Ch.197Preparation (3)

Adhigh stood before the Snow White Queen, Ham Oort.

She was lying prostrate on the ground, enjoying the warm heat flowing from the bottom of the cave. She didn’t seem to feel even the slightest threat from Adhigh.

Adhigh was slightly annoyed by her complacent attitude.

「Ham Oort」「Advises」「Here」「Warm」「Lie Down」

「Fine」「Unnecessary」

「Ham Oort」「Words」「Repetition」「Dislikes」

There was a hint of displeasure mixed in the thought wave sent by the female of her kind. Adhigh had no choice but to lie down on the floor.

As she said, the floor was very warm. It was enough to instantly forget the cold winter wind she had faced outside the cave.

Ham Oort closed her eyes, seemingly satisfied with Adhigh’s obedient compliance.

「I」「Words」「Follow」「Explanation」「Request」

「First Question」「Daughter of Meteor」「Father」「Know?」

「Great Odd Grad」「Black Kin」

「Yes」「Ham Oort」「Odd Grad’s Third Mate」「Daughter of Meteor」「Ham Oort’s Offspring」

The snow-white female Ham Oort warming herself in front, and the great black dragon Odd Grad were her parents.

On the day Adhigh was born, thanks to a snow-white meteor shower, Ham Oort gave her the name meaning “daughter of shining star.” With her excellent memory, Adhigh vividly remembered her mother’s joy-filled expression when looking at her.

Of course, it didn’t matter anymore. Her parents had banished young Adhigh for being a mutant.

Just as she was about to ask why Ham Oort was bringing up something from the past, Adhigh was startled.

She felt intense anger emanating from Ham Oort.

「Odd Grad」「Us」「Deceived」「Dozens」「Hundreds」

「?」

Adhigh didn’t understand.

The concept of deception is vague to her and her kind. They are beings who communicate through thought waves. As with Ham Oort now, emotions are directly infused into their thoughts. While it might be possible to deceive other creatures, it’s impossible to fool their own kind who are sensitive to psychic power.

「Odd Grad」「Special Stone」「Possesses」「Emotions」「Leakage」「Blocks」

「Stone?」

「Special Stone」「Owner」「Emotions」「Hides」「Ham Oort」「Odd Grad」「Mind」「Cannot Read」

From Ham Oort’s words, Adhigh had some idea.

During her travels with the Great Elder, she had seen ugly creatures carrying strange metal lumps. Some of these lumps contained very powerful forces.

The ugly dwarves did various amazing things with these metal lumps. Sometimes they used them to torment her and the Great Elder, and sometimes they used powers similar to those used by her kind.

Perhaps Odd Grad also possessed such a strange metal lump. One that allowed him to hide his thoughts.

「Curious」「Lies」「What?」

「Odd Grad」「Old」「New Successor」「New Black Kin」「Should Emerge Normally」

「Agree」

「But」「Odd Grad’s Group」「Successor」「Black Kin」「Not Emerging」

Her statement about the absence of black kin was true. In Adhigh’s memory, there were no black kin except for Odd Grad.

Looking back, it was strange. Even in Ham Oort’s group, there were multiple white kin. In Odd Grad’s group, which had existed much longer, there should have been black kin, but there weren’t.

「Star Flow」「Change」「Dozens」「Black Kin」「Not Emerged」

Although Adhigh wasn’t very old, she could tell that what Ham Oort described wasn’t normal.

After all, even she had molted from water color to grass color after eating various prey in a short time. It’s impossible for black kin not to emerge in a nest where all conditions for growth are met.

「Odd Grad」「Successor」「Does Not Want」「Kin With Growth Potential」「Discards」

「?」

「Ham Oort」「Saw」「Odd Grad」「Kin」「Secretly」「Eliminating」

「!」

The rest wasn’t said, but Adhigh could understand.

The old leader trampled young sprouts to preserve his position. Not just banishing them, but actively seeking out and killing the discarded kin.

But Ham Oort’s words weren’t finished yet.

「Odd Grad」「Knows」「Daughter of Meteor」「Potential」

「Potential?」

「Ham Oort」「Researched」「Legend of Kin」「Old Kin」「Said」「Savior」「Needed」

Ham Oort stretched her front paw to point at Adhigh.

「Daughter of Meteor」「Qualities」「Has」「True Savior」「Can Become」

Those words were something Adhigh had never imagined.

–

Like all apex creatures, Crystalwing also has its own unique characteristics befitting an apex being. It has undergone distinctive evolution to survive in harsh environments and among stronger competitors.

The most representative aspect would be its sensory organs.

First, its eyes.

Befitting a creature that flies at high altitudes, Crystalwing has excellent vision. To what extent? It can spot small creatures from over 10km away. It doesn’t have “x-ray” abilities like the Terror Devil that inhabits deserts, but it can be said to simply have outstanding vision.

However, its true value isn’t just its excellent vision.

‘It’s like a flying radar.’

Crystalwing emits its own electromagnetic waves with each breath. Like the principle of radar, the waves spread out and reflect back, allowing it to detect the location of other creatures.

It was able to develop this ability, so different from ordinary creatures, thanks to the fluid it secretes.

Before its body is fully grown, Crystalwing instinctively applies its bodily fluid all over. As time passes, this fluid hardens and accumulates, transforming into a unique metallic substance that generates these waves.

These waves are useful not only for hunting prey but also for self-protection. They create a semi-permanent stealth effect that helps evade detection by other radar equipment.

‘That’s why Crystalwing’s fluid is expensive.’

Anyway, considering its ecological characteristics, hiding behind trees or rocks isn’t very meaningful. Unless you hide deep underground, you can’t escape its detection.

‘The standard approach would be to use radio interference or hijacking…’

‘Radio interference’ and ‘hijacking’ are traits that generate waves to control electronic equipment. Although Crystalwing is a living creature, it’s vulnerable to these traits because it uses waves. The main tactic is to neutralize or disrupt its wave abilities before launching a surprise attack.

I don’t have either of them right now, but I do have a trait that can substitute.

‘Unknown Creature’s Fur.’

This trait, provided by the ‘Clever Underdog’ perk, neutralizes various detection equipment, traits, and techniques. With this trait, I should be able to escape its detection.

‘Hiding isn’t much of a problem.’

The important part is how to ambush them.

After organizing my thoughts, I called the kids together.

[Zzzz zzzz zzzz zzzz zzzz(We need bait to lure them when they come)]

“That’s right. They’re sensitive and timid.”

[Zzzzzzzz(So about that)]

I looked at No. 26.

[Zzz zzz z zzzzzz zzzz zzzz(Can you control the power in your body to make it invisible?)]

“Yes. I can.”

Upon hearing my request, No. 26 moved the psychic power flowing through its body. All the energy that had been distorting the surrounding air was sucked into its body. Even the purple light flowing shallowly over its pink body completely disappeared.

‘Good.’

The being in front of me now wasn’t a terrifying sea monster. It was Bubble Amoeba, a popular pet in Space Survival.

“Is this okay?”

[Zzz zzzzz(Very well done)]

“Yes!”

[Zzzzzz zzzz zzz zzzzzz(When the winged ones come, lure them)]

“Just trust me, big guy.”

What a precious one.

There are two reasons why I chose it as bait.

First, except for me, No. 26 is the one who can best hide its power. It surpasses me in handling psychic power, so there’s no problem pretending to be weak. With its power hidden, it looks exactly like a Bubble Amoeba. Nothing more than a harmless pink balloon.

‘This should fool even the wary Crystalwing.’

The second reason is its body color. A vivid pink creature on a snow-covered peak. With its excellent vision and electromagnetic field, Crystalwing would never miss it.

I picked it up and placed it near the nest. It extended its tentacles and waved them, saying to just trust it.

I gently stroked its back with my hand to show my appreciation. It shivered as if ticklish, and I left it behind, retreating from the nest with Sky Mother and PS-111.

[Zzz zzzzz zzzz zzz zzzzz zzzzz(How about digging a hole behind those rocks?)]

“If we’re going to ambush, I think that place with the trees would be better.”

[Zzzzz zzz zzzzzz zzzz(Not bad. Let’s go with that)]

“I’ll help.”

PS-111 and I dug into the ground where trees were scattered around the peak. Before long, we had completed a large hole about 2m deep and 3m wide.

[Zzz zzzzzz zzzzz(Go in first and wait)]

“To avoid tracking? Understood.”

Since it’s a Mutant Screamer, half of its body is mechanical. It emits subtle electromagnetic waves, so Crystalwing would immediately notice if it saw it.

That’s why I plan to hide it at the very bottom. After confirming that it was lying at the bottom of the hole, I called Sky Mother.

[Zzzzzz(Ready?)]

“Yes.”

She had changed from her griffon form to her humanoid form. Perhaps because she had accepted the power of Wendigo, she looked slightly different from before.

She still had a white eagle head, golden fur covering parts of her body, and a firm physique, but there were a few new elements.

Two small horns had grown on her head, and black bone-shaped tattoos had appeared all over her body. The bulky muscles were gone, making her feminine curves more pronounced.

If her previous appearance was that of a strong female warrior, now she was closer to the image of a shaman from a primitive tribe.

She lay down on top of PS-111 in the hole with nimble movements. In her humanoid form, she was much smaller than when she was a griffon, so she could easily hide her body.

‘Good.’

I lowered myself to cover them. My body length is 5m including my tail. There was no problem completely covering the entrance of the hole.

‘This should help us avoid their detection.’

Honestly, I know it’s not a perfect method. That’s why I placed No. 26 as bait to divert their attention.

I’ve done everything I can.

‘Now all that’s left is to wait.’

We continued to wait for the Crystalwings, not knowing when they would return.

[Zzzzzz zzz(Aren’t you hungry?)]

“I’m fine!”

“I need energy supply. I request small parasites generated from the ‘AMorph’ body.”

“You ate earlier, and again?”

“I need energy replenishment to withstand the continuously occurring load.”

“…Want to die? I’m not heavy, you know?”

We chatted with each other.

“I think I can mark one of the two Crystalwings.”

[Zzzzzz zzzzz(With Wendigo’s power?)]

“Yes. Since it’s an adult, I won’t be able to hold it for long.”

[Zzzzzz zzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzzzzz(The male has stronger resistance than the female, so we should target the female)]

Or discussed how to fight.

“The characteristics of the ‘AMorph’ creature seem to have many similarities with my model.”

[Zzz zzz zzz zzzzzz zzz zzzzz zzzzzz zzzzz(Maybe those who made you used me as a motif)]

“Have you met my developers?”

[Zzz zzzzzz zzzzzzz(Well, should I say I met them?)]

“If the developers saw ‘AMorph,’ they would never stay still.”

[Zzz zzz zzzzzzz(The same goes for me)]

We spent time talking about issues we hadn’t discussed before.

None of us are creatures with inferior physical abilities. We don’t face life-threatening situations just because we can’t move for extended periods.

But boredom was unavoidable.

During the first day, we talked about various things, but from the second day on, everyone became quiet.

PS-111 entered hibernation mode to conserve energy, and Sky Mother also fell asleep. No. 26, acting as bait, was playing with gem particles it had pulled out from the nest.

Thinking it might be bored having to stay awake and act as bait, I taught it how to play jacks. At first, it seemed awkward, but once it got used to it, it became completely immersed. Even now, it was continuously throwing and catching dozens of gems with one tentacle.

‘A C-Demon playing jacks.’

In the game, it used to play jacks with people.

‘Well, I’m glad it’s enjoying itself.’

Leaving No. 26 to play well on its own, I focused back on what I was doing.

Since we don’t know when the Crystalwings will return, I’ve been monitoring continuously since yesterday. The auxiliary organs under my jaw have been capturing changes in the black sky above the peak for two days straight.

‘Reminds me of old times.’

In the game, I also waited for long periods to catch Crystalwings. Just like now, I would position myself around the nest and wait for them to return.

Of course, it was less boring than now. Crystalwing’s fluid crystals were very expensive, so there were many competitors after them.

From their perspective, it was much more beneficial to keep the Crystalwing alive and extract its fluid. Completely different from my position of targeting its life.

‘Thanks to that, there was no time to be bored fighting.’

Honestly, it was beneficial for me either way. The more I fought with players, the more genetic essence entered my mouth.

‘…On the other hand, there were many strange ones too.’

A Megacorp ranker who lost to me brought his ship and even conducted orbital bombardment, thinking that if he couldn’t have it, no one else could either. I remember losing a unique trait after dying from that bombardment.

As I reminisced about the past, the set time was approaching its end.

‘Only one hour left.’

I looked up at the dark sky. All I could see were white snow particles and black clouds.

‘Should I look for another way?’

I came specifically to hunt Crystalwing for the apex hunt and to aim for the space flight trait, but if I just need wings, there are other ways. There aren’t many winged creatures on ice planets, but they’re not completely absent.

‘I could go down, get wings first, then look for Crystalwing…’

Just as I was thinking about waking everyone up, something caught my auxiliary organs.

Something qualitatively different from the strong wind blowing over the peak tickled my fur. It was a subtle flow, like someone breathing next to me, but I didn’t miss it.

Similar to the sensation I felt when approaching a ship’s engine room or central computer.

Something that could never be felt on this white peak where not even a single person is visible.

It was definitely an electromagnetic wave.

‘They’re here!’

The beings we’ve been waiting for, the Crystalwings, are returning to their nest.