BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM-Chapter 1228: Looking around (2)

Erik remained motionless, keeping the beast at an ideal distance—far enough for safety but close enough for analysis to work.

Clearly, he didn’t turn off invisibility even for a second. Not only that, but he also shapeshifted so that his smell was reduced to the maximum.

The beast moved until it found a comfortable place where it could eat its prey.

<System, analyze that thing...>

The biological supercomputer didn’t wait.

—[Analysis]—

Name: Chromatic Stalker Physical Description: Quadrupedal predator is around 3 meters tall at the shoulder and 5 meters in length. Body covered in chromatophore-rich scales, allowing active camouflage. Six limbs ending in retractable claws; each limb is heavy-muscled and showing clear signs of adaptations for both climbing and sprinting. The head features multiple sensory organs.

Brain Crystal Powers: Chromatic Shift (A54C): Advanced camouflage ability that adapts to both visual and mana signatures of surroundings. Effectiveness increases with continued exposure to the environment. It needs biological adaptations to work. Sensory Enhancement (A49C): Improves all natural senses and adds mana detection capabilities. Can track prey through multiple spectrum ranges.

{Attributes} STRENGTH: 525 INTELLIGENCE: 15 DEXTERITY: 387 ENERGY: 1102

{Others} Power Level: 1027 Estimated Experience per kill: 1,670,194,096.50

—[END]—

Erik studied the numbers.

The creature was strong—its strength alone surpassed what most humans could achieve, even by focusing on their neural link development. The average blackguard was much weaker than this, and only the Vindicators had a similar power, even if a weaker one. Yet compared to the void ravagers that had decimated his army, they were nothing.

<Well, at least this is manageable,> Erik thought. But that wasn’t the only thing. Erik was disappointed in what he had in front of him, though.

<The powers are worse than I expected.> Erik thought that all creatures on Mur had deadly powers, such as the Leviathan Serpent, the Cerulean Bird, or the Three-headed Void Ravagers; instead, the creature in front of him had rather normal brain crystal powers.

<Both abilities are C-ranked, though the neural links it has have boosted its attributes a lot.>[Indeed. It has more than 500 strength points; it is not a weak beast.]

<Yes, but it is still around 500 strength points. The beast is far weaker than me.>

[Look, I don’t want to spoil your mood,] the system said. [But the combination of those sensory and camouflage abilities makes it dangerous even for you. I think you should be able to kill it, but do not rush things because your analysis might be a misreading.]

The system sighed. It knew there was nothing worse than a sense of confidence that Erik couldn’t afford here on Mur. However, it was clear even for the AI that maybe survival in Mur was possible.

<What do you think?> Erik watched as the creature dismembered its prey. Its chromatophore scales shifted colors, matching the changing patterns of the sunlight coming from the sky above.

[The chromatophore integration is fascinating,] the system said. [Most creatures with camouflage abilities rely on either purely biological or purely brain crystal-based mechanisms. This one seems to have both working in perfect synchronization.]

<So these color-changing scales work?> Erik watched as the creature’s skin changed colors to match every tiny shift in the surrounding lighting.

[Yes. The brain crystal is what makes the mana, but it is the chromatophores that do the rest. It’s the same with the Luminous Leviathan. This creature’s brain crystal power wouldn’t work if you or the clones didn’t shapeshift into it, at least partially.]

The biological supercomputer kept observing the creature in fascination. Of course, Erik felt the fascination but saw nothing. The system was nothing more than a voice in his head, after all.

[It’s actually quite elegant, and it makes it nearly undetectable to most sensing methods.]

<Explains how it gets close enough to catch prey that size,> Erik said, watching as the beast’s powerful jaws tore through muscle and bone with disturbing efficiency.

<Is it better than invisibility?> Erik was considering the idea of getting that power, although he would also have to shapeshift to take advantage of it.

[Yes and no,] the system said. [Its ability works like a chameleon’s—the creature is hard to spot but not completely invisible. It works better than invisibility because it doesn’t create mana ripples, keeping away creatures that use those for tracking. It also reduces heat dispersion, making the camouflage more effective. Invisibility, while making you completely unseen, only works against sight. Heat and mana can still be detected.]

Erik nodded. <Though with those stats, it doesn’t need to be stealthy to win fights.>

[Don’t underestimate the value of stealth,] the system said. [Even apex predators benefit from the element of surprise. Look at how it’s eating—quick, efficient, always scanning its surroundings. It’s used to competing for its meals despite its size and strength.]

<But those sensory powers... it should be able to detect threats coming, right? Maybe we are too close.>

[Enhanced senses are as much about avoiding danger as finding prey,] the system said. [The fact that it evolved both stealth and detection abilities suggests it’s not at the top of the food chain. Think about it—why would something this powerful need to hide?]

Erik felt a chill run down his spine as he considered the implications. <Point taken. Maybe we should reconsider my earlier assessment about Mur’s creatures.>

Despite his concerns, Erik felt relieved. The analysis showed that he could defeat this creature. This was a welcome change from his past encounters on this damned continent and its surrounding area. Until now, he had only faced monsters that would wipe the floor with him.

Yet, even with his invisibility active, Erik kept his distance. Those sensory brain crystal powers could detect him through means beyond simple sight, and he wasn’t willing to kill the creature so close to the shelter. It would attract other thaids, and if the body attracted bug-like thaids, not even his shelter would be safe, because there wouldn’t be enough of him to kill them all.

Moreover, the bodies would attract more thaids, creating a vicious circle.

Yet Erik stopped caring about all this stuff when the surprise and the curiosity faded away. <Do you think there are stronger predators around?>

[On Mur? Almost certainly.]

<No, I literally meant here.>

[Ah. I don’t know. My sensors are not picking up anything else for now, but… Well, you know…]

<I expected Mur to have only thaids as powerful as the three-headed void ravagers, but maybe they were the exception.>

The creatures in Mur posed a serious threat, especially to those outside the blackguards, like Becker and his soldiers, but Erik and the blackguards themselves could handle them. Erik alone, and the blackguards in teams.

<Those motherfuckers certainly thought even the weakest of thaids here was on par with a wyvern back then, and it explains why they had to go through Mur with hundreds of thousands of people, like Dad said.>

Unfortunately, based on what Erik saw until now, things changed. The blackguards became much more powerful, and surviving here wasn’t a problem anymore for their organization.

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<After all this time on Mur, the blackguards must have developed specialized strategies to operate here. Their normal tactics wouldn’t work against creatures like this. While these beasts aren’t much of a threat to me or the Chimaeric Demons, they’re still dangerous for the blackguards since they’re stronger than a Vindicator.>

Erik had analyzed many blackguards by now. The average member of their organization possessed around 300 strength points—making them weaker than this creature, which had stats comparable to a Vindicator. However, their superior intelligence meant that a large hunting party of dozens or hundreds could take down such a creature without suffering casualties.

On the contrary, an even bigger concern was that the blackguards were growing stronger each day. Their progression from helplessness to being capable of taking down such beasts showed a massive growth rate.

The only problem was that Amber and the others wouldn’t have this ability, of course, if they were alive.

Besides, even if this particular creature here was not as strong as expected, but not even that weak, there was no way to say this creature represented the average, and it didn’t mean Amber and the others would be able to survive here on Mur, which was Erik’s main worry.

The average was important because it represented how strong the creatures they faced more often were, how great the chances were of finding something that would kill them, or to find things they could face.

Erik sighed. <I need to collect more data if I want to see things more clearly.> For a second, he thought about killing the creature. The battle wouldn’t be simple but not even life threatening, at least until no creature joined the fight. Killing this thing would give Erik a ton of experience points, not enough to make him level up, but it was still much more than a single creature on Mannard had ever given him.

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Yet he was still unsure.

The creature finished its meal and began a careful grooming ritual, using its claws to clean its scales. While it did so, Erik kept thinking.