The enemy plant screeched and opened its mouth to try and bite Jim.

"Fast Fireball!" He yelled, sending a small ball of flame into its mouth. As the flames spread, the monster squirmed and spit poison at Jim as it collapsed to the ground. Luckily for him, the poison was weak and couldn't get through Jim's small poison resistance.

The plant monster squirmed a few more times before it collapsed. Jim absorbed a part of it into his hammer and frowned. He swapped to his leaf hammer and absorbed the rest.

Looks like I was right. Herb collection increases the quality of herbs I collect, which increases the stats I get on the plant based weapons. And despite being a herb centered bonus, it somehow works for all plants? I won't complain though, that's just free stats.

Jim first discovered this when he absorbed a bunch of leaves for more materials while having the leaf hammer out, and it increased the stats of the hammer.

[Venus Fly Trap Hammer Unlocked]

Venus Fly Trap Hammer N

Abilities Unmastered: attack against insects increased by 5%

Special Effect: Plant Bite (Weak)

[O]

Well, it ain't the best stat wise, it's only my fifth strongest so far, but I should definitely master it before wave 4. If my game knowledge is at least somewhat accurate, then the boss is a giant mantis, so this will help out quite a bit.

"Hide Hammer," Jim muttered, walking behind another walking venus fly trap monster. Then he raised his hammer and crushed the monster in one hit with Mjollnir.

"Phew. Finally got enough energy. Let's roll for good rng," Jim muttered, upgrading his best hammer.

[Quality successfully raised to Excellent]

Mutant Stone Golem Hammer EX

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

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

[O]

"Finally! Can't believe how bad my luck can be sometimes," the hero muttered.

Is it just me, or are these methods more effective with wave boss hammers? It's a small boost, but it's there.

A thud behind him made Jim turn his status screen off. He turned around to find another plant monster falling with several daggers sticking out of its body. Amelia appeared beside it and retrieved her daggers.

"That was the last one. We shouldn't see anymore until we reach the tunnel," she said, shrugging off her shadowy aura. Jim let out a sign of relief and the two of them began to head towards the mountains.

But no sooner did they take a few steps, that Amelia stopped Jim.

"What is-," he asked, only to have a hand cover his mouth.

"Shhhhh," she whispered, pulling him behind a tree.

Jim was going to protest until he heard some voices, and the heavy footsteps of horses. Or at least what Jim assumed to be horses. When he peaked around the tree trunk, he saw a giant salamander pulling a cart instead, with several people walking beside it. A large black skull with red eyes and cracks was drawn on a flag that swung back and forth on top of the carriage.

"Are those thieves?" Jim whispered. Amelia nodded.

"Black Skulls. They are infamous for their services."

…. That's it? Usually an npc would give a long monologue about the lore or something and give a quest.

"What kind of services?"

"Anything really. Assassination, kidnapping, arson. The only good thing about them is that they're wise enough not to tap into slavery."

Ah, there we go. Heavy LOOOOORE!

"I see. But if they're this infamous, wouldn't the guards crack down on them by now?" Jim asked with a smile.

"I wish. Unfortunately they found a way to get a class up and empower their people's gang further. But thankfully they don't seem to do anything unless they get paid for it," Amelia explained.

"I see… wanna fight them?" Jim asked, raising his hammer, but Amelia pushed it down in response.

"Are you crazy?! They have class ups! Something you don't. I can maybe take out five or six, but you would get stomped on!"

Ok. Seems like I'll have to return to this storyline later at a higher level. Maybe at 60 ish? Or maybe I'll just need a higher level hammer, like a boss from a tier 3 or 4 wave.

"Fine. Let's avoid them for now," Jim muttered. He activated hide hammer, and the duo quickly walked past the group and into the tunnel behind them.

"So how was this tunnel made?" Jim whispered to the shadows. The bit nearby seemed to shift a bit and get closer to him.

"A previous hero tried to make an easy path on land between the kingdom of Starke and the kingdom of Jarvestia, and so they blasted a hole through the mountains. Or at least that's what the legends say. We don't even know which hero it was anymore, or if it even was a hero."

"Wow. So anything else I should know? Also, how long does this tunnel stretch out for?" Jim asked. When he looked ahead he saw nothing but darkness and a small speck of light at the very end.

"It should take us half a day to get through. Maybe less. And you can turn off the invisibility now if you want, black skull should be gone by now," she replied, diving back into the shadow.

"Doesn't being in the dark like that tire you out?"

"Not really. This feels more comfortable than walking. It's like floating across a quiet river with no one to bother you."

"So is that magic… or an item… or?"

"Shadow magic. Helps spy on people a lot too," she answered and the little ripple next to Jim disappeared completely.

Jim scrolled through his available hammers and swapped to the unmastered rope hammer. With the extra speed he could get through this tunnel quicker. And the faster he gets to the other vassal, the faster he gets stronger.

Secret tunnel, secret tunnel, through the mountains, secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel.

Jim continued to hum as he made his way through the dark mountain tunnel.

[]—

"And mastered just in time!" Jim exclaimed, jumping out of the tunnel. "Now which should I master next?"

"Use one that won't draw too much attention," Amelia suggested, pointing to a nearby village.

"Wooden hammer it is! So what's that village?"

"Trilon. If we take a cart there, we should be able to arrive at Starke's border by tomorrow morning, and be in the capital the day after. Wait here while I order one," Amelia said, disappearing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a second shadow-like figure move across the trees, but when he looked there it was already gone.

Was that Amelia? … screw it. I'll ask her later.

While he waited, Jim leaned onto a tree and dozed off, listening to the noises of nature around him.

"Get up, I got us a ride!" Amelia yelled, startling Jim.

"JESUS! Don't do that!" he yelled at the shadow woman, but she already melted into the shadows of the grass.

[]—

"The Crafter Hero and my sister have passed onto the other side of the mountains. I successfully handed over the funds to my sister. She rented them the fastest carriage to Starke. They should be at the border by tomorrow morning."

"Good Job Amanda. Let me know when they make it to the castle. Until then, keep an eye on them."

"Understood," she replied, disappearing back into the shadows.

The hero of the ring smiled and sighed in relief. Finally, things were going his way. The crafter hero would be here soon and so would his methods. With this he would be able to protect his kingdom and those dear to him. Perhaps he could also convince the otherworldly hero to stay and protect his kingdom alongside him. It would make the waves easier to deal with.

But the previous report of the other worldly vassal worried him.

They're down one vassal, and yet they are so confident they can defend their world that they send the second one away so easily. How strong is their cooking hero? I didn't get to properly gauge their strength since I took the jar via ambush.

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"William, come in," the ring vassal replied. The knight walked in with a thin stack of papers and put it on the desk in front of him.

"Is this all? I expected more people to sign up for the next wave," the ring hero said, looking over the stack of papers.

"Unfortunately most people retracted their applications. The first wave they saw must have scared them away, and I don't blame them," William replied.

"Damn it. Did you inform the knights?"

"Yes sir. Unlike the common folk, our soldiers have recovered and are ready to fight the next wave," William replied. The ring vassal slumped in his chair and looked at the ceiling. Suddenly he shot up and walked towards the door.

"Where are y-?"

"If anyone asks, I'm off for a walk," he replied. The ring hero quickly made his way out of the royal castle and into the streets of the capital. Several people greeted him on his way, to which he replied with a smile. Soon he disappeared into a dark alleyway and made his way into a small dark tent behind an old shop.

"Hey witch! I ne-," he began, but a pillow hit his face, cutting him off.

"Sit down, I don't have much time," a beautiful woman dressed in a dark purple cloak answered him.

"Right. You knew I was co-," he tried to speak again, however she pushed him into a small table and slammed a crystal ball onto it. The ring hero's smile vanished and was replaced by a worried expression.

He finally got a look around the tent and saw that most of the items usually hung around were packed up in chests and boxes instead. As a matter of fact, she was sweating and breathing heavily as she threw items together and packed them away like her life depended on it.

What horrible thing did she see that put her in such a rush?

"Put your hands on the ball and let's go. I don't have time to chit chat over tea today," she exclaimed as she sat down and grasped the crystal ball with her hands. The ring hero mirrored her actions and watched the world around him slowly fade.

He was familiar with this feeling, as he went to this woman to help him see glimpses of the future. She was a witch who could not only predict future events, but also record them and show them to others. She showed him where he would find some good ores, where and when a strong dungeon would open up, and even when he might meet his lover.

There were simpler times when he was just an adventurer traveling the world, and not a king with a vassal weapon fighting the waves of destruction.

The world around them completely disappeared and the ring hero found himself standing on the roads of the capital he just walked down to get to the tent, however they were covered in ash.

The houses were destroyed, the castle was almost completely gone, and half of the capital's ground seemed to completely disappear without a trace, with the large hole now filled with water. The ring hero noticed a giant carcass of what seemed to be a whale on the side of said hole. The whale corpse was still on fire and had a large hole on its head.

"Hey! What happened here!" he yelled, looking around for the witch. She waved over to him and pointed to something next to the corpse.

A man was standing there, dressed in dark burning armor. Hi his hands was a large black and red hammer, with an identical fire to the one on his armor. Flames were spreading from him to the ground around him, and his glowing crimson eyes seemed to stare at the ring hero.

"Crafter hero?"

The illusion ended and the duo returned to the tent.

"Unfortunately… it seems that having the crafter hero in Starke is a bad idea," the witch muttered.

The ring hero slammed his head on the table.

What the hell do I do?! I need his methods to get stronger, but I can't kill him afterwards either, cause that will put the waves into overdrive!

He sighed and looked over at the witch.

"How far in the future is that?" he asked. She shrugged and shook her head.

"I have no way of knowing. Which is why I'm leaving. I'm sorry I cannot provide you with more info," she said, leaving the tent with her items. "You can keep that crystal ball if you want, but please exit the tent. I need to pack it as well."

The ring hero grabbed the ball and raised his ring.

"Farewell Witch. Portal Ring!"

In an instant his body disappeared in a flash and he dropped down into his bed at the castle.

He dropped the ball into his drawer and began to pace around the room.

What should I do? What can I do? I need to make sure Maria is safe, I'll deal with the rest myself.