Chapter 8: Secret weapon of the hunt

 

The first practical lesson against the Big Rabbits was over.

“Wow, this is amazing! ”
“We really did manage to defeat a Big Rabbit with us alone! ”

The excited pair of a boy and a girl were exclaiming excitedly after killing the Big Rabbit that was laying on the ground in front of them. They were of part of the hunter children group (although they were still candidates). These children never truly dreamed of being able to defeat one with only their own power.
The children hunted this dangerous beast with a borrowed “bow”.

“Yamato-sama, that bow… that weapon called crossbow is really amazing.”

The hunter girl Liscia was surprised by the tremendous power of the crossbow, easy enough even for children to use.

In truth… the way of teaching them to hunt the Big Rabbits was with the aid of the crossbow that Yamato had brought from Japan.

To think that something I made solely as a hobby would be of help in this other world…

This crossbow was something that he had inside of his mountaineering backpack. It was self-hand crafted, and it could be carried compactedly by disassembling it.

Yamato was always interested in medieval weapons from various countries all over the world.
And among them, crossbows were something he was especially fond of, so he tried to replicate making one many times, by trial and error.

What came from those efforts was this piece, it could be said to be the final result after consulting several sources, like books and the internet.
Without trying to use any synthetic material, he tried to make this crossbow only using old materials, like wood and metal, while trying to stick with as much medieval-like materials as possible.

“It truly is amazing, Yamato-sama… there are some old crossbows in the village, but none of them have nearly the same power as this one. And it’s even difficult for adults to draw it when they choose to use it.”
“Oh, I guess that was to be expected.”

After defeating another Big Rabbit, Liscia was further impressed.
Probably since she was a hunter who used a bow, she was aware of the outstanding performance of this crossbow.

Although the power of the crossbow is indeed amazing, it is not without drawbacks. This seems to be the reason it has not spread and developed in this different world.

Unlike a bow that required the strength to draw it, a crossbow could be easily shot with by anyone by a simple pull of a trigger. However, its shortcomings were many.
First of all, the crossbow couldn’t fire continuously, it also took strength and time to wind up, and its manufacturing process was complicated. Truly many shortcomings.

Therefore, even in the history of the Earth, it was soon replaced by other weapons and quietly disappeared.

The materials I used to make it were simple, but I’m confident about this crossbow that uses an ergonomic design and the latest techniques…

But this was a special-made crossbow. Since it solved many of those shortcoming that it had since the old times, even children could use it.

“Yeah! I defeated another Big Rabbit! Yamato-niichan! ”
“Don’t let your guard down. Quickly load the next bolt.”

Just as the village children took aim and pulled the trigger as if it were a toy water gun, the dreadful crossbow was fired, and one Big Rabbit was defeated after the last one. Truly a surreal sight to behold.

Although its principle was simple, it’s astounding destructive power was obvious to see.
Even a Big Rabbit, which had a hard pelt, was being killed by a single blow. Depending on the type of bolt, it could even penetrate a metal plate.
It was easy to aim with it, and even for someone only used to play at the shooting stalls at a festival, it was possible to land a hit.

Really, it seems I made a terrible weapon after all…

While it was true that he had made it by himself, he still felt deeply amazed while watching in action what he had built.

This was the first actual fight of this crossbow, after all since it was illegal to use it in my Japan, he never really got the chance to actually use it for its intended purpose.
At most, what he did was only crafting it and assembling it in the mountains to test it. Never seeing it as more than a hobby.

“With this crossbow, it will be easier to secure food and furs, Yamato-sama! ”
“Yeah, that’s right…”

Next to him, Liscia seemed to be pleased showing a shine in her eyes.
With the adults gone from the village, and after taking many risks by herself, she believed that the hunting efficiency would greatly improve from now on.

But the problem is, there’s only one crossbow. Its materials are only wood, metal and string. I’m sure that if I tell them the principles and methods, they can probably produce them in bulk in this world…

It was not too difficult to make a crossbow when you knew its principles. After all, even in the B.C. era, they were already present in continental Asia.

But the one he made used the “lever principle” in order to increase its shooting performance. The metal part was complicated to make.
So the success of its mass production plan depended on the skills and technology of the blacksmiths of this world.

“Now that I think of it Liscia, is there a blacksmith in Urd village? ”

He turned next to him to ask Liscia.
There were only old people and children in the village, but he had the hope that maybe among them there might be a blacksmith. After all, a village of this size should have one.

“The blacksmith lives in the outskirts of the village.”
“Oh, is that so? Do you think he could craft a copy of the crossbow? ”

“Yes, I think that might be possible… After all, he is an elder belonging to the Mountain Clan.”
“Mountain clan… you say.”

The girl Liscia then continued to explain.
The families of the ‘Mountain Clan’ were born with dexterous hands, and they were loved by the God of iron and fire. Many of them lived all across the continent and were excellent smiths and miners.

“Well, I can’t wait to meet him.”
“But he is a stubborn person, and he only receives jobs if they match with his unique ‘sense of values’…”

Liscia’s last words were a little hard to understand. Thinking there might be some circumstances behind that, he questioned what “sense of values” was referring to.

For now, he decided to focus on the Inahon harvesting and Big Rabbit hunting, and in a couple days after this was finished he would try and pay a visit to the Mountain Clan’s smith.

“Ok. Pass the crossbow to the next person. We’ll aim for the next Big Rabbit group. You all need to get used to it. You have to have a resolute mind too.”

He continued to instruct the children who were excited about the destructive power and simplicity of use of the crossbow. With it being a weapon that anybody could easily use, one had to pay close attention to how they handled it.

“Like “Shin Gi Tai”, right?! Yamato-niichan! ”
“Shin gi tai! ”
“Yeah, that’s right. First you train your mind, then your skills and finally your body.”

Any powerful tool had the potential to become a dangerous, destructive weapon depending on the person using it.
‘Mind, skill and body’ (Shin Gi Tai) … He decided to train the village children with an attitude based on the teachings of this Japanese martial arts.

Luckily for him, the people from Urd were wonderful, with a pure heart and straight nature.
That was obvious from the fact that even though they were on the verge of starvation, they gave those precious tree nuts to a traveler.

But even so, whether it’s because they are living in the mountains and are a village of hunters, or because it’s something inherited by the people of Urd.　These children are adapting too fast to the use of the crossbow…

He didn’t say out loud, but deep inside his heart he felt very surprised.
Today being the first day, he only intended it to be a simple test in using the crossbow. Even if Big Rabbits did actually came out, he planned on taking them all on with his survival knife.

“Yeah, I also took one down! ”
“Not fair!　I’ll shoot the next one! ”

However, the village children were making it look very easy to draw the cord and knock a bolt, turning it into something like a light practice.
Their sense of distance and space awareness ability was excellent in the first place. Otherwise, kids the age of elementary school students wouldn’t be able to hunt this easily.
He felt slightly frightened to see the children being all happy like this.

Whew… I wonder if this is what being a teacher feels like.

Originally, not very good with children, he always tried to avoid them back in Japan.
But he now felt elated by watching them grow, learning and absorbing knowledge and skills like a sponge.

Perhaps if being a professor gives such a feeling, it surely is a worthwhile profession, he thought.

“Hey, over there! Don’t be careless! ”
“”Yes, Yamato-niichan! “”

They all give their honest reply at the same time.
While wearing a bitter smile, he then continued to guide them as they hunted more Big Rabbits.

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