Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero

The stars now glittered across the inky canvas of the night sky, and the moon cast its silvery glow upon the world, illuminating the town of Aria. Tyler was nestled within the small forest that enveloped the Black Cloud Guild's mansion, a silent observer hidden within the shadows. He was positioned just behind the mansion's vast backyard, a space where guild hunters often honed their skills and practised their techniques.

Tyler gazed at the mansion, his crimson eyes burning bright within the darkness. *If I go in there,* he thought, his mind already calculating the risks, *I'm going to get in trouble. Not just trouble… I'm going to start a war.* He knew what he was capable of. *I'm obviously going to have to kill people. That's guaranteed.*

The memories of past encounters, of the deaths he'd inflicted – Gary, Ian, Steve, members of the Black Cloud Guild – resurfaced, each one a stark reminder of the path he was on. Tyler exhaled softly, the air misting in the cold night.

*They are obviously stronger opponents in there,* he thought, acknowledging the reality of the situation. *So my priority isn't killing the Black Cloud Guild members. It's finding Rebecca and escaping with her.*

He paused, grappling with the practicalities. *But how am I going to do that without getting noticed? I mean, I can use the skill to enter the house without them being aware, but… I could accidentally teleport in front of people. I don't really know where they are. Even if I get to Rebecca, how am I going to get her out without getting noticed? If only I could teleport with her...*

As the thought formed in his mind, it crystallised, reminding him of the White Walker's ability. The ability to teleport with someone else.

With a mere thought, the system panel shimmered into existence before Tyler, displaying his inventory and the array of ingredients he possessed. He swept his gaze across the icons and information displayed. Then, a realisation, which he had grasped at a smaller scale, but now fully understood, bloomed in his mind. The system manifested itself every time he simply *thought* of it. The inventory, his stats… all appeared without him needing to command a single word.

He thought of the White Walker. He thought of crafting it. He desired to bring it into being. The system promptly displayed: "Craft Item? (Yes/No)"

Tyler mentally selected "Yes".

The system responded: "Crafting…"

A small smile played upon Tyler's lips as he gazed at the system, a spark of hope flickering within his crimson eyes. *Right… if the armour has that skill… the White Walker had… it means I can save Rebecca. I can get her out.*

The system panel displayed the circular loading bar of the White Walker armour being crafted, its progress slowly accumulating.

Tyler thought again. *I wonder if this can actually craft two things at once.* He mentally commanded, "System… craft white prey armour."

The system responded: "Craft Armour? (Yes/No)"

Tyler mentally selected "Yes."

Another loading bar materialised, stacked on top of the first, each one slowly filling. The White Walker armour's bar was moving more slowly now, but its progress was more advanced than the white prey armour.

*Right…* Tyler thought, *It starts to craft slower the more items you add to the crafting list. If I add another one, it'll probably become even slower.*

Tyler sighed, acknowledging the lack of foresight. *I should have come more prepared.* He muttered to himself. *This isn't a good idea, preparing for battle, right outside the base of our enemies. It's kind of stupid, to be honest.* But the thought of failure, of leaving Rebecca behind, drove him. *But if I want to make sure… I'm fully prepared, I've got to equip everything I can. I have to make sure that I'm at my strongest advantage.*

He looked at his hand, and with a thought, he mentally equipped the Shadow Ring. A black ring materialised on his middle finger, its surface subtly shimmering with almost unnoticeable blue light. Tyler then made the ring's stats appear before him, displaying:

**Shadow Ring:** +10% ATK. Grants the user the ability to blend with the shadows, becoming undetectable to the human eye if equipped with Shadow Armour.

Tyler examined the information, a slight smile playing on his lips. *Hmm, okay… seems like this thing gives me a 10% attack boost. This is crazy, to think that I already have a 60% attack boost right now, even if I'm not in the shadows, my attacks hit 60% harder in the night, and hit 100% when I'm in the shadows. And with the description of this ring, it seems like it doesn't rely on it being dark, or me being in the shadows, for this additional 10% attack, which means even if I equip it in the day, I still have the same effect.*

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He then read the other effect of the ring and thought, *Huh, so I'm basically invisible inside the shadows to the human eye, huh? The human eye… Does this mean that monsters can see me? If a person has some kind of slight skill, can they see me? Well, it's still very useful.*

Tyler then opened his palm on his left hand.

An enhancement stone materialised in his left hand, a small crystal rock, barely transparent and shimmering with a subtle blue light. Tyler pressed the enhancement stone against his *ring*, and the crystal crumbled into dust, the particles absorbed into the Shadow Ring.

*Enhancement Successful*, the system panel flashed into existence, confirming the action.

Tyler opened his palm again, and the enhancement stone reappeared in his hand. He pressed it against the Shadow Ring a second time, repeating the process.

*Enhancement Successful*, the system panel declared again.

He attempted this a third time, but the system denied him. *Enhancement Failed*.

*Okay*, Tyler thought, processing the information. *So, the second time was the limit… It now gives me a 40% boost in attack power. That's a lot, considering my attack power was already pretty high before I even equipped it or enhanced it.*

He then noticed the progress of the crafting loading bars on the system panel. The White Walker armour's progress bar, the key to saving Rebecca, was inches away from completion.

*Man, why is it taking such a long time?* he wondered, his impatience growing. *If I keep waiting here, I'm afraid someone might actually locate me.* He paused, then glanced at his enhanced Shadow Ring. *Then again, I equipped the Shadow Ring, so I guess not.*

Even as he thought this, a strange feeling crept into his heart, a sudden, small feeling of excitement and perhaps… *wanting* to be discovered.

The system panel materialised, announcing: "Crafting Successful."

Tyler smiled, relief washing over him. *Finally! Let's see what kind of stats I have.*

Suddenly, the Shadow Armour he was wearing began to dissolve, but not in a liquid manner. It was as if it was turning into smoke, a living being leaving his body, starting from his chest, and flowing downwards, melting until it reached his legs and vanishing completely. This was the process of unequipping the armour, and Tyler was observing it with a slight sense of curiosity.

*What strange armour*, he thought, watching the shadow armour melt into smoke. As it arrived at his legs, it dissipated completely. He looked at the ground, then processed this, *Now that I think about it, every time I equip this armour, it seems that I'm equipping my shadow… Does this mean that my shadow came back? I can't see that, because I'm hiding in the shadows…* He dismissed the thought.

Suddenly, white misty smoke surrounded his body, resembling white steam that seemed to materialise out of thin air. The steam clung to his body, condensing, and then solidified into the white armour.

Tyler looked at the armour, a sense of wonder filling him. It was a mirror image of the Shadow Armour, every detail replicated, save for its pristine white colour. *Oh, so this is the White Walker's armour… It's just called white armour. Let's see what kind of abilities it has.*

The system panel then materialised, displaying the white armour's stats.

White Armour:

DEF: 300

Skills: Evanescence

Tyler was somewhat surprised, seeing only one skill listed. *One skill… so that's why. That's why it was only disappearing. I never saw it using any other skill. Maybe the skill that was used for disappearing was already activated. Maybe it's just like the Shadow Armour skill that takes time while active…* He dismissed the thought. *It doesn't matter. This is the skill that I need.*

He hoped, though, that this skill wouldn't have any limitations like the Shadow Armour skill did.

Suddenly, another system panel appeared before Tyler, providing a detailed description of the skill:

**Evanescence:** By activating this skill, the user gains the ability to teleport within a range of 100 meters. The user can also teleport with another living entity to any location within that range.

Tyler processed the information, and a small smile played upon his lips, despite his current situation. *Right… I can teleport with someone, but within a range of 100 meters. Wow, it's actually slightly weaker than the Shadow Armour, but it has an advantage the Shadow Armour doesn't have. I can teleport with someone else. Just like the White Walker…*

He pondered the possibilities. *I can enhance it, right?*

Tyler materialised an enhancement stone in his hand and pressed it against his chest.

The system immediately responded: *Enhancement Failed*.

Tyler was visibly shocked. *What? Enhancement Failed? But why? Dammit, I thought I could increase the range of this thing, but… the enhancement suddenly failed. So, I can't even enhance it… not even once.*

Tyler sighed, accepting the reality of the situation. *Just my luck… well, I guess a hundred meters is enough… I just have to make sure I keep them away from her.*

Unbeknownst to Tyler, his eyes were now a stark white, the pupils and irises having transformed, but he was oblivious to the change.

He glanced at the system panel, focusing on the White Prey Armour's crafting loading bar, and as soon as he looked at it. *Crafting Successful*, the system declared.

Tyler smiled, adrenaline beginning to course through his veins. *Right, let's see what kind of stats this one has… I have to do it quickly.* *This is the armour of that boss, that snake… that Gary had…*

The memories of the dead snake's impenetrable scales flooded his mind. He recalled how difficult it was, the futile attempts to pierce them before discovering the weakness. He also thought of how it might have gone if the weak spot had never been found. He didn't know why it had an opening there, but he was just glad.

*This must have crazy defence,* he thought. And, with a thought, he unequipped the white armour and equipped the white prey armour. However, instead of appearing on his body or in any form of a set, the White Prey Armour's skills materialised directly onto Tyler's skin.

It began with his legs, the kite-shaped scales of pure white shimmering into existence. Each scale, a replica of those that made up the armour, appeared directly on his skin, attaching itself to his legs, working its way up his torso, as if becoming an extension of his own flesh.

Tyler was surprised. *Wait a minute… what the…? This thing is actually just attaching itself to my skin?*

His heart rate spiked, a jolt of shock and anticipation flooding him, but he knew he could not panic, or he would be discovered.

The scales of the White Prey Armour completed their transformation, attaching themselves all the way to his neck, fully enveloping his arms, covering his entire palms and even his fingers, extending to the very tips of his fingertips. They spread across his entire body, his back, his neck, his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, and covering his nose while leaving the nostrils uncovered. They even covered his forehead, leaving only his hair and ears untouched.

Tyler's eyes were squeezed shut, a mixture of disbelief and awe coursing through him. He slowly opened them and gazed down at his hands. They were completely encased in the shimmering white scales. He closed and opened his palms, flexing them experimentally, as if checking for movement. *What the hell?*

He slid a finger across his wrist, feeling the smooth, almost frictionless surface of the scales. He then touched his face, testing the coverage. *This really covered my body, even my back… and all the way down there…*

He moved, performing a few stretches, testing the flexibility of the armour. Surprisingly, it felt comfortable. It wasn't restrictive. It felt as easy to move in as if he were wearing a second skin. He lifted his leg, bending his knee, testing the joint, and it felt as light as usual. *This armour really doesn't restrain me in any way.*

He put it down, pondering the implications of the situation. *Boss armour's really different. Every boss armour I've equipped materialises in different ways.*

His mouth was also covered. He touched his face, and where his mouth would be, there was nothing but smooth, scaled surface. Yet, he could still *feel* that there was a space between the scales and his mouth. He could still talk, somehow.

With a thought, the system panel suddenly materialised, revealing the armour's stats.

White Prey Armour:

DEF: 700

Skills: Sense, Scale Shift, Slither