The subclass he liked the most was Corruptor. His only doubt about this form was that it appeared to lack any abilities of its own. Instead, this class focused on developing various creatures. While it was amazing to develop his own creatures, he felt conflicted about not being able to learn new abilities for himself if he chose this evolutionary path. For that reason, Jake hadn’t evolved yet and decided to take some time to consider the matter.
However, he soon learned that he could gain new abilities by completing dungeons, which compensated for the downside of the Corruptor class. So that was the class he decided to choose. As soon as he did, he sensed subtle changes occurring in his body. He recalled that the last evolution had taken a while, resulting in significant alterations to his body—he had become taller, his arms grew longer, and his face elongated into a snout, forming a mouth filled with jagged teeth. This time, however, the transformation was complete almost instantly.
The transformation into Evolution Stage 3: “Apex Manifestation: Corruptor” is now finished.
Jake opened his eyes and examined himself but didn’t notice any visible changes. He must have received an increase in his Body attribute, as he felt more robust, but that was it. Closing his eyes again, he summoned his stats. As soon as he did, a series of system notifications appeared in his mind.
You have successfully evolved into Stage 3: “Apex Manifestation: Corruptor”. You will continue to receive 5 SP with each level-up.
Each of your attributes has received 20 points:
Body has gone up from 115 to 135;
Mind has gone up from 105 to 125;
Magick has gone up from 148 to 168.
The following of your abilities have been elevated from Uncommon to Epic, unlocking 1 new upgrade:
The following of your skills have been elevated from Uncommon to Epic, unlocking 1 new upgrade:
The Evolution Stage 3: “Apex Manifestation: Corruptor” section has been unlocked in the Genetic Development Interface.
You have received 350,000 XP.
You have gained enough XP to level up. Your level went up from 110 to 112. You have gained 10 SP.
He remembered that after evolving from Stage 1 to Stage 2, Claws as well as some of his skills had automatically progressed from Common to Uncommon because they had reached Rank III by that point. This time, however, none of his skills and abilities had advanced to the next rarity level, Epic. Jake figured there could be two possible explanations for this.
Either he needed to upgrade their Ranks before he could manually raise their rarity level, or perhaps Uncommon skills and abilities couldn’t progress in rarity at all, remaining in their current rarity level permanently. He figured he would find out which was the case when he increased them to the next Ranks.
By killing the dragon liche and evolving into the next stage, he had earned a total of 20 skill points. However, before allocating them, he first wanted to check out the newly unlocked third section of the Genetic Development Interface to learn what new powers were now available to him as the Corruptor.
Evolution Stage 3: “Apex Manifestation: Corruptor”
Ability: Mana Core (Corruptor Ability)
Requirements: Body 130, Mind 145, Magick 220
Ability: MorphDisguise
Requirements: Body 125, Mind 135, Magick 140, Mind Reader (Rank IV)
Ability: Ground Strike
Requirements: Body 250, Mind 160, Magick 265, Enhanced Strength (Rank V), Enhanced Durability (Rank V)
Ability: Chainsaw Arms
Requirements: Body 125, Mind 110, Magick 150
Ability: Drill Gauntlets
Requirements: Body 130, Mind 115, Magick 160
Ability: Grappling Hook Arm
Requirements: Body 135, Mind 125, Magick 165
Requirements: Body 140, Mind 230, Magick 215, Enhanced Intelligence (Rank V)
Requirements: Body 250, Mind 180, Magick 300, Enhanced Regeneration (Rank V), Mana Absorption (Rank III)
Requirements: Body 265, Mind 235, Magick 310, Enhanced Intelligence (Rank V), Feral Instincts (Rank V)
Requirements: Body 290, Mind 350, Magick 325, Enhanced Intelligence (Rank V), Mind Reader (Rank V)
All the skills and abilities listed in this section of the Genetic Development Interface were Epic. At the moment, he had six abilities and four skills to choose from. He had received Chainsaw Arms, Drill Gauntlets, and Grappling Hook Arm for completing the first three floors of the dungeon. As for Morph Disguise and Ground Strike, he had earned these abilities by completing quests some time ago.
It meant that Mana Core was actually the only native ability for the Corruptor class. So he was right when he thought that this class had no native abilities aside from the one allowing him to develop his own creatures. However, as he was already aware, he could obtain new abilities by undertaking mutation research quests and clearing dungeons, which was definitely a good thing.
Anyway, Mana Core was the Corruptor’s primal ability. Even though Jake couldn’t acquire it at the moment, he was really curious about how it worked. So he focused on the ability and summoned its description.
Mana Core: It is the main component of the Corruptor’s lair. It allows the Corruptor to create new structures, develop various living beings, evolve them, and spread Corruption. To begin creating a lair, the Corruptor must first erect the Mana Core, which is built around a mana orb. If the Mana Core is destroyed, everything within the Corruptor’s lair dies as well.
Requirements: Body 130, Mind 145, Magick 220
After reading the ability’s description, Jake took a moment to think. To develop various creatures, he first needed to establish a lair. To do that, he had to construct something called a Mana Core. Obviously, he would be able to do this once he learned the ability that shared the same name. Sure enough, there was no point in creating a lair in the dungeon. He needed to finish it first and return to the surface before learning how to create his lair and figuring out how everything operated within it.
He couldn’t help but notice that to create a Mana Core, he needed a mana orb. This made him think. It was clearly another type of mana consumable, but he had never encountered this particular kind. So far, the most advanced mana item he had ever come across was a mana crystal, which was of Epic rarity and contained 5,000 MP.
It was safe to assume that a mana orb was even more potent and rare than a mana crystal. But where could he possibly find one? Now that the city had been upgraded to the next danger level, could mana orbs finally be surfacing? Even so, he suspected they were still incredibly rare. If a mana crystal was classified as Epic rarity, it stood to reason that a mana orb would be of Legendary rarity. These types of items weren’t just lying around every corner. Instead, they were really hard to come by.
Perhaps he would receive a mana orb as one of the rewards for completing the dungeon. He certainly hoped so.
Then another thought occurred to him. He remembered that one of the machines inside the bandit base he had infiltrated to steal the Skeleton Key could combine several mana consumables of the same type to create a mana item of a higher rarity. He recalled that the machine was called the Mana Constructor.
Could that machine create a mana orb by combining several mana crystals? Jake wasn’t sure. He remembered that the final product it produced seemed to be a mana crystal. At least, the bandits at the base never attempted to combine several mana crystals to create a more powerful mana item.
It seemed the Mana Constructor might not be capable of producing mana orbs after all. Or the bandits might have never tried to forge a higher-tier mana consumable like a mana orb simply because there was no real point. After all, the machines in the base only accepted crystal-shaped mana consumables. Another possible explanation was that the Mana Constructor needed to be upgraded before it could combine mana crystals to create mana orbs.
He also couldn’t help but notice that the Mana Core ability didn’t have any upgrades, unlike the other abilities and skills he had encountered so far. This likely meant that the Mana Core couldn’t progress either. This ability simply allowed him to create a Mana Core. Once completed, he could construct a lair around it, serving as a hub for the creation and evolution of various living beings.
Anyway, it was definitely worth checking out the Mana Constructor after infiltrating the bandit base and slaying all the bandits within. If it turned out that the Mana Constructor could actually produce a mana orb, he would definitely put the machine to good use. If not, he would need to search for a mana orb somewhere else.
Giving the matter no more thought, Jake shifted his attention back to the third section of the Genetic Development Interface and examined it once more. He couldn’t obtain Mana Core at the moment, but there were several abilities he could actually acquire right now, so he decided to examine them more closely.