“Guuuhhhhdd… moowwwnniiinnnggg?”

“HOooWWw Arrrrruuuu Yaaaahhh?”

“...”

“You might have to practice some more…”

“But there is no time… I need to go!”

“If you get out there like this, they will think that you’re a zombie or a death knight.”

The armored figure stood in the dimly lit room, its metal plates glistening faintly as the white orb of light hovered around it. The suit's movements were stiff and awkward, each step producing a distinct clanking sound that echoed through the dimly lit corridor.

“Your movements also seem awkward, this might take a while…”

Rusty had spent the next few hours practicing his speech and movements, trying to become more accustomed to the new form. The dead adventurer's memories provided some help, but it was still a challenge to move naturally. Aburdon and Alexander gave him tips and encouragement, their ghostly presences hovered around and were starting to take on the forms of spectral mentors.

“Remember, Rusty, the key is to blend in.”

Alexander advised while floating around him.

“You need to move like a human, not a suit of armor.”

His advice fell on deaf ears, as Rusty didn’t really know how humans were supposed to move. The body within his armor was quite stiff and sometimes flopped around, making movement quite difficult. Fortunately, there was one positive aspect of this possessed body. Once he had dressed it in adventurer-type armor, he was able to create a loadout with it inside. The body was considered dead and could be stored in his inventory without exploding upon retrieval.

“Oh? I think some uninvited guests are coming. Maybe we have overstayed our visit here Rusty, I’ll see you later.”

After the light vanished, Rusty stopped moving and saw some red eyes emerge from the corner. It was one of the Lesser Giant Shade Spiders that could be found in the chasm. It was not alone, as two others of its kind quickly appeared behind it. He reacted swiftly, changing his loadout to a more battle-ready form. These monsters might have threatened him when he was still an F-rank, but he was now at his second E-rank evolution.

It would have been simple to scare them away with his light elemental skill, but Rusty chose not to. There was no need to waste more mana than he already had. With Alexander’s disappearance, all light from the vicinity vanished, but he could see his three enemies crawling towards him clearly. In his right hand, he held a regular iron longsword, while in his left was a large kite shield.

One of the monsters stuck to the ceiling while the others approached from the sides. Eventually one of them jumped forward, aiming to sink its venomous fangs into Rusty's iron armor. With a swift motion, Rusty raised his kite shield, intercepting the spider mid-air and smashing it against the wall. The creature let out a high-pitched screech as it crumpled to the ground, its exoskeleton cracked from the impact.

The remaining two spiders hesitated, their red eyes gleaming with caution. Rusty took this moment to charge at the one on the ground, precisely swinging his longsword. The blade sliced through the spider's head, ending its life. Soon after another tossed itself in his direction but even when it clang to his body and bit down, no more than one point of damage was taken.

“Weak…”

Rusty swatted the remaining spider off his body with a quick, disdainful motion, sending it flying against the wall. The creature let out a desperate screech before collapsing and thrashing about. The third monster didn’t even manage to approach him, as its body was impaled by a swift javelin throw. Rusty then approached the squirming monstrosity to put it out of its misery.

“My skills have improved, but how strong will a place filled with those adventurers be?”

He asked himself while taking a few items from the monsters' bodies. Alexander had reminded him to take things that could later be traded for money or information. He even implied that living life as an adventurer would be better than remaining as a monster. Aburdon was against that and was pushing him into a more chaotic life filled with battles and carnage.

The memories of Albert were more recent, showing him a bustling city filled with people. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals, far too many for him to defeat by himself. His tactics of hiding in dark corridors and waiting would not work outside. There were too many open spaces and seemingly no ceilings, something he would probably have a hard time getting used to.

After collecting some monster cores and fangs, he finally made his way through the chasm. Changing loadouts was starting to become second nature and was probably the best thing that came with his new evolution. He still had no access to the Soul Forge but if that ever became possible, then his bodies could be customized to fit all possible situations. However, before that time could come, he needed to rise above this dungeon and find Gleam.

“Time to go, maybe there is something that could help me with that speech impediment…”

Rusty muttered to himself as he made his way through the winding corridors of the dungeon, retracing his steps upward. The path was still familiar, but everything felt different. His connection to the dungeon was now severed, and he felt unshackled. The monsters that had previously vanished were coming back, and starting from the fourth level, he couldn’t see much of a difference. This meant the dungeon was beginning to heal itself, and this potentially meant that adventurers would eventually start returning.

“I should have a few days left…” he mused.

Rusty decided to wait and practice for now. He couldn’t go outside while speaking like a zombie. Alexander had already informed him that his face would pass for human, but only if he got used to talking with a mouth. There was one skill the adventurers had that could alleviate this problem, but he wasn’t sure about it. However, at this point, he was willing to try anything to make his departure safer.

First, he returned to the second floor, which he knew like the back of his hand. There, he used one of his old hiding places to train both his mannerisms and his guiding skills. With the help of Alexander and Aburdon, he attempted to absorb all the possible information about the world above. They painted a vivid picture in his mind and made him realize that the world was truly vast. Their tales ignited his craving for adventure and exploration, something he wished to share with his only friend, Gleam.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Hours turned into days as Rusty tirelessly practiced. His movements became more fluid, mimicking the natural pace of a human adventurer. His speech, though still requiring effort, improved significantly, allowing him to form some words without sounding like a zombie. Aburdon and Alexander did their best but time was running out and eventually, he decided to risk it for a drastic improvement.

Just as he had speculated, people eventually began to return to the dungeon. The party that had previously fled might have been among the crowd, but he made an effort to avoid them. With his hiding skills, he could not be spotted and made his way to the first level, where the weakest adventurers usually resided. There, he finally encountered a potential victim who would be his ticket out of the dungeon.

“Those guys look like new adventurers, the guild master in this city must be an idiot…”

Alexander commented while looking through Rusty’s visor. His little guide could lower the intensity of his light but if he hovered above his head, it would still be noticeable. Three adventurers who were probably in their teens made their way through the corridor. Rusty was using the shadows to stay still and silently communicating with Alexander. They were connected through their souls so no sounds were required.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, only an idiot would allow newbies to go down a dungeon where an irregular monster was discovered. Those guys probably informed him about everything and still, he opened the dungeon, damn bastard!”

Rusty noticed that Alexander was mad and that he also cared for the people he was hunting. The three adventurers were clearly inexperienced, their nervous chatter and clumsy movements gave them away. They seemed unaware of the lurking danger, their focus more on impressing each other than on their surroundings. Rusty waited patiently and before he could strike, his guide spoke up.

“Rusty, do you really need to kill them?”

“Kill? Hm… I don’t really have to but why? Wouldn’t it be better to get their money and equipment?”

Rusty had been leveling his Call Guide skill ever since he had freed himself from the Dungeon Heart. The mana usage was becoming manageable and without using any skills he could have one of them out for almost two hours. With so much time spent together, the two were finally starting to give their true opinions and trying to affect his decisions.

"You don’t have to be ruthless to succeed, Rusty. If you can achieve your goals without causing unnecessary harm, why not try it? These adventurers don’t deserve such a fate.”

“Hm…But won’t they just alert the other adventurers if I leave them be?”

Rusty wasn’t sure what Alexander was getting at. Adventurers weren’t that strong by themselves but once one of them was left alive, they always came back in larger numbers.

“Aren’t you going to leave anyway and if you are worried about getting discovered, can’t you just use one of those?”

Alexander pointed Rusty in the direction of a sluggish corroded bronze armor. He could easily wear the monster’s suit as cover. His stats would not drop below a certain threshold even if he wore an old bronze suit and these people were quite low leveled.

“I see, so they will think that it wasn’t me but another living armor that could work.”

“Yeah, see? If you leave them alive, they probably won’t even report this to the guild and feel dumb instead, it’s like killing two bats with one mana bolt.”

“Two bats?”

“I’ll explain it later… but what do you want from those three, they shouldn’t have anything worthwhile.”

“My speech isn’t too good but they might have a skill that could help me with it.”

“I see, well then good luck.”

For another moment Rusty remained hidden in the shadows and observed the trio before backtracking. There were no corridors that he didn’t know and preparing an ambush was quite easy. After taking care of one of the lone bronze armors here, he quickly exchanged his clothes and got ready. Once the trio were in the right area, he exposed himself while acting as if he was his old self.

“Hey look, it’s one of these.”

“Let me take care of it, you had fun with the last one!”

“Fine.”

One of the young adventures approached him as he lumbered forward. The young adventurer, emboldened by his friends' encouragement, advanced towards Rusty, oblivious to the true danger he faced. Rusty, using the corroded bronze armor, played the part of a slow, mindless creature, his movements carefully measured to his old self. The adventurer swung his sword with a lack of finesse, striking Rusty’s shield, and attempted to follow it up with a kick to the chest.

It was a tactic all adventurers used and something he had grown accustomed to. With one quick step to the left, the foot of the man collided with nothing but air. He was certainly surprised by the sudden increase in numbleness but he wouldn’t have much time to process it. Soon, a hard mace collided with his chin, sending him falling down to the ground, still alive but knocked out.

“What the…!”

The adventurers exclaimed, their eyes wide in shock at the sight of their friend going down instantly. They were certainly newbies and instead of backing away to reorganize, they rushed at him with weapons drawn. While his form was squeaking and much less resistant, his stats made up for everything.

The second adventurer, a young woman with a short sword and shield, tried to parry his incoming strike. Rusty feigned an overhead swing, then at the last moment shifted his weight, bringing his mace down on her unprotected flank. She crumpled to the ground with a pained gasp, her shield clattering beside her.

The last adventurer, visibly shaken, backed away, his eyes darting between his fallen comrades and Rusty. Rusty could see the fear in his eyes and knew that he had the upper hand. The young man raised his spear, attempting to keep Rusty at a distance. Rusty noted the trembling in his hands and quickly tossed his shield at him.

While the man was busy deflecting the large projectile he lunged forward. He closed the distance at a speed uncommon for the type of monster he was masquerading as. His mace connected with his chest, knocking the wind out of the adventurer and sending him sprawling to the ground. Rusty stood over the young man, his mace raised, but hesitated for a moment. He remembered Alexander's words and decided to take a different approach.

“Fine then, I’ll just knock them out…”

His mace connected with the man’s head with a more calculated and non-fatal, blow. The adventurer crumpled to the ground, unconscious but alive. Rusty stood over the three fallen adventurers and began his plan.

“I hope one of them has it…”

First, he pulled the three unconscious people together and set them next to each other. His helmet was taken down and then placed on the head of the person he defeated first. He was given a small list of basic skills to absorb but the one that he was looking for was not there.

Compatible skills have been found. Please choose a skill that you want to learn.

“This one doesn’t have it either…”

After moving on to the woman he was disappointed again. He knew that the skills he could absorb were somewhat random and limited. Only three would show up at any given time and the one he was looking for was not here. Soon he moved over to the spearman he defeated last and to his surprise, it was there.

Universal Language

Passive Skill

Allows a person to understand spoken words and writing of the Universal Language.

Basic Spearmanship

Passive Skill

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

“There it is… Universal Language, I hope it works…”

It was one of the first skills he could absorb in the past, yet he had always avoided it. However, it was something every adventurer possessed, and perhaps with it, his speech pattern and understanding of the adventurers' language would improve. Just like in the past, he absorbed it, and instantly his linguistic capabilities began to enhance. Now all that remained was to test it out, and perhaps now, going outside the dungeons would finally be possible.