Ch.124Maintenance (1)

“Plunderer’s Irregular Polyhedron: Devours one piece of equipment to specialize in that equipment’s unique ability. Only possible once per equipment; when devouring a new piece of equipment, the previous equipment’s specialized effect is lost.”

‘What’s this?’

A new trait obtained after absorbing Muriel’s essence.

It was a type I’d never seen before, one that didn’t exist previously.

‘Absorbing equipment abilities…’

The psychic organ I obtained as a Morphlet was also a trait I’d never gotten in the game, but this was on a completely different level.

‘This trait completely defies AMorph common sense.’

AMorphs, Outspacers, and Metallic Gremlins possess superior physical abilities and powerful utility skills in exchange for the handicap of being unable to equip items.

Even if they could somehow utilize equipment abilities through special preparation, that would only apply to common equipment or consumables—using Unique-grade equipment was impossible.

But with this trait, I can specialize in even Unique equipment abilities, albeit only one at a time.

‘There’s no precedent for this.’

In the game, killing players didn’t grant any special new traits.

If you killed a genetically modified human, you’d get the biological gene essence in their body, and with Cult members, you’d get traits related to psychic power. That was it.

I’ve devoured countless players, but this is the first time I’ve obtained a trait that’s so fundamentally different.

I checked the translucent text box again.

“-Nest-related fusion trait: Symbiotic Spores

Mark of a Formidable Foe*: Plunderer’s Irregular Polyhedron(X)”

Below my list of traits, a new category called “Mark of a Formidable Foe” with an asterisk had appeared.

‘Mark of a Formidable Foe?’

When I shifted my gaze to the asterisk, a new message appeared.

“‘Mark of a Formidable Foe’ is a mark obtained after devouring powerful prey. If there exists a trait that resonates with the prey’s unique perk, it will be reconstructed as a Mark of a Formidable Foe trait. Traits classified as Marks of a Formidable Foe cannot be used as materials for fusion or transcendence systems.”

From the description, the “Plunderer’s Irregular Polyhedron” trait seems to be in a completely different category from general traits related to physical or psychic abilities.

‘The powerful prey mentioned here must refer to players.’

Muriel’s perk was the ability to obtain something called a symbol from other species and modularize it. When equipped with the modularized symbol, her species would change.

‘That’s how she could use Cult powers while being a cyborg.’

The Plunderer’s Irregular Polyhedron is a trait that devours equipment and specializes in its unique ability.

It had similarities to Muriel’s perk of modularizing and equipping characteristics of other species.

Perhaps by hunting different types of “powerful prey,” I could obtain completely different mark traits.

‘The struggle against players…’

When I interrogated Muriel, I asked her if there were other players besides us.

According to her, there were 2 players who shared her cause.

She knew of 7 players in total, including the Sky Mother and myself.

‘She said there were more before…’

How many remain now is unknown. A war broke out among players long ago, killing many.

‘The fact that killing other players grants special rewards must have spread then.’

By the time Muriel came to this world, the war had already ended, and the remaining players had formed factions.

Some tried to adapt and survive in this world, while others targeted other players for their perks, and some ruled like tyrants, considering this place just a game.

‘It’s because they arrived in this world at different times.’

Muriel came to this world 3 years ago, while the Sky Mother has been here for at least 10 years. Among the players Muriel knew, some had lived for over a hundred years.

‘Since they’ve each survived in different ways, it’s understandable that factions would form.’

What’s puzzling is that despite being here so long, no one has seen the ending.

‘The war that happened in the past was probably between players trying to see the ending.’

If an AMorph’s ending is Ascension, other species likely have their own unique endings in similar categories.

And to see those endings, one must fight and defeat player competitors of similar level from rival species.

‘More precisely, it’s about eliminating the leadership of the species.’

For example, both Megacorp and Star Union have ending triggers that include defeating each other’s leadership. For a player who has become a Megacorp CEO to see the ending, they must fight and eliminate the Star Union’s High Commander.

In the game, whether CEO or High Commander, most species leadership positions are dominated by players, so this objective essentially encourages conflict between players.

Therefore, someone during the past war must have achieved this condition.

Yet from what Muriel said, it seems no one has seen an ending yet.

‘Is there something else I don’t know?’

Since this is reality, it’s possible that players haven’t been able to rise to positions high enough to unlock ending triggers.

Unlike the game, here you die once and it’s over. Even players with strong hearts would have to move cautiously.

‘I should ask the Sky Mother about this.’

She’s survived much longer than Muriel, so she might know something.

‘Either way, I’m likely to be in hostile relations with other players in the future.’

Muriel sent a distress signal to her companions before I captured her. So at minimum, her allies would be hostile toward me.

And players who are hostile to Muriel’s companions will also learn about my actions through some channel.

Depending on their faction, they’ll either oppose me or try to use me.

“*P.S.: You are Death, the destroyer of worlds. But be warned. The entire universe will be watching you.”

Just as the postscript said.

The entire universe will be watching me.

I don’t know how players will approach me right now.

‘Either way, I need to get stronger.’

That’s the only way to survive and avoid being used by someone.

Reaching the transcendence system and hunting players.

The intentions of whoever sent me here remain unclear, but uncovering the cause and reason is only possible if I survive.

Finally, I checked if there were any new messages, but there were no additional explanations beyond the asterisk description.

Continuing to rack my brain in a situation with insufficient information would just be a waste of time.

It would be much more productive to consider how to utilize my newly acquired ability.

‘The Plunderer’s Irregular Polyhedron can turn any equipment’s ability into a trait.’

And each piece of equipment can only be specialized once.

With standard equipment, I could extract and use that equipment’s abilities multiple times, but not with Unique equipment.

‘As for Muriel’s equipment…’

I picked up the Golden Spear of Shaman and the Tuner that had fallen to the ground.

Besides these, there’s also the Lightning God and Blood River at the campsite.

I don’t know exactly how equipment abilities will be specialized, but judging by their abilities, they would all benefit me.

The Golden Spear would make my strength limitlessly powerful, while the Tuner would secure five absolute evasion abilities.

The Lightning God would complement my lacking ranged and anti-air capabilities, and the Blood River would significantly enhance my battlefield control.

‘Should I experiment with other equipment first?’

I should first confirm how this works by consuming any equipment at the campsite. I was about to leave with the spear and the Tuner.

A sudden thought made me stop.

‘…’

I picked up some nearby stones and piled them at the spot where I had been standing until just now.

After creating a small stone pile in the clearing, I left.

–

The Cult’s sacred star, “Deliverer.”

This is the spiritual homeland of Cults spread throughout the galaxy.

In truth, Deliverer underwent complete desertification long ago, so it’s hardly a pleasant place to live, even as a figure of speech.

If not for the Cult’s exceptional psychic power technology, it would have been abandoned long ago.

Ancient cities stood upon the red sands that covered the entire planet.

Among those cities was one called “Prophet’s Stone.”

Prophet’s Stone was the oldest city, where even roadside decorations had been standing for tens or hundreds of thousands of years.

Past buildings adorned with purple ornaments on ivory-colored outer walls, a massive tower stood at the city center.

On the top floor of the tower, where the most noble Cults resided.

A male Cult with deer antlers walked down a long corridor and opened the door to a prayer room. Inside the prayer room, diamond-shaped monoliths connected by numerous wires lay fallen on the floor.

“……”

The male Cult silently snapped his fingers.

Two of the diamond monoliths lit up and floated into the air.

“Everyone, it’s been a while!”

A girl’s voice flowed from one of the monoliths. The voice resembled that of an anime character—bright and energetic, mismatched with the gloomy atmosphere of the prayer room.

“This side is busy, so speak quickly, Jason.”

In contrast, the voice from the other monolith evoked the image of a solemn middle-aged man.

Jason didn’t answer and waited for other monoliths to activate. Several more seconds passed, but no other monoliths moved.

Seeing that only two monoliths had activated, the male Cult called Jason sighed.

“…I said it was urgent, but only two people showed up?”

“It’s because you explained it like an idiot, brother. If you’d explained properly, more people would have joined.”

“You bit—wait, you’re here, but where’s that chuunibyou Japanese guy? He’s the most important one.”

“The old man is super busy with the civil war lately. I haven’t contacted him in ages either.”

“Fuck. Maybe I should have just joined Megacorp in the end. Sleeping with married women gets boring after a while, and this place is too dull.”

As Jason was only conversing with the monolith emitting the girl’s voice, the middle-aged male voice cut in.

“I don’t have time. Stop the idle chat and explain in detail. Has a new player arrived?”

“That’s right. Tell us more. Muriel, why did she suddenly die? There’s no one hunting players besides us.”

“She was killed by a player we didn’t know about. An ‘AMorph’ player.”

When the word ‘AMorph’ left Jason’s mouth, the chatty monoliths fell silent.

“…Brother Jason, that joke isn’t funny.”

“Tsk, I have a speech coming up soon and I’m wasting time on this nonsense.”

“Shit, I wish it were a lie.”

“Really? Really an AMorph?”

“Preposterous. AMorphs are extinct.”

“Before losing contact with Muriel, she said a Volf player and an AMorph player were targeting her.”

Jason transmitted the recorded communication logs to the individuals beyond the monoliths.

After a moment, their anger erupted from the monoliths as they confirmed the logs.

“Holy fucking shit! Why are these bastards who went extinct 10 years ago showing up now?”

“Пиздец (Goddamnit)…. Who was in charge of the final cleanup?”

“Probably Bumho.”

“I told you we should kill that bastard Bumho first! He’ll never give up!”

“And you could kill him? You never beat Bumho even once in the game.”

“оба заткнись (Both of you shut up)! It’s too late to place blame. If the one who killed Muriel is an AMorph, then the answer is clear.”

“Right. There was only one AMorph in the top 40. If it’s an AMorph skilled enough to catch Muriel, it must be him.”

At Jason’s words, the monolith emitting the girl’s voice lit up.

“Wait, wait! That, what was it, the 5th ranked guy has no friends. There’s no way someone like that would be with Seo-a unnie…”

“I agree. The probability of Morphfucker having companions approaches zero.”

“Muriel was commissioned by me to capture Choi Seo-a. Maybe Morphbastard intervened while they were fighting?”

“Indeed. That’s behavior befitting Morphfucker. A plausible explanation.”

“Haaa… is this for real? I thought my luck was good lately with equipment development going well.”

Only then did those beyond the monoliths understand why Jason had called them.

“Are you thinking of eliminating him?”

“Of course. If we leave that bastard alone, we’ll all die.”

“Maybe the old man could, but not me. I’m a house head, so I don’t count toward AMorph evolution conditions.”

“Do you really think Muriel didn’t talk about you before she died? If I were an AMorph, I’d definitely try to catch you.”

“Ugh, Muriel that useless bitch, seriously…”

“Silence! So what do you propose?”

“I was thinking we could all go together to catch him directly. Honestly, I don’t trust sending subordinates, and besides…”

Jason thought to himself.

Those present here were truly beings who could manipulate the universe in real-time.

It would not be an exaggeration to call them transcendent beings. Would it really be difficult for such beings to gather and catch one AMorph?

However, the thoughts of the people beyond the monoliths differed greatly from Jason’s.

“Are you crazy, brother? Want us all to attend our own funerals? If we go without the old man, we’ll all die!”

“I also oppose. If I die, the Star Union will collapse immediately.”

“Hey, hey, hey! You’re both talking strangely. I’m not just trying to save myself, with our combined power we could easily…”

“Cut the bullshit. Brother, you probably don’t know, but that Morphbastard used to go around cracking rankers’ heads even as a Subadult.”

“I’ve heard countless Cults failed to see their endings because of him. Jason, you must know this.”

“Exactly. I absolutely have no intention of offering my essence to the Wailing Wall. If you want to die, go die alone, brother.”

“I agree. If you really want to eliminate him, go alone. If you wish to leave a will, record it now. You won’t be able to leave one once you’re there.”

“……”

The monoliths interrupted Jason’s words.

Seeing their reactions, like people suffering from trauma, Jason could no longer say anything.