Transmission concerns

Bought my gf a neglected 03 Blast to get her through the end of her first riding season. I did basic fluids (trans and oil) and i few minor adjustments which aloud for much smoother riding. a month in you could hear a significant noise increase to in the transmission, and while doing a tran inspection i found a decent amount of shavings in the 1month old fluid. couldnt find any wear down marks and didnt seperate clutch plates. reassembled and had no change to noise. the bike got to the point that grinding was happening during start up and it became undriveable. im not to interested in splitting the block for diagnostic unless it comes to that. anyone have diagnostic ideas and or a similar issue?

If it's unrideable, you likely gotta split the case.

At least pull the primary off and inspect the clutch, rotor and shift mechanism.