Chapter 101 – Searching For Bodies.

“Gaaahhh…”

A ball of magical energy collided with a short, green monster, propelling it forward into a shining blade. In an instant, the monster’s head flew through the air, landing with a dull thud on the forest floor. Goblin bodies littered the ground, their blood soaking into the grass and weeds.

Rusty heard the familiar sound of the world’s system announcing his level-up. Now that all the monsters had been defeated, he could finally stop and check his progress. He opened his status window, along with those of his friends. She was leveling up quickly and would probably reach her next evolution before he did.

“You’ve been steadily leveling up, Gleam!”

“(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)”

“Oh, yeah, I also did, It shouldn’t take long, these outside monsters are quite high-level. But it’s a lot harder to find them in this forest.”

Rusty noticed that two of his stats had now reached E+ rank. This iron form seemed to progress faster than his previous bronze one, with him gaining more and more stats with each level up. He wondered if this meant he could reach D rank soon or if it might be better to wait and spend another evolution in the E plus rank.

His guides had given him a few pointers about this, advising that it might be wiser to hold off. If his stats were higher during an evolution, there was a chance of attaining a superior evolutionary form. This applied not only to his physical form but also to his skills and abilities. However, now that he was out in the world with only Gleam to rely on, reaching D-rank more quickly might be critical to his survival. For now, he decided to hold off and make the final choice back at the Soul Forge.

“This is taking a while.”

Rusty muttered, his gaze scanning the dense trees.

“This forest seems endless.”