Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero

Alec arrived in Aria and entered the courtyard of the Black Cloud Guild's mansion. A small fountain stood in the center of the yard, after the imposing steel gates. As he walked, he thought, *The Captain's going to be pissed that I let Ian stay behind. We were supposed to come back together. Anyways, it's not my fault he stayed, right? I told that dumbass to come with me, but he wouldn't listen.*

Just as Alec reached the mansion's entrance, he heard sounds from the side of the building. *Huh, what the hell was that? Is it Mani?* he wondered.

He circled the mansion, heading towards the large backyard where Mani often spent her time, and where guild members sometimes sparred. There, he found the Captain, dressed in casual attire—a brown shirt and pants, leather boots—and holding a small, silver sword he rarely used for hunting.

"Captain," Alec said.

The Captain turned. "Oh, Alec, you've returned," he said.

"Yes, sir," Alec replied. "I've returned with information. The mission you gave us was successful."

"Oh, that's great news," the Captain responded. "All the guild members are inside."

Alec's eyes widened in surprise. "All of them?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, all of them," the Captain confirmed. "They're in the meeting room discussing the current situation."

"Oh," Alec said, "So if they're talking about the situation, why aren't you inside?"

The Captain said, "Oh, no, I just went to take a piss, you know, to relieve myself. Then I decided to use the sword for a bit. It's been a long time since I've used it." He examined the sword, running his fingers along the cold steel. *This sword has taken a lot of lives,* he thought. *It has killed a lot of monsters. It has taken a lot of innocent lives as well.*

"I've never actually seen you use that sword," Alec observed. "I just heard that it was one of the first swords you used. You're really good at maintaining your equipment, huh?"

"Yes," the Captain replied, "I take good care of my items. Anyways, we have to go inside. I want you to share the information you've gathered."

"Alright," Alec said, starting to walk towards the back door, the Captain following close behind.

Just as they were about to enter, the Captain placed a hand on Alec's shoulder. "Wait," he said, "I have to ask this first. The information you're about to give… is it good news or bad news?"

"Well," Alec replied, "I have some pretty good news."

The Captain said, "That's good then. I'm guessing he's not in any guild?"

Alec shook his head. "No, he's not in a guild."

"Oh, well, alright then," the Captain said. "Where's Ian?"

Alec turned to face the Captain, a nervous expression on his face. "Well," he began, "this news might annoy you, but I tried to convince Ian to come back with me, but he stayed."

"What?" the Captain asked, his voice sharp.

"Yes," Alec confirmed, "He refused to come with me. I really tried to convince him, but that idiot wouldn't listen."

"Why would he stay at the Crossroads base?" the Captain asked, his concern growing. "What if he runs into the killer?"

"Actually, we did," Ian said.

"You did?" the Captain's voice rose.

"Yes, sir," Alec confirmed. "That's what I want to tell the others. We know exactly what he looks like. And he looks very similar to the drawing Ian had made."

"That idiot," the Captain muttered, his anger simmering. "What if he gets himself killed? Why did he stay there?"

"Well," Alec explained, "we paid someone to give us information, and he said he wanted to make a bit of money before he came back."

The Captain's face contorted in anger. "What? He does know he has to get permission from me, right? Even if he wanted to keep it secret, I'll get confirmation of someone from my guild going on a quest!"

"I know," Alec said, "I even told him that, but he still went ahead with it. You know how stubborn he is."

* Damn it, I knew these stupid newbies were going to be trouble. I should have told Lucas to thoroughly discipline them during their training. Seems it wasn't enough.* "Alright," he said out loud, "let's hurry inside."

Meanwhile, Rebecca and Tyler continued walking. "So," Rebecca asked, "what you're saying is, you really are a craftsman? You just craft items? How do you even have time to do that? Doesn't it take a lot of time to craft items? How can you craft and be a hunter at the same time?"

Tyler shrugged. "Well, it's quite easy for me to craft items. It's not much of a job; it's more like a class."

"Yeah, I know that," Rebecca replied. "Every craftsman has that kind of class."

"I don't know how to explain this," Tyler said, "but I don't need to hit a hammer to actually craft. You see that bow you have there? I actually crafted it while we were in the forest a while ago."

Rebecca, still walking, said, "I don't understand. You crafted it a while ago? How come I didn't see that? That's impossible. What do you even mean by you don't need to hit a hammer?"

"I just needed the materials," Tyler explained, "and I used this ability to combine them and make the item, just like the one you have right now. That's how my crafting works. It's an easy way of crafting without breaking a sweat."

Rebecca, still walking, said, "That is... a very... incredible skill. It sounds like an ultimate skill. It must use a lot of mana. And you said that... when you craft items, they can have skills. So does that mean the skills you use come from these items?"

"Some of them," Tyler answered Rebecca's question about the origin of his skills.

"Some of them?" Rebecca repeated, questioning his response.

"Yes," Tyler confirmed, "some of them are from the materials, such as the armor I'm wearing right now."

"What kind of skill does it have?" Rebecca asked, intrigued.

"Just a pretty good one," Tyler replied vaguely. "I don't think I necessarily have to tell you everything, now do I?"

"What?" Rebecca protested. "But you know almost everything there is to know about me."

"Well, not really," Tyler countered. "You asked about my ultimate skill and I told you, but I don't even know about yours. What's your ultimate skill?"

"Well, I'm not going to tell you," Rebecca stated firmly.

"What? That's not fair," Tyler exclaimed. "I told you about mine. Why aren't you telling me about yours?"

"Well, I don't completely trust you," Rebecca admitted.

Tyler looked at her, surprised. He shook his head. They continued walking. "You trust me enough to let me help you grow stronger alone in this forest, but you're not going to tell me about your ultimate skill?"

"No," Rebecca said. "What happens if you just turn on me? What if you're just helping me get stronger so that when I get stronger you're just going to kill me so you can get stronger yourself? "

"I have no reason to do that. If I wanted to grow stronger, I would just find other means. I don't just like killing people." Tyler said as they reached the area where the Hexhorns lay dead.

"But you easily killed Lucas," Rebecca pointed out, "and he was a high-ranked assassin, and so are you. You're wearing an assassin necklace, and you wouldn't be allowed to be a hunter if you were really a craftsman. So I don't buy into your crafting skills. You're just used to that skill that lets you put objects into a faraway place or something. And about the skills, that's another skill you have, but you can't just be a craftsman."

Tyler sighed inwardly. "Alright, I'll try to tell you."

Meanwhile, hidden in the bushes, Ian watched Rebecca and Tyler. *Oh, so it's him and it's her,* he thought. *I remember her. She's that bitch who just purposefully bumped into me when she didn't answer my question. Arrogant bitches like her need to pay. But that hunter… he's a C-rank assassin. I know I told Alec that I could easily take him on, but that was obviously a lie so he can let me come to this forest and take on the quest.*

Ian's eyes widened as he saw Tyler mutter the word "extract." The Hexhorn hides shimmered blue and then vanished, leaving behind only their skinless carcasses. *What the fuck just happened?* Ian thought. *Those monster materials just disappeared. What kind of a skill is that? Extract?*

"So what now?" Rebecca asked, breaking Ian's train of thought. "We're going to hunt more monsters?"

"Yeah," Tyler replied.

"Alright," Rebecca said, readying her bow and nocking an arrow.

"So, if I'm getting this right," Rebecca said to Tyler, "this means you can also use the Daylight Arrow skill if I gave you this bow, right?"

"Yeah, I can also use it," Tyler confirmed. "You know, you've been asking a lot of questions about me lately, ever since we came to this forest, and I never even asked you one. Do you really want to know that much?"

"It's not that I want to know about you," Rebecca replied. "I only want to know about your skills."

Rebecca suddenly pointed her bow and arrow at Tyler, drawing her arrow. Tyler quickly moved, and Rebecca released her arrow.

Suddenly, Ian, hiding in the bushes, saw the arrow heading straight for him. "Shit," he swore, leaping from his hiding place and rolling to the left. He thought, *I've been found. But how did she notice me?*

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Tyler, surprised, saw another hunter emerge from the bushes. "Huh, who the hell is that?" he asked.

"You can't recognize him?" Rebecca said. "He's a member of the Black Cloud Guild, and he's been hiding there ever since we got here. Probably waiting for the right moment to attack us."

Ian slowly stood up straight. "Attack you? Why the hell would I be planning on attacking you? I heard sounds and I thought there were some monsters, so I decided to hide."

"That's obviously a lie," Rebecca countered. "There's no way a C-rank hunter would hide from monsters."

"Especially in a Yellow Tear monster zone," Rebecca added.

"What, you don't believe me?" Ian said. "I thought it was a pack of wolves, alright?"

"Yeah, you're obviously lying," Tyler said. "Two people walking in the forest would never sound like a pack of wolves."

"You're with the Black Cloud Guild," Rebecca added, "You were looking for Tyler earlier. And we both know why. You want to kill him, don't you?"

"Kill him?" Ian said. "I don't know what you're talking about. It's true that we were looking for him, but we don't want to kill him. We want him for something entirely different."

Rebecca aimed her arrow at Ian. "I'm tired of listening to all your lies," she said, her voice cold. "All you Black Cloud Guild members are just fucking monsters."

"Wait," Tyler said, but Rebecca didn't listen. She loosed her arrow. The tip caught fire mid-air as it propelled itself towards Ian.

Ian's eyes widened. *There's no reasoning with this bitch,* he thought. *Fine.* He effortlessly slapped the arrow aside. The arrow hit a tree and exploded, tearing a chunk out of the bark, smoke billowing from the impact.

"You didn't need to shoot at him," Tyler said. "Who do you want to take revenge on exactly?"

Suddenly, a system panel appeared before Tyler. `Ian has activated skill: Fast Step.`

Ian was suddenly running towards Tyler, who saw him coming. Ian's level, 52, floated above his head.

Tyler thought, *He's a level 52, but he's fast.* He braced himself as Ian launched a fist, catching it with a thud. Tyler didn't flinch, but Rebecca stepped back. He immediately pulled Ian in by the hand he was holding, thinking, *He's strong.* Before he could react, Ian received a punch to the chest, sprawling *him* on the forest floor. Ian rolled, recovering quickly. Rebecca nocked an arrow and fired it at Ian.

"That's gonna be distracting," Ian said, flicking the arrow away with a casual movement.

Rebecca thought, *He's too fast. He can easily redirect my arrows with a flick of his wrist. He has to be a C-rank plus.*

Tyler thought, *He has some pretty fast moves,* before charging at Ian. *I'm screwed,* he thought, clenching his teeth. *If I don't activate my skill right now… that guy is definitely gonna kill me. He was able to kill Lucas. If I don't use it now, I'll die.*

Suddenly, a system panel appeared: `Ian Cross has activated skill: Crimson Fist.`

Ian's hands burst into flames, his punching speed increasing dramatically as he launched a fist at Tyler. Tyler thought, *What the hell? His hands are on fire. There's such an ability…* He dodged, the fist narrowly missing his cheek.

Tyler felt the heat of the punch near his cheek as it passed. Ian retracted his fist and launched a left hook. Tyler dodged again, sidestepping. Ian missed. He continued his assault, a flurry of blows.

Tyler clenched his teeth, thinking, *I can feel the heat with every punch. Even if I'm dodging all of his attacks, I'm only slightly dodging them. He's a level 52, but he's so fast.* He noticed Ian's pendant was red. *His necklace is red… what type of hunter is that?*

Meanwhile, Ian, launching punches that Tyler effortlessly dodged, thought, *This guy is fast. I even managed to land a hit on Lucas with these things, but this guy is dodging effortlessly, and it's still morning. Aren't assassin hunters supposed to be a little bit faster only at night?*

Tyler squeezed his fist, about to strike. Ian saw the movement, his heart pounding, and jumped back several meters.

Tyler unclenched his fist. "So you saw," he said.

"You're pretty strong," Ian said. "It was definitely you. You killed two of our guild members, no doubt about it."

Rebecca was surprised by Ian's words. *Wait,* she thought. *But he only killed Lucas…* She remembered seeing Gary's dead body in the forest yesterday. *Could it be that he is also the one who killed Gary?*

"It's not really my fault," Tyler said to Ian. "It's not like I killed them for no reason."

"That's not the problem," Ian retorted. "The problem is you killed guild members. If you were stronger than them, couldn't you have just knocked them out?"

Tyler chuckled. "Those people were literally trying to kill me, and you wanted me to knock them out? That's just stupid."

Ian's face hardened with anger at Tyler's words. Rebecca spoke up, "Wait, Tyler, you actually killed Gary?"

Tyler turned to Rebecca, surprised. "Yeah," he said. "Wait, you actually didn't know that?"

"No, I didn't know it was you," Rebecca replied. "I think I was the first one to discover the body."

"So you're the one who spread the rumor?"

"The rumor could have been spread anyway," Rebecca said. "You killed the vice-captain's son. Anyone who would have found the bodies would have talked about it."

As Rebecca and Tyler spoke, Rebecca suddenly saw Ian charging at Tyler. She immediately pulled back the string of her bow, but there was no arrow nocked. Tyler turned to see Ian, and then he saw a system panel appear before him: `Rebecca Sharp has activated skill: Rapid Fire.`

Ian saw an arrow materialize on Rebecca's bowstring, shimmering with a faint white light, having seemingly appeared from her quiver.

Rebecca released the arrow. Its tip erupted in flames. She withdrew her string, and the same thing happened—the arrow disappeared from her quiver and reappeared on her bow as if teleported—and she loosed another arrow. She repeated this consecutively, a volley of flaming arrows erupting towards Ian in rapid succession.

Ian skidded to a halt. A system panel appeared before Tyler: `Ian Cross has activated skill: Fighter's Resilience.` Ian's skin and eyes glowed a faint red. He crossed his arms, and the arrows struck him one by one, exploding on impact with a series of booms and erupting smoke.

Rebecca stopped firing. "Whoa," Tyler said, "you had a skill like that?"

"No," Rebecca replied, "I just acquired this skill."

Tyler thought, *He has to be dead after that, right?*

Ian erupted from the smoke, his speed increased, surprising both Tyler and Rebecca. He was battered and bruised; one eye was swollen shut. Another system panel appeared: `Ian Cross has activated skill: Fighter's Fury.`

Muscles bulged on Ian's body as he jumped, launching a fist at Tyler. Tyler crossed his arms to block, but a thunderous boom erupted from the impact, sending Tyler skidding backward. He felt a sharp pain in his arms.

Tyler thought, *This guy is incredibly strong. He's only just entered C-rank, yet…* His eyes widened as Ian abruptly shifted course, abandoning his attack on Tyler to pursue Rebecca with a burst of speed. A grim determination set Ian's jaw. *This is my chance. Using three skills like this will leave me drained when the effects wear off. I have to kill them. I have to stop that archer first; she's too distracting.*

Rebecca, her senses screaming a warning, saw Ian hurtling towards her. With practiced ease, she drew back her bowstring; an arrow materialized seemingly from thin air, its fletching catching the faint light filtering through the canopy. The arrow loosed, a streak of frost clinging to its tip, followed instantly by another, this one tipped with a flickering flame. The attacks were relentless, a rapid-fire barrage of icy and fiery projectiles aimed at Ian's rapidly approaching form.

Ian, a blur of motion, moved with an almost supernatural grace. He didn't merely dodge the arrows; he danced around them, his body a whirlwind of controlled power. Each arrow was deflected not with brute force, but with precise, almost casual flicks of his wrist, the projectiles arcing away harmlessly.

Rebecca's eyes widened. *How is he doing that?* she thought, a chill crawling down her spine. *He's far stronger than I am. He's faster than my arrows.* She continued her desperate volley, each arrow a testament to her skill, yet each arrow rendered useless against his impossible speed.

Ian, his momentum unbroken, transitioned seamlessly from a full sprint to a controlled slide across the forest floor, his knees twisting With balletic precision. From this low, almost impossible angle, he launched himself upward, his leg arcing in a devastating spinning kick aimed directly at Rebecca's head.

Rebecca's perception skill flared, a sudden surge of heightened awareness. She reacted instinctively, arching her back with a desperate grace that narrowly avoided the brutal impact. The kick grazed her nose, a searing pain lancing through her senses. She lost her balance, tumbling backward to land hard on her backside with a muffled thud. "Shit," she breathed.

Ian thought, *She's done for,* as he launched himself, activating Crimson Fist. His hands erupted in flames, his fist arcing towards Rebecca's face. Suddenly, Tyler appeared beside him, a blur of motion, landing a spinning kick to Ian's cheek. Ian sprawled, tumbling across the forest floor before using the momentum to spin and land on his knees, skidding back only a meter.

Tyler grinned. "You really gotta learn how to fight in close combat, you know that?"

Rebecca said, "I would if you taught me."

Tyler extended a hand to help her up. Rebecca took it, rising to her feet.

"That guy looked pretty cool just now," Tyler commented.

"He almost killed me," Rebecca retorted. "You should be concerned, instead of being awestruck by his fighting skills."

"What kind of hunter is he?" Tyler asked.

"You didn't see his necklace earlier?" Rebecca said. "He's a Fighter."

"A Fighter, huh?" Tyler grinned, activating his Charge skill. With explosive speed, he vanished from Rebecca's side, erupting towards Ian.

Ian quickly rose to his feet, struck by Tyler's speed. *The speed… now I know. Now I know how he beat Lucas.*

Tyler's eyes glowed a faint blue, a grin spreading across his face. *Let's see how he really fights,* he thought. He jumped, his fists retracting, muscles bulging.

Ian thought, *That's it. I never had a chance against this guy. Damn it. For once, I should have listened to that bastard.* He couldn't even begin to react.

Tyler's attack landed, a thunderous blow to Ian's chest. Tyler felt something break on impact. Ian was sent sprawling, hitting the forest floor repeatedly before his back slammed into a tree, shattering it. He smashed through another tree before finally tumbling to a stop, his body wedged against a thick trunk. Ian was dead.

Tyler's grin vanished, replaced by dumbfounded surprise. "Huh?" he muttered, staring at the devastation he'd wrought. *I thought this guy was a lot stronger than a person entering C-rank. But I forgot to hold back. I forgot I even overpowered that B-rank Mr. Monster. Damn it, I didn't even hold back a little; I used all my strength.*

"I should have held back a little," Tyler muttered aloud.

He turned to Rebecca, who was frozen in shock, struck by Tyler's immense strength. Tyler walked towards her, his eyes still faintly glowing blue. Rebecca instinctively took a step back.

The faint blue glow in Tyler's eyes quickly dissipated. "I think he's dead," he said.

"Yeah, I think he is," Rebecca replied. "I don't think any C-rank could survive something like that."

"Yeah, he was kind of weak to begin with," Tyler said. "After all, he was just a level 52 C-rank."

Rebecca was surprised. "A level 52? I thought he was a C-rank plus. If he was, then how come he was so strong?"

"He was activating different abilities," Tyler explained. "That's how he was getting stronger. It's similar to my skill, except his made him tougher, stronger, and faster all at once. Those skills made him as fast as he was."

Rebecca felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. "I couldn't even land a hit on him. But yet I leveled up so fast, and he was only a level 52?"

"Yeah…" Tyler said softly, noticing her expression. "Hey, don't worry about it." He showed her his wrist, reddened from Ian's earlier punch. "You see that? Even though I'm a level 77, this guy's punch still hurt. Honestly, I'm also surprised by how strong he was. I didn't think a level 52 could actually fight like that. I'm kind of jealous," he said, turning and walking away. He paused, then added, "Hey, and I noticed you managed to evade his kick earlier. You're growing faster; be proud of yourself."

Rebecca thought, *Be proud of myself? I stumbled and fell. How can I be proud of myself after doing something so embarrassing?* She quickly caught up to Tyler, walking beside him.

"Well, that's another Black Cloud Guild member down," Rebecca said.

"Yeah," Tyler replied, "about that… I seriously didn't mean to kill him. It's not like…" He stopped, looking at Rebecca, a thought dawning on him. "Wait, you're not planning on killing all of them, are you? Who exactly are your revenge targets?"

Rebecca sighed. "Five people are my revenge targets, but it's kind of too late now. I think it's too late for you to want to back out. These people already know who you are and are searching for you, and it's clear, isn't it? They also want you dead."

Tyler sighed. "I screwed up," he said, the words heavy with regret. "Who thought, I'd be involved in all of this. I was forced to kill that bastard, Gary. I didn't know he was the son of a vice-captain of some guild. He forced me to do it. He was about to kill someone really close to me in this world."

"Oh yeah?" Rebecca said, walking past him. "Well, to me, they already have."

Tyler felt a pang of pity for Rebecca as he followed her to where Ian lay dead. His corpse was on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth, his eyes closed, his body still.

"What are we going to do with his body?" Tyler asked. "Are we just gonna leave it here, like I did last time with Gary's. That was a big mistake."

"What do you want us to do with it?" Rebecca replied. "We're leaving it out here for the monsters, of course." She crouched down, searching Ian's pockets. She retrieved four silver coins and stood up, putting them in her own pocket. "So he was out of money. He only had four silver coins." She looked at Tyler, a glint in her eye.

Tyler, surprised by her pragmatism, thought, *I should have thought of that first.*

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rebecca said, a small smile playing on her lips. "Aren't we… going to continue with the hunt? You sure did make me stronger, didn't you?"

"Yeah, let's go," Tyler said.

They turned, leaving Ian's corpse behind.

Meanwhile, in Aria, the Black Cloud Guild members sat around a large brown table in their meeting room. The captain, seated at the center near the vice-captain, said, "Alright, Alec, I want you to share the information you've gathered."

"Right, Captain," Alec replied, his gaze sweeping across the assembled guild members, all attention now focused on him.

Some of the guild members were standing, watching Alec as he stood. There were nineteen guild members in the room in total: a knight, an assassin, a mage, a fighter, an archer, and several others. All were dressed in black.

"When I went to the Crossroads base to gather information," Alec began, "I found out that the killer's name is Tyler Evans. He's an assassin-type hunter; he doesn't belong to any guild at the moment."

The vice-captain said, "He's not in a guild? Is that all? What about the other person? The other hunter?"

Jason's expression hardened. Everyone listened intently, the air thick with tension.

"The other hunter's name is James Grone," Alec continued. "I found out that he mostly hunts with Tyler. We actually met him and confirmed that he's still at the Crossroads base. He looks exactly like the drawing."

The vice-captain quickly stood up.

"Grant, where are you going?" the captain asked.

"He doesn't belong to a guild, does he?" Grant, the vice-captain, said. "And I told you, there's no way the Dragon Guild would have anyone hunting at the Crossroads base. They're not in this area anymore. After killing the dragon, they moved to the capital. Their reputation has grown excessively. And now that we know he's not in a guild, what the hell are we still waiting for?"

Sabrina stood, declaring, "Father's right. We kill him. He pays for what he's done."

The captain responded, "Agreed, but we need to prepare."

Jason, seated, scoffed, "Prepare? He's just one man—two, at most. My father, Sabrina, and I can handle this. No need to involve the guild. It's family business."

Malisa, the Saint and guild's healer, her nun-like habit partially obscuring her face, glared at Jason. Her eyes, faintly shimmering gold, betrayed her disapproval.

Teno, leaning in the corner, clad in black steel plate armor (save for his head, which showed short, dark hair), countered, "It's family, yes, but you're forgetting something. We've been together a long time. We *are* family. Saying we shouldn't get involved because of blood ties is selfish."

Jason, eyes flashing gold, abruptly stood, shoving back his chair. A murmur rippled through the surprised guild members.

Teno stepped closer, "Am I wrong? Your brother's death affected me too. I'm barely restraining myself. Expecting us to sit idly by while you attack is absurd."

"So, you want the whole guild to fight one man?" Jason retorted.

The captain intervened, "Enough! I've decided who's going. Gary's family is obviously included."

Anna, seated, spoke up, "What about me? I was close to Lucas. I can't ignore this. I want to confront him."

Turner added, "Me too. Lucas helped train me. I wouldn't be C-rank without him."

The guild erupted in a cacophony of voices.

Alec shouted, "Wait! We can bring him *here*, question him, interrogate him!" His words were lost in the uproar.

Mani, noticing Ian's absence, asked, "Hey, Alec, where's Ian?" Her question was cut short by a scream. She leaped to her feet, knocking back her chair, silencing the room as the captain called for calm. All eyes turned to Mani. "Mani, what happened?" the captain asked, his voice laced with concern, as Mani's hand trembled.

Another crystal had shattered. A vision slammed into her senses – Ian's final three seconds. It wasn't just a sight; it was a visceral assault. She saw the figure looming over Ian, his eyes blazing with an unnatural, icy blue light. A cruel, predatory grin stretched across his face, a grotesque parody of triumph. The final blow was a blur of motion, a brutal end to a life. And it wasn't just the visual; Mani *felt* it. Half of Ian's terror, the icy grip of fear, the crushing weight of his final regret – it all flooded her consciousness. The vice captain's sharp, angry shout cut through the horror, yanking her back to the present. "Ian," she whispered, her voice raw with grief, "He's... he's dead."

Elsewhere, the hunt raged. Rebecca's arrows, precise and deadly, found their mark. A gloomfang, desperate in its flight, was brought down by two expertly placed shots – one a clean kill to the skull, the other a crippling blow to the abdomen. The creature collapsed, its lifeblood staining the earth a dark crimson. Tyler, a whirlwind of controlled fury, engaged a hexhorn. His attack was brutal, efficient. With a savage rip, he tore the creature's snout apart, the resulting explosion of blood and gore painting a gruesome picture. The hexhorn fell, its life extinguished in a spray of crimson. Silence descended upon the clearing, broken only by the ragged gasps of the hunters and the chilling stillness of death. Tyler stared at the fallen creatures, the weight of his actions settling heavily on his shoulders. A grim expression settled on his face. "Damn it," he muttered, the words thick with self-reproach. "Another one. I should have held back." Rebecca sighed, her voice laced with a mixture of concern and exasperation. "You really need to learn to control your strength, Tyler," she said. A smile touched Tyler's lips as he looked at Rebecca. "You leveled up again," he said, his voice filled with a mixture of pride and admiration. "Level 71 now." Rebecca returned his smile, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes. "Level 71, huh?" she murmured, a hint of disbelief still lingering in her tone. "I didn't believe it at first, but the higher I level, the more I believe... we can actually do the impossible."

A system panel shimmered into existence before Tyler. Achievement Unlocked: Kill 100 Monsters. Another panel followed: Rewards:

User Can only Choose onption

1. 2 Random Level Up Skills

2. +50 Stat Points to all stats

3. Three Enhancement Stones

A slow smile spread across Tyler's face. "I've been waiting for this," he murmured, his voice barely audible. "Three Enhancement Stones."

The system's panel appeared: User has been rewarded with three Enhancement Stones.

Three shimmering crystals materialized in Tyler's open palm, the blue of the central stone catching the light. He chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "System," he mused, a glint in his eye, "I wonder if you realize you just cheated yourself."

Rebecca, noticing the small crystals in Tyler's hand and the disturbingly pleased expression on his face, tilted her head. *What is he holding? And what's with that chuckle?* she wondered.

Tyler extended his palm towards the opposite direction, a barely audible whisper escaping his lips. "Room!"

Meters away, a shimmering distortion rippled upwards from the ground. A room, crafted entirely of crystal, materialized before them, a breathtaking structure seemingly formed from the very fabric of light.