Chapter 77 – Detection.

Several obsidian skeletons charged at a large person wearing iron armor in a well-lit corridor. His movements were swift as he sidestepped the first skeleton’s swing, bringing his mace down on its exposed spine. The obsidian bones cracked but didn’t shatter immediately. The sword hummed with a faint glow, a trace of light elemental energy coursing through it. With a quick twist, it was swung upwards now cutting through the black bones like butter.

The two skeletons advanced, their jagged iron weapons raised in unison. Their opponent didn’t retreat; instead, as one of the bladed weapons swung down, he caught it with his metal gauntlet. His sword thrust forward, piercing the monster’s skull in a single, decisive blow. The third monster didn’t fare too well, soon having his skull exploded by one strong radiant punch.

‘Not bad, Rusty. Your control over the light has gotten better but remember, not all monsters are weak to it, the light won’t work on the Orcs nor on the Lizardmen, the darkness on the other hand…’

Rusty looked down at the bones on the ground. He had already figured out that it was more lucrative to not turn these bones into dust. The purifying energies of his light skill would cleanse the evil undead energies from the bones, rendering them worthless to anyone who was trying to use them for things like alchemy or crafting. At least that was what Aburdon claimed as he was explaining how his light worked on the monsters here. Once he defeated these three, his system gave him a notification of him gaining a new level and also a new skill.

Rusty glanced at the new skill notification, his gauntleted hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The skill, Detect Life, didn’t seem particularly useful for navigating the maze-like dungeon, but it could prove helpful for his future plans. Almost instantly, Aburdon, who had a direct view of Rusty’s status screen, chimed in.

“This is quite useful, Rusty! It might be just what we needed for my… I mean our plan to work~”

“Oh? How so?”

Rusty asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Why don’t you try activating it first and see?”

Nodding, Rusty activated the skill while picking up the shattered black bones scattered around him. As soon as he did, a strange sensation washed over him. He could sense something behind one of the walls – a presence, moving around and emitting a faint pulse. From one of the nearby corridors, he detected three more of those pulses approaching, causing him to flinch. Even before their footsteps reached his ears, the skill gave him a clear picture of the approaching group of adventurers.

Quickly, he activated one of his pre-set loadouts. To fight the skeletons, he had swapped his usual gauntlets for his twilight variant. The iron suit he was required to wear as an adventurer wasn’t his best. It couldn’t harness his elemental skill either, but switching out his gauntlets was a temporary fix and much easier to explain to anyone he might encounter. Most, if not all, adventurers likely wouldn’t notice that the gauntlets belonged to a living armor. Even if they did, they’d likely assume he was just an adventurer wearing monster gauntlets, not suspecting that he was a monster himself.

“Ah, a lone adventurer?”

From around the corner, three figures emerged: two men clad in heavy armor and an archer dressed in lighter leather gear. Rusty studied them for a moment, recognizing their setup immediately. Now that he was familiar with how adventurers typically operated, he knew this wasn’t an ideal party composition. They only had an archer to scout for traps and hidden threats, while the other two were simple frontline fighters. There was no mage for support, no healer, and no proper trap expert.

It became clear that these adventurers weren’t here for a serious mission. They were likely just farming materials from the dungeon’s upper layers, avoiding the more dangerous depths. Still, even a casual group could become a problem if they realized what Rusty truly was. He remained alert, carefully gauging their movements while picking up the bones on the ground.

‘Be careful, Rusty. There are no laws in these dungeons, and people go missing all the time. Never trust anyone when they outnumber you and especially those of the many races…”

Aburdon warned, his voice firm in Rusty’s mind. As the group drew nearer, he remained silent, unable to speak without Albert’s body inside the armor. He straightened himself out, his frame being wider and taller than most regular human men. In his left hand, he gripped a sturdy kite shield, while his right hand held a longsword. The stance was unmistakable and ready for combat. The approaching adventurers instantly recognized the posture and tried to diffuse the tension.

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“Friend, we’re just passing through. No need to worry…”