Chapter 11

Thirty-two versions of myself created ten hunting parties or three to four of me. We'd go out in opposite directions, then return home. Whenever we returned, it became customary to exchange experience using Conjugation. It effectively became our form of a handshake. Not every party returned, and I quickly got a feel for which directions were dangerous. I was slowly mapping out my immediate area, complete with safe zones, retreats, and no-go areas.

One cell remained at home base, and anyone who returned then proceeded to exchange information with him. He became the alpha, containing the most complete library of experience. Of course, he gave his library to everyone who conjugated with him. This prevented us from having to dance around with multiple groups randomly sharing experience.

I didn't feel any jealousy that he had to stay put while the rest of us went out. It was just a luck of the draw, and it had to be a boring existence just waiting there for other teams to return. That wait was growing longer and longer as we had to travel increasingly far to find cells. Furthermore, fewer and fewer teams returned, creating a limit to my growth.

I finally reached another level, but I had also started to worry. I seemed to have cleaned out the area near me, and I'd need to move to a new area soon. Yet any new areas created new dangers. My new skill didn't help much at all, either. It was Exocytosis, which was a storage type ability. It allowed me to quickly get rid of waste, which I had supposed was a small problem, but it wasn't that big of a deal, really.

In the end, I had no choice but to continue working at it. I eventually left and crated a new home point based on my farthest swimmers. After we positioned, I began anew with the hunt. Occasionally, I'd find areas that were extremely beneficial. Other times, I'd find areas blocked off with unknown threats. Some of me returned, cleverly having used L-switching, while others were destroyed, losing all the experience they gained with them.

Quite a lot of time passed; perhaps this was the most amount of time between level-ups since I had arrived here. The actions became extremely monotonous, but after a longer period of time, I finally leveled once again.

Congratulations! You have reached level 7.

You have unlocked the skill Adhesion.

I could almost howl in frustration. I looked at my status helplessly.

Name: ???

Evolutionary Form: 3

Evolution Level: 7

Species: Bacterial Colony

HP: 600/600

Stamina: 600/600

Attack: 602

Mana: 0

Defense: 603 (1197)

Agility: 602

Skills:

Absorption Skills: Active Diffusion, Phagocytosis, Pinocytosis,

Attack Skills: Phage Tail, Pilli, Water Jet

Body Modification Skill: Cellular Growth

Crafting Skills: Adhesion, Cohesion, Lysis

Defense Skills: Encapsulation, Cellular Wall

Endurance Skills: Chemosynthesis, Fermentation, Glycolysis

Experience Skill: Conjugation

Health Skills: Photosynthesis, Binary Fission

Movement Skill: Cilia

Perception Skill: Chemotaxis

Storage Skills: Exocytosis. Selective Permeability

I need to take out a more powerful opponent.

Adhesion was a new crafting skill. If Cohesion could put two like molecules together, then Adhesion was able to put two unlike molecules together. It allowed me to stick things to each other like an adhesive. It wasn't useless. I could store more energy by modifying sugar into other molecules, but I had to admit I was hoping for a powerful defense or even an attack skill. I had to settle instead on my increases in stats and, perhaps most importantly, my increasing Binary Fission. I could now create 128 copies of myself.

After performing Binary Fission and then restoring the lost HP and stamina, I decided it was time to take on one of the bigger eukaryotes. These cells came in many sizes and types. They were larger and more complex than the ones I had been targeting before, and many of them were predatory. In the past, I had been specifically aiming for small autotrophs, the plant-like ones. Even the large autotrophs seemed to have means of protecting themselves with toxins and thick cell walls.

However, the ones I had feared the most were the heterotrophs. These were the ones who hunted nearly as aggressively as I did. Once they spotted me, they would come at me until I was dead. They were relentless and powerful. However, I wasn't feeling nearly as weak anymore. Even if I was still inferior to them, I made up for it with greater numbers.

I left a single cell behind. If the others didn't return, he'd begin Binary Fission all over again. This was the backup that would keep us alive, should things go south. However, I also felt pretty confident that, among the hundred plus cells, we should be able to take down one eukaryote.

We set out a like a fleet of spaceships departing from home base. We were heading specifically for an area known for possessing some of the difficult eukaryotes. It wasn't a zone so dangerous that no one had ever returned. Scouts had managed to appear and then slip away by using L-form Switching, so I was pretty confident about what we would find once we reached the spot.

True to its form, there was a massive eukaryote. I had grown in size significantly since I had started. The former me was but a speck compared to my current size, yet I was still dwarfed by this monstrosity. It really reminded me of the saying, "there is always a bigger fish." This was one of the less aggressive eukaryotes. It had only started attacking after I had attacked it. At that point, it had opened up several massive pores on its surface, and out flooded invasive cytokines.

They were the cellular equivalent of homing missiles, and, as soon as they flooded out, they would grab onto me. If enough of them grabbed on, I became trapped in them like a web. The cell then casually came over and ate me. I knew this because the version of me that survived had watched all of his companions die in such a horrifying manner. Suffice it to say, the lot of me were eager for revenge.

We approached the enemy cell in two X formations, coming from either side. The first two in the formation released a powerful Water Jet, striking the surface of the eukaryote on their side. Its surface shook unhappily as its cell wall was struck. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get past its defense. At that moment, the cell defense opened up, hundreds of little cytokines erupting from various open pores, sending out waves of enemies.

This time, I was ready for them. The others in the X formation began to shoot at the cytokines, knocking them out of the way, if not destroying them completely. The two leaders absorbed enough water to shoot Water Jets again. This time, they aimed directly into the hole the cytokines were coming out of. The path of the cytokine fleet was blocked, and the eukaryote seemed to shudder like it had been damaged.

The remaining cytokines struck my fleet, but their numbers weren't enough to completely incapacitate us like before. They were still able to bind to quite a few of us, but their numbers dwindled. My free cells worked together, using their Phage Tails to bat off and pierce the cytokines and free their companions.

At this point, the eukaryote was slowly making its way toward us. Shooting it inside the pores that released cytokines had caused it to close its pores. The group of us seemed to have the same idea all at once; we aimed for a pore, and like that, 128 Water Jets struck the pore. The string of amino acids that made up the pore were obliterated in an instant. As the integral protein, the pore in the cell's membrane, collapsed, a gaping hole was exposed in the side of the cell wall.

The cellular membrane was desperately trying to close, but its insides were leaking out. These included numerous cell-shaped items I knew to be organelles. They were the size of prokaryotes and just as nutritious. As the eukaryote bled out, it seemed to release the scent of blood. Hundreds of other prokaryotes arrived to hungrily gobble up its innards. This was good, because opening in the cell also released more the cytokines. They ended up coming into contact with the prokaryotes, taking the pressure off of my own fleet.

Before the eukaryote could finish recovering, we all absorbed water and then aimed at a new protein. At this point, we didn't appear on the same wavelength. Three different protein pores were targeted, and only two of them got enough Water Jet damage that they broke. Like that, two more holes were punctured through the cell wall.

At this point, my selves began to act independently, charging forth to consume what they could. Some prokaryotes became wrapped up in cytokines, and my guys wouldn't hesitate to destroy them and consume them as well. I tried to get everyone to focus, but they were moving all around. The battlefield was far too hectic. No one was focused on the eukaryote, which had started to flee. Realizing that my companions wouldn't be any help, I began to pursue the eukaryote.

Specifically, I was aiming directly for one of the unhealed holes. I used all of my strength, letting out an internal cry as I slammed into the cell membrane. To my surprise, I was able to force myself inside. I noticed some cytokines nearby, and I recoiled in fear. That's when I realized they were surrounded by a layer of plasma membrane that separated them from the inside of their own cell. The cytokines were basically in a bubble and unable to reach me. In fact, most of the things here appeared to be wrapped in plasma membrane.

Curiously, I snatched up and killed a nearby item. It had two membranes, and it seemed to contain a lot of sugar. I used Phagocytosis and engulfed it. It was very energy rich! More than that, I didn't get attacked at all. The eukaryote seemed to be ignoring me now.

I looked back the way I came, and the plasma membrane was already sealed. More than that, the eukaryote was healing itself. I could see blocks of cellulose being moved into place to repair the cell wall. It was a very efficient process. Yet it seemed completely fine with me being inside of it. It didn't seem to realize I was there.

I knew that I should attack and kill it, letting my other cells enjoy in the feast. Yet we would only be able to consume a fraction of the eukaryote. The rest would be eaten by other prokaryotes and even some scavenging eukaryotes. After that, we'd do the same thing we'd always done. We'd return and then use Conjugation. Then, I'd go out and risk my life again. Maybe I'd die, and then it'd be some other me continuing on my story.

Something about that didn't sit well with me. This eukaryote seemed to contain all the energy I needed for some time. While the others were risking their lives, fighting constantly and losing just as many as they made, I could remain in here and level to my heart's content. I began to process my chemicals, consuming the energy rich double-membranes. I suspected they were mitochondria. More complex cells had these compartments, like human organs, which did various tasks. They called them organelles.

Mitochondria are a type of organelle, the energy centers of more complex cells. The organelles contained lots of sugar byproducts, which they used to make energy. Just eating one caused my stamina to jump up ten points. A eukaryote like this one had at least a hundred thousand mitochondria, which meant a single cell like me could feed nonstop for some time. Why share with the others when I could take it all for myself?

Like that, I abandoned my colony and began to feast upon this eukaryote. It wasn't too long before I saw a level up again, the first one that I didn't share amongst the colony.

Congratulations! You have reached level 8.

You have unlocked the skill Toxins.

Well, now that was something interesting.