Callisto was still a worried wreck. This was a side of her that Merlin hadn't seen before.
Her public image was most likely that of a hot-headed violent princess who wouldn't hesitate to shoot a noble in public, but Merlin had seen her softer side that was used almost exclusively for those in the rangers guild.
And although Merlin had seen her emotions when faced with the death of members in her family, specifically referring to the guild members, and not the royalty she found herself related to by blood. He hadn't yet seen her reaction when she almost accidentally killed one of them right in front of her.
It was kind of morbid to think about, but Merlin thought her reaction was kind of cute, even though he was the one who had almost died. It was mostly due to her contrasting behaviour when compared to the time she had almost murdered Baron Doolmet in the same manner.
"What is the draw weight of that bow?" Merlin turned to Callisto and asked. "It ripped a hole right through my vine and then me. It felt like I got shot with a ballista."
"How do you know what that would feel like?" Callisto asked, it seemed she was more interested in that specific detail than the rest of the question.
"I was being hyperbolic." Merlin shook his head as he answered with a lie, for he did actually know what it felt like to be shot with a ballista, an unfortunate experience. "But seriously, how powerful is that bow?"
Callisto didn't seem to want to answer, but since she felt guilty of having almost killed Merlin, she reluctantly let Merlin hold the bow after making him promise that he would give it right back after he tried shooting it once.
Merlin received the bow and a single arrow, and despite its relatively small size for a longbow, it was rather heavy.
He did as he was told and attempted to draw the bow back, but found that it didn't budge in the slightest. He could feel his arm start shaking as though it were being strained as he used as much force as he could possibly muster up, but even after all that effort it was all pointless.
Before he handed the weapon back, he tried inspecting it while it was in his hands, and much to his surprise the information window wasn't hidden.
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[The Huntress' Love (Legendary)]
An elegant longbow made from cypress wood. It is the signature weapon of Callisto, a devout worshipper of the goddess Artemis, and the weapon seemed to have received a blessing from the goddess, although the power remains hidden to those who Artemis does not deem worthy to wield it.
• Damage: +50 (+500)
• Agility: +6% (+60%)
• Traits: ⟪Artemis' Blessing⟫
• Abilities: ⟪The Huntress⟫
• Required level: 40
• Required strength: 320
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'A legendary weapon with a trait... That makes sense.' He thought to himself as the weapon left his hands.
He noticed that Callisto seemed much calmer when the bow was back in her possession, it clearly meant a lot to her and it must have been quite difficult passing it to another person.
The information window for the weapon was still on his screen, so while he still could, he took a closer look at the trait.
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⟪Artemis' Blessing⟫
The goddess of the hunt blessed this bow, giving it astronomical power when wielded by her most devout followers.
• If wielded by someone who doesn't worship Artemis, or someone who Artemis doesn't recognise as worthy, the bow's stats will be reduced to only 10% of their original values.
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'Wait... Then why wasn't I instantly killed by the first shot?' A thought pierced Merlin's mind. 'Callisto is one of the most devout followers of Artemis, there isn't any way that isn't the case... That means...'
'Artemis doesn't believe she is worthy?' Merlin raised the question in his mind, but he couldn't imagine what the reason could possibly be. There was clearly a story here, one that he wanted to uncover, but it seemed as though he wouldn't be able to get the answer out of Callisto right away.
He checked the other bow's ability, and it was just a passive that added even more bonus damage to the bow, but exclusively against wild animals and beast type creatures. He swiped the information windows away and turned his attention back to Callisto.
"Well, I'm going to make my way back to the city." Merlin said as he began stretching his body.
"I was just making my way back as well." Callisto said as she threw her bow over her shoulder.
The two walked down the road together, making their way towards the large wall that separated the wilderness from the city.
Merlin checked his stream chat while walking, and he could only shake his head in disappointment as he saw a massive wave of spam mentioning nothing but shipping. And it seemed that Holly was the only person in the chat who understood how bad of an idea that was.
'Seriously, does nobody learn about Greek mythology anymore?' Merlin couldn't help but think to himself. 'Dating a follower of Artemis is a one way ticket to angering the god and earning yourself a lifelong curse, probably getting turned into a...'
Merlin's thought process had stopped at that moment, and something clicked in his mind.
'A bear...' he thought as he turned and stared at Callisto.
'How did I not realise that earlier.' He grumbled in his thoughts as he thought back to various details that should have made it obvious for him, namely the proof that she had lost the recognition of Artemis. 'Is it because she isn't permanently a bear like in the myth?'
Although he believed some questions of his were answered by this revelation, more questions arose.
'She angered Artemis in the original myth by losing the purity that she swore an oath to keep, I believe it was Zeus who pretended to be Artemis who stole it, at least in one of the renditions.' He thought, 'Did the same happen here, or was it different?'
'What causes the bear form, and can she control herself in the form or not?' Merlin was leaning towards no on the second part, otherwise he wouldn't have had a near death experience getting chased down by the large bear.
He found it kind of odd that this NPC had almost killed him on several accounts now, all unintentionally, or so he hoped. But there was also the chance that he was completely wrong about his current assumptions, as Gaia was known to throw twists to fool those who knew too much.
"What's the matter?" Callisto asked in a curious tone.
"Nothing, I was just wondering if you wanted to hear about the vine ability. Or if you don't really care anymore." He came up with a lie on the spot, which was surprisingly effective, considering his track record.
"Oh, sure, I'd love to hear it." She said.
Merlin ended up telling Callisto various details about the rose wight, specifically how much of a menace it was in Orchomenus and how tricky it was to kill. He even threw in details of how it was created by the Despoina cult, which surprised Callisto, as she wasn't aware that they were active that far east.
Eventually they made their way back in the city and towards the rangers guild. There were a few onlookers, but nobody seemed to be stirring up any trouble in the crowd, so they just went about their day.
As the two entered the rangers guild, the ranger who was previously asleep when Merlin left was clearly now wide awake, and as they got closer he spoke up, informing Callisto that an urgent request had been received by one of the frontier towns not too long ago.
He handed her the request form that contained a large wall of text, and out of her grumbles he could gather that the quest involved a group of orcs.
"Merlin, this expedition seems a bit tough. But I think you're capable enough to handle yourself on the field, especially after the last expedition we did together." She spoke with confidence, "Would you be willing to join us for another expedition?"
A quest window appeared before Merlin,
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[Uncommon Quest]
The Orcs Attack.
The frontier town of Farncombe is requesting aid from the rangers guild in Megalopolis, and although the mission seems a bit tough, Callisto has given you a spot on the expedition team.
Your task is to travel towards Farncombe with the rest of the expedition and assist them in dealing with the orc threat.
Farncombe is a large village located further west from Parrhasia, it is one of the most western frontier villages that still have a population, and everyone within the town are quite adept at protecting themselves.
The village usually deals with its own issues and invasions, so if Farncombe is requesting aid, the situation must be dire.
Join and complete the expedition.
• Reward: 900 EXP, 1400 Ranger Soul EXP.
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