Ch.188Defection (2)

‘Ah.’

The moment I put Jason’s head in my mouth, I realized I had made a huge mistake.

The red liquid of life flowing in my mouth was surprisingly addictive. So much that I forgot about the pain of having a hole in my throat.

Jason’s blood was similar to maple syrup but had a much more savory taste. His meat would surely be attractive beyond my imagination.

The problem was that all I had was his head. The body below the neck had disappeared somewhere with a blue light.

‘Should I be grateful that I at least got the head?’

Thanks to the Essence Harvester jaw effect, I could acquire the genetic essence of my opponent even with just the head.

I applied force to my jaw and chewed Jason’s head.

Flesh, muscle, blood, bone, brain, and even the remaining horn. All elements that made up the Cult’s head were absorbed into me.

Then a series of translucent text boxes appeared before my eyes.

「Predation Effect Activated! Successfully seized perk from ‘Jason (Jason Tunningham)’!」

「No compatible traits found among your existing traits. Transferring to token storage organ.」

「Predation Effect Activated! Successfully seized perk from ‘Jason (Jason Tunningham)’!」

「Compatible with your ‘Space Bacteria’ and ‘Hallucinatory Flames’. Please select a trait. The result will be influenced by the traits used as materials.」

「P.S.: You are at a critical crossroads. Please choose wisely.」

「Time remaining until trait selection: 24:00:00」

「You are eligible to use the Trait Enhancement System. Would you like to use the system?」

「Predation Effect Activated! Successfully seized perk from ‘Jason (Jason Tunningham)’!」

「No compatible traits found among your existing traits. Transferring to token storage organ.」

‘Why are there so many?’

I thought it would be similar to what happened with Muriel, but there were more text boxes than expected.

‘Are these perks obtained from robbing other players?’

It seems he had a total of 3 perks. Two of them couldn’t be used because the conditions weren’t met, and only one could be combined with my traits.

‘Come to think of it, I used Metal Absorption as material for the Predator’s Irregular Polyhedron too.’

I first checked the perk that could be fused immediately.

It said I could use either Space Bacteria, an infection-related trait, or Hallucinatory Flames, a psychic ability-related trait, to fuse with the perk.

The two traits are completely different in nature. Depending on which one I use, the result will be completely different.

Moreover, for some unknown reason, I was given 24 hours to make a choice.

‘This is the first time this has happened.’

This unusual situation wasn’t welcome. There’s no way I’d get such benefits without a reason.

‘A critical crossroads…’

Since I still have 24 hours left, there’s no need to choose right away.

There’s something else I need to do first.

All the quality energy I gained from eating Jason’s head was used to heal the wound in my neck. As the penetrating wound inside healed, the gushing blood also stopped.

With the fatal wound recovered, the Revenant organ also completed its mission and went into hibernation. This tiny organ attached to my heart will fall into a long sleep for the next 6 months.

Therefore, I might not be able to use the Revenant organ when fighting the Black Gallergorn.

‘If I’m attacked in this state, I have no chance of winning.’

Given the commotion I caused underground and the Lightning God being activated, Gallergorns could fly in at any moment.

Not just me, but everyone here is in poor condition. No. 26 has suffered major injuries, Adhigh Orr has broken legs and wings. It’s hard to find an intact part on PS-111.

The Sky Mother is relatively fine with only a broken beak.

She approached me.

「We need to get out of here quickly.」

She also recognized that this situation was not good at all.

[Zzzzz zzz(Let’s go to the mountain)]

「…Is it safe after the Gallergorns visited?」

As she said, the mountain isn’t safe, but we have no choice. The underground space below where we’re standing has completely collapsed.

Even if we’re lucky enough to find a place that hasn’t collapsed, there’s a high chance we’ll be caught by the Gallergorns that came here.

‘Not to mention the food supply issue.’

The last card I played to kill Jason was a collaboration of ‘Clever Weakling’ and ‘Hunting Emblem’. I made this decision thinking it would be useful for killing the enemy, but there was another reason.

Clever Weakling is a special state specialized in agility, infiltration, etc. It also has the effect of efficiently distributing consumed energy. Therefore, it can minimize the side effects of Hunting Emblem.

There’s little chance I’ll bare my teeth at the kids like before.

‘Right now, I’m more worried about the kids than myself.’

There are only two ways to heal the seriously injured ones. Either feed them or make a nest and attach ‘Symbiotic Spores’ to them.

‘Either way, we need a large amount of food.’

And there’s no food around here. Because when the underground collapsed, the prey was also buried in the ice.

[Zzzzz zzz zzzzz zzz(We have no other choice right now)]

「I understand.」

The Sky Mother nodded and transformed into a griffon, carrying the damaged PS-111 on her back.

“Excuse me. Middle child.”

「…Couldn’t you call me Sky Mother?」

“That is an unauthorized command.”

「…」

Meanwhile, I carefully picked up No. 26. The creature, who had suffered major injuries, had reduced its body size to minimize energy leakage.

[Zzz zzzzz(Are you okay?)]

「I’m fine! Is big child not in pain?」

Looking at the pale body, I could feel that it was in severe pain. Yet seeing it worry about me first gave me a strange feeling.

[Z zzzzz zzzzz(This much will heal quickly)]

「Amazing!」

[Zzzzz zzzzz(Just hang in there a little longer)]

I carefully placed No. 26 on top of my head, making sure not to hurt it, and checked Adhigh Orr’s condition.

It was in very bad shape. The broken forelegs and wings were a problem, but hypothermia was the biggest issue.

I picked up the shivering creature with my combat arm and held it tightly against my chest. I was trying to raise its temperature even slightly with the fur covering my body.

「Warm」

Feeling it nuzzle its head against me, I looked at the Sky Mother. Having finished her preparations, she nodded at me.

We ran toward the direction of the black mountain ridge.

Me, in a centaur form moving my four legs diligently, and the Sky Mother, leaping powerfully with her lion-like body.

The footprints we left quickly faded under the falling white ice flowers.

While running, I heard the growling of beasts from the darkened sky. It was a signal that a snowstorm was approaching.

The snowfall intensified, and the surrounding temperature dropped rapidly. If we delayed even a little here, Adhigh Orr and the Sky Mother, who are vulnerable to cold, would freeze to death.

Knowing this fact, the Sky Mother was also doing her best to run.

After running for about 10 minutes, we reached the edge of the mountain range. Although it was a different place from where I fought the Screamer yesterday, the scenery looked similar.

Trees with thin trunks but branches spreading like spider webs toward the top. They evolved this way to survive the frequent strong winds and blizzards.

Thanks to the trees acting as a shield, the forest was less cold than other places.

Of course, this only meant avoiding immediate freezing death, not that it was warm.

I put down No. 26 and Adhigh Orr and dug into the ground frantically. After digging a large hole, I covered it with branches from nearby trees.

[Zzzzz zzzzzz zzzzz zzzz(It will be better if you get in here)]

I wanted to light a fire, but if smoke escaped, we would be caught by the Gallergorns. Regrettably, this is the best we can do.

「Everyone, huddle together. It will be less cold that way.」

「Okay.」

「Cold」「Cold」「Cold!」

「The heat emission function is currently inactive. If you supply additional energy, I can activate it.」

Four different types of creatures pressed their bodies together to survive. This bought us more time.

‘Now what’s left is the energy needed for recovery.’

As PS-111 said, we need energy. If No. 26 recovers, it can inflate its body to protect the others from the cold.

‘And I can give psychic power to PS-111.’

I also need something to eat right away to fill my stomach for my own recovery. I left the kids with the Sky Mother and went deeper into the forest.

With only a few minutes left until the end of Hunting Emblem, I needed to prepare for possible side effects.

‘I need to find something.’

Any creature that can be converted into energy will do. I don’t know what will happen if I don’t put something in my mouth right now.

My auxiliary organ, transformed into a bone knife, moved at full power to find living creatures.

The auxiliary organ, diligently twitching and searching the surroundings, caught some movement not far away.

The sound of multiple footsteps.

I ran toward the direction of the sound.

After passing through numerous trees, I reached the source of the sound.

‘…Oh no.’

Unfortunately, they were far from what I had hoped for.

“Hostile creature confirmed. 30% match with set target. Main controller ‘Pyrrha Eleven’ command delay status.”

“Transmitting information to PS-250 intermediate terminal. Transmission complete.”

The owners of the footsteps were three new model Screamers. Behind them lay a beast with green scales.

With a body easily exceeding 10m including the tail, and wings as massive as its body, the creature was a Green Gallergorn.

It was covered in bite wounds, but there was no smell of blood at all. Someone had clearly sucked out every drop of blood from its body.

‘I don’t know what happened, but…’

I need that Gallergorn corpse to replenish my energy right now.

“Intermediate terminal has no decision authority confirmed. Independent judgment required.”

“Energy replenishment complete. Gallergorn’s biological characteristics applied.”

“Target suppression initiated.”

With those words, the Screamers rushed at me at tremendous speed. Their movement looked similar to when Adhigh Orr used super acceleration.

A Screamer, cutting through the air, swung its spider-like metal legs at me.

In my ‘Clever Weakling’ form, I pushed off the ground with my four legs and dodged to the side.

I swung my tail at the back of the one that had just passed by. The pincer at the end of my tail struck the back of its head precisely.

“Kik!”

The Screamer that made a bizarre groan crashed to the ground. Meanwhile, another Screamer had already approached right in front of me.

Two front legs with three sharp claws each flew toward my head. I grabbed its two legs with my combat arms.

The body of the Screamer whose front legs were caught twisted bizarrely, and the legs behind aimed at my side. This attack method was possible because it had a total of 8 legs.

‘Then I’ll do the same to you.’

In Hunting Emblem mode, I have more arms and legs than them. I swung the bone scythe arms on my back in a crossing motion.

Following a chilling sound, the strength drained from the body of the one trying to stab me. I threw the cleanly decapitated Screamer’s body into the air.

A Screamer that had climbed a tree to look for an attack opportunity hurriedly jumped down when it saw its comrade flying toward it.

I charged toward the point where it would land. It twisted its body in mid-air to avoid my attack.

‘Where do you think you’re going!’

The human-faced creatures on my head carapace opened their mouths as if in chorus and poured intense sound waves at it. The body of the creature, directly hit by the invisible waves that cause paralysis, stiffened.

And the six horns on my head pierced the Screamer’s body.

“In, incinerate, pro…”

Before it could self-destruct, I grabbed its head with my combat arm. In that state, I applied force and pulled it out forcefully.

“In, in, in…”

With its spine completely pulled out, it couldn’t last long and ceased functioning. After throwing the disgusting Screamer head carelessly on the ground, I also tore off the remaining parts hanging on my horns with my hands.

As soon as the battle with the Screamers ended, strength drained from my body.

The effect of Hunting Emblem had ended.

The part where strength had left was filled with intense hunger, as if I hadn’t eaten for days. The thick carapaces that had wrapped around my body crumbled like sand castles.

The bone scythe arms on my back shrank and eventually separated, falling to the ground. Arms that had been armored with solid muscles and carapace now looked like freshly excavated mummies.

Apart from the carapace peeling off, there was almost no change in my body size.

No matter how much the body grows, Clever Weakling cannot exceed 5m. Even with Hunting Emblem, only the appearance changes, not the length itself.

The moment the Hunting Emblem ended and the body’s mutation was completely finished, someone’s voice was heard.

“Hostile creature. Transmitting combat situation information to PS-250 intermediate terminal.”

It was the Screamer that had been hit in the back of the head by my tail. With two-thirds of its head crushed, it was still alive.

‘It would be troublesome if it self-destructs.’

Even under the pressure of tremendous hunger and lethargy, I moved to deal with it.

Just as I got close to finish it off.

「Great one!」

‘Adhigh Orr?’

Suddenly, I heard Adhigh Orr’s thought wave. When I turned my head, I saw it flying through the trees.

It was barely flying, flapping its damaged wings.

「Big trouble!」「Kin」「Me」「Found!」

‘What?’

Just as I understood what its thought wave meant, I felt something above my head.

‘The sound of wings?’

As soon as I realized this, I quickly backed away. Immediately after, a massive white beast fell on top of the Screamer.

The creature, which had cleanly pulverized the Screamer, looked down at me with amethyst-like eyes.

‘…Damn.’

Multiple horns on its head, massive wings and reptile-like body, and a mass of tentacles instead of a mouth.

The Gallergorn, called the dragon of space, and among them, the one known to be the second most powerful after the Black Gallergorn.

At this moment, the White Gallergorn I absolutely hoped not to encounter was right in front of me.