Chương 16: Chapter 14 – Down The Hole.

"That was an annoying pile of rust."

"You mean corroded, right?"

"Just shut up about that already, let's just get out of here!"

"If you so please, Madam~" The archer from the group attempted a very formal bow, or at least something resembling it. His lack of training in such matters made his performance rather stiff. The team leader Livi sighed and delivered swift punishment to her party member by kicking his leg. Instantly, the man recoiled in pain but luckily most of the damage was taken away by his shin protector.

"Ow…Not the shin…"

"Stop playing around, let's get that gauntlet that monster left and get out of here. I bet Dedrick probably got lost somewhere in the dungeon again."

"Aye, he should have caught up to us by now." The dwarven warrior responded after extracting his halberd from the undead creature he had just defeated. A few of them made it over the bridge that their target had fallen from. While they intended to capture the entire creature, it was sufficient to bring a part of its body to present to the guild as proof.

"It doesn't look much better than the metal from the other living armors, can we even sell this for more than a silver coin?"

"I don't know, it had a strange name to it, never heard of a Twilight variant, maybe we can sucker in one of those alchemists."

"Those guys? Yeah, those idiots love to pay good coin for these unique monster parts." Livi dislodged the gauntlet from the sticky net that it had been stuck to. After looking at it for a moment, she shrugged and tossed in into a bag that was carried by her warrior friend, Reistel.

"Let's find Dedrick and grab whatever else we can from this low-rank floor, but it probably won't be anything worthwhile." The trio soon left with their spoils and left the fallen living armor behind. In their minds, this was the end of their mission and after reporting their findings to the guild, they would be done with everything.

"Hey, Keyon, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Livi spotted her archer party member looking at the seemingly bottomless pit without moving and eventually moved over to confront him.

"What is it?"

"I don't know but I didn't hear the voice of the world."

"Oh? Do you think it might still be alive?"

"I'm not sure, this pit is deep, it could be out of range for me to get any experience or perhaps I didn't do enough damage for it to count?"

"Hm…Well, not like we can do anything about it now. We'll just report this to the guild too." Both of them glanced down but eventually retreated to the path they came from. Even if the monster somehow survived, it was much too weak to pose a threat to most adventurers. All the group of adventurers could do was relay this information and then collect their reward. They didn't care about what the guild did afterward, nor did they concern themselves with the safety of other adventurers who might be in danger.

'Somehow, I'm still alive? But… I might not be for long…' For a moment, Rusty found himself falling into the deep and dark gorge that seemingly had no bottom. While he didn't quite reach the bottom and his fall had been cushioned, he still found himself in a dangerous position. At some point during his descent, he collided with something that softened his fall. It was similar to the sticky net that had ensnared his gauntlet but it was on a much larger scale. He couldn't move and just like before, was stuck.

The fall had dislodged some of his armor pieces, and he was missing one of his legs. His armor had somehow survived the fall but had become cracked in a few places. While he was still alive, a big problem was approaching and it looked rather hungry. A creature emerged from within the darkness. The absence of any light didn't pose a problem for Rusty, as he was still just a piece of living armor. He perceived the world differently than humans, and even in fully darkened places, he could still see.

This creature was quite large and slowly crawled toward him on its eight legs. It resembled some of the bugs he used to kill to gather one experience point, but it was much larger and looked much more dangerous.

'What should I do?' He tried to wrestle himself out of the sticky net but was unable to move. His movements seemed to only irritate the large spider creature that was approaching, as it shook the web he was entangled in. When he looked around, he noticed that he was not the only one there. Many other creatures that had now turned to skeletons or were wrapped up in the netting were present. Perhaps even the adventurer that he had caused to fall into the chasm had made his way down.

'There is something different about this creature… it doesn't feel like it belongs here.' One particularity about this monster was that it felt different than the dungeon monsters he had previously encountered. Within the dungeon there was a type of sense of belonging, it was a sort of barometer that every creature there had and it helped him distinguish between his allies. It seemed as if this thing was not born of the dungeon, and it wouldn't hesitate to tear his body apart.

To make things worse, this spider monster was already munching on Rusty's missing leg. He could see his sabaton vanishing into its gullet. He knew that these creatures normally preferred to munch on more fleshy monsters but this one seemed to have an appetite even for metal. Considering that he couldn't move at all, this seemed like the end of his adventures. Just as he had managed to escape the group of adventurers, he was now going to really perish again.

'Will I lose my levels and evolution?' He was not afraid of death, as the two previous times he was just reformed as the same corroded armor. However, after gaining many skills and experiencing his first evolution, he was unwilling to simply give up. An emotion akin to pride began forming in his metallic form and he could not be sure if reviewing was even an option. For some reason, he felt that the dungeon's influence was a lot weaker here and that if he accepted his fate now, all of it would end.

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'But how do I get out, I can't even move' Even though he wanted to resist there was no way of doing it. The monster was already on top of him and munching on his other leg. Without any problem, it bit through his remaining cuisse and was on its way to eating him alive. Fear bottled up inside of him as he tried to exude more of his strength, but it was to no avail. The monster placed one of its legs on his backplate and plunged it right through.

The difference in power was apparent and even without this spider web he was in, there was no chance of him coming out on top.

'There has to be something…' The monster was busy eating his body parts but he wasn't giving up. His remaining arm was still holding his sword and in a last-ditch effort, he decided to use one of his only skills. This skill was not known for its damage but perhaps it would do something. Thus, suddenly a burst of light enveloped his weapon and illuminated this entire darkened area as if it was day.

"GUOHH!?" To his surprise, the monster that was holding him tightly reacted quite strongly and this wasn't all. The webbing that he found himself trapped in, did the same. For some reason, it started to dissolve the moment the radiance took over this place. While the monster didn't die, it was as if the light he was producing was able to burn through its body. The part of the web that was around the sword became loose, and soon after his whole arm was free.

Now that he could move it, he realized that there was a way to free his remaining body parts. After a few strategically placed cuts he was finally able to dislodge what remained of his form. At the moment, this was his right arm and upper body with both legs missing and no left hand. It was quite the predicament, at least the monster had retreated into an opening in the wall.

'Where am I?' While he could see inside the darkness, it didn't mean that he could perceive things that were too far away. With the help of the light, he could now see this place and perhaps a way to save himself. There were some holes within the walls of this chasm but there was also no visible bottom that he could see. One such opening wasn't that far from his location and perhaps he could reach it. There was one problem though, he would need to get there first but most of his lower body was missing.

At first, he thought about restoring his damaged body but such an act would take some time. While the monster spider had retreated to a nearby hole to save itself from the light, the radiance would not last. His magic points had not fully recovered and thus he would be unable to activate this skill again. Considering that this monster wanted to eat him, it would probably attempt to stop him.

'I should have some time, it's better than nothing!' The plan wasn't very safe or plausible, but there was nothing else he could think of. After the light on his sword started to die down, he holstered his blade and used his only good arm to pull himself forward. At the same time, he quickly brought up his stash tab and willed it to use one of the bronze ingots to restore his lost gauntlet. It would take a few moments for it to reform but with two working arms, he would be much quicker.

Just as expected it was taking a while for this to happen and not having legs wasn't so bad as he was much lighter now. Due to the light, the sticky web had for some reason become a lot more flimsy and also lost its properties to hold him in place. Thanks to this fact he was now able to slowly crawl towards the wall where safety awaited. However, once the light was gone, the monster spider that was trying to eat him, emerged again. Its many eyes focused on the suit of armor that was crawling away.

It gave chase but at a slower pace. It seemed to still be wary of the light that had been previously produced and its body was even sizzling from the damage it received. Rusty continued to crawl and after restoring his second hand, he continued at a faster pace than before. Time was running out and the monster continued to approach Rusty from behind. He did not turn to look but continued crawling forward until he reached the end of the road where only one large strand of webbing remained.

With one hand he grabbed the robe-like web and used his other hand to cut it. However, even when his sword collided with it, the webbing didn't give out and he was seemingly stuck in place.

"GUAH!" The spider gave out a strange sound while increasing its pace. It seemed to have now fully recovered from the light attack and was unwilling to let its prey escape. The eight legs were utilized to quickly bridge the gap that had been created.

'If one isn't enough!' Rusty wasn't willing to give up, he had come too far to be just eaten by this thing nor did he want to fall to his death either. Just like he had announced, if one strike was not enough then he would try again until they were. His sword began to chip and dull but he did not relent. Until the end, he did not give up and just as the giant spider was about to pounce at him again, the webbing finally gave in. The sword he was using broke at the exact moment Rusty sliced through.

One hand clung to the rope-like web thread and he was now swinging through the darkness. His path took him towards the opening in the wall that he had previously seen. As he flew through the air he felt a sense of relief but it was short-lived. While the monster didn't give chase he did not truly judge the distance too well and instead of ending up in this opening, he collided with the wall on the side.

'This isn't good…' His metallic fingers pushed into the rocks instantly but he started sliding down. He desperately tried to grab onto something but the smooth surface of the wall offered him no grip. Rusty slid further and further down with an increase in speed. Panic set in as he realized that he might end up falling into the abyss after all. Suddenly, as he was clamoring for some support while sliding down he lost his grip on the rocky wall.

It was not that he had begun falling but that there was no wall that he could cling to. While sliding down, luck was finally on his side. He ended up at another opening but one that was quite narrow and short. Instantly, he attempted to grab onto something as his fall still continued. The empty hole took him by surprise but he was able to grab onto the edge to keep himself from sliding down more than before.

His body, now consisting mostly of his upper torso and limbs, didn't weigh that much so he was finally able to hold himself together. Then with haste, he started to pull himself up into the narrow opening that had appeared. There wasn't much space here but enough for him to finally relax.

'I'm safe… I survived…' If he was a human being then he would be sweating bullets by now. He was still stuck in a void filled with darkness where he couldn't see the bottom nor the top. If he wanted to get back to the dungeon where he came from, then climbing seemed to be the only way. However, the metal-eating spider monster was above him and perhaps more of the same types lurked in the darkness.

'But now what?' With the light from his blade gone, he couldn't see that far anymore. There was an ever-encompassing darkness very reminiscent of the void that he came from. He thought of restoring his body now and attempting to climb up. Rusty was a monster that could not tire out, so perhaps he would be able to eventually crawl to safety. However, the walls were quite flat, and just like before he would probably just end up sliding down and further towards the bottom.

'I looks like I should be able to squeeze through…' If going up wasn't an option then perhaps the hole he discovered would give him some answers. While it was small, in his current diminished form he would be able to crawl through. When looking inside he could see that there was more space inside and it seemed to lead somewhere. Without much hesitation, Rusty decided to venture into the darkness of the narrow passage or more precisely, squeeze himself into it.

His bronze body scraped on the jagged edges of the rocks and created a somewhat uncomfortable sound. Instantly he could hear some movement in the distance, as if something outside had been awoken. Quickly, he pushed himself inside while not caring about the damage he was sustaining and eventually, he was able to force his mangled body into the narrow opening before something loud and heavy landed close by.

As he crawled more inside, he could feel something hitting his backplate that became even more dented than before. Luckily, he was left with a small amount of hit points that allowed him to get to safety. Whatever tried to grab him from the other side relented and finally, he could truly take a breather. He was now in a new place, somewhere where even the monsters were trying to attack him. For the time being he decided to take a breather.

His body was battered and scratched all over, and while he still had some bronze ingots to restore his body, his resources were limited. He needed to pace himself as the challenges that awaited him were unknown and perhaps finding bronze in this area wouldn't be as easy as before.