Chapter 105 – Three Heads.

The dim cavern finally fell silent, save for the faint crackling of web remnants still dissolving into nothingness. Rusty surveyed the battlefield, his glowing eyes sweeping over the fallen arachnid’s massive form. The air still reeked of decay, but as a being without a nose it didn’t bother him much. Instead, he focused on assessing the aftermath.

Pieces of the corrupted arachnid were strewn across the cavern floor, faintly steaming where the radiant energy had burned away its necrotic magic. The once formidable monster, a whole rank above him, now lay in pieces. Its grotesque abdomen was partially reduced to ash, its limbs sprawled lifelessly like shattered branches.

“Well, Rusty,”

Aburdon broke the silence, as the quartet looked over the battlefield.

“Congratulations on not dying, luckily all this noise didn’t attract the other spiders, otherwise we would be in trouble.”

The monsters outside the cave seemed too afraid to peek inside. The reason likely had something to do with the D-rank monster. Rusty assumed they were hesitant to enter its territory, similar to the group of insectoid monsters he had encountered back in the dungeon. Those monsters, too, avoided invading each other’s personal space – at least until he disrupted the balance and, with Gleam’s help, eventually killed them all.

“ ( ˶°ㅁ°) ! “

“You’ve managed to reach level ten?”

Rusty ignored Aburdon and focused on his friend Gleam. A quick glance at her status screen confirmed it – she had reached level ten. This meant she could undergo another evolution. The realization prompted him to check his own status, though killing the monster hadn’t been enough to push him to the next milestone. It had, however, rewarded him with multiple levels. Now at level thirteen, he was less than two levels away from returning to the Soul Forge.

“That’s great! I wonder what the choices will be!”

“(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)”

Gleam was clearly thrilled with her progress; she had been stuck in F-rank for far too long. Just as before, Rusty could review her evolutionary possibilities. This time, though, Aburdon and Alexander were also present to offer their advice. Although the battle had just ended, they appeared to be safe for the moment. Rusty turned his attention to Gleam’s display to examine the possibilities for her evolution.

“Oh? I can see the monster ranks now?”

Rusty quickly ruled out the first option, turning Gleam into a Queen. That path was incompatible with their goals. The soldier variant also posed a challenge since neither he nor Gleam wanted her to increase in size significantly. This narrowed the choices to two: an enhanced version of her current form or a seemingly stronger evolution that could potentially push her to a rank higher than Rusty’s own.

Having Gleam reach the pinnacle of E-rank was an enticing prospect, but Rusty knew he needed to weigh the options carefully. Gleam’s next evolution could greatly impact their synergy as a team. Keeping her in her current smaller form was undeniably more convenient. However, this was a harsh world, and survival for two weak monsters was difficult. Even a simple undead spider could kill them both if they didn’t possess a direct counter like his elemental skills.

Rusty turned to his companions for advice, hoping their insights might help clarify the decision.

“What do you think about these choices?”

Aburdon was the first to respond.

“Well, Rusty, if you’re asking me, I’d say the Magical Gleaming Ant sounds like the most versatile choice. Bigger mana pool, stronger magical attacks – it’s a solid step up without completely changing her nature. What we need for survival is more immediate power!”

As expected, Aburdon prioritized survival above all else, choosing the highest-ranked option.

Alexander on the other hand believed that they should go for the other choice

“I agree it sounds promising, but you shouldn’t dismiss the Small Silvery Magical Gleaming Ant. Its mana-absorbing body sounds promising, and she will retain her smaller size. Staying inconspicuous could be just as important for us in the long run.”

Rusty nodded. Both suggestions had merit, and he turned his attention to Gleam. She chirped excitedly, her antennae twitching with eagerness.

“What do you think, Gleam? In the end, this choice is yours to make.”

“ (╭ರ_•́) “

There were pros and cons to both choices but he wanted her to be the one to pick it. She heard what the two guides had said, so now she just needed to make up her mind. Gleam paused, her small body trembling with anticipation as her glowing eyes darted between Rusty and the monstrous remnants of the corrupted arachnid. After a moment of reflection, she chirped decisively and pointed one delicate antenna towards one side, indicating that she wished to become the Small Silvery Magical Gleaming Ant.