Chapter 53: Bash
The dark hours dragged on as Tyler twisted under the heavy sheets. He shifted his weight continuously, the fabric tangling around his legs. His body remained completely alert. A strange, flat equilibrium settled into his muscles, lacking any immediate urge to move, yet entirely stripped of the heavy pull of exhaustion.
He could not rest. A tight, physical knot of anxiety formed in his chest. He slowly turned from his side, settling flat onto his back, and opened his eyes, staring blankly at the dark ceiling.
*I can't sleep,* he thought. *I don't feel even slightly tired at all.*
He threw the blanket off, swung his legs over the edge, and sat up. He planted his feet on the floor and gripped the edge of the mattress, squeezing the fabric tightly with both palms. A long, heavy sigh escaped his lips. The realization weighed heavily on him: the more his level climbed, the more his body refused to shut down.
*This is concerning. Is this going to get worse the more I level up? What if I become a C-Rank?* He dragged his palms down his face, pressing his fingers firmly against his eyelids in pure frustration. *But it seems like James sleeps just fine. Why is it getting so hard for me? Is it because I kept adding stat points into stamina?*
He let out another deep exhale. Mentally, he commanded the system to appear. The translucent blue panel materialized instantly in the dark room, casting a faint light across his face.
SPECIES: HUMAN
NAME: TYLER EVANS
RANK: D
LVL: 32
CLASS: CRAFTSMAN
HP: 154/154 MP: 142/142
STR: 144 AGI: 144
DEF: 134 STM: 125
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
"One hundred and twenty-five," he muttered, his eyes locking onto his stamina points. *That's a lot compared to when I started. Now that I think about it, I wanted to calculate what level I'm supposed to be for each stat.*
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and rubbed his chin. *I remember my defense was at 7 while my stamina was at 11, and leveling up increased the points by two, so...*
He paused, staring hard at the glowing numbers. He scratched his head, his brow pulling down in deep frustration. "Ah, how do you even calculate this thing? Okay, do I just... I'll just add by two every time to see what the stat should be when I reach level thirty-two."
He began to run the raw calculations in his head, his lips moving silently as he tracked the count. His eyes slowly widened. He forcefully shook his head.
"Okay, maybe I have this wrong."
He started all over again. He carefully recounted the sequence, manually calculating the base growth for his stamina and his defense from level one all the way up.
"Oh, this isn't making any sense," he whispered, pressing the heel of his hand hard against his forehead. "I must be doing this all wrong."
He slumped backward, letting his spine hit the mattress. The glowing panel hovered perfectly still, never leaving his line of sight. He laid there in the quiet room for a long moment.
*But it's actually 'making' sense...*
Tyler immediately sat bolt upright, his brow pulling down into a deep, heavy frown.
"If I'm correct," he muttered to the empty room, "with one hundred and twenty-five points in stamina, I should be a Level 58. My stamina alone is in C-Rank."
He stared hard at the glowing text, his eyes dropping to the next line. "My defense stat is higher. I should be a Level 64 with that, or maybe a Level 65."
He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly completely dry. *That's a lot. It just means I have enough defense to surpass James."*
The memory of their training spar flashed vividly in his mind, the heavy, crushing impact of James's strikes, and the sheer, helpless sensation of being absolutely overpowered and thrown to the dirt. Tyler forcefully shook his head, rejecting the thought. "No, it can't be."
He paused, his jaw tightening. *I was a lot weaker back then. I was an F-Rank, and I received so many achievements. Every time I reach another rank, I gain a lot of stats.*
He shook his head again, squeezing his eyes shut for a second to clear his mind. *Let's not think about it. Let's focus on the stats right now.*
He opened his eyes, shifting his focus to the strength and agility attributes glowing on the blue panel. He started the mental math once more, tracking the base growth of two points per level.
*My strength stat should put me at 68, while my agility stat should put me at 70.*
"Seventy?" he whispered aloud, genuine disbelief coloring his tone. "But that's insane. Isn't that B-Rank?"
He sat in absolute silence for a long moment, processing the sheer scale of the numbers. Finally, he shook his head. "No, James said B-Rank starts at Level 80. But still, that's a lot. I know I'm fast, but..."
His thoughts drifted back to the thick brush of the monster zone. The violent encounters replayed in his mind. He remembered how easily he had been defeating the creatures. He remembered how entirely slow and sluggish the monsters had appeared to his eyes. He pictured the exact feeling of thrusting his silver spear forward, bracing his muscles and fully expecting the creatures to dodge, only for the metal to sink effortlessly into their flesh, landing a direct, unavoidable hit every single time.
A long, heavy sigh escaped his lungs, his tense shoulders finally dropping.
*It's all kind of making sense now. This achievement thing gives me a much more massive advantage than I initially thought.*
"Maybe with this, I can actually take on a boss monster."
He leaned back, sliding his palms flat across the mattress to support his weight. The glowing system panel dissolved into the dark room. He stared blankly up at the ceiling as a long stretch of quiet time passed.
He let out a heavy exhale. *No matter how long I wait, I can't even sleep.* He dragged both of his hands firmly down his face, rubbing the skin over his cheeks. "I might as well do something."
He summoned his inventory panel. The translucent grid appeared, and he started scrolling through the small, floating icons of his gathered items.
"Oh, right. The potion," he said.
He opened his hand. The glass vial immediately materialized into his grip. The thick liquid inside emitted a very faint, pulsing peach-colored glow, casting a soft light over his fingers.
*The system said if I drink this, it gives me thirty percent of my HP. But what happens if I drink this while my HP is full? Would nothing happen?* He stared at the glowing fluid, turning the glass slowly as he weighed the mechanical possibilities.
He offered a slight shrug in the dark. *Well... the alchemy skill did say I should experiment. Plus, I killed a lot of slimes back then. I can always make more vials and more potions.*
He pressed the cold rim of the glass against his lips, tilted his head back, and downed the thick liquid in a single, continuous gulp.
He smacked his lips, genuinely caught off guard by the lingering flavor after he swallowed. *That's weird. It kind of tastes like strawberry.*
Suddenly, his skin flared with a faint green light. The glow lasted for a fraction of a second before vanishing completely, leaving the room dark as if it had never been there.
*Whoa,* Tyler thought, blinking away the sudden brightness. He raised his hand, inspecting his skin. "Nothing happened. I still feel... Ooh..."
A sudden, intense rush of heat pooled directly in his lower half. He let out a sharp breath, his gaze dropping straight down to his trousers as a sudden, unmistakable physical tightness formed against the fabric.
"What the hell?"
A small system panel abruptly chimed into existence right in front of his face:
[+2 HP]
[+1% VIRILITY]
*So my HP increased by two, plus Virility?* he thought, his brow pulling down into a deep frown. *So that's why...*
He let out a low, awkward sigh. *I mean, it's great that I also got HP, but virility just helps with sex drive. I definitely didn't expect this.*
He shifted his hips awkwardly, trying to find a slightly more comfortable angle on the mattress. *This is weird. Do I just wait this out? Let me just think about something else. It will go away.*
He forcefully redirected his focus. *The important thing is, if I drink the potion while my HP is full, I get plus two stat points.* "Let me check it out."
He summoned his main system panel, scanning down the familiar lines of text. His eyes locked onto the numbers, his health had truly risen by two.
HP: 156/156
*Nice. So if I drink a lot of these right now, my HP will keep permanently increasing by two.* He paused, his gaze drifting back down to his lap for a split second before snapping rigidly forward. *I'll do it later. I need to check something else.*
He pulled the inventory panel back into view, navigating to the crafting tabs. *I have so many recipes that I haven't covered yet. I can't do most of them because i dont have materials, but I'm pretty sure I saw some with ingredients that I already have.*
"Wait," he said, straightening his posture. "I think I already crafted something."
He held out his open palm. A faint light shimmered in the dark room, condensing until the thick, rough weight of two leather gloves dropped into his hand.
*Yeah, right. I crafted these while I was in the monster zone with James. I totally forgot about them,* he thought.
With a quick mental command, the leather vanished from his palms and instantly materialized around his hands, wrapping snugly over his fingers and knuckles. As soon as he equipped them, a small, floating status bar appeared directly beside the leather:
[DEF +5]
[AGI +3]
"Hmm. Not bad. It increases my agility by three points and my defense by five." He frowned, falling deep into thought. *Now that I think about it, because equipped items increase my stat points, they also have a massive impact on what level each stat actually behaves like.*
The gloves vanished, securely unequipped and stored back into his inventory.
*Did they have a skill?* He shook his head. *Nah, I doubt it. If they had a skill, Assimilation would've caught it by now. The only skill that I drew ever since I got Assimilation was Seven Strikes. This might mean that skills are pretty hard to come by, or maybe I'm just not crafting enough.*
"System, craft Hypno Ring."
The blue panel flashed instantly before him:
[CRAFTING SUCCESSFUL.]
He opened his hand. A small, circular glow shimmered over his skin, solidifying into cold metal. It was a thin ring, its smooth band heavily inlaid with vibrant blue, green, yellow, and red colors, shifting across the surface in the distinct pattern of a rainbow.
"Oh... Looks colorful," he murmured. "I wonder what it does."
The second the words left his mouth, a small prompt expanded beside the metal band: [HYPNO RING. ANY USER EQUIPPED WITH THIS ITEM WILL NOT BE AFFECTED BY ANY HYPNOTIZING SKILL INCLUDING THE PIXEL'S]
"Wow! So whoever wears this ring doesn't get affected by the skill?"
The terrifying memory of the forest encounter instantly flooded his mind, the mesmerizing shift of colors, the complete paralysis of his own limbs, and how painfully close he had actually come to dying from the crushing sonic pulse.
"Damn," he muttered. He rubbed his palm hard against his forehead, a flush of deep embarrassment heating his face in the dark. *If I had crafted this sooner, that wouldn't have happened. I had all the ingredients the entire time.* He let out a heavy sigh. *Yeah, I should definitely craft as soon as possible whenever I have the ingredients.*
He stared down at the small accessory. *It's a pretty thin ring. It must use very small amounts of bronze. And if I remember correctly, it only needs ten feathers. I have thousands of them in there.*
"System, craft ten Hypno Rings."
The system panel shifted:[CRAFTING]. A loading bar appeared beneath the text, steadily filling across the screen.
*Maybe I can sell these at Hector's. I mean, this isn't a skill, right? It's like a passive effect, so... this should work on other people. At least I hope so.*
The blue system panel abruptly flared, pushing a new line of text directly into his line of sight:
[ACCESSORIES THAT DO NOT HAVE CLASSES CAN BE EQUIPPED BY ANY USER. ONCE EQUIPPED, THE EFFECT WILL ACTIVATE.]
"Nice," Tyler said, his eyebrows shooting upward. He genuinely had not expected the interface to answer his internal thoughts. He paused, a deep frown quickly replacing his surprise. "Huh..."
He spoke out loud, directly testing the system. "What about skills? Does a person need to have the same class as an item to actually use its skill?"
[CORRECT.] The system replied instantly.
Tyler froze, total confusion washing over him. *But... why didn't it work for James? He said his class was a Knight.*
He held out his left hand, summoning the heavy silver spear from his inventory. He stared down at the polished metal shaft. Driven by his sudden curiosity, a small informational bar popped into existence hovering right beside the weapon:
[CLASS: KNIGHT]
His confusion only deepened. *This doesn't make any sense, though. Maybe he had to do something specific to activate it?*
He shook his head slowly. *No. The system just said the skill is usable as soon as the person equips the item.*
He sat completely still on the edge of the bed, racking his brain for any other logical reason why the Seven Strikes skill had failed James. Absolutely nothing came to mind. He let out a long, frustrated sigh.
The silver spear dissolved back into his inventory, taking the colorful ring resting in his palm along with it. The loading bar on the system panel finally maxed out and flashed: [CRAFTING SUCCESSFUL.]
He pulled open his inventory grid. In one of the small slots, bold text hovered over a colorful icon: HYPNO RING x11.
*Great, this will do for now. I don't know exactly how I'll sell them yet, but I'll figure that out. Right now, I just have to see what else needs crafting.*
He navigated to his crafting menu, scanning through the long list of recipes. He systematically scrolled past the grayed-out options, looking specifically for items matching his current stash of raw materials. His eyes stopped on the Steel Bow.
*Right. I definitely have the ingredients for this.*
"System, craft Steel Bow."
The system instantly processed the common-grade item. The moment the prompt confirmed success, Tyler extended both his hands. A bright light shimmered directly above his skin. As the glow faded, the heavy, dense weight of a solid steel bow settled firmly across his open palms.
The solid steel of the bow caught the pale moonlight filtering through the window, giving off a sharp, pristine gleam in the dark room. The entire weapon was perfectly smooth and highly polished. It held a thick, metallic string that reflected the faint light with a cold, unyielding edge.
*Whoa,* Tyler breathed out, his eyes locked on the craftsmanship. *This looks great.*
He gripped the center of the bow and hooked his fingers around the metal cord, pulling it steadily back. The intense tension bit into his fingers. The raw resistance felt significantly heavier and much stronger than the string on his wooden bow.
A familiar translucent panel suddenly flared into existence right before his eyes. [ASSIMILATION HAS DETECTED ENOUGH MANA ENGRAMS TO DRAW OUT A SKILL. WOULD YOU LIKE TO DRAW A SKILL?]
Tyler's eyes widened, a massive, eager grin instantly spreading across his face.
"A skill? Of course."
He tightened his grip on the steel and forcefully channeled his energy into the weapon. A faint hum vibrated through the metal into his palms.
*I wonder what skill it's going to be.*
[ASSIMILATION SUCCESSFUL.][SKILL FLASHING ARROW: IF AN ARROW IS SHOT WHILE THE SKILL IS ACTIVATED, THE ARROW WILL EXPLODE IN A BRIGHT, BLINDING FLASH. THIS SKILL CAN BE USED TO BLIND ENEMY TARGETS OR DRAW MONSTERS. IT HAS A 20% CHANCE TO CAUSE PERMANENT BLINDNESS. THIS WILL, HOWEVER, HAVE ZERO EFFECT ON THE USER - MC: 10]
The wide grin slipped from his face, a brief wave of disappointment dropping his shoulders. He let out a slow breath as he read through the text a second time. The disappointment faded, replaced by a deep, calculating focus. It wasn't the high-damage offensive skill he had expected, but the sheer utility of it clicked in his mind.
*Well, I can at least use this to instantly blind my enemies and draw monsters toward me.*
Driven by his growing curiosity, he focused on the weapon's raw power. A small system bar materialized right beside the silver metal:
[ATK: 45]
[ARROW ATK: 45 - 89]
"Huh..." Tyler said, tilting his head. "Forty-five. That's actually higher than the wooden bow."
A small, amused smile touched his lips.
*Kind of funny how it shows the attack for the bow itself, and then the arrow. I don't think I would ever hit a monster directly with the bow itself, though.*
"Hmm," he mumbled, his eyes shifting down to the second line of text. *The arrow's attack is much higher than that of the wooden bow as well. It's actually higher than the hand cannon. Is it because of the metal string?*
He turned the bow over in his hands, admiring the sleek, polished design one last time. The heavy steel shimmered with a faint blue light and completely dissolved, transferring securely into his inventory.
"Alright, what's next?" he breathed out.
He summoned the crafting menu and began scrolling rapidly through the list of recipes. His eyes stopped dead on the 'Bashing Hammer' entry.
*Of course. I actually fought a lot of slimes back there. I should definitely have enough slime cores and iron ingots to craft this thing.*
He issued the mental command. The system interface shifted instantly, initiating the crafting process.
He watched the glowing loading bar push across the screen at a rapid pace. *It's so fast. Must be a basic weapon.*
He held both of his palms out flat. A bright light shimmered fiercely over his skin. A second later, a massive, dense weight dropped violently onto his hands, physically pulling his arms down. His fingers wrapped around a very long, thick metal shaft leading up to a massive, rectangular steel hammerhead.
*Whoa... it's a little heavy. I think it has the exact same weight as the blunt mace.*
He adjusted his grip, staring at the sheer size of the weapon. The silver metal caught the moonlight, casting a heavy, intimidating shadow over the bed.
*I kind of like this design, though.*
He pushed himself up, standing firmly on the floor. Gripping the long shaft with both hands, he hefted the massive weight upward, raising the rectangular hammerhead all the way toward the dark ceiling. The muscles in his forearms flexed against the strain.
*I'll definitely do a lot of damage with this.*
He slowly lowered the weapon, sliding his right hand all the way up the smooth metal shaft until his fingers gripped the thick neck directly under the heavy hammerhead.
A small system bar immediately popped up beside the steel:
[ATK: 60]
His eyebrows rose. *I thought the base attack would be higher. But then again, it's just a basic weapon.*
Suddenly, the main system panel flashed blue in front of him: [ASSIMILATION HAS DETECTED ENOUGH MANA ENGRAMS]
"Really?" he breathed, his heart skipping a beat.
He didn't hesitate. He poured his mana directly into the cold steel of the hammer. The heavy metal vibrated sharply against his palms.
[ASSIMILATION SUCCESSFUL.][SKILL BASH: ONCE ACTIVATED, THE USER'S ATTACK WILL INCREASE BY 60%. MC-30]
Tyler's eyes stretched entirely wide.
*Wait, isn't this a slime's skill?*
He stared intensely at the thick hammerhead, rapidly tracing the logic back to the required crafting materials. The raw slime cores.
"I can draw monster skills too?" he whispered into the dark room.