Ch.190Proof of a Formidable Foe (1)

“Huh?!”

A blonde man opened his eyes in bed.

With impressive, toned muscles, he wiped the cold sweat from his neck.

“Phew, I thought I was dying… Wait, where am I?”

After briefly feeling relieved that his neck was intact, the man became confused by his unfamiliar surroundings.

He was in some kind of room.

The walls were covered with posters of famous heavy metal bands and anime character posters received as Blu-ray promotional gifts.

On the desk below the posters sat an expensive computer and a black headset.

Seeing the futuristic black headset design, he realized where he was.

“Home, I’m, I’m back home!”

The blonde Caucasian man, or rather Jason Tunningham, let out a cheer.

This was his childhood home. He had finally returned to reality.

‘How long has it been? 10 years? No. 15 years?’

Jason looked down at his hands. Instead of the characteristic snow-white hands of a Cult, he saw darker-toned palms and bushy wrist hair.

Though it was certainly his body, he felt awkward in it. Perhaps that was natural, considering he’d spent more than half his life in the game.

He pushed aside the nostalgic-smelling blanket and got up from bed. His height, once nearly 2m, was now only around 180cm.

“Jason! How long are you going to sleep?!”

As he was thinking he’d become a dwarf overnight, a voice called from outside.

‘Mom!’

Though he had lived a more blessed life than anyone in the world of Space Survival, there was one thing he missed.

His memories of his parents.

Jason quickly put on his discarded clothes and went outside. The smell of his mother’s meatloaf filled the air all the way to his second-floor room.

He practically tumbled down the stairs. From the living room connected to the kitchen, he shouted loudly.

“Mom!”

His mother, who should have been placing food on the table, would startle and scold him.

Asking what the fuss was about at his age. Grumbling while telling him to hurry up and eat.

That was the mother he remembered.

But what entered his vision was completely different from what he expected.

The once-neat kitchen was stained red like undercooked meatloaf. The liquid staining the wallpaper had a strong metallic smell.

“Huh?”

Jason stared blankly at the blood-soaked kitchen.

There, something that shouldn’t exist was holding what “used to be” his mother.

“Ah, aah…”

A monster with dark purple skin, distinctive elongated carapace at the back of its head, six arms, two legs, and a tail as long as its body.

An “AMorph” from Space Survival.

It was in the middle of chewing on Jason’s mother.

“Aaaaaaaaahhh!”

Jason screamed and squeezed his eyes shut.

If only this were all a dream.

And…

As if by magic, he opened his eyes in bed.

“A, a dream?”

Metal band posters, Japanese anime character posters. And the computer. The same scene he had seen when he woke up earlier.

He was in his own room, not the game world.

“Jason! How long are you going to sleep?!”

‘Mom!’

Without time to rejoice at his return, Jason jumped up and left the room.

Flying halfway down the stairs, he quickly checked the kitchen.

“Jason, I told you not to run in the house.”

Hearing his mother’s voice that he had always missed, Jason gasped for breath. He simply couldn’t breathe.

From joy? No.

His mother was in no condition to speak. After all, a severed head cannot talk.

“……”

“Jason, come and eat.”

The AMorph holding his mother’s head babbled in her voice.

“Jason? Why are you dawdling?”

“Jason?”

“Jason.”

“JasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJasonJason…”

“Aaaaaahhh!”

In the living room filled with his mother’s echoing voice, he covered his ears. Blood tears were already streaming from his eyes.

As his vision blurred with blood tears, he opened his eyes again.

“Ah, aah…”

Posters with metal group names printed in rough font on black backgrounds and moe character posters.

Seeing that familiar scenery, he realized.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

He cursed and pulled the blanket over his head.

Now he remembered.

The day he entered Space Survival, he wasn’t at his childhood home. His last memory was putting on the VR device for a broadcast in his rundown apartment.

This situation he was experiencing, though incredibly realistic, was certainly not “reality.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Jason! How long are you going to sleep?!”

“……”

“Jason, I always say… Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Mom?”

Startled by the piercing scream from outside the door, he looked toward it in shock.

Moments later, red liquid slowly seeped under the door.

“Ugh, uwaah! Aaaaaaah!”

Overcome with guilt at losing his mother, Jason frantically tore at his hair.

Just then, the doorknob of the firmly closed door slowly turned.

“Huh!”

Waking up in bed in the same position again, Jason realized.

Where he was didn’t matter.

What mattered was that he had become a prisoner in this nightmarish world.

“Jason! How long are you going to sleep?!”

His mother’s voice from outside.

That voice he had always longed for now filled him with fear.

–

Thanks to devouring the Green Gallergorn, our immediate hunger was satisfied.

No. 26, who had the most serious injuries among us, ate more meat than usual. He consumed almost two 10-meter wings by himself.

After filling his stomach, he puffed up his body and immediately fell asleep. Thanks to that, I was able to inject enough psychic power to wake PS-111 from hibernation.

I gave some Screamer debris to the awakened PS-111. While the biological tissue would help, the metal parts wouldn’t provide energy.

Since I was maintaining my “clever weakling” form, I could get sufficient energy from a small amount of food. The penetrating wound on my neck had almost healed, and the side effects of the hunting emblem had disappeared.

After catching our breath, we spent the night in the pit I had dug.

I quietly got up, looking at the sleeping No. 26 and PS-111.

I wanted to examine in detail the new Perk I’d gained from consuming Jason.

‘This might be too disruptive to check here.’

I plan to summon Jason as a face parasite and question him. Judging by his personality, he’ll likely be quite noisy even as a face parasite.

As I left the pit and walked between trees, I heard footsteps behind me.

It was the Griffon with a not-yet-fully-healed beak, Sky Mother.

“Going to check your Perk?”

[Yes]

“I’ll come with you.”

I was about to say there was no need, but stopped when I saw her eyes.

We were too busy earlier to address it, but Jason was one of her enemies. He had used Muriel to kill her family.

Face parasites inherit some memories from their originals. Recent experiences and elements the original considered important remain even after becoming a face parasite.

Jason’s face parasite will likely remember details about Muriel.

‘She must have a lot to say.’

Compared to Muriel, Jason met a relatively merciful death. We had no choice since he was trying to escape using means unknown to us.

But she had even put a parasite in her head to avenge her family. It might be cruel to tell someone like her to forget because “that’s how things were.”

‘I need information about other companions anyway. It wouldn’t hurt for her to listen.’

[If it helps you feel better]

“Thank you.”

I moved with Sky Mother to a spot slightly away from the pit.

The dark forest had an ominous atmosphere due to the relentless sound of the snowstorm, but none of us were afraid of it.

‘This should be far enough.’

Finding a suitable spot, I half-crouched and transformed my face parasite characteristic. One of the face parasites hidden under my fur was sucked into my body.

And a new face, wet with viscous liquid, emerged in its place. That face, with skin as smooth as a newborn baby’s, belonged to the Cult priest, Jason.

After a moment, Jason opened his eyes wide.

“Ugh, uwaaaaah!”

[Quiet]

When I gestured for him to be quiet by putting my finger to my lips, Jason closed his mouth.

The face parasite is part of my body. All his movements are under my control.

[Answer my questions]

“……”

Jason blinked frantically as he answered. I granted him permission to speak.

“I’ll tell you anything! Just please don’t send me back to that hell, that hell!”

Usually, face parasites obey well because they think they’ve lost all control over their body. And for unknown reasons, as time passes, they prefer being used as face parasites rather than remaining dormant.

‘He’s extremely submissive for one.’

Jason’s attitude was so cooperative that it was hard to imagine his previously arrogant demeanor. Even Sky Mother watching from the side seemed dumbfounded.

‘Well, that’s not my concern.’

If he’s going to be obedient, all the better for me. I began questioning him.

What Perks he possessed, information about his faction, details about his companions, and so on.

Though the conversation with the face parasite lasted only about an hour, the amount of information gained was substantial. I hadn’t obtained such high-quality information in recent times.

‘I’ll think about that part later.’

What’s important now is the Perks.

Jason had possessed a total of three Perks. One was his unique ability gained when entering this world, and the other two were stolen from players he had killed.

‘Psychic technique synthesis, Coldblood’s particle organism control ability, and Metallic Gremlin’s warp ability.’

The second ability was manifested as the golden form on his back, and the third was the ability he tried to use to escape.

‘…It’s amazing we won.’

The decisive reason for Jason’s defeat was that he possessed power disproportionate to his capabilities. If he hadn’t been careless, we would have lost.

‘I need to be careful too.’

Losing Adhigh Orr to Ham Oort was ultimately due to my carelessness. After killing Jason, I made a hasty, complacent judgment.

Now I have much to lose. The situation is different from the game where I only had to worry about my own life.

And in the game, if you die, you can just respawn, but not here. If I, No. 26, Adhigh Orr, Sky Mother, or PS-111 die, that’s the end.

‘It’s not that resurrection characteristics don’t exist, but…’

I absolutely cannot obtain them now. It’s a characteristic that requires risking your life even after becoming an adult, so it’s better to consider it nonexistent.

‘To protect them, I need to be even more careful.’

I refocused my mind and reactivated the text box I had checked earlier.

“Predation effect activated! Successfully seized Perk from ‘Jason (Jason Tunningham)’!”

“Can be fused with ‘Space Bacteria’ and ‘Hallucination Flames’. Please select a characteristic. The result will be influenced by the characteristics used as materials.”

“P.S.: You are at a critical crossroads. Please choose carefully.”

“Time remaining until characteristic selection: 13:09:30”

“You are eligible for the characteristic enhancement system. Would you like to use the system?”

‘This is related to Jason’s second Perk.’

The ability to control the golden form he used, or the particle organism control ability obtained from Coldblood.

The other two Perks are locked because I don’t have any characteristics to use as materials for them. Even Jason doesn’t know which characteristics are compatible. That part will need to be experimented with as I acquire various characteristics.

‘It’s probably related to the nature of the Perk.’

Previously, when I killed Muriel and obtained the “Token of a Formidable Foe” characteristic, “Plunderer’s Amorphous Polyhedron,” I used “Metal Absorption” as material. As a result, I gained the ability to consume “weapons” and characterize their unique properties.

If that’s the case, the particle organism control ability might work similarly.

‘But this time, there are two characteristics that can be used as materials.’

One is the infection-related “Space Bacteria,” and the other is the psychic power-related “Hallucination Flames.” Two completely different characteristics have been selected for fusion.

‘I have some idea.’

Looking at the nature of the Perk, the corresponding characteristics aren’t completely unrelated.

First, regarding Space Bacteria, there are similarities in producing and managing small particles.

According to Jason, the particle organism control ability freely manipulates golden particle organisms through a special organ located between the spinal cord and brain. The heavy dependence on the host’s senses is because the particle organisms are bound to this special organ.

Simply put, it’s like creating new arms and legs whenever needed.

‘If fused with Space Bacteria, it might take a form similar to the ability he used.’

Though I’m not certain.

‘Anyway, moving on.’

Next is Hallucination Flames.

Hallucination Flames can be seen as a downgraded version of the Purple Spray Gun. As the name suggests, it’s a characteristic that spews fire made of psychic power.

‘If only the firepower were stronger.’

The firepower of Hallucination Flames is truly pathetic. It’s so bad that in the game, it was nicknamed “purple piss.”

However, it can be used as material for powerful fusion characteristics later, so it’s worth obtaining for future potential. Plus, here it can be used to create powerful characteristics through the transcendence system.

I can guess why a seemingly not-so-useful characteristic is used as material for the Token of a Formidable Foe.

‘This part is definitely related to the original owner.’

The original owner of the particle organism control ability was a Coldblood player.

Coldblood is a tragic race that had their entire species mortgaged due to a wrong contract with Voltex One.

As a result, Coldblood players often use abilities originating from Voltex One. In fact, depending on player choices, there’s an event where they can borrow the “Power of Deep” characteristic, unique to Voltex One.

Based on this, using psychic power-related techniques as material might stem from Coldblood’s unique setting.

‘After all, Voltex One is the strongest psychic power organism.’

According to Jason, the Coldblood player who possessed this Perk had taken the Sect of Voltex One route.

In other words, if fused with a psychic power-related characteristic, it might be implemented in a form similar to the Voltex One ability used by the original owner.

‘Let me summarize again.’

If I use Space Bacteria as material for the Token of a Formidable Foe, there’s a possibility of getting a characteristic similar to the golden form Jason used.

Conversely, if I use Hallucination Flames as material, it might be implemented as a characteristic similar to what the original Coldblood player used.

‘…Well, these are all just speculations.’

The world of Space Survival never properly teaches players anything. Everything must be discovered by the players themselves.

‘Should I postpone?’

There are still 13 hours left. If by chance I characterize the Perk and get a landmine characteristic, the impact would be quite significant.

After pondering for a few minutes, I shook my head.

‘No. Let’s choose now.’

I don’t think I’ll find an answer even if I deliberate for all 13 hours. I was right to think I should move cautiously, but that doesn’t mean I should postpone decisions at every turn.

Whatever characteristic emerges, it would be much more productive to quickly understand its features and research how to use it.

With that mindset, I selected the characteristic to be used as material for the Token of a Formidable Foe.