Chương 62: Chapter 60 – Dungeon Defense.

"Hey, did you feel that?"

"Hm?" A small group of adventurers stopped in their tracks as they noticed something unusual. They had been searching for a specific bronze suit of armor that had wandered into this dungeon area. Their search had been unfruitful, and they were considering moving away from the boss chamber where the monster had previously vanished. However, before they could decide on a plan, something strange started happening - the whole dungeon quivered for a moment, as if an earthquake was taking place.

"Yeah, is the dungeon supposed to do that?"

"I don't think so."

"Could it have something to do with that monster?"

"How would that thing…" Before a female adventurer could finish her sentence, the dungeon shook again. This tremor was more intense than the previous one. Pieces of rock started crumbling, along with dust from the castle's ceiling. The adventurers instinctively crouched, glancing at each other with worry etched on their faces. The dungeon's usually stable structure was now trembling like it had never done before. They could sense that something was wrong and that perhaps, they needed to leave.

Unbeknownst to this group of adventurers, the source of these tremors wasn't far away. Behind some rocky walls, there was a large cavern with the monster they were searching for. Rusty was his name, and at this very moment, he was slicing at seemingly empty air with a glowing longsword. Almost every time he made a sweeping motion, another small shake occurred within the cavern.

"STOP! LEAVE!"

"I won't leave until you release me!" Rusty shouted, attempting to communicate his desire to the Dungeon Heart. The being he was up against had created him, and he was tied to it. Unless this entity released the bond they shared, he would not be able to leave this place to save his friend Gleam. However, his actions were seen as threats, and the connection to the dungeon was what kept him at bay.

To the Heart, this bond was the only thing preventing this rogue monster from reaching its center and keeping it safe from harm. Thanks to his newly attained mana sense, Rusty could see the energy threads connecting to the dungeon core. With the help of this skill, he was able to imbue the longsword with his own energy and damage the threads. One by one, these mana tendrils were sliced off, and as they were severed, he could feel the voice's power over his body waver and decline.

He didn't want to kill the Dungeon Heart. It had created him and given him life; in a sense, it was like a parent. His guides had also informed him about the potential collateral damage of doing so. The entire dungeon required this being for its survival, and the whole structure depended on its magical power to retain its form. If it were destroyed, the place would likely collapse on itself, potentially trapping Rusty inside.

His aim was to scare the being into letting him go and severing the connection, but he wasn't sure how to communicate his intention. The cavern continued to tremble as Rusty swung his sword, each strike aimed at the glowing mana tendrils that connected the Dungeon Heart to its surroundings. His strikes grew more precise and he pushed onwards, one step at a time. Each time these mana veins were severed, they would turn into small energy bubbles that quickly burst.

He could see them trying to reform themselves into place but the process was quite sluggish.

"I don't want to destroy you, but I need to be free, just let me go already!"

"NO… H-HELP, PROTECT!" The voice of the Dungeon Heart grew more frantic, its tone shifting from commanding to desperate. It seemed that it was becoming frantic, unable to stop Rusty from getting closer. This chamber was devoid of any monster guards, traps or defenses. It seemed that the Dungeon Heart was at his mercy but that was not true.

"These tremors… they are getting louder… wait, is that pillar moving?" In the middle of the chamber was the Dungeon Heart, it was between two thick pillars with the one above it now moving. The pillar started to move upward, slowly at first but then with increasing speed. Rusty wasn't sure what was happening but it was probably nothing good. He had seen hidden chambers and traps within the dungeon and this was giving him the same feeling.

The pillar accelerated, grinding upwards with an ominous rumble and came to a stop. He could see its circular form on the ceiling, turning around for some reason. The sounds were strange to his metallic ears as if some large hidden cogs were grating against each other. Eventually, the sound stopped and to his surprise, an opening started to appear. The pillar was sliding to the side, revealing something hidden inside.

"Monsters?" After a small crack had formed, a monster slipped out. It was a rather loud sounding goblin and it came falling down from above the Dungeon Heart's location. It was not alone as once the opening got bigger other beings came rushing out. There were skeletons, living armors, zombies and even slimes. All the monsters the monsters he had seen on the other dungeon floors were coming out and they were probably here to defend the dungeon core from harm.

"Protect…" The Dungeon Heart's voice was no longer as intense, but to the other monsters, the command was like gospel. They identified the enemy trying to attack their creator and threw themselves at him. Rusty's grip tightened on his glowing longsword as he prepared to face the oncoming horde. The goblin hit the ground first, snarling as it drew a rusty dagger.

Behind it, skeletons clattered down, their hollow eyes glowing with a faint blue light, and zombies shambled forward, their decaying bodies emitting a foul stench. Slimes oozed from the ceiling, forming a wall of gelatinous mass that crept toward Rusty. Rusty quickly assessed his options. He was outnumbered, and although his new form offered him more agility, he couldn't quite use it properly. He lacked a few skills to make the most of it, one of them being dual-wielding capabilities.

However, he could make use of another form that would offer him much more protection. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Previously, he had created a few loadouts with prepared weapons to fit each form. Soon, his body was shifting and growing in size. His helmet became rounder and wider as he shifted into heavier parts. In his left hand, a massive tower shield appeared.

Normally, it would be too heavy for the other two suit variants, but for this one, it was perfect. For his main weapon, he chose a new type that fell under blunt weapons but still had some piercing power - a war pick. The first wave of monsters reached him. Rusty brought up his massive shield to bash a goblin away and followed it up with a strike from his hammer to a nearby skeleton's cranium.

Two monsters were down but many more appeared to replace them, their weapons, claws and fists collided with his body but none could damage it. To Rusty's surprise, most of these creatures couldn't even lower his health pool by one measly point. Rusty's confidence surged as he realized that he had made so much progress. When he was created, even one of these enemies would have been a challenge but now, he was easily smacking them away.

Each strike he made with his war pick was precise, cleaving through the ranks of goblins, skeletons and zombies. His massive tower shield deflected attacks with ease, allowing him to press forward with little concern for his own safety. Even when he was outnumbered, with the use of his light element, the undead creatures would burst into ashes, he could not be stopped. The monsters continued to surge from the opening above, but Rusty was relentless.

The dungeon core's command had summoned its minions, but the Twilight Iron Armor's formidable defense could not be broken. He swung his war pick while having the light element activated. With a burst of energy, both undead and the mana veins were dispersed and he was able to continue further.

"Is this all you've got? Weak monsters that I've already defeated multiple times? Maybe I was worried for nothing!" Despite his confident front, Rusty knew this was not the end. The Dungeon Heart, sensing the increasing threat, continued to pump out more and more monsters. They all seemed to be from the upper floors, with not even an iron living armor among them. It appeared that the upper pillar somehow connected to all the other levels of the dungeon.

The Dungeon Heart was summoning all the monsters it had to defend itself, but Rusty's armor, now with D-rank durability, was holding strong. Although Rusty bulldozed through the relentless waves of creatures, the battle was far from won. He was expending a large amount of mana with each swing of his war pick, and eventually, he would become unable to continue damaging the mana tendrils. However, luck was on his side. As he was about halfway through, the constant flow of monsters suddenly stopped.

It became clear to him that the wave of monsters was finite, and his month of spelunking had drained the dungeon of its reserves.

"NoooO…. Nooot enough…"

"Wait… it's doing something… what is this?" He felt something within his very being trying to draw something out but he stood firmly against this feeling. The other monsters were feeling the same phenomenon but it was working on them. All the slimes started falling down from the ceiling and crashing down before him. The zombies along with the skeletons started to crumble down to the ground, and even the goblins were dying.

"Is it directly killing the monsters? It can do that?" Rusty was surprised as he saw the other monsters fall down to the ground. The goblins were clutching their chests as if they were in a lot of pain. With the help of his new skill he could see tiny fragments of energy flowing outside of their bodies. It was as if the Dungeon Heart was taking out the mana it had given to these creatures in an attempt to regain some footing. It was probably a desperate last measure and he knew that this would be it.

After the monsters crumbled down to the ground, the tremors around the dungeon started to cease. A large veil of energy was now floating above the entire chamber but Rusty wasn't feeling restricted in his movements. It seemed this boost of energy wasn't meant to restore the mana threads that he was cutting but for something else entirely. In a flash, the mass of mana condensed into a singular orb and flew out of the tunnel he had entered through.

"Isn't that where the boss chamber was in? What is it trying to do?" This was quite a confusing matter as now he was left with no obstructions to the Dungeon Heart. It was a chance to move in and get this finally over with. He moved forward, his large iron boots echoing with each step as he approached the Dungeon Heart. The pulsating crystal, now isolated and seemingly weakened, was defensless before his might. However, before he could get any closer, a strange noise resounded from behind him.

"I recognize that sound…" Rusty instantly knew what was coming and quickly turned around. From the hidden corridor he came out from a silhouette appeared of someone he recognized. It was the tenth floor boss that he once barely defeated and this explained the ball of concentrated mana. The Dungeon Core sacrificed the lesser monsters to revive the defeated boss. Its for was the same as before and it was holding that huge slab of iron called a colossal greatsword.

"There aren't any pillars I can use here…" This monster had been a tough opponent and he had only won thanks to using strategy. This place had an unfavorable structure as it was a wide open area. Rusty couldn't even use the pillar the dungeon core was on as he still was being suppressed by the voice it produced. There was no way of going around this, he needed to face his toughest opponent once more.

"I'm not the same armor as before." The boss charged at Rusty, its colossal greatsword swinging in a wide arc. Rusty raised his massive tower shield just in time to block the attack. The impact reverberated through his entire frame, but he stood firm, feeling the strength of his twilight armor plating absorbing the blow. He retaliated with a powerful swing of his war pick, aiming for the boss's exposed side.

The weapon connected with a resounding clang, but the boss's thick armor absorbed most of the impact as well.

"I can do this… I've trained for it!" With the adjustments he had made to his form, Rusty was almost as tall as the living armor before him. He had designed this configuration specifically to combat larger foes, and within the Soul Forge, he had spent a few moments in the training chamber practicing against this very boss. The attack patterns he was seeing now were all exactly the same as those he had faced in training. The boss roared, its eyes glowing with an eerie red light.

It swung its greatsword again, this time with even more force. Rusty didn't dodge but instead angled his tower shield in such a way to force the blade to slide off. Once the monster exposed its flank, he charged in with his war pick. The flat side connected with the armor, the impact producing multiple cracks on the plating. While he couldn't rely on agility in his current form, using a more skillful approach was the key. His opponent was slightly superior in all stats but had fewer skills.

Coupled with his knowledge of its attack patterns, Rusty was able to either deflect or minimize the damage to his own robust frame. The exchange was long, but eventually, the opponent was forced to back away, its body cracking and its joints wavering. Rusty pressed his advantage, exploiting the weaknesses he had created in the living armor. He swung his war pick with precision, targeting the already damaged areas. Each strike chipped away more of the monster's defenses, and its movements grew increasingly sluggish.

Finally, with one last powerful blow, Rusty drove the war pick into the monster's groin area. It was the place where the monster core had been located the last time around. The force of the impact shattered the remaining armor plates, and the red glow in its eyes dimmed before flickering out entirely. The massive suit of armor collapsed to the ground in a heap, defeated. Congratulations you have gained a level. Rusty stood over the fallen boss, his body dented and broken in several places.

The battle had been taxing, but he had prevailed. He knew that he needed to continue and quickly his body started to shift, going through another loadout exchange as he switched to his all-purpose form.

"It's just you and me now…" He called out to the being that created him. The heart's voice continued to call out in a desperate plea, but its tone had shifted from commanding to fearful. Rusty felt a hint of empathy; despite everything, this being was his creator. But he knew what had to be done…