Heavy Metal: Chapter 36 – Angry Ant. (Patreon)

“You’re so shiny gleam… way more than me…”

“ ( •̀ ᴗ •́ ) “

Rusty was a bit jealous after witnessing the new form of his companion. With a flash of light, Gleam's transformation was complete. She emerged from the glow, her once pale white exoskeleton was now covered in shimmering silver metal. Her antennae sparkled with magical energy, and her eyes gleamed with newfound power. 

Gleam had decided to become a Lesser Silvery Magical Gleaming Ant and had just undergone the transformation. It was a rather quick change that only took no longer than a minute. Her body seemed like it was made from metal now but it was some type of biological armor that didn’t constrain her movements. Rusty couldn't help but marvel at her shiny form that reflected the light from the crystals around them. 

Gleam danced around, her movements causing light to reflect off her new shiny exoskeleton. The gleaming light cast shimmering reflections across the walls of their crystal cave lair, producing a dazzling display that filled the space with an enchanting glow. Rusty watched with admiration as Gleam's radiant presence illuminated their surroundings, feeling slightly jealous of the sheen she could produce but his body couldn’t.

“The silver suits you well.”

Rusty exclaimed while noting that his partner ant still had a somewhat white appearance, with a silvery undertone. Once there was no light, she wouldn’t be this radiant. The other changes to her body weren’t that extensive, she didn’t really look different and her size didn’t increase either. After it was all done, he was able to glance through her status screen that had been enhanced. 

Name:  Gleam

Classification: Lesser Silvery Magical Gleaming Ant [ F ] L1

Type:  Insectoid

Hit Points [ HP ] 30/30

Magic Points [MP] 60/60

Stamina Points [SP] 39/39

Strength 24 [ F - ]

Agility 42 [ F  ]

Dexterity 27 [ F - ]

Constitution 25 [ F - ]

Intelligence 44 [ F  ]

Wisdom 45 [ F  ]

Willpower 39 [ F ]

Durability F  

Rusty observed that Gleam had only evolved into a regular F-rank monster, while he had advanced to an F-plus rank on his second evolution. However, Rusty recalled that he had been imbued with a strange force in the form of the Hero's and Demon King's energies, which resulted in his transformation into a Twilight variant. He wasn't entirely certain what this meant, but it seemed plausible that Gleam might need to evolve one more time than him to reach E-rank.

Gleam had acquired a few new skills, one of which concerned her new body. This skill not only increased her defenses but also seemed to enhance her mana. Rusty surmised that this explained why her MP was higher than his when he evolved into the corroded twilight armor form. But it could also be because of the higher Wisdom stat, which seemingly affected the MP count.  

Lesser Silverine Exoskeleton [ Passive Skill ]

Increases the body's defense and mana. Defense is dependent on durability.

Mana Arrow [ Spell ]

A simple spell that creates an arrow made up of mana. It is stronger than the mana bolt spell and has higher piercing power. 

That was about it for the upgrades and now with more mana and an even better attacking spell which Gleam was excited to use. Rusty was of the same mind, testing out new abilities outside of battle was the key to victory so he made a proposition.

“Gleam, how about you try your new spell and other spells, and see how your new form can handle the loss of MP?”

“ \( •̀ ᗜ •́ )/ “

“Yeah, that’s the spirit! How about you aim it at that sturdy wall there?”

With an excited nod, Gleam focused her magical energy, summoning forth a shimmering arrow of mana. The arrow took shape, crackling with magical power as it hovered in front of her. Rusty watched intently, curious to see the full extent of Gleam's newfound spell. Already from the onset, this spell seemed to be more sizable than the other.

The mana bolt spell was more similar in size to a crossbow bolt but also lacked a fully condensed form. It wasn’t fully straight and wavered slightly in the air. In contrast, the mana arrow shone with a steady brilliance, its form straight and true. With a flick of her antennae, Gleam launched the arrow toward the designated wall and the difference in penetrative power was obvious.

The mana arrow soared through the air, leaving behind a trail of sparkling energy as it raced toward its target. Upon impact, the arrow struck the wall with a resounding crack, embedding itself deeply into the stone. Rusty was impressed by the spell's power and it was probably just as powerful as a power thrust attack from a spear.

“That was amazing, Gleam! Your new spell seems really potent!”

“ (•̀ᴗ•́ )و “

“But… it does take a while longer to cast than that mana bolt spell, how about we do a few more tests first?”

“ (╹ -╹) “

Gleam seemed a bit surprised by the change in Rusty’s demeanor but quickly agreed to some further tests. The ant just like the metal armor could recover their MP instantly from having a mana crystal crushed. Thus they could quickly figure out the advantages and disadvantages of the newly gained ability. Rusty and Gleam spent the next few hours experimenting with Gleam's new spells and came to a few conclusions.

The casting time of the previous attacking spell, mana bolt had decreased. While it had become more powerful and still utilized the same amount of MP as before, its cost was half that of the mana arrow spell. However, the damage output was also lowered to about half of the mana arrow spell. It appeared that the new spell was better suited for stronger foes and served as a finishing blow, while the old one could now serve as a more frequent ability, as she would no longer pass out after even using it several times.

As they continued their experiments, Rusty noticed that Gleam's physical attacks had also improved slightly. Her new exoskeleton seemed to enhance her durability and also sharpen her mandibles to an extent. She couldn’t match his bronze body that was true metal but she was probably just as robust as monsters primed for defense. It was clear that Gleam was following the path of a spellcaster, a role typically associated with being a glass cannon - potent in offense but fragile in defense. However, with her new silver body, she could likely withstand a few powerful hits before sustaining serious injury.

“ (•̀ᴗ•́ )و “

“What’s that? You want to test out your new spells on the remaining beetle monsters?”

Their testing session was concluded and Gleam brought up the remaining monsters. There was one problem with this issue, Rusty had already dispatched the stragglers while she was in her hibernation sleep.

“Well about that… While you were sleeping, I kind of… you know…”
“ ( •̀ - • ) “

“Okay, I killed them all while you were asleep!”

“ ( ˶°ㅁ°) ! “

“I know but you were sleeping, there was nothing really to do and there weren’t that many of them left.”

“ ( •̀ ᴖ •́ ) “

“What? Do you think I did it to level up faster? That’s preposterous!’

“ ( •̀ - •́ ) “

“Hey, stop looking at me like that, I was just bored, experience points had nothing to do with it…”

Rusty wasn’t lying or telling the truth as he had accounted for getting more experience points for slaying monsters. Once Gleam wasn’t with him, he regained his old rates of gaining experience. Despite Rusty's attempt to justify his actions, Gleam couldn't help but give him a skeptical look. He tried to avoid her gaze but it didn’t seem that this issue could be fixed this easily.

“Uh… how about we ask the Demon King for some advice, now that the other insectoid monsters are gone, we will need to leave this place!”

To get around this issue, Rusty decided to go with a strategic approach of changing the topic. With the help of his Guide, he hoped to make his ant companion forget about his stealing all of the experience for himself. Thus, he quickly activated the skill to summon the fallen Demon King who quickly appeared in the form of a pitch-black orb.

“Well, if it isn’t my old friend Rusty and his little ant friend… you got rid of me quite quickly last time, will you let me finish my sentence this time around?”

The Demon King appeared in a seemingly grumpy mood. He seemed to be still mad about the treatment he received the last time he was summoned. However, before Rusty could respond, Gleam was the one to interrupt, quite interested in the appearance of the talking black sphere.

“ ( ° o ° ) “

“Oh, that’s strange, I can understand what this little one is saying… It must be the bonding contract, it seems to even affect me…”

The Demon King paused for a moment but he seemed saddened for some reason. Luckily, Gleam had another being to interact with and his plan of changing the subject had been successful.
“This confirms it, I’m nothing more than part of this armor, tied to its soul if even the bonding contract affects me in this way… This complicates things.”

The demon was not hiding the fact that he wasn’t too fond of this situation. Previously he had already tried to escape and it didn’t look like he had given up on that idea just yet. This didn’t change the fact that Rusty was still in control and his demonic guide needed to answer all of his questions.

“Demon King, we’ve managed to clear out the remaining insectoid monsters from this area, and now we’re faced with a decision. Should we continue exploring the cave system or look for a way out? and where would such a way be? I don’t think I’ll be able to climb the chasm I fell into and there are those strange spider creatures there too…”

The black orb did something akin to a grumble before replying.

“I’m not much of a Demon King anymore, we have known each other long enough, just call me Aburdon… But Master Aburdon is also fine.”

“Oh? That’s fine with me, Aburdon then!”

Rusty preferred calling people by their names as long titles just made things unnecessarily complicated. The Demon King pondered for a moment before responding, his dark energy swirling within his orb-like body.

“Hm, it depends on what you seek, Rusty. It seems that you wish to gain more power by slaying other creatures, quite the monsterly aspirations you have there. Nevertheless, if you want some advice, then be wary of the dungeon you came from.”

“I should be wary of it? Well, those adventurers were strong but now I’m stronger and I also have Gleam with me!”

“ (•̀ᴗ•́ )و “

“I don’t mean the adventurers, dear Rusty, they would be the least of your worries…”

“Oh, how so?”

Rusty was a bit confused by the response. When he was in the dungeon, things were relatively safe. Even when he died several times, he was just restored by the dungeon heart that resided there. It was also probably the source of the voices that were ordering him what to do and the biggest downside would be if he became stuck there again.

“I probably wouldn’t want to be limited to the first two floors either… but shouldn’t I be able to go further down?”

He was an E-rank monster and was previously limited to the first and second floor. It wouldn’t be strange if he could venture even further than last time and perhaps finally be able to use his skill absorption ability which had been dormant for a while now.

“Oh, I don’t think you would be limited by any of those anymore, I’m not sure if the Dungeon Heart would even be able to affect you after evolving.”

“But isn’t that good?”

“Depends on what you consider good… How do you think the Dungeon will react to something it can no longer control?”

“... oh…”

While Rusty wasn’t even a year old, he was smart enough to put things together. Aburdon insinuated that this Dungeon Heart that had created him, would see him as a threat, perhaps even like another adventurer.

“But that means that I’d have to fight both those adventurers and the monsters there?”

“That’s a possibility but I’m not sure, you’re quite the anomaly so perhaps the Dungeon will still see you as an ally as you have been born there. You’ll just have to go and see.”

Aburdon's words left Rusty with a sense of unease. The idea that the dungeon, which had been his home and source of security, might now see him as a threat was troubling. But on the other hand, he started looking at this situation from a different angle.

“If there are more enemies… won’t I just be able to level up faster?”

“I guess so but…”

“Oh! And the monsters inside of the Dungeon come back to life after they are defeated, doesn’t that mean that it’s an infinite leveling resource!?”

“ ( ˶°ㅁ°) ! “

“That’s right Gleam, we could level up forever and not worry about running out of enemies!”

Gleam seemed to be on board with the unlimited leveling resource that a dungeon could provide and insisted that they get there as soon as they could. The Demon King started chuckling as if he wasn’t sure what to do with these two power-hungry monsters before him.

“You two remind me of the demons I once commanded. Only the ones that showed some restraint managed to survive so heed my warning. If your connection to the Dungeon Core has indeed been severed, you will no longer be able to be revived. Once you are defeated, you probably won’t come back.”

Rusty has somewhat figured that this was already the case but it was better if this demon lord confirmed this information. The power of continuous revival sounded great but it wasn’t too great if his level was reset either.

“I can’t have you vanishing just yet Rusty. You do know that there is a vast world outside this pit you spawned in, right?”

“A vast world…”

Rusty couldn’t hide the fact that he was interested in seeing it. The fragmented memories that he acquired from both Aburdon and the Hero offered him a couple of images. He wanted to eventually leave this place and witness the world outside with his own visor. Gleam was of the same mind as she danced around the moment the outside world had been mentioned.

“Good, now you could try exploring more of these tunnels. You might not find a way out, but even if you don’t, there's a way you could scale that chasm you came from."

“There is? But how? I’m not good at climbing, I’ll probably just slide of and fall down…”

Rusty had thought about scaling that chasm but he just didn’t see himself doing anything besides falling down.

“Of course, you should never underestimate the wisdom of this Demon King Aburdon! I’ll even tell you how if you do something for me…”

“Or you could just tell me?”

“Ugh…”

The ball of black started convulsing as if he was trying to resist the order.

“Damn, fine! Have it your way!”

Aburdon was unable to refuse the call and had to give in. With indignation he floated between the living suit of armor and the silvery ant before speaking.

“The key is your little friend here and that strange metallic body of yours, it’s a lot simpler than you might think…”