Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero

The darkening forest, bathed in the fiery hues of the setting sun, served as a backdrop to the scene unfolding before Rebecca. Tyler stood over her, concern etched on his face. Rebecca, her mind racing, thought, *That hunter… what is he doing here? And how did he do that?* She attempted to shift her weight, but the pain in her broken leg sent a fresh wave of agony through her. Tyler, observing her, noted the injury and the man's previous actions. *Her leg's broken, and it looked like that guy was about to assault her,* he thought.

The man wiped a trickle of blood from his lip, his eyes narrowed. "Don't just ignore me!" he snarled. "Are you a friend of hers?"

Tyler replied, "No, but I just couldn't stand—"

The man cut him off. "Then what the fuck do you think you're doing? You should've minded your own business… kid. This had nothing to do with you."

Tyler remained calm. "I know," he said, "but I simply can't witness something so repulsive and let it go on." As he spoke, The steel fang dagger, gleaming faintly in the fading light, materialized in his left hand.

Both Rebecca and the man were taken aback. The man let out a short, sharp laugh. "So you've got trick skills, huh? Are you planning to stop me with that? That's not going to Work," he said, launching himself at Tyler, brown dagger held high.

Tyler saw the man's level mid-run: Lucas Area Lvl: 75. He launched himself in response, thinking, *He's a C-rank, just like me. And he's slightly stronger than Gary. I can beat him.*

The man lunged, his dagger aimed in a downward strike. Tyler countered with an upward slash, their weapons clashing with a shower of sparks.

The man was surprised by Tyler's effortless parry. *He is strong,* he thought, his surprise deepening as he noticed the black C-rank pendant around Tyler's neck. *So he's also a C-rank assassin,* he realized. He leaped back, calculating. *But I'm only five levels from B-rank. I doubt he's higher level than me.*

The man attacked again, his dagger rising in a swift upward strike. Tyler leaned back, narrowly avoiding the blade. The man followed with a downward thrust aimed at Tyler's abdomen. Tyler jumped back, countering with a slash aimed at the man's abdomen. The man parried, but he felt the surprising force behind Tyler's attack – stronger than his own.

He thrust again, aiming for Tyler's abdomen. Tyler parried the attack with an upward swing of his dagger, sparks flying as steel met steel. The force of the parry sent the man stumbling backward.

Rebecca watched, her eyes wide with astonishment. *How is he doing that?* she thought. *He's moving so fast, countering each attack… this hunter was already this fast?* Her surprise intensified as she saw Tyler's C-rank necklace. *Wait,* she realized, *he was an E-rank just a week ago… how is he already a C-rank?*

As this thought crossed her mind, a sudden change occurred in her left arm. All feeling vanished, replaced by a searing pain. She groaned, looking down to see purple veins spreading visibly across her arm.

The purple veins, spreading from the shallow cut on her shoulder, brought a grim realization to Rebecca. *Damn it, it's the poison. I need to heal it, but how?* She raised her right hand towards the wound, activating her Light Heal skill. Her hand glowed a faint green, but the light quickly dimmed, replaced by a sharper, more intense pain. The poison spread with terrifying speed, reaching her fingers, then her neck and armpit. She yelped, a sharp cry of agony.

Tyler, hearing her cry, leaped back from his fight with the man, his eyes instantly drawn to Rebecca. He saw the poison spreading across her skin, his expression hardening. *Wait, so she's been poisoned?*

The man seized the opportunity, launching himself at Tyler with a spinning kick. Tyler crossed his arms defensively, the impact of the kick echoing as a loud thud. His legs skidded across the ground, but he held his ground.

The man grinned. "You're a fast assassin, I must admit," he said, switching his dagger to his right hand and adopting a fighting stance. "But this is over."

A system message appeared before Tyler: *Lucas Area has activated skill: Assassin's Dance.*

Suddenly, Lucas was upon him, a blur of motion, his dagger slashing down. Tyler raised his dagger to parry, but the force of the blow was too great. His dagger was knocked from his grasp, clattering to the ground. Lucas, seizing his chance, his eyes glowing a faint blue, swung his dagger again, aiming for Tyler's side.

Tyler leaped back, but the man's dagger grazed his side, inflicting a shallow cut. The man smiled, but his expression quickly soured as he noticed something peculiar: the edge of his dagger was slightly melted. *What the hell?* he wondered, momentarily distracted.

Tyler seized the opportunity, rushing in with a powerful punch. The man blocked with his right arm, but the force of the blow sent him reeling backward. Tyler unleashed a flurry of punches, a relentless barrage.

The man, dodging the attacks, thought, *I've activated Assassin's Dance, but his speed is matching mine. How? Does this mean he wasn't even using his full speed when we first fought? Is it possible he's a higher level than me?*

A system message appeared before Tyler: *Lucas has activated Assassin's Sight.*

Lucas's movements became even more precise, his dodges sharper, more effective. He parried another punch with his dagger, cutting Tyler's arm. Tyler leaped back, but Lucas's surprise was even greater as he saw his dagger smoking, its edges melting, the molten metal dripping to the ground. He dropped the weapon, letting it clatter uselessly to the forest floor.

Tyler looked at Rebecca. She was sweating profusely, her breathing now ragged and shallow.

Tyler, seeing Rebecca's worsening condition, thought, *I have to finish this fast.* He equipped two daggers—the Steel Fang and the Tearer—a move that surprised the man. *How is he summoning those blades?* Lucas wondered. *Is it some type of summoning skill? Never heard of an assassin with that.*

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Lucas reached into his robe, producing a pair of gloves tipped with sharp metal claws. He adopted a fighting stance, his clawed hands extended towards Tyler.

Tyler, in a burst of speed, closed the distance. Lucas activated his Pace skill, attempting to outmaneuver Tyler. Tyler spun, a whirlwind of motion, his daggers flashing. The man countered with his claws, but as his claws met the Steel Fang dagger, a jolt of electricity surged through him, surprising him. He shrugged it off, continuing his attack.

Lucas tried to claw at Tyler's neck, but Tyler sidestepped, seizing the man's arm with his left hand. With a swift movement, he slashed the man's arm with the Tearer dagger.

Lucas roared, launching a spinning, twisting attack. Tyler blocked, the impact shattering the man's left claws against the Tearer dagger's superior strength. Seizing the opportunity, Tyler twisted, his dagger slicing deep into the man's stomach as Lucas leaped back, clutching the wound.

Lucas groaned, muttering, "You bastard," his attention snapping to Rebecca. A small smile played on her lips, and his eyes blazed with fury. *That little bitch,* he thought, *she's enjoying this, isn't she? She's going to die anyway, but I want to wipe that smile off her face.*

As Tyler launched himself at Lucas, a system message appeared before him: *Lucas Area has activated skill: Assassin's Steps.*

Lucas vanished. Tyler, momentarily surprised, halted his attack. The shadows cast by the setting sun seemed to swallow him whole, his disappearance almost supernatural. Tyler looked around, the skill reminding him of the Shadow Walker he'd faced before. *What the hell?* he thought, searching for Lucas.

He looked at Rebecca. The poison had worsened; her back was flat against the forest floor, her body drained of energy. A tear traced a path from her eye to her ear. *Father, Mother,* she thought, *I didn't want to die like this. I wanted to make them pay for everything they did to you, Father. I wanted to make you proud. If only I had been strong enough…*

Suddenly, Lucas appeared, kneeling over Rebecca, his hand raised to slash her throat. He roared, a feral sound of triumph and rage.

But Tyler had activated his Charge skill. A small sonic boom accompanied his sudden, explosive burst of speed as he charged, his fist coiling back, ready to strike Lucas.

With a roar, Tyler's eyes glowing a faint blue, he unleashed his fist. The impact with Lucas's face was devastating. Lucas's eyes widened in shock as a sharp, explosive pain ripped through his skull. A thundering thud, accompanied by a sharp crack and a loud boom, echoed through the forest as Tyler's punch sent Lucas tumbling through the trees. A trail of broken branches and uprooted grass marked his trajectory as he flew like a ragdoll, crashing repeatedly against the forest floor.

Tyler stood, his fist still clenched, the force of his blow lingering in the air. He knelt beside Rebecca, concern etched on his face. *Damn it,* he thought, *she's about to die. What the hell am I supposed to do now? I don't think I brought any potions. What the hell is this?*

He considered his options. *Is it possible for me to suck the poison out? But it looks like it's really spread through half her body. Can this even work? It won't cure her, but it might slow the process down, I guess. I can't go to the river and back just to help her.*

The sound of breaking branches interrupted his thoughts. In the distance, Lucas was pushing himself up, his nose and mouth bleeding profusely, coughing blood. *There's no way,* Lucas thought, his mind racing. *If I stay here, I'm going to die. A member of the Black Cloud Guild… killed so easily? And I'm one of the best assassins…*

"I have to do it. I have to get out of here. I have to go tell the boss," Lucas muttered, staggering to his feet, attempting to flee.

Tyler, still fueled by his Charge skill, sprinted after him. In a heartbeat, he was upon Lucas. With a final, brutal movement, Tyler swung the Tearer dagger. It pierced Lucas's back, ripping through flesh and bone, emerging from his abdomen. Lucas coughed blood, his body collapsing with a lifeless thud onto the forest floor. He was dead.

A system message appeared before Tyler: Level Up. Level Up. Another followed: AGI +1.

Tyler's attention snapped back to Rebecca. He rushed to her side, arriving within seconds. She was still breathing, but her breaths were shallow, labored, slower than before.

*I'm just going to give it a try,* he thought, *but I hope this works.* He crouched, placing his lips against her wound. He opened his mouth and began sucking the poison from her flesh.

Rebecca winced, a wave of pain radiating through her body, but her moans were stifled, her energy depleted.

Tyler persisted, and to his relief, he saw it working. The purple veins, the telltale signs of the poison, began to recede, as if being drawn back towards the wound.

The taste of Rebecca's blood, metallic and acrid, was horrible, the poison adding a bitter, sickening tang. *Man, this tastes horrible,* Tyler thought, his stomach churning. *Wait a minute… she doesn't have any sort of diseases, right? Ah, what am I thinking? I just have to continue with this. Why am I even helping her?* The questions echoed in his mind, but he persisted, sucking the poison from her wound.

He finally pulled back, gasping for air, coughing as he hit his chest, having slightly choked on the blood. Rebecca's eyes fluttered open, focusing on Tyler. The purple veins around the wound were still visible, but significantly diminished. She wasn't cured, but the worst of the poison was gone.

"Hold still," Tyler said.

"What?" Rebecca muttered weakly.

Tyler hoisted her onto his back, causing her to wince as he inadvertently moved her broken leg. "Oh, sorry," he mumbled.

"Why… why did you help me?" Rebecca asked, her breath shallow.

"Hmm, well, shouldn't I have?" Tyler replied, his tone casual.

"That's not what I—"

"You seemed like you needed a lot of help," Tyler interrupted. "Someone was about to do something wrong, and I just wanted to help. Shouldn't people do that?"

Rebecca heard Tyler's words, confused but too weary to question them further. The wind rustled her silver hair as night fell, the sun swallowed by the horizon. She rested her head against Tyler's shoulder.

"Hold on," Tyler said, and he began to run, carrying her. The night air grew chilly, the moonlight the only illumination in the dark forest. He ran, dodging trees, Rebecca's weight a burden he didn't acknowledge.

*Shit,* he thought, *I forgot to take her bow. But I can't go back. I have to keep running. I could have put it in my inventory, but it is what it is.*

A system message appeared: Shadow Claw has activated skill: Shadow Strike.

A shriek pierced the night. A dagger materialized in Tyler's hand; he threw it with deadly accuracy, impaling a Shadow Claw as it swiped at him with its claws. The creature fell, dead. Tyler muttered, "Extract," as he ran, the Shadow Claw's hide vanishing into his inventory.

He skidded to a halt, careful not to jostle Rebecca. *Right,* he thought, *I forgot I'm literally lost.* He looked down at Rebecca's face, resting against his shoulder.

*I really want to ask her for directions right now, but I should let her rest,* Tyler thought. Suddenly, a familiar scent reached his nostrils – a very familiar smell. He sniffed, trying to pinpoint its source. A familiar sound, too, reached his ears, coming from his left, obscured by dense undergrowth.

He pushed through the bushes; the smell intensified. *The smell… it smells so familiar,* he thought, *almost like Vital Flowers.* *It can't be… I'm about to walk into…*

His thoughts were cut short by the sight that greeted him: hundreds of Vital Flowers, their peach-colored petals shimmering faintly in the moonlight. But it wasn't the flowers that stole his breath; it was the Hexhorns nestled amongst them, seemingly asleep.

Tyler swallowed, stepping back. *I can't face these things right now. Not with her on my back.* But as he retreated, another Hexhorn emerged from the undergrowth, larger than the others, its presence somehow more menacing. Instead of six horns, this one possessed three – two on its snout and one jutting from its forehead. The horns gleamed, huge and imposing. Its arrival brought the total number of Hexhorns to nine.

Tyler's eyes scanned the resting Hexhorns; their levels, visible above their heads, were all above 50. His gaze then fell upon the larger Hexhorn that had noticed his presence. The system's floating text box above its head read: TRIHORN Level 75