Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ] Chapter 130 - 128 – Crawling From Above

Rusty remained still, watching the kobold work. The small creature ticulously placed a strange device into the dirt, covering it with loose gravel and pressing it down carefully. A trap. Rusty’s eyes glowed dark and light as he shifted his weight slightly to remain undetected. The kobold’s tail twitched as it glanced around warily before scuttling away further into the tunnel.

"( •̀ - •́ )"

Gleam tapped Rusty’s helt gently with her antennae, indicating she had noticed the sa thing.

"Yeah, it’s definitely setting up traps…"

Rusty muttered as his words trailed off. He had been a monster within the dungeon, and the ones he was patrolling with didn’t possess true intelligence. If there were traps, they had been placed by the dungeon itself, not by the monsters. This behavior didn’t seem like sothing dungeon monsters would exhibit. It was more characteristic of free monsters.

"I see you’re confused, Rusty, but this happens sotis."

Alexander chid in.

"So monsters create their own encampnts within an active dungeon. It’s a kind of symbiotic existence."

"I see, that’s neat!"

Rusty leaned in to look at the trap and spotted a faint shimr on a nearby rock. Poison. If an unsuspecting adventurer tripped the wire, sothing, perhaps a volley of darts, would be unleashed. This wasn’t the work of a simple dungeon monster but a being with heightened intelligence.

"A pressure plate of so sort that’s connected to a wire…"

While Rusty had no trap detection skills, it was hard to miss once he knew where it was. The pressure plate was expertly concealed beneath loose gravel, and a thin wire connected it to the wall. His glowing eyes traced the wire to a concealed chanism above, where a small cluster of sharpened darts rested.

"A clever trap."

Alexander comnted again.

"A human rogue might have trouble spotting it with all this mist around."

This mine shaft was still covered in a layer of white vapour. The Kobold vanished into a side passage leading away from the moisture, but if Rusty continued on his way, he would probably finally reach the flooded parts of the mine dungeon.

Rusty turned his gaze down the tunnel where the kobold had disappeared. If there were traps here, then it was likely leading to sothing worth protecting. Perhaps the kobold encampnt? And if they had rogues setting traps, then maybe, just maybe, there would be a kobold mage sowhere among them.

" ( •̀ - •́ ) "

"You’re right. Let’s follow it Gleam."

After stepping away from the trap, Rusty moved cautiously into the corridor where the kobold had vanished. Torches flickered on the walls, but visibility was poor. If he weren’t a monster capable of perceiving his surroundings without light and unaware of the kobold rogue lurking nearby, he might have fallen victim to one of the traps. However, even if the darts were fired at him, they likely wouldn’t cause any harm. Even if they pierced his body, as long as his core remained untouched, he would be fine.

"I’m not sure it’s wise to go through here, my dear Rusty."

Aburdon called out to him, and it was clear that sothing was wrong. However, neither Gleam nor Rusty had a thief class or the skills needed to easily detect such dangers. Gleam might be able to learn a spell to help, but she would first need to see soone cast it in front of her. Both of them stood at the entrance, moving forward cautiously. Before long, they spotted another wire trap ahead, with the possibility of more hidden further inside.

"This is troubleso…"

Suddenly, Gleam jumped off his shoulder and onto the wall. She skittered up to the ceiling and hung upside down, scanning the area.

"Ah… You’re right. They probably didn’t expect anyone to go through the ceiling!"

"(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)"

His friend had a good idea. Why move through the middle when they could use the side walls? The corridor was tight but had a higher ceiling, and the small kobold would likely struggle to reach it. Most of the traps were probably on the ground or the lower sections of the side walls.

"This is a good opportunity. I wonder if it works"

Rather than shrinking his helt size and letting Gleam carry him, this was a perfect chance to test his upgraded Wraith Variant. He quickly pulled up his loadout and switched forms. His body expanded, his limbs stretched, and his human-like fingers elongated into claws. This form was taller than before but also lighter. His larger hands sank into the hard rocky surface as he started to climb.

"Just as planned."

He had gained the Climbing skill while traveling to Ferndale, before entering the spider-infested forest. It was a general skill that most creatures could learn, and with its help, he could cling to the wall with greater precision. His feet also had claws, allowing him to grip so surfaces almost as well as his hands.

Rusty and Gleam moved forward along the cavern ceiling. While Gleam skittered quickly, Rusty was slower and more cautious with his movents. This was his first ti hanging upside down without being carried, and the thought of falling onto potentialy explosive trap was unsettling.

"Can you track it, Gleam?"

Rusty asked as they finally passed through the corridor.

"ദ്ദി(•̀ ᗜ