Ch.194Red Forest (3)

As I escaped the excruciating pain, my consciousness quickly returned. As my mind stabilized, my bristling fur gradually settled down.

Though it still hurt from having my scorpion-like tail torn off raw, it was nothing compared to the trauma-inducing pain from before.

Only after my body recovered could I objectively consider the Power of Deep.

‘The risk is deadly, but…’

High risk, high return, I suppose. Despite the pain I experienced, I gained quite a bit.

Enhanced Psychic Breath and Watching Terror. The former gnaws away at the opponent’s flesh until it disappears, while the latter awakens the most terrible pain lurking in the opponent’s memories.

But the effects of the applied traits are secondary concerns. It all depends on how skillfully I use them.

What really matters is the Power of Deep itself.

‘Being able to control activation at will is a huge advantage.’

Being able to use it when I want means I can enjoy two effects from one trait.

For instance, I could snipe enemies with Psychic Breath as usual, then catch them off guard by shooting flesh-eating foam that gnaws until death.

The same goes for Watching Terror. Unlike the original, the Power of Deep version works on multiple targets. It would be extremely effective if sprayed over enemies crowded in a tight space.

What if the Power of Deep applies to any new psychic ability traits I gain in the future? It would be like gaining two traits at once.

‘I wonder if it will apply to new abilities?’

According to the text box, currently only three traits have the “Power of Deep” applied.

Traits unrelated to combat, like Humanity or Predator Sense, weren’t affected. “Psychic Reflection Armor” is eligible but I haven’t been able to test it yet since the activation conditions haven’t been met.

If newly acquired psychic ability traits are also eligible for the Power of Deep? That would significantly bolster my lacking anti-psychic combat abilities.

‘I’ll have to find out while hunting.’

Whether the Power of Deep applies will only become clear once I acquire a new Psychic Power trait.

Conveniently, I’m on the planet with Gallergorn’s Nest. It’s one of the places where psychic-related traits are easier to obtain.

‘Anyway, I need to get out of here right now.’

The forest’s master is dead, but danger still remains.

There are still hundreds of cocoons of various sizes around here. Inside them sleep the drug slaves.

Now that Glacier Fiend is dead, it’s a given that they’ll wake up soon.

‘Before I go…’

I looked down at the beheaded Glacier Fiend’s corpse.

A fresh 8m carcass sprawled on the ground—no, closer to 15m if you count the lower body buried in the earth—waiting for me.

In my “Clever Weakling” state, my body can’t exceed 5m. So taking the entire corpse is impossible, but that’s fine. Thanks to “Essence Harvester’s Jaw,” I can obtain genetic essence just by eating the head.

I grabbed the stag beetle-like head of the Glacier Fiend.

After firmly securing its head with my combat arms, I pulled hard. The head separated as the barely connected flesh around the neck tore away.

Thanks to the “Essence Harvester’s Jaw” trait I gained upon becoming a Subadult, I can get the same predation effect from eating just the head as I would from consuming the entire body. The size difference makes it difficult to carry its entire body. So I plan to take just the severed head.

‘I can’t let those junkies have it.’

The Glacier Fiend is a monster with numerous useful traits. Befitting a creature that hunts prey across vast territories, it’s not something you see often. If I miss this chance, who knows when I’ll get another opportunity, so I must at least take its head.

As I was about to leave with the head, the cocoons around me began to squirm.

The nearest cocoon burst open and the creature inside leaped out. A monster resembling a long-legged salamander lunged at me.

Its name is Snow Banshee.

A small carnivore with skin so white it’s pale, with a distinctive red tongue. It typically lies flat in the snow, snatching prey with its thick tongue when they approach.

‘Its terror comes from perfect concealment, but…’

The one before me is in a mindless state, addicted to drugs. Far from hiding to fight, it recklessly flung its tongue at me.

I caught the incoming tongue with my chest arm.

In the Clever Weakling state, my body size decreases but the muscles in my chest arms become notably developed. Though weaker than my combat arms, they’re useful when fighting enemies of similar size.

‘Like now.’

“Kik?”

I gripped its tongue tightly and pulled hard. Not expecting to be overpowered, it collapsed forward helplessly.

I approached the off-balance creature and bit the back of its neck. With a chilling sound of breaking bones, its body went limp.

‘I’ll take this too.’

I placed the 1.5m creature on my back along with the Glacier Fiend’s head. Meanwhile, other cocoons began bursting open one after another.

The monsters awakening from the cocoons also rushed in to eat the Glacier Fiend’s corpse.

They’re doing this because they know the source of the red substance.

‘Let’s escape quickly.’

While they were distracted, I quickly moved away from the center. Having destroyed all the cocoons near the perimeter earlier with my Psychic Breath, nothing stood in my way.

Except for one.

“Grrrrrr.”

A 4m tall, gaunt figure with abnormally long arms and legs. A black face contrasting with its white body.

A Winter Walker suddenly emerged from the forest, blocking my path.

‘It’s that one from before.’

It was the Winter Walker I had been tracking.

Its gaze was fixed precisely on my back, on the Glacier Fiend’s head.

By the looks of it, it would chase me to the death even if I ran. Better to deal with it now.

‘This works out well.’

Sky Mother needs a Winter Walker’s heart.

I set down my cargo on the ground. Seeing that I wouldn’t back down easily, it growled threateningly.

The Winter Walker approached me with long strides. With it being twice my size now, it looks quite intimidating.

I sprang toward it, pushing off with all four legs.

Just then, it swung its abnormally long arm. My combat arm collided with its arm.

“Grrrrrr.”

「Grrrrr」

The Winter Walker has many more joints in its arms than normal animals. This allows its arms to move as flexibly as whips rather than limbs.

Its arm slithered past my combat arm like a snake. Its razor-sharp claws aimed for my eyes, trying to disable my vision.

True to its nickname as a hunter of the snowfields, it launched a cunning attack from the start.

But I had anticipated this move.

With my weight on my hind legs, I raised my front legs and kicked hard at its lower abdomen, like a horse kicking with its front hooves.

“Guk?!”

It loosened its grip as it staggered back from the blow to its weak spot. After returning my front legs to position, I rotated my body in place by digging my feet into the ground. Then I swung my tail with the added rotational force.

Though the pincers hadn’t regenerated yet, my log-sized tail was weapon enough. The blunt, severed tail struck its legs like a club.

“Grrrrrr.”

It leaped into the air. My tail swept low across the ground, barely grazing the soles of its feet.

It was more agile than it looked, but this too was within my expectations. My real intention wasn’t the tail attack but what would follow.

With my body half-turned, my back now faced it. And on my back were the human-faced parasites.

Five faces quickly emerged and opened their mouths wide. Paralyzing sound waves poured toward the target.

“!”

The Winter Walker, paralyzed mid-air, fell to the ground. My jaw split in two and covered its head.

My teeth sank into its black face. As I applied pressure with my jaw, its head slowly began to crush.

“……”

Despite the pain of having its head crushed while still alive, it couldn’t move a finger. Silent screaming was all it could do.

Moments later, with a sound like a walnut shell cracking, sweet liquid flowed into my mouth. The taste was rich yet smooth, reminiscent of chocolate pudding.

‘Slurp, I’d like to eat more, but.’

Since my mouth isn’t just mine anymore, I barely restrained myself. Sky Mother only needs the heart, but it would be strange to bring just that.

After gathering my prey, I left the red forest. Reaching the outskirts, I could already see the red moss withering.

The forest was returning to normal after losing its master. Once the beasts still fighting inside leave, this place will become quiet again like before.

I focused on my auxiliary organs and followed the path I had come from. If I return to where I stayed until morning, there should be traces of their movement.

After leaving the red forest, I ran through the dark woods for hours without rest. Though the branches blocked most sunlight and the trees looked similar, making it easy to get lost, that didn’t apply to me. AMorph’s unique hypersenses told me where to go.

Continuing on, I eventually reached the pit I had dug yesterday. Stopping nearby, I bent down to bring my auxiliary organs close to the ground.

I detected the faint scent left by the kids. The traces followed a certain direction, appearing intermittently.

I followed these subtle traces. Along the way, there were what appeared to be deliberately created markers—small stone towers, claw marks on trees, and such. They probably made these in case I couldn’t follow them.

After crawling for a while with my auxiliary organs to the ground, I arrived at a cave entrance.

‘Hmm.’

The entrance was narrow and obscured by surrounding trees, making it hard to spot. Even I would have missed it without my auxiliary organs. It was well-hidden.

‘Looks good.’

With all the cargo I was carrying, I couldn’t enter as is. I threw my items inside one by one before entering the cave.

Inside, there was a musty, stale smell instead of earth, suggesting another animal had used it before.

As I examined the entrance area, someone appeared from inside.

「You came back faster than expected?」

It was Sky Mother, a griffon with an eagle’s head and a lion’s body covered in golden fur. She greeted me with glowing amber eyes.

「I thought it would take all day.」

[Zzzz zzzz zzzz zzzz(I got all the information I needed)]

I handed her the Winter Walker’s body.

「What’s this? A Winter Walker?」

[Z zzzz zzzzzz(Yes. You needed the heart)]

「Huh? Oh, right. Thanks.」

[Zzzz zzzz zzzz zzzz(You found quite a good place here)]

「Well, I didn’t really do anything…」

[Zzz(Hm?)]

「You’ll see when you go inside.」

I shared the load with her and went deeper into the cave.

Inside, it was quite spacious. Like a gourd shape? The entrance and initial passage were long, but it widened as you went deeper.

「Big baby!」

Just then, No. 26’s wavelength reached me. Waiting in the inner chamber, No. 26 approached me with a pink glow. The shrunken creature jumped up onto my head.

[Zzzzzz(Were you okay?)]

「Yes. Finding a home was fun.」

Seeing the little one welcome me made me feel good without realizing it. As I was petting it, I noticed something strange in the dark cave.

‘Huh?’

I detected an unidentified creature lying in the corner of the chamber. I thought the musty smell was from the old cave, but I was wrong.

The smell came from that creature.

Judging by the lack of heartbeat or muscle movement, it was definitely a corpse. PS-111 was lying next to the large creature’s corpse.

“Sub-controller AMorph. You’ve arrived.”

“What’s that beside you?”

「It’s a Shark Bear. We thought it was an abandoned cave, but it wasn’t.」

I was slightly surprised by Sky Mother’s words. Though not classified as an Apex, the Shark Bear is still a formidable monster.

It’s a beast with a shark’s head and a bear’s body, known for its excellent close combat skills. Its weakness is its lack of resistance to psychic powers.

‘Ah, could it be?’

Looking closer, something seemed off about the Shark Bear’s corpse. As far as I know, they’re quite large—standing on two legs, they’re about the same size as a Winter Walker.

But the body my auxiliary organs detected wasn’t that big. It looked as if it had been compressed in a hydraulic press.

「We were resting in the cave when it suddenly came in. That’s when No. 26 caught it.」

「It came into our home where I live with baby. I punished the bad one. Did I do well?」

The culprit who turned a shark-headed bear into a cube steak.

Sea Demon No. 26 smiled innocently on top of my head.