Ch.195Preparation (1)

‘As expected.’

Though I often forget because he’s always kind and speaks like a child, No. 26 is a Sea Demon.

Sea Demons have a strong territorial instinct, just as strong as their tribal consciousness. This was bound to happen when an enemy entered what he considers his home.

‘But he seems to have gotten stronger?’

If he had killed it with Demon Crash, I’d understand, but it looks like he killed it with binding alone. When I look at Sky Mother, she nods.

‘Maybe because of the Green Gallergorn he ate yesterday.’

Previously, he grew significantly stronger after absorbing the psychic power of a dead Sea Demon. He might have grown again thanks to eating the Green Gallergorn’s corpse, or more precisely, the psychic power it contained.

‘Both Gallergorn and Sea Demons are powerful psychic creatures.’

[Zzzzzz Zzzzz (You’ve grown. Well done)]

“Am I amazing?”

[Zz (Yes)]

When I send a wave signifying agreement, he glows with joy. Seeing how he lights up the dark cave, he must be really happy about the praise.

“I can also do many things once I recover.”

[Zzzzzz Zzzzz Zzzzz (I brought this for you too)]

I put down the Snow Banshee in front of PS-111.

[Zzzzzz Zzz Zzz (Eat it with the Shark Bear)]

“The head of the creature you’re holding contains significant energy, confirmed.”

“No, friend.”

He seemed to want the Glacier Fiend head I was holding. I was about to refuse, saying this one wasn’t available, but No. 26 interrupted first.

“Big baby needs to eat lots and lots to grow.”

“If I consume and analyze that creature, I can secure new abilities.”

“I said no. No.”

“Yes.”

When No. 26 scolded him, he lowered his head with a dejected attitude.

[Zzz Zzzzz Zzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz (I’ll eat and then go out to find new prey)]

“Thank you for your consideration.”

After comforting PS-111, I immediately began preparing the meal.

Hunting Aspect, the transformation mode that increases the probability of triggering the predation effect. Its cooldown just ended.

‘I wonder what characteristics will appear this time.’

There are a few characteristics I’m aiming for, but I’m curious how it will turn out.

I activated Hunting Aspect with expectations for new characteristics.

–

Adhigh, the exiled daughter of Odd Grad, woke from her sleep feeling an inexplicable chill.

It wasn’t actually cold.

This place where she was staying was among the top ten warmest spots on this planet.

Gallergorns, who generally rank at the top of any ecosystem, don’t make their nests just anywhere. Gallergorns instinctively seek out concentrations of psychic power.

Psychic power is a force that distorts reality and transcends physical laws. Places where this power is concentrated are often abnormal.

If it’s a cold place, the dragon’s nest will be warm; conversely, if it’s hot, the nest will be cool.

This cave is no exception. Warm geothermal heat rose from the floor, and there was even a spring with fresh water nearby.

That’s not all. There were even vines growing on the cave walls with sweet fruits. Those fruits are filled with sweet juice, a favorite treat for young members of her kind.

Despite this abnormally comfortable place, she felt uncomfortable. Because she knew where this was.

This is the place her kind values most highly, where hatchlings stay.

It was clear how they viewed her. Even though they must know her scales had turned the color of vines, they wouldn’t acknowledge it.

To them, she was always just a weak one with a disability.

Her “real family” wouldn’t have done this. They had acknowledged her as a hunter.

She thought of them.

Those who cared for her and raised her as a hunter when she was abandoned for being weak and small.

The ugly but somewhat caring adult and friend.

The small adult who was caring but sometimes frightening.

The weak child the small adult brought.

And the adult she liked. Strangely, he could change his appearance at will.

The small pink adult said it was growth, but it looked very different to her. Her “former” kind didn’t grow that way. When they grew, they just got bigger; she had never seen cases of them getting smaller again.

Still, she liked the big adult. No matter how his appearance changed, the big adult was the big adult.

Though she didn’t care for his recent smaller form.

But now she even missed that ugly appearance.

She gently raised her body. And like the small adult used to do, she concentrated her “power.”

The small adult used power very skillfully. He could routinely accomplish things that seemed impossible for any creature she had seen, even the big adult.

She spread her power wide and thin. So thin that other members of her kind couldn’t even properly detect it.

The power, transformed into thin threads, spread beyond the cave to the outside. Her legs trembled from extending her power beyond her limits, but she somehow endured.

They see her as weak and incompetent.

It’s true that she’s weak, but she’s not incompetent. So she decided to take advantage of their arrogance.

If I’m weak, I need to exploit moments when the opponent lets their guard down to have a chance. That’s a method the big adult often used when fighting enemies.

Through her widely spread power, she could confirm that the watchers were dozing off.

Now that she had the information she wanted, it was time to act. She carefully came out of the cave.

Outside, members of her kind with vine-colored scales similar to hers were dozing off, nodding their heads.

She had noticed when she first arrived, but her kind weren’t in good condition. Most looked emaciated, and the hatchlings were skinny from not eating properly.

However, she had neither reason nor time to worry about that. She needed to escape quickly while the guards weren’t alert.

“Where” “are you going?”

Just as she was about to spread her wings to take flight, a thought wave came.

From the forest in front of the cave appeared a beautiful member of her kind resembling white jewels or snow.

With pure white scales and black spots, she was so beautiful that even Adhigh couldn’t help but admire her.

Her mother’s influence likely contributed significantly to Adhigh’s outstanding beauty despite being born a mutant.

However, the female’s true power wasn’t her beauty.

She is strong enough to not only defy Odd Grad who rules this planet but also to establish a new group.

In fact, there are several more white members in this group. Yet Ham Oort maintains her position as leader.

Seeing that, her power clearly surpassed that of the white kind. Probably somewhere between white and black.

In other words, she was absolutely the last person Adhigh wanted to meet right now. Seeing the pure white female, Adhigh tensed up.

“Interesting” “this usage”

Ham Oort tapped the thread of power Adhigh had spread with her front paw. Instantly, the widely spread net vanished. She must have seized control and dispelled it in a moment.

Adhigh was frightened by the opponent’s overwhelming power but didn’t back down. Seeing this, Ham Oort tilted her head.

“Meaningless resistance” “has no meaning” “power difference” “don’t you know?”

“I know”

“Then submit”

“Refuse!”

As purple fire flickered in Ham Oort’s eyes, Adhigh felt her body trembling. An enormous pressure bore down on her, just like when she faced Odd Grad.

But she didn’t give up. The big adult she respected never gave up no matter how difficult the situation.

Adhigh put strength into her four legs and glared at Ham Oort. The tentacles on her mouth tensed, ready to shoot purple lightning at any moment.

How much time passed?

Surprisingly, Ham Oort was the one who backed down. Taking one step back, she sent a brief thought wave.

“Daughter of meteor” “spirit” “I like it”

Her slightly crescent-shaped form seemed both mocking and admiring. But that appearance was truly momentary, and she soon raised her front paw to press down on Adhigh.

“Daughter of meteor” “weak” “Ham Oort” “needs” “strong daughter”

The size difference between Adhigh and Ham Oort is more than tenfold. The gap in strength is incomparably vast.

Knowing this fact, Adhigh still didn’t give up. She scratched with her claws and shot purple lightning.

Though everything was useless, she continued to resist.

No matter how comfortable it was inside, she didn’t want to go back in. If she followed what the stronger one ordered, it would be no different from when she was driven out of her previous group.

While she was struggling, Ham Oort brought up something completely unexpected.

“Ham Oort” “has prepared” “power” “to make” “weak daughter strong”

“Power?” “Don’t” “understand!”

“If you” “stop resisting” “I will explain”

As soon as she heard those words, Adhigh stopped moving. Come to think of it, Ham Oort could have broken her wing bones but didn’t.

Clearly, she wants something.

The big adult once said: When fighting a strong enemy, use everything you can use. Even if it’s the enemy’s power.

“Explanation” “request”

“Good” “enter the nest” “I will explain”

What Ham Oort wants, what she’s thinking, is still unknown.

For now, she needs to find that out first.

–

‘This should be good enough.’

In the night while everyone was asleep, I was adjusting the new nest. Based on the energy obtained during the day, this old underground cave had long since become AMorph’s nest.

The floor was covered with a swamp that helped AMorph recover, and black slime dripped from the ceiling and walls.

The heat rising from the nest was being absorbed by “Smog Towers” and released underground rather than above ground. This was to prevent steam from leaking out of the cave entrance.

Of course, over time the surrounding land would completely dry up and wither, but I don’t plan to stay that long, so it doesn’t matter.

‘The symbiotes are working well too.’

No. 26 who suffered quite serious injuries, and Sky Mother whose beak was broken, both had “symbiote spores” I had planted on their bodies. Healing liquid and energy were being continuously supplied through the spores connected to the nest, so their wounds should improve significantly by tomorrow morning.

For reference, I couldn’t attach them to PS-111. Being a hybrid of machine and organism, a Mutant Screamer, he couldn’t receive the symbiote effect.

‘Ironic that the machine needs to take the most care of its body.’

I suppose I should take comfort in the fact that he has the most efficient recovery method among us.

I looked at PS-111 who had entered hibernation mode. Traces of the prey he had eaten during the day floated around him as he lay face down in the warm swamp.

A half-melted skull of a Glacier Fiend, partially dissolved into the nest.

‘Hah, seeing that makes me annoyed again.’

Hunting Aspect, the evolution mode of “Perfect Organism,” significantly increases the probability of acquiring genetic essence.

AMorph’s predation success rate is on the lower side. Generally, I need to eat dozens of creatures to barely obtain the desired genetic essence.

However, with Hunting Aspect, I can trigger the predation effect by eating just one creature. The effect of increasing predation probability also applies to genetic samples or creatures I didn’t kill myself.

The downside is that in this case, it’s acquired as an “incomplete characteristic” rather than a normal state. However, incomplete characteristics can be used as materials for the transcendence system, and if the same characteristic is acquired twice, it can be restored as a complete characteristic, so it’s not entirely useless.

For this reason, I strategically used Hunting Aspect whenever I ate prey with important strategic value.

The problem is that it increases the probability of predation, not makes it 100%.

That ugly skull resembling a stag beetle gave me no reward.

‘I knew Hunting Aspect doesn’t always work, but…’

Who would have thought the predation effect wouldn’t trigger specifically for the Glacier Fiend.

When no message appeared even after eating it all, I thought I had missed something.

Only after licking up every drop of blood from the floor did I realize. The predation effect itself hadn’t activated.

‘Tsk.’

Among the characteristics that could be obtained from the Glacier Fiend was one that generates narcotic substances. If that characteristic were combined with my “Smog Tower” characteristic, it would become a very fearsome characteristic.

If the predation effect had triggered, I could have used it as fusion material, which is a shame.

‘…Well, can’t do anything about what’s already failed.’

To shift my focus away from the Glacier Fiend, I checked the text box.

Unfortunately, I didn’t acquire any characteristics from it, but I was able to trigger the predation effect from other prey, the Snow Banshee and Shark Bear.

The characteristic from the Snow Banshee’s genetic essence was “Stealth Movement.” It’s a special defense characteristic that dramatically reduces the sound and traces made when moving.

In fact, it’s almost inferior compared to “Unknown Creature’s Fur,” a perk of the “Clever Weakling” mode, but it’s not without advantages.

‘As a side effect, it greatly reduces body weight.’

When Stealth Movement is applied, the bone structure is replaced with a synthetic material that is very solid but lightweight. Actually, when I applied the characteristic during the day, I felt an itching sensation throughout my bones, like during puberty.

Anyway, with this characteristic, even after disabling Clever Weakling, it’s a great help when evading enemy tracking or hiding. I used Stealth Movement effectively in games when luring enemies or setting traps.

‘Next…’

From the Shark Bear I didn’t kill, I obtained “Enhanced Endocrine Gland” as an incomplete characteristic. If I fuse this with “Muscle Reinforcement,” an internal organ characteristic, I can obtain a characteristic called “Berserker Synapse.”

Berserker Synapse is a fusion characteristic that secretes special chemicals to greatly enhance physical abilities. With this characteristic, I become much faster, stronger, and gain more vitality.

Thanks to this, it was evaluated as a characteristic with high versatility, though nothing special, in the game.

‘This is one of the characteristics I really need right now.’

Berserker Synapse helps use stored energy more efficiently. With this characteristic alone, I can lower the energy consumption rate of Hunting Aspect or “God’s Whip.”

‘Let’s look for Shark Bears later too.’

To use an incomplete characteristic as fusion material, I need two identical characteristics. To fuse Berserker Synapse, I need to obtain Enhanced Endocrine Gland one more time.

With that, I dismissed the text box.

Having finished adjusting the nest, I quietly immersed myself in the swamp. In the warmth enveloping my body, I thought about what I needed to do next.

‘From now on, it’s a long-term battle.’

I’ve finished experimenting with newly acquired characteristics and secured a new nest. The kids are recovering quickly, so it’s time to prepare to retrieve Adhigh.

The White Gallergorn that took her seems quite intelligent, so it won’t be an easy fight.

‘I need to prepare as much as possible.’

To fully utilize good strategy and excellent skills, I need to build a solid foundation. And for AMorph, that foundation is none other than characteristics.

Having as many diverse characteristics as possible allows me to respond actively to any enemy I might face.

‘If there are Glacier Fiends, Ice Horrors, and Gallergorns, there must be others too.’

I know exactly what creatures typically inhabit the area around a dragon’s nest.

Until I fell asleep, I thought about what to target first.