Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero [REMASTERED]

Rebecca and Tyler walked side by side in silence. The wind rustled Tyler's coat and swept Rebecca's silver hair backward as they continued along the path. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye without turning her head, studying his expression. He looked completely calm and unbothered, his gaze fixed ahead as he walked.

Her legs still ached, though the pain had faded to a dull soreness. She was sure she could endure it, but she wasn't as confident about how well her legs would hold up once they entered the monster zone. She remembered what Tyler had told her earlier.

*I'll protect you.*

Rebecca's brow furrowed at the thought. A faint irritation stirred in her chest.

*I'm not someone who needs to be protected.*

She looked away from him, her expression tightening slightly.

Tyler, meanwhile, had no idea what was going through her mind. His thoughts were already on the monster zone ahead. He wondered what kinds of monsters they would encounter, what ingredients they might provide, and how strong they would be. Since it was a C-rank monster zone, he expected the creatures inside to be considerably stronger than the ones he'd encountered at the last base.

Before long, they arrived at the base.

There were hunters everywhere. Some walked through the area in groups, talking amongst themselves, while others stood around in conversation before eventually making their way toward the quest hall. Tyler followed Rebecca through the open double doors, and the moment he stepped inside, he found himself slowing slightly.

The hall was much larger than he had expected.

Tables and benches filled much of the spacious room, with hunters gathered around them, talking amongst themselves. Some had quest flyers spread across the tables, discussing the details with their companions. At the far end stood a wide counter with three receptionists attending to the hunters.

Tyler looked around, taking it all in.

*This place is huge.*

From the outside, he hadn't expected the interior to be this spacious. There were so many people moving around that the place felt almost crowded, despite how large it was.

*It's even bigger than it looks outside. And there are so many people.* His thoughts briefly went back to the last base. *There was only one receptionist there.*

Rebecca continued toward the counter, and Tyler followed.

They stopped in front of one of the receptionists, a man with long blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes.

"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" the man asked.

"We're here for quests," Rebecca said bluntly.

The man simply nodded. He bent down behind the counter, reached into one of the taller drawers, and pulled out a stack of quest flyers before placing them on the counter.

Rebecca immediately began going through them.

Tyler stepped closer, bringing one hand near his chin as he leaned slightly over the counter to read alongside her. His eyes moved across the different requests, narrowing as he tried to make sense of them.

The quests themselves weren't difficult to understand. Several involved retrieving things from the forest, which was familiar enough.

The monster names, however, were completely foreign to him.He hadn't encountered anything like them at the last base.

His eyes stopped on one of the names.

"Dream Wing," he muttered.

Rebecca paused.

She looked toward him, her silver eyes meeting his for a moment before she returned her attention to the flyers. Without hesitation, she separated the quest from the others.

"We'll take this one."

The receptionist handed her a quill, and Rebecca signed the quest before setting it down.

She turned away from the counter almost immediately and started walking.

Tyler followed, falling into step beside her. After a few steps, he glanced back.

The receptionist had already returned to his conversation with the female coworker beside him. He didn't even spare Tyler another glance. Tyler turned forward again.

It felt strange.

He had gotten used to Serena's kindness at the other base, the way she would smile at him and tell him to come back safely whenever they left. This man hadn't shown even the slightest concern.

Not that he expected him to.

He just hadn't realized until now how comforting those simple words had been.

They stepped outside the building, and Rebecca turned toward the side of it. Tyler followed close behind, expecting her to lead them straight toward the monster zones, but she stopped beside the wall.

It was only then that he noticed the two large barrels stacked on top of each other near the building. Another barrel sat beside them, filled with what looked like clean rags and torn pieces of cloth.

"Take two. You're gonna need them," Rebecca said.

She reached into the barrel of cloth and pulled out two pieces before dipping them into one of the water barrels. She squeezed them lightly, letting the excess water run back into the barrel before handing them to Tyler.

"Why?" Tyler asked, taking them.

"Some monsters use poison gas in there. If you breathe it in, it'll slowly kill you." Rebecca picked up another piece of cloth and soaked it as she spoke. "But if you cover your mouth and nose with a wet cloth, it doesn't affect you. Just take them in case we need them."

"Okay."

Tyler dipped the cloths in his hands into the water, making sure they were thoroughly soaked before straightening up.

Rebecca turned and started walking toward the monster zones, and Tyler fell into step beside her. After a moment, the wet rags in his hand disappeared into his inventory.

"Let me hold on to them for you," he said, extending his hand toward her.

"No, it's fine."

Rebecca tucked the wet cloths into one of the pockets of her clothing.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that going to feel uncomfortable?"

"These pockets are leather," she replied immediately.

Tyler looked at her for a moment before turning forward again.

They continued on for a few steps, and Tyler's attention drifted toward the way Rebecca was walking. Her stride looked much steadier than it had earlier. She was no longer stumbling or showing the same difficulty she had when she'd first gotten to her feet.

Still, something about the way she moved bothered him.

She looked almost completely recovered, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was still in some kind of pain and simply wasn't showing it.

*If I just had those potions...*

He glanced at her again before looking ahead.

"How many monster zones have you been to?" Rebecca asked, turning her head toward him.

"One," Tyler answered.

"One!?" Her voice rose in surprise.

"Yeah."

Rebecca stared at him for a moment before looking forward again.

She couldn't remember seeing any hesitation from him before, and he didn't seem to be lying. But it still didn't make sense.

*How can it only be one if he's already reached A-rank? He would've had to kill so many monsters in there.*

The thought lingered in her mind until another possibility came to her.

She remembered hunting at that base. There had seemed to be fewer monsters than there should have been, though at the time she'd never really questioned it.

*Could it have been him?*

The possibility felt absurd, but it wasn't impossible.

Rebecca's heartbeat quickened at the thought. She kept her eyes fixed ahead, unwilling to turn and look at him while the idea settled in her mind.

"Well, the monsters in this monster zone are very different," she muttered.

"Yeah, I realized. I couldn't even recognize the names on those quests."

"That's because the monsters vary between different monster zones. Unlike the ones you're familiar with, which are mostly four-legged beasts, the monsters in Lyria are mostly insects."

"Insects?" Tyler asked, one eyebrow lifting.

"Yes. Huge insects and plant monsters." Rebecca glanced toward him. "You would've expected that, considering the monster zone here is similar to a swamp. The monsters here are mostly plants, insects, snakes, and things like that. Almost all of them are venomous, so you'll need to avoid getting hurt by them in any way possible."

"Okay, got it," Tyler said, nodding.

They finally reached the enormous green trees and passed into the monster zone.

Almost immediately, Tyler noticed a few hunters coming from deeper inside the forest. Some were wearing their armor, while others still had rags tied over their mouths and noses. Their eyes were red and irritated, and several of their armor pieces were covered in a fine white powder that clung to the metal and leather.

Tyler and Rebecca passed them without stopping, continuing between the massive trees.

"What does this monster we're looking for look like?" Tyler asked.

"It looks like a moth, but bigger," Rebecca answered.

*So it's a flying monster.*

Tyler glanced upward through the thick canopy.

*I've only ever fought those once.*

"We'll need to be careful not to get too close once we find it," Rebecca continued. "It uses its wings to release a powder that makes you dizzy when you inhale it. After a few seconds, you can get knocked unconscious. That's one of the reasons we need these rags."

Tyler nodded as he looked around.

The farther they went, the more the forest seemed to change. The air grew damper, and the vegetation became noticeably denser. Vines hung from almost every tree now, some dangling loosely from the branches while others twisted and curled around the enormous limbs.

A faint smell of sweet rot lingered in the air.

Tyler barely noticed it at first, but the deeper they went, the more distinct it became.

They soon passed another group of hunters, four men walking together while chatting amongst themselves. One of them was carrying a sack over his shoulder, and something about the contents caught Tyler's attention.

Several large insect limbs protruded from the opening.

Tyler's eyes widened slightly as he watched them pass.

The limbs were thick and strangely shaped, with numerous joints running along them. Just seeing them made a small rush of adrenaline run through him.

*So the insects really are that big.*

He couldn't help but feel a little excited at the thought of encountering one himself.

Back in his original world, insects had never been something he particularly liked, and snakes were even worse.

Yet now he was walking through a forest filled with giant versions of both.

Suddenly, the system panel appeared before Tyler.

[LEVEL 41 SLIME HAS ACTIVATED SKILL: BASH]

Tyler’s eyebrows lifted, a surge of adrenaline running through him as he caught the sound of something cutting rapidly through the air to his right. The noise was getting closer, aimed straight at Rebecca.

“Move!”

He thrust out his hand toward her, but Rebecca had already reacted.

Just as the green slime was about to strike, she stepped backward, her movement quick and controlled. The slime swept past her, missing her chest by inches, its gelatinous body whipping through the space where she had been standing. Tyler moved at the same time, stepping out of its path as it sailed past him and slammed into the trunk of the enormous tree.

The impact sent a heavy thud through the forest, making bark and small bits of debris shake loose from the trunk.

Rebecca immediately reached behind her back, her hand searching for the weapon that should have been there. Her fingers grasped nothing.

“Damn it,” she muttered.

“There are slimes here? Why is it green?” Tyler said, keeping his eyes on the creature.

Before either of them could do anything else, the slime suddenly launched itself at Rebecca again.

She moved without hesitation, reaching down to her hip and drawing a dagger. As the slime came within range, she swung the blade in one clean motion.

The dagger cut through its body.

The slime split apart around the blade, and a small, pained “kyuu” escaped from it before its body broke down into green particles. The particles scattered briefly in the air before fading away, leaving behind only its round, glassy green core. It dropped onto the ground with a small clink.

Rebecca stood still for a moment, then let out a breath and turned toward Tyler.

Tyler looked at her in surprise.

“Wow. Great footwork,” he said, an impressed smile appearing on his face.

Rebecca looked away as she slid the dagger back into its sheath. “I don’t even have a quiver to store arrows. How are we supposed to kill that thing?”

She crouched down and picked up the slime core. For a moment, she brought it toward her pocket, but stopped. Instead, she looked over at Tyler and held it out to him.

Tyler took it from her.

“I’d say I could give you the arrows, but...” He stopped mid-sentence as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“What?” Rebecca asked.

The slime core disappeared into his inventory.

*Right. I can just ask the system for a recipe for a quiver. System, give me a recipe for a quiver.*

The system panel appeared in front of Rebecca.

[BASIC ARCHER’S QUIVER]

[1/2 OF A HEXHORN HIDE. QUARTER SMALL STEEL INGOT.]

“Nothing. I just figured it’d get exhausting having to give you an arrow every single time you fire,” Tyler said as he read the displayed recipe.

“Well, then I’ll just have to buy one when we get back,” Rebecca replied, turning forward again.

Tyler fell into step beside her. As they continued walking, he mentally commanded the system to craft the quiver.

There was no loading bar this time. Almost immediately, another system panel appeared.

[CRAFTING SUCCESSFUL]

*Nice.*

Tyler glanced at Rebecca. “You won’t need to buy one.”

He extended his hand, and a quiver materialized in his grasp. The leather looked smooth and well-made, with a small strap attached to it.

Rebecca looked at the quiver, then at Tyler.

“You had a quiver this whole time?”

“No. I just made it. Here. Take it.”

Rebecca looked down at the quiver in her hands, then back at Tyler, her eyebrows drawing together. “You just made it? What do you mean, you just made it?”

Tyler shrugged, seemingly unconcerned by her confusion. “I mean I crafted it. I said I was also a craftsman, didn’t I?”

“Yeah... but that doesn’t explain how you just made it. You couldn’t have made it out of thin air.” Rebecca looked down at the quiver in her hands, turning it slightly as she examined it before looking back at Tyler.

Tyler sighed and rolled his eyes. “You don’t need to know how I made it.”

Rebecca’s eyebrows drew together. She shifted the quiver in her hand and stepped closer to him. “Why can’t you just tell me?”

“Do you want the quiver or not?” Tyler asked, his voice edged with annoyance as he began walking forward.

“Hey.” Rebecca reached out and grabbed him by the collar.

Before Tyler could respond, something moved above them.

A long green snake suddenly whipped its head downward from the branches, its jaws snapping toward Tyler’s ear. Rebecca pulled him sharply by the collar, dragging him out of its path.

“What the...?” Tyler exclaimed, his head jerking toward the movement.

His dagger materialized in his hand. He immediately swung the blade upward, catching the snake just below its head. The blade severed it cleanly.

Tyler looked up toward the branch where the snake had been hanging.

Only then did he notice how well it had blended into the forest. Its green body was wrapped around the branches and tangled among the vines, almost indistinguishable from them. It had been hanging there without making itself known, its long body stretching from high above them.

The snake's severed body dropped from the branch and landed on the damp ground, its length continuing to fall and coil over itself. More and more of its body slid down until it lay in a tangled mass across the forest floor, looking more like a thick rope than the body of a snake.

Tyler stared at it, following the coils with his eyes as he tried to take in just how long the creature was.

“What the fuck...” he breathed.

“It’s a Vine Stalker,” Rebecca said, staring down at the dead snake.

A system panel appeared over the creature’s body.

[VINE STALKER: LEVEL 54]

“I could’ve died,” Tyler mutterd, his eyes still fixed on the snake sprawled across the ground.

Rebecca glanced at him as she pulled the quiver into place around on her back and adjusted the strap. “Not really. This snake isn’t particularly venomous. It would’ve taken a while to wrap its whole body around you. You would’ve taken care of it.”

“How about those arrows?” she asked, opening her palm.

Tyler brought his hands together, and all the arrows stored in his inventory appeared in his grasp. Rebecca stepped closer and took a large handful, her fingers closing around several shafts at once. She placed them into the quiver one after another before taking the remaining arrows from his hands and fitting those inside as well.

Tyler looked back at the dead snake. “I almost didn’t notice it. It looks exactly like those vines.”

“That’s one of its advantages,” Rebecca said as she stepped over the body and continued ahead.

Tyler followed her, but as he passed over the creature, his eyes caught another system panel hovering above it.

[EXTRACT]

He stepped over the snake and activated the extraction.

The entire length of its skin gave off a faint blue glow. The light spread across its green scales for a moment before the skin vanished from the carcass and disappeared into Tyler’s inventory, leaving behind the skinless body on the forest floor.

“Now that you’ve experienced it for yourself, you should be alert,” Rebecca said, continuing to walk. “These vines are everywhere, and any one of them could be one of those creatures.”

Tyler looked up.

The enormous branches overhead were covered with hanging vines. They draped down from the trees, some winding around branches while others hung freely above the forest floor. There were so many of them that after looking around, Tyler couldn’t spot a single tree without one.

Some had only one and others had several.

He stared at them for a moment, his eyes moving from one vine to another. The thought of one of them suddenly moving toward him, or even of his hand brushing against one without him realizing what it was, made his body shudder slightly.

“You said there are even more snakes here besides that Vine Stalker?”

“Yeah,” Rebecca replied.

“There are Slithers here as well, but they’re a lot bigger. I heard a rumor that there’s actually a White Fang here.” Tyler looked toward her as she continued walking. “But I know a lot about monster territories here, so we won’t run into them.”

Tyler’s heart hammered against his ribs.

He looked around the forest again, at the countless vines hanging from the branches, the thick greenery surrounding them, and the places where a creature could disappear without being noticed.

*This might be the worst monster zone I’ll ever be in.*

Rebecca glanced at Tyler as they walked, noticing the nervous look on his face. His eyes kept darting from one hanging vine to another, scanning the branches above them and the forest around them.

She watched him for a moment, a little surprised to see him this alert. Then, despite herself, a small smile crept across her face.