Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 140

Chapter 140

He spent the rest of the day searching the city for buildings infested with replication pods. Unfortunately, whenever he came across such a building, he often found only remnants of destroyed replication pods, survivors having already cleared the area. Even when he was fortunate enough to discover intact replication pods, none contained the specific mutant type he needed. It became painfully obvious that if things continued this way, it would take him several days to successfully complete his current mutation research quest.

As he prowled the streets choked with vegetation, he occasionally heard the distant sounds of gunfire and the roar of engines echoing from various parts of the city. Fortunately, after his last confrontation with two groups of Los Demonios, he hadn’t encountered any other gang members so far. He kept searching for buildings that contained replication pods, but more often than not, he found only remnants of cocoons that had already been destroyed. It was becoming increasingly tiresome.

At one point, he entered another high-rise building and found the main room on the first floor filled with replication pods. He decided to remain in that room and wait for the desired mutant type to form in one of them. After slaying all the ex-humans milling about the vast room, he carefully examined each cocoon one by one. None were currently producing wraiths, but there was still a chance that one might after it finished creating the creature it was working on. So he decided to wait.

He spent a while in that building. Whenever a pod finished creating a mutant and opened to release it, Jake swiftly took care of the creature and then looked into the pod to see what type of mutant was going to be created next. Unfortunately, most of the mutants generated in replication pods were low-level walkers and leapers, as was usually the case.

Jake spent several hours in that building, but only a couple of shamblers and whippers were created, and once, a slasher as well. The rest of the mutants that emerged from the replication pods were walkers and leapers, as usual. He continued to wait in the building until, at last, a wraith started to take shape in one of the pods that had just released a walker.

However, as it turned out, this wraith was a regular mutant, not an elite one. It was truly disappointing. Jake then realized that all the replication pods he had ever encountered had only produced regular mutants. Could it be that there was a distinct type of replication pod designed specifically to create elite mutants that he simply hadn’t encountered yet?

At some point, a group of survivors entered the building. As soon as Jake heard them, he decided to leave through a back exit, not wanting to unnecessarily get into a fight with humans. Besides, he was becoming increasingly convinced that regular replication pods produced only regular mutants. To complete the mutation research quest, he likely needed to find replication pods specifically designed to create elite mutants.

When night fell, he began searching for mana consumables using Mana Vision. It was an excellent perk that made finding mana items a very easy task. He also remembered that perks could be upgraded to the next ranks, just like skills and abilities. He was definitely going to upgrade it at some point. By the time morning came, Jake had raised his total mana count to over 55,000. With that, he could purchase the Cloak ability, which cost 25,000 MP, leaving him with over 30,000 MP.

Jake decided to postpone purchasing the ability for a little longer, though. He wanted to stick to his daily routine and move on to clearing the sewers of mutants. So he spent the next several morning hours in the underground tunnels. Since this time he didn’t bother to purchase the Increased XP booster, he only leveled up once by the time he finished clearing the sewers. His level was now 55, and he allocated four of the five skill points to Body.

Body: 46 → 50

Mind: 55

Magick: 60

Jake then purchased the Cloak ability and emerged from the sewers onto the city streets, now illuminated by the morning light. He spent some time testing out his newly acquired ability.

When Cloak was activated, he blended with the environment. When he was completely still, his outline softened, making him nearly undetectable. The ability merged him flawlessly with his surroundings, allowing him to dissolve into them and create an illusion of transparency.

However, when he moved, the ability struggled to adapt quickly enough to keep him concealed. The distortion that cloaked him could only keep pace with him when he was completely still or moved slowly. Whenever he shifted his weight or turned his body, the illusion faltered, causing parts of him to momentarily reappear and become partially visible.

When he dashed through the streets, his disguise became inconsistent, and the illusion of invisibility faltered, making his movements visible. When he moved quickly, he appeared as a blurry figure instead of being fully invisible. The faster he moved, the more difficult it was for his ability to keep him hidden. Also, while the ability was active, it consumed his mana.

He still had one skill point at his disposal and took a moment to consider where it was best to invest it. He had two recently acquired abilities, Gravity Leap and Cloak, along with one skill, Adhesive Secretion. Each of the three was Uncommon and therefore had four available upgrades. In the end, Jake decided to invest the skill point into one of his perks instead. Currently, he had two perks: Enemy Appraisal and Mana Vision. He examined the former.

Enemy Appraisal (Rank II) (Common)

Rank III: Allows you to see the elemental weaknesses of your enemies.

Raise to Rank III: Y/N (Cost: 1 SP)

He decided to allocate the skill point to Enemy Appraisal. Later on, he would upgrade Mana Vision as well. He examined the description of the perk one more time.

Enemy Appraisal: Rank III (MAX) (Common)

Description: Allows you to see basic information about any living being, including its level, attributes, skills, abilities, and elemental weaknesses.

It seemed that perks could only be upgraded to Rank III, at least those of Common rarity. Skills and abilities could be upgraded to the next rarity after his evolving into the next Stage, but he wasn’t sure if the same rule applied to perks. 

For the next several hours, he continued searching the city for replication pods. Unfortunately, every time he found some, they were only producing regular mutants. He needed to find pods that created elite ex-humans, but he had no idea where to look. Were they just extremely rare, requiring him to simply rely on luck to eventually stumble across one? Or were they spawned only in specific areas he wasn’t aware of? Jake wasn’t sure.

At some point, something unexpected happened. He discovered another building filled with replication pods in the spacious main room on the first floor. After slaying the ex-humans who were aimlessly roaming the area, he inspected the pods. As expected, each one was generating either a walker or a leaper.

He was about to leave when he heard the screech of tires as a large vehicle came to a sudden stop in front of the building. Doors swung open, and several people got out. Jake wasn’t sure what was happening. Instead of fleeing, he chose to do something else. Activating Gravity Leap, he jumped vertically upward. As soon as he reached the ceiling, he pressed his hands and feet against it, clinging to the surface like a giant insect as Adhesive Secretion automatically kicked in.

Just as footsteps approached the entrance of the building, he activated Cloak. The ability didn’t work immediately, taking a few seconds to completely blend him into his surroundings. However, it was enough. By the time the newcomers entered the building a few seconds later, Cloak had successfully rendered him invisible. Remaining completely still, Jake watched the scene unfold several meters below him.

He watched as several people entered the main room. Three of them were regular survivors—two men and one woman—while the rest were Los Demonios. Each of the Demons sported either a red scarf around their neck or a red bandana. It was obvious that at least two of the regular survivors—one man and the woman—were prisoners because their hands were tied behind their backs. However, the third survivor was not restrained for some reason.

The group of bandits unleashed a barrage of fire upon the replication pods and a couple of walkers that had just emerged from two of them, quickly dealing with the ex-humans and destroying the pods. The Demons then scanned the area, but they failed to notice Jake clinging to the ceiling above them. None of them even glanced upward.

Then, the two captured regular survivors were forced to kneel at the center of the expansive room, the floor slick with pod liquid and strewn with the pulpy remnants of the shattered replication pods. The third survivor, the one who wasn’t tied, was allowed to remain on his feet. Although he wasn’t bound like the other two, he looked very unhappy. Completely invisible, Jake remained motionless, clinging to the ceiling while watching the unfolding scene below, eager to find out what it was all about.

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