Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ]
Chapter 158 – Dark Horse.

"ARGHHHH!?"

"Calm down, student. You're fine."

A young man screamed as he opened his eyes. Just moments earlier, he remembered a massive club crashing down toward his head. Then, everything had gone white. It took him a moment to understand where he was, especially as the sound of laughter and chuckling filled the air around him.

"It's always funny when they arrive."

"Yeah, the last one even soiled their robes. This one might have done the same!"

"Haha, stop it."

His vision was still blurry from the summoning, but the familiar walls of the academy gradually came into focus. He was lying on a smooth metal slab, trying to catch his breath. His heart pounded in his chest as if it had only just remembered how to beat. Around him were several other students in similar condition. Some were groaning, others mumbling in disbelief as they awoke within the glowing lines of a teleportation array.

"You seem fine. Move off the teleportation circle. Other students might be coming soon."

Teachers stood nearby, watching closely. The one who had examined him stepped away and continued checking others. A blue light streaked across the sky and struck one of the circular platforms ahead. The roof above, made of a transparent material, allowed the beam to pass through. It hit the platform and reformed into another student, their body solidifying from a cluster of glowing mana orbs.

"Does that mean... I failed?"

The young man’s memory began to return. His face turned red as he realized what had happened. A group of upperclassmen stood off to the side, smirking and whispering, clearly entertained by those who had been forced to withdraw early.

He sat up slowly, wincing as he rubbed the back of his head. His limbs felt heavy but uninjured. His eyes scanned the chamber, taking in the softly glowing lines of the teleportation circle etched into the floor. He was still clutching something. When he opened his hand, he found the test bottle, the one he had been given at the start of the trial. He lifted it to eye level. A faint glow swirled within the crystalline container, slow and weak. The bottle was only a quarter full.

"...Is this going to be enough to pass?"

The young man wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, but the uncertainty in his voice was unmistakable. More students began to arrive, prompting him to step away from the platform. Some looked furious, but most just seemed exhausted. In rapid succession, four more lights flashed across the chamber and struck the summoning pads. One student groaned. A young woman cursed and punched the floor, while another lay down and covered her face with an arm.

The young man rose unsteadily to his feet and made his way toward the exit. Daylight met him as he stepped into the courtyard beyond. The space was wide, bordered by marble columns and shaded by enchanted trees whose leaves shifted color in a slow, rhythmic cycle.

"Student. Your ID."

A teacher blocked his path. To prevent cheating during the trial, all students were required to return the bottles they had received before leaving. The young man said nothing. He simply handed the bottle over to the teacher. For identification, he reached beneath his robe and revealed a metal plate stamped with the academy’s emblem. The teacher hovered a hand over it, then nodded.

"Exactly twenty-seven units of mana have been gathered."

The teacher murmured while sloshing around the contents of the bottle. After taking a good look at it through what seemed to be some kind of magical glasses he snapped his fingers. A scroll with names appeared out of nowhere together with a quill. It started scribbling the students name next to a list of others along with the number of twenty-seven. 

“Good, move along, you’ll be ranked shortly.” 

The teacher added while already turning toward the next returning student. 

“Now move along. Others are waiting.”

Still clutching his ID plate, the young man stepped into the courtyard, rubbing at his neck as the warm air wrapped around him. The world felt... slower here. Less violent. His body still remembered the frenzied moments that had led to his early return: the sudden ambush, the blinding spells, the bone-crushing force of that club.

“Maybe I’m not cut out for this…”

His mind wandered. This failure was just one in a growing list, and the weight of it was beginning to wear him down. Still, his robe clearly marked him as a member of C-Class. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t disastrous either. As long as he could raise his grades and avoid slipping into D-Class, a category that all but guaranteed failure, he would still have a chance.

Curious about how the others had done, he made his way to the large announcement board near the center of the courtyard. A crowd of students had gathered around it, murmuring and pointing as names rearranged themselves across the surface of a glowing, magically infused crystal panel.

It was the summoner trial scoreboard, and several familiar names stood out. Summoning was a rare discipline, but once all the students were gathered, there were still over a hundred enrolled in the class. The majority belonged to Classes C and D, which held the largest number of students. Everyone aspired to reach at least Class B, as it offered a clear path to a stable and prestigious future. Those ranked lower would likely be overlooked by noble families and forced to seek coin through adventuring or military service.

"Lady Grandwell is in the lead!"

"Who else would it be?"

"Maybe Lord Lampert?"

"He's second, but I’m not sure he can catch up at this rate!"

Clusters of students gathered around the scoreboard, pointing and chatting excitedly. The magical display only showed the top ten names, and the first three were highlighted with a faint golden glow. At the top sat Katherine Grandwell, the undisputed best in Class A and a noblewoman from a house so powerful that no one dared challenge her position.

"Makes sense..."

The young man gave a resigned nod and was about to step away when something unexpected happened. The tenth name flickered. For a brief moment, it vanished and was replaced by someone notorious throughout the academy: Gwendolin Rainstar.

"It's her... but even if she made the list, it's only tenth place. There's no way she could catch up to Lady Gran—"

He never finished the thought. The scoreboard pulsed with light as Gwendolin’s name leapt from tenth to ninth, then immediately surged into eighth.

"What is happening?"

More students pressed forward, their curiosity turning into fascination as the board shifted again. They could hardly believe what they were seeing. Whispers turned into speculation. Many were convinced it had to be a trick. Surely Gwendolin was cheating. But then another possibility crept into the conversation.

"What if the rumors are true? What if she was really just biding her time..."

One of the girls spoke quietly, her voice trembling just enough to betray her unease.

"You mean... she pretended to be weak? But why would she do that?"

"What if she was trying to figure out who her real allies were?"

The group fell silent, their expressions shifting from doubt to anxiety as their thoughts spiraled into a web of misunderstanding. The Rainstar and Grandwell families had been antagonistic for generations. Katherine had always seemed like the clear winner in that old rivalry, as she was powerful, admired, and already treated as if she had no equal. Many students had gone out of their way to curry favor with her, convinced she was the one destined to rise.

But if Gwendolin had simply been pretending all along. That changed everything. If she had kept her power hidden, waiting for the right moment, she could now see every false smile, every betrayal. And she might decide to repay them all.

"You must be joking."

Another student said, her voice louder than she intended.

"Even if she was hiding her magical abilities, so what? Her family is barely holding itself together. They have no influence, no real wealth to speak of!"

"Isn’t that only if they fail to produce a worthy heir? Wouldn’t the council support them again if she proves herself?"

Another voice interrupted the conversation. The young students, many from lesser houses and some from common backgrounds, exchanged uneasy glances. For the first time, uncertainty clouded their expressions. They were no longer sure they had chosen the right side.

"Look... it's moving to seventh place. At this point, she might actually do it!"

"Wasn’t she the one who cried during her first summoning class? Was that all an act?"

The young summoners stood frozen, their faces draining of color. They knew all too well what could happen to those who stood on the wrong side of a powerful house. A few felt a flicker of relief, having never taken part in the mockery or bullying. Others could only hope to find shelter behind the Grandwell name, clinging to the fading confidence that it would still offer protection.

Now, all eyes were locked on the glowing board. No one spoke. Their expressions turned rigid, their eyes bloodshot with fear. It was as if the rankings displayed there could decide their fate.

*******

"Uoohhh!"

A monster roared as it swung its massive club in wide arcs. Nearly four meters tall, with a single glaring eye, it was known as a Lesser Cyclops. The creature barreled forward, crashing through the thinner trees, its club tearing the air apart with each swing. Splinters flew in every direction, and each blow sent a shockwave of raw force rolling across the battlefield.

"Watch out!"

"It's fine! Just leave it to Airy!"

Astrella pointed toward her fairy. In response, the small summon raised a barrier formed from concentrated wind energy. The shield shimmered as flying debris and broken branches bounced harmlessly off its surface. The cyclops paused for a moment, its eye narrowing as it stared at the glowing shield. Before it could charge again, it howled in pain. A halberd had sunk deep into its thigh.

"Airy, use Blessing of the Winds to aid our metal friend!"

The fairy gave a quick nod and extended her hand toward Rusty. A stream of swirling wind enveloped the living armor, increasing his speed noticeably. The cyclops tried to intercept Rusty with another swing, but the animated armor moved too quickly. The club missed entirely and slammed into a nearby tree. Unlike the others, this one held firm, and the impact sent a shudder through the creature's arm.

‘This one is strong but stupid…’

Rusty sprang out from behind the tree the monster had slammed into and drove his halberd forward once more. The sharp tip pierced into the cyclops’s arm, forcing another roar of pain from the creature. Before it could retaliate, Rusty pulled back and retreated into the shadows.

One blow from the cyclops would likely shatter him, but within the dark, fog-laden forest, the one-eyed monster was nearly helpless. It turned in slow, confused circles, unable to track Rusty's movements through the shifting veil of mist and shrubbery. 

“That’s it! Switch out Airy, use bind now!”

Astrella called out with joy, praising her fairy once again. This time, Airy shimmered with a deeper shade of green before casting her binding spell. Thick vines burst from the forest floor, wrapping around the cyclops’s ankles and yanking it down with surprising force. The creature let out a furious roar as it dropped to one knee, the impact sending a deep tremor through the ground.

"It's down, we should go for the eye!" 

Astrella shouted in Gwen’s direction, but the girl only gave a nervous smile. She had not yet noticed that Rusty was acting entirely on his own. Gwen had not issued a single command during the fight. That was part of the reason they had been cutting through monster encounters so easily. Rusty had become a seasoned fighter who understood basic combat tactics and even fighting multiple foes at once. 

The monsters in this forest were all summoned beasts with no summoners of their own. They behaved like dungeon creatures: aggressive and dangerous, but ultimately predictable. Rusty’s halberd began to glow with a deep red light as he activated his thrust skill. His aim was clear. He would drive the weapon into the cyclops’s eye, and with enough force, push it deep enough to pierce the creature’s brain.

The halberd drove straight into the cyclops’s eye with a sickening crunch. The beast screamed, a horrible, throaty sound that echoed through the forest like a dying storm. The weapon twisted once, then Rusty wrenched it free, leaping back just as the cyclops thrashed violently. 

“We did it, yes! A Lesser Cyclops!”

Astrella cheered as the monster dissolved into particles of mana that quickly flowed into their bottles. Just like with the scorpion, Gwen claimed two-thirds of the rewards, while the other girl was content with only a third. For her, it was more than enough. She had already gathered what she needed for the promotion, but their party had no plans to stop anytime soon.

"Ah, yes, we did it, didn’t we?"

Gwen spoke in a faint voice as she used her bottle to collect more of the drifting mana. She was still a bit dazed by how many rewards they were racking up. Her bottle was nearly eighty percent full now, more than enough to pass the test with high marks. Even so, her armored companion showed no signs of slowing down. He kept urging her to fight more monsters, dragging them into situations that felt more dangerous than she was comfortable with.

‘Shouldn’t this be enough, Rusty? Why don’t we stop here?’

‘It’s not enough. The quest isn’t over, and we still have nearly an hour left. We need to go deeper, there have to be stronger creatures ahead!’

Rusty answered while resting his halberd on his shoulder. Gwen hesitated, holding the mana bottle tightly in both hands. Deep down, though, she also wanted to keep going.

Even if the gains were small, every defeated monster gave her a bit of experience. She had already leveled up twice during this trial, and maybe, when it was all over, people would start to respect her.

So the group pressed on, following the path deeper into the unknown. Before long, they came upon a strange sight. A group of summoners was locked in battle with a single creature, a white tiger crackling with lightning. Their summoned monsters circled it, attacking from all sides, but the tiger pushed forward without hesitation.

Still, that was not the most unusual part of the scene. Off to the side, far from the chaos, a young woman sat casually on a chair made of living plant matter. She looked completely uninterested, as if the entire battle unfolding before her was nothing more than a dull distraction… It was Katherine Grandwell.