The Collector clicked its mandibles. Assimilating this world would be far more of a challenge than it had initially thought. Especially now that it had also ascertained the higher ends of strength from tales the purple skinned specimen recited.

Though primitive tinkerers were often prone to exaggeration in their documentation, if the variant was correct in her recitations, then the strongest of these magic sensitive tinkerers, the highest end of their sorcerers and adventurers and martial artists, would possess power easily capable of matching nuclear level ordinance.

The gods were above even that threshold. By several orders of magnitudes, if the specimen was to be believed. Yet, they did not appear much from their homes, this place known as 'Aetheria', merely inhabiting temporary bodies known as 'avatars' that severely weakened them.

In conclusion: threat from gods low. But conflict eventually inevitable.

The Collector would have to grow far, far stronger. The same feeling it had felt when it nothing but a grub, the lowest form of organism in the Collective hivemind.

Yet, with this realization, the Collector could not help but feel heat growing within it. Heat that came from the mana colored from its own personality. Heat that made it glad that this world would be a challenge – a heretical thought, and yet, a pleasant one.

===

The Collector sat down hunched over, feeling the weight at its back lighter from a missing wing and tail.

Now that it had some combat capability, it would do well to redevelop its regenerative functions, though to do so, it would first have to restore three other adaptations in its internal systems to build up to it.

A total of four more metamorphosis levels, then.

It clicked its mandibles.

In the grand scheme of things, that was not a significant amount, and the ease of reaching metamorphosis levels early on was also why it had not prioritized adapting regeneration, for not only were initial ranks of regeneration slow, but simply reaching additional metamorphosis levels would allow for full body restoration anyway.

'Do you need water?'

One of the Collector's eyes glanced at the purple skinned specimen. Her silk bonds were severed from her temporarily as she rested by a hole of water. She cupped a tiny puddle of water in her hand, holding it out to the Collector.

"Unnecessary. The spiracles laden within my hyperalloy carapace are capable of extracting moisture from the atmosphere for constant hydration. Do not presume my adaptations are as primitive and meager as yours are, tinkerer," said the Collector.

'I'm sor-,' began to specimen before she stopped herself, remembering what the Collector had said to her about apologies.

It clicked its mandibles as it analyzed the watering hole. The hole was large enough to be nearly a small swamp on its own, and it seemed that the water came from a small stream that broke off from the nearby river.

Yet, odd.

No larger insect species gathered around this area.

They, like the Collector, could subsist off of moisture in the air for extended periods of time, but they were far less efficient.

At the least, some of them should be here.

The Collector analyzed the surface of the water. A layer of scum from dead, small insects and darkwood plant matter floated atop, and the purple skinned specimen patted these away as she scooped up more water for herself to fuel her fragile body.

Her eyes glowed purple even through the shade of the Darkwoods. Magical light, the Collector knew now. And what allowed her to see even in this pitch blackness. But even with such adaptations, she had plenty of deficiencies.

Unlike the Collector, she required rest, but even now, she could be useful.

More information.

"I am sufficiently learned of the gods, adventurers, sorcerers, mana and magic at a basic level where I can now form a framework with which to assess them and deal with them. The finer details I will no doubt compile with further experiences.

Tell me now the organizations of humanoids and their variants so that I may formulate a method of attack against them. The way these 'realms' work. How they are accessed. How these 'gods' in their realm designated as 'Aetheria' may be encountered."

"I…don't know. Not well. All I ever learned from Thorian was magic. Not where it came from or what it did. He never taught me much about the outside world. He said it wasn't good for me. That people wouldn't like me. I didn't believe him." She touched her face, a small finger running across a deep scar stretching from lip to eye. "Now I do."

The Collector clicked its mandibles as it felt the specimen's mind stray from the topic at hand. "I will focus my questioning. According to the observations I have gathered thus far, it is noted that there are seven realms upon this miserable rock.

What exactly these 'realms' entail escapes me. From wording revolving around them, I do not sense that they are necessarily geographically adjacent territories staked out by humanoids and demarcated with arbitrary borders."

'Yes, you're right,' nodded the specimen. 'This, I remember from one of my readings. The seven realms are like…like layers. Seven whole worlds all stacked atop each other, pinned down and given structure by the Alltree.

Each layer aside from Aetheria, high realm of the gods, is a reflection of the other, all of them different shades of the very same world."

The Collector parsed the specimen's full meaning through the aid of psionics. "Seven geographically distinct areas that inhabit the same pocket of space and yet occupy independent existences?

Vexing to consider, yet, this world possesses unfathomable properties that do not allow me to discount even the most improbable of scenarios.

How is it then that travel occurs between these realms when spatially, they all occupy the same world?"

'Through the usage of Realm Roots,' explained the specimen. 'The largest of the Alltree's spiritual roots pass through every realm.

It is said that in the beginning before the gods, the Alltree spawned all life from its seeds, and that is why life possesses spirit roots.

From the Alltree's roots come mana, and atop its realm roots - the equivalents of corepoints among living beings - the barrier between realms grows thin and mana grows thick.

This combination allows Warp Temples to be built atop them. Through these temples, one may pass between realms.'

The Collector stirred, clicking its mandibles. Hearing the word 'warp' had immediately triggered it to recognition and planning. "I sense that these warp temples are structures capable of possessing the means to access a form of hyperspace.

This is what allows you primitives to travel between different worlds."

'Yes…yes I think that is right,' said the specimen.

The Collector stood up, hyperalloy carapace clicking into battle ready armoring as it felt the grand vision of the Collective's purpose drawing near. If these primitives possessed a means to engage with hyperspace warp travel, then their doom was inevitable.

'Is…is something wrong?' came the specimen's mental voice.

The Collector ignored her, knowing now the Collective's approach would be near.

All Collector strains were capable of interfacing with hyperspace warp. This along with limited independence were some of the most significant traits that separated the Collectors from other units in the Collective.

These primitives might only have known how to operate their warp travel to access seven worlds, but the Collector could do far more with it.

Provided it reached a sufficient metamorphosis level, it could easily call out to the Collective, and then this world would fall.

It checked its current status:

>>>

Metamorphosis Level 5

Biomass Level: 90/100

Stored Genetic Material:

-Black Ant

-Black Hobgoblin

-Human

-Lesser Oni

-Frostborn Hobgoblin

-Horse

-Daemon

-Dullscale Rohu

-Lesser Greatcentipede

-Lesser Greatbeetle

-Spitting Greatbeetle

-Leafblade Insect

Adaptations:

-Ultrafiber Muscles Rank 5

--Coilboosters

-Sensitive Hairs Rank 4

-Organic Hyperalloy Carapace Rank 4

-Monomolecular Claws Rank 3

-Pyrocatalytic Glands Rank 2

-???

Current Form:

Greater Oni/Jumping Arakka/Stonecrusher Beetle/Giant Scorpion

>>>

The next metamorphosis level was close.

Starting from level 10, the Collector might not be able to open a warp gate by itself - that was the domain of the Collective Hivemind -, but it could interface enough with a hyperspace sensitive vessel to deliver the psionic charge it utilized to connect to the Collective at a far greater range.

Of course, the Collector realized, the challenge of assimilating this world would be gone, and in that, it felt some disappointment, but when it reconnected with the Collective, these heretical thoughts would be purged from its being as well.

"Tell me more of these warp temples. Where-," The Collector immediately tensed up as it felt an object approaching at extreme velocity.

From the other end of the pond. The movement of a sizable mass splashing from under the water.

Obstacle covered nature of the water's surface made visual identification difficult. Frequencies of sound and volume of water displaced however indicated mass significantly more developed than any of the insectoids the Collector had encountered in this area before.

A threat.