Chapter 60 – Dungeon Defense.

Chapter 60 – Dungeon Defense.

“Hey, did you feel that?”

“Hm?”

A small group of adventurers stopped in their tracks as they noticed something unusual. They had been searching for a specific bronze suit of armor that had wandered into this dungeon area. Their search had been unfruitful, and they were considering moving away from the boss chamber where the monster had previously vanished. However, before they could decide on a plan, something strange started happening - the whole dungeon quivered for a moment, as if an earthquake was taking place.

“Yeah, is the dungeon supposed to do that?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Could it have something to do with that monster?”

“How would that thing...”

Before a female adventurer could finish her sentence, the dungeon shook again. This tremor was more intense than the previous one. Pieces of rock started crumbling, along with dust from the castle’s ceiling. The adventurers instinctively crouched, glancing at each other with worry etched on their faces. The dungeon's usually stable structure was now trembling like it had never done before. They could sense that something was wrong and that perhaps, they needed to leave.

Unbeknownst to this group of adventurers, the source of these tremors wasn’t far away. Behind some rocky walls, there was a large cavern with the monster they were searching for. Rusty was his name, and at this very moment, he was slicing at seemingly empty air with a glowing longsword. Almost every time he made a sweeping motion, another small shake occurred within the cavern.

“STOP! LEAVE!”

“I won’t leave until you release me!”

Rusty shouted, attempting to communicate his desire to the Dungeon Heart. The being he was up against had created him, and he was tied to it. Unless this entity released the bond they shared, he would not be able to leave this place to save his friend Gleam. However, his actions were seen as threats, and the connection to the dungeon was what kept him at bay. To the Heart, this bond was the only thing preventing this rogue monster from reaching its center and keeping it safe from harm.

Thanks to his newly attained mana sense, Rusty could see the energy threads connecting to the dungeon core. With the help of this skill, he was able to imbue the longsword with his own energy and damage the threads. One by one, these mana tendrils were sliced off, and as they were severed, he could feel the voice's power over his body waver and decline.

He didn’t want to kill the Dungeon Heart. It had created him and given him life; in a sense, it was like a parent. His guides had also informed him about the potential collateral damage of doing so. The entire dungeon required this being for its survival, and the whole structure depended on its magical power to retain its form. If it were destroyed, the place would likely collapse on itself, potentially trapping Rusty inside. His aim was to scare the being into letting him go and severing the connection, but he wasn’t sure how to communicate his intention.

The cavern continued to tremble as Rusty swung his sword, each strike aimed at the glowing mana tendrils that connected the Dungeon Heart to its surroundings. His strikes grew more precise and he pushed onwards, one step at a time. Each time these mana veins were severed, they would turn into small energy bubbles that quickly burst. He could see them trying to reform themselves into place but the process was quite sluggish.

“I don’t want to destroy you, but I need to be free, just let me go already!”

“NO... H-HELP, PROTECT!”

The voice of the Dungeon Heart grew more frantic, its tone shifting from commanding to desperate. It seemed that it was becoming frantic, unable to stop Rusty from getting closer. This chamber was devoid of any monster guards, traps or defenses. It seemed that the Dungeon Heart was at his mercy but that was not true.

“These tremors... they are getting louder... wait, is that pillar moving?”

After the monsters crumbled down to the ground, the tremors around the dungeon started to cease. A large veil of energy was now floating above the entire chamber but Rusty wasn’t feeling restricted in his movements. It seemed this boost of energy wasn’t meant to restore the mana threads that he was cutting but for something else entirely. In a flash, the mass of mana condensed into a singular orb and flew out of the tunnel he had entered through.

“Isn’t that where the boss chamber was in? What is it trying to do?”

This was quite a confusing matter as now he was left with no obstructions to the Dungeon Heart. It was a chance to move in and get this finally over with. He moved forward, his large iron boots echoing with each step as he approached the Dungeon Heart. The pulsating crystal, now isolated and seemingly weakened, was defensless before his might. However, before he could get any closer, a strange noise resounded from behind him.

“I recognize that sound...”

Rusty instantly knew what was coming and quickly turned around. From the hidden corridor he came out from a silhouette appeared of someone he recognized. It was the tenth floor boss that he once barely defeated and this explained the ball of concentrated mana. The Dungeon Core sacrificed the lesser monsters to revive the defeated boss. Its for was the same as before and it was holding that huge slab of iron called a colossal greatsword.

“There aren’t any pillars I can use here...”

This monster had been a tough opponent and he had only won thanks to using strategy. This place had an unfavorable structure as it was a wide open area. Rusty couldn’t even use the pillar the dungeon core was on as he still was being suppressed by the voice it produced. There was no way of going around this, he needed to face his toughest opponent once more.

“I’m not the same armor as before.”

The boss charged at Rusty, its colossal greatsword swinging in a wide arc. Rusty raised his massive tower shield just in time to block the attack. The impact reverberated through his entire frame, but he stood firm, feeling the strength of his twilight armor plating absorbing the blow. He retaliated with a powerful swing of his war pick, aiming for the boss’s exposed side. The weapon connected with a resounding clang, but the boss’s thick armor absorbed most of the impact as well.

“I can do this... I’ve trained for it!”

With the adjustments he had made to his form, Rusty was almost as tall as the living armor before him. He had designed this configuration specifically to combat larger foes, and within the Soul Forge, he had spent a few moments in the training chamber practicing against this very boss. The attack patterns he was seeing now were all exactly the same as those he had faced in training.

The boss roared, its eyes glowing with an eerie red light. It swung its greatsword again, this time with even more force. Rusty didn’t dodge but instead angled his tower shield in such a way to force the blade to slide off. Once the monster exposed its flank, he charged in with his war pick. The flat side connected with the armor, the impact producing multiple cracks on the plating.

While he couldn’t rely on agility in his current form, using a more skillful approach was the key. His opponent was slightly superior in all stats but had fewer skills. Coupled with his knowledge of its attack patterns, Rusty was able to either deflect or minimize the damage to his own robust frame. The exchange was long, but eventually, the opponent was forced to back away, its body cracking and its joints wavering.

Rusty pressed his advantage, exploiting the weaknesses he had created in the living armor. He swung his war pick with precision, targeting the already damaged areas. Each strike chipped away more of the monster’s defenses, and its movements grew increasingly sluggish.

Finally, with one last powerful blow, Rusty drove the war pick into the monster's groin area. It was the place where the monster core had been located the last time around. The force of the impact shattered the remaining armor plates, and the red glow in its eyes dimmed before flickering out entirely. The massive suit of armor collapsed to the ground in a heap, defeated.

Congratulations you have gained a level.

Rusty stood over the fallen boss, his body dented and broken in several places. The battle had been taxing, but he had prevailed. He knew that he needed to continue and quickly his body started to shift, going through another loadout exchange as he switched to his all-purpose form.

“It’s just you and me now...”

He called out to the being that created him. The heart’s voice continued to call out in a desperate plea, but its tone had shifted from commanding to fearful. Rusty felt a hint of empathy; despite everything, this being was his creator. But he knew what had to be done...