Tyler reached the bottom of the stairs. The two receptionists fell silent as he approached. He walked up to the woman. "Oh, uh, so I was wondering where I can take a bath around here? Because I don't know where the bathroom is," he said.
"Oh, right," the woman said, a touch of embarrassment in her voice. "I forgot to give you the key to the bathroom as well." She retrieved a key from the drawer behind the counter and handed it to Tyler. "This is one of many keys we have. Just please don't lose it and return it when you're done."
"Thanks," Tyler said, taking the black key.
"Oh, wait," the woman called out as he started to turn away. "Where are you going? I haven't told you where the bathroom is yet."
Tyler scratched his head, laughing sheepishly. "Right, sorry." He turned back to face her.
"It's over there," she said, gesturing towards the stairs. "Behind the stairs, as you can see, there's a door. The left door is the bathing room. You'll find plenty of water there for a bath."
"Oh, right, thanks," Tyler said.
He went around the stairs, found the door, and entered. A hallway stretched before him, containing three doors. He went to the last door on the left and unlocked it with the key, the lock clicking open. Inside was the bathing room. A large, round wooden tub sat in the center of the room, with several barrels of water stacked neatly in a corner.
Tyler examined the neatly stacked barrels in the corner, then glanced at the large wooden tub in the center of the room. He closed the door, returning to the barrels. *I wonder…* he mused. One of the wooden barrels shimmered blue, then vanished, appearing in his inventory.
Tyler took a step back, surprised. *I mean, I just wanted to test it out, but I didn't think it would actually happen. I can carry these things in my inventory? Now that I think about it, what *can't* I carry into my inventory?*
He spotted a small wooden bucket beside the barrels. *Are these waters even drinkable?* he wondered. *I probably shouldn't drink from these.*
The barrel, shimmering blue once more, reappeared beside the others. Tyler picked up the bucket, dipped it into one of the barrels, and carefully poured the water into the tub. He repeated this process until the tub was about half full. He decided to test the waters and began to undress, preparing for a long soak.
Meanwhile, back in Hector's shop, Emily stood behind the counter, lost in thought. Her index finger tapped a rhythmic beat against the wooden surface, a silent, almost musical percussion. The shop door opened, revealing the man who had purchased the shield earlier, accompanied by another man. The two had been engaged in conversation before entering the shop.
Emily quickly plastered a smile on her face. "Oh, hello again! How may I help you, customer?"
The first man replied, "Oh, yeah, I came back to buy another one of those shields. My friend here saw the one I have and said he wanted one just like it. Honestly, we're super impressed by it. It's very tough, and it's very helpful when fighting monsters that tend to just lunge at us."
He gestured to his companion. This man was clad in gleaming silver plate armor; silver boots encased his legs, and even his leather pants were reinforced with silver plating on the thighs and knees. Silver plates covered his torso and shoulders, leaving only his face and neck exposed. A large axe was strapped to his back.
The armored man spoke, his voice gruff. "Yeah, I bought a shield about a month ago from Old Man Ron, but it's useless now. I mean, I guess it was one of his weaker shields, but the thing just broke, and I wasn't even fighting a boss monster! Can you believe it?" He looked at his companion, who chuckled.
"Yeah, but as I told you, this offense shield is pretty tough," the companion said. "I bet it's better than Old Man Ron's."
Emily noticed a detail—a hunter's necklace, a D-rank, with the letter 'D' clearly visible on the pendant, hung around the armored man's neck.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Emily said, her smile faltering slightly. "But we're all out of those shields. The one you bought was actually the last one."
The man without armor said, "The last one, huh?" He sounded slightly disappointed.
"But the craftsman who made it can craft another one just like it, right?" the man asked.
"Well, I think so," Emily replied. "Hold on." She disappeared into the back room. "Sir?" she called out.
Hector, sharpening a blade on a whetstone, looked up. "What is it?"
"There are two hunters who want to buy another offense shield," Emily explained. "They asked if the person who crafted it could make another. And it was Sir Tyler who crafted that shield, right?"
"Yeah, it was Tyler," Hector confirmed. "I'm sure he can craft another. When did they say they want it?"
"They want to buy it now," Emily said.
"Well, then tell them that the craftsman who made the shield isn't here today," Hector instructed. "They'll have to come back tomorrow to check for it."
"Alright," Emily said.
Returning to the shop, Emily said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, but it seems the craftsman who made the shield isn't here today. You'll have to come back tomorrow to check if you want to purchase one."
The man in heavy plate armor softly slapped his forehead. "Damn it, man, just my luck."
"Nah, don't worry about it," his companion said. "I'm pretty sure they'll have it here by tomorrow."
"Damn, and it was such a good-looking shield, too," the armored man added.
Emily, seizing an opportunity, said, "Oh, gentlemen,
"I mean, dear customers," Emily began, directing her attention to the two men, "if you could, would you tell other hunters about the offense shield when you meet them? I'm sure if it became popular among hunters, we'd have more orders, and we could craft more of them. So there would be more offense shields available."
Both men smiled. "Well, of course," one of them said. "It *is* a good item, after all."
"Thank you," Emily said, returning their smiles.
The other man lightly tapped his companion on the back. "Alright, let's go." They both left the shop.
Emily sighed, slowly closing her eyes as if relieved. *Is Tyler going to show up today?* she wondered. *Well, it's only past noon, so I shouldn't worry about that. But… I hope he comes. I can tell him about the… demand for the offense shields, of course.*
Back at the Hunter Base, Tyler, freshly bathed, stepped *out* of the wooden tub. He then dried himself and put on his Hexhorn armor. He looked around the bathing room, his gaze settling on the neatly stacked wooden barrels in the corner. *I wonder where I could buy one of those barrels,* he mused. *I mean, I could just fill it with water and carry it with me in my inventory everywhere I go. I wouldn't have to worry about getting thirsty. I could probably carry food and other supplies, too. Man, why didn't I think of using my inventory for more than just storing items from monsters? So my inventory is basically like a portable warehouse, huh?* He recalled how easily he'd moved one of the barrels into his inventory earlier, and how it had reappeared just as easily. The barrels remained in the corner, a readily available source of water.
As Tyler exited the bathing room, closing the door behind him, his boots and gloves materialized on his feet and hands. He started down the hallway, passing the reception desk. He paused, remembering something, and turned back toward the woman.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Both the man and woman looked surprised, a reaction that puzzled Tyler. He pulled the key from his pocket and handed it to the woman. "Here. Thank you," he said.
"Oh, you're the same guy from before, right?" the woman said, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Yeah, I am. What is it?" Tyler replied.
"Oh, it's nothing," she said. "It's just that when you came in, you didn't have a bag or anything, and you didn't look like you were carrying any clothes."
The man at the far end of the counter added, "Yeah. I was honestly confused for a second. That's why I hesitated to stop you to get the key back. I was wondering if it was you or not. You've definitely changed."
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Tyler said. "I almost forgot to give you the key, but I suddenly remembered. Anyway, it's still me. I had the clothes with me; you just couldn't see them. But, as I said before, thanks. I'm leaving now."
He quickly walked away, eager to avoid further questions. Once outside the inn, he sighed, muttering under his breath, "Man, I don't want them finding out about my inventory. They might start asking questions like, 'Am I a mage hunter or something?' I gotta go accept more quests."
"Was it just me," the woman mused, "or did he also look kind of different, not just from the armor?"
The man considered this. "He looks pretty much the same," he said. "It's just that he was wearing dirty, bloodied armor, that's all. Plus, his face was pretty dirty—probably from all the fights with monsters. You know how it gets with hunters; they can get into brutal battles that leave them looking unrecognizable, sometimes literally."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," the woman conceded. "Maybe it's just that he was so dirty before. Cleaned up, he's jarringly different."
The man looked at the woman and smiled slightly. "Well, I'm heading out for lunch."
"What?" the woman exclaimed. "This is the second time, and I haven't eaten anything yet. No, *you're* staying here. *I'm* heading out for lunch."
"W-what?" the man sputtered, then resigned himself. "All right."
The woman smiled and started to walk around the counter.
Meanwhile, Tyler walked toward the Hunter's Guild tent, his mind preoccupied. *Those innkeepers knew about Gary's death, and I didn't think people would know so soon. Well, it was kind of obvious they'd find out eventually. We just left him there. But who told them? I wonder.*
He arrived at the tent and saw Serena. "Hey, I'm back," he said, entering.
Serena's response was cut short. "Oh, Tyler…" she trailed off, her eyes widening as she took in his appearance in the new armor. He looked totally different from before.
"You're back," Serena said, then added, "Is that new armor? Where did you buy it from? It looks really good!" She paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I need this myself in Viridia." Then, she said, "Oh, right, the craftsman who made this must be pretty good with his work. So, did you leave it at the inn when came here earlier or.. did you use ur ability"
"Yes, I did," Tyler replied. "Anyways, I wanted to ask you something."
Serena leaned forward, listening intently.
"Does everyone know about Gary's death now?" Tyler asked.
"Yes," Serena said, her voice low. "Everybody knows now. It's only a matter of time before people outside the Crossroads base know about it." She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Tyler, I didn't know how to tell you this, but I hope you don't get caught or anything. Because… Gary had a slightly powerful background. His father is an A-rank hunter who helps run a guild."
Tyler's eyes widened, his heart pounding. "Right," he said, his voice barely a breath, "his family…"
"If his father finds out it was you," Serena continued, "things will be really bad for you. He wouldn't come alone. I'm pretty sure Gary's brothers and sisters would come too."
"Wait," Tyler whispered, his voice barely audible. "Gary had more brothers and sisters?"
"Yes," Serena confirmed. "He has an older brother and an older sister, and they're hunters—both A-ranks. If they find out it's you… do you have any idea what they're going to do to you? They might kill your entire family in the process."
*Family?* Tyler thought. *Well, she doesn't know who I really am, so I don't blame her for thinking I actually have a family in this world.* Aloud, he said, "I didn't want to kill Gary. I just had no choice. It was either him or me. And he was going to kill Grone afterward. I couldn't let that happen."
Serena nodded. "It's okay, I understand," she said. "Honestly, lots of people didn't like Gary at all. The only reason he lived this long, while being a nuisance to so many hunters, is because of his background. Because of his family, the Branch family. They became known because of the guild his father helps to run. His father isn't the owner of the guild, but he's a really close comrade to the captain."
"The Black Cloud Guild," Tyler repeated slowly.
"The guild is famous, but only in this region," Serena explained. "It's not that well-known outside of here. It started only a year ago."
"Well, I don't really think anyone's going to find out," Tyler said. "I mean, no one else was there except for me, Grone, and Gary's partners." He paused, then asked, "All I want to know is, who told people he was killed by someone?"
"I don't really know," Serena admitted. "I overheard some hunters talking about it, and everyone's talking about it now, so I don't know who exactly spread the information."
As Serena and Tyler spoke, a man standing behind the counter, partially concealed behind the large quest board, overheard their conversation.
The man behind the quest board thought, *Wait, this guy is the one who killed Grant, Branch’s son?* A slow smile spread across his face. *I could get some real money selling this information… to the right person, that is.*
Tyler said to Serena, "Anyways, I was here to get a quest."
"Right, I almost forgot about that," Serena said. She ducked under the counter and emerged with a stack of D-rank quest flyers. Her eyes fell upon Tyler's necklace. "Oh, you're already a C-rank? How are you doing this so fast? I've never seen such a… fast ranker before. I mean… it seems like you've gone from E-rank to C-rank in less than a month, if I'm not wrong."
"Uh, yeah," Tyler said. "I… I've been running into a lot of monsters lately. And I always try my best to come out alive."
"What kind of training are you doing?" Serena asked, intrigued. "I know hunters can level up with training, but what kind is it? Because you haven't accepted enough missions to become C-rank this quickly. It would only make sense if you accepted a lot of quests, but I don't see you here very often. What level C-rank are you exactly?"
*If I tell her I'm already C-rank+, she might start asking too many questions again,* Tyler thought. *But really, it's because of this necklace. Should I just tell her that, or should I lie? I really just want to do my quest.*
"Nope, I'm not a C-rank+," Tyler said aloud. "In fact, I'm just level 52."
"Oh, well, alright," Serena said. "After all, you *did* fight a boss monster with Grone. There were a lot of Crimson Wolves, I assume?"
"Ah, right," Tyler said. "It's probably because of those, too."
"Alright," Serena said. "Let me put these away and search for the C-rank quests."
"What about the ones on the quest board behind you?" Tyler asked, pointing to the large board filled with quest flyers.
"Ah, which one do you want to choose?" Serena asked.
"Um, can you hand me that one?" Tyler said, indicating a specific flyer.
Serena removed the flyer and placed it on the counter next to Tyler. He read the quest details:
17 Lurker Scales Needed
Reward: 12 Gold
Serena explained, "This one was originally a D-rank quest, but people complained that it was hard because the Lurker is in the river and very fast. It's very hard to fight monsters in the water. So it was upgraded to a C-rank quest, and so was the reward. Do you want to take it?"
"Take it?" Tyler said, then chuckled. "I already completed it."
Serena's eyebrows shot up. "What? What do you mean?"
"Can you give me a sack?" Tyler asked.
"Um, a sack?" Serena questioned.
"Yeah," Tyler said. "I know you've got some sacks back there. Just give it to me, and I'll give you the scales."
Serena paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Um… how are you going to… Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot about your… Skill."
Serena ducked under the counter and produced a small brown sack, handing it to Tyler. He glanced around, checking to see if anyone was watching, but the man behind the quest board peeked out from his hiding spot. *What is he doing?* the man wondered. *Did he just say he already completed a quest before even signing it?*
The seemingly empty sack suddenly took shape, as if something had materialized inside. The man's eyes widened in surprise. *What kind of ability is this?* he thought. *I thought he was some kind of assassin-type hunter.* He looked at Tyler's necklace, noticing the black pendant. *He is an assassin-type hunter,* he realized. *Oh, so it's just an ability he has.* *I have to get back to work, or they'll be suspicious of why I'm gone for so long.* He revealed himself, stepping out from behind the quest board and resuming his duties, attending to the hunters waiting at his side of the counter.
Tyler handed the sack to Serena. She peered inside, her eyes widening as she saw the Lurker scales. They were large, curved, and a striking blue, smooth and shiny as if recently wet.
"Huh," she said. "You already did complete the quest."
"Wait," Tyler said, "can you give that back to me? I think I made a mistake."
Serena, slightly bewildered but complying, handed the sack back to Tyler.
"Before I give you the sack," Tyler said, "I want to sign the quest first."
Serena handed Tyler a pencil. He signed his name on the quest flyer and then handed the sack back to her.
"Okay," Serena said, "your quest is done. So sign the left space."
Tyler signed the designated space. Serena placed the sack behind the counter, ducked down briefly, and then stood up straight, holding twelve Gold coins in her hand. She placed them on the counter.
"Ah, thanks," Tyler said, pocketing the coins.
"When did you kill the Lurker?" Serena asked, curious.
"Oh, it accidentally attacked me when I was crossing the river this one time," Tyler explained. "So I had no choice but to fight it. I managed to kill it and survive, and that's how I have the scales."
"You survived fighting a Lurker in the river?" Serena exclaimed, impressed. "That's very impressive. I mean, I've heard a lot of hunters had a hard time doing that. To think you did that before you even became a C-rank… that's amazing."
Tyler scratched the back of his head. "Well, you don't need to compliment me that much."
"So, are you looking to get another quest?" Serena asked.
"Ah, yes," Tyler replied. "I want another quest, but I want the highest-paying one you can find."
"Oh, the one with the most reward, huh?" Serena said, a smile playing on her lips. She glanced at the quest board, then quickly averted her gaze, ducking under the counter. She emerged with a handful of quest flyers and began to sort through them.
Serena pulled a flyer from the stack and placed it on the counter in front of Tyler. Her finger tapped a sharp rhythm against the counter as she said, "This one. This one has the most reward out of all the C-rank quests we have. And I think it might be the toughest one—well, apart from the one you did with Grone, that is. This one, you would have to face a boss-level monster… again."
Tyler looked at the quest. "Wait," he said, "I'm going to have to hunt a Hexhorn boss? Hexthorns have boss monsters, too?"
"Yes," Serena confirmed. "Almost every creature has a boss monster. Well, I haven't heard of slime boss monsters before, or pixel boss monsters, but… who knows, maybe they might have them."
"Yeah," Tyler said, "so what level do you think a Hexthorn boss monster would be?"
"Well, I don't know," Serena admitted. "I mean, I've never gone hunting before. All I know is it's a C-rank quest, and it's recommended that a C-rank+ hunter take it. So that means the Hexhorn must be above level 60, right?"
"Yeah," Tyler agreed, "it must be above level 60. Hopefully, it's not above level 70."
"But that means you can't take this quest," Serena said, sliding the quest flyer back from him. "Otherwise, you're going to die. I mean, you're just level 52. Am I right? No, you shouldn't take this."
Tyler stopped her hand. "No," he said firmly, "I want to take it."
Serena tried to slide the quest flyer back, but Tyler's grip was firm. "Do you really want to die?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. "I know you're brave, but you're going to die if you do this quest alone. Do you at least have someone you can do this with?"
"No, I'm alone," Tyler said, his voice unwavering. "But trust me, Serena, I'm going to come back, and I'm going to claim this reward."
"No," Serena insisted. "Last time Grone said something like this… he did come back, but he was hurt so badly he couldn't hunt for a month and a half."
"Oh, yeah?" Tyler asked. "What quest did he take?"
"He took a quest to hunt a Shadow Walker," Serena replied, "a boss monster of Shadow Claws."
*Oh,* Tyler thought, *was he a D-rank back then?*
"Yeah, but that's not the point," Serena said, exasperated. "I'm trying to tell you that this boss monster is too strong for you. Why did I even give you this in the first place? I'm so dumb."
"Oh, um," Tyler said, "is it allowed for you to refuse hunters who can take quests from taking them?"
Serena gasped. "No!"
Tyler gently but firmly removed her hand from the flyer. "Geez," he said, taking the quest, "you don't have to be that worried about me. Believe it or not, I'm stronger than I look. I'm an assassin-type hunter, remember? I'm going to be in and out of there in the blink of an eye. I'll be back with the Hexhorn hide before you know it."
Serena watched as Tyler signed his name on the quest flyer and then, with a slow, deliberate movement of his two middle fingers, slid it across the counter to her. She looked at his face, humming softly as if considering something she wanted to say. Taking the flyer, she said, "You better come back safely."
"Don't worry about it," Tyler chuckled, "I'll be back in a flash."
He turned and started walking out of the tent. As soon as he exited, a shimmering system panel materialized before him, displaying the following:
Quest Reward: +3 points to each stat.Armor Recipe: 3 Hexthorn hides, 377 Pixel feathers → Hypno ArmorWeapon Recipe: Crimson Alpha Jaw, 2 Iron, 1 Zinc → Tearer DaggerAlchemy Recipe: 300ml Brolin blood, 300ml water, 5 Brunish tree leaves → DEF upgrade potionAccessory Recipe: 1 Copper, 12 Shadow Walker claws → Shadow Ring