Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ]

Chapter 115 – Basic Enchanting.

“What do you think?”

“I’m not sure she’ll like the color.”

“The color? Why would that matter?”

“Oh, my dear Rusty, you still have so much to learn - one of those things is the intricacies of a woman’s heart.”

“...”

Rusty stood there, staring at the black wisp of light as it babbled on about something he couldn’t comprehend.

“It’s fine, Rusty. Just ignore him.”

Alexander glanced at the schematics spread before him. The design was for a small suit of armor intended for a monster ant. The focal point was an open-faced helmet with precise openings for Gleam’s antennae. But the schematics went further, detailing a full set of armor designed to cover his companion fully.

The metal was thin yet durable, made from twilight steel and offered reliable protection without hindering Gleam’s mobility or her ability to cast spells. The primary challenge was that Gleam wasn’t present, so making precise adjustments to fit her body was a difficult task. This was why Rusty sought the expertise of Aburdon and Alexander, hoping their insights would help him produce the right dimensions. After considerable effort and collaboration, they had finally arrived at a design that seemed functional but perhaps not very elegant. 

Rusty examined the final design once more, ensuring that every detail aligned with the knowledge he had gained from his recent studies. The armor was lightweight yet sturdy, designed to complement Gleam’s agile movements. He had even incorporated a flexible underlayer using the same technique that enhanced the Wraith variant’s mobility. 

Despite the well-thought-out functionality, Rusty found himself hesitating. Would Gleam appreciate this? Or would she reject it entirely? Aburdon’s earlier comments about color choices made him uncertain. Rusty had never considered aesthetics when forging his own body - his focus was always on practicality and efficiency. Would Gleam see it the same way, or did she have preferences he had never considered?

“Function comes first. If she dislikes the color, she can request a different finish later. What matters is that it protects her.”

Alexander continued, and Rusty decided to go along with him. There weren’t many ways to change the color here, as everything was made of twilight metals, and he didn’t want to create a lower-quality alloy that would compromise the armor’s durability.

Then there was his other project - the high-quality axe schematic. However, one problem arose: it was a direct copy of the axe used by the Red Orc. Rusty had never trained in axe-wielding, as he had chosen to limit himself to a smaller selection of weapons, primarily swords, maces, bows, and polearms.

"Hm… is it possible to change this?"

He held the schematic in front of him, examining it carefully. In theory, he should be able to modify it - lengthen the hilt, adjust the proportions, and make a few changes to transform it into something closer to a poleaxe than a standard axe.

"Adjusting schematics and adapting them to your needs is something every craftsman has to learn. You should give it a try, Rusty."

The words came from Alexander, who had been a master craftsman in his previous life. Though much of his past remained lost to him, he still had a wealth of knowledge to share. Additionally, a strange phenomenon seemed to be expanding his understanding further as he continued to evolve.

Rusty nodded, taking Alexander's advice to heart. He studied the advanced axe schematic once more, breaking down its structure in his mind. Grabbing a blank sheet of parchment, he began sketching the alterations. The axe head needed to be slightly slimmer to maintain balance, and he opted to add a spike at the top for thrusting attacks. Normally, a poleaxe would have a hammer-like counterweight on the opposite end, but he hesitated to alter the design too much, fearing it might reduce the weapon’s quality. Instead, he kept the double-axe design and focused on extending the hilt to improve balance.

“How does that look?”

“Not bad… but not quite there yet.” 

Alexander commented and even Aburdon got involved, his schematic-making skills far surpassing Rusty’s. With his guide’s help, Rusty refined the design. After using Aburdon’s redrawn schematic as a reference, he finally completed his own version. A system message appeared before him:

‘Oh, neat!’

Rusty was gaining more crafting skills, each one proving invaluable to his new daily life. With this schematic modification ability, he could now adapt other people’s diagrams to better suit his fighting style.

Rusty wasted no time implementing the changes. With his new schematic modification skill, he carefully re-adjusted the design of the poleaxe again to create a diagram for his next project. The forge roared to life as he heated the twilight steel, his hammer striking against the glowing metal with precise, practiced movements. As sparks flew, he focused on maintaining the perfect balance between sharpness and durability.

Piece by piece, the weapon took shape. The extended shaft provided additional reach, and the axe head maintained its lethal edge while incorporating the subtle enhancements Rusty had planned. After days of relentless effort and a few failures, the poleaxe was finally complete. Its blade gleamed with a faint twilight glow, a sign that it had been forged flawlessly.

He gripped the weapon tightly, testing its weight and balance. Satisfied, Rusty turned his attention to the final task - enchantments. The talisman he had obtained was his best chance to enhance one of his creations, and he debated whether to use it on the poleaxe or one of his armor variants.

“Decisions, decisions…” 

The Lesser Flame Enchantment Talisman could be applied to weapons, shields, or armor, with its effects varying depending on the choice. If used on a shield or armor, it would grant increased resistance to flames. While his metal body already provided a degree of protection, extreme heat - like that from the salamander could still melt him. Fortunately, he had the ability to mend his wounds if that happened.

However, increasing his offensive power seemed like the better option - sometimes, the best defense was a strong offense. His body already had high durability, so further flame resistance might have diminishing returns.

“The poleaxe seems like a better choice.”

Ultimately, he decided that enhancing his lethality would help him deal with threats more efficiently. With that in mind, he retrieved the paper talisman from his inventory and placed it on the poleaxe. Activating it was simple - he only needed to inject a small amount of mana.A surge of energy enveloped the weapon, and glowing symbols spread across its surface as the enchantment took hold. Then shortly after, a system window popped up:

The flaming paper crumbled into dust as it was used and the poleaxe he made started changing too. He could see some glowing symbols embedding themselves to the bladed part on the tip and the twilight metal receiving a reddish tint. His new weapon was ready and he quickly examined it with his identification skill.

The first thing he noticed was a new detail - his weapon now displayed both a grade and a ranking. While the weapon itself was only intermediate, meaning his craftsmanship still had room for improvement, its overall grade had reached advanced - higher than any of his previous creations.

‘The grades seem to follow a similar naming system as skill ranks.’

This world had multiple grading systems. One applied to skills, starting with basic, progressing to regular, and eventually reaching advanced. It seemed weapons had a similar structure. The lowest grade was crude, followed by standard - which most of his previous weapons belonged to. Now, for the first time, he had forged a refined weapon, placing it in D-grade, a step above the E-grade his own body still remained in.

Now that he had this enchanted weapon, he still had many other products to make. First he would fashion Gleam’s new armor and then lastly he would remake all the iron weapons into steel, that is if the soul forge didn’t push him out before his work was done. He had spent a month in here already but testing out this weapon needed to be done, so he headed to the training chamber where he picked out an enemy that he previously fought, a regular green dungeon orc.

Rusty held his new poleaxe with a firm grip, feeling the shift in weight compared to his previous weapons. The length gave him better reach, and the enchanted blade radiated a faint heat, a testament to the embedded flame enchantment. Facing him in the training chamber was a standard green dungeon orc, a foe he had battled before but never with such a refined weapon.

As the training simulation began, the orc roared and charged forward, its crude axe raised high. Rusty shifted his stance, allowing his new weapon’s length to dictate his strategy. With a quick step to the side, he swung the poleaxe in a wide arc. The blade met the orc’s axe mid-swing, and the impact sent sparks flying. The enchanted edge bit into the metal of the orc’s weapon, leaving a noticeable scorched groove.

“I see…”

The orc grunted and staggered from the unexpected force, giving Rusty an opening. He followed up with a downward strike, the poleaxe’s tip igniting as it connected with the creature’s shoulder. A sizzling noise filled the air as the orc howled in pain, flames licking at its wound.

Rusty took a step back, assessing his weapon’s performance. The weight distribution was excellent, allowing for both slashing and thrusting attacks. The flame enchantment activated upon impact, burning his enemies while preserving the sharpness of the blade. He tested a few more maneuvers, each swing growing more precise as he adjusted to the poleaxe’s reach.

The orc, though wounded, was not defeated. It lunged at Rusty again, this time with more caution. Rusty used the length of his poleaxe to keep the creature at bay, delivering a series of quick jabs before finishing with a spinning strike. The enchanted blade struck true, carving deep into the orc’s side and igniting a trail of flames along the wound. With a final, pained roar, the dungeon orc collapsed into a pile of fading embers, its form vanishing as the training simulation ended.

“This is peculiar… is this how enchanted weapons work?”

He turned his head towards Alexander who was with him.

“Did you notice Rusty?”

“Yes, the magic inside of it seems to be fading…”

After the battle, Rusty noticed that the flaming enchantment wasn’t permanent. With each strike, he could feel the mana draining from the weapon. He wasn’t sure why this was happening, but he knew his guide, Alexander, would have some answers. If enchanted weapons only lasted for a short time, they wouldn’t be very useful.

“Enchanted weapons come in different types, some have permanent enchantments, but those are rare and require high-tier materials and expert craftsmanship. Most, like yours, have temporary effects that drain mana charges with each use.”

“Mana charges?” 

Rusty asked, eyeing the poleaxe in his hand.

“Yes. Once the charges are depleted, the enchantment stops working. But that doesn’t mean the enchantment is gone. You just need to recharge it or use your own mana to activate it. Try it now - put some of your mana into the weapon. Even if it isn’t fully used up, you can still use it together with your mana”

Rusty nodded and focused, channeling a small portion of his mana into the poleaxe. The moment his energy entered the weapon, the engraved symbols along the blade pulsed faintly before reigniting with their previous glow. A subtle warmth spread from the weapon’s core, signaling that the enchantment had been activated.

“But… it doesn’t seem that the enchantment is recharging…”

Rusty asked as he noticed that even if the weapon activated by using his own mana, the amount of mana that had been previously stored had not been refiled. 

“That’s true, only an arcane craftsman can recharge an enchantment on the weapon or you can do it with a specialized item, like that talisman you used.”

“Oh… but aren’t I a craftsman too? Shouldn’t I be able to do it?”

“Well… probably not at the moment, you lack some core skills like ‘Basic Mana Manipulation’”

“That skill again?”

Rusty knew this skill was essential for casting spells, but for now, he only possessed mana sense. He could see the flow of mana but couldn’t manipulate it. It seemed he would have to hope that his next evolution granted him this elusive ability - or perhaps he could absorb it from a defeated mage along his journey.

With a sigh, he returned to the forge, spending the next few days working on Gleam’s armor. Rusty worked tirelessly in the forge, hammering, shaping, and refining each piece of Gleam’s armor with meticulous care. The twilight steel, though challenging to mold, responded well to his expertise. He constantly referred to the schematics, ensuring every joint and plate allowed for maximum mobility while providing the best possible protection. He had also taken Aburdon’s earlier words into account and decided to add a small aesthetic touch - etching delicate swirling patterns along the plates that resembled some flowers he had seen out in nature.

Soon after the process of reforging began, and while he could smelt down old iron blades, there was no need as thanks to the Soul Forge, which provided him with an unlimited supply of steel ingots. He practiced using the smelter for future reference but soon returned to working with the ingots, knowing he was short on time.

Days turned into weeks as he remained focused on expanding his arsenal. Though he had his enchanted polearm, he wanted a variety of weapons suited for different enemies, along with various shield types to complement them. As Rusty finished the last set of weapons and armor, he took a step back to admire his handiwork. The forge had been both his sanctuary and his proving ground, pushing his skills beyond what he had ever thought possible.

“You’ve improved, Rusty. Not just in skill but in understanding. Crafting isn’t just about function - it’s about intent. You’re starting to grasp that.”

Just as Alexander finished the sentence the Soul Forge started quaking, it seemed that the time had come to an end. He had stayed here a bit longer than previously and the biggest change was the summoning chamber. However, it had not activated again to allow him to gain more rewards now it was time to return and he could not wait to inhabit his new body and resume his real life together with Gleam.

“Well, I’ll see you two outside!”

He said to his two guides before walking towards the three suits of armor that were presented to him. He touched the middle one and his connection to his current form started to fade and transfer to the new steel shell.