You have gained +1 experience points.

‘Come out wherever you are… I’ll make it quick…’

*Splat*

You have gained +1 experience points.

*Splot*

You have gained +1 experience points.

‘Stop running away, there is no place to run!’

You have gained +1 experience points.

Another rat fell under the massive metallic boot and joined its brethren in rodent heaven. Rusty was going through a rampage after discovering a small colony of these creatures. They were quite agile beings, making things a bit challenging for the slow-moving living armor. However, eventually, he managed to cut off all the escape routes and trap the small creatures in an enclosed area, then the slaughter began.

The metallic echoes of Rusty's relentless extermination resounded through the dungeon. The small rats were no match for his brute strength and the corroded sword that cleaved through them effortlessly. The experience points kept piling up, bringing him closer to the coveted level ten.

‘I wouldn’t need to do this if I got that other human, why did I want to let them live?’

As he was finishing up his grinding drive his thoughts went back to a few days ago where he encountered some strange adventurers. He managed to get the first one but had been stopped by a strange invisible force from delivering the final blow. It still didn’t make any sense as there was no reason for it, they were there with no way to defend themselves. Was there a reason to not defeat a foe when they were down? He truly didn’t know.

Congratulations you have gained a level.

You have reached the level limit, please choose a path forward.

‘It has come! But what is this path forward?’

With the last rat squashed beneath his foot, Rusty stood victorious in the small rat nest. The dungeon floor was littered with the remains of the creatures, and the metallic armor glinted eerily in the dim light. The level-up bar on his status screen was now full, and Rusty felt a surge of relief as he was given the level-up message. Level ten was now his, and he was quick to look up his current stats.

Name:

Rusty

Classification:

Damaged Corroded Bronze Armor [ F - ] L10 [ Max ]

Type:

Magical/Inorganic

Hit Points [ HP ]

22/22

Magic Points [MP]

18/18

Special Points [SP]

8/15

Strength

19 [ F - ]

Agility

9 [ F - ]

Dexterity

9 [ F - ]

Constitution

17 [ F - ]

Intelligence

9 [ F - ]

Wisdom

13 [ F - ]

Willpower

12 [ F - ]

Durability

F

‘Um… is that it?’

His stats went up by a little bit, but he was still quite weak. Rusty expected some drastic change to occur or perhaps he would get a new weapon. Even having his damaged armor restored would have been something, but he wasn’t receiving anything. Thus, after receiving nothing, he decided to go through all of these status windows, and finally, he discovered something new; a new one had appeared.

‘Oh! This must be it! Will it let me become strong?’

A new window appeared with a strange icon of an egg seemingly transforming into a larger creature that was like some type of quadrupedal monster. He had never seen something like it before so identifying was impossible. However, without waiting he quickly tapped this status window which brought up something called ‘Evolutionary Paths’.

Please choose a path.

‘A path? But there is only one…’

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Rusty looked at the singular option in front of him, which looked like a less damaged but still corroded living armor form. It was depicted as a three-dimensional model from the side, and his current form was also in this window. It was to the side, and an arrow was going from it to the less damaged armor.

‘Rusty Bronze Armor? So I can turn into this Rusty Bronze Armor? … I was expecting something… grander?’

The only thing on this screen was his current form and the new one that was almost identical. It was just the same set of armor with fewer dents, and holes, but still corroded over. However, considering that his current body was somewhat damaged, this was perhaps the way to get over his injuries.

‘I guess… I should press this then?’

There was a big green button under the Rusty Bronze Armor that had ‘Select’ written over it. The moment Rusty pressed it, a strange glow erupted for a moment with a phenomenon of corrupt text. Some symbols started appearing over the letters that he couldn’t read, and for some reason, nothing was happening.

‘Is there something more?’

This was truly a head-scratcher for the living armor, as he wasn’t sure what to do. There was no confirmation to ask him if he wanted to go with this singular option or not after the screen. He continued going after the select button repeatedly and even attempted to do it with both his hands after focusing on it didn’t work.

‘Why doesn’t this work? …Wait, where am I?’

Suddenly, he focused his attention elsewhere as the dead rat bodies vanished, and the dimly lit dungeon lost all of its light. As he looked around, he could see a bit of light in the distance, and while stretching his arms to the side, he could feel a hard surface. The open dungeon chamber had switched to a narrow tunnel that he was now going through. He couldn’t see anything or hear himself producing any sound, which felt off.

At the end, he arrived next to a large door with light seeping in through the cracks. His curiosity got the better of him as he quickly started pushing, and to his surprise, the large doors started to part to reveal something that he had not seen before. A bizarre environment that lacked a ceiling or any dungeon walls; it was a wide-open space filled with various things.

As he looked up, he could see vast darkness populated by tiny dots of light. It somewhat reminded him of the old void he came from, but it had something within it. However, this space was far from empty as before him was a giant body of water and a strange structure floating over it. This building hovered over the body of water with one large bridge leading towards it.

A giant castle, floating majestically over the expansive body of water, was a breathtaking sight. Its architecture seemed to defy the laws of physics, with towering spires and intricate details that glistened in the ambient light. The castle was crafted from a material that Rusty couldn't quite identify, as it emitted a soft, otherworldly crimson glow, not something that he had ever encountered in the dungeon he came from.

The structure was vast, with multiple towers that reached into the sky, disappearing into the darkness above. The exterior was adorned with mysterious symbols that seemed to shift and change as Rusty gazed upon them. It hovered over the water which looked like a gigantic lake, devoid of any movement or living creatures within it. To the sides were nothing but desolate land that stretched on to infinity.

‘How… Vast?’

The living armor, who had been existing for a little bit over a month, was speechless. He could not comprehend what he was seeing and how he got here. A moment ago, he was battling rodents and insects, but now he found himself somewhere truly magical with seemingly only one path going forward. The castle that he was looking at was quite vast and it stretched all the way into the clouds. There was only one way to get there, and that was through the rocky bridge.

However, Rusty was quite an inquisitive suit of armor and decided to first move to the side. He wondered if perhaps there was something to this desolate area around it or perhaps the water down below held something interesting. To his surprise, he was held back by a seemingly invisible wall, with the only path that he was allowed to take being forward towards the floating castle over the large lake.

There was nowhere else to go, thus Rusty moved along the bridge toward the floating castle. The crimson glow from the castle reflected on the still water beneath, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. The sound of his metallic footsteps echoed through the vastness, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Eventually, he arrived before a large castle gate that slowly creaked open without the need for him to push anything.

The interior revealed a grand hall adorned with intricate designs and strange symbols that seemed to pulse with energy. The air inside felt charged, and Rusty couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation as he ventured inside. This was a whole new world for him; all the objects were peculiar and nothing he had ever seen before. Instantly he was drawn to the furniture and objects inside, yet nothing was as it seemed.

He spotted a strange table with various small items spread out on it. In an attempt to investigate, he grabbed a few which caused some to drop down to the floor. The material they were made of was smooth yet brittle. When they collided with the hard tiles on the ground, they shattered and the liquid inside spilled out. However, instead of the parts spreading out, they just stopped and almost instantly reverted back to their previous shape. It was as if time was reversed before his metallic eyes, and quickly after he attempted to smash something else, but soon it just restored itself to its previous shape.

‘What is this? Can items restore themselves this easily? Could I restore my body like this?’

Rusty glanced at his own body, which had been damaged in several areas before. The holes remained, and whenever he moved, his body produced an obscene amount of noise. Yet for some reason, there was no echo in this place and a certain lack of any movement. It was as if nothing was here and it was left abandoned. During his investigation, something eventually caught his metallic eye as a strange light flashed in the distance.

‘That is?’

After following this light, he ended up at a large set of stairs and probably the only way forward. He wanted to wander around this grand place, but besides the lush rooms filled with strange expensive-looking items, there wasn’t really anything that interesting. No weapons or enemies that could give him experience, he wanted to know why he was here, and the large door above the stairs was calling to him.

Rusty ascended the grand staircase, each step echoing through the vast hall. As he reached the top, he found himself in front of another set of colossal doors. These doors were adorned with intricate carvings, depicting scenes and symbols that seemed to tell a story he couldn't decipher.

Before he knew it the doors opened automatically as Rusty approached, revealing a room filled with many strange metallic objects, light, and heat. It was an awe-inspiring sight, with molten metal flowing like rivers and ethereal flames dancing in the air. The air was thick with the scent of metal and enchantment. Rusty somewhat knew what this place was as the memories given to him identified it as a forge.

On the sides, he could see many tools, like various types of hammers, pliers, and chisels. But his focus was on the middle part of this forge where something stood, a direct replica of the Rusty Bronze Armor that he had seen before. It looked exactly like the display inside of his status screen and was clearly what he was supposed to evolve into. Rusty could tell that it wasn’t another living armor but an empty shell.

‘Is that my new form?’

He could somehow tell by instinct that it was the truth, that would be his new body and perhaps this was something that all monsters that evolved went through. After looking around for a moment, he decided to approach the middle area to take a look at what was probably his new body. At first, he circled around it but eventually he decided to touch it with his own metallic hand. Instantly, he could feel a connection being formed and something from inside of his current shell being pulled towards the new armored body.

‘This must be it! I’m going to get a new, stronger body!’

As Rusty felt the connection growing stronger, he could sense a surge of energy coursing through him. It was as if he was being drawn into the new body that was standing in the middle of this fiery forge. He did not know the meaning behind the tools, but he also didn’t care. It was obviously better than the damaged one that he was occupying now, so having his essence flow into this one would be what he needed to do.

“No, Stop! Don’t just go into it like that you idiot!”

‘Huh?’

Just as he was about to slip into the new body, he heard a voice calling out to him from a distance. The connection to his new body was severed as he prepared for combat. Rusty was lacking his corroded sword, but there were some metal tools around this forge. However, before he could arm himself, he saw his strange opponent who was nothing more than just a ball of light.

‘What is that?’

“I’m not a that!”

‘It can hear me?’

“I’m not an it, either!”

To Rusty’s surprise, the ball of white light he was talking to could actually hear and understand his words. It was floating in the distance while shouting at him, for some reason it was trying to keep him from merging with the new body that was just standing in the middle of this large forge.

‘Who are you and why shouldn’t I?’

“Did you even bother to examine your surroundings? Why would you just ignore everything that is in here?”

The ball of light approached him and it wasn’t much larger than an egg from a chicken. It started buzzing around his head while shouting and scolding. Rusty could not get his head around what was happening as this was the first time interacting with another creature. The monsters in the dungeon were more like lifeless husks and the voice in his head would only give him orders.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Instinctively he reached out to catch the ball of light but it was quite agile, a lot faster than the rats and with too much space around them to corner.

“I’m not sure who is the fool, hero.”

“Shut up! If I didn’t speak up then he might have vanished from this place already.”

Rusty stopped chasing the ball of white light as he heard another voice from the other side. This time around it was a ball of darkish light floating his way. Its voice was a lot deeper, but its demeanor was also a lot more relaxed. The two balls of light started arguing before him, which just made him question their existence more.

“Even in this form, you fail to learn from these past mistakes. Or did your fragmented form finally start to deteriorate?”

“I’m sure you’d be happy if I vanished, but I’m not going to die before a damn demon!”

“Oh my, is that a challenge?”

The two seemed to ignore his existence for a moment, which gave Rusty some time to think. His mind was blank, and he had no idea what was happening, but the more he listened to their voices, the more familiar they became. It was as if he knew them from the moment he was born or came to this world.

“Ah, I think our metallic friend is confused. This isn’t surprising; these lowly creatures aren’t known to have too much intelligence. The fact that he can form a sentence is already astonishing.”

‘...Hey! Was that an insult!’

“Oh, how interesting. I wonder if he would understand sarcasm?”

The black ball of light started chuckling while Rusty felt somewhat annoyed. He was sure that he had been insulted but didn’t know how to respond. The two balls of light were quite chatty, but his attention moved back to the new body he wanted. It was possible that these two just wanted to keep him from getting stronger, so while they were chatting, he started to slowly turn back to the corroded bronze armor.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you that it was too early to use that? Do you know that this place … this soul forge can make you even stronger?”

"Can it make me stronger?’

The white ball of light zoomed between him and the corroded piece of armor. The moment he heard it say that he could get even stronger, it activated a deep-rooted desire. Rusty was tired of hiding from the humans in the dungeon and also tired of getting ordered around by the voice inside his head. If it was possible to use this place to gain even more strength, then perhaps he should listen to what these two had to say.