Chương 82: Chapter 80 – Old Friends.

Rusty turned his head toward the voice, his visor locking onto the person who had just spoken. A group of figures emerged from the shadows of a nearby alley. The one who had addressed him was a familiar-looking lanky man with a smirk plastered across his face. He wasn't alone, and he certainly wasn't the leader of the group. In the center stood another figure - bald, a bit below two meters in height, with a face covered in tattoos and scars. He was wearing a heavier suit of armor but his face was exposed.

"Thought you'd never see us again, Albert?"

'It's those thugs again, and this time they've brought friends.' Alexander whispered to Rusty, who had also recognized the group entering the alley. Rusty had been on his way back from the Guild after depositing the monster materials he'd collected. He'd taken a shortcut through the alley to reach the inn where he was staying. It was the middle of the night, and the city gates wouldn't open for a few more hours.

These thugs seemed to have been waiting for him, only approaching once he was alone and out of sight of the city watch.

'I was wondering who these people were, But they don't seem like much of a threat. Can I kill them all?' Using his life detection skill, Rusty had sensed a few people waiting in the alley ahead. The skill worked in a peculiar way - the stronger the life signal, the more intensely it resonated in his metallic head. With it, he could roughly gauge someone's power level. Even this new, armored individual was no match for him.

Compared to the monsters inside the dungeon, this guy was on the level of an E-rank Orc at best.

'Normally I would be against it but they clearly mean business, their intentions are obvious, they are here to kill you and this alleyway is probably the perfect place to make people disappear…' Alexander assessed the situation for Rusty. It was probably just as he suspected. Rusty didn't respond but stood still, watching as the larger thug stepped forward, his knuckles cracking with a loud pop. The group numbered five men in total, three in the front and two behind him.

The moment he was halfway through the alley the three with the lanky man stopped him from the front, while two quickly closed off the escape route from the back.

'That's what I wanted to hear!' Rusty was eager to crack some skulls, irritated that these thugs had now harassed him not once, but twice. However, just as the moonlight gleamed off the hairless man's bald head, Alexander suddenly stopped him.

'Wait, Rusty. Don't kill that baldie.'

'Oh? Why not?'

'Those tattoos he's got - one of them belongs to the thieves' guild. He might be our way in!' Rusty's visor flickered as he heard Alexander's words. The bald man, covered in tattoos and scars, wasn't just some common thug - it seemed he had ties to the very organization Rusty had been searching for. The Thieves Guild. He still had all the stolen goods from the adventures stashed away in his system inventory. Perhaps this bald man was a key to getting him inside the black market.

'Hah, those idiots…' Before the battle could begin, one of the thugs pulled out a strange scroll. At first, Rusty saw it as a potential threat, but Alexander urged him to let them use it. The scroll began glowing with a white light, and soon the alley was enveloped in a peculiar spell.

'A silencing spell. No sound will escape this alley. Those idiots just signed their own death sentence.' Rusty had studied basic spells in the Soul Forge library and recognized this one immediately. It was commonly used for robberies and murder - perfect for keeping unwanted attention away. In the darkness, with sound completely muffled, no one would know a fight was taking place. This meant Rusty didn't have to worry about keeping up his human guise or avoiding attention.

He started by stepping back, wildly swinging his blade around as if in panic - deliberately giving the thugs a false sense of confidence. The thugs grinned, taking the bait. The armored man among them wore heavy gear, equipped with a shield and mace. It was clear they had come prepared for someone in heavy armor after their last failed attempt.

"Hah, you lost to this coward?"

"Be careful. He's stronger than he looks," The lanky man warned as the bald one closed in.

"Don't worry. I'll pry him out of that shoddy armor - but remember, all his belongings are mine." The lanky man nodded as the bald one stepped forward, ready to deliver a shield bash. To them, Rusty appeared like a cornered animal, but they hadn't realized they were the prey. The thug charged, moving at a surprising speed, aiming to slam into Rusty's kite shield. But when they collided, the expected outcome didn't happen.

Instead of sending Rusty crashing into the wall, he stood firm, unmoving, as if he were made of solid iron.

"What?" Confusion flickered in the thug's eyes as Rusty hadn't even flinched. Then, something began to change. His metallic form, which had appeared to be ordinary armor, shimmered and shifted, transforming before their eyes. His armor switched to the all-rounder form, something his enemies didn't expect. Before the thugs could react, a dark fog spilled across the ground, engulfing the already shadowy alley in pitch-black darkness.

"W-what is this? I can't see anything!" One of the thugs yelled, panic creeping into his voice.

"Agh… is this poison?" The black mist was taking effect. Everyone caught in it felt weak, their bodies growing heavy and dizzy. They didn't need to check their statuses to know they were afflicted by some kind of debilitating status effect. But by the time they realized it, it was already too late. The alley was now drenched in darkness, a thick fog that disoriented the thugs. They coughed and staggered, trying to find their footing in the growing sense of panic.

Their silencing spell had done them no favors and now they were blind and defenseless. Rusty's metallic form moved within the mist, his footsteps loud but unable to echo out into the city. The bald leader swung wildly, his mace slashing through the air, but it connected with nothing. He couldn't see Rusty anymore, and his frustration grew as the fog sapped his strength. He cursed under his breath, realizing they had vastly underestimated their target. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road.

If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Suddenly, a blade pierced through the mist, striking the lanky man in the leg. He screamed, dropping to his knees, but the sound was swallowed by the silencing spell with only the people inside of it being able to hear. Rusty emerged from the darkness behind him, his sword glowing red as it sliced through the man's nape, cutting through his jugular instantly. Blood spurted briefly from the lanky man's neck, but his body crumpled silently to the ground.

The thugs were still reeling from the poisonous mist, disoriented and powerless, their confidence shattered. The bald man, the leader, was furious. His tattooed face twisted in rage, eyes darting around in a futile attempt to find Rusty in the oppressive darkness. His mace swung again, cutting through but finally colliding with something, one of his allies' faces. The thug screamed in agony as his cheekbone shattered from the force of the blow.

His cry was quickly joined by others as the rest of the group suffered devastating injuries. One by one, they fell, their bodies crumpling under Rusty's brutal assault. The dark mist that had enveloped the alley began to thin, gradually lifting to reveal the grim scene beneath it.

"Shit… Let's talk about this…" As the fog cleared, a crushing reality hit the bald man - he was the only one left alive. The four other thugs lay on the ground, their arteries severed in vital places, blood soaking the alleyway. It was clear now: Rusty was too strong for them and bartering was probably the only way out.

"Now hold on there, I'm sure we can work something out."

'What do you think, Alexander?' Rusty stood victorious. The battle seemed over, but the man facing him hadn't fully given up. He still gripped his shield and mace, refusing to capitulate. The darkness that cloaked the alley wouldn't last much longer, and Rusty lacked the mana reserves to maintain it. He wanted entry into the Thieves Guild, but trusting this man seemed like a mistake. If he tried to infiltrate the guild, he'd likely be attacked again.

'I wouldn't trust him. He'll stab us in the back the moment we turn away. There's a better way, but first, you need to knock him out.' Alexander's plan was clear: knocking the man unconscious was necessary. Rusty stepped forward, his towering metal form looming in the dimly lit alley. The bald man's grip tightened around his mace, but Rusty could see the fear creeping into his eyes. The mist was clearing, and with it, the last of the man's confidence.

"Let's talk!"

"..." Rusty didn't respond. Albert's remains were not inside this form. Instead, he launched forward, mimicking the shield bash the man had used against him. His opponent tried to brace himself, but was knocked back. As the man staggered, gasping for breath, Rusty swapped his sword for a mace. A few exchanges later, his opponent's head met the blunt force of twilight metal, and he crumpled to the ground.

'Like this?'

'Think you went overboard… his head's bleeding. Better use one of those potions you grabbed from the other adventurers, or he won't make it.' The man was unconscious, his HP slowly dropping. He wouldn't last long. Rusty quickly searched through his stash tab, pulled out a potion, and poured it over the man's head. The wound began healing rapidly, his life saved at least for now.

'Okay, he's out cold. Now what?' Rusty was still unsure what to do with the thugs. Alexander usually wasn't one for sneaky tactics, often advising him to leave people alone. However, he seemed to hold a particular disdain for thugs like this one - seeing them as little more than monsters rather than people.

'If I'm not mistaken, now that he's knocked out, you should be able to use your possession skill on him. But since he isn't dead, it might not work as well as it did with Albert's remains.'

'Oh... now I get it!' After the explanation, Rusty understood the plan Alexander had in mind.

'You want me to use his identity as a member of the Thieves' Guild, don't you?'

'Yes, but that's not all. This guy should be a true member, which means he should be able to register you as one.' Alexander began explaining how the Thieves' Guild worked - or at least how it did in the guilds he'd encountered when he was alive. It was similar to the Adventurers' Guild, but harder to infiltrate. Thieves hid behind passwords and concealed locations. To register a new member, someone already in the guild had to vouch for them.

'So, you want me to possess this person, access his memories to get inside the guild, and then have him vouch for me as a new member?'

'Exactly, that's the plan.'

'But won't they get suspicious if after he registers me, he vanishes?'

'It should be fine, these people operate differently than the adventurers guild, if one thief vanishes they will just assume he was killed by some old enemy and not by someone that he registered.

"I see, this Thieves Guild sounds less honorable than the other one… I bet Aburdon would agree with this."

"I bet he would…" Alexander replied, though his tone was far less enthusiastic. Still, as Rusty's guide, he was obligated to help, whether he liked it or not. These thieves and thugs were villains with many enemies. At any moment, an old friend or family member of one of their victims could seek revenge, and that was something everyone in their guild was keenly aware of. His possession skill had leveled up as he had been using it constantly.

It worked well on a dead and mummified body but he had never attempted to seize control over a living person. The man was wearing heavy armor already, so he just needed to cover his face with his helmet and give it a try. Rusty crouched over the unconscious thug, his metallic fingers curling around his helmet as he prepared to remove it. The man beneath him was still alive, so Rusty wasn't entirely sure how his possession skill would be affected. He placed the helmet over the man's head and activated the ability.

'Here we go... this feels different than before…' There was a slight resistance at first. Unlike the dead, whose bodies offered no protest, the living had a mind of their own, a flickering remnant of self-preservation. The man's mind fought back, but in his weakened state, Rusty's willpower overwhelmed him. Rusty's vision dimmed briefly, and then he felt a jolt as if he'd been pulled into a different body. Suddenly, he wasn't looking at the world from his metallic frame anymore.

He was seeing through the thug's eyes, feeling the weight of his armor, the dull ache in his muscles, and the dizzying sensation of pain lingering from their short brawl. It took him a moment to adjust - his control over the man's body wasn't perfect, like walking in shoes that didn't quite fit. But it would do for now.

'Is this what humans feel? It wasn't like this with Albert.' Previously, the body he possessed had been long dead, unable to move on its own, requiring Rusty's metallic shell to function. But this was different. This man's body was fully alive, capable of standing on its own. Rusty's true form stood nearby, helmetless. The thug now wore Rusty's helmet, his face hidden beneath it. From the outside, he looked like any ordinary person - convincing enough to get Rusty into the Thieves' Guild.

Rusty flexed the man's fingers, testing the limits. His movements were sluggish, but the thug's body responded. He stood up on shaky legs, dusting off the armor. He could feel the dull throb in his skull where Rusty had bashed him, but the healing potion had worked wonders.

'That's it. Looks like you've got control, now use his memories to pinpoint the location of the guild and their password.' Alexander's voice echoed in Rusty's mind as he was stuck with him even if he discarded his main body. Rusty took a moment to tap into the thug's memories, sifting through the murky haze of pain and confusion clouding the man's mind. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Unlike Albert's remains, this body still had an active consciousness, albeit dulled from the fight and the potion.

'Come on… show me… there, that should be it!' Rusty muttered under his breath as he concentrated. Slowly, fragmented memories began to surface. Images of back alleys, secret handshakes, and dimly lit taverns flickered in his mind like pieces of a puzzle. He saw a symbol - a strange black coin and recognized it as the sigil of the Thieves' Guild. Now that the truth was out, he just needed to go there and register himself as a new member…