Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ]

The night was thick with tension as Edmund and his group crouched at the edge of the orc camp. Torches flickered, casting long shadows against the crude woode n palisades that surrounded the encampment. The orcs were loud, their voices echoing through the night as they feasted and sharpened their weapons. The stench of unwashed bodies and charred meat filled the air, making Edmund’s stomach churn.

“We stick to the plan.” 

Whispered Mikol, their leader, his voice barely audible over the distant crackling of fire. 

“We get in, free the captives, and get out before they notice.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea? What if they spot us?” 

Edmund asked, peering through the camp. The Orcs weren’t paying close attention, but their numbers were overwhelming. If they were spotted, the five of them wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight. Mikol shot Edmund a glare, his expression clearly showing annoyance. 

"If you’re so scared, why’d you even come along?"

Edmund clenched his jaw but said nothing. He had come for glory, to prove himself. This was his moment. He forced down his nerves and tightened his grip on his sword. The plan was simple. An opening in the palisade, barely more than a gap, had been spotted during their scouting. If they moved quickly and quietly, they could slip through, reach the cages, and free the captives before anyone noticed.

They moved like shadows. Edmund’s heart pounded in his chest as they slithered between tents and past drunken orcs. The cages were at the far end of the camp, near a massive bonfire where several orcs were engaged in a brutal, drunken brawl. Their bodies were massive and a mix of both fat and muscles.

The young adventurer followed after the group he had recently joined. Mikol was their leader, and as the newest member, he felt somewhat like the odd one out. He didn’t know them well, but he was certain this was his ticket forward. He had recently acquired his second class, but his progress had stalled. Only by joining this veteran party could he prove himself. If this mission went well, he would earn a permanent place in the group - and with it, the chance to reach his full potential.

Soon, they reached the cages holding various prisoners. The captives inside were thin, dirty, and weak. A few lifted their heads as Edmund and the others approached. Mikol wasted no time, pulling out a set of crude lockpicks and getting to work. Edmund watched their backs, scanning the camp for any signs of movement. His hands were slick with sweat despite the cold night air.

A click. Then another. One by one, the locks came undone. Edmund helped pull the captives out, urging them to stay quiet. Everything seemed to be going fine, the captives kept quiet after realising that a party of adventurers had arrived to save them. However, suddenly from behind them a shout erupted. One of the orcs had turned toward them, eyes wide with anger.

Edmund’s blood ran cold. The orc screamed, with a deep, throaty sound echoing across the camp. The other orcs, still feasting and drinking, snapped their heads toward the commotion. For a single heartbeat, there was silence - then chaos erupted.

“We’re blown! Move, now!”

Mikol cursed under his breath. The adventurers sprang into action. Their rogue darted forward, sinking a dagger into the throat of the nearest orc before he could grab his weapon. Their mage began weaving a spell, her hands glowing with crackling energy. Their dwarven warrior plunged his axe into the first orc that charged. The captives, now realizing their only chance at survival was to run, scrambled to their feet and fled toward the opening in the palisade.

Edmund raised his sword, heart pounding as an orc charged at him, a rusty cleaver raised high. He barely managed to parry the strike, his arms shaking from the sheer force of the impact. He retaliated, slashing at the orc’s exposed side, drawing blood but failing to bring the beast down. Another adventurer, the dwarf, finished the job with a well-placed axe cleave.

Then Edmund felt it - a sharp, searing pain in his thigh. His breath hitched. He looked down in horror to see a dagger buried in his leg, the hilt still quivering from the force of the strike. His vision blurred as pain and shock flooded his senses. Staggering, he turned his gaze upward - just in time to see Mikol’s cold eyes staring back at him.

“Sorry, kid.”

Mikol muttered. 

“We need a distraction.”

Before Edmund could react, Mikol shoved him backward - right into the path of the oncoming orcs. He hit the ground hard, gasping as fresh pain shot through his wounded leg. Above him, his so-called allies were already retreating, leaving him as an offering to the bloodthirsty horde. The orcs, realizing the easy prey before them, roared in anger.

Edmund struggled to rise, his sword slipping from his grasp as his strength faltered. He could hear the shouts of the escaping adventurers, the distant cries of the freed prisoners, but none of it mattered. The orcs surrounded him, their snarling faces twisted in anticipation. One of them, larger than the rest, stepped forward, raising a crude axe high above its head.

‘No. Not like this.’

Gritting his teeth, Edmund forced himself to move. His hands found the hilt of his sword, and with a desperate cry, he swung at the nearest orc. The blade connected, slicing through flesh and muscle. The orc howled, staggering back, but another quickly took its place. A heavy boot slammed into his chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending him sprawling once more.

This wasn’t the end. No, it couldn’t be the end, he told himself. His whole life flashed before his eyes - a life filled with nothing but the misery of an orphan with a dream. He had come here to change his fate. So how could this be the end?

The betrayal. The pain. The humiliation. This would not be the last chapter of his story. He would survive. He would crawl out of this nightmare. And when he did, he would find Mikol and the others. And he would make them pay.

*****

“...”

“That’s quite a strong will to live. This one almost turned into a vengeful undead spirit… probably would have, given a few more weeks.”

The left eye socket of the living armor pulsed while talking.

“The head is well preserved. And look, the adventurer’s card is still intact… How lucky.”

Rusty stared at the severed head of the man once called Edmund. Using his Possession skill, he peered into the memories left behind. This one was far more vivid than the last. The anger Edmund had felt toward Mikol was almost palpable.

“It was worth leveling it up along our travels.”

“I’m not sure about this one Rusty, it seems to have a history.”

This time it was the right socket, pulsing with bright light.

"What’s there to worry about? Just some weak adventurers - they probably won’t even remember his face." 

Replied Aburdon, while Rusty wondered how the head ended up on top of a tree. According to the memories of the man named Edmund, he had been betrayed during a quest. Using his possession skill, Edmund’s memories floated as lingering echoes in Rusty’s mind. The last few hours of his life were startlingly vivid: his body was torn apart by orcs, and the orc leader’s axe cleanly lopped his head off. Yet, what had once been the monster camp was gone.

"I wonder what happened to those orcs…"

"They probably moved. Wild orcs aren’t stupid - they knew more adventurers would be coming."

"I see. Wild monsters are certainly different from those in the dungeons…"

Rusty nodded at Alexander’s explanation. It seemed these monsters employed basic tactics and survived by never staying too long in one place. While the intelligent races eventually formed large groups to defend themselves, the monsters countered by being constantly on the move, making it hard for their enemies to organize. 

“As long as the orcs don’t go out of their way to attack large settlements, not much will be done against them.”

“That sounds rather inefficient… why allow your enemy to prosper?”

Rusty asked Alexander as he didn’t understand why the people of this world would allow this to happen. They clearly had the manpower to get rid of the small camps of monsters. 

“Oh my dear Rusty, you still have so much to learn. Humans and others like them, find it hard to work together.”

The old demon lord cackled as he knew that his past enemies were quite disorganized, petty, and unwilling to risk their lives. Rusty remained silent, contemplating Aburdon’s words. It was true - through his brief experiences with humans and other intelligent races, he had already seen their divisions. Even Alexander the so-called hero of humanity had been betrayed by his own people and left to die. Whether it was adventurers betraying one another for personal gain or settlements failing to band together against a common threat, cooperation was far from universal.

“Hah, don’t listen to him Rusty, humanity still works better together than monsters or demons.”

Alexander replied quickly, noting that Aburdon who ruled with an iron fist had also been betrayed by his people suffering the same fate as Alexander.

“Hah, if I knew of the unreasonable blessing you had, I would have never lost!”

“ (  •̀ - •́  ) “

“Gleam is right, stop arguing you two.”

“As you wish, my dear Rusty.”

After his two guides had settled down, he took the head of the man called Edmund and placed it into his armor. Previously in the soul forge, he had prepared a small shelf to place heads on so they wouldn’t fall into his chest cavity. Once in place he resumed using his possession skill to see if the head could talk.

“G…r…g…hh…. T…e…”

“Ho…w… is… this?”

“Is this sounding right?”

“ ( ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ) “

After a few tries, he managed to communicate with the head perched on his shoulder. He could still feel the rage within it building, but eventually, that fury subsided enough to allow him full control. The orc camp was deserted, though some of the man's body parts lay scattered about, untouched by predators. With the head's help, he was able to pinpoint where they had ended up and even managed to acquire an E-rank adventurer card belonging to Edmund. Fortunately, the card showed that Edmund was a fighter - making it a perfect alter ego to adopt before he reached Ferndale.

“Is this normal?”

Rusty glanced down at the scattered body parts he had managed to gather - both of Edmund’s hands, his left leg, and his right foot. He hadn’t expected them to be of any use, but as he possessed the head, he felt a strange connection to the limbs. The hands, in particular, were remarkably well preserved, enough that he wondered if he could actually use them.

“The Possession skill is a potent ability. As long as the body is nearby, you should be able to utilize its parts.”

Aburdon commented as he could also see the connection.

“That’s neat!” 

Rusty replied, picking up the hands from the ground. While he planned to keep his armor on at all times, there might come a moment when his humanity would be put to the test. If he could show that he had fleshy hands and a recognizable face, blending into humanoid society would be much easier. From what he understood, it wasn’t common for people to wear gauntlets all day, so having usable hands would be a valuable addition.

“I think this is worth using. What do you two think?”

“It seems this man had not yet arrived in Ferndale, so he will be mostly unknown to the locals. Also, it appears this incident happened a few weeks ago…” 

Alexander responded. Rusty knew there was a risk of being discovered, but even if he ran into that party of adventurers, they didn’t seem strong enough to challenge him. The risk was small, and he’d still be hiding his face behind his armor, so the chance of being discovered was unlikely.

“Bah, if we see them, we just kill them. Going by this human’s memories, those adventurers weren’t anything special.”

Rusty nodded. He wasn’t sure how powerful this group of four was, but to Edmund, they were veterans. This meant they could have been a D-rank adventurer party that hired an E-rank as a disposable pawn, using him in the orc camp before running away. Edmund had been with them for less than a month, and before he died, he had assumed that the only reason they hired him was to use him as a meat shield.

While D-rank adventurers hunted monsters above his rank, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to take them on. His stats were already close to that threshold, and he also had some tricks up his metal sleeve. Additionally, he had the help of Gleam, who was leveling up quickly, but that didn’t mean he could afford to underestimate his opponents. The face of the party leader and his name were deeply etched into Edmund’s mind. As long as he avoided him for the time being, everything would be fine.

‘It shouldn’t be far now…’

Rusty took the body parts he could use and placed them inside of his storage area. Soon after, he and his group left this abandoned orc encampment. Rusty’s armor creaked as he moved through the dense woods, the sound of his footsteps muffled by the thick layer of fallen leaves. Gleam stuck to his shoulder as always, her silvery body reflecting the moonlight as they traveled through the night.

The journey to Ferndale was a few days away, but Rusty wasn’t worried. He had already memorized Edmund’s memories, the faint echo of the young man’s life still lingering in his mind. Edmund’s memories also provided insight into the world of adventurers - tactics, behavior, and motivations. It was as if the man’s lingering ghost was trying to feed him information to carry out his revenge. The experience was far more vivid to Rusty than it had been to Albert, his previous body, likely due to his possession skill leveling up recently.

After a day, they reached a clearing. The trees parted to reveal a winding road, and in the distance, the faint outline of buildings could be seen. Ferndale. A troubled settlement filled with possibilities awaited him. There, he would build his first stronghold and further enhance his body. He was a monster - feared and hated by humans but sometimes the best hiding place was in plain sight. No one would consider a living suit of armor to be among them, and thanks to that fact, he expected to succeed.

“Well then, let’s see if we can buy ourselves a lair!”

“ ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ “

Rusty nodded at Gleam, who also desired a place to call her own. Soon, the two emerged from the forest and stepped onto the path created by humans, their journey was just beginning.