Ch.112Predators (3)

In Space Survival, planets with non-extreme ecosystems and evenly distributed environmental elements, unlike rocky or ocean planets, are classified as Earth-type planets.

PH-101, true to its Earth-type classification, has abundant water and diverse flora and fauna.

This might sound like a perfect place to live, but there’s a catch.

While PH-101 has a hospitable ecosystem, the creatures inhabiting the planet are far from weak.

From Plant Lizards that form swarms of hundreds or thousands despite individual weakness, to Horned Giants with physical capabilities rivaling high-tier players.

None of the creatures are easy opponents, and the planet has various environmental factors and events that make human survival difficult.

These include rare planetary magnetic storms or eruption events from the massive volcano on Saintopia01, a continent different from the one I’m on.

The swamp region where I currently am, on the Saintopia02 continent, would easily rank among the top ten most dangerous environmental zones on this planet.

Mushrooms constantly releasing deadly toxic spores, poisonous gases from decomposing poisoned animals, and a vicious cycle where swamp animals absorb these toxins to become even more poisonous—it’s become a hellscape where even protective suits can’t last five minutes.

‘If this were a game, I’d have come after becoming a Subadult.’

In reality, it seems I’ll become a Subadult before leaving.

“Screech!”

A 4m-sized carnivorous water bug struggles in the grip of my tentacles.

Its name is Smog Pad. Though lower on the swamp’s food chain, it’s still a dangerous creature that shouldn’t be underestimated.

Smog Pads can spray acidic bodily fluids like fog. This acidic mist can dissolve gas masks, creating deadly synergy in this poison-filled swamp.

‘Not that it matters to me.’

My corrosive tentacle, gripping the Smog Pad with six appendages, sucked it in forcefully. Its hard carapace cracked, and its elongated body crumpled as it was pulled into my tentacle.

Toxic blood and fluids poured from its body, but another tentacle waiting below caught and drank every drop.

While my tentacles fed, my body worked diligently. My combat arms and tail swatted away insects rushing toward me.

‘With the Horizon of Nightmares, this is convenient.’

AMorphs have many arms but only one mouth, which limits their feeding activity.

But now with seven mouths, I could eat faster than I could hunt.

[Infection Enhancement Type (7/8), Special Defense Enhancement Type (4/4), Nest Enhancement Type (6/4)]

[2 ‘Types’ are available for specialization.]

Thanks to acquiring numerous traits since entering the swamp, the number of types available for specialization has increased to 2.

‘If I collect one more infection-related trait and two more nest-related traits, I’ll have all the types needed for evolution.’

For AMorphs, acquiring one type doubles the number needed to acquire another type.

Originally, I planned to get the Infection Enhancement Type first, followed by the Special Defense Enhancement Type.

Since more nest-related traits appeared than expected, I changed my strategy to acquire the Infection Enhancement Type first, then the Nest Enhancement Type.

After checking the text box once more, I headed deeper into the swamp.

I’m going to obtain rare traits that can only be found here.

As the water level deepened, the number of visible creatures gradually decreased. Instead, I could see the bones of enormous creatures scattered about.

The toxicity of the fog covering the swamp intensified to the point where the air itself could be called pure poison.

Without the enhancements from the Hunter’s Emblem and my traits, I would have died from poisoning long ago.

‘It should be coming soon.’

The water level had risen to my chest. Yet my body moved as naturally as if on land, thanks to a new trait I acquired here.

‘I didn’t expect to get webbed feet and fins here.’

True to their name, webs grew between my fingers and toes, and thin but wide fins sprouted near the wrists of my combat arms and on my tail.

Normally folded and inactive on land, they spread wide in water to aid aquatic movement.

‘Though swimming like this would be difficult.’

My body is too heavy for swimming in deep water; these adaptations only help me move quickly through swamps like this.

As I moved through the swamp, half-swimming, my auxiliary organs detected something moving beneath the surface.

A small will-o’-wisp emerged from the middle of the quiet swamp. The pale glowing light swayed gently, then hesitated upon noticing me.

‘Here it comes.’

The will-o’-wisp, or rather the eye of a massive creature hiding below, retreated back into the swamp.

Then the water churned violently as the creature began to reveal itself.

First, ten long spider-like legs emerged from the swamp. Each leg was covered in hard carapace and measured nearly 10m in length.

Next, two pincers rose to the surface alongside the legs.

No, could these even be called pincers?

Each pincer was about 2m in size, looking so vicious that even I would struggle to withstand a hit from them.

While the legs and pincers were already enormous, the body was much larger and wider than the legs. Unlike the spider-like legs, the body resembled a crab—oval-shaped and covered with thick carapace.

Of course, no one would think of a crab when seeing a creature with a 15m-wide shell.

The top of the shell was densely covered with spikes as thick as an adult’s forearm, and the bottom had holes the size of palms scattered throughout.

At the front of the body were a mouth resembling a lamprey with swirling teeth and four eyes like will-o’-wisps.

The name of this creature, which looked like a fusion of crab and spider, is “Swamp King.”

It’s the most dangerous creature in the swamp region of Saintopia02 continent.

Its four will-o’-wisp-like eyes focus on me.

The moment I felt its gaze, its two pincers flew toward my head with incredible speed.

Having detected the attack’s precursors with my auxiliary organs, I bent my knees and dove into the swamp. The heavy pincers grazed the crown-like carapace on my head.

Before its next attack, I kicked off the muddy bottom and jumped upward.

The bottom was more like a quagmire, so I couldn’t jump very high, but reaching the top of the creature was enough.

Once on top, I used all my weapons to attack its shell.

I opened my mouth wide to bite its hard eyes, slashed it with my combat arms, and smashed its shell with my bone axe. With each swing of my arms, the spikes protruding from its shell were cut off.

“Giiiiiii”

The creature shook its body irritably. My body swayed greatly, like riding a rodeo machine.

To avoid falling off, I stabbed its shell with the bone blade arms on my back.

When it couldn’t shake me off despite its efforts, it reversed the joints of some of its pincers and legs to directly strike at me.

The target was me, on top of its shell.

The claws at the ends of its legs are as hard as its pincers but with tremendously high penetration power, capable of easily piercing my head carapace.

Before the claws could stab me, I quickly jumped off its shell.

However, the attack came so fast that one of my corrosive tentacles was torn off.

[Pain Reduction Activated!]

Sharp pain like a whip striking my back pierced my head.

“Gii?”

The creature, having failed its attack, made a short cry as if surprised.

‘It’s strong.’

As the apex predator of the swamp ecosystem, it’s formidable.

The creature is completely immune to attacks like poison, parasites, and viruses. Therefore, all the infection-type traits I’ve acquired since entering the swamp are useless against it.

And its carapace has resistance to all types of psychic power.

The reason I didn’t use ghost claws when slashing its shell earlier is because they wouldn’t work anyway. Even if I fired a psychic breath, it would only cause minor cracks.

So there’s only one way to defeat it.

‘I must overpower it with pure strength.’

The creature has very fast attack speed and considerable strength.

On top of that, it has thick shell, high psychic resistance, and immunity to poison and viruses.

This might seem perfect, but it’s not.

‘I can win.’

After one exchange, it only suffered damage to its shell, while I lost a corrosive tentacle.

This might seem like I took a big loss, but I was actually reassured.

‘As expected. With my current strength, I can pierce its shell.’

Surprisingly, that thick and hard-looking shell is actually its most vulnerable part.

Creatures inhabiting the swamp are characterized by their irregular and extraordinary hunting methods.

The Swamp King is no exception.

Looking at its crab-like appearance and spider-like thin legs, one might think to disable its legs or pincers first, but this would be a mistake.

Its legs and pincers are so hard that even plasma heat rays wouldn’t scratch them.

They’re practically indestructible, so targeting them is meaningless.

In contrast, its shell is relatively less hard compared to its legs. With enough physical force, the shell can be broken.

And currently, I possess that physical force.

“Giiiiii”

The creature, seemingly recognizing me as a threat, growled but didn’t move rashly.

I also circled around it slowly, looking for an opening.

After a brief standoff, the creature attacked first.

“Giek, Gii, Gii”

White snake-like creatures wriggled out from the holes under its shell. They’re Corpse Catfish, like the ones I saw in the sewers of the space city.

‘More precisely, they’re enhanced versions.’

The Corpse Catfish from the Swamp King are on a different level from those disgusting creatures in the sewers.

In the game, Corpse Catfish summoned by the Swamp King ignore player defense and deal fixed damage. This is due to their setting of secreting digestive fluids that can dissolve any material.

This is reality, so I don’t know how they’ve changed.

‘But I don’t intend to find out by getting hit.’

Swarms of Corpse Catfish swim toward me, trying to tear me apart.

I swung my long tail, submerged in the swamp, to strike the Corpse Catfish. The water parted like the Red Sea, and fragments of Corpse Catfish shattered by my tail scattered in the air.

Before the swamp water returned to its place, I crouched down and charged forward.

My four arms and two legs kicked off the muddy bottom, propelling my body forward rapidly.

“Giiiiiiek!”

The Swamp King roared and swung its two pincers to crush me.

Just as the pincers were about to fall on my head, my bone blade arms met its pincers.

A bursting sound that was hard to believe came from the collision of living creature body parts echoed across the swamp.

‘Ugh!’

While my bone blades are quite hard, they can’t hold the pincers for long.

Not only did the blades crack, but my entire back arm twisted in a grotesque direction.

My back arm was quickly disabled, but I succeeded in altering the trajectory of the pincers. The two pincers barely grazed my body and struck the ground heavily.

For a very brief moment, the Swamp King was defenseless.

I concentrated the momentum of my charge into my head and rammed the lower part of its shell. The two horns on my head pierced its shell.

“Kkeek, Kiiek!”

It seemed surprised by this unexpected development. Highly acidic digestive fluids poured from its wound.

‘I can endure this!’

My head carapace is the hardest part of my body. Now is the time to rely on that and endure.

Instead of retreating, I pushed harder with my two legs, driving my horns deeper. The creature’s reddish-brown blood mixed with digestive fluids and soaked my body.

“Kiiiek!”

When I didn’t budge, it spread its two pincers and grabbed my waist and legs.

The 2m-sized press squeezed my body.

One leg broke instantly, and my waist was slowly being crushed by its tremendous strength.

If I were an ordinary person, I would have died from suffocation before feeling the pain.

Instead of creating distance, I wrapped my corrosive tentacles around its shell and pressed my body tightly against it. This drove my horns deeper into its body, tearing through its internal organs.

“Giriririik!”

It screamed in pain as its intestines were torn.

The pressure from its pincers gradually weakened, and I used my lower combat arms to push them away.

Corpse Catfish clung to my body to protect their master, but I neither wavered nor retreated.

I inserted my upper combat arms into the broken part of its shell.

Unlike the hard carapace, I could feel soft intestines and flesh.

I grabbed them and pulled them out.

“Giiiiii!”

Some of its legs moved to stab me.

I unwrapped my corrosive tentacles from its shell and grabbed its legs.

Still, the strength in its legs was not to be underestimated. It tore away the entangled tentacles and stabbed my back with the claws at the end of its legs.

“Kkik, Kkigik!”

“Grrrrrr”

From now on, it’s a battle of endurance.

If I didn’t have regeneration traits…

If I didn’t have a body extremely enhanced by types, the Hunter’s Emblem, and the Horizon of Nightmares effect…

The one standing at the end might have been different.

“Giiii…”

The Swamp King uttered its death cry and collapsed sideways. It spat reddish-brown bloody foam a few times from its mouth, then moved no more.

I placed my foot on its head and roared loudly.

To announce that the master of the swamp had died by my hand.

And to declare that its corpse was mine.

Swamp dwellers who had approached hoping for scraps scattered in alarm.

After chasing away all the thieves, I buried my head in the Swamp King’s belly.

I could eat with my corrosive tentacles, but after such a difficult hunt, I should taste it properly.

I bit off the tender flesh inside the shell with my teeth, then chewed it slightly.

‘Oh.’

Just putting it in my mouth, I could tell this was extraordinary. I quickly swallowed the Swamp King’s flesh before it melted on my tongue.

‘Hmm.’

Among all the prey I’ve eaten so far, Siheyon Yujin has held the undisputed first place, never changing.

So I thought:

The better balanced and well-coordinated the genetic essence, the more delicious it would be.

But I was wrong.

Honestly, before eating it, I thought it might taste like imitation crab meat since it resembled a crab, but that was a terribly mistaken thought.

The taste of the Swamp King was so excellent that I felt guilty for having such an irreverent thought.

‘The best part is…’

While Siheyon Yujin tasted great, the quantity wasn’t much. After all, human-sized.

But before me is a 15m luxury king crab.

‘I never ate crab dishes as a human, but here I am trying everything.’

If I weren’t pressed for time due to the Hunter’s Emblem, I would have taken days to enjoy this leisurely.

‘Sigh. If the kids were here, they would have loved it.’

When I meet No. 26 and Adhigh Orr again, I should consider returning to the swamp. Not aiming for genetic essence, but purely for gastronomic purposes.

I hurriedly scraped and ate all the flesh and intestines attached to the inside of the king crab—no, the Swamp King’s shell.

For the leg parts, since I couldn’t break the carapace, I inserted my corrosive and blood-sucking tentacles inside to extract only the flesh.

Finally, after cleanly eating even its will-o’-wisp-like eyes, a window appeared announcing the feeding effect, just like when I ate other creatures.

‘Great.’

Evolution wasn’t far off.

After acquiring the Swamp King’s genetic essence, I continued roaming the swamp, taking down other creatures.

My injuries weren’t minor, but none of the remaining creatures posed a threat to me.

Having successfully acquired 2 types, I left the swamp when the Hunter’s Emblem effect had about 3 minutes remaining.

My combat arms and 5 corrosive tentacles carried the corpses of various creatures.

I piled the prey in a cave I had checked out earlier.

‘This should prevent me from having to roam outside due to side effects.’

Before the emblem’s effect ended, I checked the message I saw earlier in the swamp one more time.

[“Juvenile”->”Subadult” evolution conditions have been met. Would you like to evolve?]