*SHHHZZ*

  The sounds of crystals shattering resounded through the large cavern as another crystal covered golem crumbled to the ground. In front of him stood a large suit of armor, wielding a massive two-handed hammer, a weapon usually too big to be practical in underground dungeons with so little room to maneuver.

  “There goes another one, Gleam. We are really getting a good haul this time around.”

  “( ?? ? ?? )?”

  Gleam landed atop the crystal-covered golem and wiggled her antennae. Before it was fully dead, she chomped down on one of the remaining crystals.

  “Does it taste good?”

  “(?? ? ??)”

  She nodded and continued to nibble and chomp. Even though the crystals on monsters and along the walls lost their mana rather quickly, it still gave Gleam enough time to eat them. This place solved his partner’s feeding problem, since she had previously been forced to sustain herself on diluted mana water and mana potions instead. Gleam still preferred the texture of crystals and other gems, so this cavern was perfect for her diet.

  “That should be enough, Rusty. We should head back and fashion my… I mean our new forms.”

  Aburdon’s light flickered within his helmet as impatience set in. They had been hunting monsters in these caverns for nearly a full day, and Rusty had used up all of his SP storing them. When it came to skill absorption, there had been no reaction from the lizards, and the golems he fought had no true heads, only crystals jutting out from their upper torsos.

  His storage was now filled with various gleaming minerals, and he was not entirely sure what their purpose was. Thanks to his desynthesis ability, he could process an entire body more precisely than any adventurer, which meant he had to be careful. If he appeared with something that could not normally be obtained as a drop, it would raise questions.

  He still remembered the fuss people made over a weaker adventurer party he had helped escape. They had discovered a rare drop and were subsequently hunted for it. If he showed that he had acquired too much, people would likely target him as well. He had already robbed the mercenaries recently, and people were on edge, searching for the perpetrators.

  It was best to remain unseen until he reached higher levels, because even now, his D rank power was not enough. Monsters like the Orc leader roamed the lands, and there was also the humanoid army within the city. He was still far too weak. Perhaps when he reached C rank, his time would come, but for now, he needed to avoid being discovered at all costs, since fleeing would be his only option.

  “Yeah, I think this is enough. Let’s head back.”

  “( ?? ? ?? )?”

  Gleam hopped onto his shoulder, and the two departed. This section of the dungeon was the largest of them all. They had previously obtained a map from the guild, yet their exploration had likely covered only five percent of its total size. While he could continue without sleeping or eating, it was best to return once the bodies of his guides were prepared. With a haul this large, he would be able to make exactly two suits of armor.

  With that in mind, he made his way back through the winding corridors, avoiding any further fighting. With the help of the silence spell and Gleam’s tracking abilities, they were able to steer clear of most trouble. Rusty’s life detection skill did not fully function here. While it detected life within the large lizards, it failed to register the golems, as they were not fleshy lifeforms and fell outside the scope of the skill.

  “Quite peaceful this time around…”

  Rusty looked around as he reached the exit of the Crystalline Caverns. Adventurers filled the main chamber, but none of them paid him any real attention. He passed through without trouble and made his way out of the dungeon, appearing as though his work for the day had ended. Once outside, the scenery was familiar, and he headed back toward the city as he always did.

  The day seemed peaceful, with nothing obviously out of place, but Rusty knew better. At any moment, everything could change for the worse, so vigilance was essential. As he walked through the streets toward the Adventurers Guild, he listened closely to the whispers around him.

  “Why are the mercenaries so active lately?”

  “I don’t know, but I heard the lord was angry about something. I think even the mercenary leader was punished directly this time.”

  “Even him? Something big must have happened.”

  The citizens spoke in hushed tones. Since Rusty was responsible for the robbery, it would be his metal head that rolled if anyone discovered the truth. Fortunately, there was nothing linking him to the scene of the crime. His suit of armor had also been upgraded to a newer model, so he doubted that anyone could successfully track him now.

  ‘Best to focus on getting stronger.’

  Rusty thought to himself as he stood before the guild appraisal. There were a few other adventurers ahead of him, some of them also D ranks. They deposited a handful of materials, not much, but it gave him a sense of what the appropriate amount was to hand over without appearing suspicious.

  “Next.”

  “...”

  From his spatial bag, he pulled out nearly the same assortment of crystals, monster scales, fangs, and claws, making sure the quantity was slightly less than what the others before him had offered. Even so, he received more money, as his system processed everything without causing any damage to the materials. It was a decent sum, which he promptly spent on additional supplies, steel in particular, since his reserves were starting to run low.

  Once everything was taken care of, he returned to his lair. Just like before, the shop was nearly empty, with not a single customer in sight. Rolo sat behind the counter, looking utterly bored, and the other kids seemed no better off.

  “It’s a shame. Children like these should be out playing, not sitting around all day in a weapon shop…”

  Alexander commented with a sigh, and Rusty found himself thinking about the issue. He had the money and the means to earn more without relying on the shop, yet he still wanted to keep it running as a way to launder his wealth to some extent. Even if sales were slow, most of the resources he used had been acquired cheaply.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Who cares about them! Rusty needs to make my body!”

  Rusty listened to the two bicker about the orphans as he descended into the basement. Ever since he started being summoned, his appreciation for humanoids had deepened somewhat. Gwen, his first summoner, was a good person at heart, and he wondered if she was tugging at his nonexistent metallic heart. Logically speaking, he did not owe those young humanoids anything, though he knew he would be saddened if they were harmed, just as he had been when Gleam was kidnapped.

  “Sure, I’m going to make the ingots now. Just wait a bit.”

  Rusty shook his head and brought up his system window. There, he saw that he could enter the smithing portion while the summoning chamber was still on cooldown.

  “I wonder…”

  Even before he could truly confirm whether his guides could inhabit the new suits, another thought occurred to him. What if he could bring both of the new armor bodies to the summoning world? Would he then be able to summon his guides there to help him at some point? There was no problem with taking armor pieces with him and increasing his storage, and with more summoner coins, this option might eventually open up.

  While the smithy in his basement was not that bad, it was no Soul Forge. In his current form, he could remain there for quite some time. Without hesitation, he headed inside to work on the many mana crystals he had gathered from the dungeon.

  The Soul Forge came alive with the familiar sounds of flame and mana. The furnace ignited, and enchantments began to glow as he entered its vicinity. His task was not particularly difficult this time. He only needed to create mana-infused steel ingots. Although his current body was made of enchanted twilight high steel, he would not be attempting that. Instead, he decided to take a step down and create mana-infused dark and light steel ingots, hoping for the best.

  The process was similar to creating regular mana-infused ingots, but with a twist. He needed to either infuse the mana crystals with dark or light mana before the mixture was created, or infuse it directly as the smelting process began.

  “Best to go with the first option.”

  At first glance, it seemed safer and more efficient to work on the mana crystals themselves, but he quickly realized the task was far more difficult than expected. As he pushed a controlled amount of light energy into the basic mana crystals, they began to shatter in front of him. The failures piled up until he was forced to stop after three consecutive failures and only one success.

  Regretfully, he could not simply copy dark or light-infused ingots with his system without the proper materials to trade for them. The only way forward was to infuse mana manually. Since the conversion rate was far too low, he moved on to the next test, attempting the infusion while the mixture was being fused.

  For this, he stood before the mixing crucible and, once the materials combined, plunged his entire metallic hand into the blistering hot concoction. This was not something a normal craftsman could attempt or even consider. However, Rusty was not a normal craftsman. He was not even a man. He was a suit of armor, and extreme heat did not bother him. Since the mixture was only regular enchanted steel, his arm merely glowed red and did not melt.

  Just like with the mana crystal, the first attempt did not go very well, but on the second try, he managed to succeed. A proper light element-infused enchanted steel ingot had formed, and now he could continue. Time was ticking, yet he pressed on with the infusions. Thanks to the increased time limit, he was successful.

  “I wish I had more time, but this will be enough for today. I’ll make more tomorrow.”

  When it came to creating suits of armor using SP, there was a clear pattern to the process. This particular set required a large number of ingots. Four were needed for the lower body, four for the chest, three for the arms, and one for the headpiece. It was a considerable amount, and he had only just managed to make enough.

  “You’re back, Rusty? Finally, it’s time for me to get my new body!”

  Aburdon was overjoyed to see Rusty return from the Soul Forge, but his mood quickly soured.

  “Well… not exactly…”

  Aburdon’s wisp of light flew around Rusty as he tried to avoid him. Rusty had prepared an armor set with enough ingots, just not for Aburdon, as he had decided to go with the safer option, Alexander.

  “You didn’t… My dear Rusty, how could you? Do you really not trust me this much?”

  The former demon lord sounded deeply disappointed, but Rusty knew it was an act, as always. Aburdon was a schemer, and the older Rusty became, the more aware he was of that fact. Still, he was not truly worried about betrayal, since both Aburdon and Alexander were bound to him and could not actually harm him.

  “You made the right choice, Rusty.”

  Alexander floated forward as Rusty took the parts out of his storage. At this point, the armor he had prepared was nothing new. It followed the same design as his recent medium-sized body, only now it was pure white. It was not even silver as the light element had caused the steel to turn as white as snow.

  “Okay then, let’s try this!”

  “( ?? ? ?? )?”

  Gleam sat on his shoulder, practically trembling with anticipation. Rusty placed all the white armor pieces on the ground and took a few steps back. Once everything was ready, Alexander floated forward and waited for the puppet skill to activate.

  The armor pieces were soon surrounded by a pale glow before they sprang to life. The amount of mana required to control this type of suit of armor was considerable, more than twenty percent of his reserves. After a brief rattle, the armor stood upright before him and remained completely still.

  “Go on, Alexander. Try it and see if you can occupy it.”

  “...”

  Alexander was different from Aburdon. Instead of rushing in, he hovered in front of the white suit of armor, hesitating as if he did not want to enter it. Rusty was not sure what his guide was thinking, but it had always felt like Alexander lacked a strong desire for life.

  He knew his old companions had betrayed him, yet rage or a thirst for vengeance never seemed to consume him. Having a body would likely help with that, but perhaps he simply did not want to confront them anymore. Regardless, he did not really have a choice. Even if he refused, Rusty would order him to enter.

  “So, are you just going to float there like a will o' wisp, or are you getting in already?”

  Aburdon’s tone grew sharp. To him, Alexander was wasting a rare opportunity to regain a body.

  “Yeah. I will. I just needed a moment to prepare myself.”

  Alexander replied, prompting Aburdon to snap back irritably.

  “Prepare for what?”

  “You would not understand.”

  After that, Alexander’s light sank into the fully white suit of armor. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then a brilliant white glow enveloped the entire frame.

  “( ?°?° )”

  “It does look quite sparkly, Gleam. Oh, is it starting to move?”

  Rusty deliberately refrained from giving the puppet armor any commands. He wanted to see whether his guide could act on his own. The white glow pulsed once, twice, and then dimmed. For a moment, it seemed like it had failed. Then, suddenly, the white armor’s fingers began to twitch.

  First, the fingers curled, metal grinding softly as the joints aligned. Then the head tilted, slow and steady, reminding him of his own movements back when he had been nothing more than a bronze suit. A faint radiance spread through the room as the light element mana stabilized.

  “…I can feel it.”

  Alexander’s voice resounded from within the armor’s head cavity. As the glow along the metal subsided, the empty eyes of the helmet retained their light. Whenever his guide spoke, they flickered subtly.

  “It has been a while…”

  *CLANK*

  The armor took a step forward, nearly toppling as Alexander struggled to control the body for the first time. He fumbled at first, but soon his presence settled into the suit, the armor becoming his new frame. The test was a success. One of his guides now stood with him. All that remained was to gather more mana crystals and repeat the process with the others, but first a few tests were in order…