The Collector sensed that enough time had passed for it to begin moving.

Daylight began to seep through the leafy folds of the forest canopy above. It did not want to stay in this area for long due to the risk of continued humanoid investigations. However, it also did not wish to lose the purple skinned variant as a valuable source of information yet.

From the purple skinned variant's rambling, the Collector had learned much.

Almost all it needed to know of this 'magic' phenomenon as well as a great deal of this world.

It would continue to extract as much information as possible from her until it became no longer feasible to do so, at which point, she would be welcomed into the Collective for her service.

"You will continue to provide me with information as I move. You will not struggle, nor will you attempt escape, though I sense that you already understand this." The Collector used one of its finger claws to cut the three strands of webbing tying the purple skinned specimen to the tree.

The specimen fell down to her knees when she hit the forest floor, her body exhausted beyond measure. Curious.

It seemed her mind operated independently in terms of energy expenditure from the rest of her body, maintaining an active sharpness to it even as the rest of her bodily functions failed.

"And you will provide me with a sample of your biomass. My processing power is such that I do not require whole, live specimens, but there still must be enough complex biomass to sufficiently extract a genetic code from.

For you, I calculate a hand's worth is sufficient." The Collector knelt down by the specimen and pointed a clawed finger at her burned hand. "This hand will no longer function to any proper degree.

The flame from my pyrocatalytic glands is both incendiary weapon and biological hazard. The flesh and skin here may recover, but the nerves will never restore properly.

This chunk of biomass is useless for you. But it is useful to me."

'Useful?' The specimen looked up to the Collector with cocked head. She looked wonderingly at her hand, her lavender eyes setting atop cracked, blistered, and broken skin. 'I can be useful?'

"Yes. For the grand purpose of the Collective, your biomass sample will be appreciated," said the Collector. "With compromised nerve function in that hand, removal at the correct angle will yield minimized pain.

Pain within the threshold of your increased tolerance, I estimate."

'Okay,' agreed the specimen. She looked up and closed her eyes, expecting some pain. 'I'm used to this. Sometimes, the shiny men would take parts of me off. Grow them back. Take them off again. That hurt a lot. I don't think this will be as bad.'

The Collector straightened out an index finger, its four eyes flashing yellow under its hood of carapace as it calculated an angle of incision. Then, it slashed its finger downwards, the monomolecular edge cleaving the specimen's hand from her thin, bony wrist in a clean, instantaneous cut.

Before the severed hand could even fall to the ground, the Collector swept it up and tossed it into its mouth, devouring it wholesale in a single fluid motion.

>>>

*Biomass gained (+3)*

Biomass Level: 48/100

*Genetic material gained*

Stored Genetic Material:

-Black Ant

-Black Hobgoblin

-Human

-Lesser Oni

-Frostborn Hobgoblin

-Horse

-Daemon

>>>

The purple skinned specimen winced as she stared at the stub where her hand used to be.

As expected, she handled the pain, nor could she vocalize any to attract attention. Small spurts of blood began to trickle from the open wound.

'Not…not so bad,' said the specimen as she stared at her empty wrist as if she had seen that sight countless times before.

The Collector used its fingertips to guide the strands of silk previously binding her, looping one strand her wrist and tightening it, preventing further blood loss.

With a claw, it cut the strand.

"I will mobilize away from potential human presences now. You will continue to provide me information while I move. In order to efficiently transport you, you will be bound and tethered to me."

The Collector guided the rest of the strands around her body before tying the three lines of silk into one thicker, anchoring strand around one of its arakka legs. It bound her arms and legs, but it only did so to prevent her from flailing and making transportation difficult.

Even without the bindings, she would be in no condition to escape or resist the Collector, nor would her psionics manage to affect it.

These strands were more in place to keep the specimen anchored to the Collector and minimize risks.

The Collector shortened the length of silk by wrapping it several times around the arakka leg, forming a short leash by which he carried the specimen. She was small, just half the size of the Collector's arm.

Not much of an impediment, though she did compromise the Collector's ability to enter its eight-legged form. But combat wise, little degradation of function. And in the case of a particularly difficult battle, she could simply be tossed aside.

For now, the Collector set on a path to the darkwoods where it was highly unlikely that humans would interfere.

Considering the dimensions of the forest biome as indicated by the map the Collector had analyzed prior, the darkwoods was just as large as this lighter zone, if not even larger, and so that meant there was plenty of space to inhabit before it would encounter threats such as the goblins.

There would be no threats until they reached the darkwoods, in any case, and even there, consistent flares with pyrocatalytic glands would output sufficient light to prevent insectoid interference.

Enough time to learn more of magic, to utilize it, even, so long as it did not involve groveling before some tinkerer fashioning itself as a deity.

===

The Collector stood at the edge of the ravine separating the light zone of the forest form the Darkwoods. The raging rush of water flowing and crashing upon rock sounded below. No doubt, a current of this speed and size led out to a greater water body.

Notable.

There were significant stretches of water upon this planet. Would be useful to possess aquatic lifeforms.

Especially now that it had grasped the nature of mana.

From listening to the purple skinned variant on the way here, the Collector realized it was mana that allowed certain creatures to grow beyond their limits, and, as the Collector came to understand, what allowed itself to retain a vast majority of its strength even when it shrunk its form.

Thus, it realized that it did not have to wait until it could hunt down an aquatic life form equivalent to its current size – a significant danger - to efficiently assume its form.

The Collector rappelled down the edge of the sheer cliff face using its arakka legs like picks.

The purple skinned specimen dangled from one of them, her form sprawled over the Collector's back for stability.

Right above the rushing water's edge, the Collector stopped, compound eyes focused intently for any specimen to fish for.

As the Collector stared at the flowing water, it reminded itself of mana.

Mana did not operate by any known physical or natural laws. It was in essence a particulate of raw creation, something that should not exist and yet charged this world's life and environs in enormous quantities.

The substance seemed to have no inherent limitations of its own, but it did follow sets of rules that followed logically.

For example, there was a method to circulate mana internally throughout the body known as Flow.

Accelerating that flow would strengthen the body physically.

Then there was Guard, a method to condense mana in certain spots to greatly increase the durability of certain areas.

However, one could not utilize both at the same time with great effectiveness for they were inherent opposites to the other.

Flow required an even spread of mana throughout the whole body while guard required condensation in one point.

In these ways, mana could be considered a body of water. A finite resource. Those with more spirit roots and better cores possessed deeper wells.

Those with better experience could circulate the water better, do more with smaller amounts of it.

Regardless, some currents, some methods of utilizing mana, clashed with others, preventing concurrent usages or increasing drain.

A flicker of blurred movement underneath the water's surface.

The Collector reacted instantaneously, one of its arakka legs spearing down.

The claw tipped leg broke through the water with a splash, and with the appropriate calculations to account for the water refracting light and distorting vision, the leg struck true.

The Collector withdrew its leg from the water and brought up a wriggling fish to its face.

The creature was simple.

Half a meter long lengthwise. Gills for circulating oxygen through the water – a desirable adaptation. Sets of dorsal, ventral, and caudal fins along with a sleek body for hydrodynamic movement. Black scales that grew dark in the water for obscuration purposes.

Weak and mundane compared to many of the creatures it had previously devoured.

A remembrance of the worm. The Collector suppressed a flare of warmth in its chest. Desire to fight and consume a worthy opponent. Would require more strength beforehand.

The Collector devoured the fish in one gulp.

>>>

*Biomass gained (+2)*

Biomass Level: 50/100

*Genetic material gained*

Stored genetic material:

-Black Ant

-Black Hobgoblin

-Human

-Lesser Oni

-Frostborn Hobgoblin

-Horse

-Daemon

-Dullscale Rohu

>>>

"Tell me, are there predators of significant danger in these waters?" said the Collector.

'I…don't know. I haven't studied much about fish. I don't know where we are, either,' came the response from the daemon.

"We are in a forest known as 'Anendara' to the natives of this land, located within a greater region of a governed body known as 'Sunda'," said the Collector.

'Ah. Sunda, the land of sorcerers. I…have always wanted to come here. A long time ago, I did. But not like this.' The variant wriggled on the Collector's back, taking a look up at the ravine and the grass and forests lying atop the cliff face. 'Does not seem so special, though.'

"This land is largely untainted by the corruption of tinkering advance. There is much life that grows here unbound by the artificial limitations imposed by the approach of tinkering civilization. Only the neutral hand of evolution guides the life here.

This biome may not mean much in the grand scheme of the Collective, but it is still worth far more than any towering cluster of spires built upon the corpses of nature that you tinkerers are so fond of," said the Collector.

'What…what is the Collective?'

"Purpose incarnate. Herald to a vision of a fully realized and complete evolutionary path – the first and only one of its kind. And I am herald to it, soldier for its great purpose until it is realized fully."

'What is it like?'

"In the Collective, there is naught but pure life. Countless lifeforms across many planets and evolutionary branches all unified to one single purpose of growth. There is none of the self-destructive discord that plagues you tinkerers. All are one."

'Hm.' The daemon slipped into quiet thought.

"I sense you are largely unfamiliar with this land. Unable to provide me with necessary information as to the dangers of this aquatic biome. Then I will risk no more and move on." The Collector looked up to the other side of the ravine.

Its muscles started to swell as it charged up the coilboosters in its legs. With the legs alone, it could not reach high up enough, but with careful lift generated from its single wing, it could.

With the appropriate calculations performed, the Collector leaped up, rock shattering from its feet as it sailed up in the sky. With flutters of its wing, it flew up higher and higher, sailing up several meters over the opposite edge of the ravine before landing upon solid ground again.

It stared up at the edge of the darkwoods, seeing the trees rise up like a wall of darkness. It clicked its mandibles. This biome would suit its needs.

Not only to conceal it, but also in finally tearing the goblin 'thrall' from limb to limb.