Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero

As Jason and his subordinates, now having crossed the river, continued onward through the dense, shaded forest, they passed the pair of male hunters. One of the hunters, the larger of the two, had an imposing physique; an axe, its steel head gleaming dully, was casually slung across his broad back. The other, in contrast, was a bit leaner, with carefully crafted leather gauntlets and arm guards, promising a quick, agile fighting style. A fighter, perhaps?

The fighter, the more talkative of the two, began to speak, "Hey, isn't that—" but he was cut off mid-sentence.

The man with the axe, reacted with a quick, almost instinctive nudge to the fighter's side, immediately interrupting. A sharp, swift "Hey," he stated, the back of his hand gesturing, almost imperceptibly, towards Jason and his group as they passed by. A clear warning hung in the air.

The second hunter instantly fell silent, the implication landing hard. Jason and his subordinates, however, kept their eyes fixed forward, completely oblivious to the hushed observations that followed them. Their focus was somewhere else entirely.

Only when the guild hunters had passed out of earshot did the large hunter lower his voice, turning to his companion with a frustrated sigh. "Hey, what the hell did you think you were doing? You want to get us in serious trouble?"

The fighter, already looking sheepish, rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled, "Yeah, sorry…" He changed the subject quickly, seemingly trying to ignore his mistake. "What are they even doing way out here, though? Are they even here to hunt monsters? Because if they are, I don't think they're going to find many."

The man with the axe considered that, his expression thoughtful. "I don't know. This is the first time I've ever seen so many members of a guild all together, hunting in a yellow tier monster zone. And… those are Black Cloud Guild members, and they've got Jason with them."

The fighter's brow furrowed. "Yeah, I've heard about him. Could it be… that we missed them? Maybe they've gone inside once before....."

The man with the axe, his brow furrowed, turned to the smaller hunter and questioned, "What are you saying?"

The smaller hunter, ever the talker, quickly responded, trying to organize his scattered thoughts, "Well, I've heard, you know, that when a guild scoops up a bunch of new members, especially if they're levels are lower than they should be, they'll bring them to an orange or maybe even a yellow tier monster zone. To train those new members, and basically help them get stronger. I'm just thinking that, since we heard some Black Cloud Guild members were also supposed to be here earlier, maybe they came in here before and we just totally missed them, is all." He paused, trying to justify his words. "I mean, that would make more sense, right? Maybe that's why we only saw, like, what? Four monsters? And we couldn't even finish our quest because we couldn't find the monster we were hunting for."

The man with the axe, digesting the idea, thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "Yeah, you're right." He slowed his pace slightly, but not stopping entirely. "That would make more sense. We saw only four monsters. And we really did have to search hard just to find them. They were all lower leveled too, but if they came in here before already, why would they be going in again?"

The smaller one shrugged, his voice tinged with speculation, "I don't know, maybe they wanna go even deeper?"

The large hunter grunted as he considered the situation. "Well, if they're doing this… this is real trouble brewing for the other hunters we know. There's just going to be less monsters from now on, because we'll have to wait for them to respawn." He paused again, a smirk playing on his lips, before adding, "Well, that's not *our* problem, right? We ain't C plus ranks, but we're still C ranks, so what do you say?"

The smaller hunter, his features drawn in a mixture of curiosity and indecision, turned to his larger companion, waiting for the forthcoming words.

The larger hunter, perceiving the unspoken doubts, pressed urgently ahead, his voice filled with a genuine enthusiasm. "Wanna go to an orange tier monster zone with me?" he implored, his tone brimming with excitement. "We'll level up and grow stronger *together*, and then who knows? Maybe we'll even try to start up our own guild."

The smaller hunter's face split into a wide smile, all uncertainty vanishing. "Right," he agreed, his agreement instantaneous.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the monster zone, Rebecca continued to run. As she moved at high speeds - carrying Tyler on her back - the forest had become a blur of color, the trees and bushes seeming to blend into streaks of green and brown. The wind tugged at her silver hair, causing it to flutter and dance as she ran. Her Perception skill, still active, was now at B rank - a subtle, shifting silver aura painting the world before her eyes in a gentle, ethereal glow. Now, at this new level, she realized that her Perception skill now needed almost no mana to maintain, an improvement that she happily noted.

As she focused on the path ahead, her mind was, again, caught in thought. *We've killed so many monsters…*

She found her mind and train of thought. *It's almost as if we've purified the forest.* The thought bloomed in her mind.

*I haven't seen even a single monster while I was running here.*

If, *the hunters*, knew what she'd been doing. *If only they knew it was us…*

Then, her thoughts had drawn back once again to Tyler, Tyler's actions. *Who even managed to kill some of them while he was carrying me?* Her mind again focused on the image;

*I was a bit angry at the time, since it was me that was supposed to be killing them, but he said I should let him handle it, because they were all lower level monsters and he said I should leave them for him.*

*I wanted us to go deeper, but, and he said he felt a bit tired…* She thought, and yet again, she processed the image. She felt the gentle, warm slow breath of Tyler's breath against her neck. And, in that very next instant, something shifted, changed, and she was startled.

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Her heart surged hard. In her chest, it made *a* single *thump,* and her eyes widened. She quickly, and immediately, and abruptly, then, skidded, as she brought herself and Tyler to a sudden stop, upon her back.

In the distance, with her Perception skill active, Rebecca's sight was extended, and she could clearly make out the figures. The Black Cloud Guild members.

Five in number, moving towards her. Their black cloud guild armor: a clear and looming threat.

*Shit! The Black Cloud Guild.* She thought again. *They've sent more members.* All five of them. .

*What the heck am I going to do now?*

*I should change directions and go around them.* She decided firmly. *Even if I wanted to face them,* and she had to add. *Right now, I can't. I don't have my bow.* Even worse, *I can't do anything with this dagger.*

With her perception she then made a shift. As everything became clearer, the faces, more vivid and distinct, and the look in their eyes - which told of intent.

She saw Jason – He. *Jason, that's the son of the man who killed my mother.*

And, from that reality: *He's probably here to take revenge on Tyler for killing his brother.* A smirk, followed by a plan.

*I've collected information on every one of these hunters.* Only the fighter, from earlier, was unknown to her. She knew that… *He must have been new.*

*And that other one who asked me if I knew Tyler.*

The facts, again, coming to the surface.*I know that Jason is a powerful mage. I know that Jason is A-rank.*

*If I wanted to go around them,* - *he would spot me immediately.*

*I'd really have to go far around them to be able to do that, and I might even run out of mana.*

*Because of his skill, Search.*

She ran, almost at once: to the left. And, at the same time, tried her best: running around them. The information she had on the ability made her think. *This skill allows him to see everything that is within many meters, if I'm not mistaken.*

*The only problem is I don't know how many meters that is… *She thought. As she ran in the opposite direction. She skidded to a stop again, making another decision.*

*No, I need to go back.* She thought, *I need to put as much distance between us as possible.* Then, turning around, and picking up speed. *Need to go back there.*

Rebecca turned, and, as if on a reflex level, she immediately ran once again, increasing her speed again and again.

From a different vantage. Jason, as he walked. He felt something first: a distinct *pull,* and immediately looked. His gaze then settled on the direction she was running, and: *knew* for a fleeting moment. That he saw something. A female figure, and – *she was carrying someone.* And, on her back.

Jason, without hesitation, and then said. *I think we found him, follow me.*

Then, he ran. Activating *Fast step* - his skill. And to help himself run faster and the others with him.

Tim, who was running with the group, asked. *Really, where?*

Jason, making it clear what he meant *In that direction.* Then, with a hand: he pointed to the path, in the path that she was running. Then. he added : *We might not be able to catch up, she's using a skill.*

Tom was the next. *She?*

Then, Jason clarified, with the thought she ran. *That the female hunter ran as soon as she saw us.*

*She got into my skill's reach, and she immediately ran, and she was carrying someone. I'm not really sure.* And what he meant again was. *But I think that the person she was carrying could have been the hunter that we were looking for.*

Aaron asked, as he activated his own skill: Archer's Flight, and what he wanted to know was: and as he kept running and joined up with the group:

"So what are you saying? That it might have been a comrade?"

And Jason said. "Yeah, that would make sense." Jason replied "But it looked like maybe he was hurt."

Toren, his face twisted in a smirk, declared, "Oh, so Ian's death might not have been in vain after all. He might have injured him."

"Yeah, maybe," Jason agreed.

Tim then stated, "If we run at your pace, we might not be able to catch up. We're going to have to leave you behind."

Tim and the others didn't hesitate, pressing ahead, leaving Jason behind. Jason watched, seeing them rapidly pull ahead. The distance between them grew—the others, moving swiftly.

*My Fast Step skill doesn't make me as fast as the others. After all, I'm still a mage. But, these idiots… They could have let me buff them up first!* *It doesn't matter, it seems like the other one is weakened anyways.*

As this played out. Rebecca, running. Looking back, turning her head. Some of the hunters were running after her, but they were *far* behind.

*Shit… Did Jason find me out?*

*I stepped into his area of search, didn't I?*

*Well, it doesn't matter. I'm almost there.*

*I don't think I can win, though.*

"Tyler, wake up!" she yelled, as she rubbed her hands on his back while they were still moving, shaking him, trying to wake him.

But Tyler didn't wake. He snored.

She clenched her teeth in frustration. "Is he serious?!" she said out loud.

She took a hard right turn. Jumping over a small bush, while carrying Tyler. Then, landing. She immediately crouched down, and let Tyler fall.

He hit the forest's grassy floor with a soft thud and, in front of her: a broken wooden bow.

Rebecca lifted the broken bow, examining its ruined state. *Damn it…* she thought.

She turned, her face contorted with raw anger. "You just *had* to break the bow, didn't you?"

Quickly turning her thoughts; *I have to do this quick. They're on the way here. When I got to B rank, I got more than one skill.*

Moving as fast as she dared, she moved to a tree. A small, short tree, and placed her palm against its trunk. Then, activating: *Arrow Creation*. In that instant, the whole tree exploded into splinters. And hundreds upon hundreds of arrows, scattering across the forest floor.

She acted in response, immediately picking up the arrows, and swiftly placing them into her quiver. The arrows were, in their construction, completely derived from the wooden tree, its original source.

The arrows were normal in their shape, but with the heads a bit heavier than the rest of the body.

She thought to herself, *These arrows aren't strong, but they are the only thing I can work with right now.*

She quickly, now, poured handful after handful of arrows into the quiver, which was now on her back. Then she went to Tyler, shaking him.

"Tyler! Tyler! Damn it, wake up! Tyler, wake up!"

But Tyler didn't. He didn't even wake.

She thought: *What is wrong with him? Was he that exhausted? Even if he is, he should be waking up from that…*

With a growing sense of anxiety, she looked around her. And she kicked Tyler in the side of the stomach, causing him to tumble a bit.

Then, under her own breath: *Damn it*.

Rebecca held the broken bow, both hands on the wood. The string, still attached, hung loose. She pressed the broken parts together, as if she was trying to fix it. *I hope this works,* she thought.

*Whenever I use Arrow Creation, I have to touch an object… and I can use that to make arrows.*

She winced, knowing the price. *The skill costs a lot of mana.*

*I feel like I have absolute control over it.*

She knew the truth of it. *Of course, the process always ends up creating arrows, since it's the skill. It's bound to the skill.* And then this, *No matter what I want, I think I'll always get arrows in the end.*

She remembered a feeling, a sensation: *But in that split-second, I feel like I can do anything with the object.* *Like that tree earlier, I could even feel where its roots even ended.*

She acted, and then she thought: *And if I'm right…*

She used her skill, *Arrow Creation.* And then: a light flared, between the broken wood. Again: it was fixed.

The bow, whole again, now in her hand.

Relief washed over her, and then, a chuckle.

Then, she grabbed Tyler by the waist with one arm, slinging him over her shoulder—holding him steady.

She ran, glancing back. The hunters were closing the distance.

She thought: *What am I going to do? What am I going to do?*

She saw a bush. *I've got to distract them.* was her plan. *I've got to lure them away from Tyler.*

A single problem clouded Rebecca's plan. She didn't know the full reach of Jason's search skill. Ignoring the doubt, she acted. As she sprinted, Tyler was swiftly maneuvered behind concealing bushes. He landed on the forest floor, unconscious.

Rebecca faced the approaching hunters. *I have to distract them, keep them away from Tyler.* She glanced back at him, despair filling her. *It's bad... after all that help... I might not even make it.* *I hope they won't find him.*

With a burst of movement, she unleashed Archer's Flight, perception still alight. Her eyes flashed a faint silver, her silver hair whipping behind her. She veered sharply, as if seeking to circumvent the hunters.

Aaron, his own perception active, saw Rebecca and yelled, "There she is, she's trying to get away!" With a fluid motion, he drew back his bow. Upon the arrow's tip, fire bloomed as he prepared to loose it. The arrow soared, a fiery messenger against the wind towards Rebecca.

Mid-run, Rebecca perceived the approaching threat. Without any effort, she gracefully moved her hand, her wrist intercepting the arrow mid-flight, using her skills to deflect it entirely from its course. Astonishment marked Aaron's fait.

Aaron's stare was fixed on the path the arrow had taken, and he thought to himself, *she deflected it?*

Tom then said as he carried his own bow while running, "How did she do that? Is she a C-Rank Plus?"

Rebecca then thought to herself as she immediately put three arrows on the bow and pulled them at the same time and they all ignited with fire on their arrowheads and she thought, *right I have to be just like him. I don't have to fear anything. I have to take them on. I'll use them to get stronger. Jason, his father took something precious for me. I'll take something precious from him.* She looked, her eyes glowing a brighter silver as the flames intensified on the arrowheads.