A bewildered ant skittered about while charging into a cloud of dust. A massive explosion just rocketed the entire place with her companion within. Amidst the debris and swirling dust, it was hard to see what had happened. However, after a moment of chaos, the dust settled, revealing nothing resembling bronze armor. Where a large beetle monster once stood, there was now nothing more than a gaping hole filled with debris. It seemed as if the two monsters that had clashed had been evaporated by the strange twilight that ensued.

“ ( ˶°ㅁ°) “

Panic struck Gleam as she searched through the rubble, desperately calling out for her companion. Rusty was nowhere to be found amidst the wreckage. She scuttled around frantically, her tiny form darting between rocks and debris, hoping to find any sign of him. As she searched a strange feeling started to sink in of the possibility that her companion could have died. While their adventure had not been long, he was the only thing that she knew within this strange world and fear gripped her insect heart.

But just as despair threatened to overwhelm her, a faint glimmer caught her eye. Further away from the blast zone, among the rubble, she spotted a piece of metal sticking out. It resembled the bronze that Rusty was composed of, so she hurried over to investigate.

There, partially buried beneath a pile of rocks, lay Rusty's battered and dented helmet. Gleam's heart skipped a beat as she carefully unearthed it, revealing the familiar bronze surface beneath. She poked the hamlet with her antennae while still panicking as she desperately tried to wake her companion.

“ (ó﹏ò｡) “

Gleam gently prodded the helmet, hoping for any signs of life from her bronze friend. Rusty was not a creature made of flesh and bone, but there were some indications that he was still alive. His monster core was still intact but cracked in a few places. Then, thanks to her mana sense, she was able to feel a faint amount of magical energy emanating from the helmet, not something a lifeless object would possess.

After making this realization she felt relieved and quickly began to carefully dig Rusty out from beneath the rubble. It was not an easy task for the small white ant, but with unwavering stubbornness, she started yanking the larger rocks to clear the way. Luckily, there wasn’t much to dig through, and eventually, she was able to free his metallic head from under the rocks. However, this was not the end of their troubles as some trouble lurked close by.

“ (O_O)! “

While the beetle Rusty had faced off against had been defeated, they had not cleared out the entirety of their foes. Many of the lesser monsters of the same type still remained and had finally decided to return to the main cavern where the explosion occurred. They instantly noticed the white ant and the metallic helmet with it. Instantly, they began to advance, menacingly clacking their mandibles. Gleam realized the danger instantly and quickly started lifting the bronze helmet; she needed to escape.

With all her strength, she hoisted it onto her back and tried balancing it with her limbs. This was not an easy feat but somehow she managed to balance it. Soon after she scurried away as fast as her small limbs could carry her. The monsters could sense that their prey was escaping and gave chase. Their lumbering forms crashed through the rubble as they pursued Gleam and the helmet she was holding.

Despite her size, Gleam was surprisingly nimble and darted between rocks and debris with surprising agility. She led the pursuing monsters on a frantic chase through the cavern while her monster heart pounded with conviction. She did not look back but the clattering of mandibles and the thudding of heavy insect legs was right behind her. It urged her to run even faster but things weren’t looking good.

As she raced through the darkness the sounds continued to pick up. It was painfully obvious that the large beetles were starting to catch up. Normally, she was able to outrun them or just climb up to the ceiling to avoid their attacks. The problem was Rusty’s helmet; it slowed her down tremendously, and it was clear that she wouldn’t make it back to their lair at this pace.

She started looking around for any potential areas she could escape to. Luck seemed to be on her side as Gleam spotted a small crevice in the cavern wall up ahead. Without hesitation, she darted towards it, hoping that it would provide a means of escape. The pursuing monsters were gaining on her, and this seemed like the only path to safety. However, just as she was about to sprint towards the narrow opening, a large beetle appeared from a different side passage to block her way.

“ ( ˶°ㅁ°) “

With no other options available, Gleam skidded to a halt, her antennae twitching nervously as she sized up the new threat. The massive beetle, larger than any she had encountered before, loomed menacingly in front of her, its sharp mandibles clicking together ominously. Gleam knew that she couldn't outrun this creature, nor could she hope to defeat it in direct combat. But she refused to give up.

There was still some hope left, and she charged forward. Perhaps she would be unable to reach the crevice, but there were other tunnels nearby. If she could slip past them, her escape could continue until she found a safe spot to hide. Thus, Gleam dashed towards the massive beetle, hoping to evade its snapping mandibles. However, to her shock, the helmet she was trying to protect was struck and flew up into the air, right in the direction of the pursuing group of beetle monsters.

“ (ó﹏ò) !“

She could do nothing but watch as her friend flew in the direction of another monster's mouth, which was opening. The trajectory was set, and there was nothing she could do about it. However, while in mid-air, something strange happened. There was a reaction within the helmet, and something emerged from it. Before the monster could devour it, a metallic hand shot out, delivering a smack to its face instead.

The hit was enough to force the monster to retreat and the transforming helmet fell to the side. Gleam wasn’t sure how but her friend was restoring his metallic body and more of it began to emerge before her eyes. Things were happening too fast for her to comprehend, but she could sense a surge of magical energy emanating from Rusty. The bronze armor began to reshape and reform itself, pieces of metal knit themselves by some unseen force.

The transformation was quick but not quick enough. The monster beetles weren’t willing to wait for their enemy to restore himself and attempted to halt this process. She knew what needed to be done and quickly let forth a loud screech to get everyone's attention. The piercing screech echoed through the cavern, drawing the attention of both friend and foe alike. The beetles instantly disregarded the strange piece of armor that landed nearby and instead lunged at the white ant.

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As the monsters closed in on her, Gleam remained defiant. She danced and dodged around their attacks, her movements swift and graceful. Despite their size and strength, the beetles struggled to keep up with her agility. While she was capable of casting spells, they proved ineffective in a direct confrontation like this one. Her mind needed to stay focused on gathering mana, an impossible task during such a frantic battle.

Gleam displayed a valiant effort to protect her companion, but she was nearing the end of her endurance. Running through the caverns had depleted most of her stamina. There was no way for her to continue dodging and weaving around these beetles indefinitely, and inevitably, they closed in on her. The largest one charged forward in a blind rage, its mandibles spread wide and aimed directly at her head.

Things looked bleak for the small white ant that had run out of stamina points. Once depleted, she found herself unable to move. The large adversaries weren’t stopping and she would surely get chomped by their sharp mandibles. But just as the monstrous beetle was about to deliver the final blow, someone appeared to intercept it. It was Rusty, his body now restored and grabbing onto the monster as it attempted to charge forward.

There was something different about him, his body exuded a strange gray flash of light before his body seemingly sunk into the ground. Gleam was aware of her companion’s fighting style and this was not something that he usually did. Despite appearing sturdy on the outside, he lacked mass within his hollow body. Ordinarily, the sheer bulk of these creatures would knock him back, yet somehow he resisted it.

The sight before her was rather vivid: the monster had been halted by his sheer strength, and now the beetle was being lifted into the air. The beetle struggled against Rusty's grasp, its heavy form thrashing wildly as it attempted to break free. However, Rusty grip was firm and Gleam could see the chitinous insect armor being dented by those metallic fingers. Then with a sudden flipping motion, the monster was hurled into the air and landed on its back.

One of its companions rushed to aid the struggling beetle, charging just like before. Its mouth opened wide, but before it could close its mandibles, they were seized by the metallic armor. Just as before, the insect struggled, attempting to use its body weight to push forward, only to have its chompers ripped straight off. Blood gushed everywhere as the monster retreated, only to be met with a metallic fist to its face.

There didn’t seem to be a need for any finesse this time as Gleam watched Rusty tear through the beetles with sheer strength and violence. Even when they attempted to ram him into the walls, he remained in place, resembling some type of giant, immovable boulder. His newly created body ended up with dents and scratches, but this couldn't hinder him. Those metallic fists continued to connect with the monster's heads, and some were even torn off.

“ (O_O) “

Gleam couldn’t help being impressed by Rusty’s display of power. Monsters that she couldn’t handle by herself had been torn to shreds before her eyes. Within this admiration was also a hint of jealousy and longing. Just like Rusty she wanted to get stronger and by the look of things, that moment was coming closer as her level had reached ten.

******

As the last of the monstrous beetles fell to the ground defeated, Rusty stood amidst the wreckage. His restored body had suffered some minor damage but it didn’t matter, it was all over now. He looked at the small companion ant that had saved him and could only feel gratitude.

“Gleam, you saved me… thank you.”

“ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) “

Gleam responded with her usual happy dance, though slightly more sluggish than before. Rusty could tell that his little friend had been through a lot, and he noticed the damage to her body as well. Her white body was filled with scratches and covered in the blood of the other monsters.

“Let us head back for now, we will take care of the rest after we have rested. How about you rest up for now?”

While he didn’t get tired, Gleam certainly did and he knew that it was better for her to restore her lost health first. The boss beetle had been defeated so there was no point rushing things. Thus, he leaned down to pick Gleam up and placed her on his metal shoulder. Just as she had carried him through here when he was only a helmet, he was now ready to return the favor.

“Oh?”

Shortly after picking her up, Rusty felt Gleam relaxing into sleep. It became clear that she was truly exhausted and had been holding it in before. While returning to their lair Rusty attempted to recall what led to his body becoming destroyed. For some reason that he didn’t fully grasp, his skill went berserk and blew him up along with the rhinoceros beetle. Only thanks to some quick thinking was he able to not die.

Rusty noticed something strange happening with the light and dark elements. Before chaos ensued, he managed to take off his head and threw it into the distance. While his body was engulfed in the blast, his core and helmet miraculously survived. For a moment he had been knocked unconscious, probably due to his monster core suffering some damage. Not long after he woke up on top of Gleam’s back who was running away from their enemies.

From there, he accessed his inventory screen and quickly used up six bronze ingots to restore his body. One for each limb and two for his chest area were needed for a full recovery. Normally, he would have also summoned a sword to aid him against the large beetles, but a new skill had been granted to him that leveled the playing field.

Weight Control

Active Skill

Grants the ability to control one's weight.

Thanks to this skill, he was able to momentarily alleviate one of his biggest weaknesses: his lack of mass. Once he was just as heavy as the monster beetles, they were rather easy to dispatch. His stats surpassed theirs, and tearing out their body parts wasn’t that difficult. The only real downside to the skill was that after an initial expenditure of almost half his mana pool, it continued to use up his MP.

“It seems that the best skills come at a price… “

He wasn't the only one who had achieved a new breakthrough. Gleam had also reached her highest level and gained a new skill. She had used it during the fight to get the attention of the beetle monsters, producing a loud, audible screech.

Startling Howl

Active Skill

Emit a piercing sound that can startle and disorient targets.

It was a nice addition to Gleam’s arsenal as she didn’t have many instantaneous skills but only spells. This skill didn’t startle the monsters for long but it gave him some time to reform himself. His head was now filled with ideas on how to incorporate their new skills into their combat strategies. However, his deliberation was interrupted as he remembered that Gleam was now level ten.

“Oh, I wonder if Gleam can turn into something even more powerful!”

His friend had just recently turned into an F-rank monster but it was already time for her to evolve further. As Rusty pondered Gleam's potential evolution, he realized that they needed a safe place to rest and recuperate before any further developments could occur. With Gleam fast asleep on his shoulder, he continued to make his way back to their joint lair.

The journey back was thankfully uneventful as the corridors once filled with dangerous insects were now devoid of any life. He had successfully cleared out the area of all adversaries and it was now time to move on…