No, I was going to throw it. However, he was unable to properly adapt to the increased strength and the rocks in his hands slipped away.
Bam!
There was a rock just a meter from the line.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"You're not that strong for your size! Hahaha!"
"What a huge two thousand days! What a disappointment!"
A burst of laughter broke out among the tribesmen watching from the center of the open space. I had no time to pay attention to that mocking laughter.
Because I was also dumbfounded.
'I should have adjusted my changed muscle strength properly... I'm not stupid.'
When I didn't respond to several calls, the elder referee approached me and spoke to me.
"A very big two thousand days! Stand back and wait!"
"yes yes."
I walked weakly to the waiting area and sat down with a thud. I waited for my turn again, lost in thought. Even though my strength stat only increased by 1, I could clearly feel the difference in strength.
'Then I guess I need to adapt to the increased strength in advance.'
I quietly turned on the status window and invested all my unused points into strength.
[Tiring!]
[You have invested +3 remaining points into Strength.]
[Strength changed to 26.]
Energy flows through my whole body, and unlike before, my strength overflows to the point where I can't control it. I stood up and tried to adjust to the change in muscle strength by moving my body around until it was my turn.
And with eyes full of curiosity, he thought about the rewards for the linked quest. Leveling up was a bit tricky and difficult, but the rewards weren't bad.
The library of heaven... I was curious to see what kind of compensation there would be. A little later, when the match of 'Honest Bear', who was ahead of me, ended, cheers erupted again.
Waaa ...
"As expected, he is an honest bear!"
"You threw the rock further than before."
"As you can see, the winner of the rock throwing contest is an honest bear."
As my name was called again among the incomprehensible words of people, I walked slowly. There is only one chance.
'I have to win, even if it's just for the reward.'
Fortunately, while I was waiting, I was able to adapt to the changes in my muscle strength to some extent. Standing within the line, I checked the distance of the rock thrown by the 'Honest Bear'.
'You threw it far.'
The brute strength of the 'Honest Bear' was so great that it was hard to believe even after seeing it with your own two eyes.
If it weren't for the game system, I wouldn't have even thought about beating him. Because the difference in power was that big.
'Let's not make the same mistake again.'
I took a deep breath and lifted the rock with all my might. The rock was definitely lighter than before. I counted in my head, bouncing back on my hips.
'One! Two!'
This time, I threw the rock with all my might, desperately hoping to surpass the distance thrown by the 'Honest Bear'.
'three!'
At that moment, the rock that had received my power rose into the air and stretched out. Exclamations and exclamations of admiration came from the tribesmen here and there.
I too looked at the rock flying into the distance with eyes of disbelief.
Bam!
The elder who was watching the judgment ran over and checked the rock that had fallen on the ground.
"The winner of the rock throw contest is a very big two thousand days!"
"······."
The tribesmen cheered and congratulated me as I stood there with a bewildered expression.
"At first glance, you can see that he threw it farther than the honest bear?"
"huh."
"I never thought I would beat an honest bear."
"This is really amazing!"
I swallowed hard, as if I was surprised by my own incredible strength.
[Tiring!]
[Linked Quest (2) has been completed.]
[120 experience points will be awarded as a reward.]
When I heard the message that the linked quest was completed, I couldn't help but sigh in relief.
'Whew! We won by a narrow margin.'
* * *
After the 'rock throwing' competition ended and the sun went down, the tribesmen gathered together and began to dance.
A dance performed by men and women together.
'It was called the butterfly dance.'
I had a hard time figuring out 'butterfly dance' from the description of 'The Moon Rises'. Men and women gathered in a circle around a large, blazing bonfire.
Boom! Boom! Dudududung! Boom!
The sound of the drum resonates.
Tata tata tak! Knock! Tata tak!
He knocked on the hollow log. Men and women with various tattoos and decorations began to dance freely on the ground.
Chock! Chock! Chock! Chock! Chock! Chock! Chock! Chock! Chock!
I also imitated the butterfly dance among the young people. He grabbed the leather garment that reached down to his waist like a cloak, waved both arms, and kicked the ground alternately with both feet.
Sometimes, like a gorgeous butterfly fluttering its wings··· Sometimes, it's like seducing the opposite sex... Sometimes, as if expressing my feelings right now···
It felt strange and odd. Although they were dancing so hard that their leather clothes were soaked with sweat, they were filled with joy and elation rather than fatigue.
A man and a woman secretly exchanged glances through the light of a campfire. Young women passing me by, dancing the butterfly dance, kept giving me looks of interest.
In particular, 'The Moon Rises' continued to hover around me and sent me a strong temptation. After a while, the bonfire went out and the butterfly dance ended.
I returned to the hut with an exhausted body, placed the deer hind legs I had received as a prize on a pole or stored them in my inventory, and went to bed.
I forgot about the game system that I had played during the day and fell asleep right there.
* * *
The last day of the festival. All the young men took part in archery competitions to test their hunting skills. Five targets, each about the height of a person, were placed at a distance of fifty meters.
The target was stuffed with dry grass inside the leather. The game progressed quickly. Five people came out in order and shot the arrows five times.
There were cheers every time an arrow hit the target, and sighs of disappointment when the arrow missed. In particular, when the 'brave wolf' shot his bow, there was an explosion of admiration and cheers.
100% accuracy. Five arrows also hit the target squarely in the center. When it was my turn, I walked over holding the bow and arrows I had received as a reward.
[Linked Quest (3): Enjoy the Festival. In the final quest, 'Archery', hit the target with one arrow.]
[Reward: When you complete the linked quest, you will receive a certain amount of experience points and a chance to acquire skills at the 'Celestial Library'.]
As I re-checked the last linked quest, I felt worried for the first time.
'I've never shot an arrow before...'
It was fortunate that the quest wasn't to win the 'Archery' competition.
'I'm sure I'll hit one out of five shots.'
At the signal of the tribal elder, he put an arrow on his crude bow. As I pulled the bowstring hard behind my ears, the young men who were in the same order as me began shooting their arrows at the target.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Where should I set the reference point and aim for it? Since I had never learned archery, I had no idea where to set my aim.
First, roughly set the target as a reference point. The moment I released the arrow, the bow I was holding in my left hand shook due to the recoil of the bowstring.
I heard a squeaking sound.
'shit!'
The arrow fell limply to the ground before it even reached its target. The 'Forest Hunters' and the elders of the tribe, who had been watching the two thousand days closely and filled with anticipation, were momentarily overcome with confusion.
"Hmm! Is this your first time touching a bow?"
"That's right. Holding the bow is awkward, and so is the way you look at things."
The tribesmen also seemed bewildered by Icheonil's poor archery skills and murmured.
"It must have been a mistake, right?"
"Yeah, that would be a mistake."
"There are only a few steps left. Let's keep watching."
Meanwhile, while the other person was shooting his bow, I was carefully shooting my bow. One step, two steps, three steps.
All three shots missed the target. Still, I had some athletic ability, so I was getting closer to the target little by little.
'You have to let go of your strength at the end so that the bow doesn't shake.'
Archery had little to do with increased muscle strength. The most important thing is concentration. He took a deep breath and fired the arrow.
Swish!
An arrow flying through the air narrowly missed its target.
'I could have guessed it.'
It was very disappointing, but I got the hang of it. As you see on TV, the arrow did not fly in a straight line, but rather took a small parabolic curve and flew towards the target.
'Considering the parabola, we need to set the reference point a little higher.'
As I took another deep breath and placed the last arrow on my bow, I felt a slight breeze blowing behind me. I opened my eyes wide, feeling the direction of the wind.
At that moment, the target appeared very large, as if it was right in front of my nose.
'now!'
As soon as I released the bowstring, the arrow flew quickly toward the target in a beautiful parabolic arc.
Swish!
Phew!
When I saw the arrow hit the exact center of the target, I unconsciously clenched my fist and cheered.
"it's okay!"
The tribesmen applauded me as I was left alone in the line.
"The last arrow hit the target!"
"Well done! A very big two thousand days!"
Their compliments fell on deaf ears.
[Tiring!]
[Linked Quest (3) has been completed.]
[You will receive 120 experience points as a reward.]
[Tiring!]
[Linked quest has been completed.]
[You will receive 200 experience points as a reward.]
[You will be able to acquire books from the 'Celestial Library' as a reward for the linked quest.]
[Would you like to confirm? Y / N]
[Tiring!]
[You have leveled up.]
[You will randomly receive +1 ability and +2 ability points.]
[Your Agility stat increases by 1 according to the random ability increase.]
I was completely out of my mind because of the messages that kept popping up before my eyes. In particular, my attention was drawn to the 'Celestial Library' rather than 'Level Up'.
'Let's calm down.'
I wanted to check the compensation right now. However, because of the eyes of those around me, I decided to quietly check the reward later in the shack.
After a while, the winner of 'Archery' was decided. The 'brave wolf' came forward and received a prize from the chief.
I applauded him and chuckled with an unknown smile.
'Archery is surprisingly fun.'
It was my first time shooting an archery, but it was both exciting and had its own unique feel.
* * *
As evening fell, Big Mouth, the shaman and healer of the Big Turtle tribe, began to dance in front of a large bonfire. He wore a bear mask and kept stamping the ground with both feet, mumbling as if reciting a spell.
"Makara! Waka! Maki!"
All the tribesmen knelt and swayed their upper bodies back and forth as if praying, praying for peace in the tribe and a good harvest this year.
I sat in the corner and did nothing, just quietly watching the scene in a mysterious atmosphere. After a while, the long festival ended with the shaman's bear dance.
During the three-day festival, I also forgot my worries and concerns for a while and had a good time hanging out with the tribespeople here.
"I'm tired."
As I entered the hut, I was filled with excitement and anticipation.
[You will be able to obtain the books of the 'Celestial Library' as a reward for the linked quest.]
[Would you like to confirm? Y/N]
"Of course I have to check."
As I shouted "yes" in my mind, a transparent light enveloped my body in an instant, and the surroundings changed in the blink of an eye as if I had teleported.
A grand and quaint building. I was inside and looked around with a bewildered expression.
"Is this the library of heaven?"
There was nothing inside the library. At that moment, a notification sound came into my head and a large bookshelf appeared before my eyes.
[Tiring!]
[Access to the 'Celestial Library' may be restricted depending on your level.]
I burst out laughing when I saw the books on the bookshelf.
Butterfly Dance – According to Lenape legend, the creator god sends colorful butterflies to those who are grieving over the death of their loved ones, bringing joy and happiness. So, the Lenape men and women danced, imitating butterflies, to honor the creator god who showed mercy.