Several obsidian skeletons charged at a large person wearing iron armor in a well-lit corridor. His movements were swift as he sidestepped the first skeleton’s swing, bringing his mace down on its exposed spine. The obsidian bones cracked but didn’t shatter immediately. The sword hummed with a faint glow, a trace of light elemental energy coursing through it. With a quick twist, it was swung upwards now cutting through the black bones like butter.

The two skeletons advanced, their jagged iron weapons raised in unison. Their opponent didn’t retreat; instead, as one of the bladed weapons swung down, he caught it with his metal gauntlet. His sword thrust forward, piercing the monster's skull in a single, decisive blow. The third monster didn’t fare too well, soon having his skull exploded by one strong radiant punch.

‘Not bad, Rusty. Your control over the light has gotten better but remember, not all monsters are weak to it, the light won’t work on the Orcs nor on the Lizardmen, the darkness on the other hand…’

Rusty looked down at the bones on the ground. He had already figured out that it was more lucrative to not turn these bones into dust. The purifying energies of his light skill would cleanse the evil undead energies from the bones, rendering them worthless to anyone who was trying to use them for things like alchemy or crafting. At least that was what Aburdon claimed as he was explaining how his light worked on the monsters here. Once he defeated these three, his system gave him a notification of him gaining a new level and also a new skill.

Name:

Rusty

Classification:

Twilight Iron Armor [ E ] L3

Type:

Magical/Inorganic

Hit Points [ HP ]

242/242

Magic Points [MP]

202/202

Special Points [SP]

50/50

Strength

89 [ E ]

Agility

65 [ E ]

Dexterity

64 [ E ]

Constitution

92 [ E ]

Intelligence

70 [ E ]

Wisdom

72 [ E ]

Willpower

71 [ E ]

Durability

D

Detect Life L1

Passive Skill

When focusing it becomes possible to detect living creatures within a certain radius. The range and clarity improve with each level.

Rusty glanced at the new skill notification, his gauntleted hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The skill, Detect Life, didn’t seem particularly useful for navigating the maze-like dungeon, but it could prove helpful for his future plans. Almost instantly, Aburdon, who had a direct view of Rusty’s status screen, chimed in.

"This is quite useful, Rusty! It might be just what we needed for my… I mean our plan to work~"

"Oh? How so?"

Rusty asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Why don’t you try activating it first and see?"

Nodding, Rusty activated the skill while picking up the shattered black bones scattered around him. As soon as he did, a strange sensation washed over him. He could sense something behind one of the walls - a presence, moving around and emitting a faint pulse. From one of the nearby corridors, he detected three more of those pulses approaching, causing him to flinch. Even before their footsteps reached his ears, the skill gave him a clear picture of the approaching group of adventurers.

Quickly, he activated one of his pre-set loadouts. To fight the skeletons, he had swapped his usual gauntlets for his twilight variant. The iron suit he was required to wear as an adventurer wasn’t his best. It couldn’t harness his elemental skill either, but switching out his gauntlets was a temporary fix and much easier to explain to anyone he might encounter. Most, if not all, adventurers likely wouldn’t notice that the gauntlets belonged to a living armor. Even if they did, they’d likely assume he was just an adventurer wearing monster gauntlets, not suspecting that he was a monster himself.

"Ah, a lone adventurer?"

From around the corner, three figures emerged: two men clad in heavy armor and an archer dressed in lighter leather gear. Rusty studied them for a moment, recognizing their setup immediately. Now that he was familiar with how adventurers typically operated, he knew this wasn’t an ideal party composition. They only had an archer to scout for traps and hidden threats, while the other two were simple frontline fighters. There was no mage for support, no healer, and no proper trap expert.

It became clear that these adventurers weren’t here for a serious mission. They were likely just farming materials from the dungeon’s upper layers, avoiding the more dangerous depths. Still, even a casual group could become a problem if they realized what Rusty truly was. He remained alert, carefully gauging their movements while picking up the bones on the ground.

‘Be careful, Rusty. There are no laws in these dungeons, and people go missing all the time. Never trust anyone when they outnumber you and especially those of the many races…”

Aburdon warned, his voice firm in Rusty’s mind. As the group drew nearer, he remained silent, unable to speak without Albert’s body inside the armor. He straightened himself out, his frame being wider and taller than most regular human men. In his left hand, he gripped a sturdy kite shield, while his right hand held a longsword. The stance was unmistakable and ready for combat. The approaching adventurers instantly recognized the posture and tried to diffuse the tension.

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“Friend, we’re just passing through. No need to worry...”

One of the men spoke, his voice calm but cautious.

‘Don’t trust them, Rusty.‘

Aburdon’s voice rang out again.

‘Look at their hands. Those two fighters are ready to draw their swords. Be prepared for anything!’

Rusty’s eyes quickly scanned their movements. The archers’ posture was relaxed, but the two armored men had subtly shifted, their hands resting too close to their weapons. Aburdon’s warnings were precise and constant, much different from Alexander’s. The demon king was ever watchful, always pointing out threats to Rusty’s life or how people might deceive him, and read to strike when he was distracted.

Nevertheless, Rusty wasn’t looking for trouble, at least not yet. This dungeon was different from the other he had explored. It lacked the irregular corridors and small crevices where he could hide or stow his helmet in a hole to disappear from sight. If he began openly attacking people here, the chances of being discovered were far too high. His new Detect Life skill was already alerting him to a presence behind the nearby wall, someone who could potentially hear the battle and come looking for trouble.

It was better, for now, to let the adventurers pass while keeping his guard up. Rusty subtly adjusted his stance, giving them enough room to walk by without seeming too confrontational.

“... These new adventurers are getting ruder every day,”

One of the men muttered as they passed.

“Hmph…”

The other grunted as if to agree.

Rusty kept silent, watching them carefully as they moved on. Once they were at a safer distance, their grumbling voices carried back to him, but he stayed focused, alert for any signs of a double-back or sudden attack. Letting them pass was the smart move for now, but he remained ready for anything.

‘Letting them go, are you? They were sizing you up, Rusty. You should’ve struck first, taken their gear, and disappeared. They could’ve been loaded with valuables! It’s because of that fool Alexander that you are slowly losing your ways of a monster but don’t worry, if you stick with me, will get you right back on track!’

Aburdon scoffed at the decision to let the adventurers pass, but from Rusty's perspective, the risk was too great. He didn't want to be hunted by adventurers again. If he were to take resources from them, he'd do it smartly. Now that he had the life detection skill, targeting smaller parties like this one would be easier, but for now, he wanted to grind the normal way.

‘Someone's behind this wall. It could have been dangerous.’

‘That wall? Don't worry. Even if they heard you, there's no path leading to this corridor. Next time, just ask!’

‘Umm… sure? How about you tell me where those orcs are first?’

Rusty felt like Aburdon was pushing him to take on more than was safe. It was true the demon now knew the dungeon’s layout, and asking him would have probably eased Rusty's mind. Still, he was trying to get used to this place, and murdering adventurers right away felt like a bad idea.

First he needed to find himself a challenge as these black skeletons weren’t much of a money maker. The orcs and their body parts sold for three times as much and he would probably also be able to take their items for restructuring. Soon he was on his way and with the life detection skill he found himself detecting some movement not far from his location.

‘An area with orcs should be nearby, let us hope it hasn’t been cleared out yet.’

After getting into this dungeon Rusty realized that it wasn’t that easy to earn money. All adventures were competing for limited resources. The dungeon only had a limited amount of monsters and treasures inside. The trio that he passed were probably returning back to the city as night had already drawn close. His biggest advantage over these fleshy people was that he didn’t require sleep. Once they were slumbering or having parties, this place would belong to him.

Rusty moved swiftly through the winding corridors, led by Aburdon’s almost flawless memory of the dungeon's mapped layout. His new Detect Life skill pulsed gently in the back of his mind, alerting him to the presence of both adventurers and monsters nearby. Eventually he appeared at a clearing, where an encampment of orcs was waiting for him.

Classification:

Lesser Dungeon Orc E L3

Type:

Humanoid

Description:

A weaker subspecies of orc, commonly found mostly in dungeons. While lacking the intelligence of more evolved orcs, they are formidable in packs.

Just as expected, he found the monster that he was looking for. It was around his height, green and muscular, with jagged tusks protruding from its lower jaw. There were just two of them, probably due to the fact that this place had been cleared out by someone else. Rusty could see scratches on the walls and holes in the ground that were in the process of mending themselves. With his skill to detect mana, it was quite obvious how the dungeon was healing itself.

Despite their weaker classification as ‘Lesser Dungeon Orcs’ Rusty knew they would still pose a challenge if not handled properly. They were E-rank monsters just like him and considered something that shouldn’t be handled alone. However, that was by adventurer standards and he was not the average adventurer. With the help of his new skill, he knew that no one was watching and now he could finally return to his original form.

‘That’s better…’

Rusty activated the first loadout that turned him into his original body. Gone was the regular iron shell, replaced by the more grayish-dark twilight metal he had become used to. He instantly felt an increase in mobility, power, and durability. The orcs snorted and muttered in their guttural language, unaware of his presence. This would be his first true test in this dungeon, and it was time to put both his body to the test. Thus he prepared himself to charge forth but before he could, his guide protested.

‘Wait Rusty, what do you think you are doing?’

‘Huh? I was just going to defeat them?’

‘Sure… but why would you want to fight them together? There is no logical reason to do so! Listen here, your life is tied to my life, so it's something very precious. Because if you die, then I will fade away into oblivion!’

Aburdon started ranting and he just listened. It was obvious that the demon lord only saw himself as the most important being and wanted to preserve his own existence at all costs. Rusty understood that, but he still found Aburdon’s constant scheming irritating. Even so, the advice he gave wasn’t always wrong.

‘So, what do you suggest? Should I just lure them out?’

‘Precisely, Divide and conquer, my dear Rusty. Why face two when you can deal with them one at a time? Orcs are strong but not particularly smart. We can lure one away and dispatch it quickly. Once it's gone, the other one will be easy prey.’

Rusty sighed inwardly but agreed. Despite his instincts telling him to charge headlong into battle, it would be smarter to follow Aburdon’s plan. He just had been itching for a proper fight but this was not the time for it. Rusty positioned himself at a bend in the corridor, where the walls provided decent cover. He then picked up two small rocks, throwing one in the direction of his target and the other in the opposite direction.

The orc grunted in surprise, turning its head to locate the source of the disturbance. Its beady eyes locked onto the small stone that had just bounced off its shoulder, and without hesitation, it let out a low, guttural growl. It barked something incomprehensible to the other orc before trudging forward to investigate the source of the noise.

The other orc, on the other hand, followed the sounds of the rocks bouncing down the opposite corridor, its heavy footsteps growing fainter as it distanced itself. Rusty remained perfectly still, watching the first orc approach his hiding spot, oblivious to the trap it was walking into.

‘Patience, Rusty… Wait until it’s just close enough…’

Aburdon whispered as if incapable of shutting up for even one minute. The orc’s muscular frame loomed closer, its crude axe dragging along the dungeon floor, sparks flying as metal scraped against stone. Rusty felt the tension building in his metallic limbs, his fingers gripping his weapon as he got ready to strike. Then, just as the orc was about to pass his cover, Rusty exploded into motion.

He used the usual tactics, shield bash to the chest and then a follow-up attack with his sword. The orc grunted, stumbling back but quickly regaining its footing, raising its axe high for a retaliatory swing. Rusty, however, was faster. His sword thrust forward lodging itself into the monster’s shoulder and drawing blood.

The orc roared in pain as Rusty’s sword lodged deep into its shoulder, dark crimson blood splattering across the dungeon floor. Despite its wounds, the creature was relentless, swinging its heavy axe in a wild arc, aiming to cleave Rusty in half. But Rusty, with his enhanced stats from his twilight metal form, easily sidestepped the attack. The axe slammed into the stone wall, lodging itself into it and becoming stuck.

Rusty seized the opportunity and lunged forward. His blade glowed red as he targeted the monster's nape. The monster's head flew threw the air and the rest of its body slumped forward as it was easily dispatched. One was defeated by another and still remained and was charging right at him. This was a great opportunity to test if his darkness affected the fleshy variants of these monsters just as Aburdon claimed.

Dark energy erupted from his body, surging toward the approaching orc. The creature immediately began to tremble, as if struck by poison. The reaction was similar to how humans had reacted earlier, but not as intense. Despite the pain, the orc remained on its feet, pushing forward, relying on brute strength to resist.

‘This is interesting…’

In a way, he was pleased that his opponent wasn’t just another training dummy. Though his goal was to make money, the thrill of battle still burned within him, and these orcs made for fascinating sparring partners.