Between a Rock and a Carapace

9. Search for the Sophos

Ah, the itch is back, and it’s horrendous. In just moments, I’m on the ground with Tiny and Crinis watching over my prone and twitching form. Perhaps I should have waited until I was on my own… Why must I suffer this endless torment?

To be honest, the worst part, by far, is the Vestibule. As the strange flesh-crystal undergoes its mutation, waves of irritating, irresistible itchiness roll through my whole body until my eyes are bugging out of my head. I hate it! I hate it so much!

After five minutes, it’s all done and I immediately start queueing up the mutations for +10. If I’m going to put up with this, then I’m going to get it all done at once. Maximum pain in the minimum amount of time. Let’s do this! After poking through the menu, I end up with my selections looking like this:

Hyper Pressurised Acid Nozzle +10,

Thickened Potent Acid Concentration Gland +10,

Rapid Fatiguing Acid Stimulation Gland +10,

Instant Twitch Musculature +10,

Wide Gated Sub-Neural Network +10.

Doubling down on all of the upgrades I’d selected before, except for the Vestibule. Not counting my previous itch, this particular purchase is going to set me back a cool 200 Biomass. Quite the hefty price to pay. I’ll have 179 when it’s done.

The previous itch was only just beginning to fade from my mind. I grit my mandibles and confirm my selections with the great and bearded System.

…HAGGACKAFLA!

Wait a sec…

SMAGGAGLEADAP!

Is there another one coming… HA… HAG—No… No, I’m good…

SHLAMALAMANAN! Aaand I’m back on the floor. This time, it takes ten minutes to get back to myself as my body undergoes a savage round of mutations. To be honest, it isn’t quite as bad as the last time because I chose not to mutate the Vestibule. I want to think a little more on that before I commit to anything.

In fact, the range I got from the first mutation seems to be quite significant. The trickle of energy has rocketed back up to what it’d been during the battle. The entire colony must be within my range now. Which is good. Upgrading from +3 to +5 has also increased the amount of energy trickling into my system, which is a plus! With more upgrades, the Vestibule will really start to flex some serious power. Something to look forward to.

[Alright, guys. I’m okay.]

[Are you finished mutating, Master?]

[Yeah, I’m all good.]

I push my legs under me and get back to my glorious, not flailing-on-the-floor self.

[Let’s go exploring. I want to try and find an old friend.]

[An old friend, Master?]

[Yep. Formo the sophos. Stand-up guy, but a little old-fashioned. I didn’t have you when I met that guy. He’s a super powerful Core Engineer with pets that are insanely strong. He suggested his whole village was close by. Hopefully, they’re as friendly as he was.]

[I’m sure we can make our escape if they prove difficult, Master.]

[Ehh. You didn’t see that worm.]

[Worm?]

[Let’s just say, it was bad news. Let’s go, Tiny. Time to hunt in the Dungeon!]

Tiny is only too happy to leap up and get back into the swing of things. The things swinging are largely his fists in this instance, as he pummels his way through the monsters in our path. With Crinis providing support, her tentacles lash out, grasping hold of poor unfortunate monsters who don’t get long to lament their fate before they’re rendered, then eaten.

I last saw Formo in the tunnels branching off from the Forest Expanse, so hopefully, I’ll be able to get in contact with him somewhere over there. I don’t have any bright ideas on how to find him other than wandering around the tunnels and broadcasting widely through Mind Magic. But before I can start that, we need to get in the right location.

And so, we battle! Glorious, glorious battle!

It’s almost insulting how easy it is for us now. We tear our way through the first strata monsters like a super-heated knife through already partially melted butter. Even an Earth Bear Tyrant isn’t able to stand up to my Omen Chomp for more than a single bite attack. My newly upgraded musculature allows me to snap down with incredible speed and force, and the upgraded Skill, which allowed me to tear into even Garralosh’s powerful scales, is easily able to pierce the hides of these monsters.

But I still sit back and give most of the experience to Crinis and Tiny. Crinis in particular is quite close to her evolution. She’s only a tier three lifeform at the moment, as opposed to Tiny’s tier four and my tier five. If I can get her a rare core, then she’ll get a massive boost in power during her next evolution.

More things to look forward to!