Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 237

Chapter 237

At first, Jake thought the strange creature was another enemy he needed to defeat. If that were the case, the battle wouldn’t be easy. Perhaps it was the final foe on this floor, and upon defeating it, he would be granted the strength of the warrior, allowing him to piece the portal back together and get access to the next, and final, floor of the dungeon. However, when he summoned the warrior’s description, he was surprised to see only a single line materializing in his mind. 

Construct – Automaton

No additional information was provided. The creature certainly didn’t look like an enemy, yet it continued to stride directly toward him. The automaton stood as tall as a crystal golem, perhaps even a tad taller. If it came down to a fight, Jake would only be able to strike the lower half of its armored torso. However, he wasn’t sure if he actually needed to fight it. So instead of attacking, he decided to leap to the side, out of its path. The automaton continued to walk in the same direction, and Jake soon realized it was actually heading for the exit of the cavern.

Jake watched the automaton tramp its way through the opening into a short tunnel that led to a four-way junction. He followed the armored creature closely behind. Upon reaching the intersection, it immediately turned right without even slowing down. It strode with purpose, obviously having a destination in mind and a clear sense of direction. Jake kept close behind as the armored figure navigated through various tunnels and caverns. Before long, it became obvious that it was headed for the cavern containing the ruined arch of the portal.

It made sense. The automaton was likely going to fix the destroyed portal. After all, it was almost as tall as the arch was supposed to be, so it could easily reach the top with its hands if it extended them above its head. In contrast, Jake was much smaller compared to the armored figure. Even if he was granted the automaton’s strength, repairing the portal would have been impossible for him due to the height difference. So it made sense that he was going to need the automaton’s help to piece the shattered portal back together. 

The automaton continued through the intricate network of caves, with Jake trailing just a few yards behind. The armored figure paid him no mind at all. At first, nothing exciting happened, but as they covered about halfway to the cavern with the portal, spiders began to crawl out from the shadows and attack them. Jake was sure he had exterminated all the creatures previously, so there shouldn’t have been any left. This meant that the ones attacking them must be materializing out of thin air, somewhere beyond his line of sight.

Jake quickly realized that the spiders’ main target was the automaton, though. While some of them attacked him, most focused their full attention on the armored figure instead. They scuttled across the ceiling and walls, launching globs of webbing and acid at the towering entity. As for the automaton, it paid them little mind. It moved with deliberate purpose through the dark dungeon, not slowing down even for a second. 

Occasionally, the automaton stomped on the spiders unfortunate enough to get in its way. Every now and then, some of the most brazen spiders leaped onto the armored figure, only to be grabbed and crushed in its fists. However, aside from that, his armored companion made no effort to attack the spiders. It had one sole purpose in mind: to navigate through the tunnels to reach the portal.

The spiders attacked the automaton with globs of acid and webbing. Some of the creatures tried to sink their fangs into the metal figure but failed to penetrate its armor. However, the acid some of the spiders spat at the automaton was far more effective. The corrosive substance ate through its armor with relative ease. Occasionally, the globs of webbing launched from their spinnerets struck the automaton’s feet. While the webbing didn’t glue the armored figure in place, it did slow it down, making it easier for the other spiders to hit its tough exterior with their acid projectiles.

Since the automaton didn’t attempt to protect itself or fight back, it was taking serious damage. Jake could see several holes forming in its armor where the globs of acid had struck. He didn’t know what would happen if the spiders managed to bring down his armored companion. Likely, he would be forced to start from scratch: crystal golems would be revived, and he would need to collect the armor set all over again to summon another automaton.

Jake wasn’t eager to start the whole process from scratch, so he did his best to protect his metal companion from the spiders attacking it from every direction. Luckily, they were just regular dog-sized spiders without any special abilities other than spitting acid and launching globs of webbing. Although there were many spiders, it didn’t take him much effort to deal with them. He concentrated fully on dispatching the spiders in droves, refusing to let himself get distracted by anything else.

He was vaguely aware that they were getting closer to the portal, but he refused to pause even for a second to gather his bearings. At that moment, all that mattered was ensuring the automaton didn’t get destroyed. The dungeon offered no XP reward for defeating the spiders targeting his companion, which only intensified his resolve to reach the portal on their first attempt.

At some point, Jake noticed that his metal companion was favoring one of its armored legs. When he glanced over, he saw it was heavily damaged, with acid eating away at it in several spots. A few more hits, and the armored leg would be severed in half. Doubting the automaton could hop the rest of the way on just one leg, he intensified his assault on the spiders, ensuring he dispatched a fresh wave of the disgusting creatures as soon as they appeared. The automaton continued to limp along while Jake took down spiders in droves around his metal companion. He was so absorbed in fighting that he didn’t even notice when they finally arrived at the portal.

The automaton reached the end of the tunnel and stepped inside the cavern. Jake lingered for a moment to finish off the remaining spiders, expecting a new swarm to materialize nearby. To his surprise, nothing happened. When he turned and entered the cavern, where his metal companion had just vanished, the reason became clear: they had arrived at their destination. His armored friend was already hard at work reassembling the shattered arch of the portal.

Jake looked around, still having a hard time believing that no more spiders were going to attack them. As it turned out, now that they had reached the portal, the dungeon simply stopped spawning spiders. He finally allowed himself to relax. He turned his attention back to the automaton, which was diligently working to reassemble the destroyed portal. It lifted massive concrete pieces from the floor, stacking them carefully to form the arch. Jake noticed that the pieces magically fused together upon contact, becoming one solid structure.

When the automaton placed the final piece atop the arch, arcane symbols flashed to life across its surface. In the next instant, a swirling portal appeared within the arch. The automaton stepped through, disappearing from view, which made Jake wonder whether he would meet it again on the next floor. With nothing else to do on this level, Jake wasted no time following the automaton into the portal. As usual, darkness enveloped him, and a review of his achievements flashed in his mind.

>>> Completion Status <<<

Time Taken: 10 hours, 24 minutes

Enemies Killed: 100%

Mini-Bosses Defeated: 1 out of 1

Attempts to Guide the Automaton to the Portal: 1

Floor Completion Rate: 100%

Reward for Completing the Third Floor: Grappling Hook Arm (An Epic Ability)

Choose Your Reward for 100% Completion:

1. 250,000 XP
2. 100,000 MP
3. 150,000 EP

He gained another Epic ability, called Grappling Hook Arm. He was really excited about that one. Additionally, he was offered an extra reward for achieving 100% completion of the floor. He noted that the system kept track of how many attempts it had taken him to guide the automaton to the portal. This confirmed his earlier suspicion: if the spiders had managed to destroy the automaton, he would’ve had to start the process of summoning the automaton and guiding it to the portal from scratch. He was glad he had done everything in his power to bring the automaton to the portal on his first try, as it seemed that failing to do so would have prevented him from achieving 100% completion of the floor and getting the additional reward.

After finishing reviewing the information, Jake chose to take EP again. As soon as he did so, he was teleported to the fourth and final floor of the dungeon.