Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ]

Chapter 08 – Going Down.

‘Maybe those guys… but there are so many of them…’

‘I should probably wait for a chance to present itself like last time!’

‘…’

‘Why do they always wander around in large groups?’

‘… How am I going to get stronger in an environment like this!’

Rusty continued to talk to himself with an annoyed tone while hiding behind a large pillar. His ability to resist the voice had increased, and he could now even look at the adventurers without being pushed into a frenzy, as long as he distanced himself. Since leaving the Soul Forge, there was no one to talk to, so Rusty developed an even bigger habit of talking to himself.

After evolving from a damaged, rusted-over suit of armor to a slightly less rusted-over armor, he was searching for a way that would allow him to evolve even further. However, his plan to ambush another lone adventurer wasn’t working, as they always roamed around in larger groups.

Even though his stats had increased significantly, and he had gained some new skills, Rusty still felt apprehensive about attacking a large group of adventurers. They always seemed too powerful, and the assistance he received wasn’t sufficient. Now that he was stronger and faster, he realized how slow the other living armors really were. The same could be said for any other monster there. He wanted to use them as a distraction, but they kept getting defeated before he could even sneak up to deliver a slash.

‘Haven’t seen any of the groups fighting like the two last time… Does that not happen often?’

Rusty noticed that after the incident with the two adventurers, the groups were more on alert than before. It was as if they reacted to the event and increased their numbers to avoid more trouble.

‘Should I just go hunt some rodents? But…’

Another thing Rusty noticed was his experience bar. It began to rise much slower than before. He only needed to kill a few dozen rats, bugs, or large slugs to go from one to two before. Now, on the other hand, it seemed like the requirement was ten times as high. Things weren’t looking too good for him; at this pace, it would take him a month or longer to gain even one more level.

‘I ended up here… if only I could go down…?’

While scouting the environment to ambush a lone adventurer, Rusty followed a group of five towards the stairs leading to a lower level. Normally, he wouldn’t be able to approach these stairs as the voice inside his head would start complaining, but now it was different. Even after reaching the stairs, there was nothing preventing him from going down. It seemed that his new evolution allowed him to descend to a new part of the dungeon.

Rusty wanted to do nothing more than to test his new body and skills, but this new discovery changed his plans. The only thing stronger than his drive for more power and levels was his curiosity. He was already looking forward to seeing new scenery and monsters on the lower floor.

With caution, he descended the long flight of stairs, ensuring that he wouldn’t make too much noise. His body had changed and didn’t produce as much sound, but it wasn’t fully silent either. Luckily, it seemed that the group of adventurers he had previously followed had moved on to another location. After five minutes of walking, when he arrived on the floor below, there was no one there.

As Rusty reached the bottom of the staircase, he found himself in a dimly lit corridor that stretched out in both directions. The air felt different, and he could sense a faint, eerie energy in the surroundings. Excitement and anticipation welled up within him as he ventured further into the unknown depths of the dungeon. The corridor twisted and turned, occasionally branching off into smaller passages, at first glance this lower floor seemed more compacted.

Having more tightly knit corridors wasn’t necessarily good or bad. The sole advantage against adventurers in this dungeon was the abundance of monsters. With a sufficient number of them, it was possible to overwhelm even a larger party. Surrounding them in a corridor like this could be achieved, but it also restricted the area for attacks. There simply wasn’t enough space to approach the enemy from all directions.

Though there weren’t many pillars for concealment, slipping into one of the numerous side corridors was an option for waiting. However, if a group entered after him, there would be no means of escape. Rusty wasn’t quite sure if he could outrun an adventurer even with his raised stats. His body wasn’t quite designed for running but he did have an advantage over the fleshy beings, he never tired. However, his body did become slower whenever his magic points reached zero, something that he learned to watch out for.

As he continued with his traversal of this new space he noticed a commotion. There were people shouting and monsters growling in the distance. With a steady pace he continued through the corridor and peeked into the area that the sounds were coming from to finally discover a larger chamber. There was a party of five humanoid beings fighting against a monster type that he had never seen before. Curious as always he was quick to use his identification skill on one of these new creatures.

Classification:	Zombie L3
Type:	Undead

His skill had leveled up since through the time in the dungeon and he was now able to identify monster types as well as their levels. The sight of the undead creatures attacking the adventurers intrigued Rusty. The zombies were slow and clumsy, but they seemed relentless, pushing the adventurers back with sheer numbers.

‘Zombies… Undead… Interesting! I wonder what’s the true meaning behind a monster type?’

Rusty observed, pondering the truth behind monster types and classifications. There likely existed a significance to the identification, but he couldn’t quite grasp it. The adventurers had a system similar to classification, but it differed. When he glanced at one of them wielding a sword and shield, he could discern some information. There was no type but only a classification as if the other one was hidden or didn’t matter as much.

Classification:

Fighter L7

Despite the relatively small level difference, it was evident from their movements that the adventurers were stronger. After undergoing his first evolution, Rusty had come to realize that levels could be deceptive. Even though he was merely a level one monster, he was far stronger now than when he was a Damaged Rusty Bronze Armor variant.

‘attack…’

The voice inside his head gave him an order which he managed to resist. He was now able to observe without losing himself at all. At first, it looked like the adventurers were struggling, and the zombies were pushing them into a corner. Then in a strange flash of light, a large chunk of them tumbled down to the ground.

‘What was that?’

The bright attack triggered a recollection of his new skill which allowed him to infuse his sword with a radiant light. It came from the adventurer who was in the middle of the group. It seemed that they were protecting him while the man was holding up a strange-looking necklace. It was composed of many beads and ended in a cross shape. This item looked to be the source of the light that was destroying the zombies in this chamber.

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Classification:

Cleric L8

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