Absolute Craft-Chapter 68: Level 15 (1)

Chapter 68: Level 15 (1)

"I’ve never met those players, but they’re completely nuts!" Joel exclaimed as he thrust his phone toward Blake’s face, showing him a short video of The Hounds’ hunt.

This guild was even more aggressive than Kyria had described. He’d been right about their main objective: killing anyone who dared to stop the Rotten Leviathan’s resurrection.

On Joel’s phone, Blake watched a group of twenty Hounds overwhelm a team of six players, who were desperately trying to keep zombies from marching toward the Eternal Winter Graveyard. Without further provocation, the Hounds unleashed their skills on these beleaguered players, wiping them out before allowing the undead to continue. The Hounds grinned and shepherded zombies with such bright smiles that the comment section brimmed with hateful remarks about their cheeky, somewhat aggravating expressions.

Now, the path to the Eternal Winter Graveyard stood open in every tutorial zone and its abandoned villages. Anyone could travel there to confront hordes of zombies—both normal and ice variants. Their overwhelming numbers made it nearly impossible to halt the legendary boss’s resurrection, especially with guilds and players like the Hounds ensuring its success.

"You think Feather Butterfly is complaining because of them?" Blake asked.

Caught off guard, Joel took a moment to process the question, then nodded. "Maybe. Those guys are everywhere, and they’re targeting ex–Cerberus Guild members. She might’ve run into them more than once."

Blake sighed.

He’d tried hard to leave his past behind. He’d made a lot of progress, but people like the Hounds dragged him back. Old enemies would likely exploit his past if given the chance.

"Do you want to stop the resurrection or join the boss fight?" Blake asked.

Joel narrowed his eyes, still chewing on his sandwich. "Hmm." He swallowed and said, "I’m too small-time to influence the outcome! I’ll just go with the flow!"

Blake faintly smiled. "Yeah." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"What are we going to do?" Joel asked.

Since the Abandoned Village competition—ending in a draw—Joel had regarded Blake as an older brother, someone to whom he’d pledged loyalty. He saw himself as Blake’s spear.

Blake, on the other hand, hadn’t planned out Joel’s future role. He viewed him as a friend who’d been by his side since the event began, so it felt natural to finish it together. Only time would reveal what happened next.

"I need to reach level fifteen first," Blake said. His legendary titles granted new skills at each level, so hitting the tutorial zone’s cap might unlock something valuable. It was worth a shot.

He also had his second katana project in progress. Blake wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but with the boss’s resurrection looming, he was close to finishing it. It felt almost destined—perhaps the perfect weapon for facing solo bosses.

"You’ll level up in your own zone?" Joel asked.

"Yeah," Blake replied.

"Ah, damn! I’ll stay around the village, talk to people, and practice. You want me to ask the NPCs how they ended up here, right? Leave it to me!" Joel wolfed down the rest of his sandwich and pounded his chest, nearly choking on the last bite.

Blake patted him on the back.

Once inside the game world, Blake returned to his personal tutorial zone. Before doing anything else, he repaired Sol’s dragon husk. It was a simple process of filling the cracks and polishing the stone.

Soon enough, no one would guess Sol’s muzzle had been broken once.

A few moments later, Sol stirred. He yawned, tiny flames flickering at the edges of his muzzle, and glanced around.

"I fixed your husk," Blake said. "You’re back to being a healthy dragon."

Sol’s eyes sparkled, and he leaped at Blake’s chest. After nuzzling him for a moment, he settled on top of Blake’s head, like a dragon perched atop a tower. By now, that spot was obviously his. He growled at Blake’s shadow, teasing Beatrix.

She seemed quite content to remain below.

"You did great against Kyria," Blake praised. He’d been learning to give small compliments now and then, and it felt natural when it came to this adorable companion.

Sol whimpered, a soft glow of flames flickering behind his teeth.

"I need your fire," Blake continued, lifting a half-finished katana for Sol to heat. "I want this blade to be as perfect as possible."

He moved to the anvil and began hammering the glowing metal, pouring his entire focus into every strike.

There was, however, a subtle shift that Blake overlooked: He hadn’t shouted his own name even once.

After about an hour, he quenched the blade and set it aside. It was time to level up and reach fifteen before anything major happened in the standard tutorial zones.

Sensing the change in his demeanor, Beatrix emerged from Blake’s shadow, ready to assist. She donned her mask and drew her bow, while Sol narrowed his eyes, prepared to unleash a torrent of flame on any threat.

Blake equipped his gear and flexed his fingers. "We’ll head down to the mine and see what’s there. No mining, just fighting."

Atop the mountain sat The Lost King’s smithy and chamber, but at its base lay a mining node shrouded in mysteries. This was where Blake had discovered the Winter General’s scabbard—a vital link to the Eternal Winter Dungeon and Graveyard.

Were there more relics from that fallen kingdom? If so, how did they connect to these realms? Or was that scabbard just a random item placed here to guide him toward the Eternal Winter Dungeon and Graveyard, nudging him to partake in cooperative events?

Stepping through the smithy doors, Blake braced himself against the swirling blizzard and peered outside. "We’ll find out," he whispered.

Beatrix sank back into his shadow, and Sol let out a small dragon’s howl—like a triumphant horn echoing Blake’s descent into the mining node of secrets.

There was something tranquil about descending this peculiar mountain. Blake couldn’t quite explain what he felt—perhaps it was because he’d begun to change here.

That said, he realized he truly wanted to keep this mountain to himself, unwilling to let anyone else claim it.