Chapter 165 – Price and Quality Inspection.

“Oh, you think it’s because of this new body?”

“It’s a possibility. It would be much better if our great Hero could remember how he received his blessing.”

“It’s not my fault my memories are fragmented. You don’t remember much about your life either, so stop talking.”

“But talking is all I have now, so I refuse.”

Aburdon’s mocking voice echoed through the confines of Rusty’s basement workshop. He and Alexander were arguing about Rusty’s recent access to the Soul Forge. This access came with a strict limit, allowing him to enter only once per week. The time he had inside was short, barely enough to smelt a single ingot before being forced to leave. He couldn’t imagine crafting proper weapons under such constraints, but fortunately, a standard-grade mana-infused ingot was all he needed to get started.

“Is there a way to increase the time limit?”

He directed the question at his two glowing eye sockets while adjusting the straps on Gleam’s frame. She was in the middle of trying on her newly forged, shining armor.

“I’m sure the limit will increase once you evolve. It might even improve if you just level up and gain more magical power.”

Aburdon replied, giving Rusty something to test in the coming week. Rusty was fairly certain that evolving into a new form would bring some kind of change, but he hoped it would be possible to extend the time simply by leveling up. He was still missing more than half of what the Soul Forge could offer, including the knowledge held by his two guides who had taken the form of books. While they knew a great deal, their explanations often lacked clarity. Being able to conduct his own research within the forge, using the manuals stored there, would make a big difference.

“If the time doesn’t increase, I’ll still have enough to make those two other ingots.”

“(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)”

“You like it?”

As Rusty thought aloud, Gleam wiggled in her new suit of armor. It wasn’t as silvery as her carapace, but since it was made from twilight steel, it allowed her to cast both darkness and light enchantments etched into the metal.

“It doesn’t really match your color though. Maybe I should remake it with the other metal.”

“(ᵔ – ᵔ)?”

“Oh, you might not know this, Gleam, but now I can make light steel and dark steel too.”

“(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)”

Gleam probably didn’t understand what Rusty meant, but she wiggled her antennae cheerfully in response. What he could now do was produce ingots attuned to the elements of darkness and light. The process was different from what he had used to make the twilight steel and required smelting them separately in his new miniature Soul Forge.

Unlike the main Soul Forge, which didn’t allow him to take materials or ingots out, this smaller version had no such restriction. Everything he created inside it could be used outside as well.

He had experimented with the two elemental metals while in the main Soul Forge but hadn’t made any body parts from them. There didn’t seem to be much benefit in using just one element when his own body worked fine with others. Still, there were two beings close to him who would probably appreciate a shell forged specifically for them, something he might be able to do once he finished crafting the new ingots.

“Yes, we should focus on making that darkness steel ingot. It will be a perfect host for my lordly energies.”

Aburdon immediately responded to Rusty’s words. He had previously attempted to inhabit one of Rusty’s armored puppets and had come close to succeeding. However, Rusty lacked the necessary amount of mana to fully support Aburdon’s form. Fortunately, the two guides had informed him of a possible solution. It was likely that the twilight metal he had used was not a stable medium for hosting their forms. If they instead tried to inhabit armor crafted specifically from light or dark steel, the mana requirements might be significantly reduced.

“You should have just made them inside the Soul Forge!”

“Stop bringing that up. There was no time.”

Aburdon complained to both Alexander and Rusty. In theory, Rusty could have created the ingots within the Soul Forge and used them to craft both armor variants. The armor pieces he made there could then be summoned even without the ingots. But there simply wasn’t enough time. He had been forced out almost immediately after finishing the last piece of equipment he needed.

“And he’ll probably be able to use his SP to craft armor for us, as long as the ingots are ready. You can wait a week or two.”

Alexander added, and Aburdon just grumbled.

“Oh, right. That was always a possibility. Good thinking, Alexander!”

Rusty could still use the materials stored in his inventory like bronze, iron, and others to create body parts. If he managed to produce enough dark and light steel ingots, he could build proper bodies for his guides. It was something to look forward to. Both Alexander and Aburdon were seasoned fighters, and having them inhabit the puppets would greatly increase Rusty’s combat power. He would effectively become a one-man adventuring party, assuming he had enough mana to support both of them.

Then again, he wasn’t entirely sure. It was possible that he wouldn’t be able to maintain their presence at all. He might even be forced to create their bodies using lesser alloys, like dark iron or light bronze. If this world worked like the one he had been summoned to, then the weaker the monster or the lower the quality of the material it was made from, the easier it would be to control and sustain.

He was also uncertain how he would reproduce the ingots he had made. In practice, he needed to separate the light and dark elements from the twilight metal inside the smelter using a different process. Once the ingot was created, he did not know what would be required to make it again, since regular twilight steel could be produced by combining ordinary steel with some SP. That might also apply to these two elements, but if it did not, he would be back to the beginning.

“Well, I’ll think about that when the time comes. For now, let’s head into the city and do some research!”

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“ (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) “

Gleam bounced around in her new shiny ant suit of armor, which had been crafted to fit her winged form. After she climbed onto his shoulder and they were about to head upstairs, Aburdon spoke.

“I’m not sure wearing this flashy armor is a good idea. We shouldn’t draw too much attention to ourselves.”

” ( • ᴖ • ) “

Gleam looked disappointed as she heard those words. Rusty was about to argue with his guide but paused. He glanced at the shiny metal and the magic circles he had etched into it. The world outside was harsh, filled with thieves and opportunists. It was probably wiser to start with a simpler appearance and keep their true power hidden. Even though he was now a D-rank monster, many people in the city and beyond were still much stronger. Thus, this time around, he ended up agreeing with Aburdon’s complaints.

“Alright, let’s put the fancy suit away for now.”

He said while gently, brushing his hand over Gleam’s armored form.

“We’ll save it for the dungeon.”

Gleam let out a sad chirp but didn’t protest. She hopped off his shoulder, and he helped her out of the armor. Fortunately, the sight of a monster on his shoulder was not unusual, as many other tamed beasts roamed the city. He also already had all the required papers.

Once Gleam was out of the armor, he switched into his adventurer gear, which included his talking head, and headed upstairs. The four occupants of his lair were already waiting for him, and the space looked much cleaner than before.

“It’s the Mister and Gleam!”