Eh. I’m not going to look a gift mutation in the pheromones… or whatever. What do I want here? To be honest, most of the upgrades seem like a waste to me. There are options that do all sorts of things, turning pheromones into weapons, as a sleep poison, even a choice that helps create sensory illusions in organisms that smell them, basically hallucinogen scent! But since I use them strictly for communication purposes, most of these options are bunk. I’ll just take one that makes my pheromones travel farther so I can ‘yell’ harder. My last two mutations were both about making my pheromones more persuasive, which in hindsight is a bit of a waste. I don’t need to be persuading the Colony, they don’t need any help doing what I ask them.
So my Convincing Pheromone Gland +20 will become the Loud Convincing Pheromone Gland +25. Next!
I’ve got the three acid glands to deal with and the Gravity Mana Gland. I think I’ll handle the gravity gland. For every single mutation I’ve selected for my Gravity Mana Gland, I’ve gone down the same path, which is to expand the capacity. This is for a few reasons, namely that the Gravity Bomb takes a huge chunk of Mana, to cast, and the better I get at condensing Mana the more Mana I need to fuel the spell.
Except I want to take something different this time, and borrow a leaf from—of all the beings—Tiny. His lightning glands have a great little mutation that condenses the Mana inside the gland. It doesn’t condense it much compared to doing the work manually, but it gets the process started. It also has the benefit of making every spell I weave with Mana straight out of the gland a little bit stronger without me having to do any heavy lifting.
The Unending Gravity Mana Gland +20 will now become the Compressing Unending Gravity Mana Gland +25.
Three upgrades down and a cool three hundred and forty-five Biomass gone, just like that. The only body parts I have left are the neural network and three new additions to the business district not all of which are sitting at +20 yet. This part is going to be expensive. I hope I have enough to afford it, because I really don’t want to have to eat any more right now.
Firstly, I’m going to look at the neural network. Who would have thought that starting to mutate my nervous system would have such a beneficial effect in the long run? Combined with my carapace and antennae, this nervous system has been what kept me alive long enough to reach this Level. Having impossibly fast reflexes is always a win, no matter what.
The question is, what do I want to mutate into the network now? Trawling through the list, there are upgrades to help me make it even faster, but at this point, I’m not sure that’s even necessary. I’m already reacting to the future, having my nerves send signals .0000001 of a second faster doesn’t seem necessary.
Then what do I want my nerves to do? They do the job that nerves do extremely well already. They send signals and they do it really, really fast. What else can I possibly want here? Poring through the list and weighing the options, I come across one that I like. This mutation creates nerve bundles at certain points in the body that help manage coordination better. It’s like how an octopus has a separate set of nerves for each tentacle, helping to coordinate the movement of each limb so they can work together. If I’m not wrong, this may even synergise with my existing mutations, since the hyper-fast signals will be transmitted to these new bundles, who could make my legs move without my main brain even having to be contacted! Perfect!
The Instant Transmission Sub-Neural Network +20 shall become the Coordinating Instant Transmission Sub-Neural Network +25! Boom!
Now, it’s nozzle time. I’ve previously upgraded it to increase the range of my acid shot and introduced a scattershot mode. I’m pretty happy with both upgrades as is, to be honest. I don’t need to have absurd range with my acid, I’m not trying to turn myself into a sniper or artillery like some of the scouts are, and the scattershot does a good job spreading the acid over an area when I’m shooting at max range. If I upgraded that mutation more, the acid shot would eventually become more like a shotgun, blasting over an area up close, which I don’t think I need. I’m in the unusual place of looking for a new upgrade. What has the menu got for me!
Lots. It has lots.
Just like everything else, there’s a ton of options that seem either excessive, weird, or rather imaginative. There’s the usual list of properties that the nozzle could add to the acid, including elemental damage, somehow. There’s an ignition option as well, which I suppose would be handy if I turned my acid flammable. Hang on, I could literally shoot fire out of my backside? Holy moly! It’s a bit more extreme than what I’m looking for, though…
As usual, I’m more interested in mutations that move along the lines of what the organ was intended to do in the first place. I wonder if there’s something I can purchase that will help aim? Sifting through the list, I come across just what I’m looking for.
It’s an odd little mutation that adds a bundle of nerves to the nozzle that assist in making unconscious aiming corrections. Combined with my rapidly climbing accuracy Skill, this mutation could help me hit the target first time every time. Just what the doctor ordered!
So the Forceful Scattershot Acid Nozzle +20 will become the Guided Forceful Scattershot Acid Nozzle +25! That’s a mouthful. I guess that’s what happens when you mash three different mutations onto one organ.
Now the acid concentration gland! I really like this gland, it was cheap to buy and its sole function is to be the acid gland’s hype man. It makes the acid do whatever it’s already doing, but better, and I added the weakening property to try and drain my enemies during long fights. It’s a solid combo I’m going to stick with by enhancing the weakening property this time around. It’s simple to find the mutation I want, and with this, the Thickened Weakening Acid Concentration Gland +20 becomes the Thickened Draining Acid Concentration Gland +25!
Nice.
One to go! Six hundred and ninety Biomass down the drain! Holy smokes, this is expensive. Checking my Biomass total, I think I’m just going to have enough to squeak all of the necessary mutations in, although the last one is going to be the priciest. The Rapid Fatiguing Acid Stimulation Gland of +10. I need to upgrade this dude three more times! Better get to it.
Activating the menu, I upgrade the gland to the +15 mark and choose to consolidate the existing mutation. The stimulation gland works to increase the production of acid, which is great. The mutation I chose lets the organ drain stamina in order to replenish the acid faster, which works well with my Vestibule since my stamina is topped up by that organ. For the +20 and +25 upgrades, I kind of want to go in a different direction, see what else the menu has to offer.
There’s plenty to choose from, as usual. Most are around different ways to increase the regenerative speed of the acid, but others are a little more creative with their interpretation of what ‘stimulate’ means when it comes to the acid gland. Stimulate it to do what? Make more acid? Vaporize the acid? Bring about change in the acid? Add properties to the acid? It’s a complex system I’ve got going on back there, and only the finest produce is allowed to emerge from it, so I need to pick well.
In the end, I select something that works with what I have. This mutation drains stamina, but rather than increase the acid’s production rate, it thickens it, making it more potent. This obviously synergises on multiple levels with my existing setup. By the time this is done, my acid is going to be craaaaazy! At +25, I choose another mutation to enforce my new selection, and with that, I’m finally done!