Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 216

Chapter 216

Nothing dangerous happened, though. A small section on one of the inner walls of the chest slid aside, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside, there was a rectangular object with a round protrusion on one side. Since no trap had been activated, Jake detached his tendril and stepped closer to the chest. He leaned in, extended one hand toward the hidden compartment, and took the object from within.

Straightening up, he examined the item resting in his palm. The object resembled a single jigsaw puzzle piece, shaped like a small rectangle with two straight edges and two curved ones. The top and left edges were straight, while the right edge had a prominent protrusion—a rounded knob that jutted out, designed to fit into a corresponding indentation on another piece. The bottom edge featured a deep indentation, creating a space for a knob from a neighboring piece to slot into.

Since he currently had only one piece of the puzzle, it was difficult to determine how many more there might be. Considering the size of the piece—almost as large as his palm—he suspected there were probably three more, or maybe a bit more than that. Jake took the puzzle piece with his other hand and examined both sides of it. Neither side bore any image. From the look of it, Jake concluded that once he found all the pieces, they would fit together to create some sort of key, granting him access to a specific location or unlocking something important.

He placed the puzzle piece in his mouth, where the star-shaped medallion rested, then chose a random direction and continued on. He traversed the dungeon for some time, dealing with small groups of ratman minions that he occasionally came across.

After completing the first floor of the dungeon, Jake had received the Chainsaw Arms ability. However, since it was an epic ability, it was located in the third section of the Genetic Development Interface, which Jake couldn’t access because he hadn’t evolved into Stage III yet. For now, he relied on his previous weapons in battles against ratmen. As for evolving into the next form, he decided to hold off on that for the time being. Although he already had a good idea of which of the three subclasses he wanted to choose, he preferred to focus on one thing at a time. So he intended to finish the dungeon first, and after that, he would evolve into the next stage, focusing on getting to know his new form and familiarizing himself with the new powers that would come with it.

He continued to explore the second floor of the dungeon for some time. Every now and then, he stumbled upon primitive chests containing various weapons and lesser mana consumables. While he extracted the magical energy from the mana items, he chose to leave the weapons behind. The loot found in these primitive chests only included common weapons, which paled in comparison to his own natural armament.

At some point, he entered a vast room filled with a type of ratman he had never encountered before. They wandered aimlessly around the spacious yet largely empty chamber. A few noticed him at the entrance but made no immediate move. Jake paused for a moment to retrieve the description of these creatures.

Ratman - Grunt - Level 85

All of the ratmen in the room were grunts. Just like the previous ratmen he had encountered, they wore no clothing, as a thick layer of fur covered most of their bodies. However, some of the grunts wore pieces of armor, such as cuirasses and helmets. They were armed with various melee weapons, including nasty-looking maces, double-edged axes, and jagged swords. Compared to the minions, the grunts were distinctly larger and exhibited a more robust muscle structure.

Jake prepared his weapons and charged into the room. The grunts snarled menacingly as they lunged at him, weapons raised. As expected, the grunts were significantly more powerful than the ratman minions. They swung their hefty weapons with tremendous force, slicing through the air with an audible whoosh and striking the cobbled floor with resounding clanks and thuds. Jake was quick enough to dodge their attacks while successfully countering with his own weapons. Unlike the minions, the grunts didn’t attempt to retreat even when it became clear that they were all about to be slaughtered. Instead, they continued to fight back fiercely, even as their ranks quickly diminished. After a few intense minutes, the battle concluded, leaving the cobbled floor strewn with the bodies of the slain ratman grunts.

Multiple enemies killed. +15,350 XP

Having defeated the enemies, he surveyed the room for any treasures. In one corner, he spotted a chest. With a thought, he summoned its description. 

Quality Chest (Uncommon)

It had been some time since he discovered a quality chest, and a wave of excitement washed over him. Even though he was aware that he didn’t really need the weapons found in chests, he was still intrigued by what he might find inside. 

Well aware that quality chests were often booby-trapped, he carefully inspected it. To his surprise, this one wasn’t. He scrutinized it from every angle but found no indications of traps, whether mechanical or magical.

He approached the chest and crouched in front of it. As he lifted the lid, he leaned in to glance inside. At the bottom rested two items: a battleaxe and a mana crystal. He first siphoned the magical energy from the mana crystal before examining the weapon. 

Name: Bone Battleaxe

Rarity: Uncommon

Description: Crafted from the bone of a powerful creature, this expertly made battleaxe is highly effective against a range of beasts and beastmen, particularly rats and ratmen. It also features one ruby slot. 

Primary effects: Increases damage inflicted on beasts and beastmen by 25%, plus grants an extra 25% damage against rats and ratmen.

Temporary effects: None

Enchantments: None

Slots: 1 (Ruby)

The battleaxe was one-bladed and entirely made of bone. Just above the handle, there was a rhombus-shaped indentation where a gemstone should fit. Even though Jake didn’t feel the need for special weapons against ratmen, he decided to pick up the bone battleaxe. Since it offered a significant increase in damage against ratmen, he decided it was worth a test run. He was also curious about what effects a gemstone would grant the weapon when inserted into the slot.

For the next several minutes, he continued to explore the dungeon without encountering any more enemies. He moved through corridor after corridor, the battleaxe held firmly in one hand. Upon reaching a four-way junction, he noticed something intriguing. At the center of the intersection stood an obelisk, soaring around twelve feet high. It featured four sides and was crafted from a gleaming silvery material. The top of the obelisk was flat and adorned with a crown-like object. With a thought, Jake summoned the obelisk’s description.

Dark Spirit Conduit

No additional information popped up. Jake walked around the Dark Spirit Conduit, inspecting it from all angles. Unlike the black obelisks on the first floor, this structure was devoid of any enigmatic symbols etched into its surfaces. However, on one side, at eye level, two indentations caught his attention, stacked one over the other. The top indentation mirrored the shape of a human hand with fingers spread wide, while the one below resembled the star-shaped medallion he had discovered earlier.

However, when Jake took the medallion out of his mouth, he realized they weren’t exactly the same. While similar in shape and identical in size, the indentation had a sun-like pattern with longer rays. Despite knowing it wouldn’t fit, he still attempted to insert the star-shaped medallion into the sun-shaped indentation. As expected, it wouldn’t go in.

Jake returned the medallion to his mouth and pressed the palm of his free hand into the hand-shaped indentation. He kept it there for a few seconds, but nothing occurred. Pulling his hand back, he glanced at the two indentations one last time. He was fairly confident that additional Dark Spirit Conduits were present on this floor, and one of them had to possess a star-shaped indentation for his medallion to fit. He also suspected a sun-shaped medallion was stashed away somewhere, and he just had to find it.

For the moment, he had no means to activate the Dark Spirit Conduit before him, but he was determined to return once he discovered the sun-shaped medallion. Since he had needed to solve a puzzle on the first floor to gain access to the second floor, it was clear that a similar challenge awaited him here. Although he hadn’t located the portal yet and had no clear idea of the exact purpose of these obelisk-like structures, he was fairly certain they were part of the puzzle, the solution of which would allow him to progress to the next, third, floor. With that in mind, he chose a random direction and continued to explore the dungeon.