Chapter 411
Chapter 411
Jake ducked low, narrowly avoiding the sweeping, serrated foreblade of a massive insectoid mutant. The creature loomed over seven feet tall, a grotesque fusion of a mantis and the long, segmented body of a centipede. As an elite mutant, it was far stronger than the regular monsters that accompanied it.
With a sudden snap, the creature’s other foreblade whipped forward, moving with incredible speed, the limb blurring in the daylight. Jake shifted to the side, dodging the strike by a hair’s breadth, before extending one arm toward the beast and launching a dense, obsidian-like glob the size of his fist, hurtling toward the beast.
The projectile traveled the distance between them, swelling mid-flight before unraveling into a massive cinch net. In an instant, the net snapped tightly around the insectoid’s upper body, pinning its foreblades against its carapace.
Jake watched as the creature thrashed in agitation. He knew the massive insectoid would eventually shred the cinch net after a few desperate attempts. But for the moment, its restricted movements prevented it from launching another attack. The elite monster was temporarily neutralized, allowing him to shift his focus to the lesser creatures.
While he was locked in combat with the huge insectoid, its minions had been scuttling forward, closing the distance to get within striking range. These creatures were a disturbing blend of ants and human beings, possessing the upright posture and size of a man. They were armed with sharp, pointed mandibles and nasty, long, curved claws designed to rend bone and flesh with ease.
To keep the swarm of ant mutants at bay, Jake had been using his bladed tentacles, lashing them out in deadly arcs at the approaching enemies. Dark, foul-smelling ichor spurted every which way as he slashed and stabbed with mechanical precision, severing chitinous limbs and slicing clean through heads. The ground beneath him grew slick with the remains of the swarm as he killed the monsters.
At one point, he decided to make use of the upgrade he had recently acquired. While continuing to attack the ant mutants with his bladed tentacles, cutting them down, he dropped to one knee, morphing one hand into a drill, its tip gleaming with diamond-like hardness. In the next instant, he plunged it into the pavement, the ground shuddering as he willed Stunning Impact into effect.
Immediately, the earth convulsed beneath him, violent tremors rippling outward as jagged cracks tore through the ground from the drilling point like lightning bolts etched in stone. From the corner of his eye, Jake spotted nearby ant monsters crumpling instantly, felled by the shockwave.
Others, positioned farther away, clung desperately to their footing, swaying in awkward, jerking motions, like brittle saplings caught in a rush of strong wind. Some attempted to move closer to him but ended up lurching sideways, stumbling, and tumbling to the ground in clumsy heaps.
They were all clearly affected by the Dizzy negative effect, likely experiencing vertigo that left them unstable on their feet. Jake kept the drill grinding through the pavement as he lashed out at the staggering enemies, exploiting their unsteady footing.
He lashed out at the ant creatures with his bladed tentacles, whipping them through the air in a deadly blur. The sharp edges whistled as they tore through the ranks, dismembering and beheading the monsters with brutal efficiency. Chunks of severed exoskeleton and mangled limbs flew through the air as the tentacles coiled and struck, turning the area around him into a carnage.
One by one, the lesser mutants fell until none remained to stand around him. He pulled the drill free from the earth and straightened to his full height, shifting his focus back to the massive insectoid mutant.
Just as he was about to charge at the elite monster, it finally tore the cinch net enveloping it to shreds, the reinforced fibers snapping like dry twigs. As it cocked its wicked foreblades, opening its jaws to emit a piercing war cry, Jake made use of Acid Spit. His jaws parted, and from within, he launched a glob of acid spit right into the monster’s open maw.
The acid took effect instantly, hissing violently as it began eating through the creature’s soft internal flesh. For a moment, the searing pain made the elite monster forget about Jake, its attention riveted to the acrid smoke rising from its throat. He wasted no time capitalizing on that opening.
Morphing his lower arms into powerful chainsaws, he tore into the monster’s body. The roar of the blades filled the air as the large, jagged teeth chewed through the armored chitin without much trouble, sending shards of shell flying.
A moment later, both foreblades came off, severed from the monster’s body at the joints. Jake wasted no time focusing on the creature’s head. The whirling blades bit deep and a moment later, beheaded the monster in a spray of dark fluid. The insectoid beast remained upright for a second or two before it collapsed, dead. Another battle was over.
Multiple Enemies Killed. +43,710 XP
XP: 191,295 / 189,100
Level Up. 167 → 168
+5 SP
XP: 2,195 / 195,300
He had leveled up again. Jake was really taking his time making his way to Base Catalina. Closing his eyes, he summoned the status screen, and its familiar glow materialized before him. The last time he’d advanced a level, he hadn’t had enough skill points to acquire the fourth upgrade for the Rotary Blade Launcher, which had become available after he raised the ability to Rank III. Now, it was time to obtain it. He focused on the entry, inspecting its details before committing to the enhancement.
Rotary Blade Launcher: Rank III (14%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)
- Serrated Shred: Blades gain micro-serrations, increasing their cutting efficiency. On impact, they cause lingering damage over a short duration as they tear through armor and flesh, making them deadly against heavily protected enemies. Cost: 2 SP
Mind: 208 → 211
With that upgrade, his total combat power had increased from 318 to 328, leaving him with a satisfying sense of progress.
He then extended his mind, letting his telepathic reach sweep through the streets until it locked onto the presence of the nearest of his arachnoxes. He instructed the creature to make its way toward his current position. Through the same mental link, he ordered the creature to retrieve one of the insectoid beast’s severed foreblades and deliver it to the ten-story lair for harvesting the genetic material unique to this particular monster.
With his orders given, he resumed moving toward his destination. Knowing the arachnox would follow his commands to the word, there was no need for him to wait for its arrival or oversee its actions.
He continued to press forward toward Base Catalina, efficiently dispatching every mutant group he encountered along the way. So far, none had been able to so much as graze him, so the power shield he had recently gained through the Restoration skill remained at full capacity, its protective barrier unbroken.
Shield Integrity: 175,000 / 175,000
At one point, rounding a corner, he spotted another armored brawler stationed at the center of a four-way intersection, its hulking form unmoving but ready for battle. A perfect target. Deciding to test the upgrade he had just acquired, he stopped at a safe distance from the creature. Extending both arms toward the monster, he launched two circular saw blades. They whirred through the air with a savage whir before tearing into the brawler’s chest armor with a sharp, grating shriek.
Instead of bouncing off as they would have done before the upgrade, the two circular saw blades dug deeper, tearing right through the thick armor as if it were paper. A fraction of a second later, the high-pitched whine of the blades shifted as they tore right through the shattered armor and into the tender flesh beneath, eliciting a scream of rage and pain from the mutant.
Jake crouched low, muscles tense, before springing forward and upward with explosive force, like a tightly wound spring snapping free. Once he was directly above the brawler, he activated another Gravity Leap upgrade to arrest his forward motion midair.
Then, using yet another upgrade, he crashed down toward his target like a meteor, bending physics itself to his will. At the same time, he employed Gravity Strike, his right hand morphing and expanding into a heavy smashfist. In the next instant, he delivered a haymaker to the brawler’s head, causing it to burst apart in an explosion of gore, all its armor notwithstanding.
Enemy Killed. +4,325 XP
XP: 41,765 / 195,300
Jake looked around, but there were no more enemies nearby, so he continued to move toward Base Catalina, gradually getting closer to his destination.