“Come here, you undead bastards!”

“We don’t have all day! Come here!”

Shouts of people filled a gloomy underground crypt. Many tombstones with strange markings started releasing foul-smelling fumes as bodies of undead creatures burst forth from the ground underneath. Tens of them emerged instantly, looking in the direction of where the shouting was coming from. The moment they spotted the few humans there, they started charging instantly.

In the dim light of flickering torches, a group of determined individuals stood their ground, weapons drawn. Even though many undead monsters like skeletons and zombies were approaching them, they didn’t seem too bothered. Everything was going according to their plan as some ran around strategically to force the monsters into a more tightly-knit group. Soon many zombies were bumping into each other while charging after one of the adventurers.

“That’s it, herd them together! We can’t waste too many spells on these trash mobs! Get ready, Edmund!”

“Radiant light, source of grace so pure, I stand against darkness, my prayers will endure. Turn undead away, banish the night, In thy name, restore the sacred light…”

In one corner of the undead crypt, a man stood, his rosary wrapped around his hands as he continued to pray to his gods. Under him a layer of radiant light was beginning to form and the more he continued to say his prayer the more of it appeared around his body. All the monsters that had been herded together were heading in the direction of this man named Edmund, something the people in here had planned all along.

The group of adventurers had six members. Four of them had shields and heavier armor to protect the praying man, while one of them, who was more nimble, lured in the monsters. It was a surefire plan that this group had carried out a few times before, and their goal was to move into the deeper areas of this dungeon once their levels had increased. Even though a single zombie or skeleton didn’t offer much, with the help of divine magic, they could easily dispatch large groups of them instantly.

“That should be enough, now hold!”

On purpose, the group placed themselves with their backs to a wall. The zombies and skeletons could only come from one direction, which allowed them to lure in many more. The four fighters with the large shields pushed back against the undead creatures and waited for their cleric to finish the chant. Just like every time, once the spell erupted, these monsters would turn to nothing more than dust in the wind.

“Grant me strength in this holy endeavor, Banish the shadows, let them fade forever. Turn Undea…”

However, their halfheartedly created plan didn’t account for everything. At the moment the priest was about to finish casting the Turn Undead spell, something out of the ordinary happened. From an unknown direction, something flew in an arch and connected with the ground close to the cleric. Once looking at this projectile, they identified it as an arrow with a strange worm creature squiggling around as if it had been freshly impaled by it.

As it wiggled around, a purple gas erupted from it, and it quickly started spreading through the whole area. To make things worse, it wasn’t the only one there; soon others started falling down in the general direction of this party that had led itself into a dead end on its own accord. It was not something that they expected to ever happen, as the monsters here were not intelligent enough for such tactics, nor did they detect any other adventurers who could have planned an ambush.

“Shit, It’s poison mist!”

“How did a crypt leech get over here?”

The adventurers’ coordinated strategy fell apart as the unexpected poison mist engulfed the area. Panic set in among the group as they realized the dire situation they found themselves in. The cleric, Edmund, struggled to complete his incantation amidst the chaos. The mist, originating from the punctured crypt leeches, started affecting the adventurers, slowly weakening them.

“E-edmund, quickly cast the cleansing spell!”

“No, we need to get rid of the zombies first, cast Turn Undead first! What are you doing?”

“I *cough* uh…”

The cleric, Edmund, was struggling with the poisonous mist and the interrupted Turn Undead spell. He could not focus on chanting due to the poison and inability to do it while coughing so loudly. Even one of those worms could produce a large explosion of this mist and something from afar continued to shoot arrows in their direction. Even when the adventurers used their shields to bat them away, the pierced leeches continued to burst and produce more mist. To make things worse, they had attracted a large group of undead monsters that continued to push.

“Shit this never happened before, this was supposed to be a safe zone for leveling, did the guild lie to us?”

“Stop talking, we *cough* need to get out of here!”

It was clear that their plan would not work. The cloud of poison was surrounding them, and the longer they stayed inside of it, the harder it would be to leave. They were all under the poison status now, and even their cleric was suffering and unable to cleanse himself. Soon they all charged out together and made a run for it, even though it was hard to break and move; they needed to do it to survive.

“Come on, we need to get to the corridor; it isn’t far from here!”

Luckily, there was an escape route nearby, a narrow tunnel not too far from here. They knew that if they were able to make it there, then even the zombies wouldn’t be able to follow after. Soon they made a break for it; everyone was coughing, and their skin was turning purple. They were losing stamina and health points at a rapid pace, but as long as they made it to the safe location, then their cleric could cleanse all of them.

To their surprise, when they reached the tunnel that should lead them to a safe location, it was not the salvation that they expected, as an unknown person was waiting for them. At least that’s what they looked at first, but soon the adventurer party realized that it was not a human but a monster that shouldn’t be in this area.

“A living armor? What is it doing here?”

The team leader asked while charging forward, but before he could push the monster out of the way, a massive burst of poisonous mist erupted from the ground. To his surprise, the ground was littered with the small bugs, and the monster seemed to be purposely stepping on them while retreating into the tight corridor where even more poison awaited them. Considering this turn of events, running towards that location would become impossible, and they would quickly succumb to the poison.

Eventually, the group of adventurers ran out of options. The monsters were unaffected by the poison in the air while they continued to suffer. Their bodies became sluggish, and some of them were finally caught by the horde they had enticed. The numbers were not something that they could contend with, and soon their loud screams filled this underground crypt.

*****

Rusty observed the demise of the adventurer party with a mix of curiosity and detachment. The poison mist had done its job, rendering them vulnerable to the relentless attacks of the undead monsters. The living armor, hidden in the poisonous corridor, watched as the adventurers fought desperately for their lives. He noted how their once-coordinated group crumbled the moment he introduced something that they weren’t expecting.

This was his test run for his new strategy. After previously discovering the hidden poisonous bugs, he decided to use them. On his back, he was wearing a quiver that had been emptied out a few moments ago. Right after the adventurers gathered the zombies, he set his plan in motion and started firing. Once the worms were pierced, there was some time to fire them before the toxic fumes erupted. The result was quite favorable, so he soon moved to the second stage of the plan.

Before he attempted this, he took a whole week to examine his enemies and gather archery-related skills that had helped him in this new endeavor.

Basic Power Shot

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Active Skill

Perform a more powerful ranged attack.

Basic Archery

Passive Skills

A skill that makes it easier to wield a bow, is required to unlock more powerful archery skills.

With their help, he was able to somewhat aim his shots in the direction he wanted. The adventurers were ready to receive arrows that were shot directly at them from the skeletal archers, but they weren’t ready for him, who aimed at the blind spots and ground.

Rusty quickly realized that strategy was key to getting stronger, as the monsters in this dungeon could be used in various ways to give him a shot at slaying these adventurers. He just needed to cut off their escape route with some of the poisonous bugs that he transported to this closest corridor; even if they charged in, the poison would do its thing, and now it was time for him to get involved directly.

As the remaining adventurers fought desperately against the undead onslaught, Rusty stepped out from his hiding spot. His metallic form clanked softly as he approached the group which was still under the influence of the poisonous mist. The adventurers, weakened and overwhelmed, weren’t even able to react to his sword coming in from the back.

“Argh…”

His blade slid between the gaps in one of the man’s armor as he drew blood. His opponent was grappling with two zombies and unable to react to the third opponent that emerged from the now thick poisonous fog. As he drew his blade out of the wound, blood started spilling out, and the man soon was overpowered by the other monsters that started to rip his body apart.

Rusty’s gaze turned to the others and the one with the cleric class in particular. This was the focal point of his strategy. Without this person, this group was incapable of defeating the undead creatures which they awoke themselves. He knew that if they took their time, they would have been victorious and his plan would not have worked. If they used their blades instead of the strange light, it would have taken longer but their defeat would not have come. As he drove his blade into the wheezing cleric, he tried to learn, as this was just the beginning of his journey.

Congratulations you have gained a level.

His mind was taken elsewhere as he heard the message informing him that he had leveled up. He momentarily stopped himself from attacking some of the remaining adventurers, which was a mistake that he would now remember. After the cleric went down, Rusty found himself flying into some of the other monsters as something collided with him from the side. His body was metal, but it was hollow inside, not something that could take strong blows.

In the past, this would have caused him to break into multiple parts, but he was not quite the damaged rusty armor anymore; he was not that weak. After colliding with a skeleton and zombie, he managed to stabilize himself. When looking at his side, he could see a gash in his armor that had been formed by an axe swing. The owner of the axe was the only remaining human who had not yet succumbed to the poisonous mist.

“I… I will not *cough* die here!”

The adventurer swung his axe with determination, aiming for Rusty's vulnerable points. Rusty, realizing his mistake, quickly regained his composure and raised his sword to parry the incoming blows. The clash of metal echoed in the corridor as the rusty blade was pushed back and broken from the impact. Luckily, the lingering poison along with the other monsters was still there. Even when the adventurer wished to deliver the final blow, he couldn’t.

“G-get off me…Ahhhh…’

His neck had been bitten by one of the monsters, and soon more closed in on him. The adventurer began swinging around wildly, attempting to pry the monster off him. His will to survive was commendable, driven by sheer desperation. Before long, Rusty’s broken blade made its way into the man’s flesh as he pierced it through one of the other monsters, a surprising feat for the one delivering the final strike.

‘So it is possible?’

Congratulations you have gained a level.

The battle concluded, and the mist began to clear away. The zombies continued to pile on top of the defeated adventurers in a gory display, while Rusty tried to comprehend how he had managed to pierce one of the other dungeon monsters. He soon concluded that it had only occurred by mistake during a confrontation with an enemy adventurer. When he attempted to strike any monster intentionally, he found himself still unable to do so.

Name:

Rusty

Classification:

Corroded Twilight Bronze Armor [ F + ] L3

Type:

Magical/Inorganic

Hit Points [ HP ]

69/69

Magic Points [MP]

53/53

Special Points [SP]

20/20

Strength

67 [ F+ ] + 8

Agility

44 [ F ] + 5

Dexterity

45 [ F ] + 6

Constitution

64 [ F ] + 7

Intelligence

43 [ F ] + 4

Wisdom

48 [ F ] + 5

Willpower

48 [ F ] + 6

Durability

F+

He didn’t have much time to deliberate on the possibilities as his attention was taken to his status screen. He noticed a few things, one of them being the much higher amount of stats that he was getting from these two levels ups than before. Previously he never got more than one attribute point in anything now he was getting multiple points in all of them. There was also one other interesting thing, his Strength stat received a plus to the letter ‘F’ representing it.

‘I think I get it…’

Rusty soon grasped the purpose of the letters. They served as a simplified means of gauging his power. After the numbers surpassed a specific threshold, the letter would transition. Although uncertain of the precise number, it appeared to be around sixty-six for the plus sign. Rusty speculated that if he halved this amount, then thirty-three might be the cutoff point for the minus sign.

‘Could ninety-nine be the limit for the attributes? Does something happen once you get over it?’

There was no way for him to predict until he reached that point, but before that, he had other problems to address. Despite gaining two levels and defeating all the adventurers, his body bore the scars of battle. A massive hole adorned the side of his body from the recent axe hit, and his sword had snapped in the middle. Unsure of how to deal with his broken weapon and the injuries, Rusty faced uncertainty about how to proceed further without weapons and with holes in his body.

‘Is there no way to take care of this… Do I need to not get damaged before getting a new body?’

This felt somewhat unfair to Rusty, who grew weary of sustaining continuous damage. The adventurers proved to be a formidable foe, and he harbored doubts about defeating them without incurring any harm. Although he could risk death again, he remained uncertain whether he would be restored to the same state he had become. There had to be a way to mend himself, and soon enough, his system came to the rescue. While he stared at the destroyed blade and the hole in his armor, a pop-up screen materialized.

Do you wish to use gathered materials to repair the damaged sword?

Familiar with how these processes worked, Rusty promptly confirmed. As he did, the stash tab containing all his materials suddenly appeared.

Please select the materials that you want to use.

In his stash, Rusty found only three items: tin, copper, and bronze. To make things easier the icons representing the ingots were color-coded. The box containing the bronze ingot was green, while tin and copper were orange. Upon selecting the bronze, a peculiar phenomenon occurred on the surface of his broken blade. Gradually, it began to revert, as if time were being reversed, and within a minute, the blade was fully restored.

‘This is it!’

With a cheer, Rusty held the restored sword high in the air. One of his major problems had just been resolved. Now, he only needed to concentrate on gathering more bronze to mend any future wounds. As long as he had enough, he would be able to restore both his body and weapons. The only downside was that it also used a few of his special points which would limit the repairs.

‘Ah, no wait!’

His attention shifted back to the defeated adventurers, now mauled by the undead monsters. Before he could begin collecting their weapons and armor, the dungeon seemed eager to swallow them whole. The only item he managed to retrieve was the lone battle axe that had caused him an injury.

‘There must be a better way of gathering those materials…’

While one battle had concluded, this marked only the beginning. Rusty, having tasted victory once more, felt his goal of becoming stronger drawing closer. He envisioned dominating this dark expanse, aspiring to become the strongest monster here and perhaps beyond.