Jim woke up to the noise of dozens of footsteps and some yelling, starling him from his dream. He quickly absorbed the tent and everything in it and quickly ran out of the cave under invisibility. To his shock, he saw a small army marching through the forest towards his location.

"There he is!" one of the scouts screamed from the top of the tree, pointing to Jim.

Well, sh*t, looks like it's time to run!

Magic spells began to fly in Jim's direction, blowing up the trees around him.

"Mad Dash!" Jim yelled, quickly dodging out of the way and running in the other direction.

Arrows and spells crashed all around him, but despite this, he was still faster. Or at least he was supposed to.

A stinging pain erupted from his shoulder and his body collapsed onto the ground. Jim reached for the source of the pain and found a dart with a small green stone at the end embedded in his shoulder. When he pulled it out, his strength returned to normal, but the mob was quickly approaching.

Damn it, they got kryptonite darts. Why isn't my kryptonite hammer activating? Oh well, I'll experiment later.

Before any of the other arrows or darts could hit him, he absorbed the dart, turned invisible, ducked behind a tree and swung himself upwards. The army paused and began to look around wildly.

"Shoot, he couldn't have gone far. Burn down the forest if you have to, but find him!" somebody barked orders, but Jim didn't stick around to listen. He began to swing from tree to tree, trying to be as quiet as possible.

As he got out of earshot, Jim took a few seconds to catch his breath and looked around. But just as he was about to continue swinging, something caught his eye.

Loud noises and a sea of shiny metal were seen coming from the side of the mountain. Or rather, from the tunnel direction.

Starke from the back, Jarvestia from the front. I didn't think I'd be sandwiched between two armies like this. Enie, menie, miney, mo, left I go!

Without hesitation, Jim turned to the left and began to swing away from both armies as fast as he could, trying to disappear amongst the trees. But as he was looking up forward…

Huh? Smoke? Is someone burning a statue or something? It looks like a forest fire but in the opposite direction! Did Starke teleport in front of me or something?

…

Wait, isn't that where I saved that village from the Black Skull?

Jim launched his rope forward, quickly grappling over to the village until the trees ran out. He dropped onto the ground and continued running.

But as Jim slowly approached the area where the village was supposed to be, all he saw was the burning ruins of one. The whole place was still burning, houses broken and torn to shreds. Jim paled as he saw several people lying around them.

They weren't breathing. Their skin was darkened and paled, their faces stuck in an expression of horror. Several stab wounds seemed to leak out a dark purple liquid with smoke coming out of it.

"Wh-who… did this? WHO DID THIS?!" Jim screamed as he ran into the village. No one seemed to be left alive, with even the salamanders not being spared, their corpses curled up and burned.

"*cough*, the black *cough* skulls did," a weak voice called out from under some rubble. Jim quickly ran over and threw the rubble out of the way, revealing the village elder, bloodied up and with a stab wound, similar to the other villagers, in his gut.

"Fast Healing Warmth!" Jim chanted, trying to close up the wound. However, the wound barely reacted, still leaking a dark purple liquid. Jim grabbed some cloth nearby and tried to tie it around the wound while chanting another healing spell, but the elder stopped him.

"Don't… bother. Wound… cursed…" he wheezed out, barely gripping Jim's hand. "You'll only prolong… my suffering."

"Why the hell did they do this?! Why would they slaughter everyone in the village?! I thought they just robbed the place and dipped?!" Jim asked, setting the cloth down.

"They used to… but after you… stopped them last… time, they were *COUGH* pretty angry. They tried to find you, but -gah- no one knew where you… were. And so…" the man didn't finish, instead weakly nodding to his side.

They… they did this cause they were looking for me?

"Don't blame… yourself. You didn't know… better and you… wanted to help. I guess things… don't always… turn out… for the… best huh?" the man said, patting Jim's shoulder lightly as his voice grew fainter and fainter.

"If I didn't stop them there, you would have lived… wouldn't you?" Jim mumbled, as panicked gripped his heart in anticipation for the answer.

"Perhaps… or perhaps… not… who is… to… sa…y," the man whispered, his last breath escaping his lungs.

"You didn't help them, just delayed a storm! No, even worse, there is a high chance they'll be back next week and be even worse!"

Jim slumped back and grabbed his head.

Why did I even get summoned? First Starke, now this village. I try to help, but I just make things worse for the people, don't I? They were happy with their king and this village was broke but alive…

Oh god. This is all real. This is all real and I just killed dozens of people!

Jim paused and turned away from the elder just as his stomach began to turn. He vomited onto the burning ground, the smell of burned throw-up joining the burnt flesh and blood, causing Jim's head to spin. He dropped to his knees, pale as a sheet of paper.

What have I done? Oh god, what have I done?!

I'm… I…

Suddenly, the heavy footsteps and voices came within earshot, getting louder and louder each second.

Sh*t, here comes karma. Soon I'll be dead or back to square one. What was even the point of escaping? What was the point of me trying?

Should I run? Should I even do anything?

This was my fault, I deserve this…

Jim slumped down on the ground and let out a heavy sigh, his body getting heavier. He leaned his forehead onto his hammer and closed his eyes. Would an arrow blast his head off? Or would he be dragged away from here? Jim didn't care, either way things couldn't get worse.

But someone else didn't think the same thing.

Out of the corner of his eye, a new notification popped up, glitching in and out of existence, as if trying to delete itself before Jim saw it.

[The requirements for the Curse Series have been met]

Jim glanced at the words and grit his teeth.

What the hell is this?

[Do you want power?]

"Hah… ha ha ha ha ha AHA HA HA HA HA HA WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME THIS NOW?!" Jim screamed, slamming his weapon into the ground.

"POWER?! YOU'RE ASKING ME IF I WANT POWER?! WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I WAS FIGHTING A GOD OF THUNDER?! WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I FOUGHT THE BLACK SKULL?! WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I WAS IN PRISON OR WHEN I FOUGHT A BUSTED VASSAL HERO?! WHERE WAS YOUR POWER THERE?!" Jim howled, slamming his hammer into the ground repeatedly. But as he did this, a piece of dirt and dust flew into his eye.

"AGH, FUCK!" Jim screamed, rubbing his eyes. But the message appeared again.

[Do you want power?]

Jim gritted his teeth and tried to throw his hammer away, however, it didn't escape his fingers.

"OF F*CKING COURSE I DO! MAN, THIS WOULD HAVE HELPED A LOT IF YOU ASKED ME BEFORE YOU KNOW?!" Jim howled at the hammer, however, it didn't respond. Jim collapsed onto the ground and let out a long sigh.

What the hell do you want from me? What do you want from a murderer?

"Crafter hero," a familiar voice said from behind Jim. Jim's shoulders sank as he recognized the voice. "It is time to go. I hope you make the right choice here before I have to make it for you."

It was the advisor of the king of Jarvestia. Carliten his golden glasses still sat upon his nose, and he looked down on Jim as always. Several knights were beside him with their weapons drawn out, and a few hundred knights behind them. Jim even saw a couple of crossbows aimed at his face.

"Do I actually have a choice in the matter?" Jim grumbled, looking at the crowd before him.

"I believe you know the answer to that question. Do any of us have much of a choice when the world is on the brink of ruin? I have a job to fulfill, as do you," the advisor answered, pushing his glasses up. "So come with us now."

I don't have a choice. I didn't have a choice.

Jim grit his teeth and turned towards the village. The old man's body was still slumped where he left him.

I did the right thing. I tried to save them!

"Let's go," the advisor insisted.

It's you. A bunch of bastards who ignore the people and use others as tools.

"I am so sick and tired…" Jim began, raising his hammer over his head. All the knights tensed up and raised their weapons to counter, running towards Jim to stop his attack.

It's your f*cking fault! Not mine!

You can all burn to hell for all I care!

"...OF BEING YOUR FUCKING TOOL!" he hollered, slamming his hammer into the ground as hard as he could. However, nobody was ready for what happened next.

Jim's hammer practically exploded, engulfing everybody nearby with dark crimson flames. Several of the knights screamed in pain as the fire burned through their skin and melted their armor to their bodies, trapping them in agony.

The advisor managed to jump out of harm's way and intercept Jim's flames with his own, creating a flaming wall in front of him. He looked at Jim in shock and anger, but both quickly morphed into fear as he saw Jim meet his gaze.

The face looking back at him was twisted into one of rage, with two bright red glowing eyes glaring at him, radiating such bloodlust that Carliten almost felt a pair of burning hands suffocating him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Jim screamed to the sky, raising a burning black spiky hammer, the head of which was decorated with a bright red flame design, over his head, readying for another attack.

[Hammer of Rage has been unlocked]

Leona looked around, yawning as she walked past the army of people looking around the forest and lightning trees on fire.

Man, what is all the fuss about? I was out for like 5 minutes.

Leona frowned and checked the wave timer in the corner of her vision.

Ok, maybe 5 hours. Not that bad, right? Where did the crafting guy go?

Just as Leona was wondering about this, one of the scouts pointed somewhere ahead, where a small fire was beginning to spread in their direction. Leona peaked over to where he was pointing and smiled.

Welp, best a place as ever to start looking she thought, wobbling over to the flames. It was then that she felt a shiver run down her spine when she got a better look at the flames the scout was pointing at.

Unlike normal flames, they were dark crimson red, almost blood-like. And unlike normal flames, they seemed to jump forward, spitting out little bits of fire as if the flame was alive.

Hoh… that can't be good… Better find that hero before he gets eaten by these.

But as she approached the village, her expression changed to one of worry. In front of her was the very hero in question, enveloped by the flames with a hammer that seemed to be spewing them in every direction.

Huh… well I'll be damned.

Leona cracked her neck and quickly ran inside of the village, glancing at her status to see what she should use.

Hold on, little hero. I'll be right there to help you out.

"Everyone, the crafting hero has gone rogue! Subdue him, dead or alive," Carliten commanded, backing away from Jim and sending a wave of flames at the burning hero. But instead of hurting Jim, they leaped onto his hammer and fueled the cursed flame.

"F*CK OFF!" Jim hollered, swinging his hammer as fast as he could, sending a burning wave of crimson flame back at them. But before they could engulf Carliten, several tanks with large tower shields rushed forward to block the flame.

"Fire mages, use your secondary affinity. Everyone else, fire at will!" Carliten barked, backing away as the tanks began to surround Jim. He rushed forward, raising his hammer over his head and let out an inhumane roar as he brought it down. The unfortunate tanker in front of him raised his shield, but the spikes on the hammerhead pierced through the shield and burned his arm. However, the knight held firm and gena to push Jim to the ground with other knights rushing over to restrain him.

But before they could do anything, Jim grinned and said only one word that quickly extinguished any hope the knight beneath him had of surviving.

"Burn."

A torrent of flames erupted from the hammer's spikes and crashed into the knight's armor, melting it and burning the flesh beneath. The tanker screamed and tried to pull away, but Jim grabbed his shield and kicked through the broken metal, pushing the man to the ground.

Two knights rushed him from behind and bashed him away with their shields, freeing their comrade from the hero's clutches. The crafting hero was quickly showered in water spells and encased in a large container of ice, trapping him in place.

One of the other tankers ran over to their friend, who stopped thrashing around on the floor, and turned him over. He paled and his eyes twitched as he looked at the burnt tanker.

The face under the helmet was burned beyond recognition, and the armor on the front was melted into the skin, letting out a foul odor. The arms that were holding onto the broken shield were twisted in an unnatural way, with the hands melted into a clump of flesh and metal.

The two knights glanced at each other with the same look of disbelief on their face.

How can I hero be capable of such a thing?

But their thoughts were interrupted by a loud crack and the screams of their comrades. They looked up and saw that the large clump of ice that contained the hero was beginning to crack, with water and steam bursting from the openings.

"Sh*t! Freeze it again! We can't let him break loose!" Carliten yelled, but it was too late. With a loud boom, the ice cage burst open, spraying chunks of ice and burning hot steam in all directions.

"HOW DARE YOU?! YOU WON'T IMPRISON ME AGAIN!" Jim hollered, slamming his hammer down onto a nearby mage. With a loud crunch, their body folded like a sheet of paper, barely having time to let out a squeak before it was compressed into a puddle of blood and fire. He rushed forward at the other mages, but was quickly pushed back by a sea of spells.

But despite the great amount of spells, they didn't seem to do any damage to him, they weren't even much of an annoyance.

"Stall for time, prepare a combo spell," the advisor commanded, backing into the crowd of mages as they began to chant. The tankers rushed forth, getting buffed by some of the mages with resistance to fire. Jim raised his weapon, but a tanker tackled him from behind, pushing him to the ground with his shield.

"GET OFF!" Jim reared out, trying to reach out and grab the knight, but several more piled on top of him, keeping him pinned to the ground. Despite his best efforts, the knights weren't letting him go, and any burns he put on them with the fire from his hammer were barely doing any damage.

"Crafter Hero, stop trying to resist and give up! You can't win against an army," one of the knights said, trying to stop Jim from breaking free. This seemed to work as Jim stopped moving and stopped resisting the knights, opting to growl instead. But just as they thought they were in the clear, they realized Jim wasn't just senselessly, but actually chanting.

"S-sh*t! GET A MANA ARROW HERE, NOW!" the knight yelled, but it was too late.

"FAST RAGING STORM!" Jim screamed out. The next second a burst of flame ignited from under Jim, blasting the knights away and melting their armor.

"Advanced Icicle Prison!" a mage called out, surrounding Jim in ice. But before the ice could finish forming, the spell got covered in flames, turning the prison to steam. Suddenly, glowing arrows flew through his torso and came out the other side even brighter than before. The arrows burst and dissipated, but the damage was done. The tornado of flame dissipated, as if turned off with a switch, leaving Jim standing defenseless on the burnt ground.

This, however, seemed to anger him further, as he lunged at the mage and dropped his hammer. The knights couldn't react fast enough, so they could only watch as the hammer slammed into the head of the mage, and with one swift motion the mage was reduced to a burning pile of flesh.

Jim didn't give the soldiers a second to rest as he rushed forth at the closest person to him.

"Advanced Pitfall!"

"Advanced Holy Water Splash"

The ground behind Jim suddenly sank into itself, dropping Jim into a pit that was quickly covered in glowing water. The flames on his body and hammer were quickly put out and he was left scrambling to the surface.

"Master Quicksand."

"Fast Burial."

Before he could break out, the ground collapsed on top of him and the top of the pit was covered up by the solid ground, burying him alive.

Finally, silence fell upon the field as the screams of the hero got muffled by the ground.