Chapter 334
The second creature Jake had been working on was quite different from the Ten-legged Acid-spitting Crawler he had created earlier. For the new creature, he chose a different basic being: a fly.
The development process was exactly the same as before. He utilized the creation mode of the Creation Chamber to form the new creature, shaping the new creature’s features based on the purpose he had in mind.
He named this creature the Managatherer, as its sole purpose would be to scour the city for mana, bring it to his lair, and feed the collected magical energy to the Mana Core.
Sure enough, the initial stats of this creature weren’t impressive by any means.
Name: Managatherer (Common)
Rank: I
Size: Small
Strength: 14% (Common)
Constitution: 15% (Common)
Agility: 18% (Common)
Intelligence: 17% (Common)
Magick: 16% (Common)
Special abilities: None
Jake wasn’t quite sure how this creature would collect mana. The very primitive method was to comb the city and pick up various mana constables like marbles, shards, crystals, and so on. Therefore, the Managatherer needed some sort of storage to hold the collected consumables.
Unlike the Ten-legged Acid-spitting Crawler, the Managatherer didn’t need to excel in fighting. Instead, it had to be very fast and maneuverable, capable of retrieving mana quickly and agile enough to evade enemies and their attacks.
The Ten-legged Acid-spitting Crawler had two special abilities: Adhesive Secretion and Acid Spit. The future Managatherer didn’t really need Adhesive Secretion, and Jake believed it didn’t require Acid Spit either. Instead, it would be wiser to give it abilities that could enhance its speed and agility and perhaps grant it some disguising capabilities.
Jake had been working on the Managatherer for some time, gradually getting what he wanted. The development process was now familiar to him. To upgrade the creature from one rank to the next, he needed to increase certain stats to specific levels, after which he could advance the creature further.
As for special abilities, they were governed by the creature’s rarity level. At Common, it could have none, at Uncommon one, at Superior two, and so on. To upgrade the creature to the next rarity level, he needed to elevate each of its attributes to that specific rarity level. This required him to collect unique genetic materials.
Jake was already familiar with the unique materials needed for each attribute and the specific mutants from which they could be extracted.
Strength needed Hardened Rigidbone, which was obtained from an elite slasher. Constitution needed a Regenerative Skin Patch, obtained from either a shambler or a whipper. To increase the rarity level of Agility, Predatory Mutant Enzymes were required, obtained from an elite leaper. The Intelligence attribute could be increased with Bio-active Brain Matter, obtained from an elite chaser. And as for Magick, it needed a Mana-infused Tissue Sample, obtained from an elite wraith.
Yesterday, Jake had upgraded the Managatherer to Rank III and raised its rarity level to Uncommon. Today, he planned to continue working on this creature. Since the Creation Chamber was Rank IV, he could upgrade the creature’s rank one more time and then produce it via the Hive Nexus, which was also at the same rank.
Even though the Managatherer was now Uncommon and could possess one special ability, Jake hadn’t granted it one yet. The Bio-Fusion Chamber, where special abilities for his creatures could be unlocked, was currently Rank III, offering three special abilities for his creatures to learn: Adhesive Secretion, Mana-infused Jump, and Acid Spit.
None of these three abilities seemed like a good fit for his new creature, so he decided to evolve the Bio-Fusion Chamber to Rank IV, spending 2,000 MP and 200 Biomass for that. Once the structure finished evolving to Rank IV, he checked its stats and learned that the newly unlocked ability was Cloak, which worked exactly like his own. This ability was perfect for the Managatherer.
Since he could increase the creature’s rarity level from Uncommon to Superior, another ability slot would be unlocked, which was good. Jake wanted it to have at least two special abilities, just like the Ten-legged Acid-spitting Crawler.
He knew that upgrading the Bio-Fusion Chamber only unlocked basic types of special abilities. However, there was an alternative method to discover new abilities for his creatures: by merging different unique genetic materials in the Bio-Fusion Chamber, he could unlock additional and much more interesting abilities.
So he dedicated the rest of the day and most of the night to searching for elite mutants, extracting unique materials from them, and combining those materials in the Bio-Fusion Chamber. While most attempts yielded no results, he eventually unlocked a new ability: Mana Absorption. It was perfect for the Managatherer and was exactly what he had been looking for!
This ability worked just like his perk of the same name, allowing him to absorb mana clouds. However, unlike his perk, which only enabled absorption, requiring another perk called Mana Vision to detect them, the Mana Absorption ability for his creatures allowed them to both detect and absorb mana clouds.
While working on the creature, Jake discovered an intriguing detail he hadn’t been aware of before. In creation mode, he could not only change the creature’s appearance but also program behavioral traits that would govern its actions.
Jake decided to imbue the Managatherer with an instinct to conserve mana. He genetically programmed the creature to concentrate solely on gathering mana and transporting it back to the lair to nourish the Mana Core. Additionally, he programmed directives to avoid combat, prioritizing evasion from enemies.
All that remained was to upgrade the creature from Rank III to Rank IV, elevate its rarity from Uncommon to Superior, and bestow it with two special abilities. Jake dedicated the entire night to this task.
By the time morning arrived, he had finished. He then checked the creature’s current stats.
Name: Managatherer (Superior)
Rank: IV
Size: Small
Strength: 44% (Superior)
Constitution: 46% (Superior)
Agility: 57% (Superior)
Intelligence: 49% (Superior)
Magick: 53% (Superior)
Special abilities: Cloak, Mana Absorption
He could now produce the creature using the Hive Nexus. He instructed one of his larvae to crawl into the structure to transform into a managatherer. Once the transformation was complete, he planned to release it outside to see how effectively it executed its functions.