Murim Recurve

"Wow," Re'Kha exclaimed in surprise as she held a bow that was only twice the length of her palm. Attached to its riser was a rectangular column acting as a cartridge. Contained within it was an arrow that was fixed after it was bent a little, using its stiffness as a spring.

Contained within it was a small section through which arrows could be loaded. There was a thin open space trailing underneath the bent arrow, allowing for the bowstring to be drawn. When it was fully drawn, it would automatically get nocked.

This was established perfectly thanks to the bent arrow pressing on the normal arrows, pushing them in line to the string to get nocked. It was a simple mechanism, using a wooden rectangular box and an extra arrow. It was wide enough to hold four arrows in total, excluding the bent arrow. The length of each arrow was also twice the length of her palm.

As Re'Kha admired its workings, the shopkeeper smiled and introduced its functions, "When you are riding a horse through the forest, it isn't always possible to use a large drawing action to nock the arrows. The branches and leaves might hinder you. During emergencies, that would be fatal."

"But," His voice became excited, "You can just attach this bow to your arm. And, all you need to do is pull the string when you wish to launch an arrow. It has four arrows in it, so you can launch them all in the shortest time possible."

"And," He pointed at the rectangular box, "Once you have launched all four arrows, it would need time to reload them. If you don't have that, you can just pull out this box and use it as a normal bow. It can also be used to defend against at least two to three sword slashes."

"How's its range?" Re'Kha drew the string to its limits, noticing how the bow was averagely stable. If she wished to do long shots using it, then she would miss the mark.

"We have only devised it to be useable against close-quarters combat. So, it is the most effective in the range of 5-6 men. You can still aim it beyond that distance, but the design is not stable enough to support effective accuracy and power." The shopkeeper was truthful in his claims, not stating anything beyond what the bow could actively perform.

"How much is this?" Re'Kha asked, intending to buy it if it was cheaper. After all, it was easy to use and didn't require anything on her part. Moreover, it was meant for close quarters. As a Harmoniser, she was the best at close-quarters combat, but that was only until she didn't run out of Elemental Qi.

So, when she was running dry, the bow would prove to be helpful. After all, she didn't need to separately nock the arrow to fire. The existing setup had four arrows, which meant she could reap the lives of four people if she aimed it right.

"It costs 16 RuQi, my lady. It's slightly on the expensive side because of the difficulties in keeping it stable for such a short arm length." The shopkeeper made a light bowing gesture, "But, we will also provide 10 arrows with it."

"I need to test this once," Re'Kha said, watching the shopkeeper nod and show her to the side of the shop. A small range had been placed there. It was only wide enough for her to stand and shoot. If she raised her arms to a horizontal level, they would touch the wall.

Positioned at the end was a target, allowing one to shoot and test the bow's effectiveness. Though, due to the constraints of the space, there was only one range in place. Still, it was enough to test the bow's features.

Re'Kha loaded four arrows into the cartridge, noticing how easy the action was. She then realised that as long as she practiced with it, she would be able to load them even while on the run. Once she was done, Re'Kha held the grip, taking a momentary aim as she pulled the string to the end of the cartridge.

The moment the string reached the end of the cartridge, it slid underneath an arrow—pushing it a little—and nocked it as the arrow was pushed downward by the bent arrow. The moment she released her hold, the arrow flew out with a swish and landed on the target.

Just when the sound of the arrow being launched resounded, Re'Kha pulled the string again, releasing another arrow. She swiftly launched all four arrows, noticing that the aim was better than she had expected.

There were some faults with it, but they were consistent. So, as long as she got used to the bow, she would be able to manually correct the flaws through her aim and increase her accuracy.

"Give me two of them," Re'Kha said after shooting to her satisfaction, "Also, do you have any version of this that could be attached to my hand?"

"We have some small crossbows, my lady." The shopkeeper smiled wryly, "But, I wouldn't recommend them. They lack the strength to even penetrate through normal leather. It would be better to throw darks using your hands. That would be many times stronger."

"Do you have darts?" Her eyes lit up as she was getting enthusiastic. Re'Kha had played with a lot of weapons since childhood as a form of training. So, there wasn't any weapon that she was unable to wield.

Though, if she had a preference, she would pick a bow for long-range, and a weapon designed similar to Harpen Weaves for mid and short-range.

"The next shop has them, my lady." The shopkeeper replied, "Do you wish to buy a standard bow?"

"I need a medium-sized bow and two crossbows. As for the crossbows, I don't care about the time I would need to load the arrows in them. But, I need them to pack as much power as they can while I should be able to wield them in one hand." Re'Kha stated her requirements, watching the shopkeeper's face beam in happiness.

No shopkeeper disliked a rich patron.