Absolute Craft-Chapter 101: Before The Storm (1)

Chapter 101: Before The Storm (1)

Kyria charged at Blake like a bull and seized his pauldrons in a firm grip. Even though his Strength stats weren’t any higher than Blake’s, his intense stare kept Blake rooted to the spot. Blake could only wonder what was going through Kyria’s head.

"What was that figurine?!" Kyria shouted.

"Huh?" Blake asked, caught off guard.

He was furious about the figurine? Was he really so upset just because The Woman General’s Black Storm had overshadowed his own in range and power? Of course, if not for the figurine’s link to Blake’s Max Damage, it wouldn’t have caused such a massive impact.

Yet it made some sense that Kyria would be angry at someone who wielded a similar power on a greater scale. Perhaps he was jealous.

Blake couldn’t tell.

"Who is she based on?" Kyria demanded, shaking Blake as much as he could. If anything had been loose on Blake’s armor, it would have jingled like a bell.

Blake replied, "It was inspired by you."

Those words startled Kyria, and he stared at Blake in disbelief. It wasn’t that Blake believed he’d drawn a lot of inspiration from Kyria; however, Kyria’s rise to power resembled that of an absolute general, which had undeniably influenced him. Still, Blake didn’t think he’d taken that much from Kyria.

Even so, Kyria looked so shocked that he didn’t blink once after hearing Blake’s answer. From behind them, Wolfang observed Blake with both confusion and interest. He hadn’t yet seen the figurine.

"Can I see it?" he asked.

Blake produced the figurine again, letting it rest on his palm. Upon seeing it, Wolfang seemed momentarily stunned, then smirked widely and stepped back.

Others didn’t know what to think of that uncharacteristic reaction. They whispered among themselves, believing Kyria was furious about being the inspiration for a feminine figure.

"I’ll find you in real life," Kyria whispered, his voice trembling yet threatening all the same.

Meanwhile, The Rebellious Hounds’ and Anonymous House’s fallen players respawned and returned to the battlefield, only to see that everything had already settled down. They joined their respective groups and waited for their moment.

Alex Red Moon noticed the mood swirling in the air and seized the chance to speak. "Everyone’s here. As you can see, Superbia has the means to support everyone and control the entire battlefield, while Kyria is skilled enough to capitalize on everything he provides. If we combine our powers and plan ahead, we’ll be two or three times stronger during the Rotten Leviathan Resurrection Event. We’ll fulfill our ambition and do what Supreme Blade himself couldn’t! We’ll avenge him!"

The Hounds howled in cheers.

Deeds spoke louder than words.

Each of them had personally seen and felt Blake’s prowess as well as Kyria’s knack for adapting to his chaos. Such quick thinking and team-focused tactics convinced them that they were the perfect guild to team up with.

As Alex Red Moon explained that The Alliance wouldn’t cause them problems, some Hounds, including BloodFang, voiced their confusion and thoughts.

"It’s suspicious," BloodFang said.

"I feel the same way," Alex replied.

Surprisingly, BloodFang raised his sword over his head and shouted, "But we have Superbia on our side! Haha! That Black Storm will mess with everyone except us! And now that we know how to handle it, we’ll crush anyone with his power! Also, what were those explosions earlier?"

Alex smirked, "They all fell from the skies."

Hearing her explanation, BloodFang and The Hounds’ eyes sparkled. It was as if a sudden pack of Sol’s brothers and sisters had appeared on the battlefield. They wanted to try flying and crashing into the ground with a loud bang, too!

It sounded awesome.

Wolfang said, "It’s not as easy as it sounds. A few of us lost control and basically crashed... I think I even saw someone crying."

One of the Anonymous House’s members looked away and whistled. Surely, he wasn’t the one Wolfang mentioned.

In a strange but surely effective way, two guilds bonded. The Rebellious Hounds would also soon speak about their battle with others and spread the word to other members who might still be skeptical of this development.

All in all, everyone’s objectives had been somewhat achieved.

Blake had found how he wanted to progress from now on.

Kyria got a powerful new ally.

The Hounds received more options for their hunt.

Joel became closer with Lily Lift, somewhat.

Beatrix let herself be wild as much as she wanted.

And Sol naturally won and dominated a player practically on his own!

It had been a great day.

-

Earth, late evening.

In one of the particularly spacious rooms that could perhaps store five or even more of Blake’s current dwelling, a red capsule’s lid opened. A small hand caught the capsule’s rim and slowly brought up the rest of a sweat-soaked body, the result of too much gaming.

This person wore nothing but a white shirt and panties, an appearance that in her current circumstances would stir most men. The damp shirt clung to her ample chest and even turned see-through.

Surrounded by the most modern appliances and expensive luxuries few could afford, the woman absentmindedly stared ahead. A glance into her purple eyes revealed she still hadn’t fully logged out of Ashen World Online.

A phone buried beneath the capsule’s pillow rang out, finally snapping the woman back to reality and prompting her to pick it up.

[It’s a coincidence.]

This voice belonged to a man Blake would recognize—Wolfang.

"I have to find him in real life to confirm that," the woman replied, her voice soft yet steady. "He always wears that mask..."

In the game world, her nickname was Kyria. She wore a special vest that flattened her figure and a mask that hid every overtly feminine trait of her face. Only one person knew her real identity and what kind of family she came from in the real world.

Anyone else who knew that could be her enemy.

[Unless you fight him again and rip off his mask, I doubt you’ll learn anything about Superbia. He might lose his cover in the boss battle, but there’s also a chance he’s wearing a face mask under his helmet—like you. Maybe he’s self-conscious, or maybe there’s something more to it. I highly doubt he’s one of your family’s competitors.]

"We won’t know until we find out," Kyria replied.

[He’s great at fighting and reading people’s skills, but I think his social experience is too limited for him to be one of your competitors. It’s a chain of coincidences that led the two of you to meet and team up. In the end, you used the favor he owes you to bring him into our guild. Don’t waste time or money digging up info on him. I see you two becoming good friends.]

’Perhaps more than friends,’ Wolfang told himself on the other side, smirking.

Kyria didn’t seem to take his words to heart. She hopped off her capsule and went to her personal bathroom—one of many in her family’s mansion. She changed the subject to their guild’s affairs and then hung up.

Knowing her for years, Wolfang was sure she wouldn’t listen to him. It was up to luck or mere coincidence for these two to meet in real life.

Even so, Wolfang grew more curious about Blake and wondered why he hid his identity so thoroughly, always wearing various helmets and masks.

-

Blake also logged out and opened his capsule. He hadn’t spent much time inside, yet he’d perspired enough to realize he should change the pillow and mattress. Luckily, he had a few in reserve.

First, he headed straight to the bathroom to freshen up. He went through his usual evening routine, then swapped out the capsule’s interior and made a bed for himself in the process.

He was on a strict diet, but he didn’t feel like eating. He’d sleep hungry and have breakfast in the morning instead. Even so, Blake didn’t immediately close his eyes. Instead, he stared at his phone’s screen.

This time, though, he wasn’t just aimlessly browsing. He was researching how wings actually worked.

He even read about humanity’s earliest efforts at flight, looking for inspiration for his next crafting plans in the game world.

He had already created impressive armor and weapons, so now it was time to push his creativity further and bring his ideas into the realm of high fantasy. He was the "father" of a small golden apple inside a dragon husk, so it made sense to add wings to his armor and perhaps become a snow demon with blizzard wings.

There was so much he could draw inspiration from.

Ultimately, Blake spent two hours on his phone, then ended up functioning like a zombie the next day.

Joel was in a similar state, but for a very different reason. He’d gotten Lily Lift’s social media account, chatted with her extensively, and even received a real-life selfie. That single photo made his entire night, and he ended up losing sleep for all the right reasons.