Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero

The sun, a molten orb sinking towards the horizon, cast long shadows across the town of Aria, painting the buildings in fiery shades of orange and gold. Within the Black Cloud Guild mansion, the captain stood in the meeting room, the air thick with a tense silence. He leaned against the rough-hewn stone wall, his expression a mask of deep thought. His right hand, gnarled and calloused from years of combat, rested on his chin, his gaze fixed on the gaping hole that marred the room's interior. The hole, a jagged scar, was the result of the recent, violent confrontation with the vice-captain, Grant.

He thought to himself, "*That girl… Silvia… has been torturing her for a while now, but she won't tell us where that hunter is. What does she mean to him? Silvia said she even asked her that… and she said nothing. That is clearly a lie. Normal companions don't go this far for each other. Are they perhaps lovers?*" He could almost *hear* the girl's *screams*, even *through* the sounds of the room, a testament to her continued resistance.

The heavy wooden door creaked open, and Jason entered the room, his tall, lean frame casting a long shadow across the floor. His face was etched with a familiar arrogance, but his eyes held a hint of weariness. "*You still haven't fixed the hole in the wall, I see.*"

The captain offered a thin, almost humorless smile. "*I thought you were going to fix it. After all, it only takes you one spell to close it.*"

Jason sighed, the sound a puff of air that seemed to carry the weight of the world. "*I'll fix it later. I'm not in the mood right now.*" His gaze drifted to the hole, momentarily softening.

The captain, folding his arms across his chest, responded, his tone laced with a note of caution, "*Well, it'd be wise to close it now. We do know we're under attack from an enemy. They might sneak in this way.*"

Jason scoffed, a dismissive sound that cut through the air. "*One enemy? If anything, this would be bait. I want him to come in. He's only one man.*" His eyes gleamed with an unsettling confidence.

The captain responded, his voice taking on a note of prudence, "*We don't know that for sure. We know that he has another comrade… And who knows… maybe it's more than one.*"

Jason boasted, "*You know that even if he brings up more than ten people, I can handle them on my own. The guy isn't even that threatening. He got hurt by... Ian.*" The words held a dismissive air.

The captain, a smile playing on his lips, responded, "*Really?*" He seemed amused by the assessment.

"*Yeah,*" Jason confirmed, a hint of confusion in his voice. "*I don't know how he managed it, but that seemed to be the case.*"

The captain frowned slightly. "*But that doesn't make any sense, though. Luke was stronger than Ian. Yet, he ended up killed by that hunter.*" The logic of the situation seemed to puzzle him.

Jason shrugged, offering a possible explanation. "*I don't know, maybe he was worn out from that fight as well. I don't think he came out of it unscathed.*"

The captain straightened, his posture becoming more assertive. He lowered his hands from his waist, fixing Jason with a direct gaze. "*Well, I wanted to ask you something. The one who killed the other guild members, was it you, or was it that hunter?*" The question hung in the air, carrying a weight of unspoken implications.

Jason then said, "*I know you told me to dispose of them, but I didn't even have to lift a finger; it was all that hunter.*"

A flicker of curiosity sparked in the captain's eyes. "*Huh she just made things easier.*"

Jason frowned, his brow furrowing in a display of doubt. "*Were they really spies? I know you told me and showed me proof, but I still doubt it.*" The skepticism was evident.

The captain took two deliberate steps towards Jason, his voice taking on a note of certainty. "Of course, they were. I told you they were planning to destroy us from the inside. They were already assigned to another guild. I just covered it myself. They tried to hide it, but I've got my connections, you know how I always want to really know the people I assign to my guild, right?"

Jason conceded, "Yeah."

The captain continued, "They thought they could get rid of all the papers, you know, bribing the Hunter Assessment Center… so we couldn't find them out, but they went to the wrong people." He chuckled dryly. "The Hunter Assessment Center in Aria… the person running it there is a close friend of mine, so when they tried to bribe him, to hide their link to other members, he was suspicious, and he told me. Through investigating, I found out that they wanted to destroy the guild." The captain's voice held a note of satisfaction.

Jason added, "Yeah, he said it would be the fifteenth guild in Aerlion, right? There's already a lot of competition. Not a lot of missions are sent out to of guilds from the capital, and we would be the fifteenth one." The weight of the situation was evident.

The captain sneered, "Yeah, they wanted to destroy it before there was an S-rank. Those dumbfucks didn't know how close I was to reaching the rank. I'm basically an S-rank right now." His confidence radiated.

Jason mused, "*I know there was a lot of competition in the guild, and I don't want any more guilds to form. But to think the other guilds would resort to this…*" The thought clearly troubled him.

The captain, as he walked towards the hole in the wall, brushing the dust from the table, continued, "*Have you never wondered what happened to the Wayne Guild? They were infiltrated by spies and were destroyed from the inside. One of them was said to have hidden their rank. They were infiltrated by another A-rank. And a lot of conflict happened within that guild.*" The captain's gaze remained on the hole in the wall, his words laced with a hint of warning.

A lot of guild members died, and the guild ended up splitting.*"

The captain spoke, "*But…*" then, suddenly, a scream echoed from the cellar.

Jason sighed, "*She's still at it, huh? How long is she going to do this?*"

The captain replied, "*For as long as she needs to. We need to know the location of those hunters.*"

Jason said, "*Alright, I'm going to the others.*"

The captain called out, "*Oh, wait. Has everybody returned?*"

Jason confirmed, "*Yeah, everybody returned to the base, just like you said.*"

The captain stated, "*Good. I don't want people scattered around anymore. With that Hunter still out there, they might just take out the members one by one. Tell them we'll all meet up here again soon.*"

"*Alright,*" Jason responded, before walking away. The captain was left alone with his thoughts.

*Rebecca… to think that after all these years, I'd meet her again. It feels so unexpected… but to think that she'd target the whole guild, and not just me.* A smirk appeared on his face. *Maybe things didn't go as planned. Maybe I was the prime target, and she ended up in a fight with the other guild members. But the guild members don't have to know that. Some of them are already angry and panicking over the situation.*

The captain sighed and also walked out of the room.

As the captain went on with his business, the screaming beneath the guild mansion ceased. Inside… The sounds of agony and torment had come to a chilling end.

Meanwhile, Tyler stood before the flowing river in the monster zone. *I'm going to the Black Cloud Guild base to get Rebecca.* He steeled himself, *If I'm going to do this, I'm going to have to be prepared. I'm not even sure if I can do this on my own, but I have no choice. I can't get Grone involved in any of this. He's helped me enough.*

Tyler closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and released a sigh. The forest was silent, save for the sound of the flowing river. He opened his eyes, and the system panel materialized before him, displaying his inventory. He scrolled through the many icons representing the items he possessed. He still had a lot of items, even after crafting some weapons and armor.

Tyler mentally scrolled through the inventory. He saw a large quantity of crimson hide. *I nad to take a mission before getting into the monster zone.* He thought, *I don't have any money right now, so I took a mission that requests me to bring back four crimson hides, and so far I haven't used any of the ones that I already had.* As he continued to scroll, Tyler's gaze fell upon the shadow armor icon, its name written beneath the image.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

can finally equip the shadow armor,* Tyler thought, his mind racing. *Alright, let's see what kind of stats we're talking about here.* He mentally reached for the armor, but the system panel vanished, replaced by a new one, blazing red.

WARNING: This Armor Influences the user. The user will possess some of the monster's character traits while equipping this armor. Equip armor? YES/NO

Tyler blinked, completely thrown. *Character traits? What the hell does that even mean? Does this mean I'm going to start *thinking* like... the Shadow Walker? What kind of traits are we talking about? How is this even going to affect me?*

He thought of the Shadow Walker: memories of it resurfacing, how brutally menacing it was. The pure, unadulterated bloodlust he'd witnessed. He remembered the creature toying with him, as if he were nothing more than a game, even though it could have easily ended him. He knew, without a doubt, that Rebecca was the only reason he was still alive. The idea of adopting any of that monster's traits didn't sit well with him.

Tyler took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and muttered, "Damn, I don't know what kind of traits I'm going to end up with. And it's not like I'm going to let it control me, anyway. But still... I have no choice, do I? This might be the strongest armor I have. If it gives me some of those predator traits, maybe I can use them. I might need them where I'm going."

Tyler muttered, "Equip armor." The red warning on the system panel vanished.

Suddenly, the hexhorn armor Tyler had been wearing shimmered blue and disappeared. Leaving Tyler with only the clothing he wore underneath. He was momentarily confused. Normally, when equipping new armor while already wearing some, the old armor simply shimmered and was instantly replaced, too fast to see what he was wearing underneath. But this was different.

Tyler muttered, "What the…?"

Then, the shadow cast by the setting sun at his feet stirred. It *pulsed*, and a darkness seemed to *detach* itself from the earth. The inky blackness snaked up his legs, a sentient thing, *flowing* around him. Before Tyler could react, it had enveloped him entirely, covering his arms, his torso, his head. He felt the sensation of being *submerged* in cold, viscous darkness.

His eyes widened. He could almost *feel* the shadow, a palpable *pressure* against his skin, a sense of *unseen movement* all around him. He could almost *hear* it – not with his ears, but with a primal sense that he couldn't define. A disturbing sound, a *low, keening wail*, emanated from it, a sound like the endless, howling wind across a desolate, forgotten plain. A whooshing sound, the sound of *breath, of the void*, filled the air. The shadow also looked like trapped smoke, but it had a definite form: an oily, obsidian substance, *writhing with unseen energy*.

Then, the shadow *changed*. It solidified, transformed, and took shape. The inky blackness *hardened*, forming a sleek, almost organic armor. It now resembled ordinary armor. The armor felt like leather and fur, but somehow, alien. The armor looked almost identical to the Gloomfang armor, but was now black, with a robe-like design. It felt light, yet impossibly thick and hard at the same time, as if it had been *forged* from the very absence of light.

"Whoa… what the hell was that?" Tyler exclaimed, his voice tinged with a mixture of awe and apprehension. He reached out, touching the armor on his chest and abdomen. It felt both soft and hard, an utterly strange combination. The long sleeves ended at his wrists.

The system then reappeared before Tyler, displaying a notification:

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Equip Boss Armor +10 DEF

"Is *this* how I equip the armor?" he muttered, a hint of lingering fear in his voice. "That… kind of scared me. For a second, I thought I was being attacked by some new kind of monster. But it was just the armor. So this is boss armor… Definitely something else."

Then he realized he hadn't seen the stats the armor granted.

Mentally, Tyler brought up the system panel, the details of his newly acquired armor illuminating the screen.

Shadow Armor:

DEF +315

Skills: Shadow Strike, Shadow Step, Shadow Den

His brow furrowed in confusion. *315 defense…* he thought, his confusion clear. *Damn, that's… strong. Stronger than the hexhorn armor? That's not right.* He knew the Hexhorn armor was known for its durability and defense. That's why it's stronger. And the Shadow Walker? That thing was an assassin, not a tank. It should have been lower.

He racked his brain, replaying the crafting process. The Hexhorn husk… *Wait a minute.* The shadow armor *combined* the Hexhorn armor's husk *and* the Shadow Walker's husk. *That's right.* Because it was a combination of both, the defense was higher. The hexhorn armor was supposed to be stronger, but since the Shadow Armor had been crafted with the Hexhorn husk and the Shadow Walker's husk it has been made stronger. His focus then turned to the skills.

His attention then shifted to the skills: Shadow Strike, Shadow Step, Shadow Den. They held a dark allure, but his priority right now was getting a better understanding of the armor itself.

Tyler muttered, "System, can you give me a more detailed description of the shadow armor skills? All of them."

The system panel vanished, replaced by a more detailed description of the skills.

Shadow Strike

Description: Amplifies the user's next attack, increasing its damage output. The skill's power is directly tied to the presence of darkness.

During the night, the user's next attack will receive a 15% damage increase.

When in shadows, the user's next attack will deal 25% more damage.

Activation: The skill's effects are applied automatically to the next successful attack after activation.

Restrictions: Limited to a single strike per activation.

Shadow Step

Description: Grants the ability to move rapidly and silently between areas of shadow or darkness. Movement speed is increased, and all footstep noise is eliminated. The more shadow, the better.

During the night, the user's movement speed is increased by 15%.

When moving between shadows, the user's movement speed is increased by 25%.

Activation: Requires activation for each instance of shadow-to-shadow movement.

Restrictions: The skill's duration is limited to the transition between shadows or while in dark areas. It does not provide extended periods of enhanced speed outside of shadow-to-shadow transitions.

Shadow Den

Description: Shadow Den allows you to tap into the power of darkness and move across vast distances. By activating the skill, you can teleport, but with some limitations. During the night, the entire world becomes your stage, allowing you to teleport to any point within a 75-meter radius. However, during the day, the sun's light restricts your movement; you can only teleport to areas shrouded in shadow within the same 75-meter range. The skill's effect lasts for 30 seconds, so choose your destination wisely!

Tyler finished reading the system descriptions, his interest piqued by the Shadow Armor's abilities. A smile played on his lips as he scanned the words. "Shadow Den," he murmured, recalling how the Shadow Walker, a formidable foe, had used the skill to vanish and reappear, a phantom in the shadows. He thought, *So, I can do that, huh?*

His expression shifted to a determined focus. He clenched his jaw, a new resolve hardening his features. "I want to test this thing," he muttered to himself. "But, I need to be smart. That skill probably eats a ton of mana. I need to save it for when it counts."

He opened his hand, and the enhancement stone materialized, the crystal gleaming faintly in his palm. The stone thrummed with an inner light. *I can enhance this, right? I hope so…* He pressed the stone against his chest, his fingers tracing the contours of the Shadow Armor. The crystal's blue glow intensified as he channeled mana, feeling the power surge through him.

The system flashed a notification: Enhancement Successful.

A grin spread across his face. "It worked! All right!" He paused, considering the implications. *How many times can I do this? Is there a limit?* Another enhancement stone appeared, seemingly drawn from his inventory. His heart began to beat faster as he pressed the stone against the armor. *Please, let me enhance it again. I need this. I need to be strong. I need it… to be a lot stronger than this.*

The system's display: Enhancement Successful.

His eyes widened in astonishment.

Tyler's heart pounded, the confirmation of another successful enhancement still echoing in his mind. His gaze immediately darted towards the system panel, anticipation coursing through him. *How much did it improve?* The interface shimmered into existence, the details of the Shadow Armor displayed once more, but this time, with updated skill descriptions.

Shadow Strike

Description: Amplifies the user's next attack, increasing its damage output. The skill's power is directly tied to the presence of darkness.

During the night, the user's next attacks will receive a 60% damage increase.

When in shadows, the user's next attack will deal 100% more damage.

Activation: The skill's effects are applied automatically to the next four successful attacks after activation.

Restrictions: Limited to a four strikes per activation.

Shadow Step

Description: Grants the ability to move rapidly and silently between areas of shadow or darkness. Movement speed is increased, and all footstep noise is eliminated. The more shadow, the better.

During the night, the user's movement speed is increased by 60%.

When moving between shadows, the user's movement speed is increased by 100%.

Activation: Requires activation for each instance of shadow-to-shadow movement.

Restrictions: The skill's duration is limited to the transition between shadows or while in dark areas. It does not provide extended periods of enhanced speed outside of shadow-to-shadow transitions.

His eyes widened as he absorbed the changes. The percentages had skyrocketed, and the Shadow Strike's strike limit was increased! This was a massive upgrade. A surge of excitement ran through him. The armor was becoming incredibly powerful.

Tyler's eyes traced the description of the Shadow Den skill, a slow smile spreading across his face. He read:

Shadow Den:

Description: Shadow Den allows you to tap into the power of darkness and move across vast distances. By activating the skill, you can teleport, but with some limitations. During the night, the entire world becomes your stage, allowing you to teleport to any point within a 300-meter radius. However, during the day, the sun's light restricts your movement; you can only teleport to areas shrouded in shadow within the same 300 meter range. The skill's effect lasts for 2 minutes.

He breathed out, impressed. *300-meter radius… and two whole minutes?* He chuckled, the sound of genuine joy escaping his lips. This was incredible.

He looked at the panel, happiness and hope radiating from his features. Then, a strange transformation began. A crimson color, like a mist, began to creep into his eyes. It invaded from the edges, a wave of red washing over his brown irises and pupils. The change was rapid, almost as if a fog had been released within his very eyes. In a matter of moments, the brown was entirely gone, replaced by a solid, unsettling crimson. Tyler continued to stare at the panel. He wasn't aware that when he enhanced the armor, he did not only enhance the stats, but enhanced everything that came with it.