The Nightblade Leopard was not large, and Gustavo swallowed it in a few bites. While digesting it, he took to the air and flew north.
There are still two prey left. To prevent them from escaping when they realize something is wrong, we must act swiftly and decisively.
In mid-air, Gustavo watched the changes on the information panel.
He didn't fuse any of the gene fragments he plundered using his Predator talent; he stored them all in his Gene Warehouse.
Fragments of the gene were placed into the warehouse.
The numbers on the panel are changing.
It stopped when it reached 6/100.
"6 units of gene fragments, 0.5 units are intermediate-level gene fragments, and 5.5 units are low-level gene fragments."
Gustavo quickly learned the details of the looting through the information panel.
He was somewhat disappointed that he hadn't managed to plunder any advanced gene fragments.
The evolution of the Thorn Iron Armor was due to the fact that when it devoured the Ironback Azure Bear, it plundered a certain number of advanced gene fragments called "Ironback," which propelled the exoskeleton to evolve into the Thorn Iron Armor.
For an intermediate talent to evolve into an advanced talent, it must have advanced gene fragments as a catalyst, and then be built up with a large number of intermediate gene fragments. Only then is there a chance of successful evolution.
The same principle applies to evolving talents of other levels.
"However, it's understandable. After all, the probability of High-Rank Transcendent bloodline giving birth to a high-level talent is not high."
Normally, only Legendary bloodlines have a high probability of giving birth to advanced talents, Epic bloodlines have a high probability of giving birth to top-tier talents, Demigod bloodlines have a high probability of giving birth to ultimate talents, and as for perfect talents... unless a mutation occurs, only the Great God can be born with talents of this level."
Gustavo pondered the relevant information. With access to the Aslant Civilization database, there was very little information he was unaware of.
"The Nightblade Leopard's bloodline is only at a high level, so the number of high-level gene fragments in its body must be extremely rare. Its Predator talent level is too low, so it's normal that it didn't manage to plunder any high-level gene fragments."
"However, I need to be more careful about creatures with devouring abilities from now on. My Predator level must be raised. Even if I don't reach the advanced level, just reaching the intermediate level will greatly improve the efficiency and quality of my gene fragment acquisition!"
With these thoughts in mind, Gustavo arrived at a pool of water where a Tier Seven Giant Terror Crocodile lived.
Nightfall fell in the blink of an eye, a fierce wind howled, dark clouds obscured the moon, thunder rumbled, and a torrential downpour began.
Inside the cave, Gustavo lay quietly on the spider silk.
Giant Terror Crocodile, Golden-Scaled Eagle.
He killed both Tier Seven magical beasts in a single day.
Currently, he is the only High-Rank Transcendent Lifeform being left in the entire Hidden Star Lake region.
Having hunted and devoured two High-Rank Transcendent beings, 13 more units of the Gene Warehouse have been occupied.
Gustavo is now sorting and organizing these genetic fragments.
He divided them into four categories.
Spirit, matter, energy, mystery.
The four main categories are further divided into several subcategories such as defense, agility, and health.
Once the division was completed, everything became clear and well-organized.
Of these gene fragments, only about 1.3 units are useful to him; the rest are largely useless.
Gustavo first devours and absorbs the useful gene fragments, and stores the rest in the Gene Warehouse.
As he felt his talent strength slowly increasing, Gustavo pondered the use of the remaining gene fragments.
In fact, he could have easily fused these gene fragments himself; the Dragon-Hunting Spider's gene chain was strong enough to withstand it.
But Western Capital has its limits, including the genetic code.
If we quantify the capacity of a gene chain, then a gene chain capable of supporting one high-level talent can simultaneously support four or five low-level talents.
In the early stages, these four or five low-level talents seem to be more powerful, with a combined bonus far exceeding that of high-level talents. However, once one becomes stronger, the bonuses from low-level talents become useless.
For example, a low-level talent can increase strength by 10%, which is quite significant in the early game. However, in the late game, this bonus will be weakened, and it may not even increase by 1%.
Advanced talents are different; they provide a 10% boost in the early game and a 10% boost in the late game, without any reduction. Moreover, the boost from advanced talents in the early game is not insignificant.
This is the depth and potential of talent.
The question is, if Gustavo keeps absorbing low-level gene fragments, forming a large number of low-level talents, what will happen in the later stages of the game?
Against Legendary, Epic, or even stronger opponents, low-level talents have negligible effect.
Enhancement using gene fragments?
How can we increase the tolerance of the gene chain when it reaches its limit?
A bucket is only so big. Once it's full of water, if you want to add more water, you either have to raise the bucket to increase its capacity, or the bucket will explode on the spot!
With his Epic bloodline, Gustavo still has a lot of room in his gene pool, but he must think about the future. Talent is valued for its quality, not its quantity.
Therefore, his future plans are to focus more on improving the strength of his existing talents rather than creating any new ones.
It's worth noting that Attribute Talent do not occupy gene chain capacity.
Because when Attribute Talent is born, it automatically expands the gene chain.
However, when Attribute Talent are upgraded a second time, they will occupy gene chain capacity.
For example, Gustavo's three Attribute Talent, [Muscle Berserk], [Energy Optimization], and [Mental Resonance], take up a certain amount of gene chain capacity when they are upgraded to the intermediate level.
Before the Gene Warehouse was established, all of this happened passively, and Gustavo had no control over it.
However, now he can use the power of the Gene Warehouse to select suitable gene fragments to fuse, turning passivity into initiative and enhancing useful talents.
"In the talent category, besides [Predator], [Energy Optimization] and [Spider-Sense] have the highest potential and best fit my development path. I'll focus on improving these two intermediate talents, as well as [Thorn Iron Armor], since high-level defensive gene fragments are relatively common."
"Yes, we'll focus on improving these four talents next."
"As for the extra gene fragments..."
A glint flashed in Gustavo's eyes, and a flood of Inherited Memory about puppets immediately surfaced in his mind.
Being able to learn from the experiences of predecessors is undoubtedly a very fortunate thing.
The Dragon-Hunting Spider Clan has no shortage of powerful individuals who follow the path of devouring. These ancestors certainly understood that talent is valued for its quality rather than its quantity. So, what to do with excess gene fragments? They also had many solutions to learn from.
The most direct and straightforward way is to sell them for money. Various factions in the Astral Realm will buy up gene fragments in Infinity quantities, especially the Spellcaster Association, which accepts almost all requests and offers very generous prices.
In addition, there are various solutions for dealing with excess gene fragments. Gustavo prefers the solution proposed by a senior colleague nicknamed "Puppet Master".
This predecessor used gene fragments as raw materials to cultivate puppets, creating a very powerful puppet army that helped him conquer the north and south, earning him a great reputation.