RinoZ
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Chapter 1643 - The Unwanted Evolution
🕑 Added 2025-07-29 01:42:19 +0000 UTCI’m cooking over here. Chill out.
“Where are they going?” Theresant fretted.
She constantly darted forward, then mastered herself and retreated a little, desperate to intervene and protect the chal but knowing they wouldn’t appreciate her interference.
“Everything is fine,” Florence said, trying to soothe her sister. “They’re perfectly safe, the path has been cleared. They seem quite happy. What is there to worry about?”
She wasn’t lying. The Brood Tenders had made extensive preparations, and the Colony had been only too happy to respond to their wishes. Wherever the little snails chose to go, the way forward was clear and unobstructed, the small column of hatchlings defended on all sides by an army of volunteers.
“But where are they going? And why? I don’t like not knowing, they might be endangering themselves.”
“What harm can they find within the Fortress?” Florence pointed out, quite reasonably. “Holding them back was more likely to be a problem than letting them go. They’re stubborn, as you know.”
The snails did indeed seem quite happy, sliding along as a group, long moustaches trailing in the wind. Despite never moving through the fortress before, they seemed to know exactly where they wanted to be, as if guided by some unseen signal. Rather than worrying, Florence was quite keen to see just what had seized the little chal’s attention so thoroughly. She had heard that they were remarkable, powerful creatures. What was it they were planning to do?
~~~
Anthony’s fit, it seemed, was beginning to subside, and he was once again starting to focus on the internal battle against the infection, but tremendous damage had already been done.
The triad were well aware of the danger. The pressure weighed heavily on their minds as they continued to forge ahead, consulting with the giant ant when they had to, but trying to distract him as little as possible. With such a vast amount of evolutionary energy available, the temptation was there to simply start splurging, buying expensive upgrades and reforging with the best available materials, but their trained instincts refused to allow them to be so profligate. They would make the best choices they could, working within their means and spending efficiently. Anthony deserved nothing less.
Attention turned to the fusion. Of all the things this evolution granted Anthony, this was likely the best. Combining the array of organs he had purchased to make his acid a more viable weapon into a more formidable whole was one thing, but combined with the properties of Theorazzn’s mana, it would become truly deadly indeed.
The new Fused Acid Complex would reset the purchased mutations, but that lost energy wasn’t lost, rather it was spent on improving the baseline performance of everything contained within. Incorporating the infection, the triad were pleased to see the gland had adopted the propagation power and durability of Theorazzn’s taint. Accentuated by what had once been the concentration gland, those properties were even further enhanced. Acid fired from this gland would be truly deadly, even without modifying it.
To complete the package, the triad chose a new material well-suited to the purpose. They exceeded the budget provided by the fusion, but not by too much. Anthony would agree it was worth it in the end.
The final product: Fused Acid Complex (Deleterium Shard). Even shards of deleterium were prohibitively expensive, but worth it in this case. The material was exceptional for the production of acids and toxins.
Not for the first time, the triad were struck by just how much Anthony’s corpse would be worth to delvers. If anyone realised just how valuable his carapace was, he may be hunted even if he stayed within the Colony.
Further reforging needed to be done to complete the evolution.
Anthony’s muscles, formed of plain organic fibres and cells, were no longer up to the strain of executing his enormously powerful Skills. A reforge of his musculature was, if anything, overdue. No monster could hope to reach the pinnacle of strength with such baseline components.
The triad dared to dream, and inspected the price of world-infused flesh, only to flinch back. Truly, it was so costly they dared not lock it in, even if it were incredibly powerful. With his legs still to reforge, and possibly his brains, they couldn’t afford to blow the budget on something like this. The loss of the first evolution pained them even further, but they comforted themselves. Just because it was exceptional material didn’t mean world-infused flesh was the right one for Anthony.
After all, there was no synergy there with the rest of his body.
Although they didn’t fully understand the power of gravity, it permeated throughout Anthony’s form. Determined to find something that worked, the triad tore through the list, hunting for something they felt would land on the right key words and synergies. Eventually they found a material that suited their purpose.
Neutron Fibre. Compressed in the heart of a star, stretched on the edge of the event horizon, these fibres are capable of enduring the fundamental forces of nature.
Again, not fully understanding the reference, the triad were satisfied with the price, and selected this material. While they were at it, they made his tendons mutable. Without serious mutations, there was no way he would be able to keep his new muscles attached to his carapace.
Hurriedly, they turned their attention to his legs.
The legs were a curious body part for an ant type monster. They incorporated elements of many other segments of the body, yet still remained their own distinct classification. They were coated in the same carapace as the rest of the body, used the same sort of muscles, and yet, the internal structure, the claws, the five separate joints, the comb hairs, all of it combined to form something recognised by the System as distinct.
As his body increased in size and his overall mass continued to climb, Anthony needed a serious boost to the power and strength of his legs.
Again, the triad dove into the list of materials, seeking something that could withstand the immense strain that would be placed upon them, while suiting Anthony’s overall build and budget.
Eventually, they settled on a candidate.
Graviton Splinters. Forged in hypergravity environments, this material is capable of enduring immense pressure, yet is also strangely resistant to the forces of gravity.
The evolution granted Anthony several unique organs, and the triad took it upon themselves to examine and place them within the body. The Everflow Well looked more like a ring than a well, empty on the inside. The more they examined it, the more they realised just how powerful such a thing could be. An endless source of power, it operated separately from the core, and, with mutations, would be capable of producing abundant amounts of energy. The only thing Anthony truly lacked was a source of infinite mana, since his physical strength, health, fatigue could all be replenished by the Vestibule.
The only drawback was the type of mana produced. The tainted energy would be exceptionally difficult to work with, hard to break down, hard to turn to any other purpose than the type of toxic spellwork the Krath themselves had adapted.
Reluctantly, they placed it in the centre of his thorax, close to the core, and placed the new corruption core in the centre of the ring. Without that new core, he wouldn’t be able to survive his new species, since the rest of his body wasn’t designed to tolerate such energies.
With that task done, they turned themselves to the final steps.
Comments
Sargon Yami
Whee he is now a corrupted monster.... yeah i think i am dropping this story sorry. And lets not forget that the cults failed at picking the right things for thousands of years. So yeah anthony gave the control of his evolution to the biggest failures in that area
Peculiar Oranges
I think you mean Chal out.
Greyg
[Mythic Evolution: Toxic Spring Colony Bulwark. +100 Cunning, +100 Willpower, +250 Might, +350 Toughness. Poison springs eternally within, an endless font of corruption that will nourish your core and annihilate your enemies. A creature of endurance and strength, allow your poison to bring your foes to their knees. A Everflow Well of Corruption will be granted for free. Eyes will be reforged into Petrified Infection. An Infection Core will be granted for free. Acid Gland, Acid Nozzle, Concentration Gland, Stimulation Gland will be fused.] Petrified infection eyes reforge sounds like the last possible thing he would want for eyes he should hate it i hate it especially without details set for another reforge later. Now he needs a brain reforge can compare dynamo and ascendant slime versus other materials better suited for gravity manipulation. People so focused on the path set by the system they forget synergistic choices are often hidden in the menus why Anthony gave up authority didn’t feel up to task the given choice isn’t always the best being an ancient set on their path with a hook might not be the right choice being powerful is a collection of unique qualities/abilities taking in will sets him on the path of god ant is that the same path as an ancient or is it better his gravity alone makes him unique once maxing it out. Good luck cooking, but seriously move them snails 🐌
Mo Alawami
I love your cooking and i can't wait for more!!
Napalm078
"Attention turned to the fusion." Probably returned instead
Marcus Hollimon
I also think he's still gonna evolve in this path, cause they locked it in as you said and it's impossible to go back now. But I think the chal will turn it into a non toxic form through their cleansing singing. It'll be cool to see an everflow well of regular or gravity mana that anthony can just abuse the heck out of with all his spells.
BallsDeep69
I wonder if the chal can purify his evolution in some way?
Joseph Lemongello
Rinoz's note cracks me up cause im also on the side of the majority of comments pissed off about the evolution but wasnt voicing it. But I was definately wondering what the author was thinking seeing those comments after every chapter the past couple days.
Caleb Herring
I think RinoZ is keeping this evolution path gang! The business district has needed a restructuring for a while, and this evolution gives us exactly that! (And they’ve already locked in their options, they can’t change them now, right?)
Anthony Romanov
More red pepper! MOAR
Ashrothe
It's the other edge of the cliffholder method.
Yesimatowel
LET HIM COOK
No_Creative_Name
I’m laughing at the authors note lol. We’re ravenous over here, but let’s not also be arseholes.
Nathan Emerson
Please please have a better evolution.
David Eddy
Theorazzn was able to infect the strata via influencing evolutions…chal gonna fix that right up!
Sapphire Rose
Anything with world is *always bad* besides creation. Usually it means binding to the specific world, which means no space expansion. If this is true, the only paths (assuming world never dies) are thus: 1. Eternally stuck sleeping, trying desperately for a bored mind to get information for when the ant army expands to other planets. 2. Hivemind. Stuck on planet, watching through the eyes of ants as they constantly scour and develope planets into beautiful utopias (judging from how the Colony is progressing). Maybe he developed the ability to descend on an ant and turn that ant into a clone, like a faith based being descending on a believer.
Igor Chmurski
The world infused stuff is getting so hyped up that if Anthony ever gets it, or goes against something with it i half expect it to be quite literally a cheat. Like/gamemode creative type stuff
Kuurth
The durability of Theorazzn’s taint was not something I was ever interested in learning. Thanks for the chapter!
Marcus Hollimon
After seeing bro saying he's gonna cookl I'm inclined to believe in bro. Had me worried not getting the goated ascension core, but I still believe it'll be something cool and maybe the drawback won't be too bad as it seems. It's still a mythic evolution afterall.
Aeseof
Cook faster then. XD But nah, this is good tension.
Shaitan
Move faster snails lol
Noquele
IN LIL CHAL BROS WE TRUST! THROUGH SINGING THE TOXINS WILL BE PURIFIED! FOR COLONY!
Taijusoup64
LET HIM COOK
ChillyPepper
We believe in chef RinoZ
TheLostGolem
LET.... HIM.... COOK!
shawn B
Title chapter is fitting 😭
Skipping
If the chal manage to cleanse him mid evolution, the energy well will be an absurd addition
Gonvas
Tainted mana will be great to farm those magic manipulation skills 😆
MrMarauder
Just cook Rino. I believe in you.
Sapphire Rose
Come, my sisters! Chant with me. Chal. Chal. Chal.
Gonvas
So corruption core is just to stay alive xD
strainge guy1
I refuuuuseeeee
Kewi397
Where’s the lamb sauce!!
NichNich
HES COOKING
