Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero

The morning sun had barely shifted in the sky as Tyler strolled through the marketplace. He'd already passed Hector's shop, and a surge of excitement coursed through him. Thoughts of seeing Grone and Serena again made him eager.

The marketplace was less crowded than before. It seemed the early morning was busier than midday, which surprised him. He'd always assumed the peak would be when people were most active.

The thought was immediately replaced by the tantalizing aroma of food wafting from nearby street vendors. *I should grab something to eat,* he thought. *Come to think of it, I haven't bought many fruits since I got here, even though I hear them hawking their wares all the time.* He thought, *With the money I've got, I can at least stock up on some food.*

The smell of cooked food was tempting, but first, he made his way to the old woman he'd bought apples from before. "Good morning," he greeted her.

The old woman smiled, "Good morning, young man. What can I get for you today?"

Tyler surveyed the alien fruits on display. He recognized only one, an apple. It looked and tasted exactly like the ones from his world, a perfect, glistening red. The other fruits were unlike anything he'd ever seen.

"I'll take ten apples, please," Tyler said.

"That'll be one silver," the woman replied, eyeing him.

Tyler thought, *One silver, huh? Right, one copper for an apple.* He had plenty of money, so that was fine. Then, he pointed at the strange fruits. They looked like giant, black blueberries, the size of apples. "What are those called?"

"Those are Tali Berries," she said. "They only ripen in the spring."

*Spring?* Tyler thought. *So, they have seasons here, too.* "How much are they?"

"Two copper each," she replied.

He bought five. "I'll take five."

The woman looked concerned. "I'm sorry, sir, but where are you going to put all the fruit? You don't have a bag or anything."

He glanced around, considering. *Don't really need a bag, since I have the inventory, but... do I need to hide my ability?* It usually just surprised people. "Don't worry about it," Tyler said. "I don't really need one."

He held out his hand, and two silver coins shimmered into existence. The woman gasped. "Oh!" She was clearly surprised by the coins appearing out of thin air. "Is that a skill you have?"

"Yeah," Tyler said, and she took the coins.

Tyler began taking the apples and the *black* Tali Berries, one by one, making them disappear.

"Thank you," he said, as the last berry vanished.

"Oh no, young man, *I* should be thanking *you*. Please come by again. I sell the best fruit," the old woman said.

"I will," Tyler said with a smile, heading off towards the other vendors. The enticing smells of food drew him forward.

Memories of his past food experiences rushed back to him. He recalled eating outside, in the open, completely exposed, as people simply walked by like it was the most normal thing. *These people don't have anything like takeout, huh?* He paused, a new thought striking him. *How am I even going to carry this food? I don't really feel like eating right now.*

Another thought surfaced. Ever since he'd been leveling up, he felt less fatigued, less hungry. He still *wanted* to taste food sometimes, but he wasn't truly hungry most of the time. He could eat once a day, or not at all, and still function perfectly fine. But then, after long periods, he *would* get hungry.

He shook his head, muttering to himself, "I should probably get going." He turned and started walking toward the gate, wanting to leave Veridia. He had accomplished everything he came to do here. He had his B-rank necklace, and he knew Hector had sold all the weapons and armor.

As he approached the gate, he spotted George, the familiar wagon driver. The man was wearing his straw hat, and someone was just getting off the cart.

George spotted Tyler and grinned. "Oh, hello there! You're leaving town?"

"Yeah," Tyler replied. "I'm heading out."

"Well, come on then, hop in!" George called.

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Tyler hesitated, glancing at the gate, then at George. He knew he could reach Lyria faster on foot, with his enhanced agility.

"What are you waiting for?" George asked, arms raised in invitation.

"Ah, alright," Tyler said, walking over. "Hi."

"How have you been? It's been a while," George greeted him. His eyes widened as he saw Tyler's B-rank necklace. "Wait a minute... Kid, you're already a B-rank? No way! You know, being a false ranker is a very dangerous crime, right?"

Tyler interrupted, "No, I *am* a B-rank."

"But that's impossible," George said, bewildered. "You were barely a Hunter the last time I saw you! You were training with Grone!"

Tyler gave a nervous laugh as he climbed onto the cart. George, settling onto the bench, turned his head, studying Tyler. "How'd you do it?"

"Well, that's one of the reasons you haven't seen me much lately," Tyler explained. "I was busy grinding. Hunting all day and night."

George scoffed. "Kid, if that *was* possible, even *I'd* be a Hunter!"

"It's a long story, really," Tyler said, changing the subject. "Can you just take me to Lyria?"

"Alright," George said, and with a click of his tongue, the horses started moving, exiting Veridia.

George said, "Seriously, about your rank..."

Tyler quickly interrupted. "Hey, is there a way to get food from the vendors and take it home?"

George, looking ahead, replied, "Yeah, just bring your own plate."

Tyler felt a little embarrassed. *Oh, right,* he thought. *I need to buy a plate. I can basically buy anything and just put it in the inventory. I could even buy furniture, couldn't I?*

George interrupted Tyler's thoughts. "I figured you'd be hunting in red-tier monster zones by now. I mean, you *are* B-rank, right? What are you going to do in Lyria?"

Tyler was surprised that George had already accepted his new rank. "Oh, I'm going to..."

George cut him off. "Are you meeting up with Grone?" His voice rose slightly above the rattle of the cart and the sound of the horses.

"Yeah, I am," Tyler said.

George looked at Tyler. "Oh, then I've got some bad news for you. I think he's already left."

Tyler's eyes widened. "What? He left?"

"Yeah," George confirmed. "He paid me to help him move out again. Since I've known him for some time, I didn't pry."

Tyler asked, "Why did he move?"

"He wouldn't say," George replied. "He just told me not to tell anyone."

"What? Did he say where?" Tyler asked.

George interrupted again, "Sorry, kid, I can't tell you where he is. Even if you knew him, he told me to tell no one."

Tyler asked, "Why wouldn't he want even *me* to know?" He looked at George. "I can pay you."

George gave him an annoyed look. "If you think I'm going to sell out his whereabouts, you've got the wrong idea." He continued looking ahead, and said, "I've known Grone for a long time, and he'd do something like that for a good reason."

Tyler said, "I've known Grone for some time, too."

George laughed. "You've known him for, like, what, a month? Listen, kid, I've known Grone longer than that, and you're not going to convince me to tell you."

Tyler thought, *Seriously? I thought I was going to meet him there, but he's already gone, and this guy's not telling me anything.* He muttered out loud, "What if I give you twenty gold?"

The man stayed silent for a moment, then said, "No amount of gold is gonna..."

Tyler interrupted, "Forty."

The man said, "You're starting to annoy me."

Tyler pleaded, "Come on. I just need to know where he is. It's not like I'm going to do anything... that could possibly hurt him."

George said firmly, "I said no."

Tyler sighed. An awkward silence fell between them. They were now approaching Lyria.

Tyler looked at the driver and said, "Well, I have another question."

"If it's related to Grone, I'm not answering," George replied.

Tyler said, "It's not about that. It's going to sound strange, but... can you tell me how you regain your mana?"

The man was a bit surprised. "What do you mean, how?"

"How do you *do* it?" Tyler pressed. "How do you replenish your mana after using it, after depleting it?"

George said, "That's a strange question. Aren't you B-rank? Why do you want me to tell you something you already know?"

Tyler said, "Well, it's complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Yeah, please just tell me, alright? At least answer me this one question?"

George sighed. "Alright. We receive mana from pretty much everything around us. Our mana pathways absorb it, whether we're conscious or not."

"Mana pathways?" Tyler asked.

George said, "Yeah. Why are you asking like you don't know about this? Didn't Grone tell you? Even if he didn't, you're still supposed to..."

Tyler interrupted, "Please, just tell me. I'll give you one gold."

George said, "You've got a lot of money, don't you?" He eyed Tyler.

Tyler said, "Please."

George felt weird, explaining this to someone who presumably already knew. He said, "You better give me that gold."

"I will," Tyler said.

George looked forward, and said, "Mana pathways are... how can I explain it? Think of them like veins, except they don't hold blood, they hold mana. You can't really *see* them. They're like they're part of your soul instead of your body, but they affect your body."

Tyler said, "What?"

George said, "Hey, I'm not a teacher, alright? You learned this somewhere! Most Hunters know this stuff."

"Right, sorry," Tyler said. "Please explain further."

George looked at him, confused. "Really?"

Tyler nodded. "Yeah, please go on."

George sighed. "These mana pathways carry a certain amount of mana. When you use that mana, it's released into the air, and absorbed by other things – trees, grass, other living animals, some stays in the air. But, the higher your rank, the more mana you can sustain in those pathways. If you overexert them, you can strain them. It can cause you to fall into a coma or, even worse, be paralyzed forever."

Tyler said, "Huh? Why?"

George shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

George said, "Hey. I'm just a transporter, alright? I don't really need to know about this stuff. Doesn't matter. Can I move on now?"

Tyler said, "Yes, of course."

"As I said before," George continued, "when we use mana, even on small things, it's dispersed into the air and absorbed by living things. Even trees have mana pathways, and some of it stays in the air. Think of it like this: our mana pathways are constantly feeding on that mana, filling in the gaps after we use our own." He paused. "And, like I said, it's absorbed while we're unconscious, too. Actually, it's faster when we're relaxed."

"It's involuntary," Tyler said.

"Exactly," George said. "Think of it as a passive ability. Only, it's not really an ability."

Tyler thought, *Why doesn't it work that way for me? I have mana pathways, right? I can sometimes feel the mana in my body...*

"What if someone can't receive mana?" Tyler asked.

"Well," George said, "they might be cursed, I guess. That's the only thing I can think of... unless they haven't opened their *mana* pathways."

"Opened their mana pathways?"

"Yes," George replied.

"How do you open them, exactly?" Tyler asked.

George said, "Well, I can't really describe it. It's more like a feeling, really. I can't really describe it. You'd need a teacher, or a professional Hunter to..." His voice trailed off. He turned his face to Tyler, suddenly, and said, "But wait... you already know about this! Why do you keep asking so many stupid questions? You're B-rank. There's no way you reached that level without *using* mana!"

Tyler scratched his cheek, a nervous gesture. "Like I said... it's complicated."

George asked, "How so?"

"It's a very long story, really," Tyler said. "And we're almost there."

George nodded, and refocused on the road as they approached Lyria.

Tyler observed that Lyria was unlike Veridia. There were no walls, no gates, no fences. The village was *open*, a collection of houses scattered across a gentle slope, baking under the midday sun. The air smelled of dry earth, woodsmoke, and something subtly floral, perhaps from the small, untamed gardens surrounding the houses. A large, imposing building with a thatched roof and stone walls stood in the distance – the heart of the village, perhaps.

As they entered Lyria, it wasn't the immediate marketplace he expected. Instead, the road was a dusty track, winding between homes. It was lined with short, sun-baked grass, barely surviving the heat. A well stood to the side, its stone worn smooth from years of use. Two women were pulling up a bucket with a rope, their voices carrying in the quiet air, punctuated by the laughter of the small child standing behind them, clutching a worn wooden toy.

The houses themselves were simple, built of weathered wood and stone, some with colorful flower boxes overflowing with blooms. The girl was pulling a horse down a lane. And a group of children playing a game with small, colorful stones in the shade of a large tree.

*So this is Lyria.* Tyler thought, taking in the atmosphere. *This really is a village.* He noticed the absence of the constant noise he was accustomed to in Veridia or even Aria. Here, the air was filled with the gentle sounds of village life: the creak of a wooden gate, the rhythmic thud of an axe from somewhere nearby. The air felt still, quiet, and peaceful.