Chapter 401
Chapter 401
Shadows stretched long and distorted as the last traces of daylight were surrendering to the creeping darkness. Jake moved steadily through the downtown district, eyes sharp and senses tense, combing every corner in search of the Venomancer Mantiscor. The Genome Fusion Lab had provided him with an approximate location of the elite monster, but the information was vague, meaning Jake had no choice but to wander the area until he caught sight of the monster.
Though this part of the city had yet to be overrun by the pulsating organic masses of the Ravage Contamination, it was in a worse state than the rest of the city, bearing deeper marks of devastation. Towering skeletons of half-collapsed buildings loomed like broken guardians over the streets, their jagged edges cutting into the night sky. Shattered glass glittered faintly in the quickly fading light, scattered among large mounds of rubble that choked every corner.
As always, Jake moved at a predatory jog, every step echoing in the eerie silence, interrupted only by the distant groan of twisted metal settling into place. From time to time, he encountered packs of regular mutants, taking care of them without much trouble. He didn’t even bother to send the group of crawlers and wingclaws, always trailing closely behind him, into the battle.
As he prowled through the area, his enhanced sense of smell sifted through the blend of odors drifting from every direction. By now, he could recognize many types of mutants by scent alone, each aroma etched into his memory.
Then, a foreign scent slipped into the mix, sharp, distinct, and unlike anything he had encountered before. Without hesitation, he pivoted, homing in on the source. As he kept moving, the strange scent grew stronger, pulling him toward the new type of monster.
At last, he arrived. Picking his way up a jagged pile of debris left by the collapse of two buildings flanking the street, Jake peered ahead to where a four-way intersection lay. Standing dead center in the junction was the elite mutant he had been tracking.
He climbed down the pile of debris but stopped, careful not to get too close to the mutant and risk aggroing it. He took a moment to study his opponent. The monster moved from spot to spot, and if it noticed him, it paid him no mind.
The creature looked like a nightmarish fusion of mantis and scorpion. Its upper body resembled a mantis: elongated, jointed limbs encased in chitinous armor, with forelimbs ending in serrated scythe-blades that gleamed with a sickly green. The foreblades looked powerful enough to cleave through steel like paper. Below its segmented waist, the form shifted into the muscular, plated frame of a scorpion, its powerful legs tipped with dagger-like claws that scraped and clicked against the asphalt as they moved.
The insectoid beast towered about seven feet at the shoulder and nearly a dozen feet from head to tail. That tail, long and sinuous, arched forward in a perfect curve like a living spear, ending in a wickedly hooked sting the size of a short sword. Veins of venom pulsed faintly beneath the chitin, as though eager to be unleashed.
Acidic saliva dripped from its grinding mandibles, each drop sizzling when it touched the ground, releasing faint trails of acrid smoke. Its plated exoskeleton glistened with a thin layer of toxin-resistant secretions, giving it an oily sheen under the rapidly fading daylight.
From its massive head, two bulbous clusters of compound eyes reflected light like black diamonds. Jake was sure those eyes could track the smallest movement and see through pitch darkness. The air around the insectoid beast seemed to hum faintly, sending vibrations through the space as magical energy radiated from the elite monster.
With a thought, Jake summoned the creature’s description.
Venomancer Mantiscor (Elite) – Level 215
Special abilities:
- Bloodfang Frenzy: When the Mantiscor’s health drops below 40%, its primal instincts take over. Its muscles swell, and its serrated claws blur in motion, doubling attack speed and increasing damage with each strike. In this frenzy, its attacks get infused with venom, inflicting poison damage upon hits.
Cooldown: 180 seconds.
- Caustic Maelstrom: The Mantiscor spews a concentrated torrent of sizzling acid from its mandibles, forming a corrosive stream that eats through armor and flesh alike. Enemies caught in the torrent suffer heavy initial damage and continuous armor degradation for a few seconds. Environmental surfaces dissolve, leaving dangerous hazards.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
- Predator’s Lunge: In a flash, the Mantiscor coils and launches itself forward with predatory precision, closing the gap between itself and its target almost instantly. Movement speed is boosted by 80% for a few seconds, and the next attack performed within that window is guaranteed to critically strike if it lands, inflicting additional piercing damage.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
The insectoid beast surpassed him by forty-nine levels, which was alarming. He knew that regular mutants surpassing him by that much still weren’t much of a threat. However, an elite mutant was altogether a different matter. The fight against that insectoid beast wouldn’t be easy, that was for sure.
He then used his Appraisal perk on the Mantiscor to see its weaknesses. It had two: explosive and shock. He then checked his inner inventory and saw that he had no more ambers left, the magical gemstones that granted his attacks explosive damage. He remembered using them all up back in the underground cavern, where he had blasted the walls with his smashfists to make the area larger.
It was a shame. He was running low on magical gemstones, with some of them, such as ambers, already exhausted. Magical gemstones were among the rarest items, and the best way to obtain them was inside the Void Temple, by making use of the summoning circle.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he had visited the Void Temple. For the past few weeks, his mind had been fully absorbed with dealing with Los Demonios, building a new lair, and raising his first Kaiju. Those gemstones were extremely useful, so he definitely needed to find time to revisit the Void Temple at some point.
Luckily, he had some gemstones left that could grant his attacks shock damage, so he retrieved them from his inventory and absorbed them. He then checked his resistances.
His corrosion resistance was at 30%, which was good. It should be enough to blunt the Mantiscor’s ranged caustic attacks. His poison protection was at 55%, 25% of which came from the Basic Elemental Shielding lesser artifact he had created back when he was in the Void Temple, exploring the Maze of Torment dungeon. Since then, he had always carried the artifact in his inventory. This resistance would protect him against the insectoid beast’s venom.
His strongest defense lay in resisting piercing attacks, boasting an impressive 72% protection. That gave him confidence. Judging by the Mantiscor’s design, its primary offense would likely consist of stabbing and slashing with those razor-sharp foreblades, followed by deadly thrusts from its venomous sting, so he should be well protected against those attacks.
Once he finished assessing his foe and preparing for the fight, Jake instructed his creatures to stay nearby and began steadily moving toward the elite monster.