Ch.180Antlion Pit (4)

# Space Survival

In Space Survival, where various intelligent species live, all kinds of monsters exist.

From creatures that look like Earth’s wildlife to horrifying monsters straight out of horror movies, and even godlike beings that inspire awe.

And some of these creatures possess special abilities.

Specifically, the ability to mimic intelligent beings.

A prime example is a predator called the Red Mist. It’s a beast resembling a jaguar with a red mane, characterized by its ability to emit hallucinogenic pheromones that are impossible to defend against.

After spreading its hallucinogenic pheromones, it mimics human speech to deceive players. It’s said to imitate players’ conversations or movements based on specific algorithms, and it’s quite realistic.

The hallucination itself is hard to escape, and when the creature acts like a companion nearby, players who don’t know much about Red Mists can’t help but be completely fooled.

‘It’s not the top predator of jungle-type planets for nothing.’

No wonder its nickname in the early days of the game was the “Space Jangsan Tiger.”

As time passed and veteran players increased, fewer players fell for its tricks. No matter how advanced the AI was, humans could still sense something unnatural from their perspective.

‘But what if the deceiver is human?’

Pretending to be a companion who enjoyed the game together until yesterday, knowing what equipment they use and what tactics they prefer.

Could you really avoid being deceived?

In other words, the being that deceives humans best is another human.

To be more specific, a human who knows their target well.

And I’m probably the AMorph who has deceived the most people in the game.

‘Let’s get started then.’

Having completed all preparations, I approached the enemy group. They stopped moving as I got closer.

‘As expected of the Temple Guardians.’

They’re quite skilled. Since coming to this world, there haven’t been many who knew I was approaching and prepared for it.

I heard the sound of knives made from Gallergorn’s claws being drawn and archers with Demolishers loading their weapons, but no voices.

They’re probably fiercely discussing how to respond through telepathic links.

‘Good.’

My job here isn’t to ambush the enemy secretly. What I want is to sow distrust among them.

From beyond the fork in the wide ice corridor, I slightly opened my mouth. In my throat, around where the thyroid would be in humans, there’s a special organ.

It’s a vocalization organ created when the ‘Mimicry Organ’ trait was applied to my body. An organ that resets with each new gene absorption, allowing me to imitate new voices.

That “weapon” I’ve used to deceive and devour countless prey has been activated once again.

“H-help me!”

A woman’s voice flowed from my mouth.

It was the voice of the Cult member who fled from the cavern with the Ice Horror’s corpse before being caught by Adhigh Orr. After receiving her body from Adhigh, I took a bite to use for my mimicry organ.

The reason I specifically chose this Cult member was simple.

‘She seemed quite important.’

The other members bought her time so she could escape safely. Judging from that, she’s likely someone who uses psychic technology for information transmission.

As with anywhere else, the credibility and importance of information increases depending on who the speaker is. If she’s important enough for her companions to sacrifice their lives to send her away, the other side will have to think carefully about what to do.

“What is this?!”

“Selene!”

As I expected, they began to waver as soon as they heard the voice.

“Everyone, wait!”

Just then, a woman shouted in a thick, spirited voice. Judging by her voice alone, she seemed to be the leader of the group.

The agitated Cult members all stopped moving at once. Then came silence. They must be communicating via telepathy.

‘Indeed.’

When I imitated the Cult member—no, Selene’s voice, the enemy had two main options. One was to rush over to help me. The other was to approach with suspicion and prepare to attack.

Logically, they shouldn’t have the option to retreat since I’m a target they must eliminate immediately.

Yet the enemy chose neither option. They maintained their perimeter while communicating via telepathy rather than speaking aloud.

What does this mean?

‘They’ve already heard about me, haven’t they?’

The highest-ranking person here, the Cult priest.

Someone experienced in Space Survival must have explained about me to them.

‘Anyone who knows me wouldn’t come here at all.’

Because they wouldn’t know what kind of trap I might have set. Moreover, this is reality. When either I or an enemy player dies, that’s the end. Even with their impressive skills, would they really take such risks so easily?

I don’t think so.

‘But I can use that.’

The Cult player won’t approach because they’re worried about traps. Even knowing I’m nearby.

After hearing about the first attack, he’s likely already figured out how far my nest might have spread. He probably stopped advancing because he judged fighting on my nest would be disadvantageous.

The safe option for him is to recall his subordinates first. Then change strategies and move accordingly.

As intended, the members began to move again. Their slightly hurried steps suggested they were displeased.

‘That’s to be expected.’

Not just humans, but Cults too don’t understand until they experience it themselves.

Moreover, they’re the Temple Guardians, one of the Empire’s finest army units. How displeased must these honorable warriors feel about abandoning someone who might be a comrade?

‘Time to drive in the wedge.’

I placed the female Cult member I was holding against the wall.

The Sky Mother had broken her neck, leaving her body paralyzed. This made my “work” easier.

I turned her head to face me. Her pupils dilated widely as our eyes met.

A gaze full of disbelief, as if she couldn’t believe the reality she was seeing.

The moment she saw me, the members who had been moving away from me stopped.

“What is this?!”

“Lady Elijah! Can you see this now!”

Soul Link is an extremely powerful technique. In battle, where information is vital, nothing is more important than a wide field of vision.

Being able to check an ally’s vision whenever needed makes mission execution much smoother.

Thanks to this technology, Cults excel not only in individual combat but also in team play.

But let’s think about the reverse.

What if that information is wrong? What if what I’m seeing differs from reality?

“You were still alive!”

“Selene saved her!”

I looked down at the Cult member leaning against the wall, sweating coldly.

She seemed to realize what I was trying to do, her pupils trembling madly.

Inwardly, I asked her:

What do I look like to you?

–

Ranker Jason, ranked 10th, had a deep grudge against AMorphs.

He was a concept player based on what could be called “lookism.”

His play motto was to kill ugly aliens and enslave beautiful ones.

This kind of play style isn’t particularly special. Space Survival is crawling with all sorts of eccentrics, and many people in other games enjoy similar play styles.

The reason this “ordinary” concept player became famous was that his level of harassment toward monster players went beyond acceptable limits. Not a few players quit the game unable to endure his torment.

While such types easily make many enemies, he remained strong thanks to his followers.

Jason was an internet broadcaster who used Space Survival as his main content, so he had quite a lot of fans. Using his followers, he commanded a considerable force in the game.

Because of this, even monster players who were rankers found it difficult to challenge him. One might think they could ambush him when he was alone, but Jason was also a 10th-ranked player—by no means an easy opponent.

The fact that he, a “humanist” concept player, chose Cult rather than human was because the Cult race had good performance. With good performance, he wouldn’t be easily defeated by other players even if his skills were lacking.

So he enjoyed the game committing all sorts of atrocities until one day.

His end came.

The one who became a ranker with the worst race.

The one who made rival rankers form alliances and place bounties because of him.

The 5th-ranked AMorph ranker began targeting him.

For over half a year, that creature followed him every day, toying with him using extraordinary tactics.

Particularly legendary in the community was when the creature ambushed him just as he was entering the sleep chamber to log out of the game.

Because of the “Morph bastard,” two clans created by his followers were destroyed, and his relationship with a friendly ranker was ruined.

Eventually, unable to endure, Jason wrote a public apology on the community forum, and the incident was settled.

Though it all became a thing of the past when everyone entered the game world.

Jason had spent considerable time in the world of Space Survival.

He thought he would have forgotten it by now.

Until he came here—no, until he faced that creature—he thought so, but he was mistaken. The telepathy coming to him awakened a nightmare that had been peacefully dormant.

‘Jason! You see it too, right? Look at Bilone’s eyes! They’re both alive!’

He found the telepathy from his lover Elijah quite disturbing.

He knows.

Soul Link doesn’t break until the subject dies or the user cancels it. From the perspective of Bilone, who had been captured by the creature, he could see a perfectly healthy female Cult member.

She was Selene, one of the 12 he had sent to eliminate factors that interfere with psychic power. She was a member trained in memory storage techniques. Normally, she would be someone to protect at all costs.

But Jason, who had suffered enough at the hands of the Morph bastard, knew better.

‘It’s a trap.’

The Cult member visible through Bilone’s eyes. Unable to move properly due to severe injuries, she was desperately calling for her comrades.

Her face wasn’t clearly visible due to the darkness, but her voice sounded pitifully fragile, as if she might collapse at any moment.

‘Bullshit! That disgusting Morph bastard…!’

Seeing the creature’s act brought back his trauma from the past.

He was certain. The owner of that voice was already dead, and Bilone, connected by Soul Link, was infected with a parasite.

If they went to rescue her now, they would suffer tremendous damage from the Cult member controlled by the creature. Even in the game, the creature had a history of controlling NPCs to blow up battleships.

‘It can perfectly mimic the appearance of others. Not only that, but it also sucks out memories.’

‘…Then what about Bilone? Are you saying Bilone is being controlled too?’

‘Yes. The creature’s parasite is probably controlling her.’

‘I’ve never heard of such a monster existing.’

Of course not.

Even in the game, what kind of trait the creature’s transformation technique was remained undiscovered till the end. Outspacer players merely speculated that the trait was either created through a very rare combination fusion trait or a reward from hunting Voltex One.

Whatever the true nature of that transformation, no other monster or player used parasitic, transformation techniques like that except for it. Though he pathologically hated the Morph bastard, he acknowledged the creature’s exceptional skill.

Honestly, just in terms of trait utilization ability, there probably wasn’t much difference between it and the 3rd or 4th ranked players.

‘…I know this fact, but.’

The Temple Guardians here don’t. They’ve only encountered the creature through information, never facing it in direct combat until now.

Their experience fighting countless monsters was working against them in this moment. To them, the creature was an impossible being.

Who would think that the true power of the monster that annihilated the mothership fleet was deception tactics using parasites and transformation?

‘I’ll say it again. Elijah. Give up and come back here.’

‘Jason….’

Elijah hesitated.

The creature must have anticipated this too. Weakening Jason’s leadership and sowing discord between him and his subordinates.

He sent telepathy to his lover again.

Perhaps his desperation reached her. Just as she calmed her subordinates and was about to move again.

An anomaly occurred in the vision shared through Soul Link.

Selene acted as if she had discovered something, startled. From the darkness behind her, a monster revealed itself.

‘What is that?’

An eagle-shaped head with amber eyes, a lion’s body with golden fur. The newly appeared monster was a phantasmal beast called a Griffon.

‘That’s a Volf who learned Incarnate, isn’t it? Why is he here…?’

The Griffon drew closer to the shared vision. As its sharp beak gleamed threateningly, Selene suddenly stood in front of the view with her arms spread.

As if saying you can’t leave without killing me first.

That sight was the final blow.

‘Damn it! We can’t wait any longer! Lady Elijah!’

‘…Jason, I’m sorry.’

‘Wait! Everyone wait! That’s a trick! Damn it! I said don’t go!’

Jason hurriedly sent telepathy, but there was no response. Elijah and her subordinates had cut the telepathic link.

Instead, through the Soul Link connection, he saw the backs of the members rushing away.

Those running through the corridor stopped simultaneously.

Before them stood Selene, perfectly fine, and Bilone leaning her upper body against the wall. The Griffon Volf that had been there moments ago was nowhere to be seen.

But the members, Elijah, and Jason connected to her vision could sense it.

That “thing” in front of them was something other than a Cult.

The vision transmitted through Elijah trembled slightly. It reflected her startled state in her pupils.

Elijah’s vision read the movement of “its” mouth.

The creature was saying:

What do I look like to you?