Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 290

Chapter 290

When he brought another walker to his lair, he saw his larva had already finished spreading the goo around the existing splotch of Corruption. The pitch-black area was wider now. The goo had solidified, becoming as tough and hard as the rest of the Corruption covering the floor.

He checked the Mana Core to ensure nothing had changed during his absence. As expected, the stats remained the same, and the GP count was still 73. Dropping the walker onto the central splotch of Corruption, he issued a mental command for his larva to process it. The little creature immediately got to work.

The process was as slow and tedious as last time. Jake kept the ex-human pinned down on the Corruption while his larva did its work. If he had several larvae instead of just one, the process would have sped up significantly. However, being at Rank I, the Mana Core allowed him to have only one larva at a time. He hoped that once he upgraded it, he would be able to create additional ones.

Just like last time, his larva managed to convert about half of the walker’s body into black goo before the mutant died. Jake turned his attention to the Mana Core, summoning the stats to check how many growth points it had accumulated.

GP: 127/100

So he now had enough GP to upgrade the Mana Core. He shifted his gaze to one of the other lines.

Evolve to Rank II: Y/N (Cost: 100 Biomass, 10,000 MP)

Tip: If you don’t have enough Biomass, the required amount will be taken from the existing Corruption. 

Jake checked another line of text. 

MP: 99,874

The Mana Core now had a little less mana than before, having lost 126 MP. Jake remembered reading in the Mana Core’s description that everything in his lair was a living organism and, therefore, required mana to feed on and function.

Even though there were currently no buildings, a small amount of mana had still been consumed. The Corruption, on which structures could be built, probably needed mana as well. His larva likely required mana to survive too, gradually drawing the magical energy from the Mana Core.

Anyway, it seemed he had enough resources to initiate the upgrade of the Mana Core to Rank II, so he thought, “Yes”. As soon as he did, something began to take place. However, the transformation was so subtle that it took him some time to see what was going on. He noticed that the stem, to which the mana orb was attached, was gradually thickening, while the central splotch of Corruption was slowly shrinking.

Jake watched the process for a minute or so, then summoned the stats of the Mana Core again. However, instead of the familiar information, a new piece of text materialized.

Mana Core (Upgrade in Progress)

Current Status: 1% Complete

Estimated Time Remaining: 58 minutes, 36 seconds

Jake decided there was no point in lingering in his lair while the upgrade was in progress. He picked up the remains of the walker and exited his lair through his usual route. It was night now, but there should still be enough ex-humans around for him to hunt for XP. He needed to earn just a handful of experience points to level up.

He spent the next forty or so minutes wandering around the night city, killing any group of mutants he came across. Eventually, he leveled up from 131 to 132. After that, he checked his abilities.

Chainsaw Arms: Rank III (71%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)

Drill Gauntlets: Rank III (44%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)

Grappling Hook Arm: Rank III (83%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)

Rotary Blade Launcher: Rank II (76%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)

Cinch Net Blaster: Rank II (65%) (Upgrades: 2 of 6) (Legendary)

His weapon of choice was mostly the chainsaws, as they were perfect for dealing with large groups of low-level mutants. Since the city was teeming with weaker types of ex-humans, he favored chainsaws over any other combat abilities he’d obtained in the dungeon. 

He used the Drill Gauntlets much less than the chainsaws, as drills were most effective against tough, well-armored foes, which were far less common than low-level mutants. Thus, this ability was only at 44% progression, while Chainsaw Arms had reached 71%.

Out of all the abilities he acquired in the dungeon, the grappling hook was definitely his favorite. While he didn’t use it in combat very often, he always employed it when he needed to climb or overcome obstacles.

While, in most cases, using Gravity Leap was enough to reach his target, he preferred using his grappling hook for that purpose, as he enjoyed swinging through the air. He used his grappling hook so often that this ability progressed beyond the others, reaching 83%.

As for Rotary Blade Launcher and Cinch Net Blaster, he didn’t use these two abilities very often, so they remained at Rank II. The former was a ranged ability, but since he mostly engaged ex-humans in melee combat, there wasn’t much need to employ it. As for the latter, he only used it when he needed to catch prey, which also didn’t happen often. 

So while some of these abilities were nearing 100%, none had quite reached that milestone. Since none of his skills were ready for an upgrade, he allocated the earned skill points to his attributes.

Body: 160 → 165

Mind: 144

Magick: 199

After that, he continued to hunt ex-humans for XP. At some point, a system message emerged in his mind. 

The Mana Core has finished upgrading to Rank II.

Three new structures are now available for building.  

Three new creatures can now be developed. 

So it seemed that he was notified about changes in his lair while he was away, which was really cool. Thanks to that, after initiating an upgrade in his lair, he could leave and explore the area without having to constantly return to check its status. Instead, he could focus on other activities and simply return when he got a notification. 

He was currently in one of the high-rise buildings, fighting a group of ex-humans. He decided to finish them off for XP before returning to his lair. Most of the mutants he was fighting consisted of walkers and leapers, so it didn’t take him much time to deal with them.

Multiple enemies killed. +20,150

After that, he left the building. He surveyed his surroundings to orient himself before heading toward his lair. The moon hung high in the night sky, casting a silver glow over the deserted streets. Most of the survivors had already holed up in the shelters they had built for the night, so it was quiet. Nothing got in his way, allowing him to move through the streets at top speed.

At last, he made it back to the diner. As always, he entered through the roof and, a few seconds later, was back in his lair. First, he took a moment to examine the Mana Core and the patch of Corruption surrounding it.

The stem atop which the mana orb was secured no longer looked thin. It was definitely much sturdier now. As for the Corruption, it had shrunk somewhat, but not by much. As usual, his only larva continued to crawl aimlessly from one spot on the Corruption to another.

Taking a step closer to the Mana Core, Jake summoned its stats, and the updated information materialized before him. 

Name: Mana Core

MP: 89,812

Evolution Rank: II

GP: 27/500

Available structures: Hive Nexus, Larvae Chamber, Biomass Processor. 

Available creatures: Larva, Roach, Fly, Spider

Larvae: 1/3

Structures: 0/3

Evolve to Rank III: Not Enough GP

After the Mana Core is evolved to Rank III, the following structures will be available for creation:

Biomass Storage;

Extractor;

Creation Chamber. 

So he could now create two additional larvae. Unlike larvae, there appeared to be no limit on the number of other creatures he could have at any given time. He could also start constructing buildings, and he could currently build three structures. Excited, Jake delved into these new developments.

 Happy July 4th to my readers who are from the US