

“I have money.
Please do it.”

“Alright, I accept the job! Now, let’s look at the old man’s equipment…”

Mister Yu started to check mine next.
It felt a little awkward to be stared at so much…

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“Ah, it has the power of the dragon! The great guardian of the sky who controls wind and cloud.
The Windcloud Dragon!”

“Th-that’s right.”

“It’s durable and yet flexible.
And strong against magic.
A wonderful set… The skills of a dragon live within it…”

“Can you fix it?”

“With my capabilities, it can be done! However, I will need materials…”

“What?”

“With my well-trained eyes, I was able to take a look at your inventory, and you have nothing that would be useful in repairing it!”

He…can look into my inventory…
I suppose that was the power of a veteran craftsman…
But more importantly, I didn’t have the materials!?

“Don’t look so grim.
What I need is a material called ‘Cloud Strand’ which is dropped by the Cloud Spiders that live in the cloud sea nearby.
It is light and elastic, while also being strong.
When repairing something from a dragon that lives in the sky, you need materials from monsters that also live there.”

I nodded.
It made sense.
Needing appropriate materials to repair something wasn’t only normal in games, but it was similar in real life.
You wouldn’t repair an expensive brand item with cheap materials.

“That being said, the cloud sea, huh…”

“Aye, that’s right.
The Phantom Fog Peak is surrounded by a sea of clouds.
I will take you to the Cloudsea Beach, where there is a small boat.
Take it and travel through the sea.
After a while, you will see an island.
And on this island, you will find the white spiders in the trees that you must hunt down.”

As this place was on a tall mountain, it was also surrounded by a sea of clouds.
And there was a beach, and if you went out by boat, you could reach an island…
How very whimsical.
Well, at the end of the day, it was just a fetch quest.

“I’ll help you too, Mister Kyuji.
Since it looks like my equipment can finally be repaired now.
And also, I kind of want to go out and see the cloud sea.
Besides, I’ll be able to collect some new monster data.”

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“Monster data?”

“Yes.
My skill, Monster Scan allows me to collect data and compile it in a kind of encyclopedia.
Well, it’s pretty much the case with any kind of skill that involves examining something…”

Now that I thought about it, my own Letter Arrow was like that.
I could look at that information any time after hitting something.
It would be helpful if I ever fought the monster again.

“My skill is quite good, and aside from attributes and skills, it even tells me what items they will drop.
So if I’m ever in a situation like this, where I lack materials, I can search for the material in the encyclopedia and it will tell me which monsters to hunt.”

“So you don’t have to log out and look it up online every time… That is nice.”

Even if it was MMO’s before the time of VR, hell, even with offline games, gathering materials could be a hellish experience.
Especially if it was an underpopulated or lesser known game.
Looking it up online may not be very useful, and you’d have to continue to wander around…

“And so I make a point to hunt monsters whenever I enter a new area.
It’s better to have a lot of data.
Besides, you gain a good advantage when you know about monsters… Well, I will stop boring you now.”

I didn’t mind at all if people wanted to tell me about their hidden abilities.
Anyway, we might end up fighting together in the Ghost Guild one day, so I didn’t want to pry.

“This is purely a calculated move on my part, as it will be easier for me to collect data if I tag along with someone else.
And so you don’t have to worry about me complaining if I get killed or my armor is destroyed.”

“Well, I’m sure that I can use an ally, so regardless of your reasons, thanks.”

Mister Yu then guided us as we headed to the beach.
On the way there, he told us that this town was referred to as Sky Town.

“Hey, you.”

“Uh, what is it?”

“That bow…are you going to use it now?”

“Yes.
Since we’re going to go and hunt some monsters.”

“Then I suppose I shouldn’t tell you now…”

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He said to himself knowingly.
Uh, now I was curious…
From what I could see, the Windcloud Bow wasn’t damaged.
So there shouldn’t be a problem if I use it…
I shook my head and pushed it aside.
If he was going to tell me later, it likely wasn’t important.

Because the sky town was above the clouds, it was necessary to go down a little in order to reach the beach that connected to the cloud sea.
And while I nearly tripped going down the slope, we eventually arrived at our destination.

“Woah… It really is a beach.”

When I tried touching it…it was just sand.
However, the sea that spread out from there was not a blue sea, but white clouds.
Could we really go through it on a boat…?
But then again, I regularly ride on clouds and fight…

“This is the boat that you’ll be using.
And just to be clear, if you fall off and drown, you’ll eventually sink through the clouds and plunge down to the ground below! Keep that in mind!”

Mister Yu said with a grin.
And then he went back up the slope we had come from.

“So it looks like we really do have to ride this little boat, Mister Kyuji.”

Satomi had already pushed the boat into the clouds and got in.
Gochu had finished resting, and was now holding the oars.
I cautiously stepped in as well.
The boat creaked and swayed.
At the same time, the clouds rippled like actual water.

But there was no sinking sensation.
It seemed to be fine.

“Alright, let’s go.
Gochu, I’m counting on you.”

“Ukikya!”

And like that, the small boat moved through the clouds.