Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 279

Chapter 279

For the next several days, Jake explored the upgraded world, slaying beefed-up mutants and completing various challenges. During this time, he leveled up multiple times, progressing from level 121 to 130. He focused not only on gaining XP but also on advancing his skills and abilities. As a result, he managed to max out all of them, including Mind Reader, which he constantly used on every Los Demonios group he encountered before killing them.

As for the members of the gang, they no longer seemed eager to fight him. By that point, they were fully aware of how dangerous he was, and they no longer harbored any hope of defeating him, no matter how many of them there were against him or how good their weapons were. Consequently, any group of Los Demonios that accidentally stumbled upon him tried to escape without engaging him.

Unfortunately for them, Jake’s mind had long been made up about completely annihilating their organization, so he never let go of any bandit he encountered, slaying every single one of them.

The abilities that he acquired before venturing into the dungeon—Claws, Swords, Bladed Tentacles, Mind Reader, Smashfists, Gravity Leap, Cloak, Acidic Spit, Spikes, and Serpentine Form—as well as all his skills—Enhanced Senses, Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Intelligence, Enhanced Reflexes, Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Regeneration, Enhanced Durability, Feral Instincts, Adhesive Secretion, Toxic Resistance, and Adaptive Armor—had all reached Rank V, which turned out to be the top rank for any skill or ability.

Since all of these skills and abilities were maxed out, they were no longer shown on the stats menu. However, if he needed to review them, he could still summon them with a thought.

Abilities:

Claws: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Swords: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Bladed Tentacles: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Mind Reader: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 5 of 5) (Epic)

Smashfists: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Gravity Leap: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Cloak: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Acidic Spit: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Spikes: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Serpentine Form: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Skills:

Enhanced Senses: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Enhanced Agility: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Enhanced Intelligence: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 5 of 5) (Epic)

Enhanced Reflexes: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Enhanced Strength: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Enhanced Regeneration: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Feral Instincts: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Enhanced Durability: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Adhesive Secretion: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Toxic Resistance: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Adaptive Armor: Rank V (MAX) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)

Only one ability—Mind Reader—and one skill—Enhanced Intelligence—were Epic, having five upgrades each. The rest of his skills and abilities remained Uncommon, with four upgrades each. Unfortunately, he couldn’t upgrade his skills from Uncommon to Epic manually. He knew that sometimes the opportunity to elevate a skill’s rarity was offered as a reward for completing a quest or challenge. Therefore, he simply needed to continue exploring the world, and sooner or later, he would have the chance to upgrade some of his skills to Epic rarity.

With these skills and abilities removed from the main section of his stats, the menu now looked noticeably shorter. 

Name: Jake Turner

Race: Ex-Human Morphus

Evolution Stage 3: “Apex Manifestation: Corruptor”

Level: 130

HP: 100%

XP: 74,815/163,750

SP: 0

MP: 285,458/299,000

Body: 155

Mind: 144

Magick: 199

Chainsaw Arms: Rank III (37%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)

Drill Gauntlets: Rank III (21%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)

Grappling Hook Arm: Rank III (15%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)

Rotary Blade Launcher: Rank II (44%) (Upgrades: 2 of 5) (Epic)

Cinch Net Blaster: Rank II (63%) (Upgrades: 2 of 6) (Legendary)

Mana Core (Corruptor’s ability) 

Only the abilities he had acquired in the Maze of Torment weren’t maxed out yet. Over the past several days, each of these abilities had advanced to the next rank: Chainsaw Arms, Drill Gauntlets, and Grappling Hook Arm moved from Rank II to Rank III, while Rotary Blade Launcher and Cinch Net Blaster progressed from Rank I to Rank II. Each advancement came with one new upgrade to unlock, which he acquired one by one.

Chainsaw Arms:

3. Chain Reaction: Killing an enemy with chainsaw attacks increases damage for a short time. Each consecutive kill amplifies the damage increase.

Drill Gauntlets: 

3. Structural Weakness: Drill attacks leave behind a weakened spot for a limited time, which can be exploited for increased damage, amplifying the effectiveness of follow-up attacks.

Grappling Hook Arm:

3. Enhanced Clarity: While using the grappling hook, enemies within a certain range become highlighted to you, allowing for better strategic targeting and decision-making during combat.

Rotary Blade Launcher:

2. Increased Speed: Boosts the speed of rotary saw blades as they fly toward their targets, making them significantly more difficult to dodge. 

Cinch Net Blaster:

2 - Enhanced Launch: Increases the speed at which a cinch net forms and flies toward its target.

Soon after Jake liberated Base Catalina and Base Ryder, he had visited the Void Temple again and put several curses on himself. For the next several days, he had been fighting mutants and bandits while having the curses affecting him, earning Essence Points.

After he visited the temple again, he saw that he had earned enough EP to unlock two more tiers: Tier 3, which cost 450,000 EP, and Tier 4, which cost 700,000 EP. As it turned out, Tier 3 was Basic Spells and Tier 4 was Advanced Runes.

After spending so many Essence Points to unlock these two tiers, he was left with hardly any Essence Points. He had just enough to buy one spell or rune. After reviewing the available options, he decided to purchase a rune called Alert Sentinel. The rune could be cast on any surface, functioning as an alert mechanism to warn him of specific events near the rune.

Jake placed an Alert Sentinel on the walls of both Catalina and Melissa’s bases, configuring them to notify him of any attacks. With this in place, he knew he would be notified if either of the two bases came under attack by Los Demonios, allowing him to rush to his allies’ aid and help them defend their territory.

However, there were no attacks in the following days, which meant that Catalina and Melissa successfully fooled Skullface, making him believe there was nothing wrong at either base.  

Currently, Jake stood on the roof of a high-rise building, examining the third section of the Genetic Development Interface.

Evolution Stage 3: “Apex Manifestation: Corruptor”

Abilities: 6 of 8

Skills: 0 of 4

Ability: MorphDisguise

Requirements: Body 125, Mind 135, Magick 140, Mind Reader (Rank IV)

Cost: 125,000 MP

Ability: Ground Strike

Requirements: Body 250, Mind 160, Magick 265, Enhanced Strength (Rank V), Enhanced Durability (Rank V)

Cost: 170,000 MP

Skill: Rigging

Requirements: Body 140, Mind 230, Magick 215, Enhanced Intelligence (Rank V)

Cost: 90,000 MP

Skill: Restoration

Requirements: Body 250, Mind 180, Magick 300, Enhanced Regeneration (Rank V), Mana Absorption (Rank III)

Cost: 125,000 MP

Skill: Foresight

Requirements: Body 265, Mind 235, Magick 310, Enhanced Intelligence (Rank V), Feral Instincts (Rank V)

Cost: 140,000 MP

Skill: Psychic

Requirements: Body 290, Mind 350, Magick 325, Enhanced Intelligence (Rank V), Mind Reader (Rank V)

Cost: 175,000 MP

Ability: Chainsaw Arms

Requirements: Body 125, Mind 110, Magick 150

Cost: Already Owned

Ability: Drill Gauntlets

Requirements: Body 130, Mind 115, Magick 160

Cost: Already Owned

Ability: Grappling Hook Arm

Requirements: Body 135, Mind 125, Magick 165

Cost: Already Owned

Ability: Rotary Blade Launcher

Requirements: Body 137, Mind 127, Magick 170

Cost: Already Owned

Ability: Cinch Net Blaster

Requirements: Body 140, Mind 130, Magick 180

Cost: Already Owned

Ability: Mana Core (Corruptor’s Ability)

Requirements: Body 130, Mind 145, Magick 220

Cost: Already Owned

At some point during the last few days, he had acquired the Mana Core ability.

Mana Core: It is the main component of the Corruptor’s lair. It allows the Corruptor to create new structures, develop various living beings, evolve them, and spread Corruption. To begin creating a lair, the Corruptor must first erect a Mana Core, which is built around a mana orb. If the Mana Core is destroyed, everything within the Corruptor’s lair dies as well.

Rarity: Epic

Upgrades: None  

Requirements: Body 130, Mind 145, Magick 220

Cost: Already Owned

Despite learning the ability, he still couldn’t begin constructing a lair, as he hadn’t yet found a mana core.

Jake continued to examine the third section of the Genetic Development Interface. Out of the eight available abilities, he had acquired six, with only Morph Disguise and Ground Strike remaining. Both were quite expensive in terms of mana. Additionally, he didn’t currently meet the requirements for Ground Strike, which meant he couldn’t acquire it now. The same went for the four skills. 

However, he could acquire Morph Disguise immediately, since he had sufficient mana and satisfied all the requirements.

MP: 285,458/299,000

He had a good idea of what Morph Disguise did, having checked it out previously. However, since it had been quite a while ago, he decided to review the ability again to refresh his memory.

Morph Disguise: This ability allows you to take on the appearance of the last human whose mind you have accessed using Mind Reader. You can change your exterior to match that of the human, and while adopting this appearance, you also retain some of the person’s memories and knowledge.

Rarity: Epic

Upgrades: 0 of 5 

Requirements: Body 125, Mind 135, Magick 140, Mind Reader (Rank IV)

Cost: 125,000 MP

He remembered feeling excited when this ability was added to the Genetic Development Interface. Now, it was finally time to acquire it. He purchased the ability for 125,000 MP, leaving him with 160,458 MP remaining. That was fine, though. Now that he could obtain mana from various sources, replenishing his reserves didn’t take much time. 

Jake had five skill points at his disposal, so he acquired all five upgrades for MorphDisguise.

1. Rapid Assumption: Decreases the time required to assume a disguise.
2. Extended Duration: Prolongs the time the disguise remains active, allowing you to maintain your assumed identity for longer periods without needing to remorph.
3. Enhanced Detail: Greatly improves the realism of your disguise, adding intricate details such as mannerisms and subtle facial expressions, making it harder for others to see through your disguise.
4. Counter-Detection Shield: Ensures the disguise is completely indistinguishable, preventing detection by any means, whether magical or technological. 
5. Backup Form: Grants the ability to store a backup disguise, which can be instantly activated if the current disguise is compromised or needs to be changed rapidly.

This was really great! Jake couldn’t wait to test this ability in action. He decided that after replenishing his mana reserves, he would search for humans to experiment with Morph Disguise.

For several minutes, Jake moved through the city, gathering MP from sources such as mana clouds and consumables. At some point, he suddenly detected a strong machinery smell, reminiscent of oil. Immediately afterward, a system message appeared in his mind.

New Hunt!

Objective: Track down and defeat an armored brawler. Complete the hunt within 20 minutes for an extra reward. 

Difficulty: Very Hard

Reward: 250,000 XP, 150,000 MP, 350,000 EP

Extra Reward: Mana Orb (x1) 

Accept: Y/N

Jake felt a wave of excitement wash over him. This was it! He finally had an opportunity to gain a mana orb! If he managed to complete this quest in less than 20 minutes, he would finally be able to delve into lair creation.

Jake forced himself to calm down. For now, he needed to focus on completing the quest quickly enough to earn the extra reward. He accepted the quest and concentrated on his sense of smell. Picking up the scent of machinery oil, he set off to track his target.