Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ]
Chapter 156 – Giant Scorpion.

"Keep it busy! We just need more time."

"It's breaking through... nooo... my Orc!"

A young man shouted as he watched his summoned creature dissolve into particles of light, snapped in half by a massive pincer. The pincer belonged to a towering black creature that looked like a monstrous scorpion. Its oversized tail dripped with a corrosive fluid that hissed each time it touched the ground, burning into the earth and releasing faint tendrils of smoke that curled upward and disappeared into the mist.

The creature loomed at twice the height of an average human. Its glossy carapace shimmered like polished obsidian. Every step it took sent tremors through the ground, and its tail swung behind it in a deadly rhythm.

Three students were locked in combat with the beast. Two scrambled to keep their distance, while the third, the one who had lost his orc, collapsed to his knees, stunned and unarmed. His summoned beast was already fading into mana, leaving him completely exposed.

"Watch out!"

"Ahh..."

The monster struck, hurling its stinger toward the kneeling student. The others screamed, but they were too late. The stinger connected with his chest. Yet, instead of piercing through, something unexpected happened. The boy’s body began to glow with a soft blue light, then vanished in a beam that shot away into the distance. His life seemingly was spared by some kind of emergency escape magic but it didn’t make the experience any more horrific.

“Damn, it got Joffrey. What are we going to do now? We don’t have a Vanguard summon anymore!”

The two students backed away. One of them was clearly panicking. He had fallen to the ground and was trying to crawl away from the approaching black scorpion. The monster raised its pincers and fixed its gaze on the young man wearing a black robe marked with a bluish C-class emblem.

“What are you doing? Get out of there!”

The one shouting was a young girl wearing a circlet that held her greenish hair in place. Her long ears extended from both sides of her head, shorter than those of a full-blooded elf but still distinct. A shiny fairy glowing with green light hovered beside her, hands outstretched toward the advancing creature. A stream of greenish energy shot from the fairy and struck the ground, spreading into small glowing veins that formed a binding spell. The spell halted the monster’s advance for a moment.

From the side, an arrow flew through the air, fired by another summoned creature. It resembled a goblin, though it was larger than one yet smaller than a hobgoblin. The creature wielded a shortbow and aimed for one of the scorpion’s many eyes, but the monster managed to block the shot with its massive pincers. It was not alone. Standing beside it was an identical creature, this one armed with two daggers.

The scorpion quickly tore through the binding spell and charged at the young man who had collapsed on the ground. Although the girl with the circlet kept shouting at him to move, his legs trembled too much to obey. He couldn’t get up.

The monster pounced, snapping its pincers at him. In an instant, he too vanished into a streak of blue light and shot off into the distance. With their summoner gone, the two smaller creatures began to fade, unable to maintain their form without him.

“Not him too…” 

The black scorpion turned its attention to the girl wearing the circlet, who stood beside a hovering fairy. Its many legs scraped loudly against the earth as its acidic stinger lashed from side to side, hissing with every flick. The fairy darted in front of her summoner, wings beating furiously, and raised her small hands. A dome of pale green energy expanded around them just before the monster struck.

Its tail slammed into the shield with a thunderous smack, splashing acidic droplets across the surface. The barrier shimmered and pulsed, veins of light appearing as the spell buckled under the force of the blow. The girl winced, sweat beading at her temples as she held both hands toward the fairy. Her mana was draining rapidly, far too fast for her to keep up.

“No, I was so close. I just needed a bit more to reach B class.”

She cried out in frustration as the monster struck again. The tail bounced off the shield but left behind a web of cracks.

“I need to hold on. If I can just get away…”

She whispered through clenched teeth, but another hit landed before she could think of an escape. The shield groaned under the pressure. Acid sizzled where it splattered across the ground, burning into bark and stone. There seemed to be no way out and no one nearby to help her. The fairy she had summoned was meant for support and healing, not for fighting. She had no offense to rely on. 

However, unbeknownst to her, someone was watching from behind a nearby tree. When the moment was right, he made his move. The sound of metal footsteps followed, surprisingly light despite the form of the creature being rather tall and made out of metal. 

*****

Rusty burst from the fog, his halberd gripped tight and raised high. The monster turned at the last second, but it was too late. With a clean, brutal motion, Rusty brought the blade of the halberd down in a wide arc, cleaving through the scorpion’s tail just as it reared up to strike again. A screeching metallic howl echoed through the clearing as the tail was severed, splattering acidic liquids across the grass.

The shield around the girl flickered violently, then collapsed altogether, shattering like glass into fading fragments of light. She stumbled backward, her mana nearly spent, eyes wide with disbelief.

"You… w-who?"

She wanted to speak but couldn’t catch her breath. The rapid loss of mana had overwhelmed her, leaving her momentarily paralyzed.

Rusty didn’t respond. Instead, he stepped between her and the monster, sweeping his halberd outward in a protective arc. He gripped the weapon with both hands at first, but then, to everyone's surprise, he turned his left hand to the side. It shot out in the direction he had come from and returned almost instantly, bringing back the kite shield he had originally been equipped with.

Just in time, he raised it to block a pincer strike from the creature. The impact sent him sliding back nearly a meter but after increasing his weight, he instantly stopped in his tracks. 

“Are you all right?”

Gwen emerged from behind the tree and bushes, slightly out of breath, sweat trickling down her forehead. The girl with the elongated ears looked up in surprise, then quickly realized that help had arrived. Without hesitation, she retreated a few steps, calling her fairy to her side. Using the brief moment of relief, she reached into the spatial bag attached to her robe and pulled out a mana potion.

She drank it quickly. As the magic took effect, the pounding in her head began to ease. Once her energy was restored and she felt revitalized, she prepared to assist her rescuers but quickly realized she didn’t need to.

The living armor that had come to her aid was far more formidable than anything she had ever seen from this kind of construct. It moved with fluid precision, circling the obsidian monster and forcing it back with relentless pressure. Each strike found its mark, poking more holes into the creature’s carapace than her entire party had managed during their fight.

“Are you from A-class?”

The girl turned to Gwen as she asked, but Gwen averted her gaze. A quick glance at the baggy dark robe and the D-class emblem pinned to it gave away her true status. The revelation made the situation even more unbelievable. The elvish girl stared in disbelief, then a sudden realization struck her.

“You’re the one who beat Katherine! But wait… let us talk later!”

Gwen gave a timid nod and turned her focus forward. The other girl glanced at her fairy and pointed toward the fight.

“Airy, do it again. Bind it.”

The fairy named Airy nodded, her response accompanied by a soft chime. The summoner, now replenished by the mana potion, once again acted as a source of power for her creature. With a swirl of green energy, the fairy extended both hands and cast another binding spell.

Thin threads of glowing ivy burst from the ground beneath the scorpion's feet, snapping around its legs. This time, the spell anchored more deeply. The creature was already weakened, its armor damaged by Rusty's relentless halberd strikes.

The scorpion shrieked and thrashed, trying to break free. Arcane vines clung to its limbs and slipped into the cracked seams of its exoskeleton. Rusty saw his chance and moved without hesitation.

"There it is… the weak point."

He muttered the words only his summoner could hear, and then he lunged forward. With precision and power, he drove the weapon into one of the creature’s vulnerable joints near the neck. The halberd's tip pierced deep, the twilight steel cut through even the hardened shell. The beast let out another screech, flailing wildly, but its movements were slowing. It was dying.

One of its massive pincers came down in desperation, but Rusty caught it. With his gauntleted hand and raised shield, he blocked the crushing blow. The force alone would have overwhelmed an ordinary fighter, but he stood firm. In his other hand, the halberd twisted, then tore through the scorpion’s side. A burst of black innards followed, along with shattered fragments of chitin.

With a fluid spin, Rusty brought the halberd over his head and slammed it down, directly between the creature’s glowing cluster of eyes. The forest echoed with the final screech, then fell into eerie silence. The scorpion’s limbs twitched once. Twice. Then stilled. Black smoke rose from its ruined head, and it slowly began to dissolve into shimmering particles of mana.

"Rusty!"

Gwen called out, stumbling forward as she approached him, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Yes?"

Rusty stood beside the defeated monster, his gaze fixed on the greenish vines still coiled around its body. He realized the fight had become significantly easier thanks to the floating creature, which humans called a fairy. The small being hovered in place, her tiny wings fluttering softly, a calm and strange smile on her face.

"Are you all right?"

"I’m fine. My body has not sustained any damage, and the acid is not strong enough to harm my weapon either.”

He gave his halberd a sharp flick, casting off the lingering acid. The droplets splashed against the trunk of a nearby tree and began to sizzle immediately. Though the scorpion monster was already beginning to fade, its acidic blood showed no signs of losing potency. 

Rusty remained silent for a moment, scanning the area. Satisfied that there were no more threats, he lowered his halberd. Then he pointed to the particles of mana that were fading away and spoke out to Gwen.

"Don’t you have to use your bottle on that, or will that mana remain there forever?"

"No, it won’t... but..."

Gwen glanced toward the elvish girl, who was still panting nearby. Her hand hovered near the mana siphon bottle fastened to her hip. The swirl of shimmering mana left behind by the defeated scorpion was thick and radiant, pulsing softly in the air.

Absorbing all of it would likely fill her bottle by a third, maybe more. It might even be enough to guarantee her passing this test and finally avoid coming in last. She needed to raise her grades if she wanted to stay enrolled at the academy. But she hesitated. Rusty could sense her uncertainty, and he believed he understood the reason.

"Why don’t we give some of it to that girl? Her binding spell did help, and we did interrupt her hunt."

"... Ah!"

The other girl hadn’t noticed their exchange as she was too busy recovering from the battle. But Gwen quickly turned and raised her voice.

"I... I don’t think I should take it all."

"Um? It was your summon that finished it off, but you still want me to take some?"

The green-haired girl was clearly surprised. She hadn’t expected such an offer. Everyone at the academy knew that gathering mana directly affected their grades, and most students were far too competitive to help others out of kindness alone.

She glanced at her fairy. The small creature floated beside her, shaking her head gently before offering a warm smile. Somehow, the fairy could sense intent, and there was no deception in Gwen’s offer.

"Well then... how about I take a third, and you keep the rest?"

"Oh... sure."

Gwen responded with a hint of hesitation, her voice unsure. But Rusty noticed something subtle begin to form on her face. It was faint, but unmistakable: a shy, sincere smile. The green-haired girl stepped forward, brushing her bangs behind one ear as she approached the mana still lingering in the air. The fairy beside her gave a soft nod. With a gentle motion, the girl raised a small crystal vial.

It lit up as the swirling mana particles drifted toward it in slow, spiraling arcs of light. After a few seconds, about a third of the essence had been drawn in. Just as promised, she stopped immediately.

"There. The rest is for you."

"T-thank you."

She stepped back, giving Gwen room to absorb the rest. Gwen nodded in thanks, uncorked her own bottle, and let the process begin. The remaining mana flowed into her vial like a stream of falling stars. Within moments, the last remnants of the scorpion’s energy had been consumed.

"That does it.”

Gwen said softly, lowering her bottle, then before the silence could grow uncomfortable, the green-haired girl stepped closer.

"Astrella. Astrella Fjord. A pleasure to meet you."

She smiled brightly and raised her hand in greeting. Rusty moved in, but detected no hostile intent. Instead, he focused on the data appearing before him. The girl had spoken her true name, and according to his readings, she was human with wood elf and fairy ancestry. It was an unusual and intriguing mix.

"Hi, I’m G-Gwendolin Rainstar!"

Gwen replied a bit awkwardly, making Astrella chuckle. Her fairy floated forward, circling Rusty with interest, clearly curious about his form. The battle had ended, but the test was not yet over. A chime echoed faintly in the distance. Only an hour and a half remained, and the bottle still wasn’t full. Passing alone wouldn’t be enough. To earn the best possible rewards from this summoning quest, he had to help her fill it completely. To gain the most out of it, he was determined to push her through it… even if she was already satisfied, he wasn’t.