Chương 288: Chapter 286 – Icy Training.

"What was that cheesy speech back there, Rusty?

'The companions you have gained will stand beside you.' Where did you get that from? It's that fool of a hero, isn't it? He has poisoned your mind again." Aburdon appeared shortly after Rusty arrived in the chamber, floating lazily through the air with an unamused expression. His dark form hovered around Rusty as he complained about the heartfelt speech Rusty had given before leaving Gwen's world after completing the mission.

"I thought it was well done. Gwen is a good kid, and she isn't alone anymore. It was a great decision for him to bring in Aranea." Alexander's wisp of white light arrived soon after and offered his own thoughts. Aburdon begrudgingly agreed, though he had his own reasons for doing so.

"I will agree with that, hero, but only because she still has some use for us!"

"…I almost forgot how chatty you two were, but be quiet for now. I need to focus on the summoner coins!" Rusty looked at the screen and immediately began making a few selections. He increased his storage capacity for later, upgraded the rarity of Gwen's Living Armor summons, and unlocked both the Enchanted Steel Light Warrior and the Enchanted Steel Heavy Warrior. With those additions, Gwen now had a reasonably capable army to defend herself even without him being there.

"You're getting all of that? Isn't it a waste?"

"How can it be a waste? Look, I've already spent this many points and I still have one hundred and seven left!" Rusty pointed at the display after Aburdon complained. Gwen had become an investment that had finally paid off, earning him nearly two hundred summoner coins for completing her mission.

"Do you know what I'm going to do with those hundred coins?"

"Wait, Rusty. Don't be rash. It would be better to save them for the next mission. What if a new option appears and you can't afford it?" Alexander spoke as the cursor hovered over the 'Unlock 1 Loadout Slot' option. While Rusty could switch into his Goliath form, he did not have access to his more agile one.

Even during this mission, it could have helped him climb the hedges to get a better view of the area, or scale the steep cliff with Gwen on his back and carry her to safety instead of waiting for their companions to rescue them.

"That's a good point, but I need this third form. It's just too useful in certain situations!"

"Just let him do what he wants. He earned it." Aburdon did not seem to care about the decision, leaving Rusty to make up his own mind. Even though waiting was the smarter choice and there was no real urgency, Rusty wanted the flexibility that came with having access to his real body. He had already expanded his inventory and would be able to carry multiple weapons to outfit all three of his loadouts.

While the wraith had clawed hands, it was also surprisingly skilled with a bow thanks to its multiple jointed arms, and it could throw knives with impressive precision as well.

"No reason to wait!" He clicked the option, and his summoner coin total dropped to just seven.

"Oh? Is this broken?" Unlock 1 Loadout Slot - 200 Coins"Wasn't this just a hundred now?" He tapped the screen with his metal finger as if expecting the price to return to what it had been before.

"Oh, it's one of those systems." Alexander floated in for a closer look and did not seem surprised by what had happened.

"One of those? Explain!" Rusty tilted his head to the side in confusion, but Alexander quickly explained.

"Sometimes, after unlocking something, the price increases to make it harder to upgrade it again."

"It increases the price to make it harder? Why would it do that?"

"I'm not sure why, but it happens a lot with these systems. Just look at your leveling system and evolutions. It becomes harder to gain experience over time, right?"

"Ah... so like that..." At first, Rusty was confused, but then he understood. It was similar to leveling. The more he improved himself, the harder it became to take another step forward. This also meant that if he continued increasing his inventory space, it might eventually start costing more as well. He had spent twenty coins to level it up twice, but so far the price had not changed.

'It must be different for the other options... and I don't really need more than two loadout slots.' In his regular world, his storage system was already quite extensive, and its size increased with every new evolution. It was as if the system itself reacted to his growing power. He also had many more loadout slots available, and he mostly used them to quickly switch not only forms but sometimes weapons or body parts as well.

It was faster to activate a loadout with spare parts than to use ingots to repair himself in the middle of battle.

"Regardless, you already made the decision, so you'll have to live with it."

"That's fine. I just need to make a few alterations to some of the armor, or maybe attach some handles."

"Handles?"

"Yeah. Didn't you see? It was hard carrying Gwen and Astrella around, and they both almost passed out. I could make a harness to carry them more comfortably... or maybe finally build that centaur form." Rusty now wanted a third loadout slot that would transform him into a proper mount. He could even imagine Gwen, or perhaps another summoner, using Mind Merger to give him a power boost while he was in that form. Even so, that would probably have to wait. Earning two hundred coins would not be easy.

"Well, I suppose it's time to get back to work." Although Rusty had just returned from his mission, there was still plenty to do. He had already gone through the library and studied the various new crafting techniques and enchantment improvements, but most of it was similar to what he already knew. What he needed to do now was craft new weapons with D+ metal, along with the other variants, just as he had done many times before.

"Oh, I almost forgot..." Before getting started, he checked the old logs, as he still had not seen which talismans he had received. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Received Medium Experience Talisman x8 Received Small Experience Talisman x9 Received Lesser Ice Enchantment Talisman x1 Received Lesser Flame Enchantment Talisman x1 Received Lesser Sharpness Enchantment Talisman x1"Interesting, an ice enchantment talisman? Is it because of that teacher?"

Rusty looked through what he had gained. The experienced talismans were of a higher quality than usual, and he had also gained more enchantment talismans than before. With them, he could safely create not only another flame weapon but also an ice weapon without worrying about the twilight metal rejecting the enchantments. His work on the armor and weapons proceeded smoothly. This time, he was working with Superior Enchanted Twilight High Steel ingots, quite a mouthful.

They were not all that different from the regular Enchanted Twilight High Steel ingots. They simply required a slightly different combination of the materials that the forge had already provided. Here, he did not have to produce the ingots himself. All he needed to do was shape them into the proper form using his steadily improving smithing skills and the upgraded tools, which had also been enhanced to handle the higher concentration of mana and enchantments.

With that, he grabbed one of the ingots and began his work. He started by getting in some practice, as he first needed to get a feel for the new alloy. Before long, blow after blow rang out, and a steady shower of sparks burst from the forge within the soul forge. Classification: Superior Twilight High-Steel Shortsword Type: Sword Grade: Refined + Description: A shortsword made from superior twilight high-steel. Instead of his usual dagger, he decided to go with a shortsword this time.

This piece of equipment had no enchantments, and after analyzing it, he noticed that he had crafted it better than usual. A plus sign appeared next to its Refined grade. It was a sign that his skills were improving and that he was close to reaching the Tempered grade, which would elevate his weapons and armor to C grade.

'I wonder how high my durability will become after I receive my next body. If it reaches C rank, perhaps I could forge these weapons to be even stronger…' If the metal his body was made of reached C-rank, it might be possible to do the same for his weaponry. At the very least, their defensive stats could reach that level. With that in mind, he returned to tinkering with his gear.

He still had plenty of equipment to work through, including multiple weapons with various elemental enchantments, as well as several updated armor sets for both his Goliath form and his Wraith form. Time continued to pass, but he did not spend all of it in the forge. Every so often, he wandered into the training chamber to battle opponents recreated by the summoning chamber, most notably Teacher Quinten and his ice elementals.

Thanks to fighting alongside the man and witnessing his battles on two separate occasions, he finally had a worthy opponent to spar against. The training room could recreate people from his memories, whether they were foes he had defeated or individuals he had only observed. The more information he gathered about them, the more accurate the recreation became and the closer it came to replicating their true abilities.

"These things are tough..." What he was fighting was not actually Quinten but one of the summons he could produce, an Ice Elemental. The creature was a rank above him, a C rank monster, and it showed. Its body was too hard for his current sword to pierce, and it could float well out of his reach while pelting him with ice spells. In his current form, there was little he could do to harm it. Even after switching to his mace, the creature proved too nimble.

It could conjure ice shields and coat the ground in a slippery layer of frost, making it difficult to close the distance. As the freezing energy seeped into his metallic body, his joints gradually stiffened until he eventually froze in place, unable to move at all.

"I can hurt it, but... I can't expect my enemies to stand still for me." The training chamber allowed him to give his simulated opponents instructions. He could even order them to remain motionless and endure his attacks, which was exactly what he had done now. With enough swings of his mace, he could eventually crack the Ice Elemental's body apart, but no real opponent would ever give him that opportunity during actual combat.

Like many creatures born of magic, it possessed a core that could be destroyed to defeat it much more quickly. At least this exercise allowed him to pinpoint the best place to strike in order to reach that core. Soon, the room dissolved back into its usual empty space. His joints remained frozen for several moments and only finally loosened after nearly twenty seconds of struggling to move. The sensation of having both his body and his core frozen solid was deeply unpleasant.

"Let's never do that again..." He could not actually feel the cold, but being encased in frost that later melted into a puddle around his feet was irritating enough. Fortunately, once he returned to the forge and stood near the fire, the remaining ice quickly turned to steam, allowing him to get back to work. With his body dry and his core warmed by the forge fire, Rusty returned his attention to the crafting bench.

He still had unlimited ingots of Superior Twilight High Steel left, and the recent beating from the ice elemental had given him a fresh perspective on his gear design.

"A spiked mace would probably break through the ice better. A one-handed axe could also work. Maybe if I added the flame enchantment to the shield, I could keep it from freezing…" There were several options to consider. He could give his body ice resistance with talismans, or he could place a defensive flame enchantment on his shield. If he was ever frozen again, a heated shield would probably be enough to free his joints and keep his core warm.

"Let's go with that!" More days slipped by as he assembled his new weapons and armor. The flame talisman went onto his shield, while the ice talisman was embedded into one of his weapons. With the shield providing constant warmth, he no longer needed to enchant his body or helmet.

"The time spent here is starting to drag... Is this how beings with long lives feel?" Alexander grumbled after several months had passed since Rusty entered the soul forge for his evolution, and they were still waiting inside.

"How should I know? I don't think I've lived that long." Rusty replied without looking up from the book he was reading. In his original world, he had existed for little more than a year. But if he counted all the time spent in the soul forge and the summoning chamber, he was probably closer to two years old by now.

"Oh... I think it's time."

"Finally. It was getting boring in here." Aburdon appeared from the side as Rusty felt the familiar pull toward his new suit of armor. The entire soul forge trembled, and at last it was time to return to his own world and see Gleam again.

"See you two on the other side!" After waving to his two guides, he stepped toward the new frame. It looked almost identical to his current one, with only a faint difference in its metallic tint that was almost impossible to notice unless the light struck it just right.

'There we go…' A moment later, he found himself back inside the hidden compartment beneath the smithy he had built. Instantly, he activated his life detection skill to make sure everything was all right.

'Gleam is there... Life signs are strong.' Although he had spent many months inside the soul forge, only a short time had probably passed in the outside world. Exactly how much, he could not tell. He pushed himself free of the hidden compartment and climbed out.

"Everything looks the same as before. No signs of damage, and the kids seem to be fine." He had been ready to use his newly gained power the moment anyone dared threaten his lair, but that did not seem to have happened. Satisfied that everything was secure, he opened his status screen. His power had increased considerably, and he could feel the difference throughout his entire frame.

"This feels much smoother than before... I wonder how I would fare against those ice elementals in this body..." He asked himself, but before he could continue that train of thought, a prompt appeared before him. It was the one he had been waiting for.

"Ha, there it is! Now what should I pick?" A familiar window materialized before him. The last time he had seen it, it had allowed him to unlock the summoning chamber. Now it presented him with another choice. He could unlock either the library or the training chamber.