Ch.224Memory (1)

Ham Oort was dreaming.

The White Queen, companion of the great Odd Grad, and traitor.

Though she bore names of both praise and contempt, she wasn’t always that way.

When she opened her eyes, a familiar face appeared before her. A male with black scales whom she met just after she had molted into white scales.

With impressively curved horns and eyes full of intelligence, his name was Odd Grad.

When he had just become the leader, he was a good male beyond what one could imagine now. He cared for his kind and young Hatchlings more than anyone, and when danger approached the pack, he knew how to respond wisely.

That’s why she admired him. Not because he was the leader, but because she loved his wisdom, his strength, his goodness.

His pure face blurred for a moment before becoming clear again.

His face now was very different from before. The horns on his head and smooth scales were all the same, but there was one crucial difference.

The eyes once full of intelligence were nowhere to be found. Instead, only unfathomable anger and infinite hatred remained.

For what reason would a good being change like this? Was it the pressure of leading the pack, or was it something else?

The reason is unknown, but that’s not the important part.

Whatever the case, the ‘great’ Odd Grad she loved had completely disappeared from this world.

The black leader commanded her.

To kill her daughter.

As the pack grew, more of their kind were unable to get proper nutrition. Even healthy Hatchlings were weakening with each change in the flow of stars.

In such a situation, her daughter, born small from birth, was nothing more than a creature wasting food.

She knew his words weren’t wrong.

Still, she wished for her daughter to live as long as she could.

Someday her daughter might go hunting with her weak body and be hunted instead. Or she might starve to death after losing in food competition with other pack members.

The world they lived in was harsh and cruel. She couldn’t change the world. She knew that fact.

However, she wanted to avoid killing her daughter just because she was useless.

So she made a decision.

To use the thieves who came to steal eggs.

Odd Grad’s figure before her disappeared like mist. Instead, familiar darkness appeared.

She flapped her wings in the infinite dark space she always looked up at from the nest or hunting grounds.

Far away, a small light could be seen.

It looked like the starlight that blessed her daughter when she was born, but in reality, it was a much smaller light.

The light carrying the daughter of the meteor gradually grew smaller and then disappeared.

As the world sank into darkness, she opened her eyes above the swamp.

–

Red Gallergorn is a predator so powerful that it ranks among the top ten in terms of danger level. It’s so different from regular Gallergorn that it might as well be considered a different species.

In addition to the psychic power used by regular Gallergorn, they use their own unique power and ability system called ‘Dragon Power.’

Dragon Power techniques come in various types, but they share a common characteristic. When Dragon Power is activated, red light emanates from the body.

This was also true for Adhigh Orr, a half-blooded Red Gallergorn.

Red dye spread from his wings and horns, coloring his body as if spreading.

‘Still immature.’

The energy current burning like fire in his body was clearly due to Dragon Power, but it looked very different from what I remembered.

Instead of burning vigorously like Adhigh, it should look like a red current subtly coating the scales across the entire body.

Dragon Power techniques all have terrifyingly effective results. So he needs to be able to control his power by any means necessary.

“Too” “strong” “control” “difficult”

[You can do it]

“Little baby! Do it like when you flap-flap!”

“I’ll try”

After hearing No. 26 and me, Adhigh began to concentrate.

The red current gradually subsided and settled around his horns and wings. Residual energy that couldn’t be contained seeped into the red wave patterns on his body.

As he successfully stabilized his power, bright red energy bloomed clearly around his eyes.

It looked as if he had put on makeup with blood.

“I succeeded”

‘Unstable, but.’

I could clearly see him showing off, but I didn’t say anything. Just controlling that powerful force to this extent in such a short time was impressive enough.

[Do you have any power you can use?]

“One” “should be possible”

[Try using it once]

He concentrated without moving from his spot. Eventually, red light flowed from his four wings, dyeing his entire head and front legs red.

“Wow! Amazing! Little baby got hard!”

No. 26, sensitive to energy and wavelengths, immediately recognized what state Adhigh was in.

The name of that technique is ‘Red Armor.’

According to the setting, Red Gallergorn concentrate Dragon Power on specific body parts to protect vital areas, extremely increasing hardness. In other words, as No. 26 said, it’s a characteristic that makes the user solid.

Though it might seem like a rather dull ability for a boss creature, this ability is precisely what makes killing Red Gallergorn difficult.

‘It’s one of Space Survival’s best defensive techniques.’

The key feature of Red Armor is that it cannot be broken by any attack.

Even with powerful weapons like God’s Rod or Imperial Mothership’s Cosmic Bolt, parts activated with Red Armor cannot be damaged. Since it’s a Dragon Power technique, even my horn that nullifies psychic power doesn’t work against it.

That’s why a Red Gallergorn’s weakness isn’t its head or heart. The only parts that can be damaged are those where Red Armor is deactivated.

‘The problem is that actual Red Gallergorn cover most of their body with Red Armor.’

Not only that, Red Gallergorn can move the parts not covered by Red Armor at any time.

With an enemy with such incredible specs, the only strategy is to attack the single weakness, which moves around constantly. It can’t help but be dizzyingly difficult.

‘Even I had a really hard time catching Red Gallergorn.’

I barely managed to catch one after watching other players fight it, figuring out its behavioral algorithm, and identifying where it usually hides its weakness.

‘The trap was that I couldn’t get the genetic essence even after all that trouble.’

I remember having to catch it again from the beginning after weeks of effort went to waste.

Anyway, Adhigh is still immature, so he’s only covering his head and front legs with Red Armor. As he becomes more skilled, he’ll be able to expand the range of Red Armor.

When that happens, I won’t have to worry about his life anymore.

‘I was worried because his body is small, but that’s a relief.’

“Feeling” “strange”

[Try headbutting a tree]

“Don’t want” “to hurt”

[You won’t get hurt]

After hearing me, he hesitated but walked over to a tree. When he forcefully stabbed the tree with the horns on his head, the tree fell helplessly.

“Amazing”

[As long as you have that power, you’ll never get hurt]

He looked back at me while tapping the fallen tree with his front legs, which had become as hard as his head.

“I” “don’t know” “how” “does” “big elder” “know?”

[I’ve seen it before]

“Besides” “me” “star power” “kin” “also” “exist?”

[Not anymore]

“?”

He tilted his head, but I had nothing more to say. I couldn’t tell him I saw it in a game.

‘Maybe I should tell him someday.’

The fact that I’m a foreigner.

I need to leave this world and return to where I originally lived. That’s been my goal from the start.

However, the closer I get to that goal, the more factors arise that make me conflicted.

No. 26, Adhigh, Sky Mother, and even PS-111.

What will happen to them if I leave? Will they be fine on their own, or will they miss me? What about Sky Mother, who is a player like me? If I see the ending, can we return to reality together?

As I was lost in thought, No. 26 sent a wavelength.

“Big baby is amazing because he knows everything.”

“Agree” “big elder” “cool” “strong” “smart”

“Big baby has many appendages and is very big.”

“Horns” “wings” “all cool”

Starting with No. 26, they poured out their pure emotions. Instead of answering, I stretched out my wing arms and stroked them.

‘It’s not a problem I can solve right away.’

I don’t need to make a choice today.

But inevitably, a time will come when I must choose an answer. To avoid regret then, I should continue to contemplate.

[You are a great gift to me]

“Gift? Is big baby hungry?”

“I” “understand” “big elder’s” “words” “I” “little elder” “precious”

Always showing an innocent attitude, No. 26, and Adhigh, who shows off his intelligence after growing up. For me, who couldn’t form deep relationships with others even in reality, they are incredibly precious beings, as he said. I’m sick in both appearance and heart.

‘…Why am I suddenly thinking like this?’

Being sentimental isn’t a bad thing, but there’s still much to do. After removing my hands from the two, I conveyed what to do next through wavelengths.

[Adhigh, you can release your power now]

“Confirm” “power” “released”

When Dragon Power was deactivated, his body returned to normal.

[Good. Now attack me with your usual power]

“Confirm” “big elder” “attack…” “?”

“Itchy? Want me to scratch?”

Perhaps because I abbreviated too much, everyone didn’t understand. I explained step by step what I meant.

“Big elder” “kin power” “damage” “more” “received” “adapt?”

[Yes. It’s a power I gained while growing]

“Don’t understand”

Adhigh, being in the position of having to attack me directly, seemed to find it difficult to understand.

Mimicry Scales is an unfamiliar characteristic to Gallergorn. Especially for Adhigh, who has lived his whole life avoiding attacks from other creatures due to his weak body, it would be even harder to understand.

“Big elder’s” “words” “always” “good” “so” “I’ll follow”

[Thank you]

Finally, after several more explanations, he understood what I meant.

Adhigh backed away, creating distance between us. While he prepared to attack, I finished explaining to No. 26 as well.

“Should I do like when I punish bad flap-flaps?”

[Just make sure the deflected power doesn’t hit Adhigh]

“Okay. Big baby and little baby both trust only me.”

The reason I specifically wanted to activate Mimicry Scales while fighting enemies was because of my characteristic, ‘Psychic Reflection Armor.’

This characteristic automatically reflects 30% of the energy when I take damage from psychic power attacks. If Adhigh had a large body and hard scales like regular Gallergorn, he wouldn’t have been harmed by the reflected attack.

Unfortunately, he was born with a weaker body compared to other Gallergorn. Currently, his defense is even lower than that of a regular Green Gallergorn.

In other words, he’s like a flying glass cannon. Even taking damage equivalent to 30% of his own breath could be fatal.

‘That’s why I need No. 26.’

No. 26 is skilled at controlling psychic power. He can control the reflected energy to neutralize it or change its direction to fly elsewhere.

‘Now that he has Red Armor, he might be able to help on his own later…’

But the current Adhigh is unskilled in using Dragon Power, so he needs No. 26.

So we all completed our preparations. Adhigh, who had created an appropriate distance, sent me a thought wave.

“I” “will” “attack” “now”

[Okay]

“If” “it hurts” “tell me” “I’ll stop”

[Don’t worry and shoot with full power]

He nodded slightly.

Eventually, a clear purple light flowed from the tentacle bundles hanging from his mouth. Psychic power, condensed enough to touch directly, solidified into small energy bullet forms.

And the first shot was fired. Behind the psychic breath cutting through the air, 2nd and 3rd breath bullets poured out.

Adhigh’s unique psychic breath, which other Gallergorn don’t use, flies toward me.

The moment the first shot hit my head, a powerful impact spread throughout my head carapace. Even as I was aware of that pain, consecutive psychic breaths hit the same area.

However, my pain isn’t that important here. Now I need to see where those attacks will deflect.

Regardless of my will, Psychic Reflection Armor activated, and energy equivalent to 30% of the energy bullets Adhigh shot was reflected. Some flew toward Adhigh, and some deflected toward No. 26 who was beside me.

And No. 26 caught every single energy without letting any slip.

His tentacles waved like conductors directing an orchestra. The energies floating in the air gathered in one place and then flew high into the sky.

‘Good.’

[Just keep doing this]

Perhaps thanks to having fought together several times before, everyone performed skillfully despite it being their first time.

We repeated the same action several times afterward.

Adhigh hesitated after seeing my head carapace in a mess, but I persuaded him that it was fine since I would recover quickly. I told him to think of it as practice for fighting Odd Grad.

I’m not sure if my persuasion worked or if he felt the necessity of training, but after hearing my words, he attacked without hesitation.

When I had received about 30 of his attacks.

A change occurred in my carapace and skin. The surface of the hard carapace and scales became jelly-like and mushy.

After a few seconds, tiny scales emerged from beneath the surface and covered my entire body. At the same time, a translucent text box appeared.

“Mimicry Scales Activation Target: Psychic Power”

“Duration: 3 days”

“Caution: Psychic Reflection Armor is temporarily deactivated.”

While I was looking at the text box, Adhigh’s psychic breath flew again.

Powerful energy that made my entire head vibrate collided with my head carapace. I only felt the sensation of being hit, without any pain.

‘It worked.’

The activation preparation for Mimicry Scales was complete.

‘For the next 3 days.’

No Gallergorn, not even the black dragon Odd Grad, would be able to harm me.