Rusty was back in the summoning chamber. His mission was over, and he wondered whether he should have worked for the dungeon instead. His new summoner had been completely uncooperative, and now he also had to fear his mother, who had somehow managed to interfere with the soul forge.
“Gwen is still the best one.”
He made a mental note to prioritize his first summoner, who had been the most cooperative by far. The second one had done little more than force him to spend precious coins, and the necromancer just impeded his progress.
“Oh?”
As he stepped off the summoning platform, system windows began appearing before him. He had gained more experience from this mission than from the one involving Gwen, and also more than from Teral’s. It seemed that being chased for a week by powerful paladins and barely escaping was far more rewarding than fighting summoner students.
“What?”
Rusty was surprised by this turn of events. He had stuffed his new summoner into a backpack and kept elbowing him throughout the journey, and yet his synergy had gone up. Looking for answers, he opened the summoning log to see not only what he had gained coins for, but why he had gained them.
- Gained 1 summoner coin for correcting their attitude.
- Gained 1 summoner coin by spending time with your summoner.
- Gained 1 summoner coin for correcting their attitude.
- Gained 1 summoner coin by spending time with your summoner.
“I can gain summoner coins for hitting them? For bad behavior?”
Rusty scratched his metal head as he stared at the logs. He was not gaining much from any single action, but the list was filled with entries about correcting Vesper’s attitude and spending time with him throughout the journey.
After going on three adventures with Gwen, he had ended up with sixty-seven coins. He spent sixteen of those on upgrades for living armor summons and a new steel variant. After that, he went on a mission with Teral, where he gained five coins but spent nine. That left him with forty-seven. This time, however, he gained a whole fifty-four, bringing his total to exactly one hundred and one coins.
“Wait… this means… I can get that upgrade!”
He was overjoyed by the realization. After the way he had treated Vesperus, he had even wondered if he might lose coins for hitting him so many times. Instead, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Carrying him around like a backpack may also have contributed to the steady stream of coins from spending time in close proximity.
“A strange way to give rewards… but I’ll take it!”
With glee, he moved over to the console. Time was starting to run out, but he still wondered whether any other options might appear. To his surprise, a new option was already there.
“Summoner slots?”
Rusty was puzzled by the option at first, but soon realized what it meant. He brought up the section showing his current summoners and noticed a small red exclamation mark in the upper right corner. When he clicked it, another window appeared and explained everything.
It seemed he could not go on an unlimited number of summoner missions without some kind of restriction. If the message was accurate, he would need to remove one of his previous summoners before selecting a mission that involved a new one.
“This complicates things…”
Of the three he had interacted with, he was certain he would keep Gwen, which left the other two. At first, he thought Vesperus was the worst of them, but if he could earn more summoner coins simply by smacking the necromancer around, then perhaps Vesperus was worth keeping. That left Teral as the weakest option, but Rusty had already invested resources in him, so abandoning him now would likely be a waste.
“Uh… time is up…”
As he continued to deliberate, he felt the pull back to the real world. His physical body was still in the dungeon, hidden beneath a barrier of rocks that Gleam had fashioned.
“I hope those two didn’t start fighting while I was gone…”
The pull grew stronger. The summoning chamber stretched and dissolved, as if it were an illusion, and soon everything went white. Rusty’s awareness snapped back into his physical body with a faint metallic chime, and he was back. The first thing he noticed was the noise of familiar voices.
“This is the last time… I’m going to destroy you, hero!”
“Hah, so you finally lost your mind?”
“( ?? ? ?? )”
What he returned to was Aburdon and Alexander locked in a shoving match, with Gleam wedged between them, trying to calm them down. The earth barrier they were using for cover had begun to crack as the two suits of armor wrestled against it.
“Hey, what are you two doing? Cut that out! Are we getting attacked or something?”
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“?( ??? )?”
Rusty immediately ordered the two to stop, and Gleam was quick to leap onto his chest and wrap him in a hug. Gleam clung to him for a second longer than necessary, her small frame pressed against his chestplate as if she were making sure he was really back.
“Easy, easy…”
Rusty said, steadying himself.
“I’m here. You did great, but what happened, and how long was I gone for?”
She finally hopped down, looking proud and just a little smug as she glanced back at the other two. Aburdon straightened first, smoothing an imaginary crease in his armor.
“I was merely engaging in a… tactical disagreement, nothing to worry about, my dear Rusty.”
“A disagreement?”
Alexander scoffed.
“You tried to shove me through the wall.”
“Yes, I told you not to move that much hero! This great lord needs his space.”
Rusty shook his head and gave out a sigh as he imitated the humanoids.
“So there was no monster attack or adventurers?”
“(?—?—)”
Gleam recounted it for him.
“I see, so I was just gone for a minute, and nothing happened just as we predicted.”
The coast seemed to be clear, so he pushed against the rocky barrier to produce a fist-sized hole to look outside. There was no one there. No life signals from adventurers and no crystalline golems or lizards waiting to attack them.
“At least the plan was successful. Let’s continue, and I’ll tell you guys about the summoning.”
“(?? ? ??)”
It was obvious that Gleam was the only one interested in his story, but that was enough for him. He briefly wondered if there was a way to bring her along on one of the summoning missions as some kind of support. Unless he could somehow fit her into his storage, though, it did not seem possible.
“( ?? ? ?? )?”
“It’s fine, Gleam, save your MP for later, leave this to me.”
Rusty did not need Gleam to remove the earthly barrier. With a few solid punches, the rocks crumbled, and she did not need to waste any MP. He moved out first, but before continuing, he felt the need to make something clear.
“Alright, deeper we go. But this time, you two.”
He pointed at Aburdon and Alexander.
“You are on the same side. This is not a suggestion. It is an order. Learn to work together, the same way Gleam and I do.”
“( ?? ? ?? )”
“Tch.”
“Hmph.”
Neither of them sounded convinced, but neither argued. That alone counted as progress. Their dungeon exploration had been interrupted by the summoning cooldown, but now they could finally continue. Before moving on, Rusty used all of his talismans to gain another level. Unfortunately, no new skills appeared.
‘Everything is progressing well. At this rate, I will reach my next evolution in half the time I normally would.’
He was in good spirits after finishing his recent summoning mission. The experience talismans he had received were a significant boost to his power, and if he continued acquiring them, he could potentially gain one full level every three and a half days. The rest of his time could then be spent deeper in the dungeon, fighting crystalline monsters and turning their bodies into crafting materials and gear upgrades. With so many crystals available, creating additional enchantments for his body would become fully feasible.
With that in mind, they delved deeper into the dungeon. The crystalline caverns sloped downward, the air growing colder the further they went, though it was nothing compared to the Yeti mountains he had just visited. Light refracted strangely through the walls, producing a rainbow glow that reflected off Rusty’s polished dome. Every step echoed, and the veins along the walls continued to shine as they had before.
“I see a golem there. Let’s get him.”
Rusty pointed as a large crystalline monster approached. Even after returning from a tiring mission, this was nothing to him. He did not feel fatigue like humanoids did and his mind would not break even if he were trapped and unable to move for years. To him, this was simply more fun on his journey toward greater power and exploring this world and the others contained within his summoning chamber.
The battle raged. He wielded a massive mace, shattering the golem’s sides while his guides kept it distracted. Soon, more monsters joined the fray, and they continued clearing them out for nearly half a day before finally deciding to return to the city.
“I always forget what time it is…”
When he emerged, the sun was high, and the streets were bright with activity. Adventurers and townsfolk moved about freely. Here, no one saw him as something summoned by a necromancer or as a noble lady. This was a place where he could relax, at least somewhat. Still, danger existed even here, and one such danger was waiting as he arrived at his lair.
“Are those…”
Rusty paused when he spotted two armed men standing in front of his shop.
“( ?? ? ?? )”
Gleam, on his shoulder, was clearly displeased as well. On the ground sat a crying child, Natia. Standing protectively in front of her was Ria, one of the twins, her expression burning with anger.
“Black Hounds? What do they want from us?”
Alexander spoke as he and Aburdon had returned to his helmet, no longer using their new frames. They spotted two black hound mercenaries in front of his shop.
“Could they have found out? No, that should not be possible…”
Rusty felt a knot of worry form. He had stolen a great deal of money from these men, but he did not believe there was anything that could link it back to him. Still, caution was necessary. Perhaps they were simply conducting an inspection, searching for clues without having any real leads.
“When Edmund comes back, you will be sorry!”
Natia shouted at the two mercenaries, tears streaming down her face.
“Oh? Will he? I would like to see him try, little girl.”
One of the men laughed at the threats from the frightened child. The other followed suit and pointed his spear at both girls.
“Oh, what will this great Edmund do if I do this, huh?”
Ria watched the spear tip move closer to her face and shut her eyes. Just as it was about to touch her cheek, a dagger struck the wooden doorframe beside the man’s face, embedding itself deep into the wood.
“He will do this.”
Rusty appeared before them in the guise of Edmund the adventurer, his arm still extended from the throw. The two mercenaries snapped to attention as they saw him approach down the slum street and quickly pointed their weapons at him.
“W-who are you?”
One of them asked.
“So you’re not just stupid, but also deaf?”
He replied, recalling one of the many insults adventurers hurled at each other. The two girls recognized his armor and hurried behind him. Natia hid behind his leg and stuck out her tongue at the men.
“See, I told you Edmund would punish you. Beat them up, Edmund!”
“Natia, it’s Mr. Edmund…”
Ria tried to correct her younger sister, though she also hid behind him. Her eyes burned with anger, as if she shared the same wish.
Rusty did not fear the mercenaries, though they were still humanoids ranked at D-level, even if they were on the weaker end. Seeing two of them stationed outside his shop was strange and suggested that someone important might be inside. His life detection skill confirmed that three more mercenaries were within his lair. Before confronting them, however, he needed to deal with these two.
“You dare attack me?”
“Lower the spear if you do not want to get hurt, mercenary.”
Rusty had grown accustomed to acting like a human, and by now he understood his rights. While these men worked for the nobles, they were not part of any official force. They were not city guards or knights, and he owed them no deference. Unless they carried proper documentation and a legitimate reason for being here, no one would question him for removing them by force. Still, there were limits. Killing them would almost certainly bring serious consequences, including imprisonment.
The mercenary snarled and did the exact opposite of what Rusty told him. With a shout, he lunged forward, driving his spear straight at Edmund’s right shoulder. Rusty didn’t dodge. He simply reached out and grabbed the spear mid-thrust.
The metal shaft screeched as his gauntlet closed around it, the force of the charge dispersing harmlessly through his reinforced frame. The mercenary blinked in confusion, then tried to shove the weapon forward with all his strength.
“I’ll…”
“You’ll what?”
The spear did not move. When more force was applied, it only began to bend.
“That's all?”
The mercenary’s face reddened as he leaned into it, boots scraping against the stone. Veins bulged in his neck. The spear began to tremble, not from Rusty pushing back, but from Rusty squeezing. Moments later, it snapped.
“What?”
The man’s momentum carried him forward, straight into Rusty’s metal boot as it slammed into the mercenary’s chest. He was sent flying into the other man, and both of them tumbled to the ground. Rusty tossed the broken spear aside.
“Well… well. Did you grow stronger since our last meeting? Edmund was it… right?”
As Rusty stepped forward, a familiar voice echoed from within the shop. One person emerged from the doorway. The mercenary leader, Varkas…