Alien Evolution System

The Collector and the swarm moved northeast, the Collector cruising on high altitude directly beneath cloud cover while the goblin swarm took the land. Again, the airspace was relatively calm, for there did not seem to be many aerial specimen well adapted to this biome with its intensive meteorological phenomena.

Only the sturdy draconids were reliable masters of the air, though as the appearance of the white feathered avians had suggested, there were likely more aerial specimen beyond the Rift.

In general, there would be stronger, more well adapted creatures.

Whether they would stand up to the Collector's test was to be seen. It estimated that with the purifying light blades and higher settings of Breath of Life regeneration, the goblin swarm could reasonably overwhelm swarms of singular stronger creatures.

The issue arose in encountering multiple such enemies.

Eight hours into travel, the Collector sensed a distress signal from the carrier unit. It immediately changed course, directing itself towards the swarm. It cut through the fall of grain like a comet, sailing downwards at supersonic speeds until it reached a few dozen meters above ground, peering down with its advanced sensory systems for any anomalies.

The Collector could make out the goblins standing tensely against a lone figure. Naturally, the three elites Goromir, Kandak, and Thokk were more forward than the others, but the champions were not far behind. All of them had their light blades out, and their body language indicated an extreme level of wariness.

That wariness radiated even from the elites, indicating a sizable threat.

Yet, the lone figure standing in that circle did not move against them.

The Collector flew down to the ground, and as it approached, victorious cries arose.

"The Sovnar is here! We beat the adventurer now!"

As the Collector approached the elites, the champions started to come up too, emboldened by the Collector's presence.

"No!" shouted Goromir. "Champions, stand back. Only let the Sovnar forwards. This is Undeath, and the likes of you cannot risk being infected."

The Collector clicked its mandibles as it came side by side to the three elites. It gazed at the lone figure before them.

A specimen from the tinkering races, it was quite evident. But from a humanoid variant that the Collector had not yet observed.

The tinkerer was taller than the average human and possessing of a slender but toned build. He wore sky blue robes, pants, and brown boots with a cloak of thick skins slung over his shoulders. The quality and design of weave of the robes was far different than that of the cloak, likely belonging to entirely different cultures

The humanoid possessed sharp, pointed ears. Pale skin and gaunt facial features with a scattering of scales dotted on his forehead. His eyes were reptilian and shaded an opaque black. His lips were curled up in a snarl, revealing sharp teeth.

A long, scaled blue tail emerged from behind the specimen, and two fins dotted its end.

The Collector knew what this specimen was. It remembered from tales of the world the female daemon specimen had told it.

This was a humanoid known as a 'Yinlong'. A tinkering species that lived primarily in aquatic biomes.

The humanoid gripped in both hands a lengthy blade that curved slightly at the top. The blade was a deep, azure blue, and droplets of frozen water hovered around it.

"The specimen does not move," stated the Collector. It noted that Goromir had lost two arms, sliced cleanly off by the humanoid's blade. His arms were on the snow, and the cuts were truly precise, severing with a honed edge backed by equally honed technique.

Goromir picked up the arms and attached them back with the aid of Breath of Life regeneration.

"Yes, Sovnar. It was sealed," said Goromir. It jutted its chin forward, gesturing down to the humanoid's feet.

Around the humanoid was a circular series of sigils that glowed yellow. The Collector noted further that the light was dying down, with the break in the flow of mana in the magic occurring at a spot where the seals had been smudged off of the ground.

"But the seal is breaking," said Goromir. "This time, my fault. I sensed the magical energy surging from this Yin, and I struck first, believing it a threat to the tribe. I did not notice it was sealed, and my movements shattered it.

Nor did I notice it was undead.

I fear I may have afflicted this land with a great calamity."

"Tell me of the nature of Undeath," stated the Collector, seeing if the twin elites with their ancient knowledge knew more.

"In stretches where the world has died, where there is no mana, simply a nothingness, a corrupting influence rises from the dirt, cloying in the air. Those that imbibe it become Undead," said Goromir. "Nigh unkillable. Infinitely regenerative mana. And their mere presence spreads their foul corruption.

Only once in our kingdom's five-hundred-year history did an Undead ever arise, and thank Gob it was simply a young child that had wandered into a pit of corrupting emptiness. Easy to eliminate.

This one, however-," Goromir pointed his tusks at the Yinlong. "Not so. He is strong. Made ten times stronger by the Undeath curse."

The Collector noted that the adventurer's emblem had five stars studded upon it, but even a five-star adventurer was nothing to the Collector as it was now even with the most generous of calculations using the four-star adventurer as a base.

"This specimen does not observe great degrees of intelligence," said the Collector, noting that the Yinlong only stared at the Collector and the swarm with unbridled, uncontrolled rage, its blackened eyes wide. "It is likely that simply by disengaging and moving around it, any confrontation may be avoided.

If the specimen carries a form of pathogen, then such would be the most prudent course of action.

I understand that the presence of 'Undeath' also necessitates the appearance of tinkering forces to contain it. When we move around the specimen, we must move quickly lest the tinkerers track us."

Just as the Collector said this, the seal around the specimen crackled and the yellow light of mana emanating from it died down.

A sudden breach.

Inconvenient, but manageable.

The Yinlong snarled and lunged forwards at exceptional speeds, a flare of yellow magical energy surrounding its body in a golden aura as it slashed with its blade, aiming for Goromir's head.

The Collector instantaneously stepped in front of Goromir and grabbed the blade by the tip, its hyperalloy carapace hand unable to be pierced easily.

"Go," stated the Collector. "Move beyond this specimen. I will deal with it. If it is a pathogen that infects this specimen, whether it be biological, magical, or psionic, then it will not affect me. Yet, I cannot guarantee certainty to your kind."

"Will you be okay, Sovnar?" said Thokk.

"The Sovnar knows what he says. Let's go, young one," said Goromir.

"Everyone. Move!" shouted Kandak, waving the rest of the swarm forwards.

The swarm of goblins moved past the Collector and the Yinlong, sprinting at full speeds away.

The fall of Grain was minimal in this area, indicating why the Yinlong specimen was here and why it could expel magical energy like this. Judging by the initial burst of power and the color of its mana, the Yinlong possessed an offensively oriented Root aura.

The Root mana affinity, symbolized by yellow, was focused on concentration. It specialized heavily in a specific type of flow, meaning those that bore the affinity were supremely good at one thing.

In this case, the Yinglong here was a master of offensively oriented mana flow.

"Interesting," said the Collector as it held the blade as the Yinlong continued to try and tug backwards, straining against the Collector's immense physical might. "You are capable of outputting a maximal amount of mana over an indefinite period of time. Your mana regenerates as soon as it is lost, and yet, I cannot sense any threads from which you draw this mana, as if it is drawn from nothing."

The Yinlong only snarled before it paused, driving its legs into the snow in a form of stance. Then, the blade the Collector held glowed a bright blue, water starting to accelerate around the edge at hyperspeed, forming a rapidly cutting edge that started to saw into the Collector's carapace.

Sparks flew from the constant rapid contact, but the Collector's carapace was immensely durable, and its smartshock structure adapted to the trauma, forming grooves that deflected the edge of the water saw. 

"Your mana is infinitely regenerative, but your maximal output remains the same, and it is not enough to defeat me." The Collector twisted the blade, shaking the Yinlong off balance, and then shot out one of its hands and placed it on the specimen's head.

"I can sense no output of viral matter nor pathogen from you. Nor can I sense any form of magical or psionic corruption," continued the Collector as its hand closed around the head in a crushing grip "Odd." 

The Collector then pulled with a burst of red mana, and tore the head clean off. 

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