Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ]

Chapter 30 – Tracking Ores.

Rusty surveyed the chamber and his eyes lingered on the now lifeless form of the slug creature. With a sense of satisfaction, he attempted to holster his blade but found it covered in strange mucus. Luckily there was a shallow pond of water nearby which had been seemingly used by the leader slug for sustenance. 

‘I managed to level up but didn’t gain any new skills…oh well, what about my status?’

While heading there he looked over his status screen which had been updated. He had only gained one level, and his stats didn't seem to have increased that much. However, he could sense that compared to the old level-ups when he was still an F-rank monster, he was somewhat stronger. He couldn't quite tell why, but there appeared to be some sort of gap between ranks. Perhaps it was some sort of hidden boost that wasn’t showing up on the status screen.

‘I should ask the Demon King or the Hero about it the next time I see them.’

Rusty was a bit annoyed at his inability to call his two helpers for advice. His mana pool was quite low and he needed to wait for at least another hour for it to refill itself. For the time being he decided to clean his blade in the shallow pond here. It was already filling up with the dead remains of the slugs.

Despite being a living armor, he understood the importance of keeping his equipment in good condition. Back in the Soul Forge he had learned of a couple of ways of cleaning his tools and that if he left blood on his weapons for too long, it could cause corrosion and damage over time.

As he dipped the blade into the water, Rusty noticed a faint glow emanating from behind. He glanced back to see a small white ant making its way in his direction while avoiding the bodies of the dead slugs. It was Gleam who had noticed that the battle was over and decided to emerge from its hiding place.

His new companion was just like him, a new being who had been born not so long ago. The ant looked at the dead slug monsters with curiosity, its antennae twitching as it took in the scene before it. Rusty watched as Gleam scuttled closer, its tiny form illuminated by a radiance coming from its body.

‘He wasn’t that bright before, did he learn a new skill?’

This reminded Rusty of how his new companion gained experience points by just being close to him. Considering that he had defeated quite a number of slug creatures here, including their leader, it was likely that his friend had gained a few levels. Thanks to their bond, Rusty also had access to the full status screen of his friend, along with all of its skills.

The first thing Rusty noticed was that Gleam had more MP than he had when he was a level one F-rank monster. Another interesting observation was the Intelligence stat, which had reached ninety-nine, with another bracket next to it having 'Max' written in. He could only assume that this meant the stat could not increase any further, but he decided to bring this issue up with one of his glowing helpers later for clarification. 

‘Gleam might be special… or I was just really weak…’

His mood dropped after realizing that this G-rank monster could have higher stats than his initial form. However, it also meant that it was the right choice to form a bonding contract with Gleam. If he became stronger quickly, then it would be possible for Rusty to use him in battle. 

‘Now for the skills, what are these…’

Rusty's visor widened in surprise as he read through the list of skills. Gleam had acquired quite a diverse set of abilities, some of which could prove to be incredibly useful in their journey. The Basic Mineral Discovery skill, in particular, could come in handy for locating valuable resources or hidden treasures within the cave system. Perhaps help him discover one of the ores that he had been missing.

“Gleam, you’re quite something, aren't you?”

His ant companion noticed that it was being praised and showed a sign of acknowledgment by rubbing its antennae together in a happy manner. Rusty couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his little companion's achievements. It seemed that they were both growing stronger together.

‘A spell… I think, I know what this is…’

Rusty wanted to give that mineral discovery a try but his attention was pulled towards the mana manipulation and sense skills. These skills seemed necessary for casting spells and regretfully he lacked both of them. Gleam, his companion, only knew one spell, which allowed his entire body to glow brightly and act as a light source. This spell cost just five points of MP and was somewhat different from the light Rusty could produce with his sword.

‘It doesn’t use up the MP afterward, does it have some type of lingering effect?’

As he contemplated this, Rusty felt a surge of curiosity about his own potential for magic. He had long been somewhat aware of the existence of mana and the spells it could produce. In his shared memories, he could see both the hero and the demon king wielding these mysterious abilities. Perhaps somewhere along his evolutionary path, he too would be able to unlock them, and becoming a spellcaster wasn't just a pipe dream.

“You don’t really have any attacking skills though, not even a bite skill…”

Gleam had received some interesting skills but they weren’t really suited for battle. The one spell that he had could only produce a faint light, which probably wouldn’t hurt the other monsters like Rusty’s did. The small ant showed his disappointment by clicking its mandibles in frustration, its tiny form visibly deflating. Rusty couldn't help but sympathize with his companion's predicament as when he started, he wasn’t really that great either.

“Don’t worry Gleam, you will get stronger, I’m sure when you evolve to a greater form, you will be really strong!”

Rusty attempted to cheer up his new companion with some words of encouragement. The ant perked up at Rusty's words, its antennae twitching with renewed conviction. Despite its lack of offensive skills, Gleam seemed eager to continue supporting Rusty in whatever way it could. Rusty couldn't help but admire the little creature's indomitable spirit.

“How about you help me explore this cave system, who knows what we might find here? Why don’t you use that mineral discovery skill?”

He gestured towards the dark recesses of the cave while Gleam scuttled forward eagerly. With a determined click of its mandibles, it activated the Basic Mineral Discovery skill, its tiny antennae twitched as it began scanning the surrounding area. Rusty stayed in place and looked at his small companion skittering around the ground. At first he was hopeful but eventually he was made aware of this discovery skills weakness, it had a rather limited range.

Nevertheless, Gleam seemed to be focused and determined, its tiny form darting here and there as it diligently searched for any signs of valuable minerals or ores. Minutes passed, and Rusty grew increasingly impatient as he watched Gleam's efforts. He couldn't help but wonder if they were wasting their time on a futile endeavor. Then while his mind turned to his inventory screen, he thought of something.

“I wonder… could this work?”

Rusty realized he had managed to retain one whole leftover tin ingot. This was, in fact, the mineral he had been searching for, as without it, he could not transform the copper ingots into bronze ones. Considering this, he turned to Gleam, who possessed a tracking skill in addition to the mineral discovery one. The tracking skill appeared to have a larger range than the mineral discovery skill, so Rusty hoped it would prove effective in locating more of the precious mineral.

“Can you track this mineral for me, Gleam?”

Rusty quickly retrieved the ingot from his inventory and held it out in front of Gleam. The ant paused in its search and scuttled over to Rusty, its antennae twitching with curiosity as it inspected the tin ingot. After clicking its mandibles in acknowledgment, the tracking skill was activated. There was no visual cue indicating it but judging by Gleam's speed, it seemed to have caught on to something.

There was some type of invisible path that seemed to have been presented and the ant started following it. Rusty could only think that this had been the skill used by the other ants to follow him and that perhaps soon some tin would actually be before him. To his surprise, the journey was far as Gleam navigated around the dead slugs only to arrive at the pond he cleaned his sword in.

“Is something wrong?”

It seemed that the ant wanted to move into the water but just like the other members of its species, despised it. Gleam started moving around the water in an attempt to find another path. His partner darted around it, eventually ending up on the ceiling directly over it before coming to a stop. It seemed that what he was searching for lay within the water, which was quite murky.

“Is it in there?”

It was hard to tell but he needed to check it out. He was a suit of armor so breathing underwater wasn’t a problem. The pond at the deepest end was only up to his waist, and he had an ingenious idea to aid in his search for the tin ore deposit. Instead of attempting to grab rocks, he removed his helmet from his body and submerged it in the murky pool of water. With his head close to the ground, it became much easier to spot any metallic residue that an ore might produce.

The murky water made it difficult to see clearly, but after a few moments of searching, he noticed a glimmer of metallic shine. Carefully, Rusty reached down with his gauntlet, his metallic fingers brushed against something before he started squeezing. After a gentle tug, he managed to dislodge one of the rocks there with relative ease. Once it was on the surface, to his delight there was a small tin deposit there.

“Good job Gleam, you found it! I would have never been able to find it on my own!”

Gleam clicked its mandibles happily, seemingly pleased with itself for successfully locating the tin deposit. Rusty couldn't help but feel grateful for his tiny companion's assistance. Without Gleam's tracking skill, he would have likely missed this tin ore deposit here as it was hidden under the waters of this slug cave.

‘Now, how should I get it out… the water is kind of in the way…’

Mining the copper wasn't difficult, as it was situated on the side of a wall and easily accessible. However, in the murky depths of the pond, Rusty couldn't see the bottom, making it challenging to pinpoint the correct areas for mining. Fortunately, the Hero had given some advice while Rusty was creating his bronze arsenal. It was possible to add regular tools to his inventory, so he had created items like a pickaxe and a shovel, which he hoped would aid him in his underwater mining endeavors.

‘It will cost me two bronze ingots to make the tools…’

Although his body still required bronze to repair itself, Rusty had only sustained minor damage in the last encounter with the slugs. While he didn’t want to spend it, there was a need for a shovel and some other basic tools. With Gleam's ability to locate more copper and tin ore deposits, he felt he wouldn't be wasting his resources. It was an investment for the future that would allow him to mine more easily.

‘I’ll get a shovel first, I need to drain this water.’

After accessing his tabs he used one of the ingots to fashion a previously assembled bronze shovel. With his new tool in hand, he approached the edge of the pond. The water here seemed to slowly drip from the ceiling which eventually formed this pond. What he needed to do was dig out a tunnel to the side, and from there, gravity would take care of the rest.

Rusty began digging at the edge of the pond, his bronze shovel slicing through the damp earth with surprising ease. Gleam watched from a safe distance as the rocky gravel was tossed to the side. With each scoop of the earth he removed, the water level started to gradually drop.

After several hours of nonstop labor, Rusty had managed to create a small trench leading away from the pond. Water trickled down the tunnel, flowing away from the immediate area. He continued digging until the water level had dropped by a significant margin and the bottom of the pond was revealed.

With the water now mostly drained, Rusty could clearly see the tin ore deposits sticking out amidst the dregs. Before climbing down into the now-drained area, he lifted up one of his metallic boots that had been filled with water. While balancing on one leg, he turned it around to empty the water and then repeated the process on the other side. Afterward, he spent another ingot of bronze to produce a pickaxe, and now the mining could finally commence.

With his newly crafted pickaxe in hand, Rusty descended into the drained pond. His boots produced an audible crunching noise which caught Gleams interest. His ant companion scuttled closer as now there was no pesky water to keep him away.

Rusty approached the tin ore deposits and carefully began to chip away at the surrounding rock with his pickaxe. Chunks of stone fell away as he worked and revealed the veins of tin hidden beneath. With each strike of his pickaxe, he collected small pieces of tin ore, storing them away in his inventory for later use.

Gleam watched intently, its antennae twitching with curiosity as Rusty mined the ore. Despite its small size, the ant seemed to understand the importance of their discovery and was eager to assist in any way it could. After another couple of hours of meticulous work, Rusty stepped back. His inventory was now filled with tin ore and transformed tin ingots.

With this discovery, he was now confident in his future plans. The other monsters would not stand in his way, and with so much metal at his disposal, he would be able to restore himself and his weapons without worry. It was time to conquer this part of the dungeon and then perhaps journey elsewhere, where other challenges awaited…

Thank you for reading!

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