Ch.111Predators (2)

“You know who Rick is?”

“Blabbermouth Rick? Of course I know him. Why?”

“I heard they lost contact with his camp.”

“What?”

Despite it being broad daylight, the pirates at the camp were standing guard vigilantly.

This was because orders had come down from the cruiser, which could be considered their headquarters.

“I heard other camps have been losing contact too, another one?”

“That’s why we’re standing guard at this hour.”

“…Hah, wasn’t this area supposed to be safe?”

The pirate standing guard tensed up at his companion’s ominous words. His companion continued, as if to reassure him.

“Don’t worry. The higher-ups said the boss will be back at the cruiser in a day or two.”

“Really? That’s good news. But what’s she been doing away for so long?”

“They didn’t tell me. There’s talk it has something to do with the prisoner we caught recently.”

“I-want-to-hear-more.”

“I’d like to tell you more, but I don’t know any—huh?”

“Huh?”

The pirates who had been chatting looked at each other when a voice suddenly interrupted them.

There were only two of them standing guard here.

Their gazes moved upward.

There it was—the ‘thing’ that had mimicked the pirate’s voice.

–

It’s been a week since I arrived at Saintopia02.

During that time, I’ve raided several camps in the forest to gather information about players.

According to one of the pirates, the Mask of Perseverance I possess was originally given by the pirate boss to her deputy.

In other words, the Cult pirate I killed before was the deputy of the Humanity Cartel.

Among the camps I raided for information, there was a large one with numerous pirates. There, I encountered someone wearing Cult quest reward equipment similar to the owner of the Mask of Perseverance.

That gave me half-confirmation.

The boss of the Humanity Cartel is either a player or someone closely related to players.

This meant I was facing a very serious threat.

I interrogated the pirates and gathered additional information about the boss.

Combining what the pirates said, the boss had three main characteristics:

She’s a Cult, she’s female, and she keeps bringing in strange artifacts through unknown methods.

Being a pirate, she’s certainly not a benevolent entity. On top of that, she possesses a cruiser and useful equipment. The power gap between me and the pirate boss is not small at all.

‘No matter how well I fight in the jungle, it won’t be easy with such a large gap.’

And if the pirate boss is indeed a player, she likely knows about me and my tactics.

I hate to admit it, but the strategies I’ve used in the jungle, like corpse bombs or skinned corpses, are well-known among veteran players.

‘The good news is that the boss isn’t here.’

For whatever reason, according to her subordinates, the boss is away and will return to the cruiser in two days.

The cruiser side hasn’t made any moves either, perhaps waiting for the boss to return before trying to capture me.

As the pirates just mentioned, they’ve only warned the camps that I’ve been raiding them.

‘They’re probably trying to collect information about me.’

They’re likely using the camps as bait to gather as much information as possible until the boss returns, then launch an all-out offensive to capture me when she arrives.

Of course, the situation isn’t entirely unfavorable for me.

‘I have time before the boss returns.’

Usually, time isn’t on my side, but this is an exception.

‘I need to evolve into a Subadult within the next two days.’

I activated the translucent text box while chewing on the spoils from the camp.

｢Some conditions for ‘Juvenile->Subadult’ evolution have been met.

｢Shapeshifting species 20/20 (Completed)

Humanoid species 20/20 (Completed)

Species using psychic power 20/20 (Completed)

Types possessed 2/4 (Not achieved)｣

‘I’ve completed the condition of devouring playable species.’

What remains is the number of types.

To evolve into a Subadult, I need a total of 4 types. I’ve already acquired the Physical Enhancement Type and Psychic Enhancement Type, and there are 3 more types I can potentially acquire.

｢Specializable Types (3)

Infection Enhancement Type (6/8), Special Defense Enhancement Type (4/4), Nest Enhancement Type (1/4)｣

｢1 ‘Type’ is available for specialization.｣

｢Would you like to unlock ‘Special Defense Enhancement Type’?｣

During the week, besides pirates, I’ve also been hunting other wildlife and secured two new traits.

“Disease Resistance” from the Nightstalker, a special defense-related trait, and “Hallucination Worm” from a mushroom-like carnivorous animal called “Red Crown,” an infection-related trait.

As a result, the Special Defense Enhancement Type has been available for unlocking for two days, but I’m still holding off.

‘If I acquire a type, the number of traits needed for other types increases.’

For example, if I acquire the Infection Enhancement Type now, the number of traits needed for the Special Defense Enhancement Type and Nest Enhancement Type would increase to 8 each.

So acquiring the Infection Enhancement Type first is advantageous in the current situation.

‘Looking at this alone, evolution seems far away.’

But I have a secret weapon.

Today marks one week since I dominated the spaceship with my Corruption Tentacles.

This means I can use the Mark of the Hunt.

‘I need to trigger as many predation effects as possible during those 20 minutes.’

If this were a different planet or continent, gathering the genetic essence needed for evolution would be difficult.

But this is the Saintopia02 continent, teeming with creatures possessing rare genetic essence.

‘There’s a suitable place to use the Mark of the Hunt.’

There’s a place in this forest I can go.

It’s a very dangerous area for me right now, but one where I can obtain the traits I need in large quantities.

‘The swamp.’

If you follow the river south from here, you’ll reach an enormous swamp inhabited by terrifying creatures.

‘To be precise, it’s not that each individual is strong, but rather the environment and compatibility.’

The monsters in the swamp commonly carry extremely powerful poisons and viruses.

Even skilled players would find it impossible to tackle without extensive preparation against poisons and viruses.

I too, if this were a game, would only attempt to conquer it after becoming a Subadult or Adult, not as a Juvenile.

‘That would normally be the case.’

I left the camp after consuming all the pirate corpses.

I now have everything needed to conquer the swamp.

First, I possess the Disease Resistance trait, which provides resistance to all types of diseases.

‘If this were a game, I would never have taken it.’

When you become a Subadult, you automatically become immune to all biochemical attacks as an evolution perk.

So Disease Resistance isn’t considered a particularly useful trait, but it’s very valuable in my current situation where I need to enter the swamp immediately.

If I use the Mark of the Hunt here, the trait effect will be enhanced, so I should take almost no damage even if I enter the swamp.

And since the Mark of the Hunt itself enhances all my physical abilities, I should have no major issues fighting the swamp monsters. They may be strong, but their direct combat power is inferior to creatures like the Horned Gigant.

‘And this.’

In my small chest hand, I hold the half-broken Mask of Perseverance. This silver death mask grants its wearer immunity to poison and mental attacks, as well as the ability to detect hidden targets.

The important thing is that this mask is made of metal.

In other words, it’s a target for Metal Absorption.

‘I can absorb any metal material except unique-grade equipment.’

Gaining the mask’s poison immunity effect will be a great help in conquering the swamp.

With all preparations complete, today I finally attempt to conquer the swamp.

‘I’m almost there.’

The wide blue riverbank gradually narrows, and yellowish moss and aquatic plants begin to appear on the water.

The surroundings are filled with rotting, broken dead trees, mushroom spores emitting toxic fog, and colorful insects.

A foul smell seeps through the air, and toxins penetrate my thick outer skin.

‘This place is shocking no matter how many times I see it.’

Enduring the stinging pain throughout my body, I looked around.

The swamp doesn’t have imposing trees hundreds of meters tall, but instead mushrooms ranging from 5 to 10 meters, adult-sized leeches, and bus-sized stink bugs roaming around.

There’s a movie that came out before I was born featuring a giant ape as the protagonist. In that movie, explorers get stranded in a valley where hideous insects attack them.

According to community rumors, the swamp in the Saintopia02 continent was modeled after that valley scene.

In other words, bizarre insects carrying toxins and viruses jump out from everywhere.

Because of this, many high-level players avoid this place not only due to its difficulty but also its repulsive visuals.

‘But this is very good for me right now.’

It’s truly a treasure trove of genetic essence.

I activated Metal Absorption and took a bite of the Mask of Perseverance.

A tingling sensation flowed near my outer skin, and soon the stinging pain completely disappeared.

To make sure I wasn’t mistaken, I decided to check once more.

I grabbed a cockroach the size of a human head crawling nearby and swallowed it whole.

The formal name of this cockroach is the Prankster Bug. It has a poison that causes itching, inflicting debuffs on its victims.

Despite eating the Prankster Bug, my stomach remained fine.

‘Poison immunity is applied.’

After confirming this, I put down the Mask of Perseverance and activated the Mark of the Hunt.

My body, already evolved with Nightmare Horizon, transforms into an even more perfect predator form.

From my thick, heavy back, two new arms emerge. The bone blades at their ends are extremely hard and sharp, capable of easily cutting through even the hardest metals.

Then, six Corruption Tentacles hidden inside my back all come out.

The tentacles only grew in size without much change in form. Instead, the six appendages at their ends transformed like the claws on my combat arms, becoming fearsome weapons in themselves.

My back, after extending all the bone blade arms and corruption tentacles, rapidly shrinks, resulting in a more streamlined figure than before.

Of course, the nests around my waist where the cute tooth fairies reside still remain.

While my body shape may have become more streamlined than when Nightmare Horizon was applied, my overall size has grown much larger.

My current height is 12m, almost equivalent to a 4-story apartment building.

The length of my tail has also greatly increased, making my total body length just under 20m. In terms of size alone, I’m almost equal to a Horned Gigant.

As always, the detailed parts like the carapaces attached to my combat arms and legs have been strengthened.

Spikes have formed on the arm and leg carapaces, making them deadly enough to inflict significant damage when striking enemies.

Finally, all changes were completed as the carapace on my head covered my eyes.

｢Grrrr｣

The Mark of the Hunt on top of Nightmare Horizon.

An enormous power fills my body, which is as tall as a 4-story apartment building.

A power that makes me feel like I can do anything.

I lightly swung my tail to strike a dead tree behind me.

Though rotten, the 5-meter diameter tree shattered like a broken branch. Giant centipedes that had nested inside scurried out in surprise.

‘Good.’

I swung my Corruption Tentacles to catch the fleeing insects. The hook-shaped appendages sliced through their bodies.

As the Corruption Tentacles sucked in the prey, translucent text boxes kept appearing.

Watching this, I took a deep breath and let out a mighty roar.

｢■———!｣

The air exploded outward, and the polluted water in front of me parted instantly. Cat-sized mosquitoes flying above the swamp in front of me were hit by my roar and vanished without a trace in mid-air.

‘Let’s begin then.’

The goal is to obtain enough essence to evolve within 20 minutes.

It’s time for predation after a long while.