"Where is he?"

Jim could feel a shiver run down his spine as the man glared at him. Jim slowly got up from the rubble and looked at the man.

"WHERE IS THAT F*CKER!" he yelled, hitting the boss' corpse again and sending chunks of stone flying.

"Whoa ok. Buddy. You gotta calm down," Jim said, raising his hands defensively. The man rubbed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before turning to Jim.

"Alright. I'm calm. Now where is that mother f*cker?"

"You're gonna have to be more specific. Who is 'he'? Also, who are you?" Jim asked, shaking off the horrible sensation of dread.

"One of your vassal heroes came over to my world and killed one of my buddies. I'm here to repay that bastard in full," the man said, dropping down from the boss monster's remains.

"Your world?"

The man sighed and pointed to the crack in the sky.

"This is a wave. Happens when two worlds collide and the barriers on both worlds crack. During this time people can hop back and forth between the worlds for whatever reason. I'm the vassal of the other world, the farming hero. During the last wave one of your guys went over to my world and wreaked havoc. Now tell me, where is the other vassal?" he asked, slowly approaching Jim.

So he's the hero from another world… Wait, didn't the shadow say that methods can be shared between heroes?

"I'll tell you what I know on one condition. Tell me your world's upgrade methods," Jim said, opening up his status. The man looked at him in confusion before he laughed.

"Well, why not," the man said. 'Not like you can actually use them.'

He mumbled the last part before turning back to Jim.

"Cooking tool hero. Method 1, level link. The higher your level, the stronger your weapon forms are."

Jim opened up the status of his hammer and saw its stats rise a little.

I guess it will be more effective when my own level isn't 30.

The man looked back at the crack in the sky before continuing.

"Next is the food level. Eat for cooking exp and level ups. Three and four is skill and weapon mastery."

Jim watched as a third level up bar appeared under his crafting level. And his new hammer had gained a new section as well.

Mutant Stone Golem Hammer N

Abilities Unmastered: "Chain Bind", +10 Attack, +5 Defense

Special Effect: "Stone Guard", +3 Magic Defense

Mastery: 0

[O]

"The jar hero had a storage encyclopedia. Store stuff for bonuses. And as for me, planting. Lock weapon forms for a bit. They unlock a day or so later with extra effects and stats. Does that answer your question?"

Jim saw the option to lock away his weapon forms next to their icons. He locked away every weapon form he already mastered, except the thunder fenrir head hammer, as it won't let him. A timer appeared on the weapon icons, and the weapon forms were now grayed out. Jim closed his status and looked back at the man in front of him.

"Well, mister uh…."

"Hol."

"Hol. I have to admit I have no clue where the other vassals are. I heard one is like… lost. No one saw him or her for a decade or so. And I haven't met any of them yet," Jim replied, shrugging. He watched as the mastery bonus on his hammer was't moving at all. However the bar was slightly filled on the other weapon forms Jim had already mastered and locked away.

So I guess I have to master them before I can master them… wait… master their abilities before I can master their… stats? Ok, weird read. I'll pick up something later.

"Wait, so you're a holy one then?" he asked, looking over at Jim.

"Hm? Ah, yes. Got summoned here like a month ago. Actually more like 3 weeks. The name is Jim by the way."

Hol groaned and leaned back on the golems body. Some golem tried to approach him, but he slapped them away, killing the nuisances instantly. Jim flinched at the display of power.

Damn. What level is he for him to be one shooting those guys? Well, he could have also just used the other heroes' methods like me.

"I see. Welp, I guess I'll ask som-," Hol began, but several daggers flew towards his face. He hit them to the side and glared at the source.

"Intruder of the other world! Leave us at once!" the shadow yelled. Several people, now not occupied by golems, have begun to run up to them. The knight from before led the charge and rushed at Hol, however his eyes were fixated on the shadowy figure.

He mumbled something, and in an instant Hol closed the distance between them. With a loud crack Hol punched the shadow and they slammed into the remains of the barricade. The man that he was talking to in an almost friendly tone was once again sending shivers down his spine. If looks could kill, the shadow would already be dead.

Ok, peace was not an option. Plan B it is.

"Chain Bind!" Jim yelled the skill of his hammer and ran forward. A long steel chain wrapped around Hol's arms and legs, keeping him in place. Or at least Jim thought they would.

Hol turned towards Jim and the chains shattered into pieces, the shards disappearing into the air. Before Jim could blink, he was suddenly on the ground and a sharp pain ripped through his arm.

"I won't kill you since you're a cardinal, but I'll definitely break a few bones since you want to interfere," Hol said with a saddened expression as he stood over the crafter hero. Up close Jim could see bags under the man's eyes, and overall he looked exhausted.

"Step away from him!" the knight yelled, slamming his shield into the man's face. Hol grabbed the shield and hit it with his weapon, sending the man flying back into the village.

The people around stopped running forward and looked around. No one was brave or dumb enough to try to take on someone who was able to put the strongest 3 people out of commision on one attack.

"Fast healing warmth," Jim coughed out. The bone in his arm was pretty much shattered, and his hp was extremely low. Even with his spell, it was taking forever for him to recover.

The pain slowly faded, and Jim began to get up on his feet. Hol was approaching the shadow with his hoe glowing a dark purple color.

"Mad Rush!" Jim lunged forward and raised his hammer. "Mjollnir!"

*clang*

However, nothing happened. His hammer connected, but the last skill didn't activate. Jim looked at his sp bar.

Oh… I'm out of SP.

"I did warn you," Hol said.

*Crack*

"AAAAAAAGH!" Jim yelled as he flew through the air. He collapsed onto the ground and the air was knocked out of his lungs. His vision blurred as the pain washed over his body, but in a few seconds it began to lessen. In the corner of his status, Jim saw several buffs and heals appear.

The villagers continued adding buffs to him and the knight who was still somehow standing. It was then that Jim noticed a bright glow coming off of the metal shield in the knight's arms, and spreading across his body and armor.

Must be a rare shield. It seems like it can at least withstand the guy's attacks.

Jim looked back at Hol, and frowned.

Is he getting slower, or am I going crazy?

Jim turned back to the villagers and saw them still chanting something.

They must be debuffing him while buffing us! If they keep it up, we might stand a chance.

Hol seemed to notice his stats decreasing and sighed.

"So annoying. Whirlwind Strike!" A tornado surrounded Hol and anyone who was nearby was blown away. He grabbed the knight by the collar of his armor and raised his weapon.

"Chaos Strike!"

The hoe seemed to split into several copies and Hol slammed it into the knight. Jim used the distraction to run up to Hol with his hammer raised.

"Mjollnir!" he called out to the skill, depleting his remaining SP. The glowing hammer descended onto Hol and slammed him into the ground.

"You good?" Jim asked the knight, who dropped to the ground when Hol let him go. The knight groaned something like a response before looking down at Hol.

The vassal hero stood up, looking completely unharmed other than the hairs standing up from the static.

"You done?" he asked, glaring at Jim. Any hint of mercy seemed to completely leave his voice. Jim took a step back, but was grabbed by the collar. "I'll take that as a yes. Solar-"

[0:00:27]

Both Jim and Hol paused as this timer popped up in their status, and Hol groaned.

"F*ck. Congratulations, you managed to waste so much of my time. I hope you're satisfied. F*CK! Hide Harvest," he said, disappearing completely. After a few more seconds the wave finally closed. The sky returned to a light blue color and the monsters stopped appearing. Any remaining ones seemed to shrink in size.

"Oh thank god! I thought I was going to die there," Jim let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the grass. He heard the villagers cheer in the background, causing him to smile.

This was a successful wave. And I got a bunch of upgrade methods out of it.

He opened up his status, only to see an empty space where the new methods used to be.

"Wait, what the hell?"