Crafting Gear From Monster Genes

The first rays of sunlight fell on the Crooked Horn from the sun rising at dawn. It was the start of the workday for everyone, whether a baker, a miner, or one of the two captains.

Only half an hour passed, but Leora was already in her office, enjoying a cup of coffee.

Usually, no one was allowed to enter without permission, except for a few people.

Step. Step. Step.

Kreyn walked through the passage carved directly into the stone plateau, heading toward the door in the distance.

There were no guards here, since Leora didn’t need their protection. Aside from Hargod and Arstar, hardly anyone in all of the Crooked Horn could stand up to her.

The door opened, causing her to look up from her papers.

Kreyn walked in wearing his usual black outfit, the one he’d gotten back at Dust Star.

"Hmm?" Leora raised an eyebrow with a slight frown. "What are you doing here? I didn’t call for you."

Before he could answer, Kreyn’s eyes fell on her gauntlets hanging on a rack on the wall.

"Are you such an important person that I can’t just come see you?"

Leora narrowed her eyes.

"Look, if you have business with me, just say so right away and don’t waste my time. I have a lot of work to do."

"How strict," Kreyn muttered. "Well, I have something for you. It involves some dirty work."

Leora glared at him. Light streamed onto her desk through the wide windows behind her.

"Are you talking about the mines? You never complained before."

Without answering, Kreyn stepped forward, moving closer and closer to her desk, though that didn’t bother Leora much.

Kreyn stood by the window, looking out at the town waking up. Today was supposed to be just like any other day.

"Damn it!" Leora slammed her fist on the desk. "Either you tell me what you want right now, or I’ll throw you out of here by force!"

"F-Fine!" Kreyn flinched, taking an unnoticed step closer.

He touched his temples, his single eye staring at her through his fingers.

"My problem is..."

He leaned in closer, touching her armchair.

"You."

Faster than Leora could realize what was happening, the red, monster-like arms grabbed her by the head and shoulder, exposing her neck.

THRUST!

Kreyn sank his teeth deep into her flesh, clenching his jaws to the limit like a hungry beast.

Blood gushed out as Leora’s eyes widened in realization.

BAM!

Her fist slammed into Kreyn’s solar plexus, forcing his jaws apart. Then, she grabbed him by the collar and threw him aside as hard as she could.

Kreyn crashed to the ground, rolling across the carpet, while Leora quickly slipped on her gauntlets.

She didn’t bother asking what was going on or why he’d done it.

He’d attacked her, which meant he was an enemy, and that meant he had to die.

"You’re done for!"

With a deep sigh, she exhaled a stream of flame that engulfed Kreyn.

Ordinary Rahta Beasts would be burned to a crisp, and Leora was certain Kreyn would be no exception.

’He has nothing to defend himself with,’ she thought.

But as soon as the flames dissipated, her eyes widened, for two reasons at once.

The red barrier in front of his crossed arms flickered before disappearing. It shielded him from the stream of fire. All that remained were traces of soot on the floor nearby.

"Those arms... What the hell are they?" Leora grew wary.

SPAT!

Kreyn spat out a chunk of flesh, his mouth full of blood.

"Argh... You have no idea how much I didn’t want to do that."

He brushed his mouth.

"But I had no other choice."

[Monster Nature – the condition was met.]

[The Crystal Crusher wanted you to act like a monster, attacking the most vulnerable spot on most living creatures - the neck. You did what you were supposed to, but... the Crystal Crusher noticed that you didn’t have the hesitation of a first-timer, only a reluctance to dwell on the past.]

[The mutation - Eye of the Hungry Scar, is now fully available. Since the second option was chosen, the Socket mutation has also been preserved.]

Kreyn didn’t have time to read the rest of the description. Well, he didn’t need to. He already knew everything, or rather, he saw it all.

Crackle.

His left eye opened for the first time since the battle at Lucent Gorge. The scar disappeared, and his eye was completely blue with a cyan tint, just like the Crystal Crusher’s.

"I see..." Kreyn muttered, staring at Leora. On her shoulder and right side, blue flames burned, like marks that only he could see.

Leora leaped over the table, glaring at him.

"So you planned all of this from the very beginning? I sensed something was off about you. You’re too smart to be just a simple rookie."

She frowned and clenched her fists, while electric shocks ran through her arms.

"Tsk. I should have finished you off back in the mines when I had the chance!"

Kreyn agreed with her.

"Yes. You should have."

He stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

"But there’s no point in worrying about that now. Fight. I bet you forgot how to do this against people, didn’t you?"

Suddenly, Kreyn sprang into action, spinning around to kick Leora.

In a heartbeat, Leora put up a block with her right arm as Kreyn’s foot slammed into her forearm.

’Damn it!’ she growled inwardly, barely managing to stay in place. ’These boots... It feels like I was hit with a sledgehammer!’

She shouldn’t be thinking about that, because...

Tap.

Kreyn’s foot touched her shoulder, right where the blue flame was.

"What the...?" Leora’s eyes darted to the side.

Out of nowhere, a jaw-like bear trap appeared above her shoulder.

Clasp!

The jaw snapped shut, sinking its sharp teeth deep into her shoulder. Streams of blood spurted out as the jaw remained clamped tight, motionless but showing no sign of letting go.

Leora jumped aside, assuming a fighting stance despite the pain in her shoulder.

"You... All this time you were a transformator? For fucks sake, even when that blue Rahta Beast almost killed you, you didn’t use either your arms or your eye!"

Kreyn shrugged.

"That was the whole plan, and as you can see, it worked. You don’t know what I’m capable of, but I certainly do."

Step!

Kreyn stepped forward, raising his leg in a powerful kick.

Anticipating this, Leora leaped aside as the stone boot slammed into the wall, punching a hole through it.

’Ha!’ Leora smirked. ’You’re too slow to keep up with me!’

She prepared to counterattack when suddenly she felt something.

Kreyn’s hand was pressed against her right side.

Clasp!

Another jaw appeared out of nowhere, clamping down tightly on her unprotected and vulnerable spot.

"B-Bastard!" Leora shouted in pain. "What power is this?"

Kreyn turned toward her as his cyan eye seemed to look straight into her soul.

"A new one, and this is only the beginning."

The moment Kreyn blinked, he now saw three pockets of blue flame on Leora’s body.

This would continue until one of them fell, or the jaws simply devoured Leora.

But...

Such power came at a certain price.

"Agh...?" Leora gasped.

A single trickle of blood seeped from Kreyn’s cyan eye, and the veins around it swelled.

He was rapidly approaching his limit.

Which meant...

Leora abruptly assumed a fighting stance as sparks flared on her gauntlets.

’I still have a chance to win!’

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