Heavy Metal

The tunnel had transformed into a nightmarish battlefield. Rusty stood at attention as the skeletal army rose, accompanied by the grotesque humanoid spiders. Each enemy emanated an aura of malice, the green glow of necromantic energy mingling with the faint silver shimmer of Gleam's light. She chirped nervously, her antennae quivering as she perched on his shoulder.

" ( •̀ - •́ ) "

"It's fine Gleam, they only have numbers as long as there aren't any D ranks among them… we will be fine!"

Rusty unsheathed his twilight-iron blade and held his shield steady as the monsters attacked. Their focus seemed to be on Gleam rather than on him. It was clear that these creatures were drawn more to the living than to the inanimate magical object he was perceived to be.

" ( •̀⤙•́ ) "

"I don't think they are underestimating you Gleam…"

His friend pouted as the monsters seemed to regard her as the easier target of the two. Moments later, the battle erupted in an echo of clashing metal, shattering bones, and piercing screeches. Rusty surged forward, his sword cleaving through zombie heads and undead spiders alike. Although their enemies were numerous, they proved to be surprisingly weak - especially after Gleam unleashed one of her new spells, the Lesser Shield of Light.

The result was unexpected and not something Gleam had planned. Once the shield materialized around Rusty - its intended target the monsters recoiled as though stricken with fear. While the shield was designed purely as a defensive ability, it seemed to have an unintended secondary effect on the undead creatures. They were repelled by the light, behaving as though it functioned as a persistent debuff spell.

"Good going gleam, keep that shield up and stay on my shoulder!"

" ( •̀ᴗ•́ )و "

Gleam chirped as the shield enveloped them in a radiant glow. The spiders with humanoid heads screeched as they lunged forward, undeterred by the shield's damaging effect. Their grotesque forms became a blur of motion, but as they neared, the radiant magic halted them in their tracks. This gave Rusty the perfect opportunity to strike, his blade plunging into their twisted bodies and defeating them with a single, well-placed blow.

He ignored the system messages awarding him for slaying the F and F-plus rank creatures. In the past, monsters like the ant queen and the centipede had been formidable foes at this level. But now, as an E rank, he faced no real challenges against these lesser creatures. They fell to his blade effortlessly, as if he were slicing through butter, and he was rapidly accumulating experience.

"... Perhaps?"

The swarm pressed against him relentlessly, but his attention was fixed on the system notification. His level had just hit fourteen - only one more to go before he could evolve again and enter the Soul Forge. The thought invigorated him, and with renewed determination, he faced the oncoming horde. They were nothing more than crawling experience boxes, each one bringing him closer to his goal.

The tide of battle was shifting in Rusty's favor. Gleam's Lesser Shield of Light continued to repel the undead and humanoid spider creatures, giving Rusty the upper hand. Gleam's chirps were almost rhythmic as she released spells from time to time, sending the monsters back.

" (°〇°) "

A ray of light burst forth from her mouth, piercing through multiple zombies and undead spider hybrids in its path. Both of them gained large amounts of experience points as the creatures continued to swarm from a single general direction. If these monsters had any sense of tactics and surrounded them all at once, they might have been in real trouble. Instead, the creatures attacked in an almost single-file line, making their disposal surprisingly easy.

Time passed and soon the tides were shifting, the relentless assault was slowing. Soon, there was an eerie silence as the last monster was defeated. The half decomposed zombie dropped down to its knees after having it's head lobbed of. Once it was down, Rusty heard a ding.

Rusty felt a surge of energy course through his metallic frame as the system notification flashed in his mind. He had reached level fifteen - the cap for his current rank. This was the moment he had been anticipating: evolution.

"Finally…"

Rusty muttered, his voice laced with excitement. Gleam chirped triumphantly, her antennae flickering with faint silvery light as she perched on his shoulder. The tunnel was now littered with the remains of the undead and the humanoid-faced spiders, a testament to their battle prowess.

"Looks like you're ready for the next step, I wonder how that place has changed, haven't been there in a while…"

Aburdon remarked. He and Alexander had been with Rusty permanently for some time now. Previously, they had been confined to the Soul Forge, waiting for Rusty to summon them. During those times, they could only observe the changes in the Forge before Rusty stepped inside. Now, with the ability to return freely, Rusty realized he could grow a bit stronger before venturing into his new lair.

" ( ˶°ㅁ°) !! "

"Oh, don't worry Gleam, I won't be gone for long but also, It would probably not be wise to do it here…"

"We better find a safe location, we don't know if there are any more of these undead monsters here."

Rusty's eye socket glowed brighter as Alexander nodded in agreement. They were out in the open, and he would be temporarily incapacitated during his evolution. What they needed was a place where he could hide safely for a while.

The two remained near the spider-infested area, having been fighting for quite some time. While those creatures usually stayed close to their nests, the noise might have attracted other predators. There was also no guarantee that more undead weren't lurking in these tunnels.

Rusty hadn't been able to salvage much from the monsters they defeated. There were no cores left behind, and he wasn't sure if their parts had any value. For now, they pressed on, carefully scanning their surroundings.

The abundance of bones and corpses they'd encountered earlier had disappeared as most had already come to life to attack them. After some time, the small openings in the walls, where spiders once crawled through, vanished altogether, signaling they were leaving the arachnid territory.

"There… a hidden passage. More Thieves Guild nonsense, I presume? Mortals really do waste their energy on unnecessary things."

Aburdon muttered as they came to a dead end. Upon closer inspection, they noticed a mechanism embedded in the wall. Rusty recognized it immediately - it could be activated using his Thieves Guild emblem which was in his possession.

Rusty approached the concealed entrance Aburdon had pointed out. The "hidden" nature of the passage was betrayed by faint markings etched into the stone, symbols only a member of the Thieves' Guild might recognize. He crouched and pressed his metallic hand against the wall's damp surface as he sought a mechanism.

"There it is…"

After searching carefully, Rusty found a well-concealed latch. Opening it revealed a coin slot, clearly designed for his guild-issued coin. After a moment of deliberation, he inserted the coin. The mechanism activated with a faint click, and moments later, the wall began to shift, revealing a hidden room. At first glance, it appeared to be a simple dead end.

Gleam chirped with excitement, her antennae glowing faintly as she hopped off Rusty's shoulder and darted inside. The light she emitted illuminated a relatively secure space, untouched by the chaos they had just escaped.

"That mechanism must control the passage"

Alexander observed, pointing to a lever embedded in the wall. The room was sparsely furnished, containing a table and a few chairs. A small ventilation shaft provided some airflow. It was clear this place had been constructed by the Thieves Guild and could only be accessed by its members.

"At least I got my coin back."

The coin he had placed earlier had reappeared on the other side, ready for him to retrieve. It was clear that the lever embedded in the wall would open the path forward, but now that he was inside this hidden chamber, it seemed to be exactly what he needed.

"Hm… how about I just evolve here?"

"That isn't the worst idea you had but is this place truly safe?"

Aburdon was a bit skeptical but Gleam chirped with enthusiasm.

" (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) "

"You'll protect me while I'm evolving?"

He was happy that his friend would protect him while his body wouldn't be able to move. Before he could make a decision he heard the door he walked through closing behind him. There was another switch near it on this side which was probably the opening mechanism so he didn't mind it, instead he just sat down on the chair as he made a decision.

"Let's do it, monsters shouldn't be able to get in here. Does anyone disagree?"

"I think it should be fine?"

Replied Alexander.

"If Gleam conceals her mana and doesn't cast any light spells, the undead shouldn't notice us, I suppose?"

Aburdon added his opinion and it was time to evolve. Before moving on to the Soul Forge he made sure to look at his status to see how his status screen was looking.

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Two of his stats had reached the higher E-plus rank, and the rest weren't far behind. As he reflected on his progress, memories of everything he had endured so far came flooding back. He couldn't help but wonder where this journey would ultimately lead him.

He longed for strength and dreamed of exploring the vast, open world brimming with adventure. But he also understood the harsh reality of his path - power was essential. To continue, he would need to evolve, to push his limits constantly. Without that drive, his journey might come to an abrupt end before it had truly begun.

"All right, Gleam. I'll leave everything to you."

" ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) "

"Thank you."

Rusty knew that while only a short amount of time would pass in the outside world, he would likely spend several months inside the Soul Forge. Each time he entered, he found he could remain there longer than before. He used this time to train - honing his blacksmithing skills and battling replicas of monsters he had previously defeated. He often wished the strong cult leader could appear in the training room so he could test himself against a truly powerful opponent. However, the Soul Forge required him to have defeated a creature before it could be recreated.

His body eventually slumped into the chair, arms dangling as his consciousness faded. Moments later, he found himself standing on the bridge before the floating castle. Both of his guides were absent.

"I don't think they can leave the castle"

It seemed Aburdon and Alexander were bound to the structure while he remained outside. Wasting no time, Rusty made his way across the bridge and into the Soul Forge, eager to see his new body. His excitement was palpable, and he quickened his pace as he loosely looked around the area to see if he could spot any changes. This space sometimes shifted around and produced new things and chambers.

"Not much has changed... I think"

"Ah, Rusty, there you are"

Aburdon floated out to greet him as he entered through the castle's gates. Alexander followed shortly after, heading in the same direction as Rusty - toward the Soul Forge. Rusty gave his guide a nod but didn't stop to chat. He hurried forward, anticipation surging through him as he neared the forge, eager to see the choices for his two new bodies.

The doors flew open as she charged inside and just like last time, he had exactly three new bodies before him. Two looking quite interesting with one resembling the one he occupied now, just with a slightly different tint to it.

"Hmmm… those two look strong…"

"Oh, how interesting… I like the one on the left, why don't we go with that?"

Aburdon commented as he floated forward over to the armor on the left. It wasn't surprising that the late demon lord was drawn to that body as it looked quite demonic. First of all, it had a dark, almost obsidian hue, with jagged, flame-like accents running along its edges. The chest piece bore a grotesque, grinning face molded into the metal, its eyes actually glowing ominously. Wicked, claw-like gauntlets completed the intimidating look, making it clear this was a form designed to instill fear and dominate.

Alexander, however, was less impressed.

"And I suppose you'll have Rusty rampaging around looking like one of your old generals, Aburdon?"

He asked while floating towards the armor on the right side.

"This one, Rusty, is far more befitting of your character."

The armor Alexander gestured to was vastly different. Gleaming white with golden trim, it radiated a soft, warm light. The design was elegant, almost angelic, with smooth, flowing curves and a radiant emblem of a sunburst etched into the chest. The pauldrons flared out slightly and the gauntlets ended in a refined, functional design. A flowing cape of light fabric completed its form giving it the appearance of a holy knight.

"It's similar to those paladins…"

Rusty approached both armors, his eye sockets now devoid of any light as his two guides were floating around him. The two on the sides were half a head taller than the one in the middle who looked like his current body. At one glance it was just something made from another type of metal so he focused on the two on the sides. They looked rather magnificent, much more intricate than his current body and instantly made him want to choose one of them.

"Could these two be higher than E+ ranks?"

Rusty wasn't entirely sure, but after seeing Gleam's evolutionary options skip a small rank, it seemed possible that he could do the same. His two guides were already embroiled in an argument over the choices before him. Each insisted he select the armor that aligned with their perspective - Aburdon's sinister, dark energy or Alexander's radiant, light-filled ethos.

It felt as though choosing one of these armors would be akin to choosing between them, a decision that seemed almost symbolic. He didn't need to make a choice now. Rusty knew he had plenty of time to decide. He turned his attention away from the ongoing debate, letting his mind wander. That was when he noticed it - a new door had appeared in the chamber. Above it, glowing letters spelled out:

*Summoning Hall*