The Eternal Winter - Book 1 - Chapter 74 - The Infected Symbiont Host Part I (Patreon)

You may ignore these lines as they are because a certain website is stupid and has made some stupid new changes.

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                                                         Alexander North

Along the way back to the city, I realize just how big a jump in power I’ve had from those symbionts. Because what would’ve taken me hours to catch up with the infected symbiont host only ends up taking me around twenty minutes before I find it running through the blizzard towards the city.

I narrow my eyes at it for a second, pondering if I should waste time dealing with it, only to decide that it I don’t do it now, I’ll just be doing it at planet hall anyways. Assuming I don’t die immediately to the intelligent frozen one that is.

As soon as I get within a couple dozen meters of the creature, it stops in its tracks and turns around to face me, unlike all of the other frozen ones along the way that just ran at the sight of me. As if I were some monster, which I may just be.

Terminal, check again how much energy this frozen one has.

|Answer to user’s query is approximately 4.02 points of Energy. It also appears to have more intelligence than the average frozen one|

My eyes narrow at that second part.

More intelligence, you say?

I slow down to a stop several meters in front of it where we both just stare at each other. But eventually, the infected symbiont host begins to growl at me. Then the growling turns into full on snarling, but in patterns that would suggest it were trying to speak.

Interesting.

Regardless of its capacity to attempt to speak, it still doesn’t appear very friendly. And as if hearing my thoughts, the creature bursts forward, no longer snarling any more with its claws spread out on either side of it and waves of icy mist coming off of it. I quickly back up, trying to avoid the strike before maneuvering around it and striking at its back instead.

It lets out a loud roar of pain as my claws dig straight through its armor and into its skin beneath. But I can’t help but notice that the frost touch aspect that my physical contact brings doesn’t actually do anything to it, making me wonder if its little frost expulsion power gives it some sort of immunity. Or it could just have one aside from that.

|Alexander is advised to back away from the creature now|

Albeit vaguely surprised by its sudden advice, I jump back, following which another wave of ice shoots out of it. But this wave is much more dangerous than the last and likely would’ve impaled me as it’s formed into various spices instead of a thin mist.

I narrow my eyes before slowly circling around the infected symbiont host.

Terminal, how were you able to tell it was about to attack?

|A buildup of energy stronger than the last one detected from the creature was sensed seconds before the attack and used to determine its actions|

Hmm. Okay, that could be useful.

Terminal, tell me if it does something like that again. In fact, warn me of attacks that might be dangerous to me from now on.

|Request confirmed|

The horn from the city bellows out its tone again, making both my and the infected symbiont host’s heads turn to look. But I quickly return my gaze to the frozen one.

What I find though surprises me. Instead of simply returning its attention to me, it appears to gain a conflicted look on its face, with various parts of its body twitching. As if it has a major urge to run away but is suppressing it.

Very interesting.

Deciding to make use of this opportunity, I rush towards it when it glances back at the city again. And it doesn’t see me until a split second too late, after I already have my hand tearing a large gash across its chest, sending it stumbling backwards with a look of both pain and rage on its face. But this only seems to intensify the conflict also shown there.

I jump in again but this time sending a kick towards its side, launching it several meters to land on the snow over there. Then I jump over after it, repeatedly clawing at the creature and tearing streak after streak out of it.

|Warning. Attack incoming|

As soon as I hear the terminal, I jump back, only for half a dozen spears of ice to pass straight through where I was just standing, making me feel incredibly relieved that I have this new and improved terminal.

The infected symbiont host roars its anger, a cloud of icy mist building up around it to block my view for several seconds. Then it suddenly clears, revealing the creature without a single scratch on it.

But that isn’t really what shocks me.

What really shocks me is the sight of its armor having been repaired as well. As if the armor was a part of the creature’s body.

Terminal, do you know what just happened?

|It would appear that this particular frozen one has somehow merged with its armor, making it a part of its biological body and transforming the armor itself|

And how is that possible?

|If it were any other metal, it wouldn’t be possible. However, a specific type of metal located within that armor set seems to be having a reaction to the energy. A similar reaction towards the one the girl known as Alexia had with you before|

My eyes narrow.

Does that mean that whatever metal in there is inside of the girls body too? Or what?

|Insufficient information to answer that query|

Damn it.

That’s just… damn it!

I’ll deal with the implications of that later. For now, I have to deal with this thing.

And it looks like the only realistic way of doing that is constantly dealing it damage until it runs out of energy needed to heal itself and its ‘armor’.

Right as the creature turns to look at the city again, I burst into action, sprinting straight to it again with my claws raised to attack.

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