Chapter 46: E-rank Plus
Tyler stared down the charging monsters, clenching his teeth as he summoned every ounce of his new strength. He pulled his arm back, took a deep breath, and launched the silver spear directly at the large Level 52 C-Rank Hexhorn leading the pack.
The spear whistled violently through the air. The heavy metal spearhead struck the Hexhorn dead in the shoulder, sinking deep into the thick muscle and hide.
The beast shrieked in pain, its legs faltering and slowing its charge for a split second, but it quickly regained its balance and pushed forward, its terrifying speed returning almost instantly.
Tyler gasped in pure shock. "What the hell?"
He glanced to his side and saw James. James had pulled his sword all the way back to his hip. The very edges of the silver blade were glowing with an intense, concentrated silver light.
James let out a deafening roar as he swung the blade in a massive, wide horizontal arc.
A terrifyingly long, curved slash of pressurized air shot from the sword. The sheer force of the skill violently distorted the air in front of them, kicking up such a heavy gale that Tyler had to lift his arm to cover his eyes.
The Level 52 Hexhorn saw the incoming attack. It dug its hooves desperately into the dirt, trying to brake its momentum, but the ones behind it didn't react in time.
The invisible slash tore across the clearing and struck the front legs of the charging herd. It slammed into the earth with a deafening BOOM, causing the ground to explode upward in a massive, blinding cloud of dirt and dust. Agonized shrieks tore through the thick brown mist.
Tyler gritted his teeth, shielding his face from the flying debris. *He used it again. But... its so strong*
He looked over at James. James was hunched over, taking deep, long, heavy breaths as if he had just sprinted a marathon. Tyler’s eyebrows rose as the dust began to settle. There, at the very tip of James’s silver sword, was a visible, jagged crack running down the metal that absolutely hadn't been there before.
*It's damaged?* Tyler thought in alarm.
But his thoughts were immediately cut off by multiple enraged shrieks echoing from inside the dust cloud. He blinked, staring into the brown mist as the glowing blue System panels began to materialize through the haze.
[LEVEL 52]
[LEVEL 46]
[LEVEL 12]
"They survived," Tyler muttered.
"How many?" James asked, his voice strained between heavy breaths.
"Three of them," Tyler said. "A C-Rank, a D-Rank and an E-Rank."
The heavy silhouettes of the monsters became visible through the dust, much closer now, though a few of them were actively struggling to stand.
*It's in range*, Tyler thought.
Instantly, the silver spear vanished from the shoulder of the C-Rank beast and materialized back into Tyler's hand, the spearhead slick and stained with fresh blood.
As he gripped the weapon, a small System bar popped up beside the shaft:
[DURABILITY: 89%]
*Eighty-nine percent?* Tyler thought, genuinely surprised.
He looked ahead and saw the heavy silhouettes of the Hexhorns staggering to their feet. The Level 52 snorted violently, shaking its head to clear the dust.
"They're still disoriented. This is our chance." Tyler gripped his spear tightly with both hands and glanced over at James. James had both hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword, but his posture was sagging, and he looked incredibly tired.
Tyler clenched his teeth. Without wasting another second, he launched himself forward.* It looks like that skill drained a lot of James's stamina. I might have to do this alone.*
He pushed his speed to the absolute limit, sprinting straight for the C-Rank Hexhorn. As he closed the distance, he threw his spear forward with all his might.
Instantly, the System panel flashed:
[HEXHORN ACTIVATED SKILL: CHARGE.]
Moving with unnatural, explosive speed, the Level 52 Hexhorn bent its legs and violently twisted its body to the side, perfectly dodging the incoming spear.
Tyler's eyes widened in absolute shock. *It dodged?*
Using the momentum of its skill, the C-Rank beast launched itself directly at Tyler. Its hard snout slammed brutally into the center of his abdomen.
Tyler felt the sheer, terrifying force of the impact instantly knock every ounce of air out of his lungs. His eyes bulged as blinding pain radiated through his core.
He was sent flying backward, tumbling violently across the forest floor. His body bounced brutally against the hard dirt until his back slammed flush against the thick trunk of a towering tree. The impact caused the heavy branches above to shake violently, sending a shower of loose leaves falling down around him.
He collapsed to the dirt, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Tyler!" James yelled.
James quickly checked the clearing. The dust had completely settled now. He saw that two of the monsters had lost their front legs to his slash and were bleeding heavily into the dirt, entirely unable to get up.
But the remaining three were already charging straight at him, with the Level 52 leading the pack.
James’s grip tightened on his sword.* Dammit. What is happening to me? I don't lose this much stamina when I use my skill!*
He braced himself for the incoming attack, his eyes locked on the C-Rank beast.* I'll dodge and swing at the exact same time*, he planned.
As the beast closed in, crossing the two-meter mark, James pulled his sword back slightly, his muscles tensing to swing.
But suddenly, a deafening, thunderous BANG echoed from across the clearing where Tyler had fallen.
Instantly, the side of the Level 52’s head, right near its ear, violently ruptured outward in a spray of bone and blood. The explosive impact caused the beast to stumble hard, its legs giving out as it crashed into the dirt.
James quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the dead creature's tumbling momentum as it plowed into the earth.
The remaining Level 46 Hexhorn tripped violently over the dead C-Rank and crashed to the ground right behind it, tangling up the Level 12 as well. They both shrieked loudly, scrambling wildly in the dirt as they struggled to stand.
James pushed himself up onto one knee, turning his head toward where the deafening projectile had come from.
Across the clearing, Tyler was slumped against the tree. In one hand, he held the heavy, wooden hand cannon, thick white smoke pouring steadily from the barrel. He was breathing raggedly, his arm shaking slightly but keeping the weapon aimed directly at the downed beasts. In his other hand, he held a piece of firewood with red-hot, glowing embers at the tip, a thin trail of smoke rising from the wood into the air.
With a faint blue shimmer, the burning wood disappeared into his inventory.
"Kill them, quickly!" Tyler yelled, his voice strained.
James snapped out of his shock. He surged to his feet and sprinted straight for the tangled Hexhorns. He swung his sword down in a brutal arc, decapitating the struggling Level 12 first.
The Level 46 finally managed to get its hooves under itself. But before it could completely regain its balance, James charged forward and drove the blade of his silver sword straight up into the creature's snout. The steel sank deep into the skull. The Hexhorn shrieked in agony as James violently ripped the blade free. Thick blood spilled from its face as it collapsed heavily to the dirt, dead.
Tyler grunted, pushing himself up from the base of the tree.
"Should've just used the Seven Strikes skill on that C-Rank," he coughed, holding a hand over his aching chest.* I wouldn't be in this situation right now if I did.*
Suddenly, four glowing System panels stacked rapidly in front of his vision:
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL UP]
He blinked, completely surprised. *I leveled up four times.*
The thought was immediately followed by a vibrant green glow emanating from his skin. The glow was much more intense this time, radiating so brightly that it illuminated their surroundings, completely washing out the dark shade of the towering trees above him. James watched in absolute awe as the brilliant light flared and then instantly vanished into Tyler's pores.
Tyler took a deep breath, feeling his internal energy completely renewed. The sharp, aching pain in his abdomen was entirely gone. He smiled, rubbing his chest. *I healed before I could even check how much HP i lost.*
He mentally pulled up his System panel to check his new stats.
SPECIES: HUMAN
NAME: TYLER EVANS
RANK: E+
LVL: 26
CLASS: CRAFTSMAN
HP: 106/106 MP: 102/102
STR: 92 AGI: 92
DEF: 82 [+37] STM: 87
SKILLS: WEAPON CRAFT-LV1, ARMOR CRAFT-LV1, ACCESSORY CRAFT-LV1, ALCHEMY-LV1, RUSH LV2-MC40
PASSIVE SKILLS: WEAPON MASTERY-LV1, ASSIMILATION
"Wow," Tyler muttered under his breath. "I've reached 100 HP."
James walked over, his boots crunching in the dirt. "You've leveled up again, haven't you?"
"Yeah, I did."
James's gaze immediately dropped to the strange, smoking object still clutched in Tyler's hand. "What is that?" he asked.
Tyler lifted the weapon, holding it out to show James. "This is a hand cannon," Tyler explained. "It's similar to the weapons that people used in my world."
"That's the thing you used to take down the Hexhorn?" James asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.
"Yeah, it's a long-range weapon. Though I could only use it four times. I can only use it three times now. It uses dead berry powder to fire."
"Oh," James said. "That is an incredible weapon. Can I see it?"
Tyler nodded and handed it over. James carefully took the weapon, running his gloved fingers over it. He felt the smooth, polished wood of the grip and the heavy bronze of the barrel. "So how does this work, exactly?"
"I just light the fuse with fire. That ignites the powder inside, causing the weapon to fire whatever projectile I put in the barrel."
Tyler looked closely at the small hole near the back of the cannon where the burnt fuse had been. "Seems like I have to put another fuse in," he noted.
*It looked like it used some kind of wooden strand*, Tyler thought to himself, *like the kind I used to peel off of tree bark when I was a kid. I wonder how I can insert it again.*
Suddenly, the translucent System panel materialized directly in front of Tyler, hovering right between him and James:
[THE FUSE CAN BE REATTACHED ONCE THE USER RETURNS THE WEAPON INTO THE INVENTORY. THE DEAD BERRY POWDER CAN ALSO BE RELOADED VIA INVENTORY.]
*Wow*, Tyler thought, a wave of relief washing over him. *So I won't have to manually pour the powder inside like I did the first time.*
James kept looking at the weapon, flipping it around in his hands, completely oblivious to the glowing text hovering right in front of his face that only Tyler could see.
"Here," James said, handing the heavy weapon back. "You saved me, Tyler. Thank you."
Tyler grinned, a small, genuine chuckle escaping his lips. "Don't worry about it. You've saved me a bunch of times," he said.
He stepped forward, walking over to the pile of tangled, dead monsters.
"Extract," he muttered.
Instantly, all of the thick hides and heavy horns from the Hexhorns shimmered with a faint blue light and disappeared into his inventory, leaving only the bloody, skinned carcasses behind in the dirt.
Tyler turned back to James. "Alright, we have all the materials we need. It's time to get back, right?"
James nodded, sheathing his cracked silver sword. "Yeah, let's head back."
As they turned toward the river, the System panel flashed in front of Tyler's eyes once more.
[TWO ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED]
[IMPRESSIVE KILL II: THE USER HAS DEFEATED A MONSTER 30 LEVELS ABOVE THEM. +10 EXTRA POINTS.]
[GOOD VITALITY: CONGRATULATIONS. THE USER HAS REACHED 100 HP. +5 EXTRA POINTS.]