>>>

*Biomass gained (+8)*

Biomass Level: 45/100

*Spirit roots gained (+50)*

Root Consumption Limit: 100/100

*Genetic material gained*

Stored Genetic Material:

-Black Ant

-Deer

-Black Hobgoblin

-Human

-Lesser Oni

-Frostborn Hobgoblin

-Horse

-Lesser Greatcentipede

-Lesser Greatbeetle

-Spitting Greatbeetle

-Leafblade Insect

-Frostborn Hobgoblin Thrall [Core] *NEW*

Mana Level: 40%>>100%

>>>

The Collector sheathed its jaws and clicked its mandibles. It had wasted a vast majority of the spirit roots the thrall granted, but no great matter. It desired more so the thrall's core, and it seemed that for the foreseeable future, it would gain spirit roots at a far quicker rate than it did biomass.

It would seem then that for biomass charged with mana, it was not the quantity of roots that mattered, but their inherent quality that allowed them to store more mana within them.

Thus, it would be more efficient for the Collector to emphasize targets with rich amounts of mana within them.

In other words, strong targets.

Agreeable to the Collector.

Now that the Collector possessed the thrall's core, it could approximate a general sense of what it could do, but its capacity to inherently understand the magical abilities associated with it was not nearly as refined as its ability to know all the biological capabilities of a genetic sample.

The Collector knew now that the thrall could draw upon magical energy latent within bones, even those within himself, but finer details such as potential limitations and risks escaped it.

These, it would have to investigate on its own through further experimentation or reference through the female daemon's extensive knowledge stores.

The Collector could incorporate the core directly into its empty slot without the need for an evolutionary cocoon, but once slotted, removal or modification would require a cocoon.

Thus, it had to be careful about whether it would decide to incorporate this thrall's core.

Yet, there was still another target and its core to consider.

The scent of another blood trail. Further along in the Darkwoods.

The scent of the supposedly strong one, though, as the Collector came to realize with measured disappointment, far weaker than it had initially thought it to be.

No matter.

The Collector would still grant it death and entry into the Collective for even managing to damage the Collector's form.

Though disappointing that the specimen had decided to run instead of choosing to stand and fight.

'You…you're here.'

The Collector registered the presence of the female daemon as she floated and approached its back.

Aberrant patterns in her breathing indicated signs of physical stress likely brought upon by excessive usage of magic.

Yet, still well within her limits.

The Collector could sense significant disruptions of mana flow within the specimen, but accounting for deficiencies, a rough calculation of her potential strength at her peak was formidable, well above any sorcerer or magic sensitive individual the Collector had encountered so far.

Had the specimen been properly nurtured from the start of her growth cycle, her development might have been such that she could have dwarfed the Collector's current magical ability several times over.

Yet, the years of damage wrought upon her had likely permanently stunted her to a large degree.

'What…what was all of that,' she said. 'That rock that hit you, and the huge ice wall, and-,'

"It matters not," said the Collector. "There is still yet another target that eludes my jaws. I will engage in devouring it."

"W-wait, let me tether to you,' said the female daemon. 'I…I didn't know if it would work before because you…you're not truly a daemon, but…but now I'm sure.'

"Explain further."

'I..well, it's something daemons can do with each other, is what I've read, though I've never been able to talk to another one, in the tower, they kept us all separated and all I could hear were screams and-,'

The Collector clicked its mandibles, and this time, the daemon understood the clicking and focused her thoughts before the Collector prompted her vocally.

"Ah, tethering is when I link my Force Field to yours, so when you move, I follow right behind, when you use Push or Pull, I can help, if you ever need it.

It…it doesn't connect our feelings any.'

The Collector clicked its mandibles in understanding, further recognizing a way in which Sapia could be utilized.

"Agreeable," said the Collector. "Perform this 'tethering' quickly."

The female daemon nodded and floated right behind the Collector. Her ponytail reached out, and the thel vibrated as it touched the purple force field outlining the Collector's bulky form.

The daemon's force field thickened in color as hers merged with the Collector's.

The Collector perceived this process, noted its mechanisms, and then wasted not a single more moment before it slithered into the inky, light-voided black of the Darkwoods with another rush of magically boosted speed, for consuming the excess of the thrall's vast stores of roots and awakened core had almost fully replenished its mana levels.

'Woah!' shouted the daemon as she flew right behind the Collector at a speed that made her eyes widen.

=

The Collector followed the scent of blood and the unique olfactory signature of the next target and found that from its meandering, erratic pathing that it did not head into the direction of the main goblin encampment.

Likely, blood loss and a lack of light prevented this specimen from ascertaining its direction.

Yet, the specimen still moved quickly.

At a speed that almost rivaled the Collector's own, it seemed.

Judging from occasional tracks in the dirt and scratch marks etched into the darkwood tree trunks, the creature was well adapted to moving within forest environments, swinging from branches to provide itself formidable acceleration.

But this was not a game of attrition the specimen could win.

The Collector possessed supremely efficient bodily mechanisms down to every single fiber of its musculature that made it nigh endlessly active whereas the inefficient and weak flesh of this specimen would soon yield to its injuries.

=

Within ten minutes, the Collector came near the specimen.

Near enough that it could hear the specimen rustling through the woods, swinging from branch to branch even in this complete darkness, though occasionally, it would hit an obstacle and force itself to the ground, hence the occasional tracks in the dirt.

Merely hearing the creature was enough to begin its execution.

The Collector stopped its rush through the Darkwoods and shoveled up and compacted a large ball of dirt in cupped palms.

It infused the ball with magical energy, lines of purple streaking across the dirt. The magical energy permeated throughout the ball's structure, supporting and solidifying its composition to the point it became solid like titanium alloy.

'Reinforcement,' noted the daemon as she saw the Collector.

She had a hand to her head likely to halt side effects of nausea from travelling at velocities she was unused to. 'Combination of a Projection of mana and Accel of its flow on top of an advanced grasp of mana flow itself.

You...you truly had no idea of magic and mana beforehand?'

"These foreign principles escaped my grasp once for they are unique to this specific planet, but in experiencing them, I understand that they are hold much that is analogous to natural physical processes, and as such, elementary in concept to grasp and wield," said the Collector.

It began to replicate the specific flow of mana within the ball, generating a spinning aura of purple Sapian energy for the destructive chaos energy from its prime core was unsuited to more delicate processes like this.

Strands of purple danced around the dark sphere, circling round and round it until the individual lines merged into a fluxing, ever moving wave of light spinning around the ball.

The Collector focused its auditory systems on the rapidly fading sounds of the fleeing specimen rustling through the woods, and then adjusted the flow of mana spinning around the ball accordingly to new coordinates.

It accounted for the night breeze and obstacles such as trees.

With its sensitive hairs, it could curve the ball around the trees in a twenty-meter radius in front of it, but beyond that, it would simply need enough power to smash through the trunks to reach the target.

Another, more intense glow of purple burst around the ball before condensing and darkening back within it.

>>>

Mana Level: 80%>50%

>>>

'That's…that's a lot of mana in there,' said the female daemon.

"This application of mana is intensive. Largely inefficient, yet, potentially useful in certain scenarios.

Simply channeling mana through neuro-muscular enhancement in the process you describe as 'Accel' is far more efficient in most combat simulations." The Collector drew back the ball of mana-infused dirt, twisting its body back to maximize rotational force.

"Yet, this will allow me to gather necessary combat data to make this projectile-based application of mana more usable."

A burst of wind flowed from the Collector as it threw the ball, the purple wreathed sphere shooting outwards as a tail of clumped up sound waves trailed behind it before exploding out in a boom.

The ball audibly smashed through several trunks in the distance, loosing groaning cracks from the shattered wood before finally punctuating its end with a howling scream from the fleeing specimen.

The Collector felt the mana discharge from its body, the constant heat emanating from both its prime and daemon cores simmering down to a noticeable degree.

Though a newfound form of strength, this was also a reminder of weakness.

A supersonic projectile of this size and mass was nothing compared to tinkering firearms.

Even the widespread anti-collective AC-18 model of the bolter rifle could fire magnetic rail charged 8mm depleted uranium rounds at hypersonic speeds, and the AC-20 models could also engage in fully automated spreads to deal with the Collective's infinite swarms.

But at the rate of the Collector's current growth, it would far exceed any tinkerer's tools in short order, burning this planet down and returning to the Collective with the prized evolutionary development of magic.

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