Chapter 341
After giving it some thought, Jake decided to name the successful version of the Fleshcatcher “Arachnox”.
It was a hulking, eight-legged creature reminiscent of an enormous spider, standing about seven feet tall. Its grotesque appearance featured a muscular body covered in hard, dark exoskeletal plates and a head that resembled a fusion of a bull and a spider, complete with large, multifaceted eyes and huge fangs. Long, whip-like tentacles extended from its sides, used to ensnare its prey, with each tentacle lined with sharp barbs and sticky pads.
The creature he had developed was huge, much larger than any he had ever created. Besides its appearance, Jake had hard-coded a specific behavior pattern during its development. However, the creature still lacked any special abilities, so its development wasn’t quite complete yet.
Over the next few days, Jake focused on collecting various unique genetic materials, storing some for future use while combining others in the Bio-Fusion Chamber to learn new special abilities. So far, he had unlocked four basic abilities, Adhesive Secretion, Mana-infused Jump, Acid Spit, and Cloak, and one unique ability by combining several genetic materials, Mana Absorption.
He planned to impart Adhesive Secretion and Cloak to the Arachnox. However, unlike the two creatures he had developed before, which had only two special abilities each, he wanted this new creature to have three. Given its size, the Arachnox was already much more powerful than the ten-legged acid-spitting crawlers he had developed previously, but in addition to its physical power, Jake also wanted it to possess one extra special ability over its predecessors.
Eventually, he managed to discover another special ability for his creatures: Snare Goo. This ability allowed his creatures to launch a glob of sticky substance from their mouth to trap their prey. Moreover, it enabled his creatures to create a cocoon around the captured prey, completely immobilizing it. Thus, it was a powerful ability with many potential uses, making it perfect for the Arachnox.
His Ten-legged Acid-spitting Crawler and the Managatherer were of Superior rarity each, allowing them to possess two special abilities. Since he wanted the Arachnox to have three special abilities instead of two, he needed to evolve it one rarity level higher, to Rare instead of Superior.
So he dedicated some more time to gathering more resources to evolve the Arachnox from Common to Uncommon, then to Superior, and finally to Rare. During this evolution cycle, he granted the creature three special abilities: Adhesive Secretion, Cloak, and Snare Goo. At last, the creature was complete.
Name: Arachnox (Rare)
Rank: V
Size: Medium
Strength: 65% (Rare)
Constitution: 64% (Rare)
Agility: 59% (Rare)
Intelligence: 62% (Rare)
Magick: 63% (Rare)
Special abilities: Adhesive Secretion, Cloak, Snare Goo
After releasing the creature into the wild, Jake established a vision link with it to see the world through its eyes. The arachnox entered the empty shaft and descended to the first floor. Once it exited the building, it paused briefly to get its bearings before setting off.
It didn’t take long for the arachnox to find a solitary walker, aimlessly standing in the middle of the street. Upon spotting the target, the huge arachnid activated its Cloak, silently creeping on its long legs. Once close enough, it employed its Snare Goo ability, launching a glob of sticky substance that struck the walker’s ankles, gluing them together. Losing its balance, the mutant fell onto its side.
The arachnox then scuttled toward the fallen prey, launching its tentacles outward in a swift, fluid motion and wrapping them around the walker with surprising speed. The sticky pads on the tentacles adhered to the walker’s skin, ensuring it could not escape. The barbs helped secure the prey, making it nearly impossible to break free.
After capturing its prey, the arachnox used a unique method to transport it to its lair. Utilizing its Snare Goo ability, the monster formed a sticky cocoon around the captured ex-human, much like a regular spider wraps its prey. This adhesive substance proved remarkably strong, rendering any attempts by the captured mutant to escape utterly futile.
Once completely wrapped, the arachnox used a combination of its powerful legs and tentacles to hoist the cocoon onto its back. The huge arachnid then scuttled off into the shadows, moving with surprising agility despite its bulky size. It avoided the open streets, opting instead for concealed paths and dark alleys to evade detection by anyone who might attempt to confront it.
In contrast to the earlier-developed Managatherer, the arachnox was much more powerful and could hold its own in a fight. Its Snare Goo ability could slow down or even completely immobilize its opponents, while its robust legs and strong fangs were powerful enough to pierce light armor.
However, the primary role of this creature was to capture ex-humans and safely transport them to the lair, not to fight. For that reason, the arachnox tried to avoid unnecessary confrontations, focusing instead on avoiding both mutants and humans. Now that it had captured the walker, it was doing its best to deliver it to the lair.
The combination of stealth, speed, and remarkable grip allowed the arachnox to safely bring its prey to the lair, avoiding confrontations with other mutants or humans. However, it couldn’t remain completely unnoticed, and despite its attempts to remain stealthy, its sheer size made it impossible for the creature to go completely unseen.
As the arachnox scurried through the city back to the lair, various groups of mutants spotted it, and some even attempted to chase it down. However, the huge arachnid didn’t engage in combat. Instead, it maintained its speed, slipping away from its pursuers. It chose not to use its Cloak, which would have made it harder for enemies to spot it. Apparently, it primarily used that ability when sneaking up on prey, while relying on its speed and agility to stay ahead when transporting its captures back to the lair.
Upon reaching the top floor of the building that housed Jake’s second lair, the arachnox unraveled its tentacles from the cocoon on its back. It skillfully used them to lift the captured mutant and shove it into one of the Biomass Processors. Once this task was completed, the enormous arachnid left the lair in search of more mutants.
Jake was pleased with the results. Now, he only needed to create several more arachnoxes, and the process of collecting mana and biomass would be completely automated. He would no longer need to waste time manually collecting these resources, allowing him to fully focus on improving his lairs and developing new creatures.