Ch.1717. The Power of Insects

I couldn’t gather my thoughts properly after my new evolution.

“My vision… it’s strange.”

Yes, strange indeed. Everything I saw through human eyes now appeared different.

What unfolded before me was a vision unlike anything I experienced as a human.

Though not quite 360 degrees, I could see everything in front and above and below at once—even angles I’d normally need to turn my head to see.

Colors looked different too.

I moved my feet. Not toes, but something shaped like a single shoe-like foot. I knew this without turning my head.

I moved to the bathroom to examine this form.

I saw my height—about 3 meters tall. On my back were shell-like plates and wings.

Black base with green patterns spreading across it.

Two large compound eyes reflected in the mirror. Antennae on my head too.

A mane like a lion’s grew around my shoulders and neck. The surface of my skin was segmented like armor plating.

To put it simply…

“Compound eyes look terrifying up close.”

That’s the best way to describe it—fine from a distance, but up close, not so much.

Certainly, the insect wings and humanoid form combined with this sleek armor looked cool… but those compound eyes were horrifying up close.

“Huff.”

Of course, that’s just the external appearance of compound eyes. They had their advantages.

My evolved senses were already telling me. My vision was different. Light appeared in multiple spectrums, offering diverse perspectives.

Compound eyes could detect ultraviolet and visible light, right?

I spent a moment adjusting to this vision.

When I moved my back, my wings fluttered.

Yes, I could fly. I…

A crashing sound echoed as the window shattered. I’m screwed.

Goosebumps rose on my now hypersensitive skin.

“Who’s there!”

From far away, the dormitory supervisor was stomping up the stairs.

Being an insect seemed to make me even more sensitive than when I was a beast.

Spatially, I could sense the enemy approaching. Must be an insect trait.

“Who is it! Who’s making that crashing noise in the dormitory again?”

I immediately deactivated my transformation.

“It’s me. I’m sorry. I was practicing to get stronger and…”

“Do Jong-hyun! You again? Do you know how expensive these facilities are? It’s coming out of your paycheck again. Your next month’s salary will be cut in half.”

“I’m sorry.”

I bowed my head and waited until he left.

Just moving around caused property damage. Come to think of it, even the juvenile dinosaur Sura was A-rank, so this form must be similar.

“The parameters are lower though.”

Insect types have much lower stats than beast types.

Overall parameters are lower, but the effects from special traits are good. That’s the characteristic of insects.

[Main Card Change]

-You can store unlimited cards in your Main Card, but you can only use one at a time.

A new rule appeared for my new main card. I can only use one at a time.

Well, I only have one body, so I can’t summon multiple forms simultaneously.

Plus, while the basic specs are weaker, they can become stronger under specific conditions.

Forests would naturally be places like mountains, and I mostly go to mountains to hide my monster identity anyway.

In other words, I might actually be able to utilize this form more easily than my beast form.

“Then…”

I dashed down to the basement in one breath.

Naturally, there was no reason to only use smoke cards, so I needed to supplement with new sub-cards.

[Entering Simulation Room]

By grinding for two hours in F-rank, I managed to earn enough points to draw two cards.

“If I get smoke again, I’m dead.”

I wanted to curse my luck, but it was just a throwaway comment since I knew it wouldn’t help.

When has a gacha game ever cared about what users want?

This wasn’t a guaranteed draw. With random draws, you have to be prepared for anything.

[Sub Card Summoning]

Two cards materialized before my eyes, emitting light.

Please be good this time.

I’m done with those damn smoke cards. All slots are already full.

With nervous anticipation, I flipped the cards one by one.

[Acceleration]

-Increases speed by 1 rank for 3 minutes.

[Hardening]

-Increases defense by 2 ranks for 3 minutes. Conversely, speed decreases by 1 rank.

“This is fortunate.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. These were quite usable cards.

Satisfied, I scanned them into the light in my hand for storage.

Now I could retrieve and use them anytime.

[New evolution route confirmed for adult form.]

-Half-Dragon Half-Insect (Adult)

-DNA points required for evolution.

And one more thing. A new evolution route was confirmed.

“Half-Dragon Half-Insect? That’s new.”

Wait, thinking about it, having such combined evolution routes means I can continue evolving into new forms by collecting various DNA.

Surely, these hybrid forms must be stronger than simply evolving into an adult form?

They fight by utilizing the characteristics of each component appropriately.

I felt like I was starting to understand how to use my new abilities.

I immediately swapped my cards. Since I wouldn’t need to obscure vision in the mountains, I removed smoke and combined other cards.

-Tail Enhancement, Magic Claws, and Speed Enhancement cannot be used with this form.

[Sub Cards]

-Evolution Card, Awakening Card, Smoke, Magic Claws, Blood Rage, Speed Enhancement, Acceleration, Trait Adjustment, Hardening

“Skills that don’t match the species can’t be used…”

In that case, I’d have to focus on Blood Rage, Acceleration, Hardening, and Smoke—these four cards.

“Time to go.”

I couldn’t wait any longer. I rushed outside to test this power.

*

[Monster Gazette]

Information about future monsters is my optimal advantage for operating without being discovered.

Thanks to my summoning spirit.

“In the beginning, I used to check Monster Break like a nerd, imagining myself fighting monsters…”

I would research Monster Break, look at the monsters featured there, and fantasize about defeating them every day.

I gave up after a month when reality hit me. But now it’s become reality. My fantasies of defeating monsters have come true.

“This is where I need to go to collect more mechanical parts.”

Today’s hunting ground is where B-rank monsters appear.

Specifically, ones with mechanical components.

The reason for collecting mechanical parts is simple.

To add a mechanical evolution route that doesn’t require DNA, I need to gather as many part cards as possible.

The condition was ten part cards, wasn’t it?

There’s no limit to sub-cards in the deck. The limit only applies when equipping them for use. So I should collect as many as possible.

I’m currently in the mountains. The Monster Break monsters here are the B-rank Cyborg Armor, one of the most dangerous B-ranks, and the Cannon Bug.

Both are quite powerful monsters among B-ranks.

I swiped my card in front of them.

Not the Dinosaur Sura, but the Half-Insect Sura. I could see the world through those compound eyes I’d seen before.

I didn’t need to turn my head—these eyes provided a radar view wider than any widescreen.

Space distorted and monsters began to appear one by one.

My vision tracked their movements.

And simultaneously, their weak points.

[Cannon Bugs are annoying because they mix with other monsters. With a body like a giant flea and a cannon attached to one arm, they boast tremendous attack power and speed. However, like similar creatures, they have poor durability. You need to take them out with one powerful attack.]

The first target should be the Cannon Bug. Its attack power is disgustingly high, causing significant damage when fighting other monsters.

My compound eyes instantly spotted the Cannon Bugs. Three in total.

A white card appeared in my hand.

[Acceleration]

Power surged through my body and my wings fluttered.

I needed to kill them instantly.

-Skills: Needle Attack, Wing Wave, Wind-Cutting Slash

As soon as I thought of Needle Attack, spikes protruded from my palms.

When I pushed off with my fluttering wings, my perspective changed.

Different from my beast form. If that was a dump truck, this was a racing car.

The Cannon Bug came into view and looked at me. But its movements seemed slow.

My hands thrust forward and collided with it.

These compound eyes could perceive everything—including the Cannon Bug being torn apart by my ferocious attack.

Fragments of the Cannon Bug fell before my eyes. I didn’t stop and moved to the next one. Another Cannon Bug was aiming its cannon at me, but I was already right in front of it.

I crashed into it at high speed.

That alone was enough to shatter the fragile monster into pieces.

One more to go.

If I could just catch that one, the fight would be easier.

As I was about to charge again, I suddenly saw a sharp blade in front of me.

As I made an emergency stop, metal legs stretched out like human limbs targeted me.

A mechanically precise attack.

Yes, this was a Cyborg’s attack. The moment it hit, pain surged through my arm as if it might fall off.

This form also has weak durability. It’s different from beasts.

[Cyborgs make only the most efficient attacks with mechanical movements. Even with lower parameters than beasts, they know how to deliver more effective impacts.]

Knowledge I’d learned surfaced in my mind.

Unfortunately, I’d left one Cannon Bug alive. Now under the Cyborg’s protection, it would happily fire its cannon.

If this drags on, the guild will arrive and I’ll die too.

Should I run away?

No. I don’t think this form is that weak.

Even with parameter differences, how could an A-rank beast struggle against B-rank? Something’s off.

Plus, my parameters should have increased in the forest?

Before I could question further, my compound eyes spotted movement in another bush.

Thanks to my wide field of vision, I could dodge. A threatening blade was leaping toward me.

Another Cyborg was targeting me, so I shot upward in one breath.

The sound of cannon fire erupted below me.

I detected the consecutive attacks with my wide vision. The advantage of this evolution.

Then I used my speed again to target the Cannon Bug.

Being able to fly is a huge advantage. I maneuvered my body to pierce the enemy’s weak points like an awl.

Literally floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee.

With weak durability, I needed to target vital points precisely.

It’s different from beasts. I realized that painfully from that one hit.

I used another skill.

[Wind-Cutting Slash]

Though I didn’t know exactly what it was, I recognized it the moment I activated it.

This should be able to take down the Cannon Bug.

A long blade-like projection emerged from my wrist. Magic concentrated there and soon whirled like the wind.

I aimed to strike the creature with this in one go.

As I rushed forward with momentum, the Cannon Bug suddenly retreated.

It was agile, but shouldn’t be able to escape my speed?

The answer to my obvious question came quickly. I saw a rock beside where the Cannon Bug had jumped. And suddenly a Cyborg appeared.

They had used the Cannon Bug as bait to lure me in. A common trap used by mechanical monsters.

Before my Wind-Cutting Slash could activate, I clearly saw the blade from the Cyborg’s armor piercing through my own armor.

“Ugh!”

Pain surged through me and I was sent flying.

I tumbled through trees and fell among weeds.

I’d taken a hit. And now a projectile from the Cannon Bug was flying toward me.

[Hardening]

As I selected the card from my status window, my body hardened and met the projectile.

“Urgh!”

But I couldn’t help being pushed back.

The smell of burnt armor stung my nose, and I could see them rushing toward me.

Thinking this was dangerous, a status window appeared.

[Trait Adaptation Confirmed]

-Forest Recognition

-Rank Increase

The damage remained the same, but suddenly my body was filled with power.

“The adaptation happened now?”

In my hand was a clump of weeds. And what I had passed through were trees.

Did I need to touch or get close to recognize it? The place I had been was a well-paved road.

“So that’s how it works.”

As I heard the sound of another projectile, my body rose. Hardening had slowed my speed, but with the 2-rank increase, it was essentially equivalent to the speed-up card from earlier.

And now it seemed possible. I could slaughter them in one go.

Everything appeared slower and clearer.

[Wind-Cutting Slash]

Gathering magic like wind again, I passed through them.

The projectile? I pierced through it with Wind-Cutting Slash and landed beside the Cannon Bug.

Blue wind erupted in all directions, and suddenly the Cyborg and Cannon Bug were scattered in pieces on the ground.

[DNA Acquired]

-Humanoid

-Insect

-Mechanical Parts Acquired

-Total DNA Points: 2,300

[Parts Acquired]

-Can be made into sub-cards with m-points.

-Use m-points?

I spent all my limited M-points to continue collecting part cards.

With this, I had 2,300 points left. 1,000 points equals 1 monster point, and adding the mechanical route requires 3 monster points and 10 part cards.

“Just a little more…”

I could obtain a new evolution route. It had been a satisfying day.