Chương 138: Chapter 136 – Future Aspirations.

"... You shouldn't ask too many questions…" Rusty said while looking at the oldest of the children, Rolo. Both of them were alone in one of the rooms, cleaning up some of the damage sustained during the kidnapping. The children had stayed the night and eventually woken up. They had slept soundly and later decided to help him clean. The boy started asking questions about the previous night, mostly about the man who had saved them, but Rusty refused to answer directly.

'Don't say anything, Rusty. There are spells in this world that can pry the truth out of anyone. Best if these brats don't know anything.' Aburdon commented, and for once, Alexander agreed with him.

'That is probably for the best.'

"You don't need to know what happened back there. All that matters is that you're alive now but don't expect it to happen again…"

"I… I understand." Rolo nodded as Rusty firmly implied that he would not be rescuing anyone a second time. He was lucky that the mercenaries had been surprised by his skills and didn't have any proper trackers to investigate the incident, but that could always change. Next time, he might not be so lucky. He had spent the entire night preparing to escape and had even planted several of his body parts around the area. He had learned that he could explode his body parts within a certain radius.

By placing twilight steel around his lair, he could use them as traps, but there were limits. He could only control a certain number of extra body parts with his skill, and at the moment, he was restricted to two extra limbs. There was also a time limit, so he could detonate at most two at once.

'Rusty, my dear, this brat is a thief. We should have him check on those mercenaries. If he is to stay here, we should use him as a scout.'

'We should?'

'Indeed. If we are to do this right, we need to take care of all the loose ends…'

'Oh, I think I get it.' Aburdon made a lot of sense. There was still a problem here. This settlement wasn't too large, so the chances of those mercenaries running into the four children were high. It was best to check if they had made it out alive and, if they had, deal with them before they could cause any trouble in the future.

'Wait, you want to kill those men?'

'Of course. Don't you want to save those brats, hero? This was your idea, so don't try to back out now.' Aburdon replied to Alexander in a mocking tone. Rusty considered his words carefully. The idea of eliminating loose ends was logical, but it was not without risk. The Black Hounds were dangerous, and their leader had already proven to be a serious threat. Attempting anything now while their group was on high alert might not have been wise. Still, the boy might be useful.

From what they had explained, it seemed he had not been the one captured initially. The twins had been. Only when he attempted to sneak in and rescue them was he caught. He had acted too hastily, letting his emotions get the better of him. If he had been more careful, he might have avoided capture altogether. He showed some promise in reconnaissance, but it was probably best to wait before making any moves. For now, the most important thing was for Rusty to avoid drawing attention in an unfamiliar area.

It would have been easier if these four were not here, but having them around also had its advantages. At the very least, they could watch over his lair while he was out hunting and improving himself. Not many people came around this area. Most were busy with work and too tired to wander the streets at night. There was not much to steal here either, so this home was not on anyone's radar. Thieves had no reason to target it, and unless the mercenaries showed up again, there probably would not be much trouble.

"For now just stay here, lay low, if someone comes, just hide in the basement." Rusty commented as he saw a strained expression on the young man's face,"We can't just take your help and do nothing. I don't know why you helped us, but I know we can't stay here for free…" Rusty tilted his helmet slightly and considered his words. He had already thought of ways to use them, but the fact that Rolo recognized this himself was promising.

"So, what exactly do you think you can do for me?"

"I… I can steal, sneak and I know my way around the city! I've been surviving on these streets for years now, there is nothing I don't know about Ferndale."

"Is that so…" Classification: Thief L1 Type: Human After using his identification skill on Rolo, he confirmed that the young man had a class. His low level suggested that he had probably never killed a monster before, yet he had still received a class. In this world, people obtained classes at temples and had to pay fees to the church. Perhaps the boy had been given the money by the mercenaries, which would explain why they were trying to get him back. He could have been an investment.

"... Can you use a weapon?"

"Somewhat…" Rusty could tell that the boy had probably received no training. For humanoids, It was possible to develop skills by practicing against something like a training dummy, but the fastest way to improve was by fighting real opponents and killing monsters. He started to wonder if he should take the child into the dungeon with him or perhaps have him fight some low level goblins in the outer forests.

With his current level and lack of skills, he would not be of much use since even the weakest mercenaries would be able to kill him. However, he was not completely without promise. Not many people were given battle classes in their lifetime, and the fact that he was already a thief was a good sign. The young man just needed some initial guidance.

When Rusty had been nothing more than a corroded bronze armor, he could not do much, but within just a few months he had already grown almost as strong as a D-rank adventurer. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Come with me." The basement stairs groaned beneath their weight as they descended. The air in here was a lot better now as the place had been tidied out and most of the rubble carried out. Rolo's brow furrowed as he glanced around. The last time he had been here, this basement had been nothing more than an empty storage space with nothing in it. Now, it had transformed into something that resembled a smithy. The stone walls were now lined with racks of tools.

Hammers, tongs, chisels, and files were all meticulously arranged. A large anvil sat in the middle with a blacksmith's hammer resting on top. Wooden shelves held scattered ingots and a few blades that appeared to be made from either steel or iron.

"What the?" This place had been empty just a few hours ago. While the kids were sleeping, Rusty had used his SP to organize the basement. He was already planning to turn it into a smithy, so he had taken out some basic tools and arranged them. It was not much yet, but he intended to improve it once he became a D rank. For now, he needed to forge a few things to help restore his home.

"Here, you should be able to use this, right?"

"Y-yes..." Rolo accepted a steel dagger, one of the smaller ones Rusty had. It was a real weapon and quite sharp. Rolo turned the dagger over in his hands, feeling its weight. His grip was uncertain at first, but he adjusted quickly, instinctively testing the balance. Rusty watched as the boy's expression shifted. There was something in his eyes, something that indicated determination.

"You'll need to learn how to use that properly. Practice on this." As Rolo tested out the dagger, his attention was drawn to a large wooden log near one of the walls. Rusty had spent most of the night assembling this training dummy. He had taken a leftover breastplate from an iron living armor and used it as the main component. It was fixed over the log to serve as the primary target and, most importantly, was recognized as a dummy by the world's system.

With it in place, Rolo would have something to strike with his dagger, allowing him to gain at least a few levels in his dagger proficiency. The youth stepped forward hesitantly, raising the dagger. His stance was rough, unrefined, and lacked proper footwork, but Rusty observed in silence. It was clear that while Rolo had held a weapon before, he had never received proper instruction nor did he use it on any proper opponents.

"Try stabbing it." Rolo swallowed hard and adjusted his grip on the dagger. His fingers tensed as he squared his shoulders and his eyes fixated on the breastplate affixed to the wooden dummy. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and drove the dagger toward the target. Clang! The sound of steel meeting iron echoed through the basement. The dagger bounced off harmlessly, and in the same instant, Rolo's grip faltered. The weapon slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the stone floor.

He took a stumbling step back, staring at his empty hands in disbelief. Rusty let out something similar to a sigh and stepped forward. He bent down and picked up the dagger with ease. The moment he held it, his fingers wrapped firmly around the hilt, as if it were an extension of himself.

"You didn't put enough strength into it, this is how you do it." He lifted the dagger and, with a smooth motion, plunged it straight into the iron breastplate. Unlike Rolo's attempt, the blade didn't bounce off. Instead, it punctured the worn metal, sinking in just enough to prove its effectiveness.

"A half-hearted stab won't do anything against armor, go try again, the blade shouldn't break if it does, take one of the other ones." Rusty pointed to several daggers on one of the wooden shelves before moving over to the anvil. There was work to be done and he wished to be done with it soon. He had put off assembling a replacement hinge for the entrance, along with reinforcing the old door frame. He wasn't a carpenter, but with his smithing skills, he could achieve a similar result.

"Gleam, I need your help." Gleam had been playing with the children upstairs, but after revealing himself, she quickly skittered down into the basement. The youngest of the children followed the little monster and was surprised to find the basement filled with various steel tools.

"(╹_╹)?"

"I need you to heat something up. Do you think you can do that?"

"(•̀ ᴗ •́)و" While the forge wasn't ready, Gleam could use lower-level flame spells. He had gathered some wood to place it into the chimney space that would later become his true forge. Gleam wiggled her antennae excitedly before scampering over to the pile of wood stacked within the stone-lined fireplace. With a chittering noise, she focused, and a flickering flame burst forth from her mouth. A bright orange glow bathed the basement as fire licked hungrily at the dry logs.

Soon, a steady heat filled the room, and the forge, albeit makeshift, roared to life. Rusty nodded in approval. While not as powerful as a full smithy forge, this would suffice for the time being. Normally, he would use his own steel hands to hold the plate of metal he needed for the hinge, but since he was being watched, he opted for the proper tongs instead. Before long, the other two children gathered near the entrance, all watching him work.

Gleam kept up her flame spell for as long as she could which allowed him to soften up the steel into a workable state. The soft glow of the heated metal illuminated Rusty's form as he carefully positioned it on the anvil. With measured strikes of his hammer, he began to shape the molten steel. Each blow sent sparks cascading into the air, and the rhythmic sound of metal on metal echoed through the basement. The children watched in awe, their eyes reflecting the glow of the makeshift magic forge.

Rolo, still gripping the dagger tightly, glanced between Rusty and the training dummy. After a moment, he returned to his training. Though his skills were few, he knew they could still improve, even through simple practice. If he became proficient with the dagger, then perhaps one day, he would be strong enough to protect his friends from the cruelty of this world. Meanwhile, the metal gradually took shape under Rusty's hammer, forming the hinge that would reinforce their shelter.

Once satisfied with its shape, he set it aside to cool. He then grabbed a few nails and, when the hinge was ready, brought it upstairs. The children followed, watching as he hammered a few metal pieces into the doorframe to reinforce it. The wood was riddled with cracks and was in dire need of replacement, but for now, he lacked both the time and the proper materials to fully repair it. This temporary fix would have to do.

With the doorframe reinforced and the last nail hammered into place, Rusty stepped back to examine his work. The hinge fit in place and the door that was just leaning against it was now moving smoothly. The locking mechanism was quite simple for now and required someone to unlock it from the inside as he was lacking a proper keyhole.

'There, it's all fixed, now we just cover the windows for now and…' Rusty stopped himself from finishing the thought. Even if he reinforced everything in this lair, anyone with a heavy enough weapon could still break through. True security wouldn't come from fortifications alone as it would come from strength and resources. If he wanted to protect his home, he needed to grow stronger and acquire wealth. In this world, there were professions like guards and soldiers.

With enough money, he could hire someone to defend the lair in his absence. Or perhaps he could find a magical device to do the job instead. One way or another, he needed to return to the dungeon and reach level fifteen. Once he attained D-rank, he could move forward with building his smithy here. For now, it was best to keep a low profile, but once he mastered forging enchanted weapons, his path to strength would be set. He was still too weak to make a name for himself. And even if he did, what would he become?

A hero? A new demon lord? Or perhaps something entirely different—something never seen before. This question had been nagging at him for a while, but he'd never quite managed to pin down an answer. He held onto the hope that eventually it would come to him on its own. But if it didn't, he wasn't the type to just sit around. He'd dig it out himself. One way or another, he was determined to make his mark on the world. And if the world pushed back, he'd reshape it.