I Am a Bowman

“Is that bastard crazy!?”

Everyone in the tea house stared at Lars in unison.

“Quiet down. You idiot.”

The video Choccopie mentioned was an Imperial Guild promotional video.

As the top guild, they put a lot of effort into filming, using their manpower.

Choccopie became the model for the video, and there were no problems up to this point.

But the problem was the sub-guild master.

He was in charge of directing the shoot and used it as an excuse to get close to Choccopie.

“Did you talk to the guild master about it?”

“Not yet. I'll talk to him if it gets worse.”

“No, but...”

Lars tried to say something more, but Choccopie stopped him.

“It's fine. I'll handle it. And you're more of a problem than me. How about it? Can you handle being an archer?”

Lars smiled silently.

“See? You're not really an archer. It's too much for even you. How about deleting your character and starting over now?”

Deleting his character was a rational and best choice when considering Lars' future.

But it wasn't desperate enough to borrow money from a friend.

Despite Choccopie's continuous persuasion... Lars remained unfazed by all the insults disguised as criticism towards the archer.

“It's okay. I'll figure something out.”

“Sigh.”

Choccopie gulped down the iced water and slammed the glass loudly on the table.

“Show me your status window.”

“Why?”

“Quickly.”

As Choccopie's eyes narrowed, Lars reluctantly displayed his status window.

⟦Status Window⟧

Name: Lars

Level: 10 (2%)

Class: Bowman

Title: None

HP: 550/550

MP: 300/300

Strength: 10

Agility: 55

Stamina: 10

Intelligence: 10

Leadership: 10

Luck: 10

Bonus Points: 15

His status window showed that he had put all his bonus points into agility, like a rogue determined to maximize his damage output.

Choccopie's expression was not good.

‘Could it be that I messed up my stats too?’

“You...”

Gulp.

“Why is your class like this?”

It seemed like Choccopie was about to say something about his class again.

“No matter what you say about being an archer, I won't delete my character. Usually, if you're an archer, you're called an archer... Did you change your class at the Job Change Center?”

“Lars recalled his memory.”

“Finally, it was time to vent his frustrations from the past half day of hard work.”

* * *

The village chief, who was close to 60 years old, became nostalgic when he saw the chicken soup dish that Lars had made.

“This smell is definitely Dana's cooking! You've worked hard.”

⟦Quest 'Longing for the Old Lover's Cooking' cleared!⟧

⟦You have gained experience points as a reward!⟧

⟦Your level has increased!⟧

Level 10!

Finally, he reached the level where he could finally change jobs.

The village chief seemed to have read Lars' mind and asked subtly.

“Why did you hit me!”

“I also know what an archer means. I've never seen the class 'Bowman' before. Usually, if you're an archer, you're called an archer... Didn't you change your class at the Job Change Center?”

Lars kicked Choccopie in the throat.

It hurt so much that tears welled up in his eyes.

If it didn't affect his gameplay, his functioning proprioception sensors would have been resented.

“Why did you hit me!”

“Would you like to have a profession like other adventurers?”

“Yes, I would.”

“What kind of profession do you want? A swordsman? Or a magician?”

The Village Chief knew that many adventurers changed their profession to either a swordsman or a magician.

But Lars was different.

“I want to be an archer.”

“Oh. I felt it before, but you are quite an unusual adventurer.”

The Village Chief referred to the incident when Lars barged into his house and asked if he still loved Dana.

“Well then, Village Chief. I will be on my way. Be brave and go see Miss Dana! Stay strong!”

At that moment, Lars had no idea that the words 'Stay strong!' would come back to him tenfold.

“Haha. That friend of mine.”

Just as the Village Chief burst into laughter, Lars was about to open the door and leave.

“An archer... Hm? Wait a moment.”

‘What's going on?’

Lars looked at the Village Chief in confusion.

The Village Chief stroked his chin and seemed to be deep in thought.

“Come to think of it, it might be difficult for you to become an archer.”

“What do you mean?”

“The person in charge of archer specialization at the Job Change Center recently returned to the association.”

It was like a bolt from the blue.

Lars became anxious.

“Why? Why?”

“I heard that there were less than ten people who wanted to become an archer in the past few months, so the Archer Association may have deemed it a waste of resources.”

It was a tragedy (at least from Lars' perspective) created by the artificial intelligence of Grand Story, but no one paid any attention to it.

Because no one became an archer.

“Then, how can I change my profession to an archer?”

“Hmm... You'll have to go directly to the Archer Association.”

The Village Chief slowly stroked his beard.

It felt like everything was turning dark. Each city had its own branch of the Job Change Center, but in order to move from the starting village to another area, one had to be at least level 15.

‘What can I do? I have no choice but to somehow reach level 15, even if it's slow.’

* * *

“You fool! You should have given up back then!”

When Chocco interrupted their conversation, Lars playfully hit Chocco on the head with a Honey Nightstick.

“Don't stop and listen until the end. ...Ouch!”

The price for hitting Chocco was a sore throat.

* * *

The Village Chief's hand, which was stroking his beard, suddenly stopped.

“I think I can tell you this.”

Perhaps because he had completed many quests for the Village Chief, he had a great fondness for Lars.

‘There's something! That must be it.’

One of the main functions of Deus, the main artificial intelligence that managed everything in Grand Story, was quests.

Although it was a problem caused by the artificial intelligence of NPC, if Deus, the leader of the artificial intelligence, had a conscience, wouldn't he allow a job change?

After all, archer was not a hidden profession but a basic one.

Lars thought that the story the Village Chief was telling him was some kind of alternative quest for archer specialization.

Lars looked at the Village Chief with shining eyes.

It felt as if wisdom was shining in the Village Chief's eyes, which had been polished by time.

“During the village festival, someone got drunk and boasted that they were a master of archery.”

“Ah... Yes. Everyone has their glory days.”

Unlike Lars, who brushed it off casually, the Village Chief was serious.

“No way. He was real. Everyone, including me, doubted him like you. He stumbled and twisted his way back home. And not long after, he revealed himself again. Still stumbling, he held an old bow in one hand.”

“The Village Chief was serious, and his words had an inexplicable persuasiveness.”

“Lars began to pay more attention to the Village Chief's words.”

“He said he didn't have any arrows at home, so he roughly trimmed three branches he broke from a tree near his house. And something amazing happened. The first arrow hit the center of the signboard of a weapon shop fifty meters away, and the second arrow, with eyes closed, split the first arrow in half. And the last arrow pierced through both halves of the first arrow as they fell apart.”

It was an unbelievable story.

“Someone with such skills is only in a starting village?”

Lars asked with skepticism.

“Who is he?”

“Well, I was too drunk to remember clearly.”

“...”

Suddenly, the credibility dropped significantly.

“Could it be that you were too drunk and saw it wrong?”

Would you believe the testimonies of people who turned into liars?

Realizing how his words sounded, the Village Chief coughed awkwardly.

“Ahem. If you're not convinced, ask General Store Daphne or Weapon Shop Smith. Or why not go to the weapon shop yourself? There should be a hole in the middle of the signboard!”

[Quest created.]

<Master of the Unknown Bow>

Grade: Advanced

A few years ago, during a festival, Village Chief Felt of the starting village witnessed the incredible archery skills of a master of the bow.

However, the Village Chief and other witnesses were too drunk to remember who among the villagers was the master of the bow.

Clear condition: Find the master of the bow.

Reward: ?

[Will you accept?]

'Class Change Quest!'

Lars silently cheered.

“No, it's not. How could I not believe you, Village Chief?”

“No, maybe you were just drunk and saw it wrong...”

“Of course, it was just a joke.”

The Village Chief tried to say something more, but Lars cut in first.

“Oh, right. If you keep talking, Miss Dana's soup will get cold. Have it while it's hot, and I'll go first!”

“Uh, yeah. Be careful on your way.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Although it was a joke, he was genuinely grateful.

If it weren't for the Village Chief, Lars would have had to give up on becoming an archer at the Class Change Hall in despair.

As Lars left the Village Chief's house, he smiled to himself.

The reason he suddenly believed the Village Chief's words was simple.

'Could a quest be a lie?'

But just in case, Lars headed to the weapon shop.

Oh!

The Village Chief's words were true. There was a hole in the center of the weapon shop's signboard.

It was definitely an unusual design.

Thinking that things were falling into place, Lars entered the weapon shop.

He wasn't there to buy weapons, of course.

The purpose was the owner of the weapon shop, Smith, the second witness to the master of the bow.

There were some users checking if any good items had arrived inside the shop.

Lars passed by those users and headed to a corner of the shop.

“Mr. Smith?”

The middle-aged man, who seemed to be sleeping, quickly wiped his mouth and woke up.

The appearance of a beginner that can be seen anywhere.

In other words, a customer who doesn't make any money.

Smith's tone naturally became blunt.

"Who are you?"

"I'm an adventurer named Lars."

"If you're looking for something, ask Selie over there."

Lars briefly glanced at the place Smith pointed to. A red-haired, freckled employee of the same age as Lars was calculating the items.

"I came because I have something I want to ask Mr. Smith."

"...?"

"Do you happen to know about the master of archery?"

Smith narrowed his eyes as if trying to understand Lars' intentions.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

It seemed that he had no intention of easily telling him.