Chương 27: Chapter 25 – E-Rank

"I guess he didn't take my advice to heart…"

"It's not bad to practice a new craft, no reason to not make more weapons." The two orbs of light conversed while peering down at a suit of armor supporting a hefty axe. It was a completed piece, now part of the armory's inventory alongside numerous other bronze weapons. It all started with one hunting knife and soon turned into a large weapon creation spree. With molds and an infinite supply of ingots at his disposal, the task became remarkably easy.

In time, the empty armory had been transformed into a well-stocked arsenal.

"Another fine addition to my collection!" As Rusty admired his latest creation, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Each weapon he crafted was a testament to his newfound skills as a blacksmith, something that he found enjoyable.

"Looks like you're getting the hang of this." The hero remarked while floating beside Rusty.

"Thanks to your guidance, I couldn't have done it without you Mr. Hero."

"No problem, not like there is anything else for me to do here… But now that you've built up quite the collection, what do you plan to do with them?" Before Rusty could answer this question, the darkened sphere of light floated forward and spoke out.

"That's what I'd like to know, why did you ignore my advice of focusing on swords?" Rusty paused for a moment and considered the demon lord's question. It was true that he had no proficiencies in things other than bows and swords. However, he wasn't really thinking about such things when working here in the Soul Forge. Instead of focusing on survival, something else became the focal point.

"Well… it was fun?"

"It was fun?"

"Yes? It was fun to make them all and I feel like after making these weapons, I'll also gain some insights into defending myself against them?"

"I see…"

"Leave the kid alone. He is just enjoying the craft, it's probably not something a demon king would know much about. Not everything has to be about battling and survival." The hero chimed in but the demon lord wasn't convinced.

"Bah, perhaps he will find a way to learn more skills in the future but it would be better if he didn't spend valuable resources to bring these weapons into the real world!"

"He is not even a year old, he is just having some fun."

"Some fun, hm?" The demon lord orb observed Rusty, who appeared to have shifted his focus elsewhere. The living armor had a habit of moving away whenever the two light orbs engaged in arguments. Rusty's attention span resembled that of a newborn child and there wasn't any deeper meaning behind it. His sole desire was to craft as many weapons as possible and he just ended up filling the armory during the process.

"This should be all… so now what?" Now that his work was over, there wasn't really much to do. He had attempted to wield some of the bronze weapons in the training ground, yet, similar to the hunting knife, they didn't quite suit his metallic grip. The library failed to offer any additional useful knowledge and was devoid of skill books or any means of skill acquisition beyond his skill absorption or leveling up. However, some skills could be upgraded here but all of them focused on blacksmithing.

Basic Smithing Mastery L2 Passive Skill Increases proficiency with all basic blacksmithing tools like hammers during crafting. Basic Forging L3 Passive Skill Unlocks the basics of forging. Helps manage the forge, smelter, crafting, and spotting imperfections in created items. His Basic Smithing Mastery wasn't leveling up as fast as he focused on using molds without hammering anything. Luckily, when using the grinding wheel and the whetstone for sharpening or polishing, it began to react.

It was also possible to change the shape of bronze through hammering techniques but for the time being, he focused on the smelting process. Not all components of Rusty's weapons were crafted from bronze; for instance, the shaft of his bronze spear consisted of plain wood. The spear blade came with a pre-made socket that was perfectly fitted for it. All Rusty needed to do was to insert it and secure it in place by hammering rivets through the holes in the socket part of the spear blade.

In the future, he hoped to move on to iron and steel which required a bit more work and seemed quite fascinating.

"Are you going to leave without even saying your farewells?" Once Rusty exhausted all the possibilities in this Soul Forge, he finally decided to move towards his new body. Despite the demon lord's call as he approached the new suit of armor in the center. Before departing, he felt compelled to perform one last experiment. His metallic hand grasped the gauntlet of his new body to yank it out and just like he expected, it popped right off.

"Did he just ignore me? What is he even doing?"

"He is examining the gauntlet, what do you think he is doing?"

"Does he perhaps want to…" The two lights chatted while Rusty looked over the gauntlet in his hand. There was a distinct lack of connection between it and his metallic body; it felt like any other foreign item he had interacted with. First, he attempted to replace his current hand with the new one he had acquired. However, the moment it was connected to the rest of his armor, it simply fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

"It's not part of me…"

"What are you trying to do Rusty?" The hero floated forward while Rusty was examining the gauntlet that lacked any corrosive parts.

"If I can make weapons… shouldn't I be able to make armor?"

"Ah, I see. Do you wish to reforge the armor that your body is composed from, into something better?"

"Yes! That's it… could I make it better and heavier?" The hero and the demon lord orb exchanged glances as if the idea was something plausible. Rusty was a living armor, a creature that could be considered a piece of armor. There was no reason not to think that he couldn't create his own body by hand. Rusty's ability to craft weapons had opened up new possibilities, including the potential for him to upgrade his own armor.

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"It's definitely worth a try but… I'm not sure if you should do it now…" The hero gave his input and as a previous blacksmith, his words were heavy. In his eyes, Rusty was not quite ready to tackle armor making, and not when bronze was involved.

"Oh, but why?"

"Why you ask? Well, to be frank, I don't think you'll be able to improve on this current 'body' of yours."

"I don't agree with the hero on much but he is right. What will you do with a baddy riddled with imperfections and holes? Your durability might go down and what if you mess up one of the joints? Do you wish to have a limp?" Rusty paused, considering the valid points brought up by both the hero and the demon lord. While he was eager to explore the possibilities of upgrading his armor and wanted it to be heavier to alleviate his weakness, it was not the best idea.

He could barely create intermediate weaponry just by using molds and there were no molds for armor parts. If he wanted to make a gauntlet, it would need to be made from scratch.

"You're right. I shouldn't rush into something like this without proper preparation… perhaps I should practice first?"

"Exactly. It's better to take your time and ensure that you have the necessary skills and knowledge before attempting such a feat." The hero added while trying to make his ghostly form produce a smile but failed at it. His form was without a face and just a voice.

"Maybe I should practice while I still have the time… Huh?" Rusty looked at the gauntlet as its form offered him some smithing pointers. However, before he could take it to the workbench to study it flew back to the body in the middle. Then suddenly, the entire Soul Forge started to shiver and quake.

"What's happening?" He asked as his body began to feel strange, he started feeling weak and drowsy, not something that he had ever experienced as a living suit of armor.

"This space, it's becoming unstable…" Commented the demon lord who knew quite a bit about magic.

"Becoming unstable? What does that mean?" Asked the hero whose form was quivering as well.

"It means that our little Rusty might have spent too much time here. I think he should inhabit his new form before this whole place collapses on itself." Rusty took in the demon king's words, the Soul Forge, his haven for crafting and self-improvement, was destabilizing. It seemed that he couldn't afford to stay here any longer and that an actual time limit existed. He wasn't sure how long he had been here but at least over a week had passed.

Without wasting another moment, he dashed towards the suit of armor in the center of the room as it was the vessel that awaited his consciousness. As he approached, the vibrations intensified, causing the surroundings to blur and distort. The hero and the demon lord's voices echoed in his mind as they urged him to hurry. With a determined leap, Rusty plunged his consciousness into the awaiting armor. His previous corroded form plunged down to the ground as his essence melded with the new one.

Suddenly, the world around him fractured into fragments of light and darkness. The sensation was disorienting, akin to being pulled through a vortex. Colors swirled around him, and the echoes of voices faded into the background. Rusty felt himself being pulled away from the Soul Forge and back into the real world where his true form awaited.

'Woah… I'm back?' Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the chaos had ceased. Rusty found himself back in the cave filled with bright crystals. His magical vision was blurry at first but in a moment, it became sharper than ever. His senses felt enhanced in every way possible and he felt reinvigorated. When looking down he saw a lack of any corroded parts that had been replaced by a shiny new bronze body.

'This new body… It feels much stronger!' Name: Rusty Classification: Twilight Bronze Armor [E-] L1 Type: Magical/Inorganic Hit Points [HP] 134/134 Magic Points [MP] 123/123 Special Points [SP] 40/40 Strength 18 [E-] Agility 2 [E-] Dexterity 5 [E-] Constitution 19 [E-] Intelligence 7 [E-] Wisdom 8 [E-] Willpower 6 [E-] Durability E+'Huh? Why did my stats go down… but my Health Points and Magic Points doubled?' At first, he was perplexed by his status screen.

He was sure that he had become stronger but all of the numbers had gone down. However, once he noticed that he had transformed from an F-rank monster into an E-rank monster, it all made sense. It seemed that the ranking letters represented his true strength and the numbers were just an additional indicator. Once they went over ninety-nine they would switch to the next rank and reset.

'Interesting… After he realized that he had truly advanced to his new form, it was time to take it for a spin. On the outside he didn't look much different, he had an almost identical look, just one that lacked any corrosion. He was made out of shiny twilight bronze and his form gleamed in the bright light of the cave. He could instantly feel the difference, his movements were smoother, and even his thoughts were clearer. It was as if he had shed an old, rusty skin and emerged as something new and improved.

Even his trusty sword had been transformed and was shining brightly beside him. Once he gave it a few good swings, he could tell that he would do quick work of the monsters he previously encountered.

'Wait, what about the other weapons? Are they in my inventory as well?' His basic sword reminded him of the weapons he created in the Soul Forge. He quickly accessed his inventory screen in the search for it. While he didn't find any of them inside of his stash tab, a new tab had been created.

'Armory?' The translucent menu presented him with a new window in which all the items that he created during his time in the Soul Forge. Each item was also accompanied by a brief description and its rating. Rusty scrolled through the list and was given the option to spend bronze ingots to create them.

'I can get a set of throwing knives for one ingot but I'll have to spend 3 for the longsword?' His current weapon was an arming sword which was shorter than the longsword he created inside of the Soul Forge. He was hoping to bring it out along with the bronze shield that he made but it also would cost him another three bronze ingots. However, even with these high costs he needed to test out this new feature.

He considered for a moment but eventually decided to get the shield instead as his old weapon was still enough. Would you like to make the Twilight Bronze Round Shield?

'Yes~!' Once he confirmed a little animation played out before him as the bronze ingots he spent transformed into the Twilight Bronze Round Shield. To his surprise, the shield didn't end up in the real world but instead appeared in his inventory. He needed to then select it before it appeared in his stash tab where it occupied for squares instead of just one. Rusty was confused about how to summon this item into his hand but before he could think it through, another transformation took place.

The whole stash tab expanded in size and a separate equipment window appeared above it. It contained spaces that were filled up with his armor but also some smaller and larger ones that were empty.

'Is that my body in the middle? And my sword on the left?' In the central area, Rusty could discern sections of his body divided into multiple parts. One slot contained his cuirass and placard, while another housed his sabatons and greaves. The gauntlet occupied its own slot, and the pauldrons were likewise segregated. However, they all appeared grayed out, inaccessible to him. The only usable slots seemed to be two larger ones on the left and right sides, along with a few smaller ones that were empty.

The left one housed his current arming sword and to his surprise, he could remove it into his stash tab. Upon doing so, the sword vanished from the real world as if it had never existed there in the first place. Only after it was dragged and dropped back to the left large weapon slot, did it appear once more.

'I see… So If I place the shield on the right side, it should…' Rusty dragged the Twilight Bronze Round Shield from his inventory and placed it into the empty slot on the right side of the equipment window. To his amazement, as soon as he did so, the shield materialized in his hand. It shimmered with the same twilight bronze hue as the rest of his armor and reflected the light within the cave. With both sword and shield in hand, Rusty felt unstoppable.

However, this wasn't quite finished as he still needed to check if he had learned any new skills like he did when he turned into his previous form.

'Hm? What was that sound?' Before Rusty could delve further into his investigation, he heard a faint sound, like something being crunched, resounding from around the corner. Was his lair invaded by monsters? He needed to investigate…