Chrysalis

Chapter 490 Improve Thyself!

Time to bring on the exquisite pain of self-improvement. I have a ton of Biomass to spend and the time to roll around on the floor looking like a fool. Let's get to it!

But what to improve next? I've still got a ton of things that need to be upgraded to +25. Improving my eyes is an option that leaps out at me. My initial struggle on Pangera was my pathetic ant eyesight, and while getting it to +20 along with a few choice mutations has certainly helped alleviate the situation, it's still not exactly where I'd like it to be. Having said that though, improving my eyeballs isn't going to do a whole lot for me in this strata. This place has two main features, being dark as heck and being cold as a tomb. Eyes may not be the play.

My Gravity magic gland is a touch neglected, I could bring that up to speed, but again, my focus is in other directions at the moment. If I lean on my gravity magic gland too hard then I'll only be slowing the progress of my elemental Skills. Perhaps I can better spend my points elsewhere.

The more I peruse my list of options, the more I'm drawn to the business district. There's a lot of potential upgrades available there, and the number of organs could potentially allow me to build some synergy between them, to further improve the potency of my corporate sector.

The three new additions were the acid nozzle, which gives me more flexible aim, the acid concentration gland, for thickening the acid, and the stimulation gland, which speed up the process of reloading. So far, most of my mutations have concentrated on improving the organs at doing their core job, but I feel like I want to be a little more creative this time.

Eager to check out the possibilities, I dive right in and start poking through the more off beat options in the menu. First, I take a look at the nozzle. The pressurised tube helps to throttle the produce as it emerges, acting like someone squeezing the end of a hose to increase the range. It's done good work, but I'm satisfied with the range, time to see if we can add a little heat, a little spice, to this aspect of the zone.

The list is exhaustively long, all sorts of things strike my eye. For such a small gland, it's quite versatile. Many of the options allow it to place some sort of effect on the nature of the spray. Widen the acid blast, fire the acid a flatter arc, as well as more generic options that improve the ability of the nozzle to flex, broadening its ability to effect aim. I'm not interested in that ordinary stuff. Give me the sauce, Gandalf! I want something a little off the wall!

As I ponder the list, I try to think about what I want my acid to do in a fight. The sticky effect has done good work for me in the past, it was key in slowing down my opponents, restricting them and allowing my former squishy self to stay safe. But now things are different, the stickiness just isn't enough to hinder the kind of enemies I fight now, they're just too strong for a mutation of that level to have enough of an effect. Not to mention, I'm more than happy for my foes to get up in my grill and take a shot. My diamond carapace and inner plating are more than capable of absorbing punishment! Not to mention my self-healing abilities are becoming better and better.

No, kiting my opponents isn't what I need, so the stickiness has outlived its usefulness as the primary factor in my acid. The magic eating is still effective. Being able to dissolve shields, chew away magical effects and even weaken incoming spells without using my brains is super useful. Big fan of this aspect, I'm glad I reinforced it when I mutated my acid gland to +20. But now I need to find something else to add into the mix.

What's it gonna be.

I scroll through the list, trying to find an option that brings my existing mutations together whilst offering a new flavour for my merchandise. I flick over to my other acid based organs, trying to find what I want from my acid. Eventually I end up going back to my main acid gland. At +20, it still needs to be improved to +25 and I suppose it makes sense that I start here as I try to jazz up my production line.

Options, options, options. What sort of acid do I want? There are a lot of choices that jump out at me. Acid that burns? Acid that freezes? Acid that freeze burns?! That's new. Acid that chews through inorganic matter better? Acid that eats light. Like… how? Why? Regenerating acid that reproduces itself? So like, after you shoot it, it actually makes more of itself until it runs out of stuff to eat? That's… strong. What else we got? Don't want to commit early.

Dammit Gandalf, you always make this so hard! I swear if I look through here long enough, I'm going to find a mutation that causes the acid to chew through time or something. Ah, there it is. Makes the target age as it eats their future. What the hell is that?! Come on Gandalf!?!?! Are you outside your mind?! Why would you put an option like that in there? Reading closely, it seems as though the effect is rather weak. You'd need a ton of mutations, and then basically submerge someone in a tank of the stuff in order to meaningfully age them. Fair enough then, that seems like a balancing factor.

Let's go back to this acid that makes more acid as it eats stuff. I feel like this could be useful. It synergises well with my existing mutations. The stickiness will have more of an effect, because it'll just keep multiplying, getting more and more gloopy. As for eating magic, it'll keep eating away at whatever mana it touches until that mana construct is gone, even if I don't keep firing it. I'm starting to warm to this idea…

I can blast out a wave of acid, and even if I don't hit much, it's still going to grow and become a problem. Let's not forget that thanks to my concentration gland, the acid itself is quite damaging, even if I don't have any direct damage mutations. The effect will be light at just the first mutation, but if I commit to it over this evolution and the next, then it should be able to do some work.