First thing’s first, I want to try making mana water outside of my body.

  I was perfectly capable of creating it inside my body, as the slowly growing stockpile of the stuff clearly showed. Now I want to see if I can condense the mana outside to see if it will have the same effect or if something interesting will happen.

  I started by making a small ball of mana, no more than a foot in diameter. Then I tried compressing it down further and further. It was similar to how I make the compressed air, except I did my best to keep my mind clear of affecting any elements. I want this to be a ball of mana with no impurities, like regular water or air.

  After a few minutes of trying, I got no result. Instead of trying to compress it, like the skill name suggested, I instead tried adding more to the ball and see if that would work.

  As I added a larger amount of mana to the small sphere, I began to get the same feeling as when I first made the mana water. It felt like the air was being over saturated with mana and that the mana wanted to leak out. I had to put a lot more mental effort into containing the mana while it was in the air than when it was in my root, but it eventually worked out.

  After squeezing and pushing it all together for a few minutes, some of the mana finally coalesced into a drop of water. The thing is though, there was still a lot of mana in the ball I had made. I decided to keep up the effort, and another drop came out, then a third and a fourth. I kept pushing it all together until I got a total of 5 drops of mana water to come out of that ball. All 5 cost me 10% of my pool, but it was a lot more than what I would have gotten from my prior method. When I got all 5 out, the ball dissipated enough that it was probably worth less than half of a percent of my pool.

  Since the mana water was still my mana, just in a different form, I still had control over it. I willed it in through the root I used to charge my wooden puppet with the water, nutrients, and mana it needs since that was already at the base of my trunk. All I had to do was connect it to the root that leads to the growing collection of mana water under me.

  Drip, drop, drip, drop, drip. All done.

  After it was moved, I meditated to recharge my mana for a few minutes, since I just spent so much of it. As I waited for it to refill, I used my puppet to bring the platter of fruit out for the birds. I could still hear them from time to time, but they still haven’t shown themselves to me again.

  Now that I was full of mana again, I decided to try making a mana receptive wooden staff for Aspen. Or whatever she called it. From what she described, I basically just have to let something soak up mana for a while, and its properties will just magically change.

  I shot out a root similar to what I did for Axel’s handle and smoothed it out. I gave it a curve at the top to make it look magic-y, added snake scales like I did with the handle, then removed the curve to make it a snake’s head since I had a theme to stick to. I then brought the staff down to my workshop and walked my puppet out of there before sealing off the chamber.

  Once it was alone in the shop, I shoved as much mana into the staff as I could, which inevitably ended in making a drop of mana water again, but I diffused it through the whole staff equally so no single part would be more saturated than the rest. Once it was full of as much mana as it could be, I then flooded the rest of the room with mana as well.

  From now on, I’ll start dumping extra mana I have into the workshop and hope that works in creating what she was talking about. Hopefully, I can make her something before the three of them leave. Ah shit, I still have a bow to make for Archy.

  I forgot to ask him to examine his bow before they left, but I could still do it when they came back. As for now, I guess I can still give it a try.

  I started by making a stick with the basic bow curve. When it looked about as curvy as Archy’s did, I grew a vine to connect the two ends. I made an arrow out of a root and picked both up with my puppet. I loaded my shot, aimed for the campfire, pulled back and realized I messed it up.

  Bows start off as a staff then get bent into shape to create tension for proper power. I knew this and still made the rooky mistake.

  I quickly burned my mishap and moved along.

  I made a plank about 6 feet long, making sure to arrange my fibers in a way that would provide the most amount of resistance to being bent. This should theoretically make the bow a lot stronger.

  I added a few notches to the bow for the string. Rather than use just a basic vine, I instead created several thin vines that I braided together. I hoped the braids would make it tougher and more durable, but I wasn’t sure if it would be up to the standards of an elven archer. I made them as thin as I could while still maintaining their strength. I just hope it worked.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I used my puppet to string the bow, which I had to say was a whole lot of effort. I may have made it too strong. The string stayed whole and in place, though I was a little hesitant about how much it would hold up. If it were a weaker bow, then I might have been a bit more confident, but this one had some power behind it.

  I knocked the arrow and aimed at the fireplace again. I was no archer, but I also wasn’t that far from my target, maybe 15 feet.

  I switched my POV in my Domain to be fully immersed in the puppet and pulled the arrow back to my cheek. Both bow and string groaned in protest, but both held true. I had to put in the most power I have to date in the puppet to bring it all the way back. When the draw length was a good two and a half feet long, I loosed the arrow.

  With a twang, it was sent flying, and fly it did. Like I said though, I wasn’t an archer.

  I must have twitched my arm slightly when I released my grip, as the arrow went flying far to the right of where I intended to hit. My target was the center of the fireplace, but I ended up hitting the wall to the temporary home I made for the Laughing Vipers. Thankfully they were gone hunting for now, as the arrow ended up lodged in the middle bed, which I believe belonged to Archy.

  I quickly removed the arrow using Earth Magic and mended his bed. It was little more than applying a bit of stamina along with a quick application of Body Manipulation. Just like that, it was like I was never there.

  Damn. So this thing has some serious power, huh? Should I tone it down some? Hell, will Archy even be able to draw it far enough back?

  I would need to get Archy’s opinion on it when he got back, but until then, I decided to just stick with what I had and just make it look prettier.

  I started with removing the string; I didn’t want it snapping while I worked on it. As always, I added the snake scale look to the bow, with a viper head on the top and a rattlesnake tail on the bottom. I adjusted the flow of the bow to make it look more fantasy-like, then gave it a curve at the halfway point on both the top and bottom. I think that’s what is called a recurve bow, and I honestly love the look of it.

  I went to string the bow again and found it was slightly easier. I guess removing some material in the beautification process made the draw a little lighter. It was still a heavy draw, but I think it’s more manageable now than it was before.

  By creating a high-quality weapon made of wood, skill [Wood Working (C)] has improved to [Wood Working (U+)].

  About time. I mean, I only use the skill every time I make a damn wooden puppet. Are you saying this thing isn’t high-quality? Rude!

  I drew the bow again, this time making sure I didn’t twitch when I loosed the arrow, and hit pretty close to my mark. I at least hit the fireplace this time. The arrow was buried pretty far in the ground, leaving only an inch out. I used Earth Magic again to get it out and brought it over to my trunk. Once there, I made a couple more dozen arrows just like it along with a rocky target off in the distance. I know I promised myself to use today to keep my momentum up with magic practice, but I also wasn’t in a rush.

  I sent the rest of my time firing arrow after arrow at the rock targets. I was slowly getting better, but I also never planned on using a bow after today. It was just a bit of fun to get used to my creation before I gave it away.

  The hours flew by, with me switching between making more mana water and practicing with the bow. After I hit the target where I was aiming 10 times in a row, I received another skill. One that I had 0 use for after today.

  Through practice and effort, you have learned the skill [Marksmanship (C)].

  I went ahead and pulled up the description, because why not.

  Marksmanship (C): Passive. When the user wields a bow, crossbow, or other ranged weapon, the user’s aim is improved.

  Yup. Pretty much exactly what I thought it was. Useless. Would’ve been sweet if it affected magic too though. An auto-aim spell would be fabulous.

  I dismissed the notifications and got back to my bow work. It wasn’t long until the group made their way back.

  I knew something would be off when they didn’t return until after the sun set. Axel crossed the boundary of my Domain first, covered in blood that was clearly not his and looking as chipper as ever. When the other two made their way back, they looked much less pleased.

  If I had to guess, Axel was so happy with his weapon that he made the other two stay out much later than normal.

  Aspen’s complaining quickly proved me right.

  “Willow, damn you! That brute keeps yelling out, trying to draw every group of Orcs for miles to test his new axe! I mean, he killed them all, but he got blood all over my robes! And what the hell is that? Did you make another weapon?”

  It was true. Her front was almost as bloody as Axel’s was. She didn’t have as many guts dried on her skin though, so there was that at least.

  “Yes, I made it for him,” I said, gesturing to Archy. I had forgotten his name, even though Aspen and Axel both use his name on a regular basis around me. “Figured I would give it a try.”

  Archy walked over to my puppet and gently took it out of my hands. He drew the bow with practiced ease, and, using one of his arrows, split the last arrow I had lodged in the dirt target. Only then did he look at the craftsmanship.

  “This is beautiful. I will gladly accept it. The draw is surprisingly similar to the one I use now. How did you get the wood so… Oh right.”

  His long ears turned red, remembering that I was literally a tree.

  Aspen and Axel made fun of Archy (Taryn! I have to remember this!) for the remainder of the night for his little hiccup.

  “In my defense, my homeland is also home to dryads that look just like his puppets do. You would know if you bothered to visit.”

  Archy – no, Taryn – got all huffy and started pouting for a while before practicing some more with the bow. After a short bit, the three had dinner, and after that, Aspen started her explanation on enchanting.

  “So enchanting works by…”