Chapter 50: Quest Complete
Tyler stared at the glowing blue text, his mind struggling to process the description. He read the words completely over again, his eyes tracking the sentence from left to right to make sure he wasn't imagining it.
"Until it dies?" he muttered aloud, his voice carrying a heavy edge of disbelief. "So I can just... choose any monster to be my pet. As long as it's ten levels below me."
He rubbed his jaw, the rough texture of his skin grounding him. Flashes of the creatures he had just fought, the ferocious wolves, the bizarre Brolin, the massive Hexhorns, rapidly cycled through his mind.
*I can only use this once,* he thought, his brow furrowing as the weight of the restriction settled in. *I'll figure this out when I get back to camp.*
He dropped his hand to his side. "Extract."
The dead Hexhorns scattered across the clearing shimmered with a faint blue light. Their heavy hides and jagged horns dissolved seamlessly into thin air, transferring directly into his inventory. Leaving the stripped carcasses behind, Tyler pivoted on his heel and set off into the brush, retracing the path he had marked.
A fresh system panel flared into existence directly in his line of sight.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: I CAN KEEP GOING. THE USER HAS REACHED 100 POINTS IN STAMINA: +5 EXTRA POINTS.]
"More points," he breathed, his rapid stride slowing to a heavy walk.
The glowing window vanished, only to be instantly replaced by another.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: MR TOUGH GUY. THE USER HAS REACHED 100 POINTS IN DEFENSE: +5 EXTRA POINTS.]
He stopped his march completely, his boots sinking slightly into the damp soil. "Five more? That means I have twenty free points in total."
A strange knot of conflicting emotion tightened in his chest. A sudden, intense rush of satisfaction surged through him, completely tangled with a hollow, lingering sense of disappointment.
*Is there even a point to leveling up if the system just hands out achievement points like this?*
He pushed forward again, forcing his legs into a steady rhythm. *I guess this is good. It gives me a much better chance to actually defend myself out here. Plus, I need every single point I can get if I'm fighting a boss monster tomorrow.*
He let out a long, heavy sigh. Mentally, he commanded the system to bring up his interface. The translucent blue screen materialized in the air before him. He quickly allocated the twenty free points, watching the numbers tick upward and lock into place. He stopped walking for a long second, his eyes slowly tracing the newly updated power flowing through his profile.
SPECIES: HUMAN
NAME: TYLER EVANS
RANK: D
LVL: 30
CLASS: CRAFTSMAN
HP: 150/150 MP: 138/138
STR: 140 AGI: 139
DEF: 130 STM: 121
SKILLS: WEAPON CRAFT-LV1, ARMOR CRAFT-LV1, ACCESSORY CRAFT- LV1, ALCHEMY-LV1, RUSH LV2-MC20
PASSIVE SKILLS: WEAPON MASTERY-LV1, ASSIMILATION, MANA SIGHT, PRIMAL SUBJUGATION
"I've gained a lot from this quest alone," he muttered.
The translucent panel dissolved into the empty air. He quickened his stride, his heavy boots crunching rhythmically against the dirt and fallen leaves.
*It makes me wonder how they're going to react.*
The memory of Sam and the older man flashed in his mind, their wide, staring eyes and sheer disbelief the day he first proved he was a G-Rank. He tilted his head back, watching the thick canopy of leaves pass by overhead.
*I became a D-Rank so fast... And my XP is cut by twenty-five percent every time. How is it that so many people here aren't on higher levels already? James just became a C-Rank. But it feels like he's been hunting his entire life.*
Tyler halted, his boots scuffing the forest floor as he scanned the deep brush. His gaze quickly locked onto the jagged, 'X' he had carved into a thick bark earlier. He adjusted his path, heading directly for the marked tree.
*But... this is obviously because of my system. It's giving me a massive advantage. Just like James said, not a lot of them can do what I do. Plus, my stats are already way higher than they're supposed to be because of the achievements. They're definitely playing the biggest role in making me level up so fast. If I didn't have those extra points, this would be so much harder. Because the points keep stacking, my raw strength and speed are completely out of proportion. That's why I'm capable of killing monsters with levels way higher than mine.*
A sudden idea surfaced in his mind.
"I have to actually calculate what level I should be for each stat," he muttered, his brow furrowing in deep thought. "Each of my stats goes up by two with every level, and I know the exact number I started with on each one. I can use that to calculate the exact level I should be for every single attribute."
The heavy weight of that realization immediately drained his motivation. His shoulders slumped at the sheer mental effort those calculations would require.
*I'm so bad at math, though. Will I even find the right answer?*
He let out a heavy breath and rounded a large bush, following his trail of marked trees.
*I'll just try it.*
The steady, rolling rush of the river suddenly drifted through the foliage, hitting his ears.
*I'm close,* he thought, blinking in genuine surprise. The dense forest had blurred past him while he was completely lost in his own head; he hadn't realized exactly how much ground he had already covered.
A sudden, sharp flicker of movement caught the extreme corner of his eye.
He froze instantly, his boots locking completely still against the dirt. He snapped his head aggressively to the left, his eyes stretching wide.
Standing perfectly still among the greenery, staring directly at him, was the colorful pixel bird. Its vibrant feathers were already completely fanned open.
"No," he muttered. He twisted his body fully around, the heavy silver spear instantly materializing into his grip. He clamped his teeth together, pulling his arm back to throw.
Suddenly, all strength drained from his fingers. His hand went entirely limp. The heavy spear slipped from his grasp, striking the dirt with a sharp, metallic ring.
The reflection in Tyler's wide eyes rapidly shifted—purple, to blue, to orange, to yellow. The Pixel's fanned feathers were cycling through a vibrant, rapid kaleidoscope of rainbow colors. Tyler was completely hypnotized. He stared blankly, his feet dragging forward as he began a slow, involuntary walk directly toward the creature.
Inwardly, his mind screamed. He saw the forest, he saw the bird, but his muscles completely refused his commands. It felt as though the creature had physically seized control of his limbs.
*No!* He forcefully tried to command his legs to halt, but the mental effort felt completely useless, like trying to grab smoke. *If I don't stop myself, it's going to kill me. But how?* He scrambled through every possible option, panic flaring in his chest, but nothing seemed viable.
*My skills,* he thought frantically. *Maybe they can help me.*
A sudden, unnatural bulge formed deep within the Pixel's chest. Tyler watched the heavy mass physically push upward, traveling the length of the creature's long, thin neck. He knew exactly what was coming. His heart hammered violently against his ribs.
A red system panel flashed into his vision.[LEVEL 36 PIXEL HAS ACTIVATED SKILL: SONIC PULSE.]
The heavy bulge reached the creature's beak. Its jaws snapped wide.
An explosive, piercing shriek erupted into the air. The sheer physical pressure of the sound wave violently whipped the tree leaves and flattened the grass, blowing Tyler's hair completely back from his face. Yet, his body did not flinch. Searing pain erupted in his head. A deafening ring echoed in his ears, carrying enough concussive force that he felt he should have been knocked completely off balance. Still, his legs continued their slow, zombie-like march toward the creature. Hot blood began to stream slowly from his ears, dripping down his neck.
*I have to stop. Come on, stop moving!* he screamed inwardly, but his body failed to react. It failed to listen. *I can't even blink. I can't do anything.*
With every step he took, the agonizing sound intensified. The skin across his face and arms began to stretch painfully, a bizarre, crawling numbness spreading through his flesh as though his very skin was about to tear apart. The Pixel shrieked continuously, pouring relentless pressure into the air.
He frantically searched through his memory, digging for any skill that could break the hold.
*It's hypnotizing me. I have to find a way.*
An idea suddenly snapped into place. He forcefully activated his new skill. An intense, glowing blue light flooded his eyes, entirely overriding the hypnotic rainbow reflections in his pupils. He immediately regained control of his limbs and slammed his boots into the dirt, halting his march.
The silver spear resting in the grass meters away shimmered with a faint blue light and instantly materialized back into his open hand.
Through his glowing eyes, he could no longer see the shifting, hypnotic colors of the creature's feathers. The dense, vibrating clouds of dark mana in the air completely obscured the visual attack. However, sitting directly in the center of the Pixel's chest was a swirling blue current of energy, heavily mixed with small, dark particles.
He planted his feet and launched the spear forward with absolutely every ounce of his strength. The creature abruptly cut its shriek, but before it could physically react, the silver spearhead tore straight through its chest. The weapon entirely obliterated the bird's energy center, bursting out through the creature's back. The spear carried so much raw velocity that it completely penetrated the thick tree trunk standing directly behind the bird, punching through the wood to drop heavily into the dirt on the opposite side.
Tyler collapsed forward, his palms slamming into the ground to catch his weight. His chest heaved with ragged breaths. His eyes were wide, and the agonizing ringing still echoed loudly in his bleeding ears.
"I almost died," he gasped.
He forced himself to his feet. The exact second he stood straight, the agonizing, piercing sound violently returned. A massive wave of pressure slammed directly into his back. He clamped his hands tightly over his bleeding ears and spun around.
A second Pixel stood in the clearing, its wings completely flared open. The feathers cycled through the hypnotic colors, but protected by his active Mana Sight, Tyler was immune to the trance. He dropped his hands from his ears, enduring the crushing physical pressure of the sound for a split second, and reached out to summon his spear.
Nothing happened.
*It's too far away.*
Instantly adapting, he willed one of his bronze daggers into his grip. He pulled his arm back and hurled the brown blade directly at the shrieking bird. As the dagger cut through the air, the sheer density of the sonic pressure physically pushed against the metal, drastically killing its momentum. The blade slowed just enough for the Pixel to sidestep, letting the bronze weapon fall harmlessly into the grass beside it.
The creature halted its shriek for a fraction of a second, its eyes tracking the fallen blade. When it snapped its gaze back forward, its eyes stretched wide in panic.
Tyler had already closed the gap. Standing just a single step away, he held his hand out. The bronze dagger vanished from the grass and instantly materialized back into his grip. Without breaking his forward momentum, he swung his arm, driving the bronze blade horizontally to cleanly sever the creature's neck.
Thick red blood sprayed across the brush as the decapitated bird collapsed. Tyler dropped heavily to his knees, falling forward onto his chest, gasping for air. He laid there for a brief moment before forcing his trembling arms to push himself back up.
*It appeared so suddenly.* The memory of James explaining that these specific monsters preferred hunting near the river surfaced in his mind.
*I must be in their territory,* he thought, his eyes scanning the tree line. "I should get out of here."
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
A brilliant green glow erupted across his skin for a split second. The crawling numbness in his flesh and the agonizing ringing in his ears completely vanished, replaced by a deep, surging rush of fresh energy. He let out a long exhale, rolling his shoulders.
"Thank God. I thought I was going to have to use the potion."
He walked the necessary distance toward the tree where his spear had landed. He stared through the massive, splintered hole the weapon had punched completely through the solid trunk. His eyebrows shot upward.
*I became incredibly strong, didn't I?*
He reached out. The heavy spear shimmered faintly and disappeared into his inventory. "No normal human should be able to do that," he whispered.
He turned and walked back to the bloody carcasses. "Extract." The sharp beaks and the vibrant feathers dissolved into blue light, transferring securely into his inventory.
He aggressively wiped the dried blood from his neck and face as he resumed his march, significantly increasing his stride. He eventually broke through the tree line and reached the rocky bank of the river. He scanned the opposite shore and the surrounding brush for any signs of movement. Seeing none, he crouched by the rushing water, splashed the cold river against his face, and dug his fingers into his ears to clear out the remaining dried blood. He stood up, hopping across the large stones to the opposite side.
As he walked the perimeter, he passed a short-haired hunter who looked roughly his age, fully clad in solid metal armor. A floating 'Level 40' hovered directly above the stranger's head. The heavy steel plating immediately sparked an idea.
*I need to craft armor as soon as I get back. I can't keep walking around a monster zone completely unprotected.*
Before stepping completely out of the monster zone's deep greenery, he paused and held out his hands. The E+ Crimson Wolf hide materialized into his grip.
He ran his fingers over the material. It was completely dry, and the fur felt incredibly soft and pliable, folding easily like a high-quality blanket. *This isn't bad. If this was big enough, I could actually cover myself in this.* He turned the thick hide over, inspecting the smooth underside.
*Could I just sell them exactly like this?*
The idea was incredibly tempting, but he shook his head, willing the hide back into his inventory, and continued walking until he fully crossed the boundary, leaving the monster zone and re-entering the safety of the base.
As he navigated the dirt paths toward the central tents, he glanced up at the sky. The sun hung low, having moved drastically from its position when he first entered the forest.
*Damn... I had no idea that took up so much time.* He frowned deeply. *I don't think I can go hunting again today. The sun might set while I'm still deep inside.*
*I need to get back. I have to talk to that lady, and maybe, if I'm lucky, she'll let me turn other metals into ingots.*
He noticed several hunters staring openly at him as he passed. A pair of men walked by, and he caught the harsh whisper of one leaning toward the other.
"Why isn't that guy wearing any armor?"
"Yeah. I was wondering the same thing," the second man muttered.
Tyler let out a quiet sigh. *I knew it. That's exactly why they were looking at me weird. All the more reason to craft armor as soon as possible.*
He pushed through the heavy flap of the main tent and walked straight toward the counter.
"Oh," Serena said, her eyes widening in surprise. "You're back already?"
Tyler pulled the hide from his inventory and laid it flat across the wooden counter. "Yeah. I brought back the hide."
"You're pretty fast, aren't you?" she said, running her hand over the soft crimson fur.
"What do you mean? It feels like I was in there for hours."
Serena let out a soft sigh, a deep frown pulling at her brows as she inspected the material. *Again, it's so dry and soft. Almost as if it was already completely cleaned. How is he doing this?*
"How is this possible?" she asked, looking directly up at Tyler.
"What?"
"The hide. How do you get it this way?"
"Oh, that," Tyler said, a tight, nervous smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. *Maybe I should just tell her a fraction of the truth, since she already knows about my storage skill. She won't know I have a system anyway.*
"Because of my skill," he answered simply.
She leaned over the counter, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Are you talking about the spatial skill?"
"Yeah. Whichever hide I store away gets completely cleaned while it's in there."
"But how does it work exactly? Does it use a lot of mana?"
"Yeah..." Tyler lied, holding her gaze. "I can also only store a certain number of things. I can't just infinitely stack things in there."
Serena paused for a moment, absorbing the information. "I still don't completely get it. 'Where' is that, exactly?"
"It's kind of complicated to explain. Just think of it as an invisible bag I carry around. Only, I can put anything inside it up to a limit, and it never gets heavy."
"Huh," she murmured, continuously rubbing the soft fur between her fingers. "I've never met anyone with a skill like yours. I mean, I've only heard about it from other people. It's pretty rare."
"Other people have it?" Tyler asked, his brow raising.
"Yeah, you didn't know?"
"No, not really." He shook his head slowly.
"Well... it is a pretty rare thing to see, so it doesn't get thrown around often." She pulled the hide off the counter, storing it underneath. "I was taken by surprise when I first saw you do that."
"Yeah, but keep it a secret, alright?"
"Oh, don't worry," she said. She opened a small drawer, pulled three silver coins from a heavy leather pouch, and slid them across the counter toward him. She offered a warm smile and whispered, "I won't tell anyone."
Tyler smiled back. "Thanks." He scooped the cold coins into his pocket. He glanced at her once more, meeting her bright emerald eyes.
"Are you taking another quest?" she asked.
"No," Tyler said, shaking his head. "I'm going back for the day. I'll take a quest tomorrow."
"Alright, I'll be here whenever you need one," she said.
"Alright. Bye."
"Bye," she replied, giving him a small, polite wave.
She watched his back as he exited the tent, her smile slowly fading into an expression of deep concern.
*A brand new hunter... With that kind of rare skill... Why didn't he register with a guild? He could die at any moment out there.*
Outside, Tyler walked toward the back of the camp, a genuine smile plastered on his face.
*She's so nice,* he thought. A sudden, excited realization flashed in his mind, and he stopped by the road, waiting for the transport wagons to arrive. *Alright, as soon as I get off this cart, I'm going straight into the ore shop. I'm going to make a lot of money.*
A translucent blue panel suddenly flared to life before his eyes.
QUEST REWARDS: +1 EXTRA POINTS
WEAPON RECIPE:
SILVER BOW: 1 MEDIUM STEEL INGOT + 1 SMALL IRON INGOT
ACCESSORY RECIPE:
SHADOW RING: 5 SHADOW WALKER CLAWS + 1 SMALL BRONZE ORE
ARMOR RECIPE:
IRON HELMET: 1 MEDIUM IRON INGOT
ALCHEMY RECIPE:
SLEEPING PILL: 1 CLOUD MUSHROOM + 2 SLOTH LEAVES + 1 HEXHORN HORN + 50ML WATER