Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 714. The Grind

The effects were weaker but the bow itself came out a lot better, despite using lower-rated material. It had a higher damage and a much better durability. Seth was sure that if he added a soul, or enchanted it, it would easily get an epic rating, too.

”This is already a lot better. If you keep practicing like this, you will soon master how to make a self-bow.” Bess praised surprised.

This was the perk of already being a high-ranked crafting profession in a different discipline. Especially the high dexterity and experience made it possible to quickly rank up other crafting skills if one was able to learn them.

Was what Seth liked to believe. But one could undersell the perks one had as an ori huma. In addition, there were the effects of his trait Call of the Maestro. The accompanying skills also allowed him to learn and level crafting skills easier.

”Thank, Bess. My also ranked up to the apprentice tier. Can you also show me how to make composite bows?”

In the end, Sethʼs goal in learning carpentry was to prepare for making Lydiaʼs divine bow. He was given wood and sinew. Although he had little knowledge of making bows in general, he knew that those materials were usually for composited bows.

Of course, he could have also just made a wooden bow with the timber alone, but he wouldnʼt want to risk the wrath of Wepwawet. He was sure Lydia was given both materials for a good reason. A reason like composite bows being the better bow in general.

Despite magical materials muddying the waters, mechanical advantages still mattered when the same materials and skills were applied. Only using to make a bow would result in a less powerful bow, than making a composite bow using .

”Sure. But how about we do that tomorrow? Itʼs already very late,” Bess said with a smile.

Seth realized that it was already late at night. Since he had no buffs that allowed him to quicken the crafting time, making bows was very time intensive.

”Sorry, I didnʼt want to take up so much of your time.”

”No problem at all. Come back tomorrow and I will explain to you the ins and out of a composite bow.”

It was almost two in the morning when he returned to the embrace of Mina, Fin, and their bed.

…

After making up for his lateness the other day, Seth was kept in bed until noon. Shortly after he appeared in Bessʼ wood workshop, still chewing on his breakfast.

The bowyer didnʼt seem bothered and put aside the bow stave she was working on. At his request, she started to explain to him the fundamentals of a composite bow.

”A traditional composite bow is a composite of several materials that could maximize its mechanical properties. Usually, a Composite Bow is made from wood, horn, and sinew-”

”Horn?” Seth asked confused.

Lydia had not given him any horn to use on the bow. Seth was only given wood, sinew and metal.”

”Yes, horn. Why do you ask?”

”Well, itʼs like this...”

And the blacksmith explained to her why he was learning how to make bows and that he was not given any horn to use on the bow.

”Oh, thatʼs why. I wouldnʼt worry too much about it. As I said the point of a composite bow is to maximize the mechanical properties. Wood, Horn, and Sinew are just the ones usually used.

Usually, you use wood for the framework, horn to store the force of compression at the belly, and sinew at the back. Whereas the belly was the side that faced toward the archer when drawing the bow and the back was the side facing away.

This doesnʼt mean you are confined to these materials. You can also make a bow with only sinew or wood. You can also use any other materials that fulfill the same requirements to improve the power of the bow.

Maybe you could also use a thin strip of the metal at the belly to store the compression force? After all, you can also make a bow from metal, no?”

hearing her explanation, Seth almost had to laugh. To think that he had been the one to be hung up on the original idea of a composite bow for a moment. Sure, after hearing her explanation it seemed obvious that he didnʼt need to strictly follow conventions, as long as he ended up with a powerful bow.

With his misunderstanding out of the way, Bess picked up the bow stave she had been working on earlier. She had actually begun to prepare a composite bow to first show him the different steps to making a recurve composite bow.