CHAPTER 74: METEORBORN MAULHIDE (MMAULHIDE)

Theo narrowed his eyes.

"Not yet," he muttered. "But soon."

He didn’t interfere.

Instead, he slowly walked forward, boots crunching on ice and ash, shadowed by flickering firelight and swirling wind. His body radiated barely restrained energy, flame, frost, toxin, wind, and shadow all pulsing beneath his skin like an unstable storm.

He cracked his knuckles.

"Now mutate," he whispered, eyes gleaming gold again. "Give me something worth killing."

The air thickened with the stench of blood and metamorphosis. One UMS slumped sitting against the wall, thrashed violently, back arched as bones cracked, muscles swelled, and skin split. His scream gurgled into a deep, monstrous growl. Flesh warped and twisted until he was no longer human.

A hulking beast stood in his place, skin a toughened gray, veined with pulsing orange. Spikes jutted from his shoulders like crude armor, and his eyes glowed with primal rage.

[Mutation Detected: Meteorborn Maulhide]

[Meteorite Core: ACTIVE]

Theo’s eyes widened with satisfaction.

"Oh?" he said, voice low with amusement. "We’ve got an active core bearer."

[Mutation Detected: Meteorborn Crawler]

The other UMS-turned-creature convulsed beside the Maulhide, transforming into something thinner, wilder with spidery limbs and twitching movement. No core signature pulsed from it.

"Disappointing," Theo muttered, brushing soot from his sleeve. "You, I’ll kill fast."

[Mutation Complete: Meteorborn Maulhide (MMaulhide)]

Classification: Moderate Threat Level

Description: Enhanced Muscle and Bone. Towering, thick-skinned brute with spikes across shoulders.

The Maulhide let out a thunderous roar and slammed the ground, cracking the cement with a shockwave. Theo skidded back, shadows trailing under his feet like coiled serpents.

The moment the Maulhide leaned in for a Juggernaut Charge, Theo vanished.

[Shadow Step - Activated]

He reappeared just beside the beast’s shoulder and drove his elbow, enhanced with Granite Skin and Blood Tempo, into the vulnerable underside of the Maulhide’s armpit.

The creature staggered, but its hide held strong.

Then Theo layered on Cryo Spike Field, freezing the Maulhide’s legs to the ground mid-charge, followed immediately by Predator Rush. His body blurred, wind and flame surging together in a streak of motion.

[Gale Fangs]

[Pyre Burst]

[4x Blood Tempo Stacks Achieved]

Theo launched a blazing punch enhanced with slicing wind into the creature’s exposed chest. The force sent cracks through its bony plates.

The Maulhide tried to retaliate, Spinal Cannon launching jagged bone projectiles toward him.

Theo spun mid-air, activating Wind Veil and Instinctive Evasion, slipping just between the spikes like smoke.

He landed behind the beast, palm raised. Fire and wind converged.

"Burn."

He unleashed a point-blank Pyre Burst directly into the Maulhide’s cracked core zone.

The creature let out a deafening shriek as flames exploded through its torso, shattering its meteorite core in a flash of light and ash.

[Ding! Meteorborn Maulhide with active meteorite core eliminated]

[EXP Gained: +10,000]

[Gold Coins Gained: +1,000]

[Bonus Reward: +500 EXP, +50 Gold Coins]

[Initiating Meteorite Core Absorption...]

[Extraction complete. New ability and power acquired.]

[You have acquired: Maulhide Meteorcore]

Power Type: Enhanced Muscle and Bone

Effect: Increases physical strength and impact power drastically. Boosts bone density and unlocks brute-force combat techniques.

[New Mutation Powers Unlocked:]

Bonebreaker Frame - Temporarily boosts muscle and bone reinforcement, enhancing close-range attack power and resistance to dismemberment. Increases mass and striking force.

Spinal Volley - Launch a burst of sharpened bone spikes from your spine. Can be charged for wider spread or concentrated for armor-piercing effect.

*

Theo stood tall, cracks of bone and ash falling around him.

[Mutation Complete: Meteorborn Crawler (MCrawler)]

MCrawler quickly charged at him in desperate frenzy.

Theo didn’t even blink.

With Silent Strike and one empowered Gale Fang, he sliced through its throat like butter.

[Ding! MCrawler eliminated]

[Ding! +500 EXP, +50 Gold Coins, +Common Shard, +Basic Loot Crate]

He exhaled once, his breathing calm. Around him, silence reigned.

He rolled his shoulder, flexing slightly. "Now that was a proper warm-up."

Then his eyes landed on the two UMS soldiers who had been attacked earlier by the MCrawler and MWriggler.

"Two more. How sad," he muttered, shrugging casually. "We’re almost done here."

One of the two began to twitch, his body already starting to mutate.

"Give me another active core," he said lazily.

Energy surged through him like a flood, raw and electric. It made him hum in satisfaction.

"Ah... this feels amazing."

[Mutation Detected: Meteorborn Voltgeist]

[Meteorite Core: ACTIVE]

"Perfect!" he grinned, eyes glowing with excitement.

Theo’s boots scraped the scorched floor as he turned to face the writhing body of the UMS now jolting with unstable arcs of lightning. Sparks danced along his spine as his flesh peeled away in electric bursts, bones glowing faintly blue beneath his skin.

[Mutation Complete: Meteorborn Voltgeist (MVoltgeist)]

Classification: Moderate to High Threat Level

Description: Electric Manipulation. Crackles with unstable electric arcs. Moves in flashes and emits a constant humming charge.

The meteorborn rose slowly, head twitching. Blue lightning pulsed across his limbs, snapping violently at the air. His body blurred once, then reappeared a few feet to the side with a loud thunderclap.

"Great!" His eyes shimmered, alive with excitement. "Finally, something fun."

Electric arcs lashed the ground around Voltgeist, a growing hum vibrating in Theo’s ears. The creature moved again, teleporting with speed and force, launching a bolt.

Crack crack crack!

Lightning alike shot from Voltgeist’s arms, bouncing between rusted pipes, scrap piles, and Theo’s direction.

Theo reacted instantly.

[Energy Shield - Deployed]

A transparent veil flared up around him, absorbing the first arc, but the second came from above, forcing Theo to roll sideways, cloak of wind curling protectively around him.

He vanished with Aero Dash, reappearing midair above it.

"Got you."

Theo raised his palm. Flames spiraled into it, glowing white-hot from the fusion of Pyre and Wind.

[Gale Fangs + Pyre Burst - Enhanced Strike Combo]

He launched a flurry of slicing fire blades downward, forcing MVoltgeist to disappear and appear again, this time to Theo’s left.

Theo smiled. He’d already seen the pattern.

He turned midair and used Shadow Step, blinking into the shadow directly behind MVoltgeist the moment he reappeared.

"Too slow."

He dashed forward with Ember Step, flames bursting beneath his boots, and Blood Tempo surged through his veins, each blow faster, more feral. A sickening crunch echoed.

MVoltgeist snarled, bolts scattering from his spine as he tried to activate something like electromagnetic energy.