Chronicles Of The Crafting Hero [REMASTERED]

Ben stared at Tyler, his surprise settling into certainty. *I knew it. With how weak this girl is, there's no way she could have taken Gene down alone. He's obviously the one who took Gene down, even if that girl was the one who landed the final blow.*

The metal tip of Ben's arrow heated to an intense red, then burst into flames. The fire licked the air as he released the string, sending the arrow screaming toward Tyler.

Raw energy surged through Tyler's veins, violent and electric, a current he had never felt before. Since receiving the coat, he had only ever used one rush skill at a time. Stacking both at once, seventy-five percent to strength and speed, with another sixty percent layered on top, rewired something inside him.

The world slowed. His brain sharpened. The overwhelming blur of movement that had pressed in on him from all sides finally stilled into something readable.

He had already settled it in his mind: these people were determined to kill him. If he didn't kill them, they would hunt him down, track him, just as Rebecca had said. And with that arrow screaming toward him, he knew there was no reasoning left. He didn't want to kill humans. He didn't want to become a monster. But James had once told him there would come a time when he would have no choice.

With a burst of speed, he exploded toward the arrow, slipping past it by an inch as it grazed the air beside his ear. He went straight for Lucy. Then, mid-stride, something shifted. His teeth clamped together as the cut on his throat, which had been a faint sting, suddenly flared. It felt as though a blade had sliced through him a second time. The pain fractured his focus. Lucy, her daggers still on the ground, drove a kick toward his chest.

Tyler brought his hands up to block. The kick connected, forcing him to stumble backwards. Lucy snatched her daggers from the ground and activated Quick Step, her speed spiking by fifty percent. Naomi charged in behind her, faster still, closing the gap.

Tyler's throat was wet with fresh blood. *Just now, it felt like I've been cut again. What is this?* He raised his dagger to intercept, but the wounds on his chest split deeper, as if some unseen force was peeling the flesh further open. He braced through the pain and caught Lucy's blade with his own. Her second dagger thrust toward his gut. He twisted his torso, letting it pass by a breath. Naomi's sword came down toward his head. He sidestepped, turning his body fully as Lucy's dagger fell away.

Mid-motion, another arrow sped toward him, its tip glowing a faint blue. He brought his dagger up to meet it. The moment blade touched shaft, it burst into a cold mist. Ice crawled over his hand and coiled around his fingers. He groaned through his teeth as the cold bit deep into his skin, gnawing at the nerves beneath.

Naomi launched forward, holding her sword with both hands, raised at her side. Mid-motion, she activated her skill, Black Slash.

Ben watched, certain the strike would kill him. Tyler tried to raise his hand and summon his dagger to block, but the pain from his frozen hand, combined with the wound digging deeper into his body, made the effort feel almost impossible.

But suddenly, between the two of them, a light appeared, materializing into a huge barrel filled with water. Lucy, Ben, and Naomi all looked on in surprise as the strike landed directly on the barrel, causing it to explode into a shower of splinters and water.

The explosion sent water spraying in every direction, creating a thick mist that obscured their vision. Tyler used the moment to escape, dashing into the forest.

"He's escaping!" Lucy shouted as she dashed after him, Naomi following close behind.

Ben activated his skill, Perception, and the world seemed to become slightly clearer before his eyes. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and tried to aim at Tyler, but with the trees rushing past and his comrades running ahead of him, he couldn't get a clear shot.

He clicked his tongue in frustration before turning toward Rebecca, who was clutching herself with trembling hands from the pain. She struggled to sit up, but Ben kicked her in the center of her chest.

Rebecca groaned as her back slammed against the ground.

"So pathetic. Your comrade ran away. He's such a coward. But it doesn't matter. They're going to kill him. He won't get far with all those wounds."

As the words left Ben's mouth, something suddenly clicked in Rebecca's mind.

She remembered losing her palm that night. She had been stabbed. Broken.

Yet she had woken up completely fine that morning.

She had even asked some hunters if there was a healer nearby before going to the tent, but they had all told her there wasn't one. There hadn't been a healer there in weeks.

Everything pointed to Tyler.

For some reason, she was certain that he could do it all over again.

"Why did you do it?" Ben asked, drawing an arrow and pulling back his bow, aiming directly at Rebecca's head.

He stepped on her stomach, increasing the pressure until Rebecca struggled beneath his boot.

"Why did you kill Jean? What do you want with her guild?" he yelled.

Rebecca's hands wrapped around Ben's boot. The exposed skin of her wounded palm burned as it pressed against him, sending another sharp sting through her hand.

"Answer me," he demanded, pressing down harder.

Rebecca said nothing. She only groaned, her eyes filled with deep hatred and defiance.

"Fuck you," Rebecca said.

Anger rose within Ben as he pushed harder against Rebecca's chest. Rebecca gritted her teeth, using every bit of strength she had left to keep his boot from crushing her. Her arms trembled beneath the pressure, and every attempt to push him away only made the pain in her body flare up again.

Meanwhile, Tyler ran through the forest, having just finished drinking a health potion. Another vial materialized in his hand, and he brought it to his mouth without slowing down. He drank as he ran, the bitter liquid rushing down his throat as his body began to respond.

A faint green glow spread across his skin, and the ice encasing his hand cracked before breaking apart completely, pieces of it falling away as the sensation slowly returned to his fingers. The pain that had been gripping him vanished as the wound healed.

He realized Naomi was gaining on him. He couldn't believe her speed. Even after everything that had happened, she was still closing the distance between them, her footsteps growing louder behind him.

The Terra Dagger, which had disappeared into his inventory, materialized in his hand again. Tyler tightened his grip around its handle as he continued running, his eyes staying fixed on the path ahead.

As he ran, the system panel appeared before his eyes.

[Note: Sundering Rune effect has been nullified.]

*Sundering Rune?*

Tyler's expression changed as he looked at the message.

*Is that what's been hurting me?*

The answer came together in his mind. The strange pain that had continued to worsen, the sensation of the wound digging deeper into him every few moments. It suddenly made sense.

He came to a halt, his shoes scraping across the forest ground as loose dirt scattered beneath him.

*That's it. I just have to avoid her blade. I have to finish this quickly.*

His thoughts turned toward Rebecca, and for a moment, he remembered the position he had left her in.

*I left that girl out there alone with that guy.*

He clenched his teeth.

Then he exploded forward.

Every bit of strength in his body surged into his legs, his feet striking the ground with enough force to pulverize the soil beneath them. His eyes glowed a faint blue as the wind shook the trees around him, sending leaves and loose branches swaying in his wake. His muscles coiled with every stride, each stomp digging into the earth and leaving a small trench behind as he pushed himself faster.

Naomi's eyes widened at the sudden shift in his speed. The distance between them began to close quickly.

She activated her skill once more: Black Slash

Her sword swung upward, and a dark vertical slash tore through the air toward Tyler, cutting through the trees in its path as it raced toward him.

Tyler twisted to the side and leapt, rotating vertically in mid-air as the attack passed beside him. The moment his body turned, his arm moved with it, and he threw his dagger with all his strength, a grunt escaping his throat as the weapon left his hand.

The dagger flew past Naomi's face, close enough for her to feel the movement of air against her skin. The blade grazed her cheek, cutting it just enough to leave a thin line of blood.

She gasped in surprise and stumbled to her side, nearly losing her balance as she reached for her footing.

But then she heard a sudden wet thundering sound.

A scream filled with pure pain erupted from behind her.

Tyler landed on both feet, his body still carrying the momentum of his throw as he turned toward the sound. Ben looked up from Rebecca, his attention pulled away by the sudden cry.

Naomi's eyes widened when she finally saw what had happened.

Almost the entirety of Lucy's shoulder had been blown off by the dagger. She was on her knees, blood squirting from the torn remains of the wound as her hand desperately clutched the flesh just below it, her fingers shaking from the shock and pain.

Rebecca used this chance. Summoning all her strength at once, she twisted Ben's leg with everything she had, forcing the joint violently out of place. A sharp crack rang out, followed immediately by Ben's scream as his leg buckled beneath him and he fell to the ground. She quickly crawled toward his waist, reaching for the dagger at his side, but before her fingers could grab it, Ben's foot shot forward and struck her directly in the nose.

The force snapped her head back and sent her body rolling onto her back. Warm blood immediately ran from her nose as she covered it with her hand, struggling to breathe through the pain while the injury in her leg continued to throb beneath her.

Tyler also used the distraction to sprint directly toward Naomi. He jumped into the air, and the dagger materialized in his hand once more. He gripped it with both hands, his body bending backward as he prepared to use all of his strength to drive the blade directly into her head. *He's wide open*, Naomi thought, lifting her sword and preparing to strike while he was still in mid-air.

But before she could bring the blade down, the dagger suddenly disappeared from Tyler's hands, and in its place, a huge barrel filled with water materialized above them. Naomi barely had time to react to what had happened before Tyler launched the barrel directly at her.

She swung her sword on instinct, the blade cutting through the wooden barrel with enough force to tear it apart. The wooden staves split violently, and the water that had been contained inside burst outward in a rushing wave that crashed over Naomi. It drenched her completely and flooded her face, temporarily blinding her as she staggered beneath the sudden weight of it. Tyler descended through the falling water immediately afterward, his leg driving straight into her chest.

The impact sent a violent shock through her entire body. Blood surged from Naomi's mouth as her eyes bulged, the force of the kick compressing her body before sending her flying backward. A deep, thunderous impact erupted from the strike, loud enough to shake the surrounding trees as Naomi was launched across the forest with almost no control over her movement.

She spun through the air before crashing into Lucy, the collision sending both of them tumbling across the ground. The sound of bones cracking echoed through the forest as their bodies slammed into each other, and Lucy was thrown sideways into a tree. The back of her head struck the rough bark with enough force to knock her unconscious.

Tyler expected Naomi to suffer the same fate as she continued tumbling across the ground, but just before her body could ram into another tree, she suddenly disappeared.

Tyler's breath hitched as he stared at the empty space where she had been, his eyes quickly scanning the trees around him in an attempt to find her. He couldn't understand where she had gone, but before he could search any further, a scream suddenly tore through the forest ahead. Tyler immediately turned toward the sound and ran forward, his heart tightening when he saw Ben standing over Rebecca.

An arrow had pierced Rebecca's other leg.

She struggled beneath him, her hands digging into the ground as she tried to pull herself away, but Ben stood over her with another arrow already prepared. "You fucking bitch, I'm going to kill you", he roared.

Tyler's heart began hammering against his chest as he saw where Ben was aiming. He accelerated with everything he had, pushing his body beyond the limits he had reached before. His left hand reached forward while his right hand coiled tightly into a fist.

Ben fired his arrow.

It flew directly toward Rebecca's shoulder. It wasn't aimed at her head, her heart, or anything immediately fatal. He was deliberately choosing places where he could hurt her without killing her, making his intentions painfully clear.

With his hand already extended his, fingers closed around the arrow before it could reach Rebecca.

At the same time, his right fist drove into Ben's chest with all the force his body could produce. The impact crushed the air from Ben's lungs, and a violent cough of blood burst from his mouth. Tyler felt something crack beneath his knuckles, the resistance of bone giving way under the force of the blow, but he didn't pull his fist back. He remained in contact with Ben, driving even more strength into him as his arm trembled from the effort.

Ben's scream tore from his throat.

The ground beneath his feet disappeared as Tyler's punch finally sent him flying backward. His body slammed into a thick tree with enough force to violently shake the trunk, cracking the bark and splintering the wood beneath it. The impact threw him back into the air, his body spinning without control before it struck another tree.

The trunk gave way under the collision, breaking apart as Ben's body was sent flying again. He struck a third tree, then a fourth, each impact tearing more bark and wood apart as his momentum carried him farther through the forest. By the time the force finally began to die, Ben's body was barely under his own control. He dropped from the air and slammed into the ground, his body skidding across the dirt before finally coming to a stop several meters away.

Sweat ran down Tyler's forehead as he breathed heavily. He broke the shaft of the arrow he was holding and dropped the pieces onto the ground before turning around to face Rebecca. She was breathing heavily as well, her body still trembling from the pain. Yet she stared at him wide-eyed, her expression filled with surprise.

"Here," Tyler said, crouching down in front of her as a potion materialized in his hand.

"What is that?" Rebecca asked.

"Just drink it," Tyler said, leaving no room for argument.

He pressed the potion against her lips, and Rebecca gulped it down. As she drank, Tyler reached down and pulled the other arrow from her leg.

Rebecca screamed as The arrow came free, and for a moment, blood ran freely from the wound. Then a faint green glow spread across her leg. The torn flesh slowly began to close, the bleeding stopping as the wound healed before her eyes.

"Here," Tyler said again. "Drink it again."

Before Rebecca could respond, he pressed another potion against her lips once more. She quickly drank it, swallowing the liquid as Tyler rose to his feet and looked around the forest.

*That woman... she just suddenly disappeared. Where did she go?*

His eyes scanned the trees, moving from one shadow to another, but Naomi was nowhere to be seen.

"We have to get out of here," he muttered.

The moment the words left his mouth, his heart suddenly slammed against his chest.

The pain struck so violently that Tyler's entire body stiffened. It felt as though his heart had exploded inside him, sending a burning sensation through his chest. Heat began spreading through his body, growing hotter with every passing second, as though something inside him was being cooked alive.

"Oh no," he said, his voice coming out raspy.

*The effects are kicking in. But why does it hurt like this?*

He pressed his lips together as his body began trembling violently. His breathing became uneven, and his hand instinctively moved toward his chest.

"Tyler, what's happening?" Rebecca asked.

Tyler's eyes rolled upward until only the whites remained visible. His legs gave out beneath him, and his body collapsed forward.

Rebecca caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Tyler?"

She shifted his weight to the side and lowered him onto the ground before turning toward him. Confusion spread across her face as she stared at him, trying to understand what had suddenly happened.

"Tyler," she said, shaking his shoulder, but His body remained limp.

"Wake up!"