Heavy Metal: Chapter 74 – Unknown Dangers. (Patreon)

The room was filled with the sounds of clashing weapons, the grunts of the lizardmen, and the rhythmic thud of arrows being loosed from bows. Rusty’s shield caught another saber strike, but with the renewed support from his companions, the tide of the battle shifted. Norkas was already in his element, taking well-aimed shots from the back, while Layla, now fully awake, fired her own arrows in rapid succession. Odelette darted between the skirmishes, a blur of motion as her daggers found weak spots in the monsters' legs.

Rusty's iron body bore several nicks and scratches from the battle, but it was holding up. The thick cloth lining beneath the metal protected his mummified body from being exposed to his new companions. The group of seven lizardmen had grown as reinforcements charged through the corridors, but now their numbers were dwindling, and victory was near.

However, even as victory drew near, Rusty's thoughts lingered on the dagger that had struck the rock. He knew no dungeon monster would deliberately target a trap with such precision, which meant it had to be another adventurer. Someone in these tunnels wanted to harm them, and he couldn't understand why. Though his current identity was Rusty, he was now Albert, and it was possible that someone was still after him - just like the three thugs who had tried to extort him. Yet, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that one of his companions might be the true target.

The last of the lizardmen fell to the floor with a final, guttural hiss as Rusty cleaved through its scaled chest. Around him, the others were regaining their composure. Norkas, breathing heavily, wiped sweat from his brow while Layla lowered her bow, her eyes scanning the room warily. Odelette finished off one of the wounded lizardmen with a precise strike, then stepped back, taking a moment to catch her breath.

“That was... closer than I’d like.” 

Norkas muttered, though his voice held a note of appreciation as he glanced at Rusty. He had to admit, Rusty had kept them alive, holding the line almost single-handedly until they could regroup.

“Yeah, we almost didn’t make it, if it weren’t for Mr. Albert, we would have never made it.” 

Layla added, still eyeing the room and specifically the pedestal on which the chest had previously stood. It seemed like she wanted to say something but before she could, the smaller halfling girl yelled out cheerfully.

"We did it!"

Odelette exclaimed, twirling one of her daggers in the air before sheathing it with a flourish. Her grin was infectious, despite the tense situation they had just been through. 

"That's what I'm talking about! Perfect teamwork, those stupid lizards had it coming! Now what’s in the chest!”

Rusty wiped the lizard's blood from his sword and gave a silent nod, though his thoughts were still focused on the unknown threat. Odelette on the other hand launched herself at the chest they had taken and quickly picked the simple lock on it. However, her cheerful expression was replaced with disappointment after she took out a badge with the guild’s mark on it.

“Drat… Was this just part of the test?”

“Yes, that’s one of the badges we need to retrieve to complete the exam, there should be another one at the last location…”

Rusty glanced at a badge that appeared to be made of wood. The sight of it sparked a memory, and without hesitation, he leaned down toward one of the fallen lizardmen. With a single hand, he effortlessly flipped the creature over, startling the other adventurers. Before anyone could question his actions, he grabbed something attached to the monster's back.

“Is this it?”

“Ah… yes, that looks like the other one… but why would it be here and on that monster?”

His three party members stared in confusion at the second badge now in Rusty's hand. With both badges in their possession, they no longer needed to continue deeper into the dungeon, but the discovery raised more questions.

"I see, so that’s what happened"

"Did you figure something out?" 

Rusty heard Alexander’s voice quickly after giving the badge away and he responded.

"I have a theory. Your group was likely meant to reach the final area, facing fewer monsters. The badge was attached to one of them, waiting for you to find it. But the fact that it’s here means whoever threw that dagger probably lured the monsters from that area to us. And I doubt they were working for the guild..."

‘What was their goal?’

‘Either they didn’t want your group to succeed in the exam or they were targeting someone specifically.’

Rusty glanced at the three companions he barely knew. Like Albert, they could have found themselves entangled with the wrong people or crossed paths with dangerous thugs. There was much he didn’t understand about their culture or motives. Being a monster wasn’t easy as he was not aware of the nuances of this world. He only knew that adventurers, and the various races, could kill for almost anything: a grudge, resources, or even a stray look - things he still struggled to comprehend.

Before Rusty could contemplate Alexanders' words some footsteps echoed out of one of the now opened corridors. The other party members heard them as well and quickly readied their weapons again. He was now used to working in this small group and moved forward to intercept whoever was going to come out of that corridor. The footsteps didn’t belong to a lizardman and were cleary more human in nature. 

‘Rusty, it could be the culprit… get ready.’

Alexander had advised him to be cautious, and Rusty took the warning to heart. He was well aware that some adventurers, especially those of silver rank, were stronger than him. Even with the entire group fighting together, victory against one of them would be uncertain. His true body had a durability that could contend with a silver rank, but revealing that would mean blowing his cover. If the task became too difficult, fleeing would be the wisest option.

Yet, for some reason, the thought of abandoning these three felt wrong, even if it meant saving his own life. It was as if he was slowly beginning to think like an adventurer, something he wasn’t sure how to feel about. It didn’t make sense as if they discovered his true nature, they'd likely turn their swords on him without hesitation.

The sound of footsteps grew louder as the group braced themselves, weapons at the ready. Rusty stepped forward, his shield raised to intercept any immediate threat. The dim light from the glowstones cast long shadows across the chamber, heightening the tension. Alexander's warning echoed in his mind, and Rusty gripped his sword tighter, preparing for the worst.

Suddenly, from the far corridor, a figure emerged - a man, tall and lean, dressed in dark leather armor. His face was unobscured and the moment his other party members saw him, they started lowering their weapons. The man was someone they knew as he was part of the guild staff. He was quick to stop and raised his hands at the pointed bows and swords in his direction.

"Calm down, I’m from the guild. Didn't mean to spook you lot. Guild sent me to check on things when the mist trap went off. Seemed like you handled it well… but… what’s with those all monsters?”

The guild official began surveying the area and immediately sensed that something was wrong. There were far too many monster corpses - far more than the guild had anticipated. The test site was under the guild's supervision to some extent, with workers stationed at various points to keep stronger monsters away. Clearly, something had gone awry, and the official wasted no time in asking questions.

“What happened here?” 

The guild staffer asked, his voice filled with concern as his eyes darted between the fallen lizardmen and the adventurers. Norkas, who had taken on the role of party leader was the first to respond.

“You might not believe us but someone set off the sleeping mist trap that we disabled.”

“They set it off? What do you mean? Tell me everything that happened and leave nothing out.”

The man was taken aback by the claim but quickly composed himself and asked for more details. Rusty listened quietly, relieved that he wasn’t the one who had to explain. Norkas then recounted what had happened and started off with how they arrived in the room with the chest. He then recounted how someone threw a dagger into the chamber and then also probably lured the monsters to finish them off. The guild official raised an eyebrow, his expression somewhat skeptical of their tale.

“So you’re telling me that someone triggered the trap in an attempt to kill you? Then somehow lured in the monsters here to kill you?”

“Yes.”

“Hm… unless you can prove it somehow…”

The man wasn’t convinced and even when Odelette brought out the dagger that collided with her rock to present as evidence, the man just shook his head. 

"I see the dagger, but this alone doesn't prove someone deliberately triggered the trap to harm you, It could have been a stray shot, or someone else attempting the test, perhaps even a stray monster."

He shrugged, almost dismissing their claim outright. Norkas tightened his grip on his bow, clearly frustrated. 

"You're seriously going to dismiss this? Monsters don’t just target rocks on a pressure plate trap that spawns sleeping mist!”

Rusty didn’t say anything as his party members started arguing with the guild member. Instead, he listened to Alexander who quickly told him to do something instead.

“Rusty, this won’t lead anywhere, it would be better if you all left now before something else happens.”

He agreed with his guide that the task was to obtain the two badges in order to complete the examination. Now that they had both badges, it no longer mattered who had thrown the dagger. It was too dangerous to stay here with unknown enemies lurking about. After listening to Alexander's guidance on what to say, Rusty stepped forward toward the guild official and began to speak.

"Excuse me but we both have badges, right?" 

Rusty said, his voice sounding calm yet firm.

“Uh, yes?”

The other party members stopped talking and the guild official responded.

"The task is then complete if we return we will have passed the test, yes?”

He asked again and the man paused for a moment before nodding.

“Sure. You just need to give those badges to Garren as proof.”

After he received the answer he turned to his three party members who also needed to return with him for this to be successful. Even if he took both badges and returned by himself, if everyone else died he wouldn’t be given the iron rank card. 

“Then shouldn’t we leave?”

“You might be right Albert… Staying here longer puts us all in danger, it would be better to let the guild handle the rest.”

Norkas, their temporary leader nodded in agreement. It was safer to retreat now when they had the chance. The man before them could be a hidden enemy so his decision to leave found no protests. 

“Mr. Albert makes a good point, let's just leave, we have completed the task laid out by the guild.”

Layla agreed with Rusty and Odelette didn’t seem to care one way or another, the only thing she was interested in was getting more money, something Rusty also could get behind. 

“If you all say so? Then let’s just go but perhaps first, we should take all of the loot!”

The room was littered with monster remains, some of which could be sold to the guild for a decent amount of coins. The guild official watched as they gathered the most valuable parts. He took his time examining their claim, inspecting the chamber thoroughly before eventually disappearing down the corridor from which the dagger had been thrown. Rusty and his party decided to retreat for the time being. Having already successfully completed their iron rank test, they preferred not to tempt fate any further.

“That was smart Albert, for all we know that guild member could be with the person that tried to mess with us.”

As they were walking back, Norkas complimented Rusty on his quick thinking. Layla seemed shocked by this statement while Odelette didn’t respond as she was busy counting the amount of money they would receive for the harvested monster parts. They made their way back through the winding corridors of the dungeon, the tension from the recent battle began to dissipate, though an undercurrent of unease remained. 

"Do you think we can really trust that guild official? What if he's somehow involved in this? We don't know who we're dealing with."

Their temporary leader wasn’t amused by the incident in the dungeon but Odelette more cynical words brought him back to reality. 

“Can we do anything about it if he is involved?”

“... You’re probably right, if the guild is involved in this, they could target us if we make too much noise about the issue…” 

Rusty listened from the sidelines, trying to understand the adventurers he wasn’t very familiar with. It seemed that power was still paramount in their society, much like in the world of monsters. Even if they had evidence, confronting a more powerful entity could be unwise and might just get them killed. It was probably better to remain silent and hope that whoever was responsible wouldn’t seek further trouble with them.

‘Strength is all that matters…’

He mumbled to himself, but his thoughts were interrupted by his guide, Alexander. Rusty had chosen to summon only him as his sole helper, as having both out at once would create too much chaos during battles.

‘Is it the only thing that matters?’

‘Is it not?’

‘Do you think you would have done better without the help from those three kids? Or were they actually helpful?’

‘Hm…’

Rusty wasn’t sure, as he hadn’t been allowed to use his true form in that battle. However, that didn’t mean Alexander was wrong. Rusty lacked skills for opening locks and detecting traps. Additionally, having ranged support was a big help while fighting monsters. The arrows fired by the two adventurers prevented him from getting scratched on several occasions.

'But weren’t you betrayed by your party before?'

'Uh… well that’s true but…'

Alexander didn’t know how to respond, as this was undeniably true. Having party members could be highly advantageous, but also risky. His guide had been betrayed by companions in the past, yet for some reason, he still clung to the belief that being in a party was ultimately a net positive.

‘Well… accidents can happen but there is no replacement for a good party!’

‘Hm…’

‘Why don’t we focus on getting out of this dungeon first!’

‘If you say so.’

The group pressed on, making their way back through the winding corridors of the maze dungeon. The thrill of battle had faded, leaving behind a heavy, unsettling silence. All of them were eager for this strange day to finally end. Fortunately, without any further incidents, they reached the dungeon's exit, where more guild members awaited their return. None appeared perturbed, and it was clear that word of the strange attempt on their lives had yet to reach them.