Chương 8: Chapter 07 – Soul Forge.

"The Soul Forge, had I known you possessed a blessing like this, Hero, I would have struck you down much sooner."

"That's the price you pay for being an overconfident oaf, Demon King."

"Despite such a gift, you still ended up getting backstabbed by your close aides. That's quite an accomplishment for someone with so many talents. Quite an accomplishment in itself, don't you think?"

"Really? I recall a certain demon army inexplicably retreating, allowing me to stroll right into your grand demonic castle. Perhaps if you treated your aides as individuals rather than cattle, they might have supported you!"

"Nonsense, they were born to serve me, and their purpose was to follow my orders without question. Loyalty is a weakness, Hero, one that I have eradicated from my ranks! How loyal were those people you trusted, Hero?" Rusty listened to the back-and-forth between the two orbs of light. It seemed that this place was called the Soul Forge, and it was supposed to make him stronger.

However, before he received an explanation, the two beings of light started arguing with each other, as if harboring some unresolved resentment.

"Um… What is loyalty?" During their conversation, Rusty finally decided to interrupt. The two orbs of light turned their attention back to him, and the white one sighed as if dealing with an ignorant child.

"Loyalty is when someone is devoted and true to another, usually out of a sense of duty or love. It's a concept that you probably never had the chance to experience in your dungeon full of mindless monsters."

"Sense of duty? Love?" Instead of answers, he was given more words that he didn't understand and to make things worse, the two beings of light didn't seem to agree with each other. The dark sphere was quick to interrupt and say that the white one was wrong and the two started to argue with each other once more.

"Ignore my ignorant friend here, loyalty is a weakness, a chain that binds you and limits your potential."

"Limit my potential?"

"Indeed and you seem to be someone that wants to be strong, don't you want to be strong?"

"I do!"

"Good, then accept me as your master and I shall bestow upon you immeasurable power!"

"Don't believe this idiot demon, he doesn't even know how this place works." Rusty found himself uncertain about what to do; the two glowing lights weren't making any sense. They used words that he didn't fully grasp. One thing was clear: they were more akin to the humans he encountered inside the dungeon than the silent, less intelligent monsters. While he didn't trust them, there seemed to be something that they knew about this soul forge that was supposed to make him stronger.

"I don't care about those words, just tell me more about this soul forge. Can it really make me stronger?" The two orbs ceased their bickering just as the dark one responded.

"Well, Hero, this is your gift. I'm genuinely intrigued. How does this 'Soul Forge' work? It appears that it, along with my demon castle, has become one with our hollow friend here. Probably a result of the merger after our untimely demise."

"It's not exactly the same... I used it to refine my enchanted equipment by gathering rare materials and refining them… but this one…"

"Hm, considering that the only thing of note is that heap of junk in the middle, do you mean that this place can somehow refine and improve on our friend's metallic body?"

"Hey, I have a name, it's Rusty!"

"Oh, my apologies~ What a magnificent name, Rusty. Rolls right off the tongue…" The dark orb chuckled in a way that Rusty, for some reason, didn't appreciate. Unaware of concepts like sarcasm, he decided to let it pass.

"How do I improve my body?"

"If it works the same as before, you'll have to gather the proper materials and learn the skills required for metallurgy and ore refining…"

"Now that's a good one, a living armor becoming a blacksmith and forging its own body!" Rusty, despite not fully understanding the implications of becoming a blacksmith for his own body, felt like he understood the gist of it. They were telling him that he could use the tools here to somehow enhance his own body, the only question was how. While the tools were there, he didn't see any raw resources like ores or ingots.

There wasn't really anything to work with so he turned to the white ball of light that seemed to know this place more.

"Where and how do I gather proper materials, how do I learn skills for this metallurgy?"

"I…" He waited for the answer while the white ball of light gathered his thoughts. This was it, he would finally be given the answer that he was waiting for his whole existence.

"I don't know… and I don't quite remember …"

"Haha!" The black ball of light started laughing and it sounded quite menacing with that deep voice of his. Rusty was baffled by the response, not understanding how the white ball of light could do this to him. The answer was right there but he was being denied and he was starting to feel something strange coming out.

"Huh? You don't remember? Did you lie to me?"

"Why would I…" As the ball of light was trying to answer, the whole chamber started shaking as Rusty's voice became packed with more anger.

"What is happening?" The two orbs started flickering along with the soul forge and the whole castle. It was as if this whole place was reacting to the rise of Rusty's emotions, not something that the late Hero and Demon Lord thought he had.

"Calm down, I just don't remember! My memories, parts of them are missing, I really don't quite recall how this place worked!"

"Rusty my friend, calm your nerves. The Hero might be a fool but at least he is no liar."

"..." The two observed the angered armor as the tremors subsided. Their forms, once trembling, started to recover along with the glow. Rusty, devoid of any readable expression, gazed at the two orbs, as if anticipating an answer.

"It seems that our fragmented existence lacks some of our previous experiences and memories."

"Fragmented existence?"

"Yes, the two of us had perished. It seems you have somehow absorbed our essences that were recreated in this place."

"Oh, it must have happened that time?" Rusty vaguely recalled his time within the void with other amoeba-like existences. Back then, he had absorbed something radiating the same light as these two orbs. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The Soul Forge, it seemed, was a place that could enhance and refine his body, and Rusty acquired this ability by consuming these two beings with the peculiar identities of hero and demon king.

"So, you're saying that I have the power of a Hero and a Demon Lord within me?"

"Not quite… we are nothing more than shells of our former selves, but if you desire strength, then maybe there is something we can do…" The black orb, more talkative than the white one, floated over to what was supposed to become Rusty's body. It circled it as if examining it before stopping. Soon after, the black orb started glowing, and to Rusty's surprise, the corroded armor began changing color. From a bronze with many rusted parts, it transformed into pitch black. This book is hosted on another platform.

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"That I would be reduced to this…" The demon king orb gave out a sigh after performing the strange phenomenon. His size had diminished and so did his light after he made the armor turn into a darker hue.

"What did you do?" The white orb floated towards the now darkened armor and started to examine it as well.

"I just infused some of my essence into the metal; it should be a tad better now. What do you think, Rusty, my friend? Helpful, aren't I?" Intrigued by the change to his new form, Rusty approached and sensed that it had become stronger than before. He was drawn to it, wanting to exchange his damaged, corroded body for this enhanced version. However, before he could, the orb of white light voiced his concern.

"Stop!"

"Is there still something wrong?" Rusty asked, somewhat annoyed with the back-and-forth between the orbs.

"Do you really think that I don't know what you are trying to do, Demon King?"

"Whatever do you mean, Hero?" The black orb replied in a mocking tone, while the so-called hero orb approached the darkened armor. Soon, it began to change colors again, growing brighter as the white orb infused it with its essence. Eventually, the color returned to a more bronze hue with a subtle intensified sheen.

"There, that should balance things out…"

"Quite the busybody, hero…" The two orbs resumed their disagreement, but Rusty wasn't paying much attention. Instead, he focused on observing his newly transformed body, now infused with a blend of both of their essences. Though the corrosion remained, something had improved, and he was confident that this armor was better than the previous one.

"Finally!" Rusty decided to proceed with the transformation; the Soul Forge didn't appear to have anything else in store, and the white orb didn't completely recall how it operated. There weren't any more rooms to visit and he just couldn't wait to finally ascend to a new form. Thus he immediately attempted to touch it even when the black orb voiced his concern.

"How impatient…" He could feel his essence flowing into the stronger body while his old form crumbled to the ground. The transformation revealed his previous form, the dark silvery Divine-Demon Nucleus. It flew away from the old, damaged armor and slowly entered the new one, and the transformation was finally taking place.

"I'll give you one more piece of advice, Rusty. You might not want to use that absorption skill too much. While having many skills is a plus, you don't want to become a Jack of all trades, master of none. It takes time to train thyself in many skills, so it would be better if…"

"I think he can't hear you anymore…"

"What a shame, I still wanted to inform the silly monster about the dungeon heart, let us hope that he doesn't do anything stupid, destroying it wouldn't be the smartest idea…" As the Demon King was trying to lecture Rusty about the ways of using skills, the Hero interrupted. The armor in the middle of the soul forge had begun to fade soon after the nucleus made its way into it.

"At least now we know that he can't remain here after entering the new armor… But both of us are still here…"

"Quite the predicament we found ourselves in…" The Demon King and Hero exchanged glances for a moment. Both fell silent, realizing that their existence hinged on the strange monster they now inhabited. Though mere fragments of their former selves, they retained a wealth of memories and emotions from their previous lives. Still driven by desire, they recognized the potential of this living armor and pondered if steering it in the right direction could fulfill their lingering ambitions.

"I don't know what you are planning, but I won't let you do it."

"Whatever do you mean, hero?"

"You know what I mean don't even try to hide it."

"Hah, not like you are any different. I can feel the anger seething out of there, you want to have vengeance and why not use a blade of another to fulfill that desire?"

"..." The white orb remained silent after the question from the demon king. Soon it floated away towards the empty castle that was now his new home. This world seemed to exist in another realm or dimension but it was somehow tied to the living armor who was now in the process of returning to the world of the living. Rusty could sense the merging of the hero and demon king essences within him, intertwining and shaping his newfound form. As the process was completed, Rusty found himself standing tall in his new form.

The once-damaged armor now felt stronger and more resilient. His senses were heightened, and he could feel the power coursing through his metallic body. Congratulations on achieving a new path.

'I have evolved!' Once his vision returned, the familiar floor with the dead rodents was once again waiting for him. It was clear that he had returned to the dungeon and he found himself with both fists in the air in a sort of victory pose. He was quick to focus onto his status screen to see what the changes were and to no surprise, his attributes had gone up by a lot.

Name: Rusty Classification: Corroded Twilight Bronze Armor [F +] L1 Type: Magical/Inorganic Hit Points [HP] 62/62 Magic Points [MP] 44/44 Special Points [SP] 20/20 Strength 59 [F] Agility 39 [F] Dexterity 39 [F] Constitution 57 [F] Intelligence 39 [F] Wisdom 43 [F] Willpower 42 [F] Durability F+'Oh? All the minuses have vanished, and I've even gained a plus here!' The first thing he noticed was that his attributes had increased by a minimum of thirty points, with his constitution and strength being even greater.

Although he still had a lot of 'F' letters in his status, there were no minuses, and even a few pluses, indicating that he had become stronger. While moving around, he could feel that his body was more responsive and agile. The once armor filled with many holes was now restored. To make things even more interesting, he could feel a strange energy radiating that could perhaps be attributed to the Twilight part of his new classification.

'This is incredible! I feel stronger, faster, and more alive than ever before! But this might not be all, I should go through everything!' Basic Elemental Charge Active Skill Allows the user to imbue objects with elemental mana, outcome will differ depending on the type of the object. His previous skills like Basic Power Thrust or Slash didn't see any changes, but there was one new skill that he had acquired from his evolution.

After reading the explanation, he had an idea of what it did, so he was quick to give it a try. However, there was also another skill that sounded similar to the skill absorption one, this one focusing on materials, which he didn't truly understand. Material Absorption Active Skill Allows the user to absorb compatible materials from various objects As he went through it, he recalled what the white sphere of light had said about the Soul Forge.

He was supposed to be able to upgrade his body there, but there were no enhancement materials to work with. Perhaps this skill would allow him to gain such materials, or perhaps it would directly augment his body. This concluded his exploration of his new status and his visit to the strange Soul Forge. There didn't seem to be a way to return to that location at this moment, and it was probable that he would need to max out his current level to revisit that area.

It was time to test out these new skills, and the Elemental Charge one was first. Rusty gripped his sword, which had also changed to fit his current form more. He somewhat knew how to use his new skill, and as he attempted to activate it, he was presented with a question. Basic Elemental Charge has been activated on the Corroded Bronze Sword, please choose an element.

'Oh?' He was presented with two choices: infuse the sword with the light element or the dark element. Without waiting for long, he decided to select the light element first and watched as the sword started glowing brightly. The light was more intense than any of the torches there, illuminating the area nicely.

'Is the light the only thing that it does?' While he found this effect to be intriguing, he wasn't sure if it would give him an advantage during combat. It would obviously give away his position to anyone in the vicinity, but perhaps there were some uses for it that he didn't fully understand. After noting that his mana had dwindled by exactly twenty points, he activated the element of darkness. This time around, the blade was surrounded by a strange black haze.

'Is this good or not? It takes a lot more mana than the power slash and thrust… so it should be good?' Rusty asked himself the question while holding the darkened blade. The effect lasted for about a minute before the black smudge disappeared from his blade. He wasn't sure, but perhaps after hitting someone with this darkened blade, it would have some kind of added effect to the strike.

However, before he could truly grasp these new skills, there was more work to be done, and perhaps with his heightened stats, he would finally be able to challenge some of the humans and emerge victorious…