Heavy Metal

Small arcs of lightning buzzed from within a cloud of dust. The clash of the two summoned creatures created an explosion that shrouded both combatants in thick smoke. Sparks danced across the cracked earth as bits of scorched bark and broken armor littered the ground.

"Rusty…?"

Gwen called out weakly, her voice trembling. She couldn't see anything through the smoke. Mana still hung in the air, but it was fading fast. Her heart pounded as she stumbled forward, and her feet dragged through the dirt.

"Rusty! Are you there?"

Her voice rose, panic breaking through. She could not hear him through their bond, so instead she started shouting. Astrella grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"Wait, don't go running in, that tiger could still be there."

But Gwen was already moving, tears blurring her vision. For a moment, she forgot the danger and focused only on the being that had given her hope. She had already lost too many people in her life, but after only a few steps, she stopped.

A low growl rumbled through the smoke. From within the haze, a creature emerged. It wasn't her summon, Rusty. Instead, it was the white tiger. Electricity still crackled through its fur as it advanced toward Gwen. Both girls instinctively backed away in fear. Rusty was nowhere in sight. The little imp appeared beside them to defend them, and Airy joined as well, but neither would be strong enough to hold off the beast.

Then, as the tiger stepped forward again, something became clear. It was moving slowly, and a massive surge of mana was leaking from its back.

"Is… is that a wound?"

Astrella asked, giving Airy the order to move to the side. It was difficult to see from this angle, but the creature had been pierced by something, which was most likely Rusty's halberd. Its form had become unstable. Soon, its legs buckled beneath it, and it began to dissolve into mana particles. The beast had been defeated.

"He… he did it!"

From behind it came the one who had struck the final blow. Rusty had clearly seen better days. Large gashes split his armor, and one section was completely missing. The tiger had bitten into him with enough force to tear through his metallic plating. His additional wooden armor had splintered under the impact of the physical blow, and the creature had landed a lightning attack before Rusty managed to impale it with his spear.

Now, with both monsters vanishing, Rusty could feel it. He was beginning to fade. The damage he had taken was too severe, even for his resilient body. His core had been struck by the lightning beast, and his HP continued to drop. Even if he had been in his true form, he was not sure he would have survived this encounter.

Still, it had been a valuable experience. Facing opponents who used powerful elemental magic had taught him an important lesson. He would need to find a way to protect his core in future battles. The version of him created from Gwen's mana was already beginning to fall apart. He had only a few moments left before he vanished completely, but he felt no sorrow. His mission was complete.

The message appeared, and it was done. The system had acknowledged his success. This time, there were no hidden quests completed as there had been before. The difficulty rating had not been reevaluated like before, either. Perhaps if he had hunted more monsters before facing this one, the evaluation would have changed. Even so, with the tiger defeated, Gwen would be awarded a high score for the trial. She might even achieve the top rank.

Rusty turned to face Gwen one last time. His form was fading, glowing cracks spreading across his armor like a spider's web. His visor flickered dimly, and he raised a hand slowly, his movement somewhat sluggish.

"You've managed to become a little bit stronger this time, don't give up."

The last time he had interacted with Gwen, she had not made much of an impression. She came across as a coward. But today, she had shown that she possessed the drive to change and the desire to grow stronger. Now he saw her in a different light. She was someone he could place a little of his own faith in. Without the imp she had summoned, his tactic would not have worked. As he continued to fade, he saw her running toward him, and her expression was grim.

"No, wait. I still need you. Wait, I'll give you some of my mana. Why isn't it working?"

Tears streamed down her face as she touched his body, trying to share her mana with him. Perhaps if he had been a regular summon, her attempt might have worked. But he had been created by the summoning chamber, and now that the mission was complete, he could no longer remain in this world. The mana she tried to offer him could no longer reach him.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Now keep your head up. I'll see you again when I can."

Rusty placed his remaining hand gently on Gwen's head. He had seen parents do this for their children when they cried. He began to pat her softly, hoping to comfort her, but the gesture only made her cry harder. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and even some snot began to drip from her nose. She looked so pitiful that it made him worry. But there was nothing more he could do. His body finally broke apart into glowing particles of mana, and he was gone.

Just like before, he was back in the grand summoning chamber. The system had begun calculating the rewards. Normally, Rusty would be excited by the thought of new items or upgrades, but all he could think about was Gwen's face. She had made real progress during their time together, but it still was not enough to compete with the other summoners. That small imp she could call forth was not powerful enough, and that worried him deeply.

The rewards appeared in his storage system. He now had more enchantment talismans, which would likely allow his weapon to deal lightning damage similar to that of the tiger he had just fought. Combined with his new body and smithing skills, he would finally be able to recharge enchantments in the future. He also believed he could apply one of the talismans to his own body to increase his resistance to lightning, which would protect him better against that kind of elemental magic.

"I hope that human will be fine. Will the other one try to bully her while I'm gone?"

Even with the rewards displayed in front of him, Rusty felt uneasy. He was worried about his human summoner. That one named Katherine seemed like trouble. She did not come across as someone who could be reasoned with. Gwen had done well in the test, and some of the other summoners had seen him fight. That might be enough to discourage a few of them from targeting her, but not all. He could feel it. Some would still come after her.

"Rusty, you're back. That was quite the performance. I almost shed a tear at the end."

Before he could gather his thoughts, Aburdon's mocking voice cut in from nearby. His black, shifting form buzzed through the air, and not far behind him floated Alexander. Both had witnessed Rusty's performance during the trial and were now ready to share their opinions.

"You did great. Don't listen to him, Rusty."

"No, he didn't stop lying, silly hero. What he should have done was throw his halberd at the monster at the right moment to steal the kill. Why did he even bother with that girl?"

Aburdon clearly disapproved of Rusty's choices. To him, the ideal strategy was to remain hidden, eliminate the enemy quickly, and then escape. Helping Gwen was not something the former demon lord saw a point in. But Rusty had no interest in hearing them argue.

"Be quiet, both of you. Now is not the time."

The bond they shared compelled them to obey, and they fell silent. Just as Rusty was about to head toward the main console of the summoning chamber, something unexpected happened. A system window appeared before him with a new message.

"Summoner coins?"

This summoning system was already complicated for a monster like him, and now it had introduced yet another strange resource. Summoner coins. It was an unexpected development, and Rusty stepped forward while posing a question to Alexander to confirm his suspicions.

"What do you think about these coins?"

Alexander, now allowed to speak, quickly affirmed what Rusty had been thinking.

"It's probably some kind of currency used within the summoner chamber. Check under the summoner tab or see if a shop has appeared."

"A shop?"

Rusty tilted his head slightly. But it was true. A new icon had appeared, shaped like a small wooden building with a sign posted in front. It looked like an old shack, but it was most likely what Alexander had mentioned. When Rusty clicked on the icon, the background changed to resemble a typical item shop. Then, among the options, he saw something familiar.

"It's Gwen."

He moved the cursor over her image. Clicking it opened another window showing her stats. The layout was similar to the usual status screen, but with one key difference. There were small plus signs next to her attributes.

"I see. You can probably increase her stats using this currency. And you earn more of it by completing missions alongside your summoner."

Alexander offered his thoughts as he examined the screen. Aburdon, still bound by the earlier command, floated nearby, radiating indignation at his inability to speak. Rusty focused on the plus signs beside Gwen's stats and decided to test them. He clicked on the one representing strength. The stat changed from F minus to F. He clicked again, and it increased to F plus.

"No, stop, Rusty. Don't spend those points or coins yet. Look, you have a limited amount. You need to think this through."

Alexander raised his voice as he floated closer, and he had a point. These coins were not unlimited, and spending them without a plan would be wasteful. Boosting Gwen's strength was probably not the best use of them. She was not a physical fighter, after all. If anything, it would make more sense to improve her agility so she could move faster, or her wisdom to increase the amount of mana she had.

"Look, there's more."

As Rusty was considering how to spend the ten summoner coins he had received, Alexander pointed out another tab.

"Oh? There really is? What is this for?"

It was a small icon located below Gwen's full stat screen, shaped like a crystal ball. When he hovered over it, the icon began to glow, and a line of text appeared above it.

"Summoner Spells and Skills?"

Rusty was curious. The only way to understand its purpose was to click on it. Once he did, a new menu appeared with two available options. The selection was limited, but what he saw took him by surprise.

"Living armor... bronze and iron?"

He had two choices, and both seemed to represent his earlier forms. One was the bronze armor, and the other was the form he had taken just before his latest evolution. At first, he wasn't sure why Gwen would need to learn these spells, but then he remembered her greatest weakness. Aside from the imp, she could barely summon anything useful. If she could control lesser living armors like the ones he had once fought in the dungeon, it would make a huge difference. Especially since she had no way to protect herself without him.

"This is great."

His first instinct was to buy the stronger version, the iron armor, but it cost six coins. The bronze armor was cheaper at three. If he purchased both, he would be left with only one coin.

"Is this even worth it? Does she really need them?"

"That is a good question, but think of it this way. What does she need most right now? What will help you complete future missions? She can raise her stats on her own by leveling up, but summoning is her biggest weakness."

"You're right."

Rusty nodded slowly. Gwen's stats could improve over time, but her lack of powerful summons was holding her back. Even if he returned to her, it would be better if she had additional support. He had seen other summoners disappear after being defeated, and their creatures vanished with them. If he wanted to keep fighting alongside her, she needed to be able to survive without relying solely on him.

If she could get used to commanding other monsters, then maybe the next time he returned, he would not be alone. Maybe he would lead a small army of living armors, and he would be their general. The thought of it made him wish that he could just get right back into the summoning ritual, but just like before, the icon for it was now grayed out.

"Does she really need the bronze one though? Maybe I should save some coins for later or use them on her stats."

The time to choose had come, and the decision was not an easy one. Rusty tried to recall how Gwen had performed in combat compared to the other summoners. He also thought about the little imp that had played a crucial role in helping them defeat Katherine. Even a weak monster could make a difference in a critical situation. Summoning a bronze living armor might be enough to turn the tide at the right moment. With that in mind, and following Alexander's advice, he decided to purchase both spells for her.

After completing the purchase, he attempted to allocate another point into her wisdom stat to push it to D rank. However, the system rejected the action. It seemed that as a stat increased, the number of coins required to raise it further also increased. He began to reconsider his option, and finally, he chose to invest the final coin into her constitution. The girl still looked pale and fragile, and a bit of extra health and stamina would be just the thing she needed

"That should be it."

With that, he was all out of summoner coins. For the time being, his adventures with Gwendolin Rainstar had come to an end. Now, he needed to resume crafting his body variants and weapons, something that he was itching to do after all that fighting.