Invincible: King of the Monsters

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The pool churned and bubbled. Its dim red light grew even more ominous, almost as if a gateway to hell were being opened. An eerie atmosphere descended as the pool's signature glow grew increasingly tense.

He stared into the depths of the pool, fascination flashing across his expression. He gazed intently, trying to decipher the means and method by which his spawns were birthed. However, no matter how long he stared, he was met only with confusion.

"Is it a gateway?" he thought, pondering silently and expecting a response from his guide. But after waiting a few seconds, he snorted and could only sigh exasperatedly.

Yet again, this was one of the many questions he had never received an answer to. He could only attempt to figure it out himself. As he pondered, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an arm that stretched out from the pool's depths.

It gripped the edge, pulling itself free. As it took its first step onto solid ground, its feet nearly slipped due to the slimy substance covering them. It shook slightly, dislodging the residue from its form.

Then, meeting his gaze, it bowed its head in submission. However, he was not overly concerned with that gesture; the only reason he was staring so intently was that he had once again experimented with something new.

This was the first time he was implementing a modification that did not originate from his own genetic code—though it had technically become his, as his body had decoded, broken down, and successfully mimicked it.

He had successfully implemented the rodent's bioluminescent trait and even made improvements, though he wasn't exactly sure how; he could feel a trait within him that he had not yet unlocked, one that manifested as a glowing blue light. With this trait, he transformed the rodent's original bioluminescence—a trait that previously could not be turned off—into one that could be controlled.

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The implementation was straightforward and direct; it wasn't as complicated as he had expected. He simply needed to concentrate deeply, and he could piece together the trait he had successfully mimicked and stored. This meant that as long as he consumed any genetic material, he could acquire its trait and still have the choice of whether to implement or discard it.

Essentially, he could copy and save these traits. However, he had learned that he couldn't store multiple traits indefinitely. If he did not implement and assimilate those traits into himself, then as he continued accumulating new traits, the older ones would naturally be discarded.

With the aid of his guide, he had learned that he could store up to ten traits at a time. However, there was a way to bypass this limit through genetic memory; technically, he could create a recipient spawn for a particular trait.

This way, even if the trait were erased from his trait storage, he could later access it from the recipient's own genetic makeup. It was a complicated concept, and he hadn't yet grasped it fully, but one thing was certain: creating a recipient would cost vast amounts of biomass.

Shaking his head, he shrugged off the thought and focused on the scout spawn before him. He stared in confusion, noticing that it exhibited no form of bioluminescence.

But just then, before he could begin contemplating how or when he had made an error, a soft blue glow began to emanate from its body.

Slowly, the intensity increased exponentially, illuminating the room. He stared for a while before nodding to himself internally, "It seems I didn't make any mistakes."

After confirming there were no errors and ensuring the spawn could freely control its luminosity, he finally retreated to his den.

He wasn't planning on birthing just one; that amount wouldn't suffice. He intended to expend all his biomass to birth around a dozen of them, so they could cover more ground.

Just as he was about to settle down, relax, and partially monitor the birth of the scout spawns, a sweet scent suddenly crashed into his nostrils. His expression sharpened instantly, and he immediately refocused, snapping out of his trance to concentrate on the source.

He spotted it immediately. The sweet scent had come from one of the hunters that had been tracking rodents in the cave systems. Because of the constant mental connection linking all his spawns, he could feel exactly what they felt.

Usually, as long as nothing complex was happening, there was no intense mental feedback. But right now, the feedback from this hunter spawn was peculiar—it made his forehead tingle with suspicion.

Shrugging off the overwhelming allure of the feedback with great effort, he suspended the link from the other spawns to isolate the connection. He could feel the corrupting grasp of that sensation.

The scale of the sensation made him shiver once again. The source of the sweet scent could definitely not be ordinary.

Shifting his attention, he latched onto the source of all this feedback, tapping into its senses. The moment he fully connected with the hunter spawn, he immediately realized something was wrong—something was out of place.

The spawn seemed to be in a trance-like state, as if being directed toward something. He instantly knew that wherever it was heading couldn't be somewhere good.

Without a second thought, he enforced control, halting the spawn in its tracks. He was about to begin directing it back to the nest, when his eye caught a glimpse of something approaching.

The first thing he saw was silver—a flash, then the appearance of something dashing toward him. Its body was sleek and partially serpentine, and it had no eyes. For a second, a look of panic crossed his face, but he quickly regained his composure. "What the hell is that?" he muttered.

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"This strange creature..." he murmured, realizing it was the source of that sweet, intoxicating scent—perhaps some form of pheromones. He didn't have time to dwell on it when the figure closed in with unreal agility. It leapt toward him with malicious intent, its claws outstretched in a frenzied manner.

He was prepared. The moment it closed in, he leaped out of the way, and the creature crashed into the wall, causing slight tremors that shook the cave. At that range, its features were clear: an almost humanoid upper body paired with a serpentine lower half. Several tentacles drooped from its head.

Without hesitation, he lunged toward it. The creature, clearly disoriented by the collision, became vulnerable. Seizing the opportunity, he attacked its lower half with his claws. His strikes pierced its flesh, though he met resistance; his claws hadn't dug deep enough to cause a major injury, but they had drawn blood.

The creature shrieked in pain and irritation. The shock of the pain cleared its disorientation, and it turned its focus back on him, launching a rapid counterattack. Its claws scraped his shoulder, drawing blood as well.

A brief silence fell as they studied each other. "It seems to be intelligent," he observed. The creature, clearly impatient, was the first to resume its assault, lunging forward once again. He knew he couldn't take this attack head-on; its body was far more flexible and evidently stronger than his. He was merely trying to buy time, to delay its advance.

At that moment, he had already ordered several spawns to converge on the creature's location. It wouldn't escape his grasp.

His curved claws slashed toward the head, intending to land a fatal strike when, suddenly, he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

Before he could comprehend what it was, something heavy slammed into him with bone-crushing force. The spawn's body was sent flying backward, its form rolling across the floor before crashing into a nearby wall and leaving a dent.

He cursed internally, feeling the full impact of the force and the injuries it had inflicted. His right forearm ached, but he quickly disconnected the sensation of pain from his mental feedback.

He regained his composure, but the monster had already closed in at a rapid pace. Before he could react, a clawed hand slammed into the side of his head. The impact sent him writhing in pain. His consciousness dulled for a moment, but he responded instinctively.

He slashed at its head, landing a strike; however, once again he met even stronger resistance. It felt as if he had struck metal. His attacks left only a few scratches on its face.

It shrieked in annoyance, and before he knew it, the creature's tail slammed into him. The previous attack had dulled his reactions, leaving him unable to dodge.

He had expected a blunt impact, but instead he felt a piercing sensation. It was too late; before he could register the barbed end of its tail, it had already pierced his shoulder.

Without hesitation, his teeth clamped down on the tail. It thrashed in agony, but that only gave him more leverage. His teeth dug deeper, and by the time he pulled back, he had torn off a chunk of flesh.

It shrieked in pain, retreating backward for quite a distance. He almost thought it intended to withdraw—until he suddenly felt the spawn's body collapsing. It's muscles were shutting down.

The creature fixed its gaze from afar, despite having no visible eyes. It didn't take long to piece it together: the barbed tail was venomous, waiting and biding its time. Its bodily expression, full of anticipation, made it clear that it was confident it had already won. But from a distance, three hunter spawns were already approaching at a rapid pace.