[ Infinity Locust ]
[ Rank-0 Lifeform ]
[ Physique: 0.03+0.2 ]
[ Special Attribute: Infinite Forms ]
[ Infinity Locust ]
[ Rank-0 Lifeform ]
[ Physique: 0.03+0.15 ]
[ Special Attribute: Infinite Forms ]
A total of 6 locusts had broken through by the next morning. Among them, the first 3 locusts, which had broken through by using the rabbit's body as the primary ingredient, showed the former stats panel, with a Physique rating of [ 0.03+0.2 ] points.
The latter three locusts had broken through by using the corpse of an uninteresting vulture.
Like the rabbit, the vulture also only specialized in the physique department; and as such, the three locusts had also been only strengthened in terms of their physique, albeit by a lesser margin than their predecessors—0.05 points less, to be exact.
If Euri had other options to use as the primary ingredient of breakthrough, he would not have used the vulture's corpse.
But as he had been scared of the possibility that opening the hunting mode could kill too many of his delicate locusts, he had refrained from hunting since yesterday.
In consequence, no supply of new beast bodies had arrived into the sacred ground. The leftovers from the earlier hunts were about to become spoiled according to the game's standards for ingredients. So he could only take the risk to open hunting mode again.
Of course, he took the minimal countermeasure for the 101 locusts, instructing them to go hide in the deepest parts of the grove, where dense woods would shield them from a rampage.
And he was right to do so, as it turned out. This time, the hunting mode lasted twenty minutes, and the result surprised Euri again.
[ Invasion Attempts: 6 ]
[ Success/Failure: 0/6 ]
Among the six invaders, five were locusts, and the remaining one was a massive porcupine... Well, the creature itself was not large, but the long quills on its back made it appear as majestic as a black peacock.
Euri estimated that even the smallest visible quill on its back could spear Scout Dog from head to butt.
The porcupine was a natural enemy to the wall of tentacles. It slashed, bit, and stabbed its quills into everything in its reach as a small encirclement of tentacles tried to tire it out. Many tentacle-heads had been cut off; many were full of holes and fissures, leaking copious grey fluids from inside.
Several of its fellow invaders, the locusts, had already been killed and turned into a splatter of grey innards and green skin by its crazed final stand. Those that were stuck on the tentacle barrier due to the sticky secretion of the tentacles certainly would not survive the clash if this went on for long.
"Why did the sacred ground deem the invasion attempt as a failure when this big guy is clearly putting up a good fight? Is this like an ego thing...?"
Euri was confused, but as he continued watching the gory battle, he noticed a minute phenomenon. Every time one of the tentacles managed to wrap itself around any part of the porcupine's body, the beast spasmed like it had been shocked with high-voltage electricity.
Euri had never seen the tentacles show such a power, but in that span of a minute, it happened four times, and by the fourth spasm, the porcupine's struggles began to grow lethargic.
Grabbing the openings acutely, more and more tentacles whipped themselves on the less projected parts of its body, and soon, the entire porcupine was spasming like a rabid creature in its death throes.
"Wait! Don't kill it, damn you!"
Euri's curse, spoken less as a command and more as a reflex, actually seemed to affect the tentacles' movements. The spasming reduced almost immediately, leaving both Euri and the beast dazed.
"My Administration skill— [ Shepherding ] works on the tentacles too? Why did I never notice that before?" Euri was lost questioning the game's regulations once again.
This was not the first time he had yelled something at the tentacles by reflex. It had never been effective.
But thinking about it for a while, he realized that there could be a good reason why his command had a visible effect on the tentacles for the first time.
The sacred ground's 'goodwill' and recognition of his identity as an administrator were increasing every time he contributed to its growth; usually by sacrificing beast cores down the gas well.
In the last couple of days, he had sacrificed an unusually high number of beast cores. Just yesterday alone, he had been trying to test the quality of the Infinity Locusts and ended up losing 3 cores to the gas well in the span of an hour.
The sudden boost in sacrifices had not earned him another blessing, leaving him wondering if it was truly worth it. But now, he realized that he had just not been perceptive enough, patient enough, and curious enough for the discovery of this little new perk!
"These tentacles could be a great assistant if I can make them listen. Uh, hello...? If you can hear me, please stop electrocuting the poor porcupine. I want to see its specialty, first things first!"
Can tentacles understand words like electrocution? Euri felt like a dumbass when that question popped up in his mind, but the sheer absurdity of the game had already given him some form of immunity to entertain such ideas.
The tentacles, in the meanwhile, did not rush to obey his order as he had hoped. The limbs of the porcupine continued to spasm violently, albeit at a lesser intensity than earlier.
Not put off so easily, Euri tried a different approach.
"Can you drag this beast towards the gas well?" He even pointed out the way on the screen repeatedly, hoping to convey a clear message no matter what perception medium the tentacles relied on—sound, vision, touch, or vibrations.
This seemed to work! Several fatter tentacles latched onto the semi-conscious porcupine's body and dragged it towards the center of the grove. But this journey was cut short when they reached the edge of the clearing the gas well was in. The tentacles could not get closer.
Some restrictive rules must have been implemented for reasons unknown to Euri, preventing the tentacles from approaching the well.
Confounded, Euri ordered Saw Serpent and Scout Dog to handle the rest of the task. The weakened porcupine's powerless limbs flailed, but they didn't give the duo of laborers as much trouble as its weight.
Once the porcupine was close enough to breathe in the wafting green gas, Euri summoned its information window for the first time.
[ Blizzard Porcupine ]
[ Rank- 0 ]
[ Physique: 0.85 ]
[ Special Attribute: Endless Arsenal ]
[ Cultivate / Extract ]