Chapter 113: The Slap
Tyler's eyes locked onto Rebecca's across the tent. *There she is,* he thought, a subtle smirk playing on his lips as he took in her unusual expression of confusion and concern.
"Tyler! Hey," Serena called out from behind the counter, cutting him off before he could even take a step toward the silver-haired archer.
Tyler turned his head toward Serena, offering a brief "Hi" as he altered his direction, walking over to the wooden desk instead.
"I heard you were looking for me last night," Serena said, resting her forearms on the counter.
"Uh, well, not really," Tyler admitted, leaning against the wood. "I was just surprised that you weren't here. But the other guy explained that you only work during the day."
"Yeah," Serena nodded. "I don't like working at night. It's boring and gets way too cold."
"That's why you prefer the day shift?"
"Yeah. There's actual work to do," she smiled before her tone shifted. "Also, there's something I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?" Tyler asked, leaning a bit closer across the counter.
"Starting next week, I'm no longer going to be working here," Serena revealed. "I'll be going to your hometown."
Tyler's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "My hometown?"
"Yeah," Serena nodded, watching his face.
Tyler looked perplexed, a clear expression of confusion crossing his features that Serena caught immediately.
"Lyria," she added.
"Oh," Tyler said, nodding as realization hit him. "Right." He let out a small, quiet chuckle.
"Where did you think I was talking about?" Serena asked, tilting her head with a playful smile. "You come from Lyria, right? What's it like there? Like, are the people kind? Is there anything I have to watch out for?"
"Uh, no, not really," Tyler said, shaking his head gently.
*I don't know a damn thing about that place,* he thought to himself.
"That's great to hear," Serena said.
"So you're leaving, huh?" Tyler asked.
"Yeah," she said, her voice dropping a little lower. "I'll be working at a shattered zone. It pays more. Hopefully, it'll help me get my life together."
"Oh," Tyler muttered, his gaze dropping to the wood of the counter. He lifted his head to meet her eyes again. "I'm happy for you."
"Thanks," she smiled, excitement returning to her voice. "I've always wanted to work there, you know."
Serena began talking on and on about the new assignment. As her words continued, some of her explanations faded into the background as Tyler's mind drifted.
*So I won't be able to see her anymore.*
The realization brought a slight dampening to his mood. He didn't know Serena on a deep personal level, at least not compared to James, but he had grown comfortable seeing her face at the base every day. She was easy to talk to.
"So, if you're going, who's going to help the hunters during the day?" Tyler asked, interrupting her rambling.
"There's going to be a replacement," Serena explained. "Some guy named... Eric. I don't know much about him, but starting next week, he'll be working here."
"Huh," Tyler said, his shoulders slumping slightly.
Noticing his reaction, Serena offered a subtle, warm smile that carried a genuine closeness. "But don't worry," she reassured him gently. "I heard he's a nice guy."
"It's not that," Tyler said, looking at her. "It's just that... I've gotten used to seeing you here, you know? Helping me find quests, telling me about things I didn't know about hunting. You helped me out a lot, and you're so easy to talk to. I don't think that guy can replace that."
Tyler's eyebrows shot up at his own blurted words, his cheeks warming as he caught Serena's immediate reaction. A deep crimson flush flared across her cheeks, and her eyes widened in shock.
"I... I'm sure we can see each other once you become a C-rank," she stammered out, her gaze dropping to the wooden counter. "You'll be able to hunt at shattered zones."
Tyler cleared his throat with a quick cough. "Actually, I'm already a C-rank."
"What?" Serena exclaimed, her head snapping up.
Tyler reached inside his tunic, pulling out the metal pendant resting against his chest. The dark letter C engraved on the surface caught the light of the tent.
"Wow," Serena breathed out, staring at the badge in disbelief. "Already?" She lifted her eyes to meet Tyler's face. "That is incredible. I can't believe you're already a C-rank."
"Yeah, I couldn't believe it at first either," Tyler said, tucking the pendant back beneath his tunic.
Serena rested her hand flat against the counter, leaning in slightly. "What level are you?"
Tyler leaned in close, lowering his voice to a quiet whisper. "Don't tell anyone... but I'm level 58 right now."
Serena gasped softly, her eyes going wide.
*58? I thought maybe he would say 50 or 51. He's already gone eight levels up after getting into C-rank! Just what is he hunting in there? This shouldn't be possible.*
Tyler straightened his back once more, leaning away from the counter. Serena smiled up at him, a warm wonder in her eyes.
*He's really something. I wonder where that old man met such a guy. There's no way he's from Lyria.*
"That's amazing," she said aloud.
"Yeah," Tyler acknowledged, a small, breathy laugh escaping his lips, as if he still found his rapid progress hard to wrap his head around.
"Are you here to take on a quest right now?" Serena asked.
"No, not really," Tyler said. He turned his head to look across the tent toward the silver-haired archer. Rebecca sat alone at her table, her head bowed in deep thought. "I'm actually here to meet someone."
"Huh?" Serena muttered, her brow furrowing. "That's the hunter who was looking for you. I didn't tell her who you were because I thought she was part of the guild, but I don't think so anymore."
"I know," Tyler muttered softly. "I have something of hers, and I want to return it."
"What is it?" Serena asked.
"It's a weapon." Tyler leaned across the counter again, lowering his tone. "I actually took it from her last night."
Serena's hand flew over her mouth in sudden shock. "Last night? You forcefully took it from her?"
"What? No," Tyler corrected quickly, shaking his head.
"Oh," Serena said, her shoulders dropping in almost disappointed relief.
"I actually her badly hurt in the forest," Tyler explained. "She looked like she was on the brink of death, so I ended up saving her."
"Really?" Serena asked. She glanced over Tyler's shoulder, spotting Rebecca staring directly at their counter from across the room. Serena turned her eyes back to Tyler, confused. "She looks completely fine."
Tyler smiled. "Did you forget about the potions?"
"Yeah, right," Serena realized, recalling how the liquid had completely healed James's injuries before. "So you came to give her back her weapon?"
Tyler turned to look at Rebecca once more. "Well, I'm not sure about that."
"Huh?"
He turned back to Serena with a sly grin, a mischievous, calculating expression she had never seen on his face before.
"You see, I actually don't get along with her," Tyler confessed, resting his hands on the wood. "I despise her, in fact. She stole something from me and James once. So I think I'm going to return the favor."
Serena blinked in surprise. "She stole something from you?"
"Yeah, it's a long story. Now that I've got her precious weapon, I want to hear what she has to say about it."
*Oh,* Serena thought, watching his mischievous smile. *So Tyler has this side to him as well.*
"All right, let me go have a chat with her and figure out what's going on," Tyler said, pushing off the counter.
"Okay," Serena responded softly.
She stood behind the desk, watching Tyler turn and walk across the floorboards toward Rebecca's table.
*To think he actually reached C-rank. It's just been a few weeks since he started hunting, and he's ranking up so fast. I hope he's going to be okay,* Serena thought, a crease of deep concern twisting her face as he walked away.
Rebecca watched as Tyler turned away from the counter and walked calmly across the room toward her table.
*So it's him. But why does he look so familiar?*
Something about the young man felt strangely recognizable, though she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before. All she knew was that she held a mountain of questions for him.
"Hey," Tyler said, sliding into the seat across the wooden table from her. "Do you remember me?"
"You're the hunter the innkeeper talked about?" she asked.
"Yeah, but—"
"Where's my bow?" Rebecca interrupted, her voice cutting him off before he could finish.
"It's with me. I have it," Tyler answered smoothly.
Rebecca stared at him for a second, her sharp eyes scanning his face. Tyler carried a relaxed, casual expression, though something subtle lingered behind his eyes, an underlying calculation, as if he were holding something back.
"Then where is it? Give it back," she demanded, her expression hardening into a stern glare as she set her palm flat onto the wooden tabletop.
Tyler looked at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. *This bitch isn't even thanking me after I saved her.*
He folded his arms across his chest and let a cold smile touch his lips. "You really don't remember me, do you?"
"Give me the bow," she repeated, every word sharp, clipped, and laced with visible annoyance.
Tyler unfolded his arms, his smile vanishing as his face turned dead serious.
"I saved your life out there," he said. He pushed back from the bench and stood up, towering over the table. "If you want your bow back, you gotta learn how to fucking talk to people."
"What?" she exclaimed, her voice rising in disbelief.
A mocking smile returned to Tyler's face as he leaned slightly forward over the wooden table, resting his palms flat against the grain. "I'm saying unless you apologize, you're not getting your bow back. In fact, I was thinking of selling it for a high price. It has Pherrium, doesn't it?"
Rebecca gasped, her chest freezing as her eyes widened in immediate, sharp shock.
*How does he know that?*
"You stole something from me once, in the forest," Tyler continued, his voice turning cold and measured as he locked his gaze onto hers.
Rebecca frowned, her brows pulling together in genuine, rising confusion. "You're accusing me of stuff I didn't do now?" she asked, anger swelling in her throat as she pushed herself up from the bench.
"Then when you came by the shop, you called me a coward," Tyler said, shifting his weight. "You said I looked like a guy who had been carried his entire life. In short, you called me a burden."
He held her furious gaze without flinching, his posture unyielding. "After all the shit you pulled, I should just be returning the favor."
Rebecca stood frozen across the table, the sudden realization crashing through her mind like a wave breaking against stone.
The scattered memories suddenly aligned. She remembered the young hunter she had robbed in the forest, the weak, fragile, terrified man who had trembled before her. She remembered seeing him again at the workshop, where she had dismissed him without a second thought, assuming he was merely a shop receptionist who had attempted to level up, failed miserably, and given up.
She had wiped him from her mind entirely as someone insignificant.
But staring at him now, the truth settled heavily in her chest. She finally understood why his face had felt so hauntingly familiar. His physical frame had transformed completely, his shoulders were broader, his chest held high, his spine erect, and his entire presence exuded the quiet, formidable aura of a capable man. It was unmistakably him.
The hot anger tightening her face slowly dissolved. Her furious scowl softened, the tension in her jaw melting away until a faint, barely visible smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"So you're that boy who works at the shop," she said softly.
*Boy?* Tyler thought to himself, the single word stinging his pride.
Rebecca took a step, extending her open hand toward him. "Just stop being petty about it and give me back what's mine," she said, her tone demanding.
Tyler felt a surge of rage rise in his chest, but he let out a heavy sigh, forcing the anger down. He stared at her extended palm, his expression turning cold.
"That's it. You're not getting it back," he said. "Honestly, I should have left you there to die."
He turned his back on her, stepping away.
The words struck Rebecca like a blow, her eyes widening in immediate shock as something within her shattered.
"You little—!" she snarled, launching herself forward and driving her fist straight toward the back of his neck.
Tyler's reflexes responded instantly. Turning his shoulders, he flinched to the side, dodging the strike effortlessly. His left arm swept up, striking Rebecca's wrist away to deflect the attack. Instinctively, his right arm whipped around, the flat of his open palm smacking solidly against her cheek.
A sharp crack echoed off the canvas walls of the entire tent.
The force of the impact forced Rebecca's head snapping to the side, her eyes wide and completely baffled as she stood frozen.
Behind the counter, Serena gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth at th
e sudden burst of violence. Tyler stood motionless as well, his eyes wide as he looked at Rebecca, caught off guard by his own sudden reaction.
"Holy shit," he muttered under his breath. *I didn't mean to slap her."