Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero [REMASTERED]

Tyler walked through the marketplace, the evening crowd thinning around him. He slowed his steps as he passed the ore shop on his left, his eyes settling on the heavy double doors.

*Right. I haven't visited this place in a while. I wonder if she sold everything.*

Pivoting on his heel, he headed straight for the entrance and pushed through the heavy wooden doors.

Inside the quiet room, Annie's elbow rested flat against the counter, her chin sinking heavily into her palm. Her eyes hung half-lidded, staring blankly at a dark knot in the ceiling rafters above. At the creak of the door hinges, her gaze dropped to the entrance. Her posture snapped upright, a sudden flush of energy brightening her face as a wide smile broke across her lips.

Tyler approached the counter, planting both hands on his hips. "Hey there," he said, leaning slightly forward over the counter edge.

Annie pulled her hands back, clasping her fingers together atop the wood. "Hey. I haven't seen you in a while," she said, her eyes tracking his face. "I thought you were gone."

"Yeah, I was busy hunting and all," Tyler said, rolling his shoulders back with a small smile. "How have you been?"

She let out a long breath through her nose, her shoulders slumping as she rested her forearm across the counter. "I've been great, but sales seem to have slowed down lately," she said, tracing a circle on the wood with her index finger. "I think it's because the craftsmen already bought so many ingots before these ones."

Tyler's hand fell to his side, his brows knotting into a frown. "They didn't buy anything?"

Annie shook her head, resting her cheek in her open palm again. "No, they did," she said, her voice turning softer. "There's just still a lot left."

"Don't worry," Tyler said, placing a palm flat on the counter and tilting his head. "I'm sure they'll come back once they run out."

Annie straightened her spine, tapping a hand against her chest as her chin lifted. "They will," she said, her chin resting high. "This is the only place they'll find readily processed ingots. They won't go anywhere else."

Tyler exhaled a breath, shifting his weight to his right leg. "Anyway, did you happen to restock on that dead berry powder?"

Her eyebrows shot up, her eyes widening. "Yes, we did," she said, leaning over the counter toward him. "Since so many ingots were selling, we figured we'd restock on that too. It makes it easier for craftsmen to light things up. Did you want to buy some?"

"Yes," Tyler said. "How much was it? You said two silver, right?"

"Yeah, two silver for the small pouch. But there's also a seven silver pouch and a fifteen silver one."

"Fifteen!?"

Annie gestured with both hands, expanding them outward. "It's a much bigger pouch holding a lot more," she said.

*This stuff is really expensive. Must be hard to come by.*

He parted his lips to speak, but Annie cut in before he could draw a breath, waving her hand dismissively. "I can give it to you for free."

Tyler blinked, stepping back half a pace. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah," she said, a warm smile breaking across her face as she ducked beneath the counter. Her voice sounded muffled from below. "I mean, you're my benefactor, after all. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made that much money."

She stood back up, her small hands wrapped awkwardly around a thick leather sack. She set it onto the counter top, the heavy pouch landing with a quiet thud that sent a small puff of dark dust into the air.

"Honestly, even though sales have slowed down now, they're still much better than they were before we started selling those ingots."

Tyler reached out, taking the heavy sack in both hands. "Thank you," he said.

The rough leather rasped against his skin, and the moment his fingers squeezed the material, a floating prompt flared in his sight: [DEAD BERRY POWDER - 850mg].

*850? That's a lot.*

Tyler lifted his gaze to meet her eyes. "How much is this one worth normally?"

"That one is seven silver," Annie said, resting her palms flat on the wooden counter edge.

"And how much is inside the fifteen-silver one?" Tyler asked, setting the pouch back onto the wood.

Annie tapped an index finger against her cheek, tilting her head toward the ceiling as her eyes narrowed in thought. "Um, I think it's one point three kilograms, if I'm not mistaken," she said, looking back at him. "It's new in the market."

"One point three, thats so much," he said, taking the pouch back into his grip. "Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I'll see you later."

Annie's hands dropped to her sides, her shoulders sagging as her smile faded. *He's leaving already?*

"Bye. Don't be a stranger again ok?" she called out, raising a hand in a small wave as Tyler grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.

Tyler stepped back out into the street, walking toward the wagon station. Glancing around at the surrounding crowd to make sure no eyes were tracking him, he slipped the heavy leather pouch under his tunic. With a quiet mental command, he let it disappear into his inventory.

*Nice. With this, I should be able to recharge the weapon whenever I need to use it. I wonder if it would be okay if I sold it. How will people here react to guns?*

He rubbed his chin with his thumb, walking at a steady pace. Opening his mental interface, he brought up the Hand Cannon information window. To his surprise, the listing contained no class requirement line whatsoever.

It functioned like an accessory. A smirk broke across Tyler's face, his posture relaxing.

*Awesome. This means I can sell it to anyone. I might actually just give that woman the weapon instead. After all, I already have a better one.*

Tyler arrived at the wagon lot, his boots coming to a sudden halt on the dry dirt. The clearing stood entirely empty, no wooden carriages, no horses or no drivers.

His shoulders slumped, his head tilting back. *Well, this sucks. Do I just go back?*

He stood stock-still in the middle of the empty lot, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he weighed his options.

*No. The place is far, but I should still be able to make it on foot.*

He turned toward the outer perimeter, his boots kicking up small clouds of red dust as he marched past the guards and out the town gates.

Before him, the massive sun sank low behind the jagged horizon, painting the sky in deep crimson and purple shadows. Dark clouds stretched overhead, and the temperature dropped sharply. He knew that if he sprinted, his speed would outmatch any horse carriage.

As he walked down the deserted dirt road, his eyes fixed on the dust beneath his boots, his mind racing back to the promise he had made to the assassin woman.

*Shit. I told her to come back with ten people, but there's a problem. She's going to bring whatever hunters she can convince. That means she might show up with a fighter, healer or even a mage.*

He ran a hand through his hair, his brow furrowing into a tight frown.

*I don't even have anything that can help all those three. Maybe an archer, but... that's it.*

He let out a heavy sigh that fogged slightly in the cooling air.

*I really, really need to craft more. My crafting is starting to get attention. I need to keep it that way.*

The system panel appeared before him, displaying his inventory. "Craft one GloomCoat," he commanded silently.

The display shifted, showing the prompt: [CRAFTING]. Tyler slowed his pace as the message was replaced by a circular loading bar.

The moment the wheel completed its cycle, he triggered Assimilation to extract the skill.

With a mental pulse, the Gloom Fang Coat materialized around his shoulders, the fabric settling over his tunic. He came to a complete halt, looking down at his sleeves and smoothing the fabric with his palms.

"It still used the same design even though I didn't specify it this time. Nice," he muttered aloud, his voice lost in the quiet evening air.

Summoning an enhancement crystal from his inventory, he pressed it firmly against the fabric over his heart. The crystal fractured into a cloud of blue dust, dissolving instantly into the threads of the coat.

*Great. The Rush skill shouldn't have a negative effect. Let me see how it actually performs.*

He closed his eyes and triggered Rush.

An immediate surge of raw kinetic energy erupted through his nervous system. His thigh muscles tightened, vibrating with tension, begging to spring forward. In the dimming dusk light, his eyes glowed with a faint blue light. He felt no increase in raw lifting strength, but his limbs felt weightless, overflowing with unspent momentum.

Standing stock-still on the dirt road, Tyler flexed his fingers, his body coiled like a steel spring ready to snap forward into the dark.

Tyler took a deep breath, letting air fill his lungs. As he exhaled, his right leg snapped forward, his foot ramming down onto the ground. Digging into the earth with all his strength, he tore up a patch of grass beneath his feet and exploded forward.

The wind rustled his short hair backward. His eyes locked onto the path ahead as the grass beneath him blurred into a single streak of green. His boots tore through the ground, his speed drastically increasing.

*This is incredible. It's almost the same as my own Rush. Even though my strength hasn't increased, the speed has increased drastically.*

As he ran, a shape appeared in the distance, looming closer with every passing second. It approached as fast as a kicked ball. His eyebrows rose as he recognized a carriage. A moment of hesitation touched his mind, wondering if he should slow down or keep running.

He decided to keep going, actually pushing his pace even faster, curious to test his speed on an open path without the trees of the monster zone forcing him to dodge and change trajectory.

Two male hunters sat inside the carriage, and Tyler rocketed past them in a blur just a few feet from their wheels. A sudden gust of wind battered against them, forcing the driver to throw an arm over his eyes to shield them.

"What is that?" the driver yelled in a panic.

Tyler paid them no mind, continuing to increase his speed. His heart hammered violently against his ribs.

The run, the raw energy, it all felt exhilarating. He was free to sprint without the thought of fighting a monster or the fear of dying in the process.

*This is amazing.*

The hunter base appeared ahead, and his eyes widened in surprise.

*Already?*

He realized a sudden problem: stopping at this speed would be difficult. Tyler cut his momentum, thrusting his right leg out in front of his left to skid across the ground. His boots dug deep into the soil, plowing into the earth.

Tyler clenched his teeth, fighting to keep from falling as he skidded for more than twenty meters before coming to a complete stop.

He exhaled a heavy breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His heart continued to thump against his ribs, but he felt no fatigue whatsoever. His energy remained identical to the moment he had activated the skill.

Yet he couldn't keep running. He was right behind the tent. He deactivated the skill, and the sudden surge of energy vanished. His tensed muscles let go, returning to their normal state. He blinked in surprise, standing frozen as he stared at the back of the tent.

He lifted his hands, flipping them back and forth before curling them into tight fists. "Yes!" he chuckled under his breath.

*Nothing happened. Nothing actually happened.*

He lifted his right leg, testing it.

*Nothing hurts.*

Setting his foot back down, he let out a long sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his face.

*This is good. Especially since I'm selling these. It's good to know there is no backlash.*

He began walking around toward the front of the tent.

*Although I should've checked beforehand,* he pondered, before stepping through the entrance.

Tyler stepped into the tent and came to an abrupt halt, his brow furrowing as his eyes settled on the counter. The person standing behind the wood was not Serena. Instead, a young man who looked roughly his age stood in her place, wearing a long-sleeved white tunic with brown trousers, his dark hair falling just below his ears.

Tyler approached the counter, his boots brushing against the floor mats. "Good evening," he said.

"Good evening," the young man replied, looking up from the counter. "Would you like to take a quest?"

"Yeah..." Tyler said, his gaze lingering on the new face.

The young man pulled open a drawer beneath the wood and lifted out a heavy stack of quest flyers. As he laid them across the counter, he caught the lingering concern in Tyler's eyes. "Is something wrong, sir?"

"Uh, no," Tyler said, shaking his head slightly. "It's just that I expected to find someone else here."

Understanding lit up the young man's face. "Oh, right. You mean Serena."

"Yeah, her. Where is she?"

"She doesn't work at night," he explained, resting his hands on the counter. "I take over the night shifts."

Tyler gave a small nod of understanding, his gaze dropping to the stack of paper on the wood. A sudden realization hit him. To accept C-rank quests, he needed his rank officially updated and up to this point, everyone knew him as a D-rank hunter.

He lifted his eyes back to the receptionist. "Sorry, before I take on a quest, I have to deal with something first. I'll be right back."

Before the young man could respond, Tyler turned on his heel and stepped back out into the night air, heading straight toward the registration building.

Tyler pushed through the open double doors of the registration building. Behind the front counter, Sam sat hunched over a sheet of parchment, his hand moving in rhythmic strokes as his quill pen scratched across the surface. At the sound of Tyler's approach, Sam paused, his head snapping up. His eyes widened in immediate recognition.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't notice you there."

"How are you doing?" Tyler greeted, stepping up to the counter.

"I'm doing well. How can I help you?"

"I'm here to update my rank," Tyler said, meeting his eyes.

Sam's eyebrows shot up, a clear look of surprise crossing his face, though he kept his mouth shut. He gave a single nod toward the staircase behind the desk. "All right, follow me."

Tyler rounded the counter, stepping into pace behind Sam as they headed toward the wooden stairs.

Sam led the way up the steps, his mind racing as his boots creaked against the wood. *He came back again so quickly. Is he trying to check if his C-rank? I know he's a fast ranker, but there's no way he's a C-rank.*

Trailing behind him on the dim stairwell, Tyler reached under his coat and gripped his black pendant. The fake necklace dissolved back into a dark orb against his palm. He slipped the orb deep into his Gloom Coat pocket, and his real D-rank necklace materialized around his neck, issuing a faint blue glow that went unnoticed by Sam ahead of him.

They reached the top landing, and Sam raised his knuckles, knocking twice against the heavy wooden door.

"Come in," a familiar, groggy voice called out from inside.

Sam pushed the door open, stepping into the dim office with Tyler right behind him. The old man sat behind his wide desk, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion. On the wood in front of him, a short candle stub burned weakly, its tiny flame flickering as the wax pooled low around the wick.

"Go to the orb so we can measure your rank," the old man mumbled, waving a hand toward the wall.

"Okay," Tyler said, walking straight to the stone orb set into the stone wall.

He raised his hand and pressed his palm flat against the smooth surface of the orb. The stone reacted instantly, and on the display above it, glowing green letters materialized in the dim room:

Class: Assassin

Rank: C

Level: 58

"What?" Sam blurted out, his posture stiffening as he stared at the glowing letters.

"What's wrong?" the old man asked, a genuine note of concern breaking through his tired voice.

Sam blinked, swallowing hard as he tried to calm his expression. "I'm just surprised. It's just that... he's already a C-rank? He was a D-rank a few days ago."

"Really?" The old man shifted his heavy gaze from the screen over to Tyler.

"Sir, do you not remember him?" Sam asked, looking between the two of them.

The old man let out a weary sigh, leaning his back against his chair. "We meet a lot of hunters every day, Sam. It's not unusual that I don't remember one hunter."

He straightened up again, resting his forearms on the desk. "All right, give me your document so I can update your rank."

Tyler pulled his palm away from the stone orb. *So Sam is the only one who remembers me. This is the second time the old man forgot. Is it because he's getting old? Well, I guess it works in my favor. I don't want him suspecting anything.*

Tyler pulled out the chair across from the desk and sat down. Slipping his hand deep into his coat pocket, a small folded document materialized inside from his inventory. He drew it out and laid the paper onto the desk alongside his D-rank necklace.

The old man picked up the D-rank pendant, pulled open a drawer, and dropped it inside. He reached deeper into the compartment, pulled out a fresh C-rank pendant, and laid it onto the wood. Unfolding Tyler's document, he scanned the writing, then folded it back up and placed it in a separate drawer. He pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment, dipped his quill into the inkwell, and began writing.

Tyler turned his head toward Sam, who was staring down at him with a strange, unreadable expression, a mix of surprise, confusion, and lingering concern.

"Your age is still the same, right?" the old man asked without lifting his gaze from the parchment.

Tyler turned back to face the desk and nodded. "Yes."

The old man completed his strokes, setting the quill aside to let the wet ink dry on the paper. He picked up the document and handed it across the desk to Tyler. Tyler took the sheet, folded it twice, and slid it into his coat pocket, He then picked up the new C-rank necklace from the desk.

"All right, you are now a C-rank hunter," the old man said, stretching both arms wide with a heavy yawn. "You can take on higher ranked missions."

"Thank you, sir," Tyler said.

"Sam will see you out."

Sam opened the door, leading the way back out onto the landing and down the staircase.

"How do you keep doing it?" Sam asked, his voice low against the sound of their footfalls on the wooden steps.

"Doing... what?" Tyler asked, looking over at him.

"You know what I'm talking about. How do you keep leveling up so fast? A few days ago you were just a D-rank. Now you're C-rank, level 58. How did you do that?"

As they reached the bottom of the stairs on the first floor, Tyler stopped and looked at Sam, a small, calm smile touching his lips. "It's simple, I'm just not afraid."

Sam's pace slowed to a stop, his eyes locking onto Tyler as he took in the words.

Tyler turned toward the exit. "Anyway, it was good to see you again. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Sam breathed out, standing motionless and speechless in the middle of the room.

*Is he saying he's not afraid of the monsters, or is he not afraid to die?*

Meanwhile, Tyler fastened the C-rank necklace around his neck as he stepped back out into the night. He walked back toward the tent, pushing through the entrance to face the young night receptionist once more.

The young man laid the stack of quest flyers across the counter. Tyler stepped up and began going through them, sliding aside every flyer he didn't want, his eyes searching specifically for a C-rank quest.

Tyler drew a slow breath, his eyes stopping on an unfamiliar quest flyer. "Dracos?" he read under his breath.

The flyer requested five Draco skins, offering a reward of fifteen silver coins.

"What is a Draco?" Tyler muttered.

The young receptionist caught the question, an eyebrow lifting in mild surprise. "You don't know what a Draco is?"

Tyler looked up, caught off guard that the man had heard him. "Yes," he admitted, hesitation catching in his voice.

"A Draco is a lizard monster," the young man explained, leaning his forearms on the counter. "It's pretty big and pretty hard to kill. You didn't know about it?"

"No. Is it in this monster zone?" Tyler asked, scanning the flyer again.

"Yeah," the young man responded. "I'm surprised you don't know about it, but it kind of makes sense."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, the Draco has camouflage, so it can make itself slightly invisible," he said, tapping a finger against the wood. "You might only notice it until it starts moving, like a displacement in the air, since it copies its color to match its surroundings. Kind of like a chameleon, except a little bit better and smarter."

"Oh," Tyler said, picturing the creature in his mind.

The young man continued, "Also... they spit this very green, sticky goo. Be careful, because you don't want to get hit by it."

"Is it poisonous?" Tyler asked, resting a hand on the counter edge.

"No, but it's really sticky, and it hardens in an instant. They might aim at your legs to try to trap you to the ground with it. Also, it's quite flammable, so don't use any flame-based skills or weapons on the goo once it's on you. Except for the Dracos themselves. They're pretty weak when it comes to fire, since they're kind of flammable themselves."

"They're flammable, huh?" Tyler said, nodding slowly. "Thank you. I think I'll take it."

The receptionist blinked. "What? But it's the dead of night. You won't be able to see anything, and I just told you they have camouflage."

"Don't worry. I'll probably complete it tomorrow," Tyler said.

"Okay," the man said, shrugging his shoulders. He handed Tyler a quill pen.

Tyler signed his signature at the bottom and laid the quill down. Leaving the tent behind, he walked straight toward the monster zone, passing a few hunters strolling through the base.

Ahead, the dark canopy of the forest loomed like a wall. As he drew near, his heart began to thump harder against his ribs, and the small hairs on his arms stood on end.

He remembered telling Sam earlier that he wasn't afraid.

*Yeah, right.*

This was the first time he had deliberately entered the forest at night. He had never imagined he would do something so reckless, especially after his past experience in these woods.

He stepped beneath the trees, letting the monster zone swallow him whole. The darkness deepened immediately, the pale moonlight filtered out by the dense, shadow-heavy canopy above.

*Was it this dark?* Tyler murmured to himself, picking up his pace.

He walked on, his boots crunching against the damp forest floor until he crossed the river. He kept walking, putting distance behind him until he arrived at a wide clearing. He came to a halt and looked around.

*Hmm. How come I haven't run into any monsters yet? I thought I'd run into slimes at least.*

Shrugging off the thought, he kept moving. He remained cautious, though not nearly as tense as when he had first arrived in this world. After all, he possessed genuine confidence in his strength now, he had defeated an entire boss monster by himself. He couldn't imagine a regular creature in this zone taking him down.

*Should I try to activate Mana Sight?*

Before he could trigger the skill, an odd sound echoed further ahead, slightly off to his right.

*What is that?*

It didn't sound like any monster he knew, but it didn't sound human either. The noise drifted from further in the woods.

*Is it a new monster I don't know about? Maybe it's those lizards that guy talked about.*

He hesitated, weighing whether to investigate. Going toward an unknown noise in the dark was a terrible idea, media back in his old world had taught him how foolish that choice usually turned out to be. Yet he pushed himself forward anyway. To him, every creature meant more XP and more crafting materials. He needed every monster he could find.

Tyler exploded forward, sprinting through the dark toward the sound. But as he ran, the noise abruptly faded, vanishing as if it had never existed.

He skidded to a halt, his boots plowing through the dirt. "What happened? Did the monster get away?" he muttered.

Suddenly, he gasped, snapping his head to the right as a sharp scream pierced the darkness.

It was a feminine voice, short, raspy, husky, and dry, pleading for help. It carried an undeniable human panic, leaving no doubt that a person was in danger.