Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 219

Chapter 219

Jake ducked as one of the grunts lunged at him. Another one jabbed its spear in his direction, but he sidestepped, easily avoiding the lethal tip. Behind him, he picked up the familiar sounds of scuttling feet and an angry hiss. When he spun around, he was met by a rat as large as a German Shepherd racing toward him.

Giant Rat - Level 85

Behind the first creature was another similar one. Their red, evil eyes stared at him as both hissed threateningly. Jake swung his battleaxe at one of the advancing beasts. It attempted to evade the strike, but Jake was way too fast. The edge of his battleaxe embedded deeply into its skull. 

Unwilling to meet the same unfortunate fate, the other rat tried to escape. It didn’t get far, though. Sprouting three long tentacles from his back, Jake launched them after the retreating creature, plunging the bladed tips deep into its body.

Just as he killed the second rat, Feral Instincts alerted him to an incoming projectile. He ducked, feeling something whiz through the air above him. He wheeled around in the direction the projectile had come from and spotted the flinger. 

Ratman - Tamer - Level 85

This type of ratman was tall and scrawny. Physically weak, it never fought on the front lines, preferring to stay at the rear like bonecasters, hiding behind the backs of the more powerful grunts. The tamer was armed with a Y-shaped stick that had an elastic strap attached to the prongs.

Just as Jake turned to face the tamer, it readied another rock from a bag slung across its bony shoulders. The ratman aimed carefully, pulling back the taut strap of the slingshot. Upon releasing the strap, the projectile shot forward, and Jake swiftly dodged again. The missile zipped past him with remarkable speed and force. Although he knew he wouldn’t have sustained much, if any, harm if hit, an ordinary human could easily have ended up with shattered ribs from such a powerful blow.

My turn, Jake thought grimly as he prepared a glob of acid in his mouth.

Ratman tamers could be rather annoying opponents. Not only did they attack from a distance, always hiding behind the more powerful grunts, but they also possessed the ability to summon two gigantic rats that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. While a single rat wasn’t particularly strong and posed little threat on its own, when they appeared in numbers, they became quite a nuisance.

In this particular group of ratmen, though, there was only one tamer, and since it had just used its ability to summon two rats, it wouldn’t be able to do so again for about thirty seconds. Nevertheless, Jake wanted to take the tamer out as soon as possible.

He launched the glob of acid at the tamer, landing a direct hit on its head. The acid easily ate through it, leaving behind little more than the creature’s skull, with hardly any flesh clinging to it.

After that, Jake turned his attention back to the remaining grunts. He swung his battleaxe at one of them, taking its head off its shoulders with a single sweep. He swung at another grunt, severing its arm at the elbow. Before the enemy could recover from shock, he finished it off with another lethal strike. He dodged a blow, and attacked another grunt, sinking his battleaxe in its head, splitting its skull in half.

With a quick swing, he attacked another grunt. The ratman managed to leap backward, so the slash Jake had left across its chest wasn’t too deep. However, unfortunately for the ratman, the ruby inserted into his battleaxe kicked in when the blade sliced through the grunt’s body, setting it on fire. Since ratmen were vulnerable to fire, the grunt turned into a living torch in an instant.

The ruby embedded in his battleaxe had only a 10% chance of igniting the target, so it didn’t happen very often. However, when it did, it always played to his advantage. The flaming grunt ran in circles, squealing in agony and filling the air with the stench of burnt fur and flesh, creating confusion among the remaining ratmen.

Taking advantage of their temporary confusion, Jake quickly finished off the remaining enemies.

Multiple enemies killed. +27,535 XP

You have gained enough XP to level up. Your level went up from 82 to 83. You have gained 5 SP.

Another fight was over. Jake summoned his stats, and after thinking for a second, decided to put all five skill points into Magick, just like he had the last time.

Body: 75

Mind: 75

Magick: 80 → 85

In one of the corners of the room sat a container.

Quality Chest

Jake crossed the room, stopping a safe distance from the chest. He could already hear the faint hum emanating from it, as well as feel subtle vibrations through the soles of his feet. It was obvious that the chest was protected by a magical trap.

He sprouted a bladed tentacle from his back and extended it fully toward the chest. Wedging the tip of the blade between the lid and the chest, he lifted. Immediately, there was a palpable surge of energy, and in the next instant, a small explosion erupted right in front of the chest where he would have been crouched had he opened it with his hands.

With the trap triggered, it was safe to approach the chest. Looking inside, he discovered a mana crystal holding 5,000 MP, along with two other items: an oval-shaped gem and an amulet. He first extracted the magical energy from the mana crystal before turning his attention to one of the other two treasures. 

Name: Opal

Rarity: Uncommon

Description: Inserting this gem into a slot on your weapon grants it the ability to inflict damage on ghosts and other non-physical creatures. When placed in your armor’s slot, it increases your Ethereal resistance.  

Primary Effects: Increases damage dealt to ghost-like creatures by 25% when inserted into a weapon. Increases Ethereal resistance by 25% when placed in armor or jewelry.

Status: 100%

Jake already had a ruby inserted into his bone battleaxe, and there didn’t seem to be a way to extract it without special tools. Even if he could remove the ruby, he probably wouldn’t have done so because the ointment smeared across the axe’s blade already allowed the weapon to deal damage to ghosts. Not that he had encountered any ghosts on this floor yet. He was aware that in the next several hours, the effect of the ointment was going to wear off.

He then turned his attention to the piece of jewelry.

Name: Ethereal Self-Charging Protective Amulet 

Rarity: Uncommon

Description: This magical amulet offers protection from all forms of ethereal attacks by absorbing them. After its energy is completely drained, the amulet switches to recharging mode, collecting and absorbing mana from the surrounding air. When the amulet is fully charged, it becomes effective once again.

Primary effects: Provides protection to the wearer against Ethereal Damage.

Temporary effects: None

Enchantments: None

Slots: 1 (Opal)

At the front of the amulet, there was an indentation that matched the size and shape of the gem lying in the chest. Jake grasped the amulet in one hand and the opal in the other, then inserted the gem into the slot. Once it clicked into place, Jake reviewed the amulet’s stats once more, focusing on the newly added information.

Slots: Opal - Increases the wearer’s Ethereal resistance by 25%.

Jake wondered whether the opal’s effects would still influence him when the amulet ran out of energy. It should, he reasoned. He draped the amulet around his neck and then, after choosing a random direction, set off.

He wandered through the dungeon for a while, defeating every group of ratmen he encountered. After some time, he arrived at a four-way junction, where a familiar structure rose from the center. 

Dark Spirit Conduit

It appeared identical to the obelisk he had encountered earlier, standing approximately twelve feet tall with four sides. It was crafted from a shining silvery metal, and its top resembled a crown of sorts.

One side of the obelisk featured two familiar indentations, positioned one above the other. The upper indentation took the shape of a human hand with fingers splayed apart, while the lower one resembled the star-shaped medallion he had found earlier.

So he had finally found the obelisk where he could use the medallion. Only he didn’t have it on him at the moment. At some point in the past half an hour, he had returned to the portal and left the medallion and the jigsaw-like fragment of a key near it, as constantly carrying them in his mouth prevented him from using Acid Spit.

It didn’t take him long to make the trip to the portal to retrieve the star-shaped medallion. His exceptionally good memory and remarkable movement speed allowed him to navigate the tunnels and corridors of the dungeon easily and quickly.

Upon returning to the recently discovered Dark Spirit Conduit, he inserted the star-shaped medallion into the matching indentation. It clicked into place with ease, and the obelisk instantly began to hum, filling the air with an electrical charge that tingled against his skin. He also noticed bluish energy wafting upward from the crown-shaped top of the structure.

For a moment, Jake watched the obelisk, but nothing else happened. The Dark Spirit Conduit was now up and running, ready to carry out its intended function. He shifted his gaze to the hand-like indentation, then reached out with his left hand and placed it inside.