Its status adjusted, marking the form the Collector would utilize to take on this new biome.

>>>

Metamorphosis Level 6>8

Biomass Level: 330/100>7/100

Stored Genetic Material:

==

-Frostborn Hobgoblin Thrall [Core] [Equipped]

-Vineswinger Goblin Champion [Core]

-Windcutter Wildcat

-Shockstripe Eel

-Lurker

-Goblin Lord [Core] [Equipped]

Adaptations:

Ultrafiber Muscles Rank 6.4> 8.6 (+0.2 from Goblin Elite genes)

--Coilboosters

Autonomic Neuro-Bodily Matrix Rank 1>3

--Metalloglottic Ossifier [0/5]

---Bone Binding Skull [REMOVED]

---Volcanite [REMOVED]

---Everfrost [REMOVED]

---Abyssium [REMOVED]

---Burial Tusks [REMOVED]

Neuro-Endocrinal Matrix Rank 1 *NEW*

--Chronostasis *NEW*: By overloading neural networks with latent psionic energy, it is possible to enter into a state of heightened tachypyschia, temporarily slowing down the perception of time. Neural networks must require periods of rest in between usages.

Neuro-Circulatory Reserves Rank 1 *NEW*

--Reserve Heart 1 [Total 4]

Sensitive Hairs Rank 5.2>7.6 (+0.2 from Firefly Shinchu genes, +0.2 from Shaker Fish genes)

--Quill Spray

Organic Hyperalloy Carapace Rank 5.4 > 7.6 (+0.2 from Firefly Shinchu genes)

--Longchain Chitinous Sublayer

Monomolecular Claws Rank 4.4 > 6.6 (+0.2 from Firefly Shinchu genes)

--Extended Growth *NEW*: Monomolecular claws may be shaped into extended, scythe or spike like structures for greater range.

Pyrocatalytic Glands Rank 3 > 5.4 (+0.2 from Firefly Shinchu genes, +0.2 from Flametongue Salamander genes)

--Instant Trigger *NEW*: Through the evolution of a chemically reactive tubular structure connecting both the pyrocatalytic glands and the biotrigger, there is no longer a delay between the activation of the glands and the emission of flames.

Yet, instant activations will compromise accuracy.

-Daemonic Thel *NEW*

Current Form:

Firefly Shinchu/Goblin Elite/Shaker Fish/Flametongue Salamander

>>

Mana Level: 100%

Active Cores [4/4]:

Prime Core

--Trigger: Desire

Daemon Core

--Trigger: Wonder

Frostborn Thrall Core

--Trigger: Greed

Goblin Lord Core *NEW*

--Trigger: Superiority

Inhera:

Sapia [Daemon Core]

Ethera:

Devourer [Prime Core]

Primal Magic:

-Bone Binding [Frostborn Thrall Core]

-Higher Calling [Goblin Lord Core] *NEW*

Blessings:

-Blessing of Mount Oe

Primal Density: 5%>20%

Root Consumption Limit: 100%>0%

>>>

The Collector's new form was one similar in basic shape to its prior one. It fused together the Flametongue Salamander and Shaker Fish tails to create a lower body.

It utilized the goblin elite's upper body and fused it with the Firefly Shinchu's own traits.

Yet, beyond that basic shape, there were few similarities.

The Collector stood at three meters tall again, condensing its power.

If it simply let its size run amok, then it would have easily surpassed ten meters, but taking such a massive form would only draw attention. And in principle, a smaller target with higher raw power was far more combat maneuverable than a bulkier, larger body.

The Collector's head and neck area fused into a wide, hood-like structure of carapace, forming a roof-like space sheltering five skulls packed together.

Three skulls at the base of the neck. Two above them. One above them all.

A pyramid of cranial structures.

This was the Firefly Shinchu's own head structure: an amalgamation of skulls fused together to form one massive network.

Though these were not truly skulls. They were carapace and flesh structures fashioned into the shape of them. Their inner structures were not hollow, containing neuro-muscular matter, though only one possessed a true brain.

Every single skull's eye sockets had glowing yellow compound eyes rolling around within them. However, only one of these skulls contained the Collector's brain.

One skull glowed with crystal light. This was the adventurer's skull, placed at the highest rung of the skull pyramid to seem like an important and easy target while minimizing potential damage to other skulls.

A distraction.

One of the skulls was that of the Goblin Elite's, noticeable by the large tusks jutting from its bare teeth. These teeth were capped with the Burial Tusk samples. The daemonic thel protruded from the back of this skull, the dreadlock of fibrous hair curling around to the front.

One of the skulls belonged to the broad, flat head of the Shaker Fish. Four sets of brown whiskers drooped from the sides of the skull's head, sensitive to all vibrations. Skeletal fin structures jutted out from the base of the skull.

One of the skulls belonged to the Flametongue Salamander. It was flat like that of the Shaker Fish, but its jaw was elongated. Hazy stripes of red lined its white carapace surface.

One of the skulls was that of the Firefly Shinchu, and it looked roughly humanoid, glowing with a faint golden light.

The Collector's own skull lay nestled at the far end of the skull pyramid's base layer, and it was a completely nondescript humanoid skull of white carapace with nothing special about it. Only a pair of mandibles lining its sides denoted it much.

Though, of course, this skull was the most important, for underneath its carapaced dome, the Collector's brain lay.

Beneath this monstrous series of stacked heads, the Collector's upper body took much inspiration from the Goblin Elite. It was a musclebound, thickly built humanoid shape armored in hyperalloy carapace.

Four arms jutted from the Collector's sides, two of them capable of unsheathing blades of monomolecular edges from their forearms. All four sets of knuckles were encased in crystals of Everfrost.

Around the Collector's neck, where its hood of carapace attached to its shoulders, the Flametongue Salamander's external gills flowed down.

These were fiery orange tendrils of flesh that draped down over the Collector's back. The tendrils were surrounded by branch-like, feathery red protrusions that flickered like tongues of fire.

The collection of gills flowed all the way down to the Collector's waist, forming into a structure a tinkerer might mistake for a red, royal cloak.

These gills, the Collector could utilize to channel the Flametongue Salamander's aura of flames.

At the Collector's chest, an orb of golden light lay embedded. This was the Firefly Shinchu's bioluminescent organ, and from here, the Collector could fire shards of solid light or channel the light to its fists, encasing them in the same light.

The carapace at the Collector's back was slightly domed, encasing the Firefly Shinchu's wings. Those wings could unfurl into four massive structures, the wingspan easily matching the Collector's three meter length.

Above that dome, where the Collector's shoulders were, two more arms sprouted.

These arms were long, spindly, and thin in contrast to the bulky arms of the Goblin Elite.

Unlike the rest of the Collector, these arms were comprised entirely of black carapace, and they seemed almost stick-like in their thinness.

They ended in three fingered hands, and these, the Collector valued.

These were the Firefly Schinchu's limbs. The Collector could only manifest two of the Shinchu's limbs, but the two it did manifest were significantly stronger than even the Goblin Elite's despite the contrast in muscle mass and bulk.

The arms could extend their lengths to a maximum of six meters but utilizing them costed magical energy that the Collector calculated was extensive.

Best to save them for surprise attacks or to capitalize on lethal mistakes.

The Collector's lower body mimicked that of its prior metamorphosis level without much variance. A thickly muscled, serpentine tail fashioned from the Shaker Fish and the Flametongue Salamander's genes.

The tail fins at the end were shaped in a flat, rounded, club-like structure capable of imparting immense seismic shock if magical energy was imparted into them.

With its form decided, the Collector shook its body, flinging off primordial genetic ooze from the evolutionary cocoon off its body. The flesh of the cocoon rapidly dissolved, steaming away into a gaseous state that ensured no trace of it remained.

The Collector felt powerful. Far more powerful than it ever had physically. However, mana wise, it had to consume creatures to build up its root count.

The Collector could skip metamorphosis levels, but its root count could not match the same growth. It could only increase in approximation to one metamorphosis level at a time.

Thus, the Collector had only 60% of the mana pool it should have had in this state. It would have to rectify this discrepancy by consuming mana-dense creatures.

The light from the Collector's chest orb glowed. This magical organ would make any monster hunt quite easy.

A squelching, cracking sound echoed in the howling winds as a thin line split down vertically from the center of the Collector's neck to its waist.

Then, in an instant, that line expanded, revealing the Collector's innards.

From that hole, a huge mass of sharp teeth and crushing muscle emerged, promising to ensnare, crush, and grind up any specimen caught in its bounds.

Almost as soon as the mass of teeth and flesh emerged, it sunk back into the Collector's stomach, the slit across its body closing in an instant.

This, too, was part of the Firefly Shinchu's biology. The Shinchu did not possess a mouth at its head. Instead, it possessed a detachable, extendable maw at its thorax, which to the Collector was its upper stomach and chest areas.

Another method of surprising and devouring prey.

The Collector possessed more tools than it ever had before, and it would use them to grow to higher heights. To become stronger and stronger as it desired until nothing in this world could ever stand to challenge it.

For now, the Collector headed its way to the goblin settlement, prioritizing information and eager to test its new Dominus-type magic.