Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero

Right on the edge of the town, in the heart of the forest that surrounded the mansion, Tyler materialised with a puff of white smoke. As the smoke dissipated, the imposing figure of Tyler crashed to his knees, gently placing the broken form of Rebecca onto the forest floor. His teeth clenched, and a surge of conflicting emotions – rage at those who had done this to her, and a deep, aching sadness – swelled within him.

Rebecca inhaled, a pained hiss escaping her lips as Tyler carefully adjusted her position on the forest floor, trying to minimise the agony. "Don't worry," he said, his voice a low, urgent murmur, "You're going to be alright. I'll heal you."

He opened his palm, and a vial shimmered into existence, filled with the healing potion he had painstakingly crafted. "Open your mouth," he instructed, gently guiding the vial towards Rebecca's lips. The potion, a shimmering, iridescent liquid, trickled slowly down her throat.

*This potion heals 30% of a person's wounds. I'll need to give her more,* Tyler thought, his mind racing.

Suddenly, a system panel flared into existence before his eyes, its message written in stark, unforgiving red.

*The host is too damaged. Weak healing potion failed. Powerful healing potion is recommended.*

Tyler muttered in surprise as Rebecca slowly swallowed the weak healing potion. * Powerful healing potion… But I don't have that yet. I don't have all the ingredients. I recently got holy water… but I don't have any sun leaves.* He clenched his fist in frustration. *Come on, you have to work,* he pleaded silently. Tyler poured the potion down Rebecca's throat once more.

The system panel flickered back into existence, repeating the same, devastating message. Tyler muttered under his breath, "Damn it! Why won't it work?" He gently withdrew the empty vial from Rebecca's lips, watching as the remaining potion shimmered a vibrant blue before disappearing into his inventory. "What the hell do I do now?" he thought, a wave of desperation washing over him. "I can't create any potion if I wanted to. I'm running out of options".

He glanced to his right, towards the distant houses of Aria, their windows glinting faintly in the fading light. *Could I go out there and ask for help?* he wondered. *Maybe if I went to one of the houses, the people could help me.*

Then, he shook his head, the thought quickly dismissed. Returning his gaze to Rebecca, he said, his voice a low, determined whisper, "No. I don't think they will. What the hell would I tell them?" Then a sudden realisation came over him, "...Plus, I'm..." He paused, as though a ghost was creeping on his face, "...Might be seen... by the guards. I don't know if the guards of Aria roam the streets just like the guards of Veridia." He knew that could be bad, "What the hell do I do?" The situation seemed hopeless. "She looks like she's about to die."

Rebecca's lips parted, and she let out a weak, laboured exhale, as if she had been trying to say something. Her tongue moved slightly, and a whisper, barely audible, escaped her lips. Tyler leaned in immediately, his entire focus narrowed to her face, desperate to hear what she was trying to say.

A faint smile, fragile yet beautiful, graced Rebecca's injured face. "You… actually came… for me…" she whispered, her voice a mere breath.

Tyler looked at her, his heart aching at the effort it took her to speak. "Of course," he said, his voice choked with emotion.

A barely audible chuckle, a ghost of a sound, came from Rebecca, followed by a sharp hiss of pain as the pain in her ribcage intensified.

"Don't talk, you're hurting yourself," Tyler urged.

Rebecca whispered something again, causing Tyler to lean in once more, his ear close to her lips, straining to hear.

"You… shouldn't have." Her voice was faint, each word a monumental effort. "After all… you helped me… when you could… Didn't you? Because of you… I was able to reach… B-rank…" She paused, the effort of speaking causing a small cough to rack her frame. "A rank… that I've always wanted… to reach…"

A genuine smile touched Tyler's lips. "I couldn't just let you go. You still owe me that money," he said, attempting a flat, playful tone, his voice laced with a sadness that belied the levity. The attempt at humour almost made Rebecca chuckle once more.

"Right," she whispered, her voice thick with pain. "I'm… sorry… I couldn't repay… you." She paused, her voice growing weaker. "But… please… You need… to go. There's… no helping… me. Quit… before they find… you."

Tyler shook his head, his jaw clenched. "Just to leave you like this? To die? I'm sorry, but I can't do that." *Shit,* he thought, his mind racing, *If I teleport with her again, it's only for a hundred meters, and I'm most definitely going to run out of mana. I already teleported twice with her on the way hear. I'm even scared to run carrying her, she looks so wounded, every touch looks like I'm causing more pain.*

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Rebecca, her voice barely a breath, managed to speak, her words clear, but broken, sounding more like a small, agonising cry. "You need… to go… I didn't… tell them… where you lived… or where… You were… If… you just die… here… it'll all… be for nothing…"

Tyler's eyes widened in realisation, a mix of shock and dawning understanding. He muttered, his voice filled with a mixture of disbelief and profound respect, "Wait… are you saying that… you endured all that… torture… because you… refused to tell them… about me? Why the hell didn't you?"

Rebecca, the effort of holding onto life beginning to overwhelm her, managed to utter, one last time, "Just… go… please…" And then, a cough wracked her body, this time erupting with a trickle of blood.

Tyler's voice was raw, a testament to his desperation, "Damn it… I can't. I won't be able to live with myself if I just leave you here to die. I was already… a pathetic failure in my other world. I can't be the same… here. I'm helping you."

Rebecca managed a smile, despite the pain, despite the despair that must have been consuming her. "You… already did. You've done your part… You can go."

Instead of tears, a crimson liquid, her lifeblood, trickled down the side of her face, tracing the empty sockets where her eyes had been. She whispered, her voice fading, "It's okay… after all… I'm about… to meet… my parents…"

Tyler stood, his voice rising in protest, "Well, I'm sure they don't want to meet you this way! They wouldn't want it to end like this! Come on… I'll take my chances! Let's go!"

Tyler slid both of his arms beneath Rebecca's body, ready to lift her to safety. But as he did so, her body went limp. There was no resistance. The fight, the will to live, had finally deserted her.

He muttered, "Rebecca," his voice a choked whisper, calling out to her, but there was no answer.

And then, a tear, a single, unbidden tear, rolled down Tyler's cheek, born not of conscious effort, but of a grief so profound that it bypassed his control.

He let go, gently lowering her body back to the forest floor. The reality of what had happened struck him like a physical blow. She was dead.

Suddenly, a dark smoke began to envelop Tyler's body, swirling around him like a shroud. And then, his shadow, which stretched across the forest floor, began to move, shifting and twisting as if it were a living creature. The shadow flowed up his legs, solidifying and encasing him in shadow armour once more. His eyes flashed crimson, burning with a fierce, untamed light.

A sudden surge of power coursed through him, fueled by a rage so intense it threatened to consume him. A reckless, almost suicidal urge took root in his mind. He looked in the direction of the Black Cloud Guild Mansion, his gaze burning with hatred. *They made her suffer.*

"They tortured her the whole time… and I was busy doing… what? Crafting?" Tyler muttered, his voice choked with a mixture of self-reproach and simmering fury. His hands tightened into fists, the knuckles turning white. He let out a slow, humourless chuckle, a sound that held no mirth, only the chilling echo of his rage.

His hand shimmered with a blue light, and white scales, like fragments of bone, rapidly materialised in his palm, coalescing into a small, intricate structure. He turned away from Rebecca, his gaze fixed on the Black Cloud Guild Mansion, his jaw set with a grim determination. He then extended his right hand towards Rebecca and used his skill, *Room*. Suddenly, a room, entirely constructed of the white scales, materialised around Rebecca's body, completely encasing her. The room was seamless, with no windows, no door, only a floor and ceiling of the same white scales.

Tyler did not know how, but as Rebecca had died, he felt it. It was almost as if he had experienced her last moment. He did not question this or even feel any curiosity about it. *Maybe… it could be the effect of the white armour.* He didn't care. All he knew was that he could no longer hear Rebecca's heartbeat, and no longer hear any breath coming from her. No exhale. No inhale. His crimson eyes gleamed with a fierce intensity as he muttered, "Craft Necklace of Growth."

The system panel appeared before him, its message simple: *Crafting…* And then, in a mere second, the system announced: *Crafting Successful.* A necklace of simple design, materialised around Tyler's neck.

The system panel flickered to life again, displaying the stat: +5% XP Gain.

Tyler, his expression unchanged, continued his march towards the mansion, his resolve hardening with each step. He then focused, and an enhancement stone appeared in his hand. He pressed the stone against the pendant of the necklace, infusing it with power.

The system panel appeared before Tyler, displaying: *Enhancement Successful*. The panel then disappeared and reappeared, displaying: *XP +35%*.

Tyler, his face grim, materialised another enhancement stone in his hand and pressed it against the necklace pendant as he continued to walk towards his destination. The system panel then appeared, but this time, the words were written in stark red: *Enhancement Unsuccessful*.

Disappointment flickered across his features for a fleeting moment, then was immediately replaced by a surge of raw, untamed power. He moved, and the world seemed to warp around him. With impossible speed, he surged forward, his eyes gleaming with a fierce, predatory red glow. With each stride, the green grass of the small forest tore, the very ground yielding to his passage. As he ran, leaving behind a line of devastation, the trees were all left bent to the side as if they were making way for Tyler to cross.

In Tyler's hands, copper daggers materialized, their presence increasing his speed by 56 percent.

The guild members, gathered outside, *didn't see him coming.* Jason's eyes widened in a mixture of horror and recognition. Before his brain could even process what was happening, before he could even form a sentence to alert anyone of anything, Tyler was already upon them, a whirlwind of motion, running directly towards the captain.

*I am going to kill you…* he thought, his gaze flickering over the levels of the people and the captain's, but he didn't stop, fueled by a burning rage. Tyler activated Shadow Strike. He pulled back his fist, and it was suddenly encased in smoke like shadow. Not everyone could react to the speed of the attack. The captain's eyes widened in a moment of clarity. He quickly lifted his huge sword, the obsidian blade flashing in the light, prepared to defend against Tyler's devastating punch.

Tyler's fist connected with the captain's sword, the impact a deafening, thunderous *BANG* that echoed across the clearing. The force of the blow was immense, a raw explosion of power that sent the captain hurtling backwards. He didn't just stumble or fall; he was *launched* through the air, a projectile of bone and steel.

He crashed through the walls of the guild mansion, each impact a splintering explosion of wood and stone. The pressure wave from the punch rippled outwards, pushing the other members off their feet. They stumbled, lost their balance, and skidded across the ground, struggling to maintain their footing.

The captain, a human battering ram, tore through each room he encountered, the force of Tyler's strike propelling him at an impossible velocity. He was a blur of motion, a destructive force carving a path through the very structure of the mansion. He emerged from the other side, a silhouette against the sky, still moving at a breathtaking speed, and he continued to carve a path through the forest, tearing through trees like flimsy paper. He then crashed through the walls of Aria, the town, finally stopping in a field just outside the city.

Jason, who had managed to withstand the initial pressure wave, his arms instinctively raised in a defensive posture, his hands clasped, his eyes squeezed shut. He lowered his hands, his grip tightening on his golden staff. He opened his eyes, and the scene before him was a testament to Tyler's terrifying power. Tyler was still standing, faint black smoke radiating from his shadow armour. The copper daggers that had materialised moments before shimmered with a faint blue light and disappeared, replaced by two new blades. In his hands, he now held a crimson dagger in one and a silver dagger in the other. His crimson eyes locked onto Jason, their gaze burning with a predatory intensity, an unspoken challenge hanging heavy in the air.