Chapter 397
Chapter 397
Over the past several days, Jake had finished working on the lair located in a ten-story building. The interior of all ten floors was now abundantly covered in thick layers of Corruption. He had also done some redecorating. There were two points of entry to his lair: one on the roof and one on the first floor. The Mana Core was the most essential element of his lair. If it were destroyed, everything inside would die.
For that reason, he had not only placed the Mana Core on the sixth floor of the building but had also surrounded it with numerous traps, turning his lair into a deadly maze designed to stop any intruder who dared to enter. Thanks to all this redesign, no matter what point of entry possible raiders might choose to infiltrate his lair, they would have to fight their way through several floors filled with traps and monsters before they could reach the Mana Core.
He had also placed all the structures that were developing more creatures or storing various rare genetic materials on the sixth floor as well. The fifth floor was entirely dedicated to biomatter storage. As for the remaining floors, they were mostly empty, containing only traps and monsters. They were little more than dangerous arenas meant to drain the strength and morale of any raiding party long before they reached the Mana Core.
Upon returning to the lair, Jake made his way to the sixth floor, examining his surroundings. As always, everything ran like clockwork, needing no input from him. Managatherers filled the Mana Core with magical energy, ensuring it had enough to sustain the entire lair, empowering every structure within the lair.
Meanwhile, arachnoxes busied themselves with delivering captured mutants to the lair, where each was broken down into biomatter and preserved for future use. They had also been hunting elite mutants, from whom unique genetic materials were harvested and stored as well. Thanks to the steady influx of resources, the lair had become fully self-sustaining, operating entirely on its own.
His eyes turned toward the Mana Core, and with a silent command, he called forth the lair’s current statistics.
Name: Mana Core
MP: 479,463
Evolution Rank: VIII
GP: 73,125 / 75,000
Larvae: 43 / 45
Structures: 72 / 75
Available structures:
Rank I – Mana Core
Rank II – Hive Nexus, Larvae Chamber, Biomass Processor
Rank III – Biomass Storage, Extractor, Creation Chamber
Rank IV – Bio-Fusion Chamber, Cyst Generator, Resource Node
Rank V – Guardian Spire, Flesh Maw, Sentry Talon
Rank VI – Mind Control Center, Trap Constructor, Tumor Builder
Rank VII – Transfer Maw, Genome Fusion Lab, Behemoth Cavern
Rank VIII – Dead Matter Processor, Fleshport
Available creatures: Larva, Roach, Fly, Spider, Ten-legged Acid-Spitting Crawler, Wingclaw, Managatherer, Archnox, Oculus Vine, Lurker, Guardian
Available traps: Guardian Spire, Flesh Maw, Sentry Talon, Tentacle Trap
Evolve to Rank IX: Y/N (7,500 Biomass, 355,000 MP)
After the Mana Core is evolved to Rank IX, the following structures will be available for creation:
Vein Rift;
Infestation Pit.
Jake had evolved the Mana Core to Rank VII before infiltrating the Los Demonios main base, granting him access to three new structures: Transfer Maw, Genome Fusion Lab, and Behemoth Cavern. The first functioned as a temporary wormhole, instantly transporting him or his creatures across vast distances in an instant. He employed this power on multiple occasions, the final time being when he dispatched his crawlers directly into the Los Demonios stronghold to crush the bandits.
Genome Fusion Lab was also a very useful structure. The Bio-Fusion Chamber allowed him to combine various unique genetic materials to unlock special abilities for his creatures to learn. The problem was success was unpredictable. There was no way to know which combinations would unlock special abilities and which would not. More than once, he had squandered precious materials, their potential lost forever when a fusion attempt failed.
Everything changed once he unlocked the Genome Fusion Lab. With its advanced analytical capabilities, it could assess each genetic material, predict possible outcomes, and identify compatible pairings, transforming the once risky process into a far more efficient and strategic endeavor.
As for Behemoth Cavern, he learned that this structure was enormous, and there wasn’t enough room in his lair to build it. At first, he toyed with the idea of tearing down walls to carve out a vast chamber big enough to house it. But that plan was abandoned when he began building an entirely new lair, one of grand proportions, and that was where he ultimately placed the colossal structure.
At some point over the past several days, after destroying the Los Demonios main base, Jake had evolved his Mana Core from Rank VII to Rank VIII. He couldn’t help but notice that this rank unlocked only two structures for him to build: Dead Matter Processor and Fleshport. It was the same for the next rank. When he upgraded the Mana Core in this lair to Rank IX, only two structures would become available: Vein Rift and Infestation Pit. He knew that Rank X was the final level a Mana Core could achieve. So, it certainly seemed that the last three ranks unlocked only two structures, instead of three, as with all the previous ranks.
Anyway, Dead Matter Processor allowed him to convert corpses into biomatter, albeit with a significantly lower yield than when using living subjects. As for Fleshport, it was essentially a wormhole linking his lairs, allowing him to travel from one to another. Unlike Transfer Maw, which could exist for a limited amount of time, Fleshport was a permanent installation, and it was restricted to placement within a lair. Its vast size made it possible to instantly transport a large group of his creatures from one lair to another when necessary.
Over the last three days, he had developed three new types of creatures: the Oculus Vine, the Lurker, and the Guardian. The Oculus Vine functioned much like a living surveillance camera. As for the Lurker, he designed this creature specifically to spy on humans. His relationships with humans were strained, to say the least, which was why he wanted to be constantly kept in the loop about their activities.
For that reason, he created the Lurker, but not as a combat unit, but rather as an espionage specialist. Its purpose was to monitor the humans’ three strongholds and observe what was happening inside. The Lurker could turn invisible and possessed all the necessary skills to avoid detection, both by humans and by technology such as surveillance cameras, motion detectors, and other security systems.
The Guardian, on the other hand, was a powerful combat unit whose sole purpose was to remain within the lair, standing watch over the Mana Core and protecting it at all costs.
So, everything was in perfect order in his lair right now. It was now time to check on the development progress of his secret project.