Inside the backpack was a rolled-up piece of parchment, its surface dotted with starlight connected by pale red lines, resembling Constellation map and exuding a certain mysterious aura. Gustavo instinctively took it as a treasure map.
Gustavo glanced at the werewolf chasing after him, but he remained calm. Even if the werewolf could fly, it wouldn't be easy for it to catch up with him in the dense jungle where obstacles were everywhere. Besides, he had prepared traps to block his way.
The two pursued each other, Rig was increasingly annoyed by Gustavo's pre-set traps, causing his speed to drop again and again until he finally lost all trace of the latter.
"Damn it!!"
Enraged, Rig grabbed at a nearby tree, severing its trunk and causing it to collapse with a crash.
After lingering in the same spot for a long time, Rig finally turned and left reluctantly, looking utterly dejected.
"Is this a treasure map? Or something else? The patterns seem a bit familiar."
As Gustavo ran, he pondered in his mind and soon found the relevant memory.
"So it's a spatial Rune Array, and an energy guiding circuit. Then this thing is... a key to access it?"
The so-called "guiding key" is a special tool created by spatial-type Transcendent. It can open a spatial tunnel to a certain place at a specific time or location.
Calling this thing a treasure map isn't wrong; areas connected by a key usually contain valuable treasures.
"I don't have enough information right now. I'll develop my skills a bit more and then go to Night City to inquire."
"Great Mother, I offer you the head of the Nilat chieftain!"
Gustavo placed a huge skull on the ground.
The mercenary team suffered heavy casualties and couldn't even protect themselves, let alone Transcendent materials. Gustavo took the opportunity to steal some packages, including two leg bones of the Nilat chieftain and a complete skull.
"My son, you've done very well." Spider Mom Index lowered her head, a look of satisfaction flashing in her eyes.
Mora and Bradley came closer, curiously poking at the huge head placed on the ground with their paws.
"Mother, did Gustavo really kill this High-Rank Transcendent Lifeform?" Mora asked in disbelief. She was only at the Tier Three, and her brother could kill Tier Seven creature?
Are we really born to the same mother?
"Indeed, your brother is not only a brave warrior, but also a Sage who knows how to use his brain. Mora, you should learn from your brother." Index looked at her eldest daughter.
Mora turned her head away, avoiding her mother's gaze. Even with such a record, she was still very unconvinced and snorted coldly at Gustavo, who was winking at her from a distance.
"As agreed before, I will hunt down creatures with soul-related talents for you."
After a pause, Spider Mom looked down at her second son and asked, "Has your Predator talent undergone a beneficial mutation?"
Gustavo paused for a moment, but quickly replied without hesitation, "Yes, my mother, I can more easily plunder gene fragments from other creatures to nourish myself."
Spider Mom nodded slightly upon hearing this and said, "I remember there is a bloodline spell called [Gene Warehouse] in the Inherited Memory. You can learn it."
Throughout the long history of the Mitrola Clan, there have been many ancestors like you who grew by devouring other creatures. They created many corresponding auxiliary abilities, all of which are engraved in their Inherited Memory.
My son, remember this: the Inherited Memory of your people will be your greatest treasure. Make good use of these treasures, and you will go further in life.
"Gene Warehouse?"
The thought had barely crossed Gustavo's mind when a flood of information rushed in, leaving him stunned on the spot.
Seeing this, Spider Mom said no more and pondered where to hunt creatures with soul talents.
"It's difficult to directly cross two dimensions in the Elven Plane to reach the fantasy Space-Time; otherwise, there would be countless beings with soul-type talents there."
"As for Planet Pandora... Oh right, if I remember correctly, O'Neill had a Dark Nightmare Beast under his command."
"Heh, it's been a while since I've bothered this guy. Let's make a trip to Northern Plains!"
Seemingly recalling something happy, Spider Mom couldn't help but let out a few pleasant chuckles. Immediately afterward, the space behind her suddenly shattered, transforming into a black vortex that swallowed Spider Mom whole.
At the same time, some powerful creatures around the Land of Falling Stars became alert after losing sight of the Spider Mom's presence, and several thoughts exchanged between them in a hidden corner.
"She's left the nest!"
Index is out of the cage again. What's she up to?
"It's unclear; we can't track her spatial jump trajectory."
"She's probably not looking to cause us any trouble, is she? Have you guys offended her recently?"
"No!"
"No, who would want to mess with that crazy woman, especially with someone backing her up..."
"In any case, stay vigilant, and don't forget the Night of Slaughter more than a decade ago."
The orange-red light emanating from the magma shone on the motionless young Dragon-Hunting Spider, casting a menacing shadow.
He quickly received the information from the Inherited Memory, and Gustavo's gaze returned to its lively state after his initial blankness.
"I never imagined there was such a spell, specifically designed to match the Predator's talent. The person who created this spell was truly a genius!"
Gustavo couldn't help but admire it.
[Gene Warehouse] is a solidification spell specifically used to store gene fragments, and according to magic classification, it should belong to the Bloodline Sorcerer school.
Dragon-Hunting Spider are magical creatures, and their Gravity Control is an extremely powerful spell-like ability.
While Gene Warehouse may not be as important as Gravity Control, it is still crucial for Gustavo.
Once he learns this spell, he can store the superior genes he has absorbed and then apply them to specific individuals.
In short, it increases the controllability and storage capacity of gene fragments.
To give an analogy, the original superior gene fragments were randomly 'added points' and evenly distributed among all bloodline talents, like rain and dew. But with the Gene Warehouse, Gustavo can concentrate the points and focus on building up one talent first.
Even if three talents are upgraded to level 2 at the same time, they are still not as good as a single level 4 talent. That's roughly the idea.
Many gene fragments that are not needed for the time being will no longer be excreted from the body as before, but will be stored and used later when similar talents are obtained.
"According to the description here, even building the simplest Gene Warehouse requires upgrading [Star Capture] to level 10 and [Gravity Control] to level 10, but I don't seem to need that much trouble."
To put it simply, building Gene Warehouse requires exceptional energy and gravity manipulation capabilities.
It's like building a house; only with sturdy materials and skilled workers can you build a solid and durable dwelling.
However, Gustavo possesses [Energy Optimization] and past life experience, so he is already capable of Energy Manipulation.
That leaves only Lv10 Gravity Control.
"It seems the main tasks ahead are cultivating soul talent and improving the level of Gravity Control!"