Heavy Metal

"Are you sure this is wise, great spir… I mean Rusty?"

"Do you have a better idea? How will we make these weaklings stronger if there are no weak monsters for them to hunt?"

Rusty replied to his current summoner as they moved quietly through the forest. He used his possession skill on the armor some of the elf folk were wearing, and because they were rather weak, the movements of the puppet armor easily overpowered their own.

It was not true possession like the one he could perform when placing his helmet on someone, but it was better than nothing. Perhaps if his skill continued to level and went beyond nine, it would become possible. For now, he simply told the elves to relax and let the puppet armor do the fighting for them.

He had already spent close to a day in this new area. After the sun went down, he along with Teral and the other elves, set out on a mission. Several small human encampments were scattered throughout the forest, and one now lay just ahead of them.

"So that's it."

"Yes…"

Rusty hid behind a large tree while observing the human camp. There were about thirty people inside, along with several cages that held a handful of captured elves. Many bodies of slain elves were scattered nearby as well, and for some reason, the humans were gathering them together and piling them up.

"These evil creatures!"

Lethira already had her bow raised with an arrow aimed at the head of one of the guards. She was ready to loose it, but before she could, Rusty spoke to his summoner.

"Tell your friend to calm herself, or they will notice us."

"Lethira, please. They will see us. Calm yourself."

Teral quickly tried to stop her before she released the arrow. Lethira's breathing was heavy, and the bowstring trembled slightly between her fingers. For a moment, Rusty thought she might ignore the warning and fire anyway. The sight before them would have shaken anyone. Several humans were dragging elven corpses toward the growing pile. One of the men laughed as he tossed a body on top.

"Put them all together. The captain said we burn them at dawn. Then we gather up the ashes. Do not let anything go to waste."

"Ashes?"

Rusty was confused about what the humans were talking about, so he asked. After Lethira finally lowered her bow, Teral gave him an answer.

"I've heard that humans crave our bodies for certain elixirs. Ones that could lengthen their lives or make them look younger."

Elves were a race that could live for up to a thousand years, and their longevity was something humans seemed to desire. Rusty knew that people used monster remains to brew all sorts of potions, so it was not strange that something similar could be made from elven remains.

The elves here were much like the ones he had heard about. Although they lived long lives, they had few children and preferred to take life slowly, often forming bonds later in life. Because of their extended lifespan, they rarely took unnecessary risks. To them, there was no reason to rush.

This meant that humans, whose lives were far shorter, vastly outnumbered them. Even though elves possessed strong innate magical energy and were usually stronger than the average human, that advantage meant little if they did not continue to level up and change their classes to grow stronger. Now that Rusty was here, however, he intended to teach them how to win.

Rusty remained silent for a moment as he observed the camp. From a purely practical perspective, the situation was convenient. There were enemies, there were prisoners, and most importantly, the enemies were distracted. Several humans argued near a cooking fire while others worked around the pile of corpses. Only a handful stood watch along the perimeter.

'Thirty humans. Not all of them can fight, and only one is D rank and quite a weak one, too. A perfect test.'

He had come here to help the elves gain a few levels and free more of their kin so they could raise their ranks. His mission was to help Teral get his revenge, though he still was not sure against whom. For now, he decided to focus on the problem in front of him. If they saved the elves here, they might learn who the real target was.

"Okay, I'll go in first. Stay close behind me, and do not worry. I will not let anything happen to you or the others."

After making the declaration, he finally decided to test his newly acquired loadout function for summoning. He selected it through his system window, and soon his body began to shift and expand until he reached the large size Teral had seen during the previous summoning.

"Let's go, Teral."

"That form…"

"Yes, it's the one you saw before."

Teral was clearly surprised to see Rusty changing forms, but the other elves were even more astonished and needed a few calming words.

"Everyone, follow the great spirit, and do not worry. Everything will be fine!"

The elves wearing human armor looked scared and uncomfortable. Yet beneath that fear burned a quiet rage. Even though their legs and hands trembled, they allowed the metal puppets to guide them forward.

'Good.'

Rusty took a spear that one of the elves handed him and aimed carefully. After activating the Power Throw skill, the weapon flew in a smooth arc and skewered the human captain instantly. The spear struck with a wet crack, and for a moment, the entire camp froze.

The human captain, who had been standing beside the fire shouting orders, looked down in confusion at the shaft protruding from his chest. The force of the throw drove him backward into a wooden crate, pinning him there like an insect on display.

"AMBUSH!"

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

The human guards shouted and turned toward the direction the spear had come from, only to see a massive suit of armor walking out of the darkness. Rusty stepped forward with a halberd in one hand and a mace in the other. His enemies trembled when they saw him, along with Teral's living armors advancing beside him, and several of them instinctively backed away.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"What the hell is that?"

"An iron golem?"

"Who cares? It's moving this way. Defend yourselves!"

Even though their captain had fallen, their morale had not yet broken. The humans grabbed their weapons and charged forward. Some shot arrows, but they bounced off Rusty's armored frame as if they were made of soft wood.

Behind him, the elves emerged from the forest. Their armor clanked awkwardly and their movements were stiff, but Rusty's possession skill was already guiding several of them. Their bodies jerked forward like puppets whose strings had suddenly been pulled, though their time to fight had not yet come.

Rusty charged. His halberd swung in a wide arc and severed both legs of one of the humans below the knee. The man screamed, but the carnage did not stop. With each swing, a body part flew free, and another human collapsed to the ground, writhing and shouting in agony.

Even though many of them were down and critically injured, Rusty did not finish them himself. Instead, he moved on and allowed the elves inside the puppet armors to do the deed. He knew that some more peaceful humanoid races had an aversion to killing, and most of these elves would probably never bring themselves to do it just to gain levels. Yet if his puppets delivered the final blow, it should not matter. At least that was the theory.

Soon, his companions were forced to use their spears, blades, and even arrows to deliver the finishing strikes. As expected, many of them closed their eyes. Not everyone could watch a person take their last breath. But once the first kill was confirmed and he noticed their levels were not increasing, Rusty realized he would need to change his strategy.

'Is the world system giving the kills to me or to Teral instead?'

Rusty observed the battlefield carefully while the last few humans struggled on the ground. His identification skill showed no increase in the levels of the elves wearing the puppet armor. It seemed they would have to perform the killing themselves for this to work.

"Change of plans, Teral. Tell your people to wait for a moment."

"Wait?"

Rusty nodded. He finished disabling the remaining humans, leaving them injured and close to death, then began gathering them together. Some squirmed and begged for their lives, but he did not stop. These people had laughed while slaughtering defenseless elves. They had no right to beg now that they were the ones about to die.

"Tell them to kill the humans themselves. Otherwise, they will not receive any experience."

When he was done, only ten humans were still alive. Rusty released the puppet armor skill, and several of the elves collapsed as the control faded.

"What is happening?"

"The spirit wants you to kill the humans yourselves to grow stronger."

Fear deepened in the elves' eyes. Most of them stepped back. One of them did not.

"Gladly."

Lethira shot an arrow and struck one of the humans directly between the eyes. The arrow hit with a dull thud and buried itself deep in the man's skull. His body jerked once before going limp, and for a moment, the forest fell silent again.

Lethira lowered her bow slowly. Her breathing remained steady, though her fingers trembled slightly.

"Do not be afraid. These monsters deserve it. Look at what they did to our brothers and sisters."

She pointed toward the pile of corpses in the corner and the prisoners locked in cages. Every one of them was bruised and beaten.

"I will never forgive them!"

A young elven man shouted and charged forward. His stance was poor and his thrust clumsy, but the spearhead still drove into one of the human men's chests. The man screamed and began choking on his own blood, yet the elf did not look away. The hatred in his eyes was unmistakable.

Soon, the others followed. Some used swords to cut the humans' throats. Others used spears or bows if they could not bring themselves to do it up close. In the end, every one of them struck a killing blow, and this time their levels surged upward.

'It's working.'

The elves here were only F rank, but after killing just one E rank human, they had gained almost ten levels in a single moment. This was clearly the way forward. If they managed to gain more levels and eventually change their classes, they would soon be strong enough to defeat these humans themselves and gain even more levels.

Soon, the small clearing was filled with the sound of heavy breathing. The elves stood over the bodies of the slain humans, many of them trembling. Some looked pale. Others stared blankly at their weapons as if they did not quite understand what they had just done. One ran to the bushes and vomited, but none of them looked particularly regretful.

"Now let's free the other elves and take what we can. It would be best to burn this camp to the ground."

While the others tried to recover, Rusty moved toward one of the cages and tore the lock from it. In this area, there were only eight elf slaves. They looked frightened at first, but after noticing that the group consisted only of elves and summoned creatures, they slowly stepped outside.

"T-thank you."

"No need to thank us."

Teral said gently as he helped one of the prisoners step out of the cage.

"You are among your own now."

The freed elves looked around the ruined camp in stunned silence. Some stared at the bodies of the humans. Others stared at Rusty's towering armored form. A few flinched when he moved, clearly unsure whether he was a friend or a monster.

"Do not worry. These metallic spirits are on our side. They will help us free more of our kin."

"Our side?"

The enslaved elves were clearly confused, which was not surprising. They had just been captured and beaten, and the people they knew had been murdered before their eyes. Teral began explaining as he tried to calm their emotions. To Rusty such talk was strange, but he understood that these fleshy beings were emotional and needed it.

'He is getting better at this.'

"Indeed, there are more of our kin hiding in the forest, surviving as best they can. If you wish, you may join us or leave now. The choice is yours."

The newly freed elves exchanged uncertain glances. At first, none of them answered. The forest around them was quiet except for the crackling of the campfire and the occasional groan of wood and metal as Rusty moved around the camp, scavenging for useful materials. Finally, one of the prisoners stepped forward. He was tall even for an elf, though his frame was thin from malnutrition. His silver hair had been crudely cut, likely by the slavers.

"Leave… and go where?"

His voice was hoarse.

"The humans hunt us everywhere. They burn our trees and poison our groves. If we wander alone, we will simply be captured again."

Another elf nodded slowly.

"You fought them. You killed them. If you are gathering others, then we will follow."

'Good. More bodies mean more potential soldiers.'

Rusty tilted his helmet slightly. This time, none of the elves turned away. Instead, all of them chose to follow. This group consisted only of young men, which might have explained their decision. Some of them picked up weapons and stabbed them into the corpses of the humans already lying dead. Their anger was obvious, and it would likely make them a strong fighting force once they leveled up and gained more experience.

'Things are going well, but is this really all there is to this mission? Just saving a few elves?'

While the elves talked among themselves, he continued moving around the camp, searching for clues. He knew he needed to do something, but he was not sure what exactly. Luckily, he noticed something inside the tent that belonged to the captain of this small group.

'Letters and a noble seal…'

Even though he was a monster, he could still read. As he went through the letters, he noticed something that could be of use.

"House Dulet. Could it be responsible for something?"

A noble house led by a baron was mentioned in the letter. When he murmured the name, his summoner peeked into the tent.

"Did you say Dulet?"

"Yes. Do you know who this is? It seems they are the ones ordering these recent attacks."

He held out the letter, showing the emblem. The moment he did, he could feel his summoner's anger rising. Perhaps this was it, the noble house that had caused Teral so much pain. It might have been the focus of his vengeance, and perhaps this mission was far greater than Rusty had first imagined.