90: Chapter 90 Xie Dongdong's Mission

'I already said I wasn't going out, yet she insists on making me leave...' Xiao Niao complained weakly in his heart.

However, it wasn't easy to explain things to Head Manager Xie Dongdong. Moreover, her dialogue felt very much like the precursor to triggering a quest, so he tried asking, "What kind of help? As long as it's within my power, I will definitely help."

"What kind of help?" Head Manager Xie Dongdong repeated softly, her brow furrowed as if in deep thought, before suddenly smoothing out. "Follow me." As she spoke, she walked toward an empty room, and Xiao Niao followed her, filled with doubt.

Xiao Niao followed Head Manager Xie Dongdong into a rarely used empty room. He saw her take out a horn bow and a bundle of Wooden Arrows, introducing them: "These were left behind by my father. He was a hunter who went missing during a hunt outside the village. I implore Young Hero Xiao Niao to keep an eye out for news of him when you head outside the village in the future."

As expected, a quest was triggered...

But he had already expressed that he was in no hurry to leave the village, so why did Head Manager Xie Dongdong still give the quest to him?

Wouldn't it be better to give it to Hu Gualing?

Perhaps this quest had a hidden Favorability requirement that Gualing hadn't met yet?...

'Sigh, this game is so realistic that I can't rely entirely on past gaming experience. Besides, Head Manager Xie Dongdong looks quite distressed; I'll just agree for now. Anyway, there's no time limit, so it's probably one of those optional long-term quests.'

Thinking this, Xiao Niao nodded and said, "Alright. When I leave the village in the future, I will definitely keep an eye out."

As soon as he spoke, the quest was accepted. Xiao Niao noticed a new entry in his quest log—

[Xie Dongdong's Request: Xie Dongdong of Xiao Huang Village asks you to search for information regarding her father after you leave the village.]

It was just a short quest description. There were no rewards, no time limit, and no penalties for failure. It didn't even provide any clues; the information included was even less than what Head Manager Xie Dongdong had told him. It seemed to serve only as a memo.

But this was actually fine, as it meant there were no quest restrictions.

Xiao Niao's mind was completely at ease.

"Then I thank Young Hero Xiao Niao in advance. However, I've heard that it's very dangerous outside the village, so please accept this set of bow and arrows for self-defense." After speaking, Head Manager Xie Dongdong handed the bow and arrows to Xiao Niao.

Xiao Niao figured that since this bow was left behind by Head Manager Xie Dongdong's father, it might be a quest item serving as a clue, so he readily accepted it.

[Obtained old wooden bow, Obtained 1 bundle of Wooden Arrows.]

[old wooden bow]: Attack 2-5, Durability 11/20

Equipment Description: A wooden bow made with a cedar handle and raw ox-hide string. However, it is somewhat old, and the bow handle has lost part of its elasticity.

[1 bundle of Wooden Arrows]: 10 Wooden Arrows tied together.

After checking the stats of the bow and arrows, Xiao Niao found they weren't what he had imagined. There was no information about Head Manager Xie Dongdong's father in the descriptions of these two items; they seemed to be just ordinary archery equipment for self-defense.

Could he have been wrong? They weren't quest items, but rather a bit of quest reward given in advance?

If that were the case, then the difficulty of this quest might actually be quite high.

Fortunately, there were no quest restrictions, and he wasn't in a hurry to complete it, so it didn't matter if he set it aside for now.

Xiao Niao thought to himself and put away the bow and arrows without any psychological burden.

Head Manager Xie Dongdong led Xiao Niao out of the room and said, "Young Hero Xiao Niao, this bow and these arrows were used by my father for hunting. Their power should be enough for self-defense. However, my father didn't leave behind any insights on archery, and I don't know it either, so you'll have to practice on your own."

"Okay," Xiao Niao replied casually.

Since Leatherworking experience was difficult to raise anyway, he might as well practice archery first; it should also serve as a form of physical exercise.

Xiao Niao untied the bundle of Wooden Arrows and only then noticed that they were truly made of wood through and through.

Aside from two duck feathers tied to the tail, the rest of the arrow was entirely wooden. To be more precise, the entire arrow was carved from a single piece of wood, with only the tip sharpened and fire-hardened to serve as the arrowhead.

Such Wooden Arrows might have some lethality, but it certainly wouldn't be very strong. Using them for hunting would likely yield very unsatisfactory results.

Upon asking Head Manager Xie Dongdong, he learned that these Wooden Arrows were only for practicing archery. The truly lethal arrows were few in number and had all been carried by her father when he went out hunting.

Speaking of practice, Xiao Niao looked around but couldn't find a practice area in the courtyard.

Reasonably speaking, shouldn't there be a target or something for archery practice?

When he asked Head Manager Xie Dongdong, she simply replied that there were no such things in the house.

'Perhaps because her father has been missing for years and the two siblings don't practice archery, those things weren't preserved.' Xiao Niao didn't think much of it. He wasn't looking for anything professional anyway; casual practice would do.

He went to the fields and found a patch of wasteland. Coincidentally, there was a tattered scarecrow standing in the field.

Xiao Niao found a suitable distance to stand, took out the bow and arrow, aimed, drew the bow, and released the string.

He had never played with a bow and arrow before, and hadn't even touched a slingshot as a child, so his accuracy was naturally poor. Furthermore, this scarecrow had been left in the field to weather the elements for who knows how long, leaving only half its body intact. The hittable surface area was halved. Consequently, of the first five Wooden Arrows fired, not a single one even grazed the scarecrow. It wasn't until he finished all ten that one arrow landed diagonally beside the scarecrow, which was already his most accurate shot.

Xiao Niao didn't care much, simply feeling that archery seemed quite interesting. He went to pick up the ten Wooden Arrows one by one, sat in the field to rest for a while, and then began a second round of drawing the bow and firing.

Inside the Main God Space, Chen Mo looked at the bow in Xiao Niao's hand with a strange expression.