Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ]

“Guoh…”

A burst of light emitted from a longsword and engulfed a small chamber filled with zombies. The light traveled in a dome-shaped effect, pushing away a large group of undead creatures of various levels and sizes. Once the burst of energy subsided, only one creature stood among them.

“Even an E rank can’t do much against a weakness.”

Rusty looked over the room filled with about fifteen dead zombies. Among them, two were of higher caliber, but even they couldn’t do much against his burst of light energy. He had already figured out how elemental weaknesses worked in this world. His luck seemed to be great as many undead zombies roamed this seventh level and were quite susceptible to his light. 

This floor was a lot different than the ones that came before it. They seemed to have their own mini-dungeons in the form of strange crypts. The swamp was mostly covered in mist, with entrances to these underground tombs well-lit with strange green flames. It was as if the dungeon heart wished to lure the adventurers inside their narrow corridors filled with traps, undead monsters, and poison.

However, the dungeon heart probably did not count on one of its monsters going rogue. Rusty was fully immune to any poison, disease, or foul stench that these monsters could use to attack the senses of adventurers. His body was also immensely sturdy and easily repairable with the large amount of bronze he had been able to gather.

“Is this what these adventurers risk their lives for?”

Each of these underground crypts held a lone chest in one of the large end chambers. This was the second crypt he had visited, and this one was also a letdown. Instead of pristine weapons or armor, the items were made from a rather strange metal.

His identification skill had been upgraded, so now he was getting more advanced descriptions of the items. He wasn’t sure what this item was for, as it buckled under his strength rather quickly. Hitting the monsters with it would probably break it, and in the other crypt, he had received a slightly golden talisman.

“This gold is also a metal, but it is much softer than the bronze I’m made of.”

This was not the reason he entered these places. His intent was not to gather these strange items but to cause damage to the dungeon and level up. He had found another good method to reduce the population on this floor, and these crypts were quickly becoming devoid of any monsters.

“Well then, off to the next one!”

After making this proclamation, he quickly made his way back up and submerged himself in the mist. Once a tomb had been cleared, the green braziers and lanterns started to quickly dim. This part of the level was the worst, as it forced him to traverse the water-filled area. While the monsters weren’t much of a problem, the environment was not suited for his hollowed-out body. The water would start seeping into it as he trekked on, rendering him sluggish.

To make things worse, he needed to watch out for strange toad monsters that lurked within the shallow waters. They would attempt to lunge at him or flail his body with elongated tongues that even stuck to him. Their attacks weren’t very damaging, but if he ever got tipped over, his body was in danger of being fully encased in swamp water. To alleviate this problem, he stuck to the large trees, which were always a sign of elevation and drier ground.

“Hey, isn’t it too quiet in here?”

“Yeah, it’s strange but perhaps another party just went through here before us? That previous crypt was also empty when we got there…”

“Be quiet both of you and stay vigilant, you never know when one of those zombies will show up!”

As Rusty was making his way through the swamp, he witnessed a group of adventurers. One of them was holding a strange torch that burned with a grayish hue. It seemed to work in a similar fashion to the green crypt fire but to a lesser degree. He didn’t even need to hide behind any of the trees, as the mist allowed him to blend in with the environment. From his vantage point, the party of adventurers looked like a blurry glowing ball, with their voices being the only thing that identified them.

Thanks to these torches, it was quite easy to spot the adventurers from afar. This allowed Rusty to move through this floor mostly unnoticed, but he still needed to watch his back. Once he was inside one of the crypts, it wouldn’t be strange for one of these adventurer parties to wander in.

“I wonder, they seem to like this gold metal a lot. Couldn’t I use it as a lure and entrap them somewhere?”

While this was a possibility, Rusty decided to avoid making himself known for the time being. Both the hero and the demon king had already warned him about them. If he continued slaying adventurers, ones he would not be able to handle would eventually appear, just like that one other time. His goal was the dungeon heart, and messing with the dungeon and these hard-to-access crypts was a great target.

After making a small detour, he advanced towards the greenish tint of mist. Thanks to the color pattern, it was easy to find the zombie-infested tombs. As long as there were monsters outside, he could be assured that no adventurers had gone inside. As he approached one of the crypt entrances, the green light cast long shadows on the muddy ground. The crypt's structure was ancient, with moss-covered stones and intricate carvings that hinted at its age.

The moans of various zombies resounded as they identified the intruder. The numbers were quite high, with around ten regular F-rank zombies and one E-rank. They all slowly charged in his direction, with some of their comrades rising out of the shallow swamp water around the tomb entrance. While Rusty’s mana had recharged itself, this was not the time to waste it. Instead, he started moving forward quickly and promptly kicked the metallic grate that was keeping him from entering the tomb.

“Hey, what are you waiting for? Follow me.”

He banged his sword against his shield, making some noise. The monsters reacted quite well to sound and all turned in his direction. Once he had their attention, he pushed into the crypt’s interior, where many other zombies were already waiting for him. His aim was not to battle them one at a time but to clear them out in one big attack. It was one of the training methods Alexander had proposed to him, which he called AOE farming. Rusty wasn’t sure what those words meant, but it was quite the ingenious leveling tactic.

Rusty moved through the zombie-infested corridors, where a few skeletons were also placed. These monsters were usually dormant and would only wake once someone passed through. It made his tactic quite easy as he just needed to skip through and continue toward the main chamber. For some reason, this place was structured like a labyrinth without any dead ends. He just needed to move forward, and eventually, he would end up at the last chamber.

As he progressed, the narrow passageways echoed with the groans of the undead and the clinking of his armor. He kept his shield raised, deflecting the occasional swipe from a zombie or skeleton and finally, the main chamber was there. The largest concentration of undead awaited him there but this was not enough. All the monsters that he had previously awoken were coming here, only when they were all here would he unleash his ultimate skill.

“That should be all of them.”

The monsters pressed in from all sides, forming a ball of undead flesh and bones in the chamber. Rusty found himself at the center, wielding his shield as a bludgeon to fend off the zombies. However, their numbers overwhelmed him, pushing relentlessly. Even his sturdy bronze body began to yield, bending under the force.

Suddenly, it began to emit a bright white light. The monsters staggered back, but it was too late. Rusty raised his sword into the air, the glow concentrating along its blade. In a burst of radiance, it shot out in all directions. Where the light touched the undead zombies and skeletons, they began to crumble into dust. Even the more evolved types couldn't withstand the attack, and soon, more than forty adversaries were reduced to mere echoes in his metallic mind, with only one message holding his attention.

“Even after the third group, they aren’t going up much…”

He was gaining experience at a fast rate now and he could see himself reaching level ten quite soon. It didn’t take him long to clear out these tombs and blasting the zombies was much faster than fighting them one by one. Their strange bodies persisted even after decapitation, some were even capable of resurrecting. Only his light elemental discharge ensured an instant kill against them.

His metal visor was drawn to the nearby black chest, much like in the other crypts where it sat between caskets. Rusty cautiously approached the chest, aware of its tendency to hold surprises. To him, it appeared quite ordinary, and he lacked any trap detection skills. As he lifted the lid, a puff of purple smoke greeted him directly.

His living armor form proved itself resistant to these debuffing effects as always and he was free to take out the item from within. This time around it was something quite small and metallic, reflecting the dim light in the chamber. Rusty lifted it from the chest, his curiosity piqued. The item was a small, intricately designed ring, perhaps magical, given its strange glow. 

Rusty’s metaphorical heart skipped a beat as this was something quite intriguing. It wasn’t the first accessory item he had encountered, but it was the first with a discernible magical effect. His identification skill didn’t specify the exact increase in mana regeneration, but even a slight percentage could prove useful. At this point in time, it took him well over an hour to recover all of his magical points. Cutting this time down by even ten minutes would be quite useful as without his mana, it wouldn’t be possible to use his AOE tactic.

“Finally, something useful!”

He held it between his thumb and index finger. There was a little pulse of energy when he looked at it but it eventually subsided. This was the first time he used an accessory so slipping it on one of his metallic fingers proved hard. His hand was much too thick to make it fit on any of his fingers, even his pinky could not hold it and it just fell down to the ground.

“Wait… if I want to equip something, shouldn’t I do it through my status screen?”

For a moment, he felt silly for attempting it. Rusty had tried to mimic adventurers who occasionally wore such jewelry on their fingers—a rare sight, but not something he could replicate with his metallic body. Fortunately, he had his own stash tab, and with the help of his SP (Skill Points), he managed to place the ring there. By dragging it to an empty square, he successfully equipped the ring.

“I don’t see it anywhere on me though… is it under my armor?”

After equipping the ring, it vanished from sight. Rusty investigated the issue by removing his gauntlet from his metallic body. Peering inside, he discovered the ring hovering on his finger next to the pinky. It seemed to have fused with his body and even when he shook the gauntlet, it wouldn't rattle or come off.

He immediately felt a faint, soothing pulse of energy coursing through his body. While he couldn't directly see the numbers, he sensed that his mana regeneration had slightly increased.

“Interesting…”

Upon closer inspection of his equipment screen, Rusty noticed two other free accessory spots available. One appeared suitable for another ring on his left hand, while the other was positioned near his head. After experimenting for a moment, he managed to fit the golden amulet he had retrieved from another crypt into the latter spot. However, since the item had no enchantments, it seemed somewhat pointless to keep it equipped.

“Why can I only have two rings when I have ten fingers?”

While this was an odd discovery, he didn't have anything else to put in the ring slot at the moment. However, acquiring this ring suggested the possibility of finding more accessories in other crypts. If he could obtain another ring and an amulet with similar effects, he might address one of his biggest weaknesses: his low amount of MP.

“Ah, right before I leave, I should also do that!”

All the monsters were dead, and he had the treasure, but there was one more task he needed to complete. His plan was to cause chaos in the dungeon, and the hero had made one thing clear: everything within the dungeon required resources to maintain. Killing too many monsters at once would strain it, but there were other ways, like setting off every trap in the vicinity. Poison couldn’t affect him, and no rusty iron spikes could pierce his metallic body.

Rusty continued his systematic extermination of the undead-filled tombs. With each crypt he cleared, his efficiency improved. He became adept at leading groups of zombies into tight spaces before unleashing his powerful elemental discharge, maximizing his mana usage and minimizing the time spent on each encounter. His skills continued to improve, and his levels were ever-rising.

Soon, the seventh floor began to change. The thick mist that once covered it started to thin out, and the sound of toads grew fainter. His plan was working, and he might soon begin to evolve further. However, the question remained: would he be able to achieve freedom and rescue Gleam? Time was slowly running out, and nearly two weeks had already passed. He was certainly affecting the dungeon floors around him but would this be enough to affect the dungeon heart?