Symbiotic: Chapter 20

Chapter 20

So focused on her growth and her new item creation, Sara was almost surprised when she looked back to see the corpse of the Greatworm still sitting unabsorbed in the cavern.

“Woops”, she said slightly embarrassed as she walked back over from the cavern exit. “That would have been a little bad to forget!”

She reached out and let her new and improved Spore Powered Vacuum go to work.

[Compatible Biological Sample Detected: Apex Greatworm

Apex Greatworm(T2) Sample 1 of 5 absorbed.

Effect: Stat growth stored to be triggered during Regrowth.

Note: Stat increases limited to 5 samples per biological source.

Condition: Growth only occurs if source stat exceeds host stat.]

*Ping* [750 Microbes gained. Current Network Capacity: 2850 (3000) of 3000]

Items Collected

Medium Brown Crystal x1

[Item Acquired: Amulet: Corelace of the Apex Worm]

Type: Rare Jewelry (Necklace)

(Soulbound)

Description: A slender chain of woven crystal and ore threaded through a shard of the Greatworm’s crystalline core. The pendant pulses faintly with brown glow, its surface etched with natural fractal patterns that shimmer with subterranean resonance.

Stats:

• Thought: +3

• Knowledge: +2

- Passive Effect: The Corelace subtly vibrates in response to movement within (Mind Thought x10) feet on any surface the wearer is touching, granting a +10% awareness of potential threats.

Ability:

- Resonant Roar (Triggered): The Corelace stores a fragment of the Apex Greatworm’s sonic power. Once per encounter, the wearer may trigger a [Resonant Roar], unleashing a shockwave that disrupts enemy concentration and coordination.

- Enemies within (Soul Sum) feet suffer a -10% penalty to Thought and Knowledge for 20 seconds.

Slot: Neck

“Ok. You win, System”, Sara said as she stored the Crystal in here Pocket Storage and gleefully placed the Amulet around her neck. “That would have been a Lot bad to forget!”

<>

Decked out in her new fancy swag, and eager to see just how much her new stats improved the effectiveness of her abilities, Sara turned her mind back to the hunt.

Sara descended deeper into the mines, the air seeming like it grew cooler and heavier with each step. The tunnels she followed weren’t carved by miners tools or earth magics, they were the winding, instinctive paths of Greatworms. Their tracks snaked through the stone like scars, wide enough for her to walk upright, the walls smoothed by the passage of massive bodies.

The tunnels twisted and dipped, sometimes narrowing into tight squeezes, other times opening into sudden drops where the worms had burrowed downward in spirals. The stone bore signs of their passage: tooth marks, mineral scrapes, and the faint shimmer of crystal dust left behind by their crystal consumption

Every so often, Sara would emerge into a larger cavern, natural chambers widened by the Greatworms’ territorial expansions. These were the places she chose for battle. Wide enough to maneuver, high enough to avoid getting trapped, and always marked by the subtle signs of worm dominance: broken stalagmites, scattered crystal fragments, and the absence of other creatures.

She didn’t need to hunt in the traditional sense. Greatworms were territorial to a fault. All she had to do was find a cavern deep enough, stomp the ground with her Tetsubo, and wait. The vibrations would carry. The challenge would be accepted.

And when the Greatworm came, snaking through the tunnels, roaring with seismic fury, Sara was ready. Her spores flared, Sporesight now resting at a full 100 foot range within which she saw, felt, and knew nearly everything. It locked a full 500 microbes, more than Sara first started with. But, with a cap now of 3000, it was so very worth it.

The fights were brutal, but she had changed. Her microbe absorption rate had jumped to 150%, and it showed. With each Greatworm, her coordination of attacks and abilities improved. Her likelihood of success against a Greatworm grew from a risk to a forgone conclusion. She could finally use network abilities mid-combat without being overly concerned about running low. Infected Strike & Infected Cloud Strike now hit with terrifying efficiency, especially when bolstered by Acid Energy Conversion allowing them to eat away at flesh and mineral alike. Even Entangle was now capable of briefly slowing down the behemoth Greatworms with her drastically improved Soul Sum. And, the cherry on top, she found that her Commander Rally ability worked even on her own regenerations, allowing her to regain temporarily lost stats as well as microbe gains when she then vacuumed up the fallen worm’s essence to refill her reserves. It was efficient. Ruthless. Beautiful.

During one particularly vicious fight, where she had not noticed a sleeping Greatworm underneath a cave in and unreachable by Sporesight, she received her latest gift from the system.

[Network Ability Acquired: Mark Target]

Cost: 10 microbes.

Effect: Allows the user to tag a creature with spores, tracking its direction and distance via mental focus and increasing effect of Network Ability damage by 10%.

Additional Function: When used on allies, reveals location and current health status, & increases Repair effects on Marked Allies by 10%.

Range: (Mind Thought x10) feet = 960 ft.

Maximum Number of Marked Targets: (Soul Sum / 10) = 10.

Duration: Until removed or overwritten

Sara grinned. She had no allies to test the capabilities with yet, but she would. Haven Valley needed defenders, and she was building the tools to lead them. With Mark Target to add to her Commander abilities, she could coordinate, protect, and command with precision.

For now, she used it on the Greatworms. And the results spoke for themselves.

<>

Sara stepped into another cavern, the walls jagged with worm scars, the floor littered with crystal fragments. She planted her shield, raised her Tetsubo, and slammed the weapon down against the stone. The sound reverberated like a drumbeat through the tunnels.

Moments later, the ground trembled. A Greatworm surged into the chamber, fifty feet of muscle and mineral, its roar shaking dust from the ceiling. An hour ago, this sight would have meant terror. Now, it meant target practice.

Her spores flared.

[Ability Activated: Mark Target]

Cost: 10 microbes Current Network Capacity 2490 of (2500) 3000

Target: Apex Greatworm

Status: Hostile

Direction: 42 feet, closing fast

The mark pulsed in her mind, a tether of awareness. She knew exactly where the worm was, how fast it moved, how close it was. She could even more easily make out the seams between its great stone plates, seemingly to glow in green lines to be targeted. No surprises. No blind angles.

The massive stone worm lunged, stone plated head smashing forward. Sara pivoted, shield braced, and the impact rang out like a gong. The silver thread lattice dispersed the force, leaving her standing firm. She grinned.

Then she swung.

The Tetsubo cracked against the worm’s plated hide, studs biting deep. What had once been a desperate gamble now felt effortless. The weapon’s weight, her heightened stats, and the worm’s brittle highlighted seams all aligned. The stone shell fractured under her swing, shards spraying across the cavern.

She followed with an Infested Strike, spores burrowing into the cracks she’d just made. The worm shrieked, thrashing as the infestation spread, weakening its defenses from within.

[Ability Activated: Infested Strike]

Effect: Infestation amplified by Mark Target

Cost: 100 microbes Current Network Capacity 2390 of (2500) 3000

Skill Activated: Acidic Energy Conversion] -1 Temporary Mind Knowledge

Roaring in pain as the massive stone plate she had struck began to liquify and burn away, the Greatworm tried to retreat, burrowing back into the wall, but Sara was already moving. She raised her weapon high, spores swirling into a dense mist and snapping out at the muscle and sinew under its rock exterior. It might be an Apex Predator, but when it was inside her Sporesight, there was no escaping her reach.

[Ability Activated: Infested Cloud Strike]

Effect: Infestation amplified by Mark Target

Cost: 150 microbes Current Network Capacity 2240 of (2500) 3000

The cloud enveloped the worm, spores digging into every seam and joint. Bolstered by the mark, the infestation struck true, guided by her awareness of its exact position. The worm convulsed, its movements sluggish, its stone armor crumbling faster than it could regenerate.

Sara laughed, exhilarated. What had been a deadly, risky encounter only an hour ago now felt absurdly easy. Like fighting a toddler… An angry toddler fifty feet long and weighing two or three tons, but still a toddler compared to her newfound strength.

She swung again, the Tetsubo smashing through weakened stone, spores seeping deeper. The worm collapsed, its roar fading into silence as her spores consumed the last of its vitality.

*Ding* [Your party has killed an Apex Greatworm (T2) x4]

2000 Experience being divided evenly among your party.

Error: Party size (3001) exceeds limit. Negligible experience gained.

Current Experience to next level: 515.09 of 500]

[Compatible Biological Sample Detected: Apex Greatworm]

Apex Greatworm(T2) Sample 5 of 5 absorbed.

Effect: Stat growth stored to be triggered during Regrowth.

Note: Stat increases limited to 5 samples per biological source.

Condition: Growth only occurs if source stat exceeds host stat.]

*Ping* [750 Microbes gained. Current Network Capacity: 2500 of (2500) 3000]

Items Collected

Medium Brown Crystal x4

Sara exhaled, rolling her shoulders. “Not even a single Jewelry drop? What kind of low rent store is this?”, she grumbled.

Blood running hot, Sara scooped up the dropped crystal and moved deeper in search of new targets.