Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero [REMASTERED]

"Oh, Tyler," Lisa said. Her steps halted, a look of mild surprise crossing her features.

"Hi," Tyler replied. His voice came out low, carrying a tight, nervous edge.

"So you're the one who was at the door?"

"It was," Tyler responded.

"Lisa, please sit down," James said. His tone carried a heavy, serious weight.

Lisa paused. She studied James's expression for a long second before shifting her focus back to Tyler. She closed the distance to the wooden table and took a seat, adjusting Heather securely in her lap. The little girl's eyes remained completely locked onto Tyler. He met the child's gaze for a fraction of a second before quickly dropping his focus, actively avoiding her stare by looking directly at James.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?" Lisa asked, her brow pulling together in genuine concern.

"Tyler," James said, nodding toward him, passing the floor.

Tyler let out a long, heavy exhale. "Lisa... I don't know if you'll ever forgive me for all the trouble I've caused you. But I want you to know that I am deeply sorry for what I've done. I'd like to repay all of you for taking care of me."

Lisa's frown deepened, a clear line of confusion forming on her face as she tried to decipher his exact meaning.

"Tyler here has brought some money to repay the debt he owes us," James clarified.

"Yes," Tyler added quickly. "All the money you used to feed me. To heal me. Even the transport fares. All that money is in that bag. Plus a thank you. It's... gratitude."

James slid the leather pouch across the rough wood toward Lisa. She reached out, pulling the string open. Her frown instantly vanished, her eyes stretching completely wide. The two massive, pristine gold coins rested heavily at the bottom of the bag.

"Two gold?" she breathed out, genuine shock bleeding into her words. "That is a lot of money."

"It's nothing compared to what you've done for me," Tyler said. His voice cracked, coming out significantly louder and sharper than he intended.

He flinched, realizing both adults and the child were now staring directly at him. He dropped his gaze back to the grain of the wooden table. "I almost died out there."

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be alive today. Because of my recklessness, it almost happened twice. Just imagining what you had to go through to save me... It just..."

"It's alright," James interrupted gently. "We're just glad you're alright."

"Yes. What matters is that you're fine," Lisa added. She let out a soft sigh, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Honestly... when I heard what happened while I was gone, I was furious. Especially knowing that you hurt our daughter, even if it wasn't intentional."

"I'm sorry," Tyler whispered. He kept his eyes locked on the table in deep shame. His posture grew completely rigid, his shoulders hunching inward as if he were physically shrinking from the heavy embarrassment.

"We know you didn't mean for this to happen," Lisa continued softly. "I forgive you."

Tyler snapped his head up, staring at Lisa. A massive wave of tension instantly drained from his muscles. His eyes widened. "Thank you," he breathed out.

"You forgive him too, right, Heather?" Lisa said. She placed both hands gently on her daughter's back, nudging the little girl slightly forward toward the edge of the table.

Tyler reacted instantly. He shoved his hand into his pocket. In the hidden space, five solid sugar crystals materialized from his inventory. He pulled his closed fist out and held it over the wood.

"I got you something," he said softly.

He opened his hand, letting the five rectangular, brown-colored sugar crystals rest gently on the table.

Heather drew in a sharp, sudden breath. "Sugar!" she cheered happily.

She reached out without hesitation, snatching one of the crystals from the wood and immediately biting into it. A bright, genuine smile stretched across her face.

Tyler slowly reached forward. He pinched a second crystal between his fingers and held it out directly to her.

Heather froze. Her chewing slowed. With a chunk of the sweet crystal still in her mouth, she stared at his extended hand. Slowly, cautiously, she stretched her small fingers forward and plucked the second piece of sugar directly from his grip.

Lisa let out a soft, relieved chuckle. "I think that answered it."

James leaned back in his chair, a warm, complete smile forming on his face as he watched them.

"But Tyler, how did you get this much money?" Lisa asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as a growing concern tightened her features.

Tyler paused, his jaw setting. *What do I say to her?*

He quickly cleared his throat. "I was helping out at the ore shop," he said aloud, keeping his voice perfectly level. "I made ingots for them."

Lisa drew in a sharp breath, her posture straightening. "Wait, so you're the one who's turning those ores into ingots?"

"Yeah," Tyler said.

"Wow," she breathed out, slowly shaking her head. "I've heard about it. I heard they sold them, but I didn't even think it was true. It's such a long process to do that."

"Yeah, but I figured out a secret way to make things a little faster," Tyler said, weaving the excuse carefully. "I used it to my advantage. I asked the lady at the shop to let me show her, and after that, they actually hired me."

James leaned forward, a heavy frown pulling his brow down. "Yeah, but how many did you make to get this much?"

"I made about a hundred," Tyler said.

"A hundred?" Lisa and James blurted out in perfect unison.

"Yeah." Tyler's heart slammed violently against his ribs. He forced his breathing to remain steady, completely hiding the spike of panic. "I didn't do it in one day, though. I started doing it even before I started training. I told them to just pay me after I was done making the hundred. They paid me all the money at once today."

Lisa nodded, the tense lines on her face smoothing out into understanding. "Oh. That must have been a lot of work."

"It was," Tyler lied smoothly. "I'm just happy that it paid off."

He pushed his weight up, rising from the table. The heavy wooden legs of his chair creaked loudly as they scraped backward across the floor.

"You're leaving?" Lisa asked, looking up.

"Yeah, I just wanted to come by and say thank you for everything."

"You could at least stay for dinner," she offered.

"Yeah," James added, resting his thick forearms on the table. "Have you eaten?"

"Well..." Tyler trailed off. A sudden realization washed over him. He scoured his memory and realized he hadn't consumed a single piece of food the entire day. Yet, his stomach felt completely settled, resting in a strange, unnatural equilibrium. He felt entirely energized.

"You haven't eaten, have you?" James said, patting the air downward in a gesture for him to stay. "Come on, sit down."

Lisa pushed her chair back and stood up. As Tyler slowly lowered his weight back into his seat, she said, "Let me get it ready."

She stepped away, heading straight into the kitchen, leaving Heather sitting comfortably on the chair beside james, happily crunching loudly on the sugar crystals.

James tracked his wife's movement until she was completely out of earshot. He instantly snapped his gaze back to Tyler and leaned far over the table, dropping his voice to a rough, low whisper.

"Tell me the truth. How did you get it?"

Tyler leaned in to meet him halfway across the wood. "It's because of the system," he whispered back. "I found out that I could actually turn iron ores into ingots directly through my inventory."

James's eyes stretched wide in genuine shock. "Is it some kind of skill?"

"No." Tyler shook his head slowly. "It's just one of the basic functions."

James paused, staring hard at the younger man. He slowly leaned back in his chair, a quiet exhale escaping his nose as he processed the sheer magnitude of that advantage.

"Kid, things never stay the same with you, do they?" James murmured.

"Huh?" Tyler asked.

"It's always something new every day," James said, a warm, genuine smile cracking across his face. "You never fail to surprise me."

"Honestly, I was just as surprised as you are," Tyler whispered back, keeping his voice low so it wouldn't carry into the kitchen. "I sort of figured it out when I took some metal scraps that Hector had discarded. When I put them in my inventory and took them back out, I saw that the system had turned them into pure ingots. So, I wondered if it would do the exact same thing to raw ores. When it did, that's when I got the idea."

"That's smart," James said, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. "But how did Hector take all this? I assume he must have been surprised."

"He doesn't know about it yet," Tyler said, dropping his gaze back to the wooden table.

James studied him for a second. "You didn't want him to know to protect the system."

"Yes. Exactly," Tyler nodded.

"Right," James said, leaning back slightly. "Now that they're just selling pure ingots, the price... they must have raised the price, right?"

"Yeah," Tyler said. "They actually doubled them."

"Double?" James said, his eyes widening in genuine surprise. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"I said the same thing, but the lady at the shop said both craftsmen were okay with it."

"Hmm," James mumbled. He rubbed his chin, a low sigh escaping his lips. "Damn."

"What's wrong?" Tyler asked.

"It's just that since the raw material prices are raised now, weapon prices are obviously going to rise too."

"Oh," Tyler breathed, his eyes widening as the economic reality suddenly clicked. "Yeah, you're right. I really didn't put much thought into that. How much does Hector want for repairing your sword?"

"No, he doesn't want anything," James said, waving the concern away. "He's doing it for free. As a favor."

"That's great," Tyler said, a wave of relief washing over him. He paused, tilting his head slightly. "But I wanted to ask you something. Are there only two craftsmen in this town?"

"Yeah," James said. "There's Hector, and then there's the craftsman whose shop is near the church. They call him Old Man Ron. I'm surprised Hector hasn't told you about him yet, since he's famous."

"Famous?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah. He gets way, way more customers than Hector. Well, mainly because of his skill."

"What skill?"

"Well, it's kind of complicated to explain, but let me put it this way," James said, resting his forearms on the table. "When any class reaches C-Rank, they unlock something called an Ultimate Skill. For craftsmen, the skill that Old Man Ron got is a huge deal. It essentially gives him the ability to write runes onto the weapons."

"Runes?" Tyler asked, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

"You don't know about runes?"

"No," Tyler said, shaking his head slowly.

James let out a heavy sigh, searching for the right words. "I don't know how to put this perfectly since I don't really know much about them myself. Okay, let me put it like this. Runes are like these glowing symbols that the craftsman physically carves or places onto the weapon to give it a magical effect. Like, maybe a poison rune. Once he puts that symbol on the steel, your weapon becomes poisonous. Anyone who gets stabbed by the weapon gets infected. Or a heat rune—the weapon will have a burning effect every time someone strikes with it."

"Whoa," Tyler said, completely mesmerized. "That sounds amazing."

"It is," James agreed. "Most of those runes last for about three months before they expire. But he actually controls the expiry date. The longer the active period you want, the more you have to pay."

James leaned his weight onto his elbows. "You see, Hector wanted a skill like that, but he couldn't get it. The Ultimate Skill he unlocked just allows him to give weapons extreme durability and make them razor-sharp. You've most likely seen him use it before."

A vivid memory suddenly flashed in Tyler's mind. He remembered standing in the shop, watching Hector place his thick palm directly over a hunter's weapon. He remembered the metal completely shifting color, turning into a deep, glossy obsidian black.

"Yes, I've seen it," Tyler said. "That's his Ultimate Skill?"

"Yes," James nodded. "The higher the user's level, the stronger the Ultimate Skill becomes. It's not like some of the basic skills we have, where if it lasts for a minute, it stays exactly that way no matter how much you level up. Ultimate Skills actively grow with you. They last longer and become much stronger. They can even evolve to become something entirely different."

Tyler's eyebrows shot up. "Wait. If someone has a passive ability as an Ultimate Skill... could they have an evolved version of that as well?"

"Yeah," James said, a serious glint in his eye. "That would be incredible."

Tyler sat completely still, his mind racing. *If ultimate passives evolve...* A massive web of possibilities spun through his thoughts, entirely fascinating him. James watched the young man's awestruck expression, a warm smile pulling at his own lips.

"Food is ready," Lisa called out.

She walked out of the kitchen, carrying warm bowls of white rice topped with thick, savory stew. The rich, heavy aroma of the meat and broth instantly filled the living room. She set the plates down on the wood with a soft clink, and they all settled in to eat.

Throughout the dinner, Lisa and James went back and forth, casually discussing their impending plans for moving out of the town. Tyler focused on his meal, eating quietly as the warm food settled comfortably in his stomach.

Eventually, Lisa turned her attention across the table. "What about you, Tyler? What are your plans?"

Tyler swallowed his bite of rice and set his spoon down. "I plan to keep working at the ore shop and for Hector," he said, a genuine, determined edge in his voice. "So one day, I can afford to buy my own house."

"That sounds great," Lisa said.

The conversation flowed easily across the table as James and Lisa discussed local house prices, offering Tyler steady advice on how he might eventually afford one. Eventually, the food was finished. Tyler rested at the table for a few moments longer before pushing his chair back and standing up.

"Thanks for the food," Tyler said.

"Your thanks is much appreciated," Lisa responded. She gathered the empty plates and carried them toward the kitchen.

James pushed himself up from the table as well. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah," Tyler responded.

"Alright, let's go. I want to tell you something." James gestured toward the exit.

Tyler walked to the door and turned back. "Bye," he said, raising his hand in a small wave.

"Bye!" Heather waved back, a bright smile completely taking over her small face. The image sent a sudden, deep rush of warmth blooming straight through Tyler's chest.

"Goodbye," Lisa called out from the kitchen, looking back at him.

James and Tyler stepped out into the cool evening air, pulling the heavy wooden door shut behind them. Tyler walked forward, a genuine smile firmly planted on his face.

James glanced sideways, catching the expression. *He seems happy,* James thought. *This is good. I was worried he was going to blame himself for everything.*

The memory of Tyler pushing himself to absolute exhaustion during their training surfaced in James's mind. He knew firsthand how resilient the kid was, and for some reason, James felt a deep, grounding swell of pride at the thought.

"What is it that you wanted to say?" Tyler asked, looking at James as they exited the yard and stepped onto the dirt road.

"Nothing important," James said. "I just wanted to walk you out."

"Oh," Tyler said.

"Well... you're going hunting tomorrow, right?" James asked.

"Yeah," Tyler said, nodding.

"Good. I'll come by tomorrow. You'll wait for me, right?"

"Of course," Tyler said.

James slowed his steps to a halt. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you," Tyler said. He turned and continued his walk down the quiet street.

He walked until he eventually reached the inn. He approached the innkeeper, handed over a single silver coin, and navigated the halls until he entered the exact same room he had slept in the night before.

He turned his back to the mattress and simply let his weight go, collapsing backward onto the bed. He let out a long, heavy exhale.

"I did it," he whispered to the empty ceiling. "I actually got to repay them. And Lisa... she doesn't actually hate me."

The smile returned to his lips, breaking into a quiet, genuine chuckle. The heavy tension that had gripped his shoulders for days completely dissolved. He had physically proven to himself that he wasn't a burden. He had actually repaid them for everything they had done for him.

It was nothing like back then, on Earth, when he had constantly felt like a parasite, just feeding off of other people's kindness to survive. Staring up at the ceiling, he could feel it, his life was fundamentally changing.

And this was just the beginning.