Chương 271: Chapter 267 - Jurassic Valley (XXIV)

Pablo's Notes – Note 11, Volume 2 Day 19, Second Tier, Second Stage It has been nineteen days since I arrived at this stage with The Shadows. Based on landmass drift patterns, I estimate we're not yet at the halfway mark. If my current model holds, the full cycle of this stage will last approximately 49 days. The Shadows, as always, move with an efficiency that defies conventional expectations. I suspect the recent breakthrough has lifted morale across their squad structure. Leonie says it's thanks to me…

and The Shadows do look at me differently now, but—I mean, I merely suggested it. Leonie was the one who acted, who tested it. It's like I'm the student and she's the PI*… but anyway—it worked. Creatures fed orb sequences in multiples of seven undergo structured transformation—all the way leading to evolution into a leader-tier after seven sets of seven. That alone shifts the frame. Not just tactically, but… fundamentally. We can create leaders. It's difficult to overstate the implications.

I doubt most of them think beyond the immediate rewards—equipment and Stage Progress. Which is fair. They're fighters. Specialists. But for me… this isn't just about power scaling. It's a glimpse into the design of The Tower itself. The orbs act as catalysts—unlocking a pre-coded evolutionary sequence embedded in the creatures' biology. The pattern isn't random. It's as if the transformations were written into them from the start, just waiting for the right amount of energy to activate.

As for me, I've absorbed an Ignosaurus draconis orb too—an honor I still don't feel I fully deserve. And while I care little about the fancy boots, the boost in Stage Progress is very welcome. As my SP increases, my spatial reasoning has noticeably improved. My mental models run faster, with greater fidelity. I can visualize biological systems more clearly, in layered motion—nerve pathways, fluid circulation, connective tissue behavior. My senses have also sharpened.

I now pick up subtle differences in muscle tension when a creature is under stress—tiny tremors along dorsal joints. And minute anatomical tells. Like the pale flashing along the lower bell rim of a Scyphozoa just before it pulses. Or the filament clusters behind the eye sockets of Crustacea sub-leader types that shimmer when they initiate a sensory sweep. And the more I see, the more certain I become. These creatures… they aren't wild—not in the sense of being 'brought' from somewhere. They're engineered.

And this whole environment—it's not an ecosystem. Not really. It's a framework. A testbed. A structure with thresholds and breakpoints. A way to measure… us? And Leonie… she's been… kinder to me lately. The way she includes me in briefings. The way she waits for my thoughts after a test. I think she values my input. I suppose… that's a good thing? Summary of Key Observations to Date Creature evolution occurs in discrete steps—one transformation for every full set of seven orbs absorbed.

A creature can only absorb orbs through the mouth. A creature can only absorb orbs from members of its own species. After absorbing 49 orbs, a creature evolves into its leader type. Slaying a leader created through forced evolution grants the same rewards as a naturally occurring leader. A Climber cannot absorb more than one orb from the same leader type. Slaying a creature mid-evolution grants Stage Progress equal to the number of orbs it has absorbed. However, this benefit is capped at the 49-orb species limit.

For example, if a Climber has already absorbed 35 orbs from a species and kills a creature with 21 orbs absorbed (3rd stage), only 14 orbs contribute to progress—the remaining energy is wasted. Certain leader evolutions appear to be intentionally blocked by The Tower. As of now, only the Crustacean, Scyphozoa, and Ignosaurus families can evolve fully to their leader forms. Evolution attempts with Arthrogonida and Medusaphagea halted at the fifth and fourth stage, respectively.

The Shadows plan to experiment next with the Cephalomorphidae family after the upcoming boss encounter expected on Day 21. If the pattern holds, Cephalomorphidae may be the next species eligible for forced leader evolution. Meanwhile, Arthrogonida and Medusaphagea are expected to unlock up to the sixth and fifth stage, respectively. I'll keep recording changes. P. S. I passed out for a moment while studying a Stage 4 Ignosaurus last night. It was weird… I'll have to be more careful with the heat, I guess.

—Pablo Chiara – Tier 2, Stage 3 Eastern Rim — Ravine Cluster Theta-7 CLANG!!! CLANG, CLANG!!! Beads ricochet off the floating, highly conductive EM discs—custom-forged by Lukas. Chiara stands still, outwardly calm. But inside, her three minds are running thousands of simulations and calculations every passing moment—mapping the trajectory of each threat, analyzing terrain shifts, and unfolding hundreds of probable futures in parallel. Lukas stands beside her, amplifying her Pillar Output through their link.

He's encased in his self-made metal suit—thick, conductive plates and a wide EM-based cannon built into his left arm. Ahead, a dozen Xok'al warriors march steadily from the distant plains. And far behind them, hidden in the ridges, a group of Azcoyatl elders watch in silence. They've all come to witness her first real combat trial." Nervous?" Lukas transmits." I was the keynote speaker at a major conference once, in Boston. I drank too much wine the night before.

Woke up, chugged a litre of water and another of coffee. Took an Uber and prepared my slides during the ten-minute ride. Walked in, smiled, took the podium, spoke complete gibberish, and presented half-assed slides recycled from previous talks. Did it all with a straight face. They applauded." Chiara looked at Lukas through the visor in his helmet." So why would I be nervous now?" Lukas chuckled." Makes me wonder why you struggled so much with leadership." CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!!!

Projectiles continue striking the discs, but neither of them moves." I'm a scientist, Lukas. A systems thinker. A high-functioning anomaly since birth. Logic comes easy. Patterns make sense. But I'm not a leader. I'm not a people person. I'm not a true warrior either. I still fear death. I misread people constantly. I don't know how to move them—only how to model them.

And I'll always prioritise humanity as a structure, not as a collection of individuals." She exhaled slowly." Those are the variables that made me a poor leader—and the reason I won't try to be one again. But this… this is just a controlled environment. A live experiment. My EM models, your hardware. And a panel of elders who'll be praising me soon enough." She tilted her head slightly." So again—why would I be nervous?"" You've become rather…

'humble' since reaching the Second Pillar State." Chiara smiled faintly." Is that bad? Do you dislike it?"" No," Lukas said, eyes locked on the approaching Xok'al—now less than 200 meters away." I'm actually glad you're finally comfortable enough to be yourself." This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. CLANG, CLANG!!!" Do you want me to leave you one… or not?"" Well, I'd certainly like to test my personal cannon on a real subject," Lukas said."

But it's fine if you finish them all off. I'm more interested in seeing how our Mecā perform in real combat."" Sure. Still feels a bit like cheating—using your link to boost my Pillar Output. Combined with my Awakening, the results might scare the shit out of the Azcoyatl." Lukas grinned." That's the idea, isn't it?" Chiara nodded softly, recalling Lukas' ambitious plan. She wasn't particularly fond of her role in it, but she understood the advantages—and how much it would help them clear this stage.

So naturally, she'd follow through. She slowly closed her eyes. Her minds had been computing long enough. Let's get the show started. She opened her eyes. Her four constructs moved as one. K-1 Vanta —shot forward on reverse-jointed legs, like a mechanical velociraptor.

Its compact frame gleamed with dark, conductive plating, and its arms ended in short, forward-fixed cannons. K-2 Halo —hovered above her, shaped like a flattened stingray with three wing-like fins curving outward. A single cannon extended from its underside, rotating slightly to track movement below. It glided silently through the air, steady as a falcon mid-hover. K-3 Bolt —was heavier, broader—built like a compact SUV with legs. Its thick layers of conductive metal made it the perfect wall.

A pair of shoulder-mounted cannons sat low and steady, firing angles already locked in. It moved with methodical weight, clearing space through presence alone. K-4 Splay —scuttled low like a spider, all narrow limbs and twitching joints, each foot pressing into the gravel with barely a sound. Its cannon was fixed beneath its core, held close to the body for stability. The first to move was Vanta. Mind One routed it through Node 14, pulse-wrapped across the dorsal plane.

The construct blurred forward, cutting a curved path through the terrain. Bead fire from the Xok'al hissed past, but Chiara already had Disc Two rotating on a horizontal axis, using dynamic deflection layering. Behind her, Bolt anchored its frame and fired its left cannon. Mind Two preloaded the arc—elevation 12. 859°, corrected for wind drag and thermal flux—ensuring the shot would clip the leading Xok'al's hip joint. Impact. The enemy stumbled. Splay launched from behind the ridge.

Eight legs pressed down in a tight ripple pattern—no sound. It zipped between two oncoming warriors and fired its underbody cannon point-blank. The force blew the creature sideways, blood mist spiraling in the air. Chiara's minds never slowed." Node 5A... pulse timing desync... rethreading."" Discs Three and Five harmonising... adjust lift vector... 2. 414° counterclockwise."

"Bead density increasing... 12 impacts per second expected... raising deflection power... adjust surface tension." Halo descended slightly, cannon angling down to cover Vanta's retreat line. Mind One flicked a return command—encoded in tightwave EM. The construct caught it, peeled sideways into a roll just before three beads struck where it had stood. Evasion success margin: 0. 00726 seconds. Chiara exhaled through her nose.

In her mind, three realities ran in parallel: ▸ Mind One: Maintained a constant overlay of angular velocity changes across disc trajectories, updating phase resonance in 0. 0002-second loops. ▸ Mind Two: Tracked all twelve Xok'al by skeletal mapping, tagging pressure points, modeling likely muscle contractions to predict movement arcs. ▸ Mind Three: Adjusted cannon firing patterns, constructed branching heatmaps for projected kill zones, and ran synchronization locks between constructs to avoid friendly fire.

The Xok'al adapted fast. Too fast for baseline soldiers. Their approach vector tightened—likely coordinated by indirect EM pattern mimicry. Crude. Not bad. But crude. She toggled Splay into lateral override mode. Mind Two rewired the targeting mesh, allowing it to function autonomously for 0. 9 seconds. Enough. Splay leapt sideways—one leg clipping a rock, shifting its spin angle. The adjustment fed back into Chiara's loop via micro-tremor feedback." Oscillation envelope distorted...

compensate through auxiliary loop..."" Wave echo returns aligned... correction locked... signal stable." She pulsed Halo forward—its cannon charging mid-descent—just as Bolt fired its second shot from the rear. Mind Three aligned the cannon trajectories. They crossed at a single predictive point. The lead Xok'al turned too late. The intersecting shots struck its side and spine near-simultaneously. BOOM!" Node 7D... overloaded... rerouting through Node 9A."" Loopback coherence re-established.

Synchronisation above 99. 99983%."" Initiate spin harmonics on Disc Six... target rearward volley... deflecting now—" Chiara spun left. Three beads ricocheted in sequence. She didn't flinch. Her constructs were now deep in the enemy formation. Bolt held the line, body absorbing impact after impact. Vanta weaved behind, slicing legs. Halo circled above like a vulture with precision geometry. Splay danced through the chaos." Disc Two collision layer nearing threshold... adjust composition density... done."

"Enemy attempting flank—two on the left—reroute Vanta... fire sequence 4-B-2..."" Beads incoming—10, 11, 13, 15... predicted convergence in 0. 043 seconds..."" Disc Four rotate 22. 62°... Disc Five re-align opposite... create curved vector barrier..." Beads struck. Field bent. Energy bled into the air in EM patterns. Six enemies down. Two more wounded. Four still in motion. Chiara adjusted construct field stress across a live 3D lattice, redistributing signal priority between nodes with microsecond precision.

And just like that—one after another, they fell. An outright massacre. Only one Xok'al remained. One arm gone at the shoulder. Lurching. Bleeding. It had somehow ' made' it through her net of constructs. Fast. Angry. Furious. But just as it lunged—blade raised, eyes wide— BOOM!! A thunderous shot erupted from Lukas' shoulder cannon. Yet— It missed. The Xok'al dipped low with perfect timing, sliding past the blast in a blur of muscle and rage. Lukas sighed, unfazed." Damn… and you make it look so easy."" Did I...?"

Chiara didn't move. She just looked at the creature. The Xok'al stood panting, feet braced, blade trembling in its hand—then motioned toward her neck in a final, defiant arc. Chiara stared through it. No expression. No shift in stance. Her eyes were cold. Not angry. Not afraid. Just… absolute. The blade stopped mid-motion. Frozen. Quivering. The Xok'al's body gave out before its mind understood what had happened. It collapsed, face-first into the dirt. Dead.

No wound." That was cool… risky, but cool," Lukas said, confirming the Xok'al was indeed dead and not just unconscious." How did the Mecā perform? Any major issues?"" One of Splay's legs is slightly out of tune, and Bolt's cannon is overheating on burst mode—power distribution's uneven." She paused." As for minor issues, I just sent you a report."

"I see… still, pretty good overall. Glad to hear Halo behaved this time." Lukas grinned, then turned his gaze toward the distant ridgeline." I suppose the elders will be rather pleased with your performance." Chiara's eyes narrowed as all four constructs shifted with her, each one focusing in the same direction." There were no elite Xok'al warriors in the batch. This was nothing."" Think you could take down one of the three-tail types?"" With you? Absolutely. Alone… 82%. Not worth the risk yet."" Good.

Then let's keep the upgrades coming. After this, we might finally get a pass toward the capital—Teohuacan.""

The Ixiptla Tonatiuh who've become one with their Mecā… and the rumored Atlachinolli who've reached the Third Pillar State…

"Chiara stared toward the horizon, her voice calm but hungry." I'd very much like to meet them."