The tribe is like a disturbed anthill. The warriors are quick to distribute the spears among themselves.

They should be preparing for a hunt, but something holds them back.

Deciding who will get the crossbow sparks fierce competition.

"As the leader of the hunters, it should be mine." A lanky Orc who goes by the name of Vadász claims. He isn't as bulky as the average, but his build screams, 'I'm fast.'

He also doesn't hesitate to show off his skills.

They confirmed that this world had never seen complex weapons like mine before.

Yet, after seeing me cocking and firing the thing only once, the Orc can replicate everything.

Well, this is the deal with the crossbows.

It was an eternal debate on YouCube about which one was better.

The British Longbow and Genoese Crossbow both were devastating weapons of their time. Yet, armchair experts only compared their rate of fire and penetration.

There was more than that to waging wars. The time it took to make a proper longbow was astonishing. It's more than bending a piece of wood into shape.

Once you applied all the treatments, glue, and whatnot, it'd take years to make a flimsy bow prone to damage. And training a soldier to use it took even longer.

[Notice: You can make them with your Advanced Crafting skills once you have materials.]

Sure, but that's cheating. Besides, who's dumb enough to make a bowstring out of spiderwebs? I can tell what Alexandra was going for when making these schematics, but they are silly.

And even the System knew that bowstrings should use animal sinews instead.

Still, it only mattered when I used my imagination and creativity to whip something up.

Doing it by the System's rules would have me abandon all common sense.

In the real world, the crossbow was more complex but faster to make and easy to master. Give it to a warrior who hasn't seen one before, and he'll shoot it within the hour.

Could an experienced longbowman trump a crossbowman in range, penetration, and fire rate?

Sure. Could it sustain that fire for hours like the Genoese counterpart? Only if he was a superhuman.

And if an archer died or a bow broke, it took half a generation to replace them.

Enlisting another crossbowman and giving him a proper weapon only took a day.

Nothing proves my point better than the hunter's incredible performance.

Using the training bolts, he scores three bullseyes with the brand-new weapon.

That puts any other contestants to shame, including me, and I made that freaking thing myself.

And the line snakes without an end to try out the crossbow.

It's odd, considering there are only fifty warriors left.

The novelty of the weapon draws in the auxiliaries too.

If only there were more iron, I could arm the entire tribe with it. Making these isn't as fast as the spears, but they are way better for hunting or self-defense.

Stolen novel; please report.

If the camp gets under siege, even kids could fire bolts without putting themselves in danger. And they got the hang of using it.

I can create infinite training ammo when they're not looking, and it's almost not enough.

[New Mission: Find a steady source of Iron Ore.]

I wanted to do that anyway, but thanks for the heads up. Are there any rewards?

[Notice: You'll gain Exp and a chance to level up your Crafting skills to Masterful Crafting.]

Hmm. I don't know. Is that such a big deal?

[Notice: Aiding the Orc tribe will ensure a favorable look from Alexandra when she returns.]

We have a deal.

While I lose myself in thought, the Chieftain and the Standard Bearer arrive. Hana had the last working spear in the camp, and guess who broke the one Charlotte used?

"These are some high-quality shafts, and the tips look solid too." The warrior notes, eager to swing around a spear and try its balance. "I'd like to exchange this weapon for mine."

That's a compliment if I ever heard one. So the System didn't lie about the increased quality.

Even though all it took was to place the elements on a simplified UI, and the spears appeared on the ground around me. I can't wait until they see what the crossbow can do.

"Where did you buy these? The neighboring tribes always refused to trade spears with us." The woman narrows her eyes, smelling a trap, but I play the offended.

"I didn't buy them. I made them an hour ago." I put my hands on my hips and push out my chest, allowing a smug grin to occupy my face.

She's not believing in me, but that's the truth.

"There was an abandoned smithy with some ore to use, and I wanted to try something." All I needed was to make a shear for the sheep before making a bed. Which I almost forgot.

"Our blacksmith retired as it took too much time and effort to smelt those low-quality ores." She shakes her head, and I know where she comes from.

The System is cheating, but I have a much better explanation for her.

"As the Thirteenth Bride, I couldn't let my Battalion fall apart like this." Listen to how I will be monologuing like a pro.

"I broke your spear because I couldn't convince you about my person. But I'm still a deity." Or at least the owner of this magnificent body is.

"Things like bending ore into shape and arming my minions are trivial." With the System and the not-so-useless Crafting skills, at least. "The least I could do was to replace it twentyfold."

See? I can pretend to be a benevolent leader with powers you folks can't fathom. Am I doing it right, System?

[You are welcome.]

Okay, fine. It is a decent skill. Not for a warrior, but it came in handy to help out the tribe. Or battalion. Whatever.

They're under Alexandra's Banner.

According to the System, helping them will please her.

It reminds me: I never even saw that flag thing.