Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero

Before the horrors, before the tortures that led to her death, Tyler had, through a flicker of vision granted by his skill, witnessed Rebecca's defiance, her skill, and her vast, untapped potential. He saw her fight, a desperate, courageous dance of self-preservation. He saw her struggle, a valiant effort to keep the pursuing enemies away from him. Then, after she finally succumbed to exhaustion and was pulled under, she was taken. Taken by a hunter, a mage hunter. That hunter was the one who had delivered her to the Black Cloud Guild's base of operations.

And now, Tyler, a figure wreathed in the darkness of his shadow armour, stood poised. Crimson daggers, extensions of his fury, gleamed in his hands. His eyes, mirroring the twin blades, burned with a fire that threatened to consume all. His gaze, unwavering, was locked on Jason, the man who had taken her. Tyler's grip on the daggers tightened, the leather of his gloves stretched taut, emitting a sharp, almost agonised squeak. He turned his body fully towards Jason, his posture radiating a coiled power, a silent promise of retribution. The words, when they came, were a low growl that vibrated from within, "You… you're the one who took her."

Jason remained frozen in place, his eyes wide, pupils dilated. His face was a mask of shock, disbelief wrestling with a dawning comprehension of the true scope of their situation. His body was taut, every muscle coiled, held tight as a bowstring, ready to snap. The other hunters lay sprawled on the ground, their forms still scattered and motionless from the shockwave of Tyler's earth-shattering blow. That single, devastating strike had sent the captain hurtling through the guild mansion as if he were a paper doll, reducing the structure to rubble. Dust and debris filled the air, a grim testament to the violence that had just unfolded.

Jason swallowed, the action a mere gesture of defiance against the overwhelming dread that threatened to engulf him. His mind raced, calculating the impossible. *This hunter… he just took out the captain in one blow… the mansion is destroyed… I knew he might be powerful, but… I clearly underestimated him.* He drew a shaky breath, forcing himself to assess the immediate threat. *He has to be an A+, the same rank as my father...*

The other hunters, groaning with exertion, began to rise from the ground. Sabrina and Silvia emerged from the sides of the ravaged mansion, their expressions grim. On the opposite side, the vice-captain and Teno also made it to the backyard. The captain, seeing Tyler standing only a few meters from his son, bellowed, "Jason, what the hell are you doing?!"

Jason, jolted by his father's shout, snapped out of his shock. The system panel suddenly appeared before Tyler, displaying: *"Jason activated skill: Pillar."* The golden orb on Jason's staff shimmered, releasing a faint golden glow. The earth beneath Jason's feet erupted, a square-shaped pillar of rock rocketing upward, launching him into the air. He was creating distance from Tyler, using his abilities tactically. *What the hell was I thinking? I need to put some distance between us,* he thought, his mind racing.

The orb shimmered one more time, and a series of sharp, rocky spikes erupted from the ground in a line, heading towards Tyler. They were tall, wide, and menacing. Some of the guild members, seeing the attack, scrambled to get out of the way.

But before Jason could even begin to descend, before he could touch the ground, Tyler's body materialised, spinning in mid-air in front of Jason. He launched a spinning kick. Before the kick could connect, before Jason could dodge, react, anything. Jason activated his skill: *Stone Skin*, attempting to harden his body, to mitigate the damage, but it was too late. The kick landed squarely in Jason's stomach. The force was immense, a brutal impact that caused him to vomit blood as the force sent him flying through the air, tearing through two trees in the distance.

The vice-captain's roar of fury sliced through the air as he charged towards Tyler. Sabrina, her face twisted in a mask of rage, sprinted forward as well.

Silvia, however, remained rooted to the spot, her eyes wide with the horror of the destruction. Tyler vanished, a familiar trick. He reappeared in a heartbeat, solid, grounded.

A veil of faint, black smoke, like a dancing shroud, swirled around him, a visual representation of the power he wielded. His crimson eyes, burning embers of rage, locked onto the Black Cloud Guild members arrayed before him.

They stood, a collection of hardened warriors, each with a face etched with wariness. All had witnessed Tyler's devastating might. Tyler displayed no fear, only a grim mask of resolve. His eyes, however, betrayed the storm within, blazing with resentment, with a consuming rage, with a hint of the grief that fueled this carnage.

Silvia's heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic rhythm against her fear. *This hunter...* The thought flickered in her mind, a rapid assessment. *He is definitely an A-rank plus, if not an S-rank. He destroyed the entire building in an instant and sent the captain flying. We didn't even see where the captain landed. Can we possibly handle this guy without him?*

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As the others began to advance, Sabrina roared, "You dare attack my brother?!" as she activated her skill, *Knights Charge*.

Tyler, his form wreathed in shadow, scoffed. A mocking smile, a fleeting display of contempt, twisted his lips.

Benny and Alec surged forward, their swords raised, their minds focused on the immediate threat. *We've got to take him down before he teleports again,* Alec thought, his gaze locked on Tyler.

The archers, Anna and Lena, unleashed their fiery arrows at Tyler. Both arrows, imbued with skill, streaked towards their target, leaving trails of shimmering flame. Before the arrows could reach him, Tyler moved, a blur of motion. His red dagger, an extension of his lethal intent, deflected the first arrow, a precise push sending it spiralling away. He repeated the manoeuvre with the second arrow, redirecting it to the left.

Sabrina, her face contorted with fury, reached Tyler. Her silver sword, held in a powerful grip, arced towards him in a wide, sweeping motion. As the silver-fanged dagger met the silver sword, a shock, a searing jolt of pain, coursed through Sabrina's hands. A groan escaped her lips, a brief moment of vulnerability. That moment was all Tyler needed.

He twisted with practised ease, his silver dagger a flash of silver. The blade sliced across Sabrina's face, a deep, brutal cut from her right eye to her left. He vanished in a puff of smoke. Sabrina screamed, releasing her sword as it clattered to the ground. Her hands flew to her face, blood gushing between her fingers, painting her features crimson.

The guild members were in shock, the air thick with the scent of blood. The vice-captain, his face twisted in a mask of rage, roared, "Sabrina! I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

He rushed to Sabrina's side as her father. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice thick with concern. "Sabrina? !" He slid his hands under his daughter's armpits, forcing her to stand.

Teno's eyes, wide with a mixture of fear and confusion, darted around the scene. *He vanished again. Where did he go?* The other guild members shared his anxiety, their gazes frantically searching for the hunter's elusive form. The vice-captain's desperate shout, "Jason!" sliced through the air, reaching Jason, who was struggling to maintain consciousness. Jason groaned, his body a symphony of aches and throbbing pain. *This isn't right. I used the Stone Skin skill to defend against his attack, but it still did this much damage.*

He forced himself to his feet, each movement a fresh wave of agony. His gaze swept across the ravaged forest floor, a scene of shattered branches and splintered wood. The wreckage was a grim illustration of Tyler's devastating power. Blood, dark and viscous, trickled from a gash on his forehead, blurring his vision and painting streaks down his face.

He heard his father's frantic cries, calling his name again and again, desperate. *What the hell is my staff?* Jason thought, his mind racing, desperately searching for his weapon amid the chaos. Before the thought could fully form, a searing pain, a blinding agony, ripped through his neck. It was a sensation unlike any he had ever known, a pain that eclipsed all others. Tears, stained with blood, streamed from his eyes as his head, severed from his body, tumbled through the air. It landed with a sickening *thud* on the forest floor.

Tyler's crimson eyes, burning with cold fury, fixed on Jason's lifeless form. *You all deserve to die. Starting with you.*

The system panel materialised before him, its stark interface announcing his advancement: Level up! Level up! Level up! Level up! Level up!

Tyler's mana, once depleted, surged anew, coursing through him with renewed power. He cast one final, emotionless glance at Jason's fallen body, registering his level - 107 - before vanishing in a silent puff of smoke.

Silvia, sword in hand, sprinted to join the remaining guild members. Teno, his voice ringing with urgency, shouted, "We need to stay together! He can appear anywhere!"

Alec, his voice tinged with concern, countered, "Why the hell isn't Jason coming back? We need him to grant us those buffs."

Benny, his grip tightening on the brown hammer, its rectangular head bristling with spikes, agreed. "You're right. Fighting a hunter like that... if he doesn't show up, we're screwed. That guy almost killed Sabrina just now." His hammer, a clear indication of his tank class, was held tight.

Silvia turned to Anna, her expression grim. "Where is the hunter? Can you spot him?"

Anna shook her head, her brow furrowed in concentration. "I can't see him, not even with my skill."

Lena echoed, "No. We've activated our skills, but we can't spot him."

Silvia's thoughts raced, a chilling realisation forming. *If this guy can appear anywhere, that means he could even...* Her thought was abruptly cut short.

She looked upward, her words dying in her throat. Tyler was falling from the sky.

"Above us!" she screamed, the warning ripped from her throat.

Every guild member, responding to the primal call, looked skyward. Anna and Lena, acting on instinct, unleashed a volley of arrows. Three from Anna's bow. Three from Lena's bow, all at the same time. The arrows, a testament to their skill, were wreathed in the chilling embrace of ice and the searing kiss of fire.

Tyler, however, vanished once more.

Alec and Benny, scanning both the sky and their surroundings, searched for any sign of their elusive foe. Then, he materialised, a few meters from Benny, already moving. Tyler, his daggers no longer in his grip, let them go, letting them fall and vanish into thin air.

Tyler activated Shadow Strike, the air around him shimmering with a growing darkness. His fist, wreathed in a swirling vortex of black smoke, was drawn back, a coiled spring of lethal power. It unleashed, a brutal explosion of force. The impact, a thunderclap of bone and flesh, slammed into Benny's chest. Ribs shattered like brittle twigs, collapsing inwards. The ribcage, a cage no longer, was driven with sickening force into Benny's heart. Blood, a crimson geyser, erupted from his mouth as his body was launched into the air, a puppet cut from its strings. Death came swiftly, a brutal and immediate end.

Before Alec could even react, before the horror could fully register, Tyler had already shifted, a blur of motion. He leapt, a spinning whirlwind of death, and his foot, similarly wreathed in swirling shadows, crashed into the side of Alec's head. Alec was sent sprawling.

Anna and Lena, the archers, reacted with lightning speed, loosing a storm of arrows. But Tyler was too swift, too deadly. He was a wraith, dancing through the air, dodging the projectiles with effortless grace. Then, he was gone, and in his wake, he materialised before Lena, the world blurring. Another spinning kick, the third devastating blow of Shadow Strike, exploded against her abdomen.

Lena's scream was cut short, swallowed by the brutal impact. Her stomach imploded, her insides turned to ruin. Blood, a torrent of crimson, spewed from her mouth as she was launched into the air, soaring over the ruins of the mansion. The flight was short-lived.

Even before her broken body hit the ground, before the remaining guild members could fully comprehend the massacre, Tyler vanished once more, reappearing directly in front of Teno. Teno, his shield raised, his black sword held firm, braced himself. Tyler's fist, a fist of pure death, was already launched, hurtling towards him.