Chapter 236 – Dash Step Training.
“A battle took place here.”
“It did?”
“Indeed.”
“If it did, where are all the bodies?”
“That’s…”
An armored man seated on a chestnut steed glanced at the hooded mage beside him. They stood within a narrow gorge that served as a shortcut to the nearby city. Scattered before them lay the remains of a carriage, one that belonged to someone they knew.
The wind howled through the shattered pass. A dozen riders waited among the wreckage, their tabards marked with the emblem of a nearby noble house. At their head rode a knight, his polished helm tucked beneath his arm as he surveyed the devastation.
“It looks like an ambush, but not a simple one.”
Beside him, the hooded mage dismounted, his boots crunching over splintered stone. His staff hummed faintly, the large crystal at its tip answering his call. It glowed blue as he aimed it toward a nearby spray of blood.
“This… this is impossible.”
“What is it, Mage? What did you find?”
“Sir Aldren, my magic cannot trace the direction of the body. It is as if it is not there. Either powerful spells are concealing it, or…”
“Or what?”
“Or it is as though it no longer exists in this world.”
The mage seemed unsettled by his own conclusion. The knight gave a slow nod, certain that formidable magic was at work. The man was a C-ranked mage, yet even he could not pierce whatever force had erased the trail.
“That treacherous baron will surely claim he no longer possesses the tribute.”
“Sir, do you suspect them?”
“Those people cannot be trusted. Either way, the tribute has not arrived. Have them send more, and warn them what will happen if it fails to arrive this time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sir Aldren, the supposed leader of the group, did not seem too perturbed by the situation. Even though he was meant to collect the gold, he was not the one who had failed. The tribute never arrived in the city, so he could place all the blame on the Baron who resided in the unfinished settlement it was meant to come from.
“Spread out, search for any clues, then report back to me.”
The man shouted before beckoning his horse forward. His instincts told him this was some kind of attack, likely not the work of ordinary bandits. It was clear to him that someone was trying to make it look like an infighting incident between mercenaries. Yet he did not care enough to investigate further. The amount of gold in the carriage was not significant and could easily be replaced. Thus, without another word, he rode forward, dismissing the incident entirely.
*
“Ack!”
A metallic figure slammed into a tree with a loud clang, sending the birds perched in its branches scattering.
“(˵ ¬ᴗ¬ ˵)”
“Stop laughing, Gleam. It is not an easy skill to master!”
Rusty muttered as he picked his helmet up from the ground. He had just used the Dash Step skill he absorbed from Varkas. It allowed him to move at tremendous speed, but it was difficult to control. Once activated, his body shot forward several meters in the direction he was facing.
Each time he used it, he quickly lost his balance and struggled to judge where he would end up. The skill allowed him to adjust the amount of mana he poured into it, which determined both speed and distance. Perhaps Varkas had possessed an additional skill that helped him control it, or perhaps Rusty simply needed to learn how to channel his mana properly.
“(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ )”
Gleam wiggled from a tree branch while looking down at Rusty. The battle was over, and Rusty had accomplished what he set out to do weeks ago. Varkas was dead, and he, along with the other mercenaries, was now stored inside Rusty’s body. As before, Rusty used his internal storage as a means of concealment. As long as the bodies remained within him, no one would know what had become of the mercenaries. For the time being, one major obstacle had been removed.
“Let’s go back, Gleam. I will watch over you while you continue to evolve.”
His level was now above ten. Hunting mercenaries had proven far more effective for leveling than fighting monsters in the dungeon. He had also taken their money and armor. With the chest of gold coins he claimed from Varkas, he was now a wealthy monster. However, spending it at the shop was out of the question, as that would clearly expose him to the merchants or the noble.
“( •̀ ᴗ •́ )و”
With all of this in mind, Rusty shrank himself and climbed onto Gleam’s back. She shot into the sky, flying at remarkable speed. Like any monster, she could hardly wait to grow into an even stronger version of herself. She was already fast, but after evolving she would surpass her current limits.
When they returned to the settlement, they slipped in unnoticed. For once, the town felt more alive. Although the mercenaries were meant to serve as a peacekeeping force and defend against Orc attacks, they had become more of a burden to the citizens. Ever since Rusty began targeting them, the people seemed happier and no longer afraid to speak out against those who had been oppressing them.
“Have you heard? The Black Hounds left two days ago.”
“I hope they never come back.”
“I’m not sure about that. I heard they went to recruit more men…”
“More of those bastards? Can’t we get some normal guards instead?”
“We can only dream.”
The two workers whispered to each other, unaware that Varkas and his men had already returned, their bodies stored inside Rusty’s storage system. Even though they were gone, that did not mean all the bad people had vanished. There were still thieves, thugs, adventurers, and guards under the nobles’ command. Rusty was old enough to understand that this temporary vacuum of power would soon be filled, possibly by someone even worse than the Black Hounds.
Still, he did not worry. His level had risen, and he was now about halfway through D rank. If more humanoid enemies crossed his path, he would eliminate them and advance even faster. There was also his summoning chamber, which he had not used since the Necromancer incident.
It was not that he did not want to use it. He simply could not. He had reached his limit for summoners, and for some reason none of the ones he had hoped for had reached out to him. He had effectively locked himself out of being summoned after spending all his resources to unlock loadouts while summoned. As a result, he lacked the points needed to increase his summoner slots.
That left him with only two options: wait to be summoned or remove one of his current summoners to take on a new mission. He was not particularly attached to the necromancer, but the man provided a steady stream of points just by getting beaten around. However, if Rusty could not be summoned again before his next evolution, he would be leaving a considerable number of summoner coins on the table.
“Mister Edmund, welcome back.”
Rusty waved at Rolo, who looked much better now. He had finally returned to his lair, though as usual it was mostly empty of customers. Still, he wondered if that might change soon, since his enchanting skills were steadily improving.
“I’ll be down in the basement if you need me.”
“Alright.”
Rolo nodded without asking any further questions. The kids seemed bored, but at least they had food and shelter here. Rusty still was not sure how this hiding place would turn out in the long run. For now, though, he had taken a step toward making the settlement a better place.
“Now then, the options are… What do you think, Gleam?”
“(╭ರ_•́) “
Adult Magical Gleaming Ant
[ Insectoid ] [ D ]
An adult Magical Gleaming Ant. Its larger body size allows it to cast a variety of spells. Its mandibles have grown stronger, and its bite can shatter stone and even metal.
Flying Mana Myrm Ant Soldier
[ Insectoid ] [ D ]
A winged magical variant of the Myrm Ant Soldier. Its body remains roughly the same size, but its magical abilities grant it greater strength and speed. It can cast spells capable of devastating groups of enemies, and its wings allow it to fly freely through the air.
Small Greater-Silvergleam Ant
[ Insectoid ] [ D ]
The further evolution of the rare Small Silvergleam Ant. Like its previous form, this monster specializes in magical attacks and aerial combat and is superior to its lower-ranked predecessor.
Superior Horned Myrm Ant Queen
[ Insectoid ] [ C - ]
A superior horned variant of the Queen of the Myrm Ant species. Once fully grown, it becomes immobile, dedicating itself entirely to producing rarer ant offspring.
The choices were not much different from last time, with one exception. The ant queen variant was now a monster that had already reached C-rank. Even if it was the most powerful creature here, it was still unable to move normally, as its sole purpose was to produce more ant soldiers.
“Small Greater-Silvergleam Ant looks like the best and only choice.”
“(ᵕ—ᴗ—)”
Gleam could not really argue with that. She did not want to become a larger ant soldier or a queen. While her offspring might have been useful to Rusty, she preferred to keep adventuring with him as his friend.
“Well then, it’s decided. Do not worry, I will watch over your body.”
Gleam nodded and moved to a special compartment in the wall that had been made for her to slide into. While she trusted Rusty, there was always a chance someone could attack them. In that case, she would be able to hide there and come to his rescue, or at least avoid becoming a burden if a fight broke out.
With the option chosen, Gleam went to sleep. Rusty was not sure how long the transformation would take, but it would probably give him enough time to try a few new things. One of them was a skill he had recently gained from leveling up, not one that was absorbed.
Skill Share [ Puppet Armor ]
Active Skill
Allows the user to share their skills with their armor puppets. The more skills are shared, the more energy it takes to sustain the puppet armor.
Part of the experience the puppet gains while using a shared skill will be transferred to the user.
It was another ability centered on his Puppet Armor skill. This one allowed him to share certain skills with his puppets. Usually, the armors he summoned possessed the same abilities and were not especially powerful. Even Aburdon and Alexander had the same limits. This new skill could make them much stronger. What intrigued him most was the final line of the description. If he shared a skill with them and they used it, he would benefit from the experience they gained.
“I need to test this out, but first I wonder…”
There were several possibilities he wanted to confirm. To begin, he summoned Aburdon along with the dark armor that the guide could inhabit.
“You wish this lord to do what exactly?”
“Try speaking with the head inside you after I share the Possession skill with you.”
This was one of the first ideas he came up with after seeing Skill Share. Normally, he used the possession skill to pretend he was human. Aburdon was someone who had used this possession ability in the past, so in theory, he should also be able to speak with a head placed inside his frame. For the test, Rusty used the blacksmith head. Once it was secured inside Aburdon’s armor, he activated Skill Share.
“...That I would be turned into a monster’s plaything.”
Aburdon grumbled, but he was able to speak perfectly, much more clearly than Rusty ever could with that head.
“That’s pretty good. I’ll have you act as the blacksmith from now on.”
“You would have me do what?”
Aburdon sounded appalled by the order, but he had no way to resist. To test the next part of the skill, Rusty summoned Alexander in his white armor. This time it was not about talking, but about Dash Step.
“You said you used a similar skill in the past. Do you think you can control it?”
“I should be able to. Although I think the skill I used had a different name.”
Alexander was not entirely sure, as he could not recall the exact name, but it was apparently a higher version of what Rusty had now.
“Well, give it a try.”
Rusty spoke confidently, but after looking around, Alexander was not sure this was a good idea.
“Here?”
“Don’t worry. Even if you slam into a wall, I’ll repair your armor.”
Rusty gave Alexander a big thumbs up. The underground forge was small, with barely any room to move. The former hero sighed, then nodded and did as he was asked.
His body blurred for a moment, and he appeared right in front of the wall without losing his balance the way Rusty always did. Alexander muttered something to himself, then performed the skill again, and then a third time.
“Oh… you’re so good at it. Why is it so hard for me?”
Rusty felt annoyed that his guide could control an ability Rusty had gained himself almost perfectly, and inside a body that was not even truly his own.
“It’s not that difficult. You just need to predict where you will end up when you activate it. Feel the flow of your movement and adapt to it.”
“The flow?”
Rusty tilted his metallic head to the side, not fully understanding what Alexander meant. After watching him perform short dashes around the room, he decided to try once more.
The scenery blurred in front of his visor. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of his workbench. Just like before, he poured too much mana into his legs and slammed straight into it. The lower half of his body was left behind while the upper half flew forward.
“Maybe I should let you practice a few more times instead.”
Rusty commented as his upper half slid down the wall he had crashed into. If the Skill Share description was accurate, then perhaps Alexander’s continued use of the skill would raise its level for him as well. If it reached the next stage, maybe the proper way to use it would become clearer.
“That’s fine with me. You will just have to give me more of your mana.”
Soon, the two began practicing together. Gleam slept in the compartment while Alexander zoomed around the smithy, with Rusty occasionally attempting Dash Step again. Hours passed, and progress was slow, but just as the description promised, with Alexander’s help the skill eventually leveled up. It reached a higher form surprisingly quickly, far faster than Rusty could have managed on his own.
“So it does work!”
The living armor cheered as he discovered yet another way to grow stronger. Now his path to C rank would be even smoother, and with a bit of luck, he might reach it without running into as much trouble as they did last time.