Chapter 90: Higher Calling

The Collector moved through the snow for about fifty meters before rapid buildup of ice crystals began to line every seam of its hyperalloy carapace.

The compromise to its movements was not marked, merely calculated at approximately a 5% loss of optimal mobility, but if the Collector ever stopped moving to break the formations of ice, then this percentage would continuously increase.

This was a test on the Collector's part to sense how long it could maintain itself in this environment without its new adaptations.

Several calculations assessed that with the Flametongue Salamander's naturally high internal temperatures complimented by efficient blood flow and some level of insulation from hyperalloy carapace indicated that the Collector would never fully expire to the cold, but it was entirely possible that if it was immobilized that it could find itself encased in ice in a hibernating state.