Prometheus began by studying the wyvern's cells and how they managed to incorporate Influence into their biology. Apparently, Influence moved into a specialized organelle in the cell that seemed to work as a kind of 'battery' that would provide fuel to the cells. This was the first time Prometheus saw a physical presence of Influence on a cell, which highly intrigued him. I'll save this up for myself later. Then, he studied how the bacteria infiltrated this particular 'Influence battery' to hijack the resources for itself, thus improving the bacteria and weakening the cell.
His first course of action was implanting killer cells into the wyvern's bloodstream to seek and eliminate the evolving threat. Naturally, he designed these cells to ignore the wyvern's body and to be invisible to its immune system. That was what he had done with that woman, but it wasn't enough, so Theo went a step further and took his Sponge form, which looked like a large, gray spherical sponge, creating a new cell template for the wyvern. I need the cells to be ready as soon as possible, we can't afford to wait weeks.
"General, I need as much biomass as you can bring me." Asked the shapeshifter to the tree monster, who was patiently waiting with his arms crossed. "I'll get it to you right away. Zy, can you do that for Theo?" Asked the General while looking at the smaller wyvern, the one that wasn't covering the baby wyvern. It nodded and swiftly flew out of the cave, while Prometheus began considering his options. I only need to change that single organelle, I'm sure that if I protect it better the bacteria won't be able to hijack it and evolve. Could I possibly adjust the cells in real-time? An idea sprung up into the shapeshifter's mind, coalescing into a 'builder cell'. It was a chunky one, at least compared to other cellular entities. It had many microscopic manipulators with the role of grabbing molecules and moving them around in new configurations.
Theo was surprised when the manipulators actually came to be, as he was sure he couldn't create such a microscopic and fragile structure without it collapsing immediately after. It's got to be my skills and my tier up, as well as my Stats. After the extra Body stats, all my cells have gotten much tougher and faster. Prometheus immediately implanted the cells with instructions on what to target and how to modify them. With that, the shapeshifter sent billions of them, with the objective of reinforcing the wyvern's Influence packets, all the while sending more killer cells to destroy as many bacteria as possible. I might be able to engineer some similar...Thought Prometheus while studying the peculiar bacteria, already imagining a way to create a more lethal version of it. Naturally, he had already sequenced the bacteria's genome, which was the complete DNA sequence of an organism, including all of its genes and other functional elements.
Stepping back, Prometheus returned to its Antis form, which took a couple of minutes with the Soul technique. After that, the Wyvern, named Zy, returned with a large creature in its mouth, resembling a hybrid between a cow and a mushroom. Prometheus absorbed the biomass as he had used up his own for the procedure. It's still so expensive... Just creating these builder cells costs so much in terms of calories and biomass. I already spent all my reserves.
The shining blue insectoid monster jumped at the carcass of the fallen monster, tearing its skin apart, and quickly absorbing its biomass for his own benefit. After putting the excess biomass in his inventory with the usual compression, he walked over to the baby wyvern and studied its condition. Heart rate is stable, blood pressure is slightly on the higher side, still breathing... Let's see how this goes.
"Well, Private? What are the chances he's going to recover?" Questioned the General while lowering to observe the squirming form in front of him.
"I did some smart edits on his cells, so we have to see. But I'm pretty confident that if his body can keep the disease in check, then he'll recover." Replied the shapeshifter, analyzing the builder cells' progress. They had already gone to work, quickly reinforcing the Influence packets that the bacteria was using to empower itself. Theo nodded, relieved that the little wyvern was most likely going to recover completely.
Medium-rank Genetic manipulation leveled up to lvl 3!
"Well done. Zy, Xy, update me on his condition, I and the Private have some other matters to attend to now." Said the tree monster while straightening up and walking toward the exit of the cave. "By the way sir, which rank are the two wyverns here?" Asked Prometheus, curious about the flying monsters. "Technically, they are considered the Army's allies. This empty mountain was their territory, and they're allowing us to use it in exchange for protection and supplies." Replied the General. Prometheus followed right behind him, turning around to wave at the three wyverns with his insectoid arm. They gazed at him, nothing more. The two exited the cave, where the massive root elevator was waiting for them. From this high up, the shapeshifter could see that the floating island was around a couple of kilometers squared, with the fortress in the center of it being a simple structure of defense. Many layers built upon themselves, reminding Prometheus of those wedding cakes that were unnecessarily large. From two opposite sides of the floating island, wooden bridges connected the island to a couple of large doors at the side of the volcano, probably serving as an exit. The doors were large enough to allow the General and most monsters to pass through. The massive root brought the General and Theo to the floating island once again, dropping them gently on the ground.
"Sir, where is Mr. Fluffernutter?" Inquired the shapeshifter, distressed at his owner's absence.
"With the Emperor. We'll join them later, now I'll show you the fortress and introduce you to my subordinates."
"But why can't we join them now? I don't like staying away from him."
"I just explained it, Private, we have other, more important matters to attend to currently. One of them will be introducing you to the others. Follow me."
Prometheus sighed heavily, his insectoid mandibles jittering nervously. Now that I know where my owners are, it stresses me so much more that I'm not near them. The two monsters entered the fortress once again, walking toward the center of the structure. Many uneven hallways of wood were all Theo could see until a large, central room opened up, a massive tree sprouting from the center of it, reaching to the ceiling which was one hundred meters tall.
On the four sides of the room, other hallways connected to the structure, with many monsters entering and exiting all the time. All of them were thin mushrooms with roots and limbs, along a wide, flat cap. No eyes or facial characteristics were present on the beige monsters, which were holding tools such as brooms or pans. Others were transporting boxes around the facility, jogging quite quickly for such thin legs.
Prometheus walked closer to them, fascinated by how varied the lifeforms on this planet were. Incredible. Moving plants, and now moving mushrooms. Wish I could study them a bit closer. While Prometheus was gawking at the running mushrooms, the General moved over to the large tree. It had a dark red bark, with Influence spilling from its green leaves, which was spreading around the room, worming its way outside. Theo returned his attention to General Espanto, who rested one hand on the tree's trunk, which created a wave of Influence that flew outward. Prometheus looked around, studying what had just happened. That felt like Influence that's similar to mental connection techniques.
Not a moment later, three unusual figures stepped forth into the room, followed by Theo's friends. The three new monsters resembled carnivorous plants, with their mouth-like leaves. A large, stocky torso of wood and leaves was the central part of their body, from which four regular leaves emerged to act as limbs, while a large mouth-like leaf emerged from the top. What if I dropped my head in there? Would they chomp down on it? Shaking his head at the undesired thoughts, Theo waved at his friends behind the flytrap monsters.
All three of the plant monsters dropped to the ground in a kneeling position, exclaiming through a shared mental connection technique, "Greetings, General Espanto. How may we be of assistance?" Said the flytrap monsters in unison. They are almost identical. The one on the left has a slightly longer left leaf, while the one on the right has one cilia more on its mouth, thought Theo.
"Glad to see you three doing well. Thank you for taking care of the new recruits on such short notice, by the way. The Private over here," He gestured with his arm toward Theo, "Is Prometheus. He's my personal apprentice and will stay at my side for the moment. Private, those three are Major Thorn, Major Fern, and Major Vine. They control a group of Commanders each, and they are directly below me." said the General.
"Nice to meet you, Majors. I'll make sure to bring pride to the army!" Exclaimed Theo in a show of artificial patriotism. The three monsters nodded stiffly, looking back at the General as if asking for further directions. "You'll resume training those recruits as I told you earlier, and continue your normal operations. Major Vine, do you have any updates on our communication attempt with the Sapphire Republic?" Asked the tall monster.
The flytrap on the right stepped forward, an air of uncertainty emanating from the way it moved its leaves. Prometheus was surprised at his own observation skills, thinking, I really am incredible, wow. How did I even notice that? The monster then said, "Unfortunately, sir, the scouts from the 8th Ground Scouting Unit have lost contact with us, we believe that they've been caught and executed by the enemy. How should we proceed?"
General Espanto rubbed his beard and hummed loudly before replying, "Send another Unit, but specify that they need to show no hostility. You can use an Assault Unit if that would ensure their protection. If that goes south, we'll have to consider other options, as this is a massive opportunity. The Sapphire Republic just became independent, meaning they aren't in the Civilized Races Alliance anymore. I'll trust you on this matter, Major."
"Consider it done, sir." With that, Major Vine ran out of the room, followed by Buzzelina, Lunch, and Splash. Zilch was right behind Major Thorn, and Sayuri was following Major Fern. "Perfect. You may now resume your tasks, Major Thron, Major Fern." With that, the two remaining flytrap monsters got up and walked out, followed by Zilch and Sayuri.
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Espanto turned to look at Theo and said, "Getting back to us, I should start with giving you a training regime, after we get back from the Emperor. I'll be harsh on you, so don't expect anything comfortable. Is that clear?"
"Absolutely, sir!" Replied the shapeshifter while thinking to himself, I'll crush whatever training he makes. I'm just THAT good.
Over the next few hours, Prometheus was instructed to wait in the same room he had first arrived in through the portal until the General finished some other matters. Prometheus spent most of the time looking at the bed, and how it was made of living wood, just like everything else in the fortress. A single mushroom worker entered to ask him if he needed anything, surprising Theo, Have I become like an honored guest? The shapeshifter then replied, "I don't need anything, thanks. What's your name?"
The mushroom froze in its place at the question, looking around for who knows what, "I-I don't have a name, Private Prometheus. We are usually called the Fungi workers, nothing more."
"I see. Do you want a name?" Asked Theo.
"I don't believe th-that someone like myself would deserve a name, sir." replied the walking, beige mushroom.
"I'll call you Funguy anyway, is that acceptable?" Insisted the shapeshifter. I'm so bored of waiting here.
"Of course, s-sir." Replied the mushroom before sprinting out of the room as quickly as possible.
The shapeshifter jumped on the bed, his massive weight causing the floor to tremble at the motion. Multiple hours of absolute boredom later, Theo decided to exit the room and search for the General. He must have forgotten to come here, so I'll just find him to remind him. With that Prometheus exited the bedroom, looking around the hallways for the General. he first checked outside the fortress, remembering the exact way to go there, finding it desolate except for a few mushroom workers.
Time to wander this place at random. I'll stick to the right wall. The shapeshifter started exploring rooms at random, which were mostly storage rooms and small bedrooms for the mushroom workers. He even passed by the large open chamber with the tree, but it was empty. Why would they make a fortress of living wood? I bet it takes so much longer to grow out rather than just building it with normal materials. Although the exterior looked to be made of bricks, so who knows. Wait. A genius idea sprouted in Theo's mind. Could I set this whole place on fire? His rational mind berated him for suggesting such a chaotic idea, but his curious part wanted an answer. I shouldn't do it... I shouldn't do it... before he could realize what he was doing, he created a small flame at the tip of his insectoid foreleg, bringing it closer to the wood all around him. It did not catch on fire, instead, a strand of Influence jumped out of the wood and extinguished the flame before it made contact.
Ah... I'm partly disappointed and partly glad... Theo continued on his endless search for the General, which seemed to give no results. Prometheus took a moment to stop and do some introspection, analyzing his actions in the new world thus far, trying to find any problems or mistakes he had made, As soon as I appeared in this world, I went to look for humans. I made the right choice there. But I wonder why I didn't try harder to communicate with the bandits, maybe I wouldn't have killed them if I had found another way. Next, I decided to set up a base of operations with Zilch, but that didn't work out as I was kidnapped, and as I had no control over that I cannot say that I made a mistake. I followed the army's rules and commands for the sake of Arthur and the children, but is that the right choice?
Prometheus weighed over the pros and cons, considering the value of each side, The army can guarantee their safety, and they have a lot of firepower to back us up, but I can't know for sure what they need Mr. Fluffernutter for, or his children. The whole situation doesn't smell right. For now, I'm sure that following them is the right choice since I'm too weak for anything else. Theo's antenna drooped slightly at that last thought, wobbling side to side as he continued walking forward. At the end of another hallway, two mushroom workers stood side by side in front of a double gate, tall enough for most monsters to pass through, each holding a clipboard and a small, black crystal. When they saw him approach, the duo straightened up, prompting Prometheus to ask through a mental connection, "I need to enter. Open the gate."
The two mushrooms looked at each other uncertainly and one of them replied, "The General didn't warn us of anyone coming here, sir. We, unfortunately, can't allow you to enter, the General is busy."
Oh? The General is in there?
"General Espanto himself instructed me to join him. surely you don't want to disobey him, right?" Asked the shapeshifter while tapping his insectoid leg on the ground, acting impatient and annoyed.
"We-we can't confirm the validity of your words, sir, so please forgive us. We cannot le-" Before the mushroom worker could finish, Theo spotted Funguy walking through the hallway behind him, prompting an idea into his mind. He reached out with a mental connection technique, "Hey! Funguy, buddy, come here. I need to ask you something," said Prometheus while motioning to the mushroom worker to get closer. Funguy was transporting a box of various types of gems inside it, which shook around the box when the mushroom flinched at Theo's voice, before slowly moving closer. "How can I h-help you, Private Prometheus?"
"The General instructed me to join him as soon as possible, but these two say that 'they didn't know about me'. To me, it sounds like they're just trying to exercise some control over an innocent monster who's just following the General's orders, which is very unfair. What do you think?" asked Theo while piercing the beige monster with his insectoid eyes.
"I-I'm not sure... That... you should..." Prometheus walked closer to Funguy as it was stuttering, activating his villain persona. "Do you realize what you're doing? You're obstructing a top-secret mission that the General assigned to me, and you're stopping me from accomplishing it?" naturally, Prometheus was spewing total bullshit, but he hoped it was enough to convince these overworked workers to let him in and satisfy his curiosity.
Funguy shifted on his feet, looking downward, silence emanating through the mental connection. Theo glanced at the two guards at the gate, redirecting his artificial rage to them, "I assume you like to live and you want to continue doing so. I have enough power to take you out and get away with it. Do you understand?"
One of the two guards shakily nodded and moved to pull down a lever at the side, along a specific combination of buttons and Influence signals. The two heavy doors slowly opened, revealing a downward staircase ending in darkness. Theo nodded at the kind workers, bounding down the stairs, marveling at the much lower light levels. After two floors worth of depth, a bright room opened up, no bigger than an average living room.
The General stood there with his arms crossed and glanced at Theo, sighing deeply, "Why are you here, Private? I told you to wait."
"I was getting bored of waiting so I wanted to find you, sir," replied Prometheus while happily walking forward. In front of him stood five humans hanging off of the wall, three men and two women, devoid of any equipment, and bound by their wrists and ankles by roots. Major Fern, with Sayuri on the corner, was walking around the room, feet stomping the ground. A shared mental connection allowed Theo to understand what the Major was talking about, "These..these worms aren't telling us anything, General! We tried torturing them, hacking off their limbs, and regrowing them, but nothing worked! Please allow me to kill them outright!" pleaded the Major.
"As much as I would love to get rid of these things, we need to extract as much information as possible. Keep at it, they won't resist forever." Encouraged the General, eyes fixated on the smiling humans. The five bound people wore bloody smiles, almost as if prideful of the fact they hadn't revealed any information.
"So when can we go back to my owner, sir?" Interrupted Prometheus, worried about his owners once again.
"Be patient for a little longer, Private. We'll go to the Emperor in a moment."
After that, Major Fern continued the interrogation of the prisoners, with Sayuri chipping in occasionally. After the General gave additional instructions on how to cause the most pain to the prisoners, he walked outside the chamber, Theo following right after. The duo arrived at the central room with the tree, whereupon the General sent a massive chunk of Influence in the far-off distance. Apparently, it was a request for a portal to the headquarters. Prometheus ran around the room, not knowing what else to do at that moment. Then, a large portal opened up behind them, hiding what was on the other side once again.
The two monsters walked through, causing Prometheus to stagger on the other side, forcing him to use his limbs to stabilize himself. What awaited him on the other side was a very unexpected sight: A burning landscape. Vast plains of burnt grass surrounded Theo on all sides for dozens of kilometers, creating a scenery of death and desolation. There's something different about this place...My wrongness sense is telling me to be cautious.
Only two structures were present in the distance, those being a medium-sized hut of clay, with no windows or doors. Prometheus began to feel an increasing amount of pressure around his body, slowly crushing every cell in his body. Before it reached dangerous levels, the General performed a Soul-technique or a Soul-ability, Theo couldn't tell the difference, which wrapped a thin layer of Influence around the shapeshifter's Soul.
"Almost forgot to apply that protection to you." said the General while chuckling softly."We are going to meet very important individuals, those being a Nightmare and the Emperor. Nightmares are the Emperor's personal assistants and bodyguards. So behave, understood?" Prometheus nodded, and they moved to the hut, which opened a door automatically, like invisible hands were playing with the clay. Inside the hut, a simple bed lay on the far corner, with an unassuming, robed figure standing over it. On the bed, a semi-humanoid creature lay down, with very thin limbs, red skin, and a large eye at the spot where the head should be. Its eye focused on the tree monster. The General dropped to a knee in an instant, saying, "Greetings, Ground Nightmare Dalo, Supreme Emperor Malacharax. General Espanto reporting in."
Prometheus glanced at the kneeling general, who had shown submission for the first time. He tried to wave at the two figures, but an instant later, a large hand positioned itself behind Theo's head much faster than he could react and slammed the shapeshifter's face on the ground, the General shouting, "You fool! Read the room for once!"
The robed figure turned around and dropped its hood, revealing a crystalline and blank skin under it. It almost looked like a sculpture without a neck made of a bright crystal of various colors such as yellow and violet. The only details on its face were eight green dots arranged in a triangle. It then replied, "General, your rescue mission was successful. You will be rewarded for your service to the Emperor."
"It is my honor, sir. I needed to report a failure to make contact with the Sapphire Republic, so I began attempting it once again. Additionally, I took this monster here as my personal apprentice, as he has shown remarkable martial and strategic skills in the rescue mission." Explained the General, confusing the shapeshifter who was still forcefully prostrating. What are... When he moved his Soul sense on the two figures, sharp pain erupted in his mind. No, in his Soul. The two Souls in front of him were much brighter than anything he had ever seen, forcing him to shut down his Soul sense.
"The Sapphire Republic is negligible. An apprentice... Approved. Teaching results in better comprehension of the subject." replied the Nightmare with an extremely monotone voice. It didn't move at all, instead staring at them like an inanimate object. Then, the Emperor's eye shifted to look at Prometheus and said, "That one...is remarkably intriguing. What is your name, Private?"
The Emperor's mental voice was deep and guttural, still somehow possessing a certain level of polish, prompting Theo to reply, "I am Prometheus, Supreme Emperor. But why do you live in such a disgusting hut? You're supposed to be really important and all, right?" Asked Theo in a neutral tone.
Prometheus felt an ocean of Influence move from the Nightmare's Soul, flowing directly at him. The General's grip on his head got much stronger, threatening to destroy it to bits. Both stopped when a deep and slow laugh escaped the Emperor's mouth, which was on its chest. Theo observed how the mouth covered most of the torso, full of needle-like teeth. "Settle down, you two. Private Prometheus asked a simple question. I am bound to spend the rest of my days here, in these cursed lands, due to my effect on anything around me. Those protections you and the General are using are temporary and will fade away soon. Anything around me degrades, slowly disappearing from the world. This 'disgusting hut' as you said," The Emperor stopped to chuckle once again, "Is just for my convenience. It is trivial to repair when it inevitably degrades, allowing constant repair. My subordinates insist I use more luxurious furniture, but I don't see the need as anything more expensive would still deteriorate to nothingness. The effort would be better spent on our soldiers. Did that answer your question?" Ended the Emperor with a slight hint of amusement. Prometheus nodded slightly, still bound by the General's hand.
"Very well. Welcome to the army, Private Prometheus. May you bring glory to the Monster Army.
Congratulations! You have been recognized by the Monster Emperor, granting you a new title!
Title: Private of the Monster Army. You will be slightly more resilient on the battlefield and will intuitively understand your allies' intentions.